Tidewater Tempest by M.Z. Thwaite

Author:M.Z. Thwaite [Thwaite, M.Z.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 9781970137217
Publisher: Southern Fried Karma LLC
Published: 2021-06-07T22:00:00+00:00

The minute the kitchen door closed, Deke began to work the ropes that bound his hands and feet, like a snake slithering through a mouse hole. Then he waited.

Chapter 21

When the Kings Bluff group reconvened for the potluck, they ate while they listened to a transistor radio one of them had brought. It seemed the storm had finally made up its mind on where to hit. “Listen up,” one fellow said loudly. “Mayor’s coming on.”

Utensils stilled and conversation hushed. The air smelled of grilled pork, fried fish, and grease. Local officials had gathered at the news conference with the mayor. Someone turned up the volume on the radio as the mayor said, “The folks at the weather bureau are cagey. They don’t want to get this wrong. Three days ago, they said there was the potential for a tropical storm that could turn into a hurricane. Tonight, they issued a hurricane warning. That means we could have winds of seventy-plus miles-per-hour and anywhere from a Category 1 to a Cat 4 hurricane. Whatever happens, it looks like we’re in for a pretty good blow, and flooding to boot. I don’t advise you to try to leave town now; it’s too late for that. Stay where you are and don’t drive unless you have to in order to get to shelter. They predict this thing will come right at Brunswick, though outlying areas will feel some effects.”

“Okay, that’s it,” said Snag. “Let’s get this cleaned up. Look around, see who’s here, and let’s get on back to our houses and get ready. We’ll get some of whatever is headed for Brunswick, that’s for sure, because it’ll get to us first. The eye will either pass over us or skirt by us and keep on going. Either way, we’ll get something. Put flashlights where you can get to them easily. That’s about it. You all know what to do, I reckon.”

“I know you grew up in North Carolina, Snag, but have you ever been through anything like this?” Abbey asked.

“No, but my daddy spent more time down here than me, and he always talked about high-marsh hen or moon tides in the fall, when the river came over the bank and flooded the road out front there. Now I don’t want to scare anybody, but if the water does come up like that, it’ll come up in every creek around here, and there are lots of creeks. After it blows on through, watch your step.”

A woman said, “Okay, Snag. What are you hinting at?” She and the man to her left chuckled as he zigzagged his hand in front of them.

“Anything that lives near or under the ground is going to be looking for someplace to go—as in, higher ground,” Snag said.

“He means snakes,” Abbey whispered not-so-quietly to Tom.

“I figured,” he said.

“We have no idea what time this thing might hit, and there’s always the chance it’ll stay offshore. Remember, we’re here for each other. I’ll patrol off and on all night, so don’t get spooked if you see my headlights going up and down the road out front.

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