Shadow's Force by Mary Stone

Author:Mary Stone [Stone, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-01-22T13:00:00+00:00

17

It was a fight, but Rebecca convinced Hoyt to go to Darian’s position and swap places. She planned to go back to the sandbags and help shore up the line, so they could hopefully get more vehicles off the island. Hoyt volunteered to help, but after struggling with the ladder on his own for so long, he would be slower than someone who had been standing around for the last few hours.

They both left Walter’s house with lights flashing. Rebecca got two more phone calls in that short drive and argued with the callers that the evacuation was real. No, it was not a siren test in the middle of the storm.

Having learned from her last stop, she slowed down well before reaching the sandlot, cursing as her abraded palms moved over the steering wheel. The adrenaline rush from earlier had worn off, as did the analgesic effect that went with it. Now her hands burned like hell.

There were already a few people gathered around two trucks. Flipping on her spotlight, she pointed it toward the gathering.

She couldn’t hear them over the pounding of the rain on her roof, but their fists pumping over their heads indicated they were cheering her arrival.

Grabbing her earpiece, she popped it in and climbed out of the car to join them. Even with the added light, she had to get closer before recognizing Ryker’s truck.

“Glad to have you back!” He smiled down at her as he caught the next bag while bracing against the fierce winds.

“Feels like I never left.” Despite the terrible weather and circumstances, she couldn’t help but grin. “What’s the plan?”

“We’re trying to divert water off Coastal Drive, so fill up any bags we can find and get them out there as fast as possible.”

“I’ll join the line for a bit. I’m no good with a shovel.”

Three people were standing under the nominal cover of an awning and feverishly working to fill bags. Some were burlap. Others looked like woven plastic. Some were clearly brought in from the produce section of grocery stores.

Rebecca moved along the line until people shifted to make a gap for her. The bags got heavier the farther they went as the already damp sand soaked up the rain.

The downpour pattered and pinged around them while she turned to the left, took a bag, turned to the right, and passed it on, wincing each time her hands made contact.

There was no talking, except for the phone call she answered by pressing her earbud against her shoulder. That got her a few looks, and someone laughed. But she just shrugged and explained that, yes, there was flooding in the town, and they needed to evacuate.

“You shoulda told ’em to come down here and help,” the man she passed the bag to yelled.

“If they’re that oblivious, do you really want them building a wall?”

He bobbed his head as he laughed, then he paused.

Rebecca had already turned to take the next bag. When she turned back to hand him another, she saw he was still holding the last.

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