"So what, we’re just gonna stand here and look for boats?"
"No," Reese called over his shoulder. "I am. You should head back up to the ranger station and tell everybody the idea. See if you can find some volunteers—or maybe some rope or something—and meet me back here."
"You're serious, aren't you?" Matt said, standing by the idling car. “Look at that! It’s…it’s impossible…This is way worse than anything I could have imagined.”
Reese pulled back from the tree and stared up the embankment at Matt. “I've never been more serious in my life. I will get back to my wife and daughter, and I don't care who or what stands in my way. Nothing is going to stop me—certainly not a bunch of trash floating on water," Reese said, pointing at the floating debris. "Now, you want to get across that to reach your loved ones, I'll be more than happy to help—but if you don't wanna help me, then just do me a favor and leave me alone. I can figure it out myself."
"Okay, okay--relax, chief.” Matt shook his head. “I’ll help, but I don’t think I can go across…” He rubbed his chin, watching the destruction float by. “I’ll go back up topside and see if I can find us some supplies and volunteers…but that…” he said, looking out across the floating debris field. “That’s…man…” He turned to get back in the SUV. “In the meantime,” he said, leaning out the driver’s door, “don’t go anywhere.”
Reese laughed bitterly. “I’m not going anywhere without my friend--he’s stuck up at the ranger station with a banged-up leg.”
Chapter 12
Lavelle Homestead
Northwest of Charleston, South Carolina
Cami walked into the kitchen at dawn, expecting to be the first one up, only to be surprised to see Amber and Mitch at the table sipping coffee while they watched TV. She paused in the doorway. “Hey, you two.”
Amber looked at her and the frown on her face vanished, replaced by the smile that Cami had loved so much for the past 19 years. “Hi, mom.”
“Cami-san,” Mitch said, raising his mug in salute. “Want a cup?”
“Yes, please,” Cami said, sighing. “I have a sinking suspicion before this day is out I’ll need something a lot stronger, but for now—”
The lights went out with an audible pop, plunging the kitchen into darkness. The bright shaft of light streaming in from the living room illuminated one of the cabinets by the hallway, but the rest of the kitchen lay mired in shadow.
“Wait for it…” Mitch muttered.
“It’s gone out like this twice this morning,” Amber informed her mother in an I’m-not-worried voice. She rustled over by the sink and poured a fresh cup of coffee. “The pot’s still hot, but when the power comes back, we can make a new one.”
“Wait for it…” Mitch repeated, drawing out the words.
“Guys…” Cami said, taking the coffee from Amber. “How long did it usually stay off the other times? I didn’t really notice, I guess,” she said, rubbing her face. “Yesterday was a long day.”
“Not more than a minute or so,” Amber replied, sitting down at the table.
“Hmmm…” Mitch murmured, taking a swallow of coffee. He stood and moved to the window. “Didn’t take this long before.”
Cami sighed again, then inhaled the aroma of Reese’s special coffee. “Hittin’ dad’s stash again, huh?”
Amber snorted. “Well, if it’s the end of the world, he should’ve been here to drink it himself.”
Her words hung in the air for a long moment. Cami looked down. “Sweetie, you know he’d be here if there was any way at all—”
“It’s okay, mom. I know. He’ll be here. Nothing’s going to stop him.” Cami could hear the smile in Amber’s voice and the butterflies in her stomach began to settle.
“Is this it?” asked Mitch. “The cascading failure you talked about?”
“Who knows?” replied Cami. “But I think the first thing we do today ought to be dusting off the solar system.”
“Wait, you guys have a solar set up?”
“Well,” Cami said quickly, “it’s not a whole-house deal. We’ve got a few batteries out in the shed,” she said as Mitch peered out the window, “and they can run the fridge and freezer…or a few lights. But it’s enough to squeak by in hurricane season.”
“We also have the generator,” Amber offered.
“True,” Cami agreed, “but I’d like to conserve fuel as much as possible. We don’t need to run the fridge or freezer twenty-four-seven to keep food cool. A few hours at a time should do the trick, and we can run lights or electronics—or whatever—in between.” Cami took a sip of coffee. “The point is, if the power doesn’t come back on anytime soon, we need to be real careful about our power consumption.”
They cooked breakfast on a portable camp stove Mitch found in the garage, with eggs, cheese, and milk from the fridge. The power remained off while they cleaned up, and by the time the sunlight outside was bright enough to light the kitchen, Cami decided the power wasn’t coming back on.
“It’s time, guys—Amber, you remember where the gear is?”
“Yeah…those two green plastic totes in the garage?”
Cami nodded. “That’s it. Mitch, can you help her? I’m going out to the shed to get the batteries and wires ready.”
“Sure thing,” Mitch replied, already on his way to the garage. “Where we settin’ up?”
Cami pursed her lips in thought. They’d only used the system a few times in the past, but that was when there were more trees on the property. Past storms had thinned out the herd
