Hurricane Gregory

H U R R I C A N E G R E G O R Y� Part 14

“A hurricane?” Jamie gasped.

“The storm is expected to strengthen considerably, before making landfall off the southern end of the Florida Keys. In the meantime, all residents of the Florida Keys have been issued a mandatory evacuation order. Residents are boarding up their homes and securing all outdoor items, in preparation for the oncoming storm, which could strengthen into a hurricane by the time it makes landfall in the next two days…”

“Wow…” Jamie thought to himself. “I sure hope it doesn’t come here…”

“The National Weather Service has forecast that storm will pass over the Florida Keys before moving more northward, possibly making a second landfall near the Florida-Alabama border. Please stay tuned and continue watching the weather reports daily as forecasters are able to pinpoint the most likely area of second landfall. At present the Florida panhandle lies within the ‘cone of probability’ and could experience hurricane force winds within in the next four days.”

“Yikes! We’re in the Panhandle right now!” Jamie pondered out loud. “I’d better tell Mister Herb and Miss Amy in the morning…”

Jamie continued to “watch” TV until the man in the room turned it off to go to sleep. He thought about it for the moment, wishing he could see more. Then he got an idea. He wanted to see for himself if the people in the Florida Keys were alright.

He sat up in his bed for the moment. He didn’t have his suit and cape with him. But it was dark outside, and he figured that nobody would see him. He quietly got up from his bed and put on a tank top and a pair of shorts. He was barefoot, but that didn’t bother him. He missed wearing his suit and cape, and he almost considered flying to Metropolis to get it. But, he remembered his decision that he didn’t want to be “Superboy” all that week, because he was on vacation!

“I’m going to fly over there, just to take a look and get an idea what it’s like to be in a hurricane…” he thought to himself, as he quietly walked to the door.

He opened the door and walked out of the room, closing it gently behind him so he wouldn’t wake Gregory.

As soon as he got outside, he extended his arms towards the sky and started to lift off. He ascended rapidly, until the small motel was nothing but a miniature building below him. He then headed south south-east, towards the Florida Keys.

It took the super kid only a few minutes to fly to the Keys. He noticed how the wind began to pick up, as he flew closer to the island chain. Powerful wind gusts hammered his body as he flew over the water, and he was finally drenched by the pouring rain. Sheets of rain came down over the water, as he approached the keys. The sky was completely covered with dark, thick clouds, and the howling wind was blowing in his ears.

“Wow… Is this a hurricane?” he wondered, as he found himself getting into worse weather as he approached the Keys.

Jamie descended to the ground where he saw several small houses. There was one major street that ran through all the islands. The street signs had number 1 on them.

The rain was coming down very hard! The wind was furious, and Jamie had to resort to his super vision in order to see clearly. He was drenched by the hard, heavy rain, as he scanned the area. Suddenly, he heard a noise. He heard faint voices, coming from one of the bridges connecting two of the islands.

He leaped in the air and flew toward the bridge. An SUV was stranded on the bridge, just a few yards away from the point where a section of the structure had collapsed! The powerful winds and waves had caused one end of the bridge to collapse!

“Help, somebody! Help us!” a lady cried, as she sat in the driver’s seat of the vehicle.

The span immediately in front of her SUV had collapsed before her, trapping her on the bridge. The entire structure was swaying precariously, due to the force of the ocean. Wave after wave of water smashed into the base of the support pillars. The structure was already weakened and was clearly about to collapse under the vehicle. The lady who had cried for help was not alone! There was also a young boy with her, presumably the lady’s son.

“Oh, no!” Jamie said to himself, as he flew over the scene. “That lady and the boy are trapped in their car. They’re stuck and the bridge is about to give way!”

A mighty wave roared against the pillar, causing the entire bridge to shift. The lady and the boy screamed!

“David” the lady said to the boy “No matter what happens to us today… I love you…”

“I’m scared, mom! Get us out of here!” was the only thing that came to his mind, as tears rolled down his face. He knew that he and his mom were lost.

Suddenly, the SUV began to rise up in the air, completely on its own!

“What… What’s happening?” the lady yelled.

The SUV seemed to levitate as if by magic in mid air, flying over the broken section of the bridge.

“Mom! The wind has got us! We’re gonna die!” the boy screamed.

Jamie flew the SUV to the far end of the bridge and gently set it down on the road. Just as Jamie set the vehicle down, the bridge collapsed behind him, tumbling into the roiling tempest with a thunderous crash. Steel and concrete whined as the entire structure tumbled into the raging waters. The hurricane had completely wiped out the bridge without leaving a visible trace; road spans, support columns; everything!

After Jamie had set the SUV down, he flew over to the driver’s side of the car. He opened the door, to see if everyone was alright.

“Is everybody okay?” the curious boy asked the lady and the boy, who was sitting next to her.

“Yes… We… We’re alright…” the lady stuttered. “But… Who… Who are you?”

“I… uhh…” Jamie pondered. He wasn’t wearing his blue suit. What should he say?

“I’m Superboy… I’m just not wearing my suit right now. I just wanted to be sure everybody was alright…”

“Thank you, Superboy…” the lady said to him.

“You’re Superboy?” the boy exclaimed out of surprise. “Wow!”

“Yeah… That’s me! I saw you stuck on the bridge! Now don’t worry, you’re both gonna be just fine. I’m gonna fly you up north out of the storm. I’ll set you down in a safe place. Just make sure you both buckle up.”

“Yes! Thank you! Thank you very, very much!”

Jamie hefted the SUV onto his back and lifted off heading north. He flew well clear of the storm, making his way to just south of Coral Gables. He set the SUV down just outside of town on an empty stretch of US Highway 1. The weather was still nasty, even this far north, but far from dangerous. He check on the lady and her son one more time and after the lady assured him they were both OK and thanking him one more time, he lifted off and headed back to the Florida panhandle.

To be continued


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