Storm Rescue (7 page)

“You've got to be kidding,” David says. “How are we supposed to do that? Build an ark?”

I frown. “This is no time for jokes. Come on, we need a plan.”

Maggie shoots a worried glance down the street. “I don't know, Sunita,” she says. “I mean, I want to help Lucy, too. But—”

“No buts,” I interrupt firmly. “Lucy needs us. We're the only ones who can help her. We've got to do it.”

Just then another big gust of wind sweeps by, blowing away any words my friends might have tried to say. We all hold on to our hoods as Stormy lets out a brief howl.

“Whew!” David says when he can speak again. “Felix doesn't know when to let up.”

“Yeah,” Brenna says. “For a minute there, Stormy sounded like Sherlock.”

Maggie nods. “I'm glad Sherlock is safe and sound at home,” she says. “Or I would be . . . ” Her voice trails off, and she looks at me. “Oh,” she says. “You know, Sunita, you're right. If it was one of our pets in trouble, we'd do everything we could to help. Why should it be any different for Lucy? Gran never turns her back on an animal in trouble.”

“Yeah,” Brenna agrees slowly, glancing down the block toward Mrs. Clark's house. “And neither can we.”

“Okay, I guess I'm in, too,” David says with a shrug. I wonder if he's thinking about that terrified horse. “So what's our plan?”

I smile with relief. I couldn't have tried this alone. Daddy always says there's safety in numbers. “I guess we should go closer and see how it looks. Maybe we'll think of something then.”

“I'll take Stormy back to the clinic,” Brenna speaks up. “He'll just be in the way.”

I'm glad she volunteered. I don't think I could stand to go back to the clinic without knowing whether Lucy was safe.

Brenna tugs on Stormy's leash. The big dog's tail is still between his legs, but he's not whining anymore. In fact, he looks a little braver now that he's away from his kennel and the standing water.

“Good luck,” Brenna says. “I'll tell Dr. Mac what's going on if she's back. Maybe she can send help.” With a quick wave, she hurries off toward the clinic, chattering cheerfully to Stormy as she goes.

“Now what?” Maggie asks, glancing at me.

I realize that she and David are counting on me to come up with a plan. I stare at the flooded street, trying to figure out what to do now. How do we get to Mrs. Clark's house? The road slopes down so steeply that most of it is totally underwater. The lower half of the block where Mrs. Clark's house is looks like the street on Oakwood that we saw on TV—just roofs.

“The river and the creeks must have overflowed their banks and mixed with the rain,” Maggie says. “This street is probably the lowest point in town.”

David shakes his head. “That area over by the park is lower than this.”

“Maybe,” Maggie agrees. “I forgot about that.”

I can't believe they're standing around debating where the flooding is worse. The only important thing is what we're going to do about it. “You guys—Lucy!” I remind them. “We have to rescue her!”

Maggie glances at the half-submerged houses. “Um, okay,” she says slowly. “But I'm still not sure how. Mrs. Clark's house is probably in seven to eight feet of water.”

“Can we swim over?” David suggests.

I gulp. I can feel my face start to turn red.

Before I can speak, Maggie shakes her head. “It's not safe,” she says. “It's pretty far—and there's no telling what kind of stuff is in the water. You could swim right into a mailbox without even knowing it's there.”

I can't help feeling relieved. “Maybe if we go around the back . . . ” I begin.

“Uh-uh.” David shakes his head. “I've been back there behind those houses. There's sort of a canyon—it'll be even deeper back there.”

I bite my lip. We have to act fast. It's pouring again, and the waters are rising quickly. If we don't rescue Lucy soon, the whole house will be underwater. There's no way she can save herself. “There has to be a way,” I say, feeling a little desperate.

Maggie sighs, staring out across the water. “Maybe we should go back to the clinic,” she suggests uncertainly. “Gran or Dr. Gabe must be back by now. They'll know what to do to help Lucy.”

“Sounds good to me,” David agrees. “There's no sense hanging around here any longer. Because the only way we could possibly reach Lucy now is in a—”

“Canoe!” I shout.

“That's it! The Jermaines have a canoe in their yard,” David adds.

“What are we waiting for?” Maggie yells.

“Now you two will be able to prove who's a better canoer,” I say, running back up the hill toward the Jermaines' house.

The canoe is right where I remember. It's a lot heavier than it looks, though.

“Maybe we should dump out these life jackets,” David says.

“No!” I say a little too quickly. Maggie and David blink at me in surprise. “Um, I mean, let's put them on. Better safe than sorry.”

The others shrug and do as I suggest. I strap my vest on carefully. It makes me feel braver—a little bit, at least.

We turn the canoe upside down and rest the yoke on our shoulders. We can move it only a few feet at a time, even with all three of us carrying it. Soon my shoulder muscles are aching, and my hands are numb from gripping the edge of the canoe. The half block to the water's edge seems more like a mile.

Finally the water starts splashing over our shoes. We lower the canoe to the ground and shove it through the shallow part of the floodwaters until it starts to float. David grabs the line tied to the front end and holds it steady as Maggie clambers aboard.

I still can't stop worrying about Lucy. I hope she's not trying to escape. With her broken leg, she won't be able to swim very far. Besides that, she needs her insulin injections to control her diabetes.

“Go ahead, Sunita,” David says. “I'll hold it while you get in.”

I look at the canoe. It bobs in the little waves the wind is making in the water. Then I stare down at the muddy water, feeling queasy and scared. “Um, maybe one of us should stay here,” I say. “That way I can run for help if you guys get into any trouble.”

David blinks at me in surprise. “What?” he says. “But the canoe's plenty big enough for three people.”

“Yeah, but you guys are the great canoers, remember?” I add. “Now go ahead! Lucy's waiting for you.”

“Okay, okay,” David says, splashing out and vaulting into the canoe. He picks up the second paddle, and soon he and Maggie have the long, slim boat moving away from me.

I collapse against a blue mailbox on the wet sidewalk, watching them go. They're shouting to each other—I can hear them over the water. But the words don't really sink in. I picture Lucy alone in her house, scared and confused.

The rain is coming down so hard now that I lose sight of the canoe after just a few minutes. I can barely make out the outline of Mrs. Clark's house. I peer toward it, wondering what's happening.

 
 
After what seems to be the longest fifteen minutes of my life, I finally make out the shape of the canoe returning. Crossing my fingers, I wait for it to get closer.

“Did you get her?” I call when Maggie and David are finally in shouting range.

They don't answer. They're paddling hard, and I can see that their expressions are grim. And I don't see a blue-eyed Siamese anywhere.

My heart drops like a stone.

Chapter Ten

I
don't even realize that I've waded out into the flooded area until I feel the water lapping at my knees. I grab the rope David tosses to me and help pull the canoe up into the shallow water. “What happened?” I ask, my heart in my throat.

“We saw her,” Maggie says breathlessly, wiping water out of her eyes. She's soaked! “Lucy was sitting by the attic window meowing her head off. But we couldn't get close enough to it in the boat—there are these big trees in the way.”

David nods. “Maggie swam over to the window and tried to get her,” he adds. “But Lucy ran away and hid when Maggie opened the window and tried to grab her.”

“I climbed into the attic through the window,” Maggie says. “But I couldn't find her. And she wouldn't come when I called.”

“Oh, no,” I whisper. “Now what are we going to do?”

There's only one answer. I gulp as I realize it.

“We have to try again,” I say, trying to sound brave enough though my knees are shaking and my guts are quivering. “This time I'll come along. Lucy knows me—I'm sure I can coax her out if anyone can.”

Maggie nods and exchanges a glance with David. “That's what we thought, too.”

They don't say it, but I can tell they're wishing I'd just come along in the first place. I can't explain to them why I couldn't—I don't want to admit the truth. What would they think if they knew? I'm just glad they're willing to go out and try again, even though they're probably even colder and wetter and more exhausted than I am.

Taking a deep breath, I wade over to the canoe and climb in. David and Maggie push the boat out with their paddles, and I hold my breath as it starts to float. I've been on boats before, but this is different. It's a lot smaller, for one thing. The water looks awfully close—especially since an inch or so of water is sloshing around in the bottom of the canoe. I'm not sure if it's from the rain that's still falling steadily or from water splashing over the sides. Either way, I'm glad I'm still wearing my bright orange life vest.

“Let's go,” Maggie says, digging in deeply with her paddle.

I sit as still as possible in the center seat of the rocking and swaying canoe, trying to stay out of the way as my friends paddle. The water slides by as the canoe cuts forward, heading deeper and deeper into the flood zone. Is this a big mistake? I wince as a large floating branch bounces off the side of the canoe with a clunk. My whole body feels numb, and I want to shout for my friends to turn back. I'm not sure I can do this after all.

But I bite my tongue. I have to try, for Lucy's sake. By the time other help arrives, it could be too late. I would never forgive myself if something happened to Lucy because I was too scared to try to save her.

I stare grimly ahead as my friends paddle, clutching the sides of the boat and trying not to look down at the water swirling all around us. How deep is it? I don't even want to know.

David begins to whistle quietly. Maggie joins in. Soon I join in, too. It helps take my mind off Lucy.

Mrs. Clark's house looms closer ahead. I can hardly believe how different it looks now compared to early this morning. It's amazing and scary that the water could rise so fast. Now those statistics I read about on the Internet are making a lot more sense.

“Mrrwowrr!”

The familiar cry comes during a brief lull in the wind. “Lucy!” I exclaim, momentarily forgetting everything else, even my own fear. I squint into the rain and spot a flash of movement at the small window just beneath the peak of the roof. “I see her! She's in the attic window!”

“Yeah,” Maggie says. “That's where we saw her before.”

Another loud Siamese meow reaches our ears before the sounds of Hurricane Felix swallow it. David and Maggie are paddling faster now. “Almost there,” David pants. “Last time we pulled right up to that big branch and tied the boat there while Maggie swam.”

I look ahead. A tree emerges from the water, stretching taller than the houses around it. I never really noticed the tree before—usually its spreading branches are way over my head, shading Mrs. Clark's front yard and the roof of her house. But now that we're eight feet higher than usual, thanks to the flood, I see that several large branches stretch out in every direction, blocking our path to the front of the house.

“Are you sure we can't get the canoe through there?” I scan the water between us and the house, praying for an opening to appear.

David shakes his head. “Believe me, we tried.” He sticks his paddle in the water, steering us a little closer to the largest branch, which is about fifteen feet from the attic window. “And we can't go around to the other side of the house. There are more trees in the backyard, so we'll have the same problem.”

“But don't worry. This branch isn't that far from the house, see?” Maggie says, reaching over the side of the canoe and grabbing the large, sturdy branch, helping David pull us alongside. “All you have to do is climb out onto the branch and jump into the water on the other side.”

I feel my whole body go numb again. Now what? I can't keep my secret from them any longer.

“Well, there's just one problem.” I gulp, not daring to meet their eyes. “I—I can't swim.”

Chapter Eleven

W
hat?” Maggie stares at me in disbelief.

David blinks. “Wait a minute,” he says, shaking his head. “You can't swim? Since when?”

“Since always.” I can tell my face is bright red, but I continue. “I've always been afraid of the water. I dropped out of beginner swimming lessons at the YMCA.”

“Wow,” Maggie says. “Now what are we going to do?”

David chews on his lower lip. “I could swim over,” he offers. “Maybe—”

“Forget it,” Maggie cuts him off. “If Lucy wouldn't come to me, she won't come to you, either. This is hopeless. We should get help. Gran will know what to do.”

Glancing at the house, I almost agree with her. It would be so much easier to give up and wait for help. Brenna is probably on her way back with reinforcements right now.