Chapter 8
Friday morning dawned beautiful and sunny.
If the television in the common room hadn’t been constantly set to the weather channel, no one would have known the hurricane was coming.
“Radar doesn’t lie,” Cal said, slouched on a couch along with a few other kids.
Jill and Meg sat on the other sofa. Abby and Sara weren’t around.
“Why couldn’t it have gone farther into the ocean?” Jill said. “The way this thing is heading, the Carolina coast is going to be right in the middle of it.”
“I hate to admit that I’m glad,” Meg said.
Everyone turned to stare at her.
“I mean, I’m totally horrible at surfing. I need all the practice time I can get before the competition,” Meg said quietly.
“You just need confidence,” Jill said. “And courage. In fact, come on. Let’s go build up some confidence and courage and watch the storm come in.”
The girls jumped up from the couch and walked outside. Although the sun was out, Jill could feel the change in the air as the hurricane came closer.
The wind had picked up a bit, blowing her hair around her face. And the air felt heavy, pushed down by the pressure from the storm.
* * *
By that afternoon, the hurricane was almost upon them.
“Look at the size of those waves!” Wes said as they stood on the beach.
Only a few hours before, the ocean had been fairly calm. It hadn’t even been windy.
Now, Jill watched the water rise, like the claws of a bear or a dragon, then thunder down onto the beach. As soon as one wave broke, another wave rose up behind it.
It was awesome. But it was also terrifying at the same time.
Jill stood between Wes and Meg. She looked up and down the beach. Red flags dotted the sand, warning everyone to stay out of the ocean.
Not that we need a red flag to tell us that, Jill thought. The huge waves were warning enough.
“Now, this is an ocean you should be afraid of,” she said, turning to Meg.
“It’s wild, isn’t it?” Meg said. She took a deep breath. “It feels wonderful!” she said.
“Wonderful? It doesn’t seem wonderful to me,” Wes said. “Powerful, maybe. But not wonderful.”
“It’s so alive!” Meg said.
Jill couldn’t believe it. “You’re afraid of sitting on a surfboard in a calm ocean, but this doesn’t scare you?” she asked.
Meg laughed. “Well, sure, it’s scary, but I’m not going in it, am I? It’s just so cool to watch!” she explained.
Jill shook her head, smiling. Meg did have a point. There was something incredible about the wind and the sound of the waves and the splattering of rain that was starting.
Meg grinned. Jill grinned back, but then Meg’s smile turned to a frown. Jill turned to see what Meg was looking at.
A boy was running down the beach.
Jill recognized Cal’s blue swim trunks, even though he was still too far away to see his face clearly. Something about the way he was running and waving his arms made her stomach drop.
Something was wrong.
Jill began sprinting toward him. Meg followed her. When he saw Jill and Meg start running, Wes followed them.
“What is it?” Jill asked when she got close to Cal. “What happened?”
“It’s Abby and Sara,” Cal said, panting.
“What do you mean?” Meg asked.
“You’ve got to come help,” Cal said. He took a huge breath. “They’re in the ocean, and we can’t get them to come out!”