Chapter Six ~ Adrianna
Adrianna was looking forward to her vacation. She had decided to go to see her Grandparents in Florida. Her plane was scheduled for the next afternoon, so she was packing her suitcase. She still needed to find a few things. Some things were in the dryer, and as soon as they finished she was planning to run to the mall to pick up a gift for her grandmother, whose birthday would be in a week. The mall was not her favorite place, but this was for a good reason. She really missed her family and was looking forward to this trip.
The mall was just as she remembered. Lots of kids wandering around, cell phones attached to their ears and chatting with their friends. She wandered through a couple stores but finally decided on something from the jewelry store. Adrianna knew her grandmother really liked necklaces.
After paying for her purchase, she headed back out of the store and to her car. When she arrived back home, she wrapped the present for her grandmother and packed the rest of her things for the trip. All she would need now were her things from the bathroom. Adrianna decided to watch a movie from her DVD’s and rest the rest of the day. She did not care much for flying, but it was better than spending days in a car driving down.
She had dinner with a friend, at a local pizza place. They had a nice time and when they parted they planned to have dinner with her friend after she returned. Back at home, she decided to get some sleep. Adrianna was not a night owl.
Her alarm went off, and Adrianna was up and moving. She always felt rushed, even though she knew that she had everything done. She kept looking at the clock. Four hours, three and a half hours, three hours, and then something happened, but she was not sure what. At about 10 am the ground shook. It felt like when they were blasting the bedrock to put in the wells for the new homes in the neighborhood. But the houses had been finished for a while. She wondered if another new neighborhood was being put in, but soon was checking the apartment to make sure that the windows were locked, and unneeded power cords were unplugged.
It wasn’t until a neighbor knocked on her door, did she think about when the ground shook. Madi from the apartment downstairs came up to find out of Adrianna had heard the news. Of course she had not. So Madi turned on Adrianna’s TV and they both stared at the screen for the next hour. The news was somewhat jumbled. No one knew exactly what had happened, as there was no one in the area to report. Scientists speculated. Government officials said that they had dispatched the military to check out the situation. Early reports were of something from space, crashing into the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of New York. More scientists reported on how they hadn’t seen anything, and more government officials promised to get to the bottom of the situation…after they tried to rescue people, of course.
It wasn’t until an hour later, that Adrianna thought of her flight. They had just reported that a gigantic tsunami wave had hit the east coast of the country…that is when she started to grasp the full meaning of the situation. Did her grandparents make it out of the way? Had they even known? She tried to phone, but she was not able to get through. The message kept saying, “all circuits are busy, please try your call later.” She then tried the airline, which she was pretty sure were cancelled, but she just needed to check. The airline told her that all flights were cancelled for the foreseeable future.
Michigan was pretty far away from everything, but Adrianna suddenly felt like she was in the middle of everything. Worried about her grandparents, she decided that she would head south in her car. She just had to know what had happened to them. Her neighbor tried to talk her out of it, but Madi understood how Adrianna felt. Madi’s family was from the area, so she was going to stay
Adrianne took her already packed suitcase, and started south. She had no idea what she would find and she was a little scared. She hoped that her grandparents had been able to find high ground, basically, that they had been able to get into a high building. But she also prepared herself for the worst.
She was able to drive into Kentucky, by the time that she had to pull over, and sleep. She just pulled over and slept in her car. It wasn’t comfortable, but she was totally worn out. She awoke pretty early the next morning and decided that she had better stock up on food. She didn’t know how long she would be able to find food or stores that she would be able to get food if she needed it. Then she started out again. She drove for more than half a day, when she started noticing cars streaming north. She was one of the few driving south. Adrianne hoped that this was not a bad sign. She drove into Georgia when her travels became much more difficult. Roads were underwater in some parts and piles of debris. Broken parts of houses, cars, trees were just some of the things that she could identify.
Her progress slowed and she was only able to get about 50 miles a day. After a week, she drove over the Florida line. In different areas she could see tall buildings still standing, which gave her hope. But in areas she found nothing. What people there were, looked dazed and lost. She found several large boards set up with pictures of those who were missing.
Within miles of where her grandparents lived, she really started to worry. Would she find her grandparents? Did their building survive? Did they get to higher ground? She finally made it to their resort home, a large building on the west coast of Florida. The wave had covered the whole peninsula, but the damage didn’t seem as bad as she had expected. The buildings lower floors had the windows blown out. but the building stood. She got out of her car and prayed silently. She entered the building. Some of the residence had cleared a path through the debris. A board was set up, those who were alive posted a note to let others know how they were and where they were. She found her grandmas picture, it said that her and grandpa were ok, and that their condo, on the 26th floor had not sustained any damage. They could be found there.
The power was out, so Adrianne headed for the stairs. She had to break several times on her assent. She was worn out when she arrived at the door for the 26th floor, but she was just happy to know that she would see her grandparents soon. She knocked on their door. Her grandmas voice from the other side of the door, asked who she was and what she wanted. Adrianne told her that she had come and that she was worried. Her grandmother opened the door. Shock registered on her face. She didn’t expect her granddaughter to come after all that had happened. Her grandmother wrapped her arms around Adrianna and started to sob.
Her grandparents were very happy to see her. They had not expected to ever see any their family again. Things in the building were becoming difficult. Food was running low and others were starting to break into other condos looking for food. Adrianne’s grandmother told her about their having to block the door with furniture, to make sure that they were not robbed in the night.
They spoke for hours, and within a short period of time, it was decided that Adrianne’s grandparents would go with her north. They figured that the best place for them to be was away from the destruction that now covered the area.
Adrianne’s grandparents packed what they needed and Adrianne had been able to find gasoline, which was difficult with the power being out. At the beginning of August they set out. Driving only about 40-50 miles a day, it took weeks to get out of the area ravaged by the waves. Her grandparents need to make frequent stops and they needed to eat regular meals, which slowed their driving considerable. They passed back into Georgia, but the driving was no better. Adrianne tried to remember where the waves had started, so she could tell her grandparents when they would be able to travel unhindered.
By the end of August, they left Georgia behind, and found themselves in Tennessee. One morning, Adrianne didn’t know which one through, they stopped for breakfast. After their meal they got back on the road. But they didn’t make it to far before, the ground began to shake. The highway buckled the road, and Adrianne’s car was damaged. No longer able to drive, they set off to find a place to stay for the time being, and for Adrianne to find a car. The hotel wasn’t a four star, but it was ok for what they needed, the car however, was a much bigger problem. No one wanted to give her a car, as she was planning on driving north.
They spent 2 days trying to find a way to get north, before the ground shook. Adrianna and her grandparents had just finished eating a simple breakfast in their hotel room when they felt the ground shake. As it started, Adrianna knew that they needed to get out of their room. She guided her grandparents to the door, by holding onto the furniture. The room rocked. Adrianna was not sure if she would make it out, but once they were out the door, they fell to the ground, grateful that they had made it.
After the shaking stopped, Adrianna helped her grandparents to their feet and checked on their room. Part of the ceiling had fallen in, but she was able to get their things out. Now without a car or place to stay, they felt lost. A group was going around town; they wanted to hold a town meeting, to figure out what they were going to do. The meeting was to be held on the town green, as the Town Hall, made of un-reinforced masonry, had sustained serious damage and was not safe.
The meeting gathered and there were about 100 people. Everyone seemed dazed and no one knew just where to go or what to do. Tears were shed, shoulders comforted, and most important, ideas of what to do, where shared. The idea that got the most attention was one that proposed that the group would go to a cave system nearby. They decided that they would give everyone 2 days to collect what they could from their homes and they would start off from the town green. Adrianne and her grandparents were invited to stay with a family, whose house had managed to survive the earthquake.
The next morning the town awoke to a flurry of ash. There was a dusting on the ground and they ash was adding up quickly. Soon, it was difficult to see. A couple teens, children of those at the meeting, ran to every home to update everyone on a change…the group would leave that afternoon. Soon, people were walking into the center of town and as soon as the group was ready, they started the walk to the cave. At first it was not difficult, but the ash started falling faster and heavier. The younger members of the group, naturally took the lead while those who were older, fell behind. This did help the older members as they didn’t have to forge a path through the ash. The first night fell, but with no where to stay, they decided to walk on. Following what used to be drivable roads, they walked with the aid of flashlights. The ash didn’t allow for the beam to go far but they could see enough to keep walking.
They reached to cave by about noon the next day. Everyone was very happy to get out of the ash, and get the ash off of them. They went into the cavern, and were able to start a main fire with some wood that they were able to scrounge out of the woods. Then little fires were started by family groups. Adrianna was one of those who decided to get her own fire going. She tried to make her grandparents comfortable, but they didn’t have a whole lot. Food was served at the main fire, and many gathered there for support.
The next few days, saw many more people arriving. Sometimes they arrived in large groups, some one by one. Before long there were over 400 people in the cave. It was getting crowded, but everyone was happy to share what they had. There was little trouble, as everyone was in the same boat, and everyone seemed to know that they didn’t have much of a choice, unless they wanted to go back out into the ash.
Then one day, several of the older people started feeling unwell. Adrianna’s grandparents were part of that group. Most thought is was the cold and damp from the cave, and that the elderly were not adapting well. The ill were cared for by their families. But soon others were feeling sick. It was decided to put those who were not well, more inside the cave. There was a cavern, which was smaller, and easier to heat, that made a good place for an infirmary. Adrianne’s grandparents passed away within days of each other. Adrianne wondered if there was anything that she could have done. She felt horrible. She had brought them so far and they had not made it. She blamed herself.
For weeks and months afterward she would often cry herself to sleep. She would watch other families and feel like so much of an outsider. Adrianne wished that she had died with her grandparents; She went to sleep each night, hoping that it would be her last
