Five minutes.One song.One chance to make their names.
They squeezed one another’s hands as they waited in the wings.
The band from Arizona finished their song to massive acclaim.
Hinton Rhodes, emcee for the show, took center stage in a silver paillette suit.“Folks, remember to vote and vote hard.This is the last chance for your favorites to get their due and win.Next up, Ellery and the Vendetta from Wisconsin!”
Abe, their new bassist, appeared beside them, and together, they stepped onstage.
CHAPTER26
From live news coverage of Hurricane Timothy
Sc.Woman in windbreaker, wind whipping too fast to hear.It’s impossible to see the background, as mist and rain cloud everything.
Meteorologist Joan Jackson: *Unintelligible*…too fast, waves so high they…*unintelligible*…saw car fly into a pool…
Sc.An uprooted palm tree whips toward the camera.Woman gestures to cameraman with slicing motion across her throat, and both are now running.
Meteorologist Joan Jackson: (screaming into camera to be heard over the wind) We have to get out of here!
Excerpt,ABC News Tallahassee
…Hurricane Timothy madelandfall last night over the small Florida island of Hermosa Key as a category five.It’s unusual, this late in the season, for a storm to be so strong.Hermosa Key is completely isolated from the mainland, as it is primarily only accessible by boat or sea plane, neither of which can reach survivors at this time.All we can do is hope and pray…
Excerpt,NewsNightinterview with Hermosa Key resident
“…Idon’t know.I heard it was coming, and it was supposed to go way north of Hermosa.I was going to visit my brother up in Atlanta anyway, so I took an early flight out.He’s got MS, you know; he needs help and I figured it was as good a time as any.I didn’t—I didn’t know everything would be gone…”
Transcript,Florida Key Rescue Services, one day after Hurricane Timothy made landfall
Dispatch:Report on your location.
Squad 423: Approaching Hermosa Key now via Bahia Sud.The dock is completely gone.We’ll have to pull up on shore.Fuck me, it’s like it’s been through a woodchipper.
Squad 423: What’s that in the water?Jesus Christ, that’s the biggest fucking gator I’ve ever seen.We’ll pull around.
Dispatch: Keep commentary PG.Report on situation.
Squad 423:Just pulled the boat onto the sand.There’s… there’s…
Dispatch:Squad leader?You’re cutting out.
Squad 423: There’s nothing.Most of the buildings on the beach are completely flattened.Let’s fan out, use the sonar to check underneath for survivors.
Dispatch:Next squad arriving in ten with dogs.
Squad 423: Half the town is still underwater.Watch out for gators, guys.They’ll lurk in spots like this.We’ll set up a station and see if we can find any survivors.
Squad 423: I don’t know how anyone survives this.
“America Sings!Runner-up Elvie’s Family Missing,”Buzzworthy Entertainment News
…After extensive searchingover the last three days, rescue teams have still not located the bodies of the Vaughn family, related to Elvie of Ellery and the Vendetta.Elvie is notable as the runner-up to Arizona’s incomparable Fire Mountain on the latest season ofAmerica Sings!
The three members of the Vaughn family are presumed victims of the mass destruction caused by Hurricane Timothy, which practically annihilated the tiny island of Hermosa Key.
Elvie has yet to comment.Her agent Logan Groff has released the following statement: “Our hearts and prayers are with her and her family during this difficult time.”
