breeze quickly dropped away forcing
the glider to slowly come back to the earth.
Wade expertly navigated the glider parallel
to the water’s edge. He waited for a clear stretch of flat sand
before slowly dipping the nose.
Anneli felt slightly disappointed their
flight ended so abruptly. She’d certainly treasure the journey in
her heart till the day she died.
Wade brought the hang-glider in for a
graceful smooth landing. They came to a stop thirty feet from
Charlotte.
CHAPTER TEN
ANNELI’S STEPFATHER cautiously crept out from
under a food preparation bench. He’d successfully argued they
should take refuge in the kitchen, not the dining room.
Thirty of the group strongly disagreed.
Several strangers who appeared to be on
Darryl’s side were ushered by the hotel staff into the kitchen. If
nothing else the fighting will be over.
At the height of the storm the morning chef
ran for the knives, throwing them into the dishwashers for
safety.
In his haste he’d missed seeing the steak
knife. When the window shattered the wind picked it up, tossing it
through the air. The sharp point embedded into one of the patron’s
forearms. The elderly man crumbled to the floor clutching his arm.
A brave young lady reached out pulling the knife from his flesh,
jamming it into a cupboard door. Seconds later the hotel’s roof was
torn away. In one devastating attack the wind picked up the
building and dropped it. Every window in the place blew out. A
small fire erupted from a severed gas pipe under the kitchen bench.
The chef ran to the gas metre, turning it off. He dived for a fire
extinguisher to douse the flames.
At the conclusion of the first half of the
cyclone the small group ventured outside to view the damage. Three
sides of the hotel were cracked from top to bottom. The fourth wall
facing north looked ready to collapse.
Meredith’s voice sounded no louder than a
mere gargle. “The dining room has only one remaining wall.”
Darryl hid her eyes from the massacre. He
turned, herding his daughter back inside the kitchen.
The eye of the storm gave the survivors only
a few minutes to check on how secure their new hiding place might
hold up before the wind restarted.
It gave no warning when it returned to finish
off what it began. It seemed hell bent on showing off its power by
destroying whatever still remained standing by devouring everything
in its path.
One minute Darryl stood staring out of the
glass free window in the kitchen, the next second, he was being
sucked out of the window, feet first.
“Help, can any of you grab hold of me. Dirk,
anyone, I need help.”
Darryl looked up at the cellar door. The gap
between his hand and the handle couldn’t be any more than a few
inches. He loosened his grip to get ready to reach for the handle.
Instantly he started to be sucked backwards, his feet slipping
through the open window.
“Hey, anyone in the cellar, I’m almost at the
limit of my strength. I’ll be sucked outside if nobody comes to my
rescue.” Closing his eyes from the wind, he gritted his teeth.
Concentrating his entire strength Darryl
managed to pull one foot through the window. Again he stretched out
his hand towards the handle of the cellar door. Two strong hands
grabbed Darryl by the wrists, pulling him to safety. He heard the
door being slammed shut then locked from the inside.
“Thanks for saving me,” puffed Darryl between
breaths. “I thought I was a goner.”
The chef slapped him on the shoulder. “Not
problem. In my youth I had been wrestle champ of college.”
The man’s broken English helped Darryl to
relax. He shook the man’s hand to cement the fact he felt grateful
for being saved.
For the next twenty minutes the group sat in
the dark listening to the wind.
Eventually the wind fell silent.
The chef unlocked the door to allowing the
group to follow him out into the warming sunshine. “The cyclone has
gone,” he announced.
The sun slowly seeped out
the glider to slowly come back to the earth.
Wade expertly navigated the glider parallel
to the water’s edge. He waited for a clear stretch of flat sand
before slowly dipping the nose.
Anneli felt slightly disappointed their
flight ended so abruptly. She’d certainly treasure the journey in
her heart till the day she died.
Wade brought the hang-glider in for a
graceful smooth landing. They came to a stop thirty feet from
Charlotte.
CHAPTER TEN
ANNELI’S STEPFATHER cautiously crept out from
under a food preparation bench. He’d successfully argued they
should take refuge in the kitchen, not the dining room.
Thirty of the group strongly disagreed.
Several strangers who appeared to be on
Darryl’s side were ushered by the hotel staff into the kitchen. If
nothing else the fighting will be over.
At the height of the storm the morning chef
ran for the knives, throwing them into the dishwashers for
safety.
In his haste he’d missed seeing the steak
knife. When the window shattered the wind picked it up, tossing it
through the air. The sharp point embedded into one of the patron’s
forearms. The elderly man crumbled to the floor clutching his arm.
A brave young lady reached out pulling the knife from his flesh,
jamming it into a cupboard door. Seconds later the hotel’s roof was
torn away. In one devastating attack the wind picked up the
building and dropped it. Every window in the place blew out. A
small fire erupted from a severed gas pipe under the kitchen bench.
The chef ran to the gas metre, turning it off. He dived for a fire
extinguisher to douse the flames.
At the conclusion of the first half of the
cyclone the small group ventured outside to view the damage. Three
sides of the hotel were cracked from top to bottom. The fourth wall
facing north looked ready to collapse.
Meredith’s voice sounded no louder than a
mere gargle. “The dining room has only one remaining wall.”
Darryl hid her eyes from the massacre. He
turned, herding his daughter back inside the kitchen.
The eye of the storm gave the survivors only
a few minutes to check on how secure their new hiding place might
hold up before the wind restarted.
It gave no warning when it returned to finish
off what it began. It seemed hell bent on showing off its power by
destroying whatever still remained standing by devouring everything
in its path.
One minute Darryl stood staring out of the
glass free window in the kitchen, the next second, he was being
sucked out of the window, feet first.
“Help, can any of you grab hold of me. Dirk,
anyone, I need help.”
Darryl looked up at the cellar door. The gap
between his hand and the handle couldn’t be any more than a few
inches. He loosened his grip to get ready to reach for the handle.
Instantly he started to be sucked backwards, his feet slipping
through the open window.
“Hey, anyone in the cellar, I’m almost at the
limit of my strength. I’ll be sucked outside if nobody comes to my
rescue.” Closing his eyes from the wind, he gritted his teeth.
Concentrating his entire strength Darryl
managed to pull one foot through the window. Again he stretched out
his hand towards the handle of the cellar door. Two strong hands
grabbed Darryl by the wrists, pulling him to safety. He heard the
door being slammed shut then locked from the inside.
“Thanks for saving me,” puffed Darryl between
breaths. “I thought I was a goner.”
The chef slapped him on the shoulder. “Not
problem. In my youth I had been wrestle champ of college.”
The man’s broken English helped Darryl to
relax. He shook the man’s hand to cement the fact he felt grateful
for being saved.
For the next twenty minutes the group sat in
the dark listening to the wind.
Eventually the wind fell silent.
The chef unlocked the door to allowing the
group to follow him out into the warming sunshine. “The cyclone has
gone,” he announced.
The sun slowly seeped out
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