"And Then They Came..." (Epilogue, Chapter II)
Chapter II “How is Francisco doing?” President Powell asked Governor Pietrantoni. It was 7:00 in the morning, and they were having breakfast in La Fortaleza’s dining room. The prior day had been a busy one, as both men had visited several of the worst areas affected by Hurricane Fay. “I spoke with Nereida last night. She told me that he’s having a tough time with the virus, but that he’s stable, and that the doctors are very hopeful that he’ll pull through.” “Thank God,” the
"And Then They Came..." Epilogue (Chapter I)
EPILOGUE Chapter I Hurricane Fay knocked out the power for the entire island of Puerto Rico. Surprisingly, only seven people died as a direct cause of the storm, mostly persons who were caught by Fay’s surge, were swept away by the island’s engorged rivers, or were electrocuted trying to set up their own power generators. Whole towns, linked to the rest of the island only by two-lane bridges that were destroyed by the hurricane’s torrential deluge, had to be reconnected, some
"And Then They Came..." (Chapter LXXIX)
Chapter LXXIX Michael sighed. They had moved the still unconscious Lucas to a private room, his stretcher followed by the exuberant chatter of Jeannie, Michelle, and Archie. But he had stayed behind, waiting for news of Ojeda. The noise of Fay had gradually abated, to such an extent that after two hours of waiting, Michael had walked to the entrance of the emergency ward, and taken a peek outside through a small crack left open between two metal storm shutters. There had been
"And Then They Came..." (Chapter LXXVIII)
Chapter LXXVIII The doctor entered his private office and greeted his female visitor with courteous reserve. Dr. Moses Schoenfeld looked every part as the head of his hospital department. Nearing seventy years old, with a pointed, grayish goatee, abundant, similarly colored, wavy hair, and speaking English with a marked, foreign accent, he personified Hollywood’s idealized image—or caricature—of a German World War II scientist. Which he was not. Dr.Schoenfeld was an epidemiol
"And Then They Came..." (Chapter LXXVII)
CHAPTER LXXVII Jeannie was brought out of the emergency treatment area some forty-five minutes after the nurse attending her took her there. The large bruise on her left shoulder had been dressed, as well as a small cut on her left cheek. Like the medic in the truck had initially determined, she had suffered no dislocated or broken bones, even though she had received a nasty contusion that—by the time she was examined—had mostly turned purple and black, and covered most of he
"And Then They Came..." (Chapter LXXVI)
Chapter LXXVI The enormous National Guard LSVR truck, an eight-wheeler weighing more than twenty tons, was partially engulfed by the raging stream, some of the water flooding into its back platform. But after Jeannie, Michael, and Ojeda were pulled into the vehicle, the truck roared to life and backed out of the current. It stopped briefly to pick up Lucas, and then headed at full speed towards the hospital. The man Michael had previously seen from the overturned minivan, had
"And Then They Came..." (Chapter LXXV)
CHAPTER LXXV Michael desperately searched for Jeannie, but he could only see the dark water rising, now up to about two thirds of the inside of the overturned van. Then she burst into the surface, holding awkwardly by the collar in each of her hands one of the wounded men. For a moment, she stumbled, fighting to get a foothold under her and keep the two men afloat. Then she seemed to gain her balance, and looked up through the passenger window at Michael, nearly invisible in
"And Then They Came..." (Chapter LXXIV)
Chapter LXXIV Michael stopped in the middle of the intersection and, opening his door, stood on the minivan’s bottom frame to see further down the road. He could not make out any other cars moving anywhere. One of the two traffic lights that had hovered over the junction between the San Patricio and Central avenues had fallen and lay on its side on the pavement, a few feet away from the minivan. The second still hung from a partially dangling wire, gently swinging slightly le
