Free Mango Lucky by Bill Myers

floor space inside.
     
    With the slide completely out, Anna came to the front and said, "Now that we're both awake and already a little wet, let's go somewhere."
     
    I turned to her, "Are you crazy? You want to go out in this storm?"
     
    She nodded, "Yep, we can take the Land Cruiser. It's got four wheel drive, and we won't have any problem getting around.
     
    "We can go out and do a little reconnaissance. Check out the condition of the beaches and roads.
     
    "And it's not like we've got anything else to do. How about it?"
     
    I really didn't want to go back out into the storm. I'd had my fill of it yesterday. But I didn't want Anna going out without me.
     
    "Are you sure you want to go out in the storm? They said to stay off the roads."
     
    Anna pulled on her rain coat, "I'm going to go check things out. Are you coming?"
     
    Reluctantly, I said, "Yes."
     
    And that was a mistake.
     

32
     
    "Get your raincoat," Anna said. "You're going to need it."
     
    We were heading out into the storm. I wasn't sure that was such a good idea. I'd rather heed the warnings being repeated every few minutes on local TV. Stay indoors, stay off the roads, don't go out except in emergencies.
     
    But Anna was determined to go, and I wasn't going to let her go alone. So I opened the hatch where I'd stored her gym bag and handed it down to her. Then I pulled on my raincoat, and headed out the door behind her.
     
    The rain was still coming down hard, and the high winds had littered the road with leaves, palm fronds and other assorted debris.
     
    "Are you sure you want to do this?" I asked.
     
    Anna smiled. "It'll be fun. And if it starts to look dangerous, we'll come back."
     
    "It already looks dangerous to me," I muttered.
     
    Anna either didn't hear me or chose to ignore my comment. Leaving the safety of the Love Bus behind us, Anna put her Land Cruiser into gear, and we headed out.
     
    Getting through the campground was easy. The heavy Land Cruiser with full time four wheel drive and high ground clearance had no problem driving over the downed debris.
     
    Reaching the main gate, a sign had been posted indicating the park was closed. The sign probably wasn't necessary since all the bridges to the island were closed and no new campers would be able to reach the campground.
     
    Leaving the park behind, Anna pulled out onto A1A, the two lane road that runs along the edge of the beach for the full length of Hutchinson Island. We headed south.
     
    A1A, like the road in the campground, was carpeted with palm fronds, leaves and branches blown down by the storm.
     
    Anna drove slowly, dodging the larger piles of debris, her wipers running full speed trying to stay ahead of the pouring rain.
     
    We had gone about three miles when Anna slowed and then stopped.
     
    Up ahead, the road was no longer visible. Instead of pavement, all we could see was water.
     
    Anna pointed to the water, "This is the narrowest part of the island. Only about 500 feet wide.
     
    "The Atlantic is on one side, the Indian River on the other. And judging by the water on the road, it looks like the Indian River has come up out of its banks.
     
    "That's not good. If it rises up high enough to wash out the dunes, it could cut a new channel to the Atlantic, and that would be real bad.
     
    "It would mean this part of the island would be completely cut off from the mainland until a new bridge was built. That could take years."
     
    Looking into the rear view mirror, she said, "We need to turn around. I'm not going to try to drive through that."
     
    As Anna shifted into reverse, I shouted "Stop!"
     
    She slammed on the brakes. "What!"
     
    I pointed, "Look over there. That car on the side of the road."
     
    Anna looked where I was pointing, and she saw what I saw. A small car sitting on the beach side of the road, water up to its door sills.
     
    She nodded, "Looks like someone pulled off the road and got stuck in the sand. When the water recedes, they'll get a