Townspeople drifted in and out for medical help, water, advice and to exchange news of the progress of the storm. Dominic helped as needed, glad to be doing something useful, glad to have Elena and Miguel under the same roof with him, glad in spite of everything that he had come to Copan Ruinas.
The storm worsened, and people stopped coming. Dominic shut the front door because rain kept blowing into the clinic. Corazón had gone home to be with her family. The cell phone still worked, and they were in touch with the police department. Connie told them not to leave the building. She had grounded all motor vehicles. No one was to be on the streets. It was too dangerous.
By night time, the wind was so ferocious the entire building shook. Water leaked under the doors and windows, and rain blew sideways. They stopped the generator to conserve fuel and lit candles.
Elena sat down to rest on one of the cots Dominic had set up in the main room. She listened to the storm. The banging and crashing outside set her nerves on edge and made her jump more than once. Fury was the word that came to mind. A fury had been unleashed outside, and she peered up at the ceiling, wondering if the roof would hold, wondering how her mother was fairing at the hotel. Knowing her mother, she was probably involved in a hurricane party. She thought of doña Carolita and knew she would be safe with her family. She thought of the child- mother Angelina in her village and wondered if she would be all right with her mute child, Eduardo. She thought of Armando and his family in their flimsy shanty home. She hoped they had taken refuge in a shelter. Fear dug a pit in her uneasy stomach. She prayed they would all make it through. And she was not a praying woman.
Dominic sat down on the cot across from her. The storm put an edge on everything including her awareness of Dominic’s close proximity.
“You okay?” he asked.
“So far, so good,” she said in what she hoped was a neutral voice. “I didn’t realize a hurricane could be so noisy. How long will this go on?”
“Depends on how well formed the storm is. That’s hard to track since the radio is dead. If it has a well formed eye, when that passes over everything dies down for a while. We might even see the moon. Then the whole fury starts again. When the eye comes, I’ll go out for awhile to check on damage and casualties, see if anyone needs help.”
“Funny you used the word fury. The same word came to me. Fury. Mother Nature sounds like she is furious with us.”
Dominic smiled ruefully. “She probably is. Maybe she feels we’re a poor excuse for a human race and is trying to wipe us off the face of the earth.”
His gaze held hers. “Are you really okay?” He reached out and took her hand in his. “You aren’t scared are you?”
“Fine, I’m fine. I’m glad I’m with you.” She squeezed his hand.
“I’m glad you’re here. I can look after you and not worry about your safety.”
“I don’t mean to be a burden.”
“You’re hardly a burden, Elena.”
The moment hung between them. Dominic gently rubbed her hand, and Elena couldn’t think of anything else to say that wouldn’t take them down a dangerous road.
It was going to be a long night.
Dominic raised his head and listened. It was quiet. The eye of the storm must be over them. He looked over at Elena, lying on the cot beside his. He sat up, trying not to disturb her, but her eyes opened. She must not have been able to sleep either.
Everything not nailed down had been on the loose outside in the storm. The noise at times had been deafening. And frightening. They had spent a good deal of time trying to stop leaks around the windows and doors. Water ran down the walls. Pails and pans were scattered over the floor of the clinic to catch dribbles of water from the new roof.
“I’m going to check outside,” he said.
“What time is it?”
He peered at his watch. “Almost two in the morning.” He squeezed her hand and lingered over the warmth of it. “I’ll be right back.”
“I’ll check on Miguel,” she said.
He walked barefoot to the single panel door and unbolted it. It had held against the wind. Puddles of water spotted the floor and were cold against his bare feet. He could hear running water. It dripped from the overhang in front of the clinic. He stepped outside. There was no breeze. A half moon lit the landscape of what was left of Copan Ruinas. Across the street a power pole had snapped mid-way, and the line draped onto the ground. He thought he could see other figures moving in the distance. Debris was everywhere. Back inside, humidity weighed heavy in the air and covered him in a wet blanket.
Elena appeared from the back of the clinic. “Miguel is sleeping. He has to be really tired to sleep through this.”
“Or he is accustomed to chaos in his life.”
“Or he finally feels safe enough to sleep.”
“That, too.”
Dominic pulled on socks and boots.
“Would you try to call the police station on the cell phone? I’m going to walk around to see if anyone needs help and try to keep from getting electrocuted in the process. Stay with Miguel. This will be the safest place for you.”
“Okay.” She found the phone, input the number, and listened. “I’m not getting anything.” She tried again and shook her head. “The tower must be down.”
“Don’t go out,” he said, “I’ll be right back. Promise me.”
She nodded and smiled and that reassured him.
The stillness of the scene struck him first. Then the destruction. It was worse than he imagined. The flashlight revealed obstacles in his path. He picked his way through trash. He crawled under a pole leaning against a wall after he checked to make sure no electric wires went with it. Clouds scudding across the moon created a weird play of shadows.
A man stood in a doorway on the next block. Dominic hailed him.
“Are you okay?” he asked the man, who he recognized as one of the clinic volunteers named Angel.
“We’re fine for now. I don’t think we sustained any damage so far. Everyone is pretty scared.”
Dominic walked on. Power lines hung low across the street. He couldn’t advance any farther. He doubled back past Angel’s house and turned up the street before the clinic. More people were moving about. He had decided to turn around when someone shouted, calling his name.
“Señor Dominic,” the man said, “can you help us?”
Dominic searched the roof tops for the person calling. At first he didn’t see the figure, then after another shout, he spotted Jesus, who had played in the marimba band the night of the celebration.
“A wall fell down at my neighbor’s house, and we need help. One of the family is trapped.” Jesus motioned for Dominic to come in by a door on the street.
Dominic hurried in. A man was trapped, and it took half an hour to clear the rubble and free the man’s leg. He couldn’t stand on the leg. Dominic suspected it was broken.
“Let’s try to get him to the clinic so I can brace it.”
The man shook his head. He wouldn’t leave his family. They tried to make him comfortable on a soggy couch in what was left of their living room, now half open to the sky.
“I’ll go back to the clinic to get a temporary splint for his leg and some pain killers. I’ll be back,” he said to the distraught family members. The wife blessed him. Dominic hurried away but getting back to the clinic proved harder than anticipated. More people were on the street, many he knew. Everyone had questions about other people and damage. By the time Dominic returned to the clinic, he knew he had to hurry because the next round of the hurricane was coming. The breeze was picking up.