Rip Tides

By: Taylor Abbott

Chapter 1, The after math

Ally was a 13-year-old girl born in the city of Sarasota Florida, but currently living on a

small island named Anna Maria Island on the west coast of Florida.

Ally has no siblings but two best friends that are sisters to her. Their names are Leah and

Delany. All three of them work at the same ice cream shop called Two-Scoops and have a blast.

They all live on the same block on a cul-de-sac. All three of their backyards have big pools and

backup to the mangroves where it's an often occurrence to see manatees. In their free time they

paddle board with the manatees and love watching them swim up behind them.

Ally was the oldest of the three with hair like a tree, dark roots like the trunk, and hazel

colored ends just like the leaves, then Leah the shortest of the three but definitely the strongest,

kind of built like a fire hydrant, small but mighty, and then Delany, They think of her as the

youngest sibling mainly because she has the energy as a 5 year old but she's also the dumbest.

They loved walking to the beach and going to Bridge Street where all the shops are.

They have the most perfect life, and they don't take any second for granted. They all go to the

same school and basically all have the same classes. After school every day they take turns on

whoever house they go to. They stay there all the way till dinnertime and then they go home to
eat then take a quick bike ride to the beach which is two blocks away. They all have golden

retriever puppies that came from the same litter. Their lives can't get any better. And at least two

times every week they must go dressed up for dinner and take pictures together. All three of their

rooms have huge photo walls of mainly them three. Their parents are best friends too.

When Ally, Leah, and Delany all go to college they already have decided to room

together at the University of Tampa. The three girls have a friendship like no other and honestly

wouldn't know what they would do without each other.

Today was like a normal day on the island, Sleepover at one of the girls' houses on friday

and wake up on saturday morning, and take a quick bike ride to the local coffee shop down the

road. Then they grab their beach bags and walk to the beach. They set up their chairs and

umbrellas, then tan until they got hot enough to snorkel in the waters for some sea animals and

shells. Their favorite shells to find were, Sandollars and coral.

After they were done at the beach, they would all go to their houses to wash off and get

ready for dinner. They had the best meal at a restaurant called The Beach House. It was their

usual spot to eat because it was right on the water and they loved eating dinner together while

watching the sunset. Then when they got home they would do the same thing, Sleepover and go

to the beach the next morning. But this time it wasn't the same.

When they woke up they thought it was going to be a normal day on the island but they

would later find out it was the worst day ever.

 When they got out of bed, they noticed it was dark outside but they didn't think anything

of it because they were entering the rainy season, which means some days it would be humid

than rain in the afternoon. But when they got to the coffee shop the news was on saying that

there was going to be a hurricane coming straight for AMI, some people started to panic while

the locals told them to relax and that the hurricane will change its path when it gets closer

because the path of it can change in minutes.

Some of the people started to calm down but others went home to pack just in case. Some

people living on the island are smart and they think ahead by having an emergency evacuation

bag ready for any emergency. They do this because the Island that they live on isn't really an

island, it's like a key, or peninsula. Meaning there are three sides of AMI that touch the ocean

and the bay around them, which means water can rise fast and take over AMI.

The girls went straight to the beach to see what the water conditions were, instead of

stopping home to grab a bathing suit. When they got off their bikes and started to walk through

the sand dunes, they realized that the water was very rough and choppy and that it was super

windy on the beach. They looked around and saw only four other people in sight. They got a

little frightened and hopped back on their bikes to go home and tell their parents.

When they got home all three of their parents were all outside in the cul-de-sac looking

up at the sky and talking. When the girls got closer they realized that they were already talking

about the hurricane. All of the parents and the girls quickly rushed into Delany’s house to check
the news. They noticed that the hurricane changed from a category 4 to a category 5. The

parents started talking about how this was the worst hurricane they have seen yet and that they

should wait a couple hours and see if it gets better or worse. They decided that if it stays at a

category 5 then they would evacuate the island.

The girls packed their bags just in case, and they went up to Leah's room to hangout and

watch TV. A couple hours passed and they went back to Delany’s house to ask their parents

what they were going to do. After talking about it for thirty minutes, they decided to call some

other people that lived on the island to see what their plans were. They each called three people

and all of them said that the hurricane was staying at a category 5 and that AMI was still a direct

hit. Each of the parents and the girls all went back to their own houses and got all of their

valuable belongings and packed up the car. They said one final goodbye to the houses in case

this was their last time seeing their houses.

As they were leaving the island they were taking pictures of everything just in case when

they came back and it was completely different. The girls started tearing up mainly in fear

because they were scared of what was about to happen. After waiting in about four hours of

traffic, they were in Lakeland, which was right above Tampa. They tried to see if they could get a

flight out of any airport near them and go to one of the Carolinas to stay at a family friend's

house.

They looked and looked for flights and couldn't find one so they went to their last resort

and decided to drive up to Jacksonville. They got on the road at 5:00 pm and didn't get to

Jacksonville until 10:30 pm. They found 3 rooms open at one hotel and they quickly got upstairs

and turned on the TV to see what the updates on the hurricane were. When they were all settled

they came to Leah’s room and everyone was invested in the TV. The news reporter said that the
hurricane is moving a lot quicker than expected and that it will hit AMI around 3:00 am and will

be gone around 11:00 am the next day. At around 12:00 pm everyone went to their own rooms.

No one could sleep that night, anxious to see what they will come home to the next day.

Then before they knew it, It was time to go home. Everyone was scared and nervous to

see what they were going to come home to. After about a five hour drive back, they were about

to enter the island, when all of a sudden they realized that the only way on the island was

destroyed. They accepted their fate and they had no other choice than to take the new ferry that

just opened up two weeks before the storm. When all three families went to park their cars and

walk towards the ferry, they saw a sign that said, wait time for Ferry, 2 hr 35 min, they groaned

in disbelief, as they walked towards the end of the line.

At that point they knew. The island would never be the same again.