Blackness gripped her like a fist. Outside, the wind howled, and rain pummeled the thin windowpanes. Thunder rumbled. Lightning cracked.
Inside, the silence of her heart was deafening. Terrifying. And so very, very lonely.
Peggy Saxon shifted on the worn sofa to massage the small of her back. It didnât help. The nagging throb simply wouldnât go away. She heaved her pregnant bulk sideways, seeking a semicomfortable position. The threadbare sofa arm poked her ribs.
Muttering, Peggy used a strategically tucked throw pillow to pad the exposed wood, then grabbed the tiny battery-powered radio from a nearby table. She needed something to drown out the roaring storm, the inner silence of desolation. She needed music. Voices. Even crackling white noise would be a distraction from desperate sadness, from secret fear.
On the radio, a tight male voice announced new road closures due to mud slides. Phone lines were hit and miss, but the power company, having been flooded out by a massive surge of murky goo, still had no estimate as to when electricity would be restored. A state of emergency had been declared.
It was five oâclock in the morning. There was no light. No heat. The lovely mountain hamlet of Grand Springs, Colorado, was under siege. And Peggy Saxon was alone.
* * *
âDispatch to unit six. Travisâ¦are you there?â
Travis Stockwell ducked into the cab, knocked his hat off on the door frame and swore as his prized Stetson landed in the mud. He scooped it up, muttered and wiped the brim with a paisley handkerchief.
The raspy female voice boomed with familiar agitation. âUnit six, respond. Respond, dadgummit, or Iâll be tossing out those fancy boots of yours and renting your room to the highest bidder.â
âAw, for crying out loud.â Travis tossed the wet Stetson on the cabâs front passenger seat, poked the soiled handkerchief back into his pocket, which was already crammed with a soggy pack of pumpkin seeds, and snatched up the microphone. âAll right, already. This is unit six, soaking wet, so hungry I could chew cardboard, and so danged tired I donât give a fat flying fig what you do with that flea-bitten flophouse.â
A long-suffering sigh crackled over the line. âWhereân Sam Hill are you?â
Travis squinted through the splattered windshield toward a weary group of guardsmen hoisting the gear heâd just unloaded. âNear as I can figure, about a half mile from the cutoff road to Mountain Meadows campground. I just dropped off the evacuation troop.â
âWhatâs your ETA?â
âI dunno. Thirty minutes, maybe sooner if the traffic lights are back on line.â
âTheyâre not. The whole town is blacked out. Oh, and donât take Orchard Road back into town.â
âMud slide?â
âBig one. Looks like it might have taken a couple cars.â
Travis swore, slapped the steering wheel. âMaybe I should head that way to see if I can help.â
The microphone crackled. âJimmyâs already en route with a group of volunteers and a trunk full of shovels. I need you back in town. Every emergency vehicle in the area is tied up. City hall is scrambling for rescue transport.â
âOn my way,â Travis said, and flipped the ignition with his free hand. âUnit six out.â
âTravis, keep this radio on. Cell service is going in and out, so this is the only way I can always reach youâ
âYeah, okay.â
âYou be careful, hear?â
âI will, sis.â With that, he dropped the mike, shifted into gear and drove into the blinding rain.
* * *
Light blasted away blackness. The dingy duplex shuddered through thunder, screeched as if in pain.
Peggy gasped, suddenly awake, clutched her distended belly and struggled to her feet. An eerie energy crawled up her arms, lifting the fine hairs. Another flash, another roar. She covered her ears, bit her lip, may have cried out, but the sound was swallowed by a deafening crack and the reverberating crash of splintered lumber. Her scalp tingled, felt singed.