LADY OF THE LIGHT- Part 24
Jane stood several yards away from
the section of lawn that had collapsed
during last night's storm. Amanda Grey
hovered just above the raging surf,
sobbing, beckoning, and imploring Jane
to
come closer.
Twin bolts of lightning lit up the
dark sky over the lake. Even in the
brief moment of illumination, a towering
waterspout could be seen out over the
lake. Jane was mesmerized. She had
heard of these water tornados many
times, but had never actually seen one.
Ignoring her spectral guest for a
moment, Jane raced back to the cottage
to get her hand held emergency
lantern.
As she rushed into the
cottage, she heard the radio crackle in
a burst of static. Faintly she could
hear parts of a transmission, but could
not make any sense of it. A tremendous
crash of thunder overhead was followed
by the cracking of wood and the sound of
a tree falling to the ground. Jane was
scared, some inner voice told her there
was danger ahead, but that she could not
stay inside and ride the storm out. She
decided that as a temporary summer
guide, she might not be up to what
challenges lay ahead tonight. She
reached for the phone, intent on calling
the Coast Guard, for some assistance.
The phone gave only a soft wave
of static instead of a dial tone. Not
surprised, Jane thought of the radio
Brian had given her, she knew she could
use that to reach the Coast Guard base
30 miles to the south. She grabbed the
Emergency beacon and set it on the
table. She flicked the switch on the
hand held spotlight, and a brilliant
beam shot across the room. The beacon
was powered by 3, 9 volt lantern
batteries held in a leather side case
with a shoulder strap. Next she was
about to sit down and try the Coast
Guard, when the door flew open in a
blast of wind.
Amanda stood in
the doorway, casting a pool of spectral
light all around her. Pete jumped up
and growled fiercely, hair bristling on
his back. Jane sharply called for him
to lay down, Reluctantly he obeyed,
still glaring at the intruder in the
doorway.
"Come..... follow... me...." Amanda's
voice came in a hollow tone.
Jane
gripped the lantern and considered the
request. The room lit up in a blinding
flash, and the odd smell of ozone filled
the room just before the most deafening
explosion of thunder Jane had ever heard
in her life followed. Her eyes, blinded
by the flash, could not adjust to the
blackness that followed. Sitting in the
blackness, Jane flicked the switch of
the lantern on without thinking. The
beam cut through the room and exposed a
blackened circle on the far wall. For a
moment it did not register with Jane
what had happened, then the realization
that the bolt of lightning had passed
through the walls hit her like a brick.
the radio was blacked out, she flipped
the switch to battery and the radio lit
back up, with another burst of
static.
"Come..... NOW...."
Amanda called to her in that empty
distant voice.
Stressed out, Jane
spun and screamed "Just Wait!" at the
vision hovering outside the swinging
door. She grabbed the handheld mobil
unit for the radio and stood up. Pete
jumped up and placed himself between her
and the doorway. "Pete, stay...." Then
reconsidering, Jane called out "Heal" as
she stepped towards the door.
Obediently Pete followed her close to
her side. Amanda was now out on the
lawn, several yards away, moving back
towards the shoreline. Jane and Pete
exited the cottage and stepped into the
storm. The handheld lantern's beam cut
through the darkness like a knife. It
illuminated a small section of the lawn
several hundred yards away. Jane
reached down and patted Pete's head,
"Stay close old friend".
Amanda
was back out over the water in the same
spot, just in front of the fallen in
section of lawn. Jane could hear her
wailing again in a high pitched tone.
More lightning arced across the
property. Rain beat down and thunder
crashed and rumbled constantly. Jane
looked down the coastline and saw
nothing, no lights, in any direction,
the power failure must be wide spread.
The hum of the generator could just
faintly be heard over the storm. The
Eagle's Point light still flashed it's
beacon over the water. She stopped for
a second and switched on the radio in
her storm pocket, inside the jacket.
She could still hear static. The hand
held unit was only for listening, she
could not call out for help with it, but
suspected no help would arrive tonight
anyway. Like it or not, she was here,
manning this lighthouse, and following a
ghost in one hum dinger of a storm. The
absurdity of it all made her laugh
softly. The laughter died in her throat
as she heard a familiar voice from deep
within the static coming from the
radio.
"......."gle's.....poin...
.is Albitro.......ver."......."I
repeat....heavy.....off ....mile....
need beacon......ass harb....."
Jane stood shaking in the rain. That
was Brian! He was out in this terrible
storm. She could not hear what he was
saying, just that he needed the beacon.
Her heart was in her throat, how could
he possibly survive this storm in such a
modest sized craft?
Her thoughts
were shattered by Amanda's screaming.
In between the loud wailing she now was
shrieking over and over,
"Randy...Randy"
A chill shook
Jane to the core of her being. Why was
she calling to him????Could this storm
be so like the one they died in? Amanda
still motioned to Jane with her arms.
Jane was now 30 yards away from the
caved in section of lawn. She snapped
her fingers and called out "Down" to
Pete who responded immediately. Jane
got down on her hands and knees. She
had no intention of walking that close
to the cave in.
Her hands sunk
into a pool of standing water, as did
her knees. It was of little matter. she
was drenched already anyways. Edging
her way forward, she kept the bright
beam of light focused directly in front
of her, examining the ground carefully
before she advanced. Pete howled softly
for her to come back. Amanda was now
somehow brighter, more intense, perhaps
more solid, more HERE.
Waving her
arm, she pointed to the beach directly
below Jane. Jane was now within inches
of the cave in, she lay completely flat
on the ground and crept forward on her
belly. She cast the Beam of light out
over the lake, and saw no sign of the
waterspout. The intense light simply
was swallowed by blackness some unknown
distance away. Amanda called out to her
again, "Look". She pointed down at the
storm ravaged beach. Jane propped
herself up on her elbows and directed
the beam of light down the embankment.
Clumps of sod clung to larger boulders
below. The lake surged up against the
rocks and sprayed up high in the air.
All Jane could see was swirling water
against the rocks. The last wave
receded, taking the swirling water back,
exposing more of the age old boulders
and the clumps of dirt being washed away
from under the rocks. Jane was sure
more land would fall in, and did not
want to be here when it did. Preparing
to back up, her beam bounced off
something shiny deep between two huge
stones halfway up the cliff. She
carefully aimed the beam to the right,
and gaped at what she saw. A skeletal
hand could be seen between the stones!
She screamed, and rolled on her back,
closing her eyes to the horror and the
driving rain.
Jane jumped to
her feet and started to run towards the
cottage. Amanda wailed loudly and
continued to call out "come" in that
ghastly empty voice. Pete ran along
side her barking loudly. The sky lit up
in a brilliant flash of white. It
startled Jane so much she lost her
footing and went down in a heap. Just
as she landed on the soggy lawn, a
branch- like bolt of lightning, spred
it's fingers out in all directions
overhead. Part of the bolt connected
with the small shanty on the back of the
Tower. Jane stared wide-eyed as the
shed burst into pieces. The generator
was blown completely out of the
structure, and parts of the scattered
chunks of wood smoldered near-by. Jane
gasped, as complete darkness followed
the lightning strike. Eagle's Point
Light no longer gave off it's beacon,
all forms of power had been cut off by
the storm. Jane shivered in the rain,
still dazed by the events of the last
half hour. She stood up and turned the
beam of her emergency lantern at the
tower. Smoking debris was all that was
left of the generator shed, the wind
seemed to pick up a notch and Jane
decided she had no choice but to head
for the shelter of the
cottage.
Pete nuzzled her hand
and they headed for the cottage,
half-way there, a burst of static
crackled from within her
coat.
...."Eagle's Point.....need
assistance....ver. "Jane, I can not
make Bass Harbor without the beacon to
guide me.........over, .....Ower
lig....out, ...ou...need to......ight
...acon,"
Those partial words stopped Jane in
her tracks. The Light!!!! Brain needed
the light, but there was no other back
up system. Franticaly Jane thought of
solutions, her emergency beacon would
only hold out for so long, it was
getting weaker already. Then a sense of
calm came over her as she realized these
towers had serviced the lakes long
before electric power was avalible. The
hurricane lamp! Placed up in the lens
housing, the lamps Lens would magnify
and focus the lamps light. It may not
flash the in towers signiture style, but
the steady light would guide Brian
towards Bass Harbor and
shelter.
Moments later Jane had
the kerosene lamp filled and was running
across the lawn towards the tower. Pete
ran at her side barking excitedly. Jane
glanced at the lake, Amanda was still
hovering out over the beach, wailing,
sobbing, Jane pushed her from her mind
and concentrated on the task at hand.
She slipped on the rain soaked lawn as
she reached the tower, grasping at the
door's handle she kept from falling
down. She fumbled with the keys,
shivering with a mixture of being
chilled to the bone and nerves. The
lock opened at last and she had to
almost pry the door open against the
wind. She strained at the steel door
and it finally opened enough for her to
get inside the tower. Halfway through
the door, a savage blast of wind ripped
the door from her grasp. It flew wide
open for a split second, and then
slammed with tremendous force back
closed. Jane could hear the sickning
crack of bone as her leg was caught
against the steel door and the frame.
She screamed and fell forward, into the
tower. The Lamp shattered on the stone
floor, just before she went down
herself. The air filled with the smell
of kerosene, rain poured in the door as
it swung open once more. Barely able to
maintain consciousness from the pain,
Jane dragged her wounded leg out of the
doorway before another blow could be
struck by the door. The inside of the
tower was black. She cried out in pain,
frustration and fear. Pete lay next to
her and started to whine. Laying there,
the world started to fade away, then the
static burst forth from the
radio.
...."Eagle's
Point.......ost bear..... Please
respon..... ane... I nee.... the...
ight."
Just before she passed
out, she screamed out her lover's
name.... "Brian!!!!!"
DONT MISS
THE FINAL CHAPTER COMING JUNE
10TH!!!!!!
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