My A-muse-ing Life

Prompt: Beach Vacation plans are interrupted by a hurricane evacuation order.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/6085588376/

The sky looked funny to me.  I wasn’t sure what was going on, but I knew something was coming in.  A knock came at the door.  I jumped, then walked over to open it.  It was a woman in a bright yellow raincoat.  “You have to leave, now!   I didn’t know anyone was still here, but then I saw the smoke.”

The smoke; she must have spotted my fire.  I wanted to keep warm, but I wasn’t sure if I should start a fire for fear of being found.  She didn’t seem to know me though, that was something at least.

“I’m fine here.  Thanks though.”

“No, you don’t understand!  The evacuation is mandatory! Come on!  We have to go, now.”

“Evacuation?  Is there a fire or something?”
“Hurricane.  It will be here soon.  Let’s go.”

“I’ll get my things.”

She nodded and waited for me to gather my bags.  My heart was pounding.  I really hoped that we weren’t going somewhere where I might be recognized.  Hopefully, in all the chaos, no one would know who I was.

I was tired of the crowds, tired of people following me every where I went.  The only way I knew to escape was to head to the ocean, find a little cottage on the beach, and hide out.  It had worked for the last two weeks, although food was getting a little low.  When the temperature had taken a sudden drop, I wondered about a storm moving in, but I wasn’t sure.  I figured staying warm was worth the risk; being cold AND hungry was not a good way to start my vacation.

Once my bags were gathered, I followed her as she led me out to the door to her waiting jeep.  “We’ve got to make it to the airport before they take off.  The planes out of here are our only chance.  They are predicating the worst hurricane in fifty years.”

It didn’t sound like much to me, the plane ride coming in to the island was bad enough, let alone trying to fly out before a hurricane arrived.  Better than dying, I guess, but not my first choice in leaving.  “Where will it take us?”

“To the mainland.  California, most likely, but another coast state.”

Oh, not California!  Please not California!  I didn’t stand a chance of keeping my identity safe if I went to California.

“You seem pretty shook up.  Don’t worry.  I think we’ll make it.”

I tried to give her a smile.  I didn’t want her to know the real reason I was nervous.  I wasn’t looking forward to going, I didn’t want to return to being well known.  I wanted to be just  regular guy on an island.   “Do you know who I am?”

Her blank stare told me she didn’t have a clue.  “Who you are?  I guess you didn’t tell me your name.”

Her blond hair hung just over her eyes, and she brushed it away from her face with the swipe of her hand.  She was pretty, especially for a ranger.  “You really don’t recognize me?”

She wrinkled her brow.  “Should I?”

“I’m Matthew Brighten.”

“Well, Matthew, I’m Allison Dure.  It’s nice to meet you.”  She took one hand off the steering wheel to shake my hand.  I was baffled.

“You really don’t know me?”

“Now I do.”

I laughed.  She smiled.  “I’m Matthew Brighten, the actor.  I’ve stared in at least 20 movies, several of them big hits.  You don’t know me.”

She glanced over at me and smiled again.  “Out here, most of us rarely watch TV, let alone movies.  What brings out this far anyways?  There’s not much out here for you.”

I sighed.  I wasn’t really in the mood for explaining a vacation to her.