residents to evacuate For more on this story we go live in Hollisworth Natalie to Natalie Gates who’s Thank you Robert said the dark-haired woman dressed in a sleek black raincoat She stood outside in the wind and rain as she gave her report The small town of Hollisworth is still reeling in the wake of the devastating mudslide that buried many homes and businesses just five days ago This disaster occurred after a week of heavy downpour That weather system has baffled many meteorologists who cannot explain why it suddenly appeared or why it remained over Hollisworth for so long not moving before disappearing without a trace It is the third time in just two months that this particular weather pattern has struck the United States Just last month sections of Washington DC were left underwater And more recently violent storms caused a similar mudslide in the Rocky Mountains outside of Denver
Thankfully residents of Hollisworth were evacuated in time and there have been no casualties to report The Federal Emergency Management Agency FEMA has allowed some Winston Hills residents to return to their homes Community support has been exceptional Many volunteers are assisting on a daily basis in front of Right now I’m standing the Hollisworth Community Center which has been buzzing with activity since the rainstorms struck last week If you would like to be a part of the recovery effort in Hollisworth FEMA has stations set up here at the center It will be weeks if not months before the residents of Winston Hills can resume their normal lives Let’s hope there’s sunshine at the end of this terrible storm I’m Natalie Gates reporting live from Hollisworth Robert back to you Thank you Natalie This has been an Action Ten News Special Report We’ll now return to our regularly scheduled programming
CHAPTER 2 The screen switched from the news report back to the game show fifteen-year-old Greyson Bennell had been mindlessly watching while lying in bed still in his pajamas He checked the time on his nightstand clock It was 9:30 in the morning Grey stood and stretched An array of schoolbooks was scattered on the floor by his bed piled atop one another Because of the mudslide Hollisworth High School where Grey was stumbling his way through ninth grade had been shut down for the remainder of the school year The school hadn’t been in the path of the mud It was about a mile to the south of the disaster zone just blocks from the community center where the news reporter had just broadcasted from and about five blocks from the apartment complex where Grey and
his mother lived The high school’s gymnasium was being used as a base for out-of-town volunteers a place where they could eat and sleep The locker rooms provided hot showers and the cafeteria was serving fresh meals three times a day Grey stepped over the books rummaged through his dirty laundry for the freshest-smelling shirt and shorts and walked out of his bedroom The apartment was quiet His mother hadn’t been home much lately She was the Director of Community Services at the mudslide victims and volunteers were staying So she pretty much lived there these days and Grey had gotten used to cooking for himself the community center where He poked his head around the door to his mother’s darkened bedroom Sure enough the bed was still neatly made She didn’t even make it home last night Grey thought At first Grey had been proud that his mom was helping so many people But now he was starting to worry about her A laundry basket filled with clean shirts and pants sat on the couch Grey had used the washer and dryer down the apartment building’s basement all by himself for the first time the day in
