TERROR IN THE KEYS
by Helen Gibbs Pohlot
Eerie silence rattled thirteen-year-old Jimmy to the core. It was only disrupted by the occasional sound of thunder in the distance.
Jimmy, a city kid, looked out the window into the pitch darkness. Nothing was visible, not even a star in the sky.
“How can people live here?” he said to himself. “It’s too darn quiet and there is nothing around.”
Jimmy lived in South Philadelphia. His mother suggested that he spend some time at his Aunt Susan and Uncle Mike’s house located in a remote area of Big Pine Key in the Florida Keys.
There was no way he was going to sleep this night. Unlike his seventeen-year-old cousin Tony, who was fast asleep in the room next to him, Jimmy was scared.
Suddenly, thunder roared with such intensity, Jimmy sprang from his bed and ran for cover. Lightning followed, which lit up the sky, sending bolts in every direction.
From the eerie quiet to the deafening sounds of the approaching storm, Jimmy tried to calm himself.
The back yard was now aglow, besieged with lightning. It struck one tree after another. Sparks flew when it hit a tall buttonwood tree outside Jimmy’s room. The earsplitting crash shook the entire house.
Within seconds Jimmy smelled smoke. He shouted for Tony and ran to wake him. Tony’s parents were not home. They had gone to Key West for the night, leaving the two teenagers in charge of the house.
“Tony, something hit the house. I think it is on fire,” Jimmy roared.
Jimmy shook Tony to wake him. “Wake up, wake up, Tony.”
“What’s up?” a groggy Tony asked.
“I smell smoke. Do you?” Jimmy yelled.
“Yeah,” Tony screamed as he jumped up. He quickly put on his shoes, and with a sudden burst, the power went out.
“Grab some flashlights, Tony,” Jimmy shouted.
Tony hastily found a flashlight. He rushed outside with Jimmy behind him.
“OH NO!” Tony shrieked, “the back of the house is on fire.”
The two boys ran back inside to call the fire department. Tony had forgotten to charge his cell phone. He slammed it to the ground. “Useless,” he cried. The boys tried the landline, but it was already dead.
“We’re in trouble. What can we do?” Tony cried out.
“Do you have a hose?” asked Jimmy.
“Yes, it’s around the back.”
Tony found the hose. With Jimmy’s help, it took about fifteen minutes to douse the flames. Water was everywhere. The interior of the house reeked with the smell of burning wood and materials. A horrible stench permeated the interior, making it impossible for the boys to stay inside.
Without a cell phone and electricity, Tony and Jimmy were stranded until morning.
“When Mom and Dad call me tonight, they will realize the phones are out and come home,” Tony said hopefully.
Left to their own resources, the boys decided to build a shelter for protection outside. They had no choice; the smell inside the house was unbearable. They hurriedly ran into the house and got bedding from the hall closet.
In addition to all the bedding they could carry, they grabbed a few towels. They wrapped the towels around their head to block the overpowering smoke.
Jimmy asked Tony if he had any matches or lanterns. “No, we have to make do with this flashlight,” snapped Tony.
Outside, the thunder and lightning subsided, returning the eerie quiet Jimmy hated. However, anything was better than the crashing sound of that thunderbolt.
Water pooled everywhere around the small house. The fresh water proved a magnet for mosquitos and all type of bugs. Jimmy and Tony immediately went to work constructing a shelter using the side of the fallen tree.
“We can’t stay out here in the open without cover,” Tony told Jimmy as they worked.
The two boys secured the sides of the makeshift shelter to the ground with rocks.
Tony was exhausted and fell asleep immediately. Jimmy was tired as well. However, he wasn’t about to sleep, knowing the amount of fresh water out there was attracting predators.
Just yesterday, his aunt and uncle had taken him on a hike at Blue Hole, about a mile and a half from their house. It is the only freshwater lake in the Florida Keys and an attraction for all types of animals. He saw everything from huge iguanas and nasty snakes to the adorable Key deer.
Just before leaving Blue Hole, Jimmy’s Uncle Mike told him to look out over the lake. “Over there by the weeds,” he said. Jimmy saw something move. Suddenly, the head of an alligator emerged from the lake. Jimmy panicked and took off running back to the car.
“What if that alligator comes around here tonight?” Jimmy said out loud. “There is plenty of fresh water right outside. I better keep watch.”
In total darkness, Jimmy waited and listened. His nerves were on edge in anticipation. Everything was dead quiet.
After about ninety minutes, Jimmy started to relax. Maybe he was wrong and this wasn’t such a dangerous place after all.
Jimmy briefly closed his eyes only to feel a nudge on the side of his leg. Thinking it was a dream, he once again closed his eyes.
Suddenly, something heavy pounced on Jimmy’s chest, sending the makeshift shelter into total chaos. Bedding went everywhere. Tony jumped up screaming. Jimmy yelled back that something was crushing his chest, He was trapped, shrieking for help.
‘It’s so heavy, I can’t move,” Jimmy shouted at the top of his lungs.
Tony managed to get outside and turned on his flashlight.
“Jimmy, don’t move,” Tony commanded.
With only the shelter material between them, a six-foot, grossly fat iguana rested on Jimmy’s chest.
“Whatever you do, try not to move a muscle,” Tony told Jimmy.
The horror was almost more than Jimmy could bear. This is it. I am going to be eaten alive, he thought to himself, still not sure what type of animal had him trapped. He did not move a muscle. He was afraid to breathe. His chest hurt so badly, he thought he would faint.
Tony shimmied up the tree next to where Jimmy was trapped. He grabbed a long branch and poked the iguana in the head while shining the flashlight right in its eyes.
“When he gets off you, just stay there until I tell you to get up and run,” Tony said.
Once again Tony shined the light in the creature’s eyes, which it did not like. He gave it another poke, which aggravated it into moving. It slowly went over to the newly created pond about twenty feet from Jimmy and settled into the water.
Jimmy stayed still, thankful the tremendous pressure was off his chest.
Meanwhile, Tony, still perched in the tree, tried to figure out the best way for Jimmy to get away without attracting the iguana. All of a sudden it came to him. Tony could blind the iguana with his light while Jimmy sprinted to the house.
“Here’s the plan, Jimmy. When I say run, go as fast as you can into the house,” Tony said quietly.
He aimed his flashlight directly at the fierce-looking creature’s eyes.
At the top of his lungs, Tony screamed, “RUN.”
Jimmy sprang up and ran with everything he had. He made it to the house, but couldn’t get in due to a collapsed wall by the entry door.
“I’m safe,” Jimmy shouted to Tony. “But I can’t get into the house. The fire crushed the wall.”
“Okay! I’ll wait up here until this iguana takes off. I hope I don’t have to spend the night in this tree,” Tony said jokingly.
Jimmy slumped over in screaming pain. “I am going for help. Just stay in the tree until I get back. You’ll be safe up there,” said Jimmy, who at the time had no idea that iguanas can climb trees.
Despite terrible pain, Jimmy fearlessly sprinted down the mile-long gravel driveway. He turned onto the main road, where headlights blinded him.
Aunt Susan and Uncle Mike immediately stopped the car and jumped out. Jimmy collapsed.
“Jimmy, did we hit you?” Aunt Susan screamed.
“No, No! We have to hurry. Tony’s trapped up a tree by a huge lizard who tried to kill me. The house caught on fire….,” he went on rapidly.
“Jimmy, calm down, it will be okay,” his aunt said.
After a quick check of Jimmy’s chest, they drove to the house in record time while Jimmy gave them the lowdown on Tony, the storm, and fire.
By this time Tony was partly out of the tree. His parents shooed away the prehistoric-looking iguana, helped Tony down, and then took Jimmy to the hospital.
Fortunately, Jimmy’s injuries were not serious. He was grateful to be alive.
When the family returned home, the power was back on. A quick survey of the house revealed limited damage. The boys’ quick thinking saved most of it. Despite rebuilding a wall near the back entrance and minor water damage, little else needed fixing. After a good cleaning and airing out, the house would be as good as new.
Despite good news all around, Jimmy felt uneasy. He remembered the terror he felt that night. He didn’t like being so afraid, first of the dark and what he considered unbearable silence, then of the fire and iguana attack.
Sure, anyone would go ballistic with a six-foot, fat iguana dancing on your chest. That was understandable, but the other fears made Jimmy feel like a coward.
“Jimmy,” shouted Uncle Mike, who had been watching Jimmy for a few minutes. “You are in another world. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” Jimmy replied quietly.
“I know something is wrong, I can tell by looking at you. Are you in pain?” his uncle asked.
‘No, I just feel that I was a bit of a coward today being so scared during the storm and out here in the woods.”
Uncle Mike started to laugh. “You are a city kid visiting out here where there is nothing but nature and water. It’s scary at first. It took me a year to get used to the quiet when I moved here from New York.
“You are no coward. When you ran down that mile-long deserted drive to get help, were you afraid or just intent on helping your cousin?”
Jimmy forgot that he was in terrible pain when he ran for help, never considering any potential danger. He instantly felt better, more brave.
“You just have to get used to things around here and they become less frightening,” his uncle said. “Stay a few more weeks and I’ll have you fearless.”
Jimmy laughed. “Thanks, Uncle Mike, sounds like a plan, but are you sure you wouldn’t rather come home with me to Philly? After a night like this, I could sure use a Cheesesteak.”