Dark Water

The screams grew in intensity but it wasn't long before the waves drowned them out. Thunderous crashes filled Lydia's ears as the first few came in and the building trembled with every hit. They were sitting at least 8 stories high, and the waves still lapped at the edges of the roof. Lydia held Alice tighter as a flash of lightening broke out of the dark grey sky overhead. Jayden held onto both of them and pulled them towards the centre of the roof. Another wave hit and the building shook violently. There was another flash of lightening and through the soaked hair that stuck to her face, Lydia saw a single bolt of lightning make a perfect crack in the sky before crashing onto a palm tree near the side of the building. Immediately, the tree went up in flames, lighting up another three trees beside it. Lydia was vaguely aware of Jayden's arm sliding tighter around her waist as she saw the flames dance while fighting the wind and rain. There was a faint tremble as the first tree crashed into the lower floors of the building and then a more violent shake as the second one hit the building higher up. The sky on the West side of the building started to glow a faint orange and red as the wind spread the fire.

"Lydia! What are you doing? We have to get out of here!" Jayden yelled over the wind. Lydia tried to move her arms and legs but they were stiff form the cold and rain. She couldn't stop looking at what she was seeing. Every flash of lightning revealed a snippet of what was happening: mothers and children being washed out of homes and then engulfed in the deadly waves, cars being pushed around like toys, burning houses and buildings crumbling to the ground. Jayden was dragging her now.

"LYDIA! Snap out of it! We have to go!" Lydia again tried to move but the wind and rain was difficult to battle against. She saw the flames lapping up from the side of the building and wondered at how beautifully destructive they were. As more shrieks were heard in the background before being cut off by quick death, Lydia was grateful for this small look at something beautiful in such a chaotic and terrifying circumstance. Lydia snapped back to attention when Alice tugged at her neck with warm hands, her face was turning a faint blue and her eyes were red from crying.

"Lyddie!" she said in between her sobs. The wind was loud but Lydia knew what she was saying. "Lyddie, I don't want to die!" That's when Lydia was aware of the intense heat of the flames and the building shook again, much more violently than before.

"Lydia, Come on, the building's going to give any second! We have to Jump!" Said Jayden, wrapping up Alice and helping Lydia to her feet. Lydia scooped up Alice and quickly followed Jayden to the East edge of the building. He pointed at a fair-sized rowboat that was being tossed in the waves.

"You want us to jump on that?! How are we going to make it?"

"It's either that, or we wait for the building to tip over." Lydia looked down at Alice's shivering body and without a thought she said "I'll take my chances with the waves."

"Ready? Here it comes." The little brown boat was bobbing up and down on the crest of the wave as it barreled down the streets. Suddenly the wave crashed into the building and the building lurched to the side. Lydia lost her footing and slipped but Jayden held onto her hand.

"Lydia!" He yelled. He looked back at the fast-approaching rowboat. Lydia grabbed on to the edge of the building and passed Alice on to Jayden. They climbed up the falling building just as the rowboat came by, Jayden leaped over the edge and landed in the boat with Alice on his back. The building lurched even further and Lydia was tossed back. She missed her jump and the boat with Jayden and Alice went past her as she dangled off the side of the building. Alice shrieking "Lyddie!" was the last thing she heard before the crashing wave made her lose her grip and she fell into the freezing water.

xxxxxxx

In the water, Lydia was tossed up and down and into objects and bodies. She couldn't see anything and was choking on the water that made it into her lungs. Suddenly the wave crashed into a small building and she felt a sharp pain shoot up her right arm. Everything was dark and blurry and she kicked and stretched her left arm out, hoping to get to the surface—wherever that was—before the instinct to breathe was too strong. She kept kicking but didn't feel any closer to surface. Lydia sensed her instincts taking over and clamped her left hand onto her mouth and nose. She tried to use her right arm but the searing pain made it impossible. She clenched her jaw tight and again used her left arm to help propel her. The tips of her fingers went ice cold as they broke the surface, but just as she kicked her hardest another wave crashed down upon her and pushed her down, farther away from the surface. Finally, the instinct to breathe was too much to fight against and she sucked in a breath. Only, there's no breath to suck in underwater. The water tore down her throat and cascaded down into her lungs in an icy burn. Her eyes opened wide and her vision went crystal clear for just a brief moment, in which she saw the shadow of a rowboat overhead and a tiny, pale, hand reached into the water. She prayed that they wouldn't find her like this. And then everything went black as an icy death sucked her deeper into the dark water.

- Aria-Rose