The End Came with the Flood

A short story

The darkness of the night filled the rooms in the small house at the end of the road. The rain poured outside, and some of it had found its way through a small hole in the roof, making a small pond in the middle of one of the rooms.

“Shit, there’s another hole in the roof.” The voice belonged to a 20-something girl. However, if you saw her in daylight, you’d think she was much older. The dark circles under her eyes were most profound and her skin showed that she hadn’t slept enough in the last weeks.

“One more?” The second voice belonged to a middle-aged man, the twenty-something girls’ dad. His hair had started to thin out and was turning greyer each day.

“Will it ever stop raining?” The girl asked out in the air. “It can’t continue like this.”

“I don't know, Sarah.” Her dad said. “ The weather forecast said it would rain for a couple of weeks. They don’t know when it will stop.”

“If those stupid politicians would have taken climate change seriously years ago we would never have been in this situation.” Sarah sighed, clearly irritated. “And what do the same politicians do now? They have used their money to leave this country, and all the normal people are left behind. The rain has already ruined crops over the whole country. We might starve next year. At least a lot of people will if nothing changes.”

“It will work out. Everything will be fine. We have to hope and pray for the best.” The voice belonging to Sarah’s dad; Frank, had a tremble, suggesting he didn’t believe it himself.

“Pray to who? God? If there ever was a God, he left this place years ago, when he saw what we did to this planet.” Sarah started getting angry. “We’re not going to be fine.”

“Everything will be fine.” Her dad repeated.

“You don’t believe in it yourself.” Sarah started to run towards the door leading outside.

Meanwhile, the family dog, who had been curled up on the couch lifted his head. He wagged his tail a couple of times before he followed Sarah outside.

“You don’t have to come with me, Buster. You’ll get wet.” Sarah had stopped running and was stroking the dog's head. “I think dad is trying to hide how bad the situation is, Buster.”

Sarah started to walk down the tiny road towards the lights of the houses belonging to their neighbors. When she came closer she could see that a couple of them was packing their cars.

“I wonder what they are doing. It’s the middle of the night.” Sarah whispered to the dog following behind her.

“Mrs. Chestnut, what is happening?” Sarah asked when she was close enough for her neighbor to hear her.

“Haven’t you heard? The dams have broken. They are predicting more rain. There’s a flood coming. We are doomed.” Mrs. Chestnut's voice showed clear signs of distress, while she was frantically pushing a bag inside her car.

“We are doomed?” Sarah repeated before a single tear ran down her face.

“It’s not the worst. They are predicting earthquakes that can trigger tsunamis. We might all die.” Mrs. Chestnut started crying.

“What?” Sarah couldn’t believe her ears. She turned around and ran back to the little house belonging to her dad and her.

“Dad! We are doomed.” Sarah yelled as she almost kicked open the door. “We need to leave now.”

Her dad sat in one of the chairs in the living room staring at the small pond that was slowly forming on the living room floor.

“ It’s best that we stay.” Her dad whispered.

“I just talked to the neighbors. They’re saying that the dams have broken down. There’s a flood coming.”

“ I know dear, I know.” Her dad looked pale and even older than before. “I have known. According to my calculations, this is the safest place we can be. They are predicting earthquakes further north and further west. And we don’t want to move closer to the coast.”

“You’ve known it all this time?” Sarah looked at her dad with disbelief.

“I didn’t want to worry you. We could move to one of the bigger cities close by, but I’m worried about food shortages. We should stay here.” The tone of her dad's voice made it clear that he wouldn’t change his mind.

“We will stay here,” Sarah repeated. All color had left her face, leaving it completely white.

Sarah started moving toward the couch and sat herself down on it. Her dad walked over and sat down next to her.

“Buster, come,” Sarah called.

The dog wagged his tail before he jumped up onto the couch and put his head on Sarah’s lap.

“Then we are just waiting for the end,” Sarah whispered.

Inspired by Microcosm and their recent prompt: The Flood.

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