The Danger of the Water

James walks in on his parents laying on the couch watching the news as they traditionally do every Saturday morning. The house seemed extra calm that morning, maybe because the kids were still fast asleep or maybe it was the rain gently tapping on the windows of the house. James enjoyed days like this, laid back and enjoyable. Feeling hungry James begins to walk toward the kitchen to pour himself a bowl of cereal. That’s when the news reporter caught his attention. “Today’s weather report shows a capricious change in water levels in nearby Florida cities”. A list proceeds to appear on screen with potential flooding areas but before James got a chance to read through the list the power went out.

The power outage spooked James siblings and out came Mark and Ana to join the family in the living room. Mom and Dad weren’t worried at all because the area they lived in was not known for flooding often. Despite that James kept notice of the rain and how rapidly it was ascending. After a while the rain showed no sign of stopping so Mark let in Rocky, the family dog. With the water outside beginning to fill the streets Dad knew he had no choice but to eventually find help. Still not wanting to accept the idea of the house flooding, Dad and Ana decided to take a nap while they waited for the power to start back up. While Dad sleeps James still looks out the window and watches the rain. It was becoming more and more obvious to him that they would not be able to escape the coming flood. James' last straw was when water began to seep into the house. James shook Dad to get his attention and that’s when he noticed the water on the hardwood flooring. Dad sprung up to his feet and started to think of a plan to keep the house from flooding. He called Mark over to go out and look for help. They put on their rain boots and walked out into the mud filled yard as Rocky followed. They struggled to move across the muddy street but slowly and carefully they made progress. James was sitting at the window watching them slowly disappear down the water filled street. He waved goodbye even though he knew they weren’t looking back. To James waving goodbye made him feel calm because it meant that they had to come back.

            However, James and the girls did not dawdle and with buckets they found in the garage, they started throwing out the water that had leaked into the house. Mom had just finished throwing out the last bucket full of water when she heard three sudden bangs that came from down the street. Mom could only think of the worst as she felt the weight of a lifetime settle on her shoulders. She went into a state of melancholy and dropped to her knees in a similar way that her heart dropped to her stomach. James found her weeping on the wet floor when there was a knock at the door. It was Mark, Mom sprung up with relief that was shortly ended when she noticed Dad’s absence. In Dads place two strange men accompanied Mark at the door. They introduced themselves as John and Robert and asked to come in. James hesitantly let them in wanting to know what happened to his dad. The family gathered around John and Robert as they explained that their dad had died trying to save Rocky from a crocodile. When John and Robert had arrived, it was already too late the crocodile had begun to approach Mark, so John shot it three times to make sure it was dead. At this point the rain showed no sign of stopping. It was no use throwing the water out in buckets because the water was seeping into the house faster than they could throw it out. They needed a new plan because the house was flooding fast. Within twenty minutes of Mark making, it back two and a half feet of water filled the house. As the family became completely hopeless, they noticed Robert was missing. Seconds later they hear Robert's voice coming from the roof. James walks towards the sound and sees the ladder Robert used to get on the roof. James calls Mark and the girls to join them on the roof because the house was unsafe due to how much water had come in. As they climb the ladder, they hear an odd noise in the air but could not make out what it was. Suddenly Ana yells out “we’re saved” she had spotted a helicopter in the darkening sky. Watching the helicopter hover through the sky flashing its spotlight on the flooded houses brought a new sense of relief to the family. All they needed to do was figure out a way to get the helicopters' attention. With three shots left in the gun John planned on shooting in order to get the helicopter's attention. “Click click click” The gun was jammed. The ammo got wet and no longer worked. Everyone waved their arms in a last-ditch effort to get the helicopter to notice them, but it kept going further and further. John tried firing again “click click bang” but it was too late. The helicopter was too far to hear the shot and all hope was lost as it disappeared into the night sky. The water reached the edge of the rooftop and there was nowhere to escape. The family started to say their goodbyes as if they knew what was going to happen. The water reached their legs, and they began to accept their fate. The water was rising by the minute and there was nothing left to do but wait to drown. That's when they heard the sound of a motor slowly getting closer and closer. It was dark and cold, but the sound of the motor gave off a radiant warm feeling of salvation. From the darkness came a light, it was a boat. The boat approached and an older man was steering the boat. It was a small old boat that could only fit four extra people. The family began to climb on the boat leaving John and Robert in the water. The family promised to come back for them, but they weren't pleased. John shot the old man and forced the family off the boat. He drove away with Robert and the family was swallowed by the water.