Fire and Flood

by Dawn Morris

  Mitch locked the door behind us. The echo of our footsteps sounded like an erratic heartbeat. I wanted to turn and run, but Mitch and Sierra walked down the long hall and into a room. We were all on edge. Where was everyone? It didn’t look like there were any prisoners here, so where was Cheryl? Had we come all this way for nothing?

  “There’s a room on either side of that bathroom. You two girls take this room. I’ll take the other one. Once it’s light outside, we’ll take a look around and figure out what to do next.”

  With that, he said goodnight and left. Sierra looked sickly again, so I let her have the bed to herself and stretched out on the floor with a pillow, my back against the wall facing the door. We left the light on.

  I woke up feeling cold and stiff. Sitting up, I could see daylight outside and decided to leave Sierra sleeping. I wanted to take a look around on my own. Mitch wasn’t my father, so I didn’t feel like I needed to say anything to him. I just left.

  It was still eerie outside, even in the early daylight. The buildings were broken down, many slathered with vines so thick the architecture was indiscernible. I saw an airplane sitting on a kind of spike, pointed at the sky. I gazed past it to the clear blue sky and wondered what it was like to fly over the earth.

  Turning, I noticed some planes sitting in a field to my right and decided to explore in that direction. There was a large, silver hangar next to the field; its massive door was slightly opened, and refrigerated air curled out of the opening like tendrils of fog.

  I crept along the side of the building, looking for a window to peer into, but there was none. I moved carefully to the door and squatted down low, a trick I’d learned at the Compound. Moving at eye level might catch the attention of someone inside the building. Reaching forward, low to the ground, I peered around the edge of the door. I took a quick glance and pulled back, terrified. My stomach roiled. Inside the hangar were rows of stainless steel tables, holding bodies. Beheaded bodies.

  I stood up, shaking, and hesitantly stepped into the hellish scene with my hand over my mouth and nose. The smell of decay mixed with disinfectant was sickening.

  In the middle of the vast space was a platform, holding the tall frame of what I recognized, to my horror, was a guillotine. I moved toward it, stifling a scream. I stumbled to regain my bearings and ran out of the building.

  Terrified, I tore back to the barracks and into the room where Sierra still slept. Gasping for breath, I shook her. “Wake up! Wake up now!” Then I rushed through the bathroom and banged on the adjoining door, screaming for Mitch. Panic overwhelmed me. I vomited on the tile floor, shrieking, “No! God, no!”

  Mitch came into the bathroom and said something, but I couldn’t hear him over my retching. He pulled me over to the toilet and held my hair back until I finished getting sick.

  I pushed away from the toilet and lay in an exhausted heap on the cold tile floor. Some time passed before I felt a cold cloth gently wiping my face. It was Mitch. Opening my eyes, I saw his brown eyes dark with concern. Sierra stood shaking in the doorway, hair askew in all directions and eyes wide with feverish fear.

  Mitch helped me stand, and I moved to the sink and washed the sour taste of bile from my mouth.

  He handed me a small towel.

  “We’ve got to get out of here right now.” I had to push the words out one at a time.

  “What is it?” Sierra whimpered, wrapping her arms around her body.

  I shook my head at Mitch. He got it and bundled his daughter out into the other room. I could hear him murmur soothingly but could not make out the words. I closed the toilet lid and sat down waiting. My legs were shaking and my head felt strange, disconnected. My heart was racing, and I tried to breath slow, deep breaths. Mitch came in and gently closed the bathroom door behind him.

  “Okay, she’s resting now. What happened?”

  Mechanically, I recited the events of my morning exploration. My voice broke when I described the bloody scene I’d witnessed.

  Mitch pulled me up by the hand and led me into the room he’d been sleeping in. He sat me on the bed before turning to pick up his backpack. He rummaged through it and pulled out a metal flask.

  “Drink some of this,” he insisted.

  I reached up and took a sip, choking and coughing as its fiery heat slashed at my sore throat. He told me to take another drink, and I did so grudgingly.

  “You’re in shock. You need to rest.” He said.

  I just handed him the flask and rolled myself in a ball on the bed. Mitch covered me with a blanket, whispering to rest and giving my shoulder a quick squeeze. “I’ll be back soon.”

  I’m not sure how long it was before I passed out. I only know I slept because of the nightmares. In them, I walked into that deathly tomb. Headless bodies chased me through long hallways with no escape. I couldn’t run fast enough as they grabbed at me with their pale hands. I woke up with a start, sitting straight up. The room was empty.

  I got out of bed and went through the bathroom to the other room. Sierra was asleep again. Her face was flushed. I touched her forehead. She was burning up.

  “Where is Mitch?” I whispered as I looked out the window. But I already knew.

  My back slid down the side of the hangar as I sat down next to Mitch. I waited for him to speak. He didn’t. Instead, he reached out his hand toward me and opened it. A yellow-gold band lay in the palm of his hand. It had a dark, swirling pattern on the outside and words engraved on the inside. I could only make out, “Never apart.” My throat tightened.

  “You found her?”

  Mitch nodded, putting the ring between his fingers and rolling it. I saw his own ring, still on his left hand, had the same kind of swirling pattern, and I gently asked him about it.

  “We thought it would be romantic to have part of the other’s fingerprint on the bands—kind of like we were laying claim to each other. Her fingerprint is on my ring, and mine is on hers.” He broke down sobbing.

  So many questions raced through my mind as I thought of him going down the rows of bodies, looking for his wife. I pursed my lips together and just sat with him. I didn’t know what to say.

  I’m not sure how long we sat there, Mitch alternately sobbed and stared blindly ahead. Eventually, he wiped his eyes and said Sierra’s name. “I need to get her,“ he said.

  Alarm blasted intensely in my head. “You’re not going to make her go in there?”

  “What?” he looked dazed. “No, of course not. But I need to tell her that her mom is . . . ” He stood up and wobbled for a few feet before his pace steadied. We made our way back to the barracks silently.

  Before we got to the room, we could hear Sierra shrieking. Mitch ran to the door and smashed it open. She was curled up in the fetal position on the bed, her hands pressed against her abdomen.

  “What’s going on?” Mitch demanded.

  “Dad, it hurts so bad! It hurts so bad!”

  Mitch looked up at me questioningly. I shrugged my shoulders. “She was feverish before I went to find you.”

  He cursed and stooped to pick her up. “Let’s go. We need to find some help.”

  I ran to the other room and grabbed his backpack then joined them, grabbing my own on the way out the door.

  It was hard for me to keep up with Mitch, despite the fact he was carrying Sierra. Instead of heading to the gate, he headed in the opposite direction. Behind the building next to the barracks was a lot filled with cars. Mitch headed right for an old blue truck with a covered bed. I’d never seen a truck with a canopy before; all the ones at the Compound had been open. I hurried ahead to open the door for Mitch, who carefully helped Sierra into the back. She was still screaming.

  As I moved around the truck to the passenger side, I scanned the area. Nothing.

  “Get inside, quick,” Mitch ordered. I obeyed. Neither of us spoke; it was pointless anyway, with Sierra screaming.

  “I can’t take much more,” Mitch muttered as he backed out of the lot and drove out o
f the base. I wasn’t sure if he was talking to me or not, so I just kept my mouth shut.

  We drove down the mountain, and I watched the trees toss shadows on the road. After about an hour, Sierra finally stopped screaming and passed out. I could feel Mitch tense in the silence. I didn’t know where we were going or what would happen next.

  FLOOD

  Chapter 14

  Those that entered, male and female of all flesh, entered as God had commanded him; and the LORD closed it behind him.

  Genesis 7:16

  Early on the last morning, Laelah, Nua, Taina, and I went out to bathe in the stream not too far from the ark. The sky was tinged with pink as we dipped into the cool water. The air was oppressively hot, even though it was still early morning, making the water particularly refreshing. I scooped it up and slathered my face and arms as the others chattered together.

  Wanting to be alone, I took a deep breath and dove under the water, swimming underneath the surface away from the others. I wondered what it would be like for all of the other people who refused to join us.

  My underwater thoughts were interrupted by muffled shouts, which became piercing shrieks of terror as I came up out of the water.

  “The Nephilim!” Nua was shouting over and over, pointing to the other side of the valley. Fear buffeted my mind in raging waves, and my chest constricted, forcing the air from my lungs. I gasped to get a breath. A terrified Taina was already out of the water, her robe clutched around her as she raced back toward the ark, her jet black hair swinging like a dark flag. Laelah got to shore next; she began running, yelling for help.

  “Hurry, Ariana,” Nua cried. I moved clumsily through the water. Images of the dead, slaughtered by the Nephilim, filled my mind. Despair enveloped me. I looked at Nua, her beautiful yellow hair piled in heavy wet heaps tumbling around her shoulders, and my mind flashed with images of her dead sister. I could not move.

  “Come on, come on!” Nua screamed. Grabbing my hand, she yanked me along behind her to the shoreline and pulled me along toward the ark. I looked back at the hills behind us and saw Nephilim armies coming toward us.

  “Don’t look at them—run!” she ordered fiercely. I obeyed and ran along with her, desperately clutching her hand, my eyes focused on the boat ahead of us.

  Nua and I got to the ramp just as horns blasted in the distance. Turning, I saw the massive army tearing toward us on their warhorses. Nua dropped my hand and ran up the ramp to her husband’s side. I froze, looking back at the sight of the dark forces still approaching.

  As I stood trembling at the base of the ramp, the ground beneath my bare feet rumbled. At first, I thought it was a vibration from the approaching army, but the shaking grew stronger and the ground between us began to tear. Huge gaps of raw, red dirt swallowed up the grassy surface between the ark and the army.

  Just then, Japheth appeared by my side, scooped me up into his arms, and moved quickly back up the ramp. I huddled in his embrace, trembling with fear. It did not take long to reach the others, and they surrounded me, murmuring soothing words. Laelah, mother to us all, rubbed my shoulder comfortingly.

  “Look!” Shem exclaimed. We all turned. The large rift in the ground on the valley floor between us and the Nephilim army was spreading wider. Japheth put me down, and I could feel the wooden ramp vibrating beneath my bare feet. Dust began to billow from the large hole forming in the valley, like a dense curtain, hiding the attackers from our view. Thunder rumbled, and the temperature dropped suddenly as a cold wind swirled around us.

  “It is time for us to go into the ark.” Noah shouted to be heard above the tumult. We hurried inside, and I didn’t look back.

  We made our way to the family living quarters where Japheth grabbed a fur robe and wrapped it around me. I sat down on one of the stools, shaking with cold and fear, my wet hair dripping.

  “What about the door?” I stuttered. Once the Nephilim figured out how to cross the crater in the valley floor, what would keep them from entering the ark? There was only one way into the large boat, but the door was so large and heavy, it was impossible for even the eight of us working together to pull it shut.

  “We have done our part, Ariana,” Noah answered, “The Lord will do His. The day has come.” He raised his hands up and began to pray. I leaned forward, resting my arms and head on my legs, huddling on the stool with the blanket over my head like one of the tortoises pulling into its shell for protection. Japheth sat next to me, his hand on my shoulder.

  No one spoke after Noah finished praying. The floor and walls around us started rumbling. Stumbling to our feet, we all raced toward the balcony overlooking the interior of the ark.

  Noah had planned this place, close to the family quarters, where we could look over the interior levels below, making it easier to check on the animals without having to run down the ramps. Across from us, on the second level, was the massive door to the ark. Through its opening, all I could see was brown swirling dust. I wondered how close the Nephilim were to us.

  “It’s moving!” Taina cried, pointing to the door. I grasped the railing as the ark lurched, and the imposing door, moved by an unseen force, slid closed, shutting out most of the light in the ark’s interior.

  We noticed that Noah had left, and we all moved to join him at the top of the boat. A narrow bridge followed the circumference of the boat, so that one could walk along the windows that ran under the parapet roofing that topped the ark. Each window could be shut up, if needed, by wooden hatches. They were now open, and we stared at the scene far below us. The Nephilim had already erected some sort of bridge across the crater. We watched in shock as men on horses began crossing over in large numbers.

  As the first giant reached the other side of their makeshift bridge, the wind picked up. Dust swirled furiously, rushing around the bridge in strange billowy shapes, like flames leaping up in a fire. The shapes rolled together, forming a thick barrier and settling on the bridge. Howls of rage exploded from the Nephilim army, and they beat their shields with their swords in frustration. It did no good.

  As we watched, the ominous cloud covered the entire valley floor, filling it up to the midpoint of the ark. For a moment, all was completely silent.

  Suddenly, loud booms rolled across the sky above us, exploding into bolts of light that hit the ground. I had never seen such a phenomenon. Taina shrieked in fear, throwing her arms over her head, and falling to the wooden floor in a heap. I grabbed Japheth and the others also huddled together. But Noah stood at the window unshaken, tears running down his face.

  “How long did I warn you, but you would not listen! Now your judgment has come. Who will save you now from the wrath of God?” He called out in anguished tones, his voice echoing across the valley.

  Ham laughed scornfully, and I turned to look at him. My husband’s brother stood to the left of Noah, gripping the window frame with both hands. Tauntingly, he yelled curses upon the army covered by the thick clouds, but his reedy thin voice failed to carry. A cacophony of roaring booms shattered above us, keeping his jeering words from being heard below.

  “Enough.” Noah put a hand on his son’s shoulder. Ham turned. I’m not sure if anyone but Noah and I saw the fleeting expression on Ham’s face. Perhaps I imagined it, but I thought I saw a resemblance to the Magistrate.

  Ham’s expression shifted, and his face became impassive. “It seems that only your words are meant to be heard, Father.” His voice was flat, with no inflection of emotion. “Your predictions have come to pass. Let us hope we actually survive this flood of yours.” He turned and pulled Taina up to her feet, whispering something in her ear. Shaking, she followed her husband back down the ladder to the living quarters below.

  Noah caught my gaze and read my fears. He smiled at me reassuringly before addressing his other sons. “Japheth and Shem, it is time to close the hatches.”

  The rain began that day—a loud, heavy rain that drummed on the roof of the ark. I had never heard anything like it.

  �
�What’s happening?” Nua shouted, clutching the stall door. We’d been feeding the large cats. The majestic creatures had stiffened, too, bracing themselves against the movement of the ark.

  I had thrown my arms around the neck of the female tiger. I took a deep breath against its fur and tried to get to my feet. The sudden movement took me by surprise, too. “Remember Noah said that the water underground would be released, too.” The sudden release of water must have filled the valley and begun to lift the ark. The boat lurched violently.

  “Let’s go to the family quarters,” she said, “It’s getting worse!”

  Waves crashed into the boat, making it hard to walk. Nua and I staggered like drunkards after a long night, but we finally got back to our rooms. The rest of the family was already there. The violent movement lasted almost all night.

  The next morning, I woke to the strange sensation of floating. Japheth was gone, so I got dressed quickly to go find him. He was up on the top floor, next to an open window, looking out into the dim light. It was still raining, but not as heavy now, just a steady pour.

  “Can you see anything?” I asked.

  Japheth turned and grimaced, “No, but I heard people screaming as we passed that mountain back there.” He pointed to a mountain not too far off in the distance. Although it was morning, the thick dark clouds and rain made it difficult to see much.

  “That’s awful.” I listened but heard nothing. “I didn’t think about what it would be like. That people wouldn’t all die right away.”

  “I didn’t either. It’s terrible.” Japheth’s voice broke. Wrapping my arms around him, we held each other tightly.

  “How do we live through this?” I asked. “How do we live through the end of the world?” My heart beat so strongly in my chest that I was sure Japheth felt it; I trembled in his arms.