Rising Tide

Chapter 7: Safe House

I sat on top of the roof with my head in my hands. Small waves reached up just below my feet. The water level had settled for now. It didn't matter, though. The city had been lost.

"Hey, there!"

I looked up and saw a dot of light out on the water. Clouds had covered up the moon and stars so I couldn't make out who had called out to me. The boat moved closer, and a man wearing a green vest with the president symbol on it gave me a sad smile.

"Rough day?"

I just stared at him. I'd punch him in the face, but hitting a government working who was trying to save me wouldn't end up good for my family or me.

"Come on, boy." He held out his hand. "Let's get you onto to dry land."

I stood and inched down the pitch of the roof. I snatched his hand and toppled into the boat. Sitting down in the bottom of it, I wiped my face.

"There, there, kid." He pushed off the house and started to row toward high ground. "You're alive. Save your tears."

Turning away from him, I clenched my jaw. I wasn't crying. My eyes were just watering. A breeze whirled through the tops of the buildings, causing me to shiver. I was still completely soaked.

"There's a blanket under the bench."

I glanced over my shoulder before quickly retrieving it. Unfolding it, I wrapped the blanket around my body and curled into a ball. "How many survived?"

The man shrugged. "We're still out looking. Most of the town left before the waves hit, so we didn't lose as many as we could have. Of the ones who stayed"—he shook his head—"about 30% made it to high ground. Are you looking for someone?"

"My mom and sister." They were ahead of me."

"Well, you weren't too far from the cliffs. They could have made it."

"I hope," I said, letting out a shaky breath. What would I do if they didn't? I had nothing. If something happened to my dad, I'd be put in an children's home. I was almost sixteen, though. Depending on space, I'd be the first kicked out onto the streets. Closing my eyes, I laid my head on the edge of the boat. The waves brushed up against the side as we slowly moved along.

"Hey, hey!"

I sat up and saw a man standing on dry ground waving his arms. Lanterns lit the area. Tents were just behind the row of small boats. The two men tied off ours.

"Just one?"

The one who saved me nodded. "Just the boy. I don't dare go out too far. There have been reports of more waves coming." He held out his hand.

I stood and climbed out.

"Yeah, that's your last trip," said the other man. "This whole hill is going to be covered by morning. As soon as the last boat comes in we're packing up and come back once the water level settles." He put his hand on my shoulder and held up a finger. "Go up to the tent and tell them your name. They'll tell you what to do until the boat to take you out of here is ready to leave."

I nodded and started up the trotted down path in the grass. I stopped at a desk with a lady sitting behind it.

She gave me a sad smile. "Name, sweetheart?"

I tightened my hold on the blanket around me. "Ezekiel Zale Thornton." I glanced at the list as she wrote my name down. "My mother and sister, are there any other Thorntons?"

"Um..." She started to scan the different pages. "I don't have the whole list. We're going to type it into the system, and when you get to the safe house, they'll have all the names. They can look them up for you."

Nodding, I looked around. "Where am I supposed to..."

She pointed to a few other people sitting on the grass. I shuffled out of the tent and joined them. We had the same blank expression. I recognized a couple from school. Something was floating right by the edge of the water. I walked a little closer. Someone snatched my leg.

"Don't," said the older man. "Leave it."

I backed up a few feet and sat down. A motorboat passed by, and a spotlight flickered over the object. I shut my eyes tightly when the light ran across the body's face. Directing my gaze at my feet, I didn't look away from the grass. I didn't want to see anything else.

"Get the rest of them out of here." A man in an army uniform walked behind us. "The land shifted again. This whole place will be underwater by morning." Other workers quickened their pace to keep up with him.

I hugged my arms around my legs. My home was gone. One day and it was all gone.

Soon after a boat pulled up to the makeshift dock. The workers gathered us up and led us onto the deck. We were directed to lower level. I sat down on the corner of a coach. A couple others squeezed in with me. Not much was said. I felt the jolt of the engine, and we started to move. I had never been outside of my hometown. It scared me. I had no idea what was waiting at the end of this boat ride.

***

"Alright everyone up!"

I jolted awake from the train bench I was sprawled across. The other flood survivors started to rise. Stretching out my arms, I glanced out the window at the buildings that soar high overhead. Things like this were only seen in pictures and movies. I swallowed hard.

"Where are we?" asked a woman to the man next to her.

The couple, along with many others, had joined our group after we got off the boat.

"I think they brought us to the Oasis."

"What would they bring us to the capital? There's nothing for us here."

The man shrugged. "It's where they always bring flood victims. It not like we can go back home. We'll have to decide from here where we want to go next." He grabbed her hand and the two walked out onto the platform.

Grabbing my blanket off the seat, I followed the others off the train. A large dome sat on the other side of the platform.

"Follow the signs," said a woman in a uniform. "They'll help you through processing."

I nodded and stepped into line with the others. I moved along to the desk. The other train cars had plenty of people in them as well. I arrived at the front of the line.

"Name."

"Ezekiel Zale Thornton," I stated.

"Age."

"I'll be sixteen in a few days."

"We'll put sixteen then." She tapped a few boxes on her screen and then scanned a bracelet. "Keep this on. The light on the side will flash if someone comes looking for you. Under twenty goes through the green gate. If your parents are found, they will be notified. If no one comes to claim you within a week, you'll be transferred to a children's center until we can confirm if your parents are alive."

"Then what?" I said, feeling a tightness in my chest. "What if they didn't make it?"

She smiled at me. I could tell it was rehearsed.

"You'll be fine. Don't worry." She motioned for me to continue on.

I did so. A soldier scanned my bracelet and pointed to the green archway. I glanced at the line. Children with their parents were allowed to go to the blue arches. The tightness started to increase. What was I going to do?

Inside kids of all ages were scattered about on cots. I went to the back corner and choose one away from everyone else. Laying down, I put the blanket over my head. The tears were coming. I felt so tense. I wanted to be in my home. Downstairs letting off steam, or even playing for my mother, I wanted this to all go away. That wasn't going to happen, though, not in a world destined to drown.