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The city flooded at midnight.
That's how it has always been. Every first Tuesday night of every month. Nobody knew why. The gritty, chalky streets of New Jersey turned into a sadistic slip n' slide when twelve struck. The older citizens would say it was to let "God's devils" pass. It being the flooding of course. Folks would lock themselves up in their water proof homes. Some would watch the flooding happen, standing by their windows and gazing out at the city. Others would hide, scared of the so called "flood creatures" that were so often dreamed up by imaginative neighbors and friends, even the media. Streets would become rivers. Walmart parking lots became swimming pools.
That's how it has always been.
Karlie finished air sealing her door closed and brushed her hands together in a pleased manner. It was the first Tuesday of April. And the flooding was two hours away. She liked to be prepared.
Joe, her little Yorkshire terrier, yapped happily as his owner reentered the living room. He dizzily spun around in circles and eagerly offered Karlie his favourite toy to throw - a stuffed goldfish. Karlie played fetch with him before setting a pot of water on the stove to boil. It was going to be a long night. She was going to make coffee.
Rumors had spread across the internet about a new species of creature coming with tonights flooding. It was even on the news briefly. Karlie had seen flood creatures before. Usually they were small, cat sized things. They were ugly, all scales and eyes. And they'd tap on her window occasionally as they swam by. But that was it when it came to anything of the sort.
Still, Karlie was nervous. People had whispered about these creatures being the size of a golden retrievers. Karlie heard they had long knitting needle teeth and hundreds of tongues, all flopping out of their mouths like limp worms.
Karlie didn't like worms.
So she waited for her water to boil and she made coffee. The TV was set to a station giving flooding updates. Karlie usually listened to the station when Tuesday came around. It made her feel a little safer, knowing what was happening in the outside world when she couldn't be in it.
She stood by her window with her first cup of Italian brew and sipped it gently. Karlie's house was part of an estate of neat two story homes, all residing on a small hill. The front windows were tall and thick. And the rooms were spacious and stylish. Karlie really liked her house. But she liked it a little less on Tuesdays.
Midnight came by quicker than Karlie could blink. She heard the familiar drone of the flooding siren in the distance. There was a rumble under her feet. Joe scampered into his cushiony doggie house. And Karlie stared out at the deep indigo sky. The moon was full tonight. It shone down on the eerie scene that was about to ensue.
