Page 20 of Waves of Fury

“Get over here where it’s safe,” I yell, reaching an arm out toward her.

Hope manages to push away from the wall and grabs onto my outstretched hand. I tug her up over the railing. To her credit, she doesn’t complain about her hit to the shoulder and quickly steadies herself on her feet, having lost her high heels somewhere along the way.

The landing between Kellen’s floor and the rooftop is dry and big enough for everyone to gather, so as soon as we can, we’ll need to move everyone to the new location.

Frannie climbs the stairs ahead of me and beats on the rooftop door when she makes it there. “It’s stuck!”

I push past her and attempt to turn the knob, but it’s locked. Beside the door is an enclosed ax in a metal cage. Naturally, that’s locked too. My pocketknife is in my backpack. I’ll have to wait until I grab it unless…

“Hope, you still have that letter opener?”

She unzips the lunch bag and retrieves the shiny metal object. I take it from her and then assess the metal cage. The padlock that’s keeping it sealed shut is thick but cheap. It takes some finagling, but I manage to jam the keyhole enough times with the letter opener that it breaks something inside the lock. I let out a rush of relieved breath when I’m able to yank on the lock to free the ax.

The ax is lightweight and easy to handle. After pulling it free, I glance over my shoulder to make sure Hope and Frannie aren’t right behind me before I start swinging the thing. I take a step back and then swing it hard overhead, landing the blade on the thinnest part of the metal between the knob and door.

Crack!

The knob flies off, scuttling across the concrete floor before rolling over the edge and into the water below. The door swings open, nearly smacking me in the face. I grab hold of it and then gingerly peek my head outside.

It’s pouring down rain now, making it difficult to see much more than a few feet out in front of me. But based on the broken glass, hunks of concrete, and tangles of metal from other buildings that have landed on the roof, it’s safe to say that the buildings around us aren’t in much better shape.

My eyes land on a milk-jug-sized piece of concrete. I run through the rain the few feet ahead and scoop it up. When I come back, both women are watching me warily. The wind fights me, but I manage to shut the door and push the concrete in front of it to keep it from swinging back open.

“Now what?” Frannie asks, despair etched into the lines of her face. “What do we do now?”

Roll over and die because, like Kyle said, we’re fucked.

“We’ll figure it out,” I lie. “Let’s get everyone up here and then we’ll figure it out together.”

Kellen

I’m still having trouble coming to terms with the fact there’s water. Everywhere. And, from the looks of it, not receding anytime soon.

They warned us.

They’ve been warning us for fifty goddamn years.

It’s hard to believe that it’s finally happening. Almost as if I’m caught in a realistic nightmare—a devilish wet dream and not the fun kind.

Kyle curses from near the window I’d been almost swept out of not long ago.Brian, behind him, bobs in the water, looking into the distance along with him.

“What is it?” I call out, voice hoarse and quavering. “What do you see?”

“Water!” Kyle yells back. “The city is a fucking ocean. We’re screwed!”

Elise starts sobbing uncontrollably while Gerry attempts to console her. Barb grabs my hand, squeezing it. As their boss, I should be telling them everything will be fine and coming up with some sort of plan.

Yet…

All I can do is remain frozen, my brain the only thing moving and wildly at that.

The heavy rain pelting the building is nearly deafening coupled with the way the wind howls. The building groans and creaks, making me wonder how much longer it can take the storm’s abuse. If it collapses and washes away, we’ll be dead within seconds.

Might be the easiest way out for everyone.

Quick death by drowning.

Kyle starts swimming back toward us, face twisted into a frustrated glower. Brian remains near the windows, staring out into what used to be the bay.

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