What the fuck is this?
Everyone turns, looking around, but I’m the only one looking at the house when I hear the creak of trees screaming as they’re being moved.
Then, I fucking know exactly what’s going on.
Mudslide.
“Marisol!” I yell. I take a step toward her. She’s less than ten feet from me, and I know that I could get to her if I just…
Before I know it, I’m punched in the ribs by something solid, and my world turns dark.
I’m tumbling.
Over and over, the world rotates around me. I tuck myself into a ball, just trying to keep the rocks that I can feel pelting me from hitting something important.
My mind offers helpful images of being stuck through by a tree branch.
I’m in a mudslide.
I never in my life thought I would be in a fucking mudslide. Not once.
And here I fucking am.
I have to get out of here before I’m buried.
I have no idea how to do that. I don’t know what’s up. I have no idea if I’m pointing down.
I just fuckin’ pray, and start moving.
The air is burning in my lungs by the time my fingers hit something that feels like air.
I pull myself up, coughing the dirt out of my mouth as I come up to the top of the river of mud that’s cascading around me.
Fuck.
The world is still moving. I sip air before taking another huge pull with my arms. I need something to hold onto. I need…
A tree appears next to me, and I grab it, hauling myself up on the trunk.
The mud, at least, appears to be slowing down. It’s solidifying around me, and while that’s not a good sign, at least I can crawl out around it.
I think.
The tree feels solid underneath me, which is fucking good. I pull myself up, trying to survey the surroundings.
The rain, and the darkness, make me completely lose sight of everything, and my heart squeezes with terror.
Marisol.
I have to find her.
I have no fucking clue where I am or how far away from the house I am. The mud must have exploded over the house, and I don’t know if it’s buried or swept away or…
Fuck it.
“Marisol!” I scream.
Silence greets me.