The water was tearing through town worse than last year's tornado and he'd already seen half a dozen people clinging to the top of cars or torn up trees, all hurtling past his third story window. They usually hit the house at the end of the street, either getting knocked off or knocked out in the process.
He wanted to help, he would have helped, but there was something sitting just at the water's surface and waiting for him to make any further movement. It had spotted him after it had bumped another drifter from the safety of their car and swallowed them whole. Their eyes had locked and it swam right for him.
Luckily for him, it couldn't work up enough momentum to make a decent leap for his window with the current and debris all batting it around as soon as it tried to stay still for a minute. Now it's strategy seemed to be trying to climb using the claws on its front fins like hooks against the worn brickwork.
He knew it would only be a matter of time before it figured out how to get inside and head up the flooded lower floors. Hopefully by then the water will have receded enough for him to make a dash for the roof and wait for rescue there without risking it climbing straight for him.
As the sound of bone scraping against brick grew louder, as the sound of the flood worsening grew louder, as the sound of his frantic heartbeat thundering in his chest grew louder - he knew he would have to act soon. He would have to decide which way he would prefer to die.
Whichever would be quickest would suit him just fine.
No comments:
Post a Comment