Chapter 2 - The Rising Tide
Branches whipped across my face, tearing at my skin and snagging my clothes as I scrambled through the pitch-black woods. Mud sucked at my bare feet, threatening to pull me down with every desperate leap. Thunder cracked right overhead, shaking the earth beneath me, followed by blinding arcs of lightning that illuminated the disaster below.
When the valley floor came into view, my heart stopped.
The creek was no longer a gentle stream bordered by weeping willows. It had transformed into a violent, churning brown sea, carrying tree trunks, drowned patio furniture, and debris in a deafening roar. My parents’ single-story brick home was already submerged up to the bottom of the front windows. The violent current was slamming into the porch, tearing away the wooden railings I had paid three thousand dollars to replace just last spring.
""Lily!"" I screamed into the gale, but the storm swallowed my voice whole.
I slid down the muddy embankment, crashing into the frigid, filthy backwater pooling near the perimeter fence. The shock of the cold knocked the air out of my lungs. The water smelled of mud, decaying leaves, and raw sewage. Debris scraped against my shins, but adrenaline blocked the pain. I dragged myself forward, pushing through waist-deep water that fought every movement I made.
""Lily! Baby, can you hear me?!""
I reached the back patio. The French glass doors were locked. Inside, shadows danced in the gloom. I picked up a heavy, submerged stone planter from the patio deck, hoisted it over my shoulder, and hurled it through the safety glass.
The shatter was followed by a sharp, piercing shriek from inside.
""Lily!""
""Mommy?!""
I hauled myself through the broken frame, ignoring the jagged glass tearing through the fabric of my trousers. The living room was a nightmare. The murky floodwater was already four feet deep, swirling with overturned cushions, photo albums, and floating rugs.
And there, perched on top of the heavy oak refrigerator in the open-concept kitchen, was my six-year-old daughter.
She was shivering violently, her small hands clutching her sodden stuffed rabbit to her chest. Her yellow sundress was soaked, her face streaked with tears and dirt.
""Mommy! You came!"" she wailed, her voice cracking with terror.
""I’m here, sweetie! Hold on to Mommy!"" I waded through the chest-high water, fighting the internal draft that rushed toward the broken door. The water was rising by the minute; the creek was forcing its way in through every crevice.
I reached the refrigerator, wrapped my arms around her trembling waist, and pulled her down into my chest. She clung to my neck with a frantic, desperate strength, burying her freezing face into my collarbone.
""Grandpa pushed me away,"" she sobbed hysterically into my neck. ""I asked him to take me, Mommy. I grabbed his coat, and he shook me off. He said the leather seats were full with Aunt Nicole’s things. Grandma locked the door behind them so the carpets wouldn't get ruined!""
Hearing the truth spoken from Lily's trembling lips shattered whatever remaining piece of familial loyalty lived in my heart. They hadn't just panicked and forgotten her. They had physically detached her hands, locked her inside a rising tomb, and drove away with suitcases of dresses and jewelry.
""I've got you now, baby,"" I whispered, kissing her soaked forehead fiercely. ""Nobody is ever going to hurt you again. I swear to God, nobody.""
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Suddenly, a loud groan echoed through the structure. A floating oak beam slammed against the master bedroom wall, cracking the drywall. Outside, the roar of the water intensified. The back patio exit was now a violent whirlpool. We couldn't go back out the way I had entered—the current would rip Lily from my arms within seconds.
We were trapped.
