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  When they had to move and do so quickly, she relinquished the fight and raised her arms, as best as she could … literally.

  Ross had been there, he himself broke a rib when he was younger playing baseball. He knew the pain and the treatment. He also knew what worked, and he told her so.

  He had told her he suspected right away her ribs were broken and with that, had the foresight when he got supplies, he picked up bandages, pain pills and antibiotics.

  Morgan hadn’t taken anything more than an ibuprofen.

  “I don’t want to get pneumonia,” she told him. “Binding causes that.”

  “It won’t if you deep breathe and take the antibiotics. I’m not a doctor, but I know what works and what will make you feel better.”

  After he wrapped them Morgan realized he was right. They did feel better bound and stabilized, plus it didn’t take long for that pill to kick in. It didn’t make her drowsy either, it took away her fear of going outside.

  Of that, she was terrified.

  She spent most of the evening and night on the computer while Ross slept. She looked up everything and anything that she could think of related to what occurred. In fact, Morgan was certain she had figured it out. Or at least she was in the ball park.

  Her job before everyone dropped was a risk analysist. Ever since she was a child, she planned and thought everything through, to the point it was unnerving to people.

  She was always that person that said, “If we do this, then this and that could happen.”

  Spontaneity wasn’t in her vocabulary … ever.

  She even planned their best route to get to Greenfield if they had to walk, and where they could possibly get a car and which back streets they could take that might not be blocked by crashed cars.

  She wrote everything down, in case her phone died, and would have furthered her research had the power not gone out with the storm.

  She had expected the storm, although not as severe, and unfortunately more was going to happen. Ross was right on that, just his reasoning why was skewed. She planned to talk to him about it, after they made it to Greenfield. She figured he needed to be in the right frame of mind for his family search.

  All that went out the window when he woke her up with urgency. “We need to move. We need to move now.”

  She looked at her watch, it was barely daylight.

  It hurt to lift her arm. “What’s going on?”

  “As soon as it’s light enough to safely walk, we have to go. Hopefully, it’ll hold. Let’s get you ready.”

  She didn’t know what ready meant, and she shook her head when he pulled out the bandage to bind her, then she felt the pain.

  “I can’t have that,” Ross said. “You have to be strong and you’re gonna have to move fast, this is the best way.”

  The pain was unbearable to even sit, but she’d managed.

  “Stand up.”

  “What is going on?” Morgan asked as she staggered to a stand. When she did, her feet squished on the damp carpet and she lifted her head.

  Ross stepped aside, walked to the door and lifted the blind.

  “Oh my God.” Morgan nearly fell backwards.

  They were so close to the river, that had to be the reason. The storm was worse than she imagined. Water had come up to the door at least three feet. The seal was holding it, allowing only a bit of water to seep through, but a crack was forming on the glass.

  “I went to the top floor,” Ross said. “It looks about this deep for a while. I couldn’t see too far. The back is the only way out. This gives us the street.”

  “How in the hell are we going to do this.”

  “Carefully,” Ross replied.

  That was when he wrapped her.

  They didn’t have much as far as belongings, just her purse. She placed her pills and notes in a plastic garbage bag and shoved it in her purse. In the employee break room there was a drawer full of those plastic grocery store bags. Using tape, they both wrapped their feet in them.

  “I figured the water is at least three feet deep. When I open this door, that pressure is going to be bad,” Ross explained. “you’re not in any shape to fight that current.”

  “Okay …. So what choice do I have?”

  Ross pointed to the receptionist desk. “You’ll get up there, hold tight to the ledge, Just in case.”

  The desk had a lip that was a foot or so above the surface. It was a difficult climb and her feet slid from the plastic. Ross aided her up there and sat on top, holding the ledge. He walked to the door.

  “Ready?” he asked.

  Morgan nodded.

  He appeared to be bracing his footing. One hand on the door handle, the other reached for the deadbolt. The moment he turned the lock, the need to open the door was lost and Ross wasn’t ready. The pressure of the water blasted the door open, sending him flying back. He bounced off the desk and the current rushed under his feet, sweeping him across the reception area into a wall.

  “Ross!”

  He managed to grab the archway and hold on. His legs moved with the water as his fingers barely gripped.

  Morgan felt helpless. Bodies sailed in with the water at a high speed. One hit into Ross, he lost his grip and he washed away with the water.

  “Ross!” Morgan screamed.

  Within a minute, the water calmed when it reached the height of the water outside.

  “Ross!” she screamed again. After she lowered to her hands and knee, Morgan began to climb down. Her first thought was to find him and hope he hadn’t drown.

  “I’m okay!” he yelled in the distance. “I’ll be right there.”

  She lowered her head in gratefulness. She listened to the splashing of the water and knew that was Ross making his way to her.

  “Are you all right?” She asked when she saw him.

  “Yeah, knocked the wind out of me.” He coughed. “You ready to do this?”

  Morgan nodded and Ross helped her from the desk. The water felt strange, almost slimy. Morgan adjusted the strap to her bag to lift it higher. The water came to her mid-thigh and it was hard to walk. Once outside, it was water as far as she could see. It appeared as if a city was in a shallow lake.

  Bodies floated everywhere. Most of them face down. It was like walking through a pond filled with lily pads, only the green leaves of nature were replaced with earth’s most precious commodity … people. Morgan tried not to look, it wasn’t their bodies that disturbed her, it was the fact they lost their lives. People like her, who went to work, had families, loved … now everything about them, every memory they held was gone.

  She couldn’t move without bumping into one, despite Ross leading the way, moving them aside.

  Even though he announced when she needed to watch her footing. Bodies were still trapped in cars, and she grew squeamish when she would nudge against a limb. Pushing through the water was slow and trudging. The pace would be a hindrance, but they had to keep going. The smell was a stew of many rotten things. The water wasn’t cold, and the weather was still stifling hot. There was a heavy overcast to the day filled with dark gray clouds that looked violent. It was humid, very humid and sticky. They had to keep moving. They needed to get deeper into the city and away from the river, at the very least get to a higher ground or overpass. It wouldn’t be long before another storm arrived.

  TWELVE - STUDY

  The last thing Dawson recalled was holding on to his family picture, clutching it tight to his chest while watching the video of his family at Cedar Point the year before. He watched that video over and over. He heard his mother’s voice and he needed that. It was hard for him to believe that he would never see them again. They were gone.

  He fell asleep covered by his favorite gray blanket, his iPad by his head propped on his pillow. When he woke up, he was still covered, still holding that picture, and sweaty, only he was on the couch. He had been dreaming about fishing with some man he didn’t know, and when he woke up calling out, “Branson!” he tumbled to
the floor.

  It wasn’t bright in the living room, and he wondered if he slept the day away.

  “You all right?” Judd stepped into the living room.

  “Yes. Why am I down here?” Dawson asked.

  “Bad storm last night, I just didn’t want you upstairs, in case the house got struck by lightning or something. I can’t believe you slept through it.”

  “Why is it so dark?” Dawson asked.

  “The power went out.”

  “Will it come back on?”

  “I doubt it, Bud. It takes someone to flip the switch. I don’t think anyone is going to do that. Are you hungry?” he asked. “You didn’t eat last night.”

  “A little.”

  “Come to the kitchen. We need to also talk about what we’re going to do.”

  Judd walked away. Dawson didn’t know what he was talking about. He looked at the picture still clutched in his arms, placed it on the coffee table and went to the kitchen.

  He could feel the fresh air breeze when he stepped inside. It wasn’t that cool though. But it was air that had a smell to it.

  “It stinks.” Dawson covered his nose.

  “You kind of get used to it.”

  Judd sat at the kitchen table, there was a ton of food spread out. Most from the fridge and freezer.

  “What’s going on?”

  “Gonna have to cook this all up today. This is what we’re gonna eat. The other stuff, the cans, boxes, that can wait. This is stuff that didn’t go bad.”

  “How you going to cook it if there’s no electricity?” Dawson sat at the table.

  “I can get the stove working with a match.”

  Dawson lifted the flat box of pizza bagels. “How you gonna make these?”

  Judd took the box. “I’ll figure it out.”

  “Hey, Judd, you said we have to talk about what we’re gonna do. What did you mean?”

  “It means.” Judd stopped sorting out food and folded his hands on the table. “We need to figure out our next move. We can’t stay here.”

  “Why not?”

  “Power is out. It’s only gonna get hotter. We’re in for some crazy weather and it looks like it’s not gonna stop for a spell.”

  “So why we leaving in bad weather?”

  “We’ll wait. Tomorrow, later today. Hopefully it breaks enough. I wanna take the car far enough to get another. But we need to leave. We need water. We have enough bottle water …”

  “We can go to the store. There’s one right up the street.”

  Judd shook his head. “That’s immediate, pal. We need to think long term survival. Chapter two of that book, water, food and shelter.”

  “We have them all. Isn’t this food.” Dawson pointed to the array on the table.

  Judd smiled at him. “We have to look beyond all this. You and I … we’re alive. We need to stay that way. Do you have any family other than your mom and dad?”

  “I have an aunt somewhere. Not around here. You want to take me there?”

  “No, I thought maybe that could be a goal. We need a goal. Something to follow, to focus on. That way we can look for a place on the way. I’m thinking where we can live off the land.”

  “Isn’t there enough food out there? People have food in their houses, we can take that.”

  Judd inhaled and stared. “I suppose we can.” He stood up. “You want the pizza bagels?”

  “Whatever you want to make.”

  “How about the frozen pancakes, they’re almost thawed anyhow.” Judd lifted them and walked to the stove. He grabbed a pan.

  “I don’t want to leave, Judd. I don’t want to leave my house.”

  “I know. I really do and we can pack a bag of stuff you want to take. I think your mom and dad would want you to go where it’s safe.”

  “How do you know this isn’t safe?” Dawson asked.

  Judd put the pan on the stove and turned around. “I don’t. But Ray of Sunshine said…”

  “You talked to Ray?”

  “He called last night. I been trying all day to call him, but I want to conserve my phone. Can’t charge it until I get in my car.”

  “What did he say?”

  “We were gonna get bad storms, to look up the satellite maps. I did. The whole county is covered with this thick cloud and they weren’t moving. Earth looked like it was covered in cotton candy. Last thing he said was he had to get to safety or something.”

  “What did that mean?”

  “I don’t know. We lost connection and that storm last night was bad. Trees fell down and there’s about six inches of water on the street. If it rains any worse the water might get too high to drive. Chapter four, flooding, he said not to drive if the water is moving. It seems to be moving. I think it's moving, but am not totally sure.”

  Dawson jumped from the table.

  “Whoa, hey, wait, where are you going?” Judd grabbed his arm.

  “I wanna see.”

  “You don’t need to see.”

  “Sure I do.” Dawson pulled away.

  “Dawson, don’t …”

  Before he could finish, a slight rumble vibrated the kitchen. It lasted about twenty seconds.

  “What was that?” Dawson asked.

  “I don’t know.” Judd answered softly.

  “Maybe it’s a rescue truck.”

  “It’s not a rescue truck.”

  “I’m gonna go see. I also want to see the flood.”

  “Dawson,” Judd said strong. “You don’t need to …”

  Dawson didn’t listen. Judd said the street had water, and a tree fell down. He had never seen anything like that. He ran to the living room and pulled on the door. It was locked. After undoing the bolt, he grabbed the handle and pulled.

  “Dawson, don’t open that door.”

  Too late. Dawson opened it. He was rendered breathless for a moment and near ready to scream.

  Judd slammed the door and locked it, placing his body against it.

  “Judd, why is that mechanic man standing in the yard?”

  “I don’t know. That’s why I didn’t want you to open the door. I didn’t want you to get scared.”

  “Are you?”

  “Heck yeah,” Judd said.

  “How long has he been out there?” Dawson asked.

  “All night.”

  “All night!”

  Judd facially cringed. “I know. I know. I’ll handle him.” He walked over and peeked out the blind. “Just got to figure out how and why.”

  THIRTEEN – BOURBON, TEARS AND GUESTS

  Having lived in the Pittsburgh area most of her life, Morgan had never been to Greenfield. She heard of it, and for some reason she attached a bad rap section of town to it. She supposed it was like any other area, it had its shares of trouble, but there was a certain charm to the suburb. She just wished she was seeing it under better circumstances.

  From where they were in downtown Pittsburgh, it was nearly five miles to Greenfield. She had set a route that was dismissed pretty quickly by Ross. Seeing how he was a police officer, she left it to his expertise. His route added a mile or so. Morgan didn’t fret it, she walked further when she had gone to Vegas.

  She believed at first they were looking for a car. It didn’t matter, though. It was Pittsburgh, there were very little stretches of road where cars didn’t block the way, at least a normal size car wouldn’t get through.

  The water remained high well out of downtown, beyond Duquesne University. It eventually stayed steady at ankle length, occasionally turning into a damp surface. Pittsburgh was a city of hills and slopes, if by chance the town was submerged in water, than they were in trouble.

  They walked a main road that was blocked by overturned buses and cars, it was a mess.

  The streets were empty and devoid of life. They passed the main hospital, and smoke rose from the roof. Fire had ravaged the entire building.

  Every step she took, every painful step, Morgan hoped to see someone.

  She didn�
�t.

  Sadly, seeing bodies was fast becoming common place.

  They didn’t speak much and they didn’t discuss what was next after Ross’ house. Morgan actually had nowhere to go, no one she wanted to look for. She supposed she could look for Craig, but they had been together long enough she felt his fate.

  He was gone.

  She realized as they walked she didn’t know Ross. Only that he had a wife, kids, a big family and was a cop. Other than that, he was a mystery. He didn’t ask any questions of her other than was she hurt and did she have kids.

  He was a stranger to her and she had no choice but to place her trust in him. Either that or go off on her own which didn’t make sense.

  A little over half way on their journey, Ross veered off toward a squad car. The vehicle had crashed into a bus stop, the front end was like an accordion.

  “Are you wanting to take the car?” she asked.

  “No.” Ross opened the door. “Ah, man.”

  “Do you know him?” Morgan asked of the dead police man slumped over toward the passenger seat.

  “Yeah, yeah, I did.” Ross reached inside and grabbed the radio microphone. He depressed the button. Nothing. He reached inside again and tried the ignition. “It’s still in the on position. It ran out of gas.”

  “Like a lot of cars. It goes to figure,” Morgan said. “They crashed and never shut off the car, they ran out of gas and the battery died. “

  “That makes sense. Ross replied.

  I have a radio at home. We’ll try that.” He moved away.

  She wanted to ask, “Radio who?” She didn’t. Morgan walked slowly, never once did Ross complain about her speed, or to tell her to “Keep up.” He kept it steady, and Morgan did her best to stay close. When she drifted too far behind, he’d stop, wait, then move again.

  Once they neared Greenfield, they hit the flooded area again, with water rising to her knees. A light drizzle started to fall. Morgan held out her hand and looked to the sky. A faint sound of thunder rumbled in the distance.

  Ross’ house was on a hill and had a safe and dry road. The river had spilled over at the bottom of his street forming a large pond. His home was near the top of the street. He paused as he stood on the sidewalk before the small front yard staring at the two story, gray siding home.