The Toxicity of Water_A Rising Waters Short
Page 3
Moesha took a tomato, stowing it in her bag and gave Hunter a look. “Last of their kind?”
He nodded.
They both climbed onto the roof. Moesha followed the others, sliding down, and splashing into the water. Hunter paused, straddling the peak of the roof. A turbulent boil swirled where the pawn shop used to be. Half the divers were in the boat. Simon was swimming frantically with Roy and Moesha behind. All three were being pulled in the fast water. The current had shifted. The confluence of river and ocean had moved. Tesso gunned the engines, pointing towards them.
The house groaned and Simon shifted his feet. One flipper went through the shingles. Hunter looked down through the rafters seeing his parent’s bed below.
If only they had listened.
He kneeled to pull himself out. Instead of rising up, he pushed the whole house down. The frame moved and twisted, crumbling under him. He felt heavy, dense, weighed down by loss.
Water bubbled below, first pushing up the mattress, then drowning it under its own weight. The room they slept in flooded. He felt the rafters sink away and him with it.
He hadn’t moved, but the house collapsed underneath him. He wasn’t standing or swimming or sinking. Hunter bobbed in the water, letting it pull him where it may.
Water splashed his face. The noise got louder. Was it the river or the ocean? It didn’t matter. The brine was toxic. It was trying to wash his whole family away.
He heard the roar of the engine before he saw the arms reaching out for him. A hot pink tiger stripe took him by the collar.
#
The trees had been pulled to the side of the road. Broad sweeping strokes painted the asphalt in mud and dead leaves. The tracks weren’t wide but there were more of them than he expected.
As he strode up the hill, Hunter could see the broken wood. Three pallets were splintered into the mud where the rear tires should be. A splash of congealed grease marked the ground where Dot dumped the pan fat. Maybe they left in a hurry, maybe not. Didn’t matter, Sherman never left a note, but had taught his grandson what to look for.
Hunter kept going up the hill, rounding a turn into the park. He saw the mark. Shallow axe strokes carved the trunk, pointing him to the top of the hill.
None of the mud tracks appeared to respect the yellow dividing line. Had someone given chase? Hunter hurried.
Broken asphalt became heavy gravel as he followed the marks off the main road. The trees got closer together. Hunter’s footsteps crunched loud inside the park. Another mark pointed him into a thicket. There was no way they had driven the truck through here.
Through the trees the canopy opened up. A pool of sunlight shined down on a patch of turned soil, rich and black. A pot marked each corner of the garden.
Hunter squatted at the edge of this grandmother’s handiwork. Even if she hadn’t convinced Sherman to stay, she had still planted an anchor. They wouldn’t go far.
He opened the dry bag and pulled out a wrapped tomato. The fruit had burst, soaking the towel with its juices, but the important part was still intact. Hunter picked three tiny seeds from the carcass. He found a space between the rows of pumpkin seeds and pressed each one into a soft part of the ground, covering them up. They might not grow tall, but this variety was hearty. They would take.
Behind him, Hunter could hear the distinct snap of metal bolts dropping into metal cans. He stood and turned, seeing an arched quilt of plastic tarps beyond the trees.
THE END
RISING WATERS SHORTS
Rising Waters is an anthology of near future short stories. Similar to Black Mirror or Close Encounters before it, this episodic anthology follows everyday characters into a world challenged by accelerating technology and inevitable climate change. Each story stands alone, but together they paint a picture of what the world might be, just around the corner.
GRIEF PROTOCOLS: RELEASED 2017
STEALING AIR: RELEASED 2018
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Ralph Walker is an architect and writer, living in New Jersey with his wife and two kids.
He has been writing speculative fiction since 2012. Other works include:
THE TOXICITY OF WATER was originally published in Into the Ruins Winter 2017
GATORS IN KANSAS published in the UnCommon Lands anthology
Additional stories in the RISING WATERS series of shorts.
You can find him on twitter @RW_Igloo or at his website www.ralphwalkerauthor.com
Ralph Walker Copyright 2018
20180614.03