Flood Plains by Mark Wheaton (best ereader under 100 .TXT) ๐
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- Author: Mark Wheaton
Read book online ยซFlood Plains by Mark Wheaton (best ereader under 100 .TXT) ๐ยป. Author - Mark Wheaton
By the time they reached Galveston, the happiness had returned to horror all over again. They had driven out onto the causeway having seen nothing of its collapse from a distance, as it was so dark. Ken hadnโt been going all that fast, but Gloria still screamed when she saw the gap in the road.
โKen!โ she cried, and he hit the brakes.
He stared out the front windshield for a moment, the headlights illuminating the gray-black expanse past the edge of the broken concrete and twisted rebar. He reached for the door handle, but Gloria grabbed his arm.
โWe have to get off the bridge! What if it collapses?โ
โGood point.โ
They reversed down the causeway a little ways, turned the van around, and found a spot that, Ken figured, would give the best angle on the bridge when he switched the camera to night vision.
โGood evening, this is Gloria Osorio reporting from the Galveston Causeway in the wake of Hurricane Eliza,โ she began, shakily holding a microphone and lit by the spotlight on top of the camera. โIt will be a long time before the extent of the stormโs devastation is known, but the collapse of the lifeline between Galveston Island and the mainland is a good place to startโฆโ
Gloria continued for a few minutes, describing what theyโd seen. A few minutes became ten, and Ken had to check the cameraโs battery pack. He nodded to Gloria and she continued, pouring it all out for the camera.
โAgain, we have not seen a single person the entire afternoon. Is this indicative of substantial loss of life? We certainly hope not. This is Gloria Osorio, KVRA-Austin News.โ
Ken stopped recording but kept the spotlight on.
โWe have to get this back to the station.โ
โI know,โ said Gloria. โIโm just not ready to leave yet.โ
โI understand.โ
Ken headed back into the van and checked the tapes to see if he might need Gloria to re-record anything. He was mentally editing them down into segments to put out online, to syndicate to the major networks but also to hold back for a special. He knew he had the goods, it was just a matter of rolling everything out right while still being first with all the information.
โHey, whatโs that?โ
Ken stuck his head out of the van. Gloria was pointing out into Galveston Bay, and he saw what appeared to be some sort of debris floating on the water. Only, the tide was out and this was heading straight for them.
โI think itโs a boat,โ cried Gloria.
Ken ran to the edge of the water and waved his hands.
โThey might have seen our spotlight,โ he said, excitedly. โHello! Ahoy! Are you all right?โ
This time, they saw a hand wave back. As the boat neared, Ken observed that it seemed more like an upside-down roof than a seaworthy vessel and realized that might have been the only thing available. It was almost to the shore when he noticed the two people on the makeshift were children.
โHey, Iโll help you. Hang on.โ
He kicked off his shoes and hurried the short distance through the water to the raft. On board, he saw a little girl and a dog-tired teenager, both looking ready to pass out from exhaustion.
โYou kids look like youโve come a long way.โ
โข โข โข
Moments later, Mia sat alone in the back of the van. Ken had turned up the heat and given her a blanket, but Tony had wanted to stay outside. He hadnโt said a word since theyโd gotten off the raft. She didnโt blame him.
Since sheโd found herself whole again, since Tony had brought her out of the pipe, since sheโd seen the stars again, a sight she thought sheโd never see again, sheโd reached out to the other side in her mind. The thunderous presence of the dead within the oil alongside their confused victims was silent. Worse yet, so was everything else. There was no Sineada, no Alan, and no Zakiyah. Sheโd never felt more alone in her life.
They stayed there until the sun rose; Mia never emerging from the van and Tony refusing to do anything but stare back out at the island where heโd last seen his dad. And thatโs when she heard it.
Mia?
Mia closed her eyes and exhaled.
Mark Wheaton is a horror screenwriter (Friday the 13th, The Messengers), graphic novelist (The Cleaners), and video game writer living in Los Angeles. He has self-published a number of bestselling horror novellas and one novel including Sunday Billy Sunday: A Memoir, the Bones trilogy, Disembodied Spider Meat, Adversary, Ascension, and The Impressionist. He was born in Texas.
Cover art by Stuart Crippsโhttp://creativemindfield.tumblr.com
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