The Last Survivors Chronicles

Part 8

"Quick, into the cars," he yelled, and we all dove headfirst into the cars- Terry and Ben into theirs, and Jan and I into mine. Jan rolled down her window, increasing the noise, to listen... But quickly rolled it right back up again. There was no need to try and hear it. It was there, and getting louder. The car started shaking, as before, but this time there was no question it was more intense. Something big was happening again, and was scaring the living crap out of every one of us.

As it increased even more into the deafening roar we had known, Jan's terrified eyes begged for physical comfort, and hers eyes weren't the only ones. We reacquired a death embrace, holding on to each other for dear life. The car bounced up and down and from side to side very violently, but this time we were both away from the sides of the car. I was holding onto the steering wheel with one arm, and trying to hold her with the other. It continued on for what seemed like 20 minutes, and I was really afraid that one of us was going to have a heart attack. When it finally started to subside, I rolled down my window a bit, expecting to hear water. But I didn't.

With the ground still shaking some, but much less, and most of the noise gone, I heard a car door slam and Ben was standing outside my window. "If that was anything like what we had before, that might have just been another P-wave," he said frantically.

He might as well of punched me in the face. He was right. "Oh mother of God no" I thought. If that was the P-wave, then as before, the S-waves were also on their way. "But that P-wave was about as big as the S-waves from the last big one that brought the water!" I exclaimed. "I know, I know!" he retorted in earnest. "The S-waves from P-waves that big could very well kill us, and they'll be here any minute. If you have any pillows or blankets, or anything that can cushion hard impacts, you'd better get them now. Right now!" He said, and took off back to his car.

Jan- hearing the conversation- dove into back seat, frantically looking, and emerged with one pillow, a blanket, and my jacket- all things I had packed. But she had missed the sleeping bag and the small tent, which was in a box under some other stuff, all rolled up. I dove into the back myself and dug them out. "Quick, get on the back seat and curl up into a ball!" I screamed, packing her in with the blanket, pillow and sleeping bag, trying to cushion her from the impact of the doors and seats. I then grabbed the jacket and tent, and whatever else I could find, including some loaves of bread, and tried best I could to pack myself in up in the front passenger seat. I even pulled out headrests from the front seats and gave one to her and held the other up against my legs.

Yeah we were desperate. But what else could we do? The huge trees outside would surely kill us with earth waves that big coming in. A landslide was also a big possibility, and better to be in a car for that. Maybe it didn't matter. There are some things you just can't live through. As we waited, I briefly thought of Terry and Ben, and could only imagine the terror they were going through themselves. This was horrible. And now I was just wanting it to be over. "Enough," I thought, I just want to..."

I couldn't finish the thought before I was slammed so hard against the roof, all I remember was a brief bit of pain and then incoming blackness. But as total blackness set in I had a distant sensation of rolling over and over...

I have no idea how long I was out. But now I was waking to a faint, weak voice. "Brian? Brian? Are you there Brian? Speak to me! PLEASE? BRIAN!?" As I came to slowly, I realized that I was upside down, but I could not see anything. It was still pitch black. And I could barely move. It seemed I was trapped, any which way I tried to move. As I tried to feel around with one hand that was slightly free, it became quickly clear that the car had been crushed all around us. I tried to talk, and could barely manage a "Yes." I was hurting all over, and knew I had taken a bad beating.

"Oh thank God you're alive." I recognized Jan's voice. "I'm trapped, and can barely move, but I think I'm...Owww!" she yelled, startling me wider awake. "My leg!" "I guess I'm not so OK," she said. "I can't get my leg free."

"I can barely move myself," I said with everything I had. "I'm trapped too. And hurting pretty bad. I can't tell if anything's broken yet."

But no sooner had I said it than there was a tap on the door from the outside, and I thought I saw the reflection of a light. "Hang on, hang on!" I heard Ben say. "I'm coming." And with that I felt him yank on the passenger door several times. When it finally opened, all he had to do was pull on me lightly and I came tumbling out, as if just freed from the clutches of death. I felt around on my body, checking the inventory, and although I had several lumps I seemed to be able to move freely now.

Part 9

"We have to get Jan out," I said, now fully awake, and grasping the situation. We grabbed the rear door and both pulled hard, and with metal creaking, it finally gave way and opened. It turned out the bent door had trapped her leg, as she had ended up in a strange position with all the tumbling. We carefully tugged on her, and managed to get her out in one piece. She had hurt her leg, but it didn't seem too awful bad. She limped around a bit, and then Ben shined his light on the car, illuminating both it and the surroundings. The car had rolled down the hill, been nearly crushed, and had been stopped by a massive tree- which was leaning over, threatening to fall.

"The same thing just about happened to us," Ben said. "And Terry's up there- a little banged up but still with us. The car held up pretty well, considering." I quickly put my arm around Jan to help her walk with her limp, and said "We better get back up there fast. We could get more water." As if reading my mind, Ben nodded and we made our way slowly back up to the top. Ben parted company and went after Terry on the way. The moon emerged a little more from the clouds, increasing the illumination a bit, and I could barely make out that there was serious devastation in the trees, in the ground, and the observation building's roof and two walls had been destroyed. Some of the hill had also slid down, leaving the top somewhat reminiscent of what happened at Mount St. Helens in the 80's.

"It's a miracle we're still alive," Ben noted as he nursed Terry up the hill and they collapsed next to us on the remainder of the deck. "I just hope the water doesn't get us if it comes. Considering how far were are away from whatever is happening, and judging from the time difference between the P-waves and S-waves, there is no question that was the biggest earthquake ever witnessed. In fact, the first one was too, but that last one was bigger. I'd say the water is probably coming again. But it may be worse."

Both Terry and Jan looked up with a blank stare that reflected that they just didn't care anymore. The fear was just gone. Exhaustion and stress had left blank human beings, just ready for the final end. And I felt the same. Ben seemed to be the only one with any human left in him. He was still trying to figure it out. Trying to make some sense of it all. Trying to live. Despite a big nasty knot on his head and bloody hands. He had disconnected from the pain.

"Where are those damn pills," I begged, looking at Jan. She felt around for a minute, and miraculously produced them. I downed four of them this time, not caring a minute, and she parted out four to each. "Might as well," she said weakly. I wondered if the pills would start to work before the water came. It was a frivolous thought, but I had to think something. It just didn't matter. I just didn't care. I was over this, and wanted out- for good. I reached down for my gun, but it wasn't there. Must have come loose in the car.

"Can I borrow your light a minute?" I said to Ben. "I've got to get something." Ben handed it over.

"Oh no you don't, not without me," Jan said terminally. She knew exactly what I was up to. Ben looked puzzled as Jan and I limped back down the hill towards the car. On the way, Jan seemed to get a second wind and started limping less, trying harder on her own. "Thanks for trying so hard and for saving my life," she said, "But I've had enough of this too. Shoot me first, please."

"I was just going to get it in case the water gets so close that it is certain we are going to..."

"Oh," she said, stopping. "Well if you're sticking around, I might stick around too then. I don't know for what, but we could try..." And then it started. Way off in the distance, the sound we heard before. "We've only got minutes," I said, running to the car and frantically searching through the hole I was pulled out of. The flashlight was starting to dim, but at last I found it.

"Come on," I said, and helped her back up the hill, to the increasing roar in the distance. "If it gets too close, I'm doing it," I said, "But you'll have to do it yourself. Sorry." She just looked at me, a little perturbed, but with a slightly different demeanor. I also took a mental note of the way she was hugging me going back up that hill. It was different than before. It made me want to live a little more. Maybe I'd wait until that water was up my nostrils...

Went back & read all of it again to refresh my memory.
Big Bang Theory had to take second place tonight!
Looking forward to seeing what else transpires!
WOQ

Reads like a dream I once had. Only instead of Mount Mitchel it was Crowder's mountain near Charlotte. Scary thing. I read once that there had been a tidal wave hit the flanks of the Blue ridge once. But I do not know how long ago or any details. Would have been one hell of a tidal wave to get that far. Yours is much bigger.

Write more! I want to read about what they see the next day. And what caused it.

Fantastic!!!! Keep the chapters coming.

Porn for preppers

Part 10

I didn't have to wait long to find out if it was going to be death by bullet or wave. The ground shook more and more, but differently from when the earthquake waves were striking. It was a low, steady rumble, ever increasing in strength, in combination with that huge sound- the sound of an enormous amount of water, crashing and breaking upon land. It was distant, yet approaching, and it seemed to be coming from a different direction this time.

Another piece of the deck fell off and landed right next to me, but I didn't care. "Just get this over with," was all I could think. I don't know who was holding on tighter, Jan or me. Ben was holding his daughter, as if trying to protect her in one last ditch effort. She had gone into shock, and his stare was fixed straight ahead, as he silently stroked her hair. His eyes betrayed his thoughts almost, as his mind struggled to comprehend. The moon had broken through the clouds, and was giving us as much light as it could.

Jan put one hand over mine, as it gripped ever tighter the gun. She was making sure that it didn't get loose, once the dirty deed had been done. I wondered why Ben didn't have his, as all sorts of thoughts ran through what was left of my brain. But the sound of the water got so loud and terrifying this time, I couldn't think any longer. I could now make out the sound of trees cracking and giving way, through the mighty roar of the ocean as it breached all of earth's last defenses down below us. It was so much louder, and closer than before. I could tell the water was approaching the top, and so could Jan- as she squeezed me with every ounce of strength the woman could muster, shaking in renewed fear.

And with one final roar, the mountain shook vigorously from the apocalyptic onslaught. I raised the gun to my head, believing I had better do it. But Jan's hand over mine on the gun resisted me. It was a measured resistance, so as if to say "Not yet."

And then I had the sense that the leading edge of the wave had passed us very close, and continued heading away from us, as the roar started subsiding. But the air was filled much more potently this time with that oceanic smell. I could tell that water had to be extremely close, but then I remembered how distances were so deceiving up that high. There was no mistaking that the water was definitely closer though. I could hear it roaring and tumbling restlessly below us, causing the mountain to shake.

I slowly lowered the weapon and took my finger off the trigger. I finally let it drop as my suicidal hand instead opted for the warmth and comfort of a full embrace with Jan. Even in the dim of the moonlight, there was no mistaking the tears in all of our eyes as we realized there might be a fighting chance.

A thousand emotions suddenly surfaced as I clung to Jan, almost embarrassed at my own fear. But there was immediate forgiveness in her eyes. And that made me stronger. In a whirlwind of machismo I claimed my territory, pulling her even closer to me and asserting myself with a hard, celebratory kiss on her lips. It wasn't necessarily a sexual type of kiss- although there might have been just enough of that there to confuse. It was a kiss for life- and she completely yielded, going almost limp in my arms. If there was ever to be a condition of forced attraction, this was it.

But my brief moment of bliss was quickly shattered.

"Looks like it just missed us," interrupted Ben, somewhat hopefully- as Jan awoke from her tearful daze, startled, and Terry started to regain her composure. Jan started to pull away from me, but then she hesitated, looked at me again, and hugged me affectionately once more before disengaging with a curious, faint smile.

"Yes, just barely," I said, trying to play off my exchange with Jan. But it was a feeble attempt, and one look at Jan confirmed that she saw right through it. The silent reply in her eyes, however, also betrayed her attempts to hide her newfound curiosity towards me.

But now was no time for head games, or emotional games for that matter. We were in deep trouble, and the reality of the circumstances set in again and all but completely wiped out whatever reasons for living anyone had.

"It sounds....It sounds like the water is closer, don't you think?" said Terry, in a trembling voice.

"Yeah, no doubt about it," said her father, with some tremble of his own in his voice. "It's probably just hundreds of feet below us now. And I have no idea what's coming next. But I think I'm sure now that it wasn't an asteroid strike, because by now we would have felt the heat and shock wave. I am thinking it must have been some sort of huge tectonic plate movement. There was a guy back in the 50's who talked about this kind of thing, but even crazy old Marty didn't believe in those theories."

Desperate for any explanation, I quickly remembered reading something about that myself. And then the name came bursting back into my head.

reply to post by TrueAmerican


This is a fantastic piece of writing. I'm so glad my curiousity made me click on your signature. I can't even remember what thread I had been reading that's how enthralling this story has been so far.

There's not many stories on this site that I get desperate to read new chapters of but this is one of them and please don't be put off by any perceived lack of interest. You need to finish this for us, for the ones who are already reading and waiting with baited breath.

I do have one small criticism though that could be rectified in a future post. I don't know what P & S waves are or their significance and I've been lurking here since '06. I can attempt a guess that it is to do with vibrations frequency etc, but I feel there would be more drama and suspense for the reader if he/she knew the significance of these P & S waves earlier rather than later. A good way to explain these waves to the reader could have been to have either of the female characters ask what they meant and have your supporting male character explain them. Obviously you can't re-edit earlier posts but I still feel it would be benefical to divulge this info now.

Anyways....great job and hurry the heck up with the next part!

Part 11

"Hapgood?" I said inquisitively, but still shaken.

"YES! That's him," Ben retorted, more assertively as he regained his composure somewhat. "Charles Hapgood- that's right. He had theories about earth crustal displacement, but he was considered a whacko by a lot of scientists. We just didn't believe that could possibly happen, because all the tectonic plates were effectively landlocked, and the geological evidence for any such thing was pretty sketchy."

"Well I agree it was sketchy," I said, "But there was some evidence of the possibility. There were sea fossils recovered near the top of Mount Everest, for example." He started to say something, but went back into silence- again, with those silent wheels turning.

"Excuse me, but what good is any of this doing us now?" remarked Jan, injecting a more practical approach. "We're stuck on top of a mountain with the ocean all around us. And for all we know, the rest of the world is dead."

"Yeah," concurred Terry. "I don't see any point in trying to figure it out now. We're screwed. And all of my friends...All of my..." She couldn't finish, and retreated into misery.

Their words had a tremendous impact, silencing all of us. But my mind kept turning. It had to be approaching around 9 pm I figured. And then I noticed that the pills had some effect, as my bodily pains had subsided, until I tried to move.
"Maybe we should try to get some sleep," Jan finally said, completely exhausted, and going over to Terry to try and help comfort her. I looked around for their car, but couldn't see it. It was just too dark, despite the faint moonlight.

"Maybe you're right," said Ben apologetically, and getting up to help Terry over to their car, which turned out to be not too far away down the hill- and not too badly damaged like mine had been. It had also been stopped by a big tree, at the tree line.

And I was also exhausted. The events of the day had taken their toll, and the thought of sleep overwhelmed me too. But where? And with what? And what if there were other bears lurking in the woods, and driven higher up towards us by the rushing of the water? Someone should really stay up and keep watch.

As Ben and Jan reemerged up the hill towards me, Ben had clearly been thinking along the same lines. "I got up pretty late today, and could probably last another few hours awake," he said with the rifle in hand.

"That'd be fine by me," I said in a sigh of relief, "Let me get back down to the car and see if I can round up that tent and sleeping bag," I said, motioning for him to lend me his flashlight. "I can relieve you after a while, just let me rest a bit."

After some half an hour of somewhat painful work, I now found myself in my tent, which Jan and I had setup near the top of the hill, while Ben sat perched with his rifle at the ruins of the deck. But there was only one sleeping bag, and as I motioned for her to get in it, I started laying out the blanket on the other side of the tent.

"You don't have to do that," she said quietly, opening the bag completely. "Why don't you bring that blanket. It will be warmer in here." My hesitation quickly gave way to necessity. She was right. And I was too tired to contest. Like I wanted to contest. Ha. As I climbed in, I tried a last ditch effort to giver her every bit of room I could- but by the time I was falling asleep, we had already found each other's warmth once again in a natural embrace. I dared not think another damn thing, and willed myself to darkness.

Awoken by a firm tap on the shoulder, I found myself staring at Ben, who was standing over me, shining his flashlight in my eyes. "I've about had it, would you mind?" he said, gesturing for me to take his rifle. I felt a bit better, and still a bit groggy, took the gun. "Yeah, no problem," I said, trying to wake myself from the slumber. "I'm going back to the car. Come with me and I'll give you the flashlight too," he said, waiting outside the tent. We went down to his car, where he promptly climbed in and disappeared. They were lucky- their car ended up right side up, and not too badly damaged from what I could see.

It suddenly dawned on me that I still had a wristwatch on. It was about 4 am, as I took my perch on the hill. I could still hear the water, but it had somewhat calmed down. I was startled all of a sudden when I was touched. "I'll keep you some company," said Jan, awakened by the commotion, with the blanket in hand. "If you don't mind, that is."

"Oh no, I don't mind at all. Please," I said, gesturing for her to sit down.

"It's cold," she said, snuggling up to my body, and wrapping the blanket around us. Like I was going to complain. No, I was not complaining. No way. I suddenly realized just how good she felt in my arms, and a long silence ensued, interrupted only by the breeze and the occasional sound of the waves below us. For the moment it seemed like the rest just didn't matter.

reply to post by TrueAmerican


Excellent keep'em coming.

Also upon further thought there does seem to be a time limit for the usefulness of revealing the P & S waves thing. Once the danger of further and worse destruction has passed so has the usefulness of the P & S reveal in terms of suspense and drama.

Edit: i had hoped I'd hear the name Hapgood. Isn't that what hancock talked about in "finger prints..." but later changed his mind on. I still think this theory can't be ruled out as an alternative to the periodic ice age theories

Part 12

"If we live through..." she started to say, but was interrupted and silenced by a stirring in the forest, slightly below us. I heard it too, and quickly came to full alert- rifle ready. Then I felt her hand move lower and lower down my stomach, but quickly. I realized in that moment of question and distraction that she was reaching for the gun- which I had tucked in my pants. "I might need this, and you have the rifle," she whispered, but with a certain daring tone that distracted me still further.
With all my might I shifted my thoughts towards the forest, and pointed the flashlight in the offending direction down the hill at the tree line. I thought I saw something moving, but the flashlight was near giving out, and I wasn't sure. That was until we heard it. "Help," cried a faint voice. "Help me."

We ran down the hill, and came upon a blonde-haired woman, laying sprawled in the pine needles, and clearly injured- with a bruise on her head, and a big gash in her leg. She had lost a lot of blood, as clearly evidenced by the pool of it in a dark stain on the ground. Jan immediately tore off her shirt, and proceeded to wrap her leg above the wound in a tourniquet, as the woman moaned in pain.

"Help me get her up," Jan said urgently, contesting my stare. I hesitated just briefly, startled at the sight of Jan's bare naked breasts in the dim moonlight. I was reminded of how being a man sucked sometimes, and at the worst moments. But I sucked up my embarrassment, and we got the woman up the hill to the tent. Jan covered her up in the sleeping bag, and then with the blanket. She then grabbed my jacket, and put in on quickly- but she did it facing me, and with an inquisitive look at the flashlight I had pointed at her.

"What's the matter- you've never seen breasts before?" she hammered the point home, with a quick opening and closing of the jacket again. I couldn't even speak. She had thoroughly destroyed whatever sense of decency I had left. I can't ever remember moving a flashlight so quickly away.

"Sorry," I lamented, in total shame. "You have any water anywhere?" Jan asked. "She probably really needs it," looking down at the woman. "Yeah yeah, down in the car," I replied, eternally thankful for the rapid exit of the subject. "I'll get it- hang on." I cursed to myself all the way down the hill and back up again for the insane rubbish society had instilled in me, returning with a jug of water.

As I made a motion towards the woman to give her some water, Jan snatched the jug from my hands, and proceeded to do it herself. Before my thoughts could drift to contemplate her action, the woman quickly came to, mumbling something about a bear. "The bear, the bear, it attacked us," she said frantically. And as she related what had happened she quickly broke down, recalling the grizzly scene. "We were in the woods down there, about to....to....and... and....it just attacked us. It...it...ate..." But again she passed out.

Jan looked up at me mortified, and I could tell she had already pieced together what happened. "That other car in the parking lot," she said, and I quickly agreed. "Yeah, that was probably them." I quickly grabbed the flashlight, now my worst mortal enemy, and handed it right over to her. "We better have a look," I said.

We made our way down the hill towards where we had found her, and started looking around in the trees. It didn't take long before we found what we feared. And a grizzly sight it was. "Oh my God!" Jan freaked, and broke down into tears. I was not too far behind. For we were looking at the fresh remains of a person, badly eaten nearly down to the bone. I quickly grabbed her by the arm, and carted her off, straight back up the hill to our post. "Don't worry," I tried to comfort her saying, "That was probably the one Ben shot. It's dead."

As I tried my best to keep her calm, as well as myself, darkness began yielding to faint light. The sun had started rising, and I knew the worst sight of all was still yet to come. We were going to have to look out over the mountain, and stare straight down into our fate. We knew it was there, but just couldn't see it. Now until now. I put off the inevitable, and refused to look, instead staying with Jan. I wondered about the woman, and if she was going to be ok. I had no medical training whatsoever, and I had no clue if anyone else in our group did either. The thought that I really knew nothing about any of them kept resurfacing.

"Aren't we going to look?" Jan finally said, simply too worn out to cry any more. I glanced at my watch. It was nearing 8 am, and the sun had completely erased the darkness. I really didn't know if I wanted to, as the sheer magnitude of the devastation around us was plain enough to keep me pensive and silent. Most of the trees all around us had fallen or were wilting badly, and I thanked the higher powers that one had not fallen on us while we were in the woods. As if right on cue, one fell in the distance.

Great short story!

I am tagging this so I can read the rest.

Nice one. I love the way you had it come at night so that you can have the big first reveal in the morning.

I can't wait for the next one, and hopefully the reveal. I was also wondering whether there were going to lots of animals making it to shore, and climbing up from the waters edge or lots of birds roosting in the surrounding trees.

I'm also impressed how quickly you've been able to do this. There's a lot of work there in a short space of time and I for one appreciate the effort.

I hope to wake to find another instalment. Thanks

Really! REALLY Jan???
As a woman, that wouldn't be my first instinct!
Especially if it's that cold out!
Tear off a strip of that blanket you brought along!

The zippy zipper...good one Jan!
Hilarious! Wish I could think that fast.
Especially in the middle of a disaster!

TA, is that chapter what they call 'titillating' composition?
(Male authors! )
Keep them coming...12 out of 100...right???!!!
WOQ

Part 13

"Even if we tried to look, the observation deck is in ruins, so all we'd see is trees..." I pointed out to Jan. "I don't think we can get up high enough. But maybe through the fallen trees we could see something. I don't know. I am really more worried right now about what we can do for that nasty gash in her leg from those claws."

"I don't know," Jan said with sadness. "I don't know much at all about first aid. Maybe Ben or Terry does."

"Yeah, maybe we better get them up and see," I replied. "It might make a difference."

The sound of footsteps interrupted us, as we turned to see Terry coming up the hill. Jan rushed to her, asking "You know anything about first aid? We found a women who was attacked by a bear, and she's in the tent over there."

"The bear Dad killed?" Terry countered, nursing an injured elbow, and just waking up.

"We think it might be that bear...Yeah, but we can't be sure," I interjected.

"Well I did get some emergency survival training, back before Dad and I went on a long trip once," Terry said, jarring her memory. "It was a long time ago, and I don't remember much. But there was this one thing that always grossed me out, about how to treat an open wound with urine... Yuk, I'll never forget it."

Jan and I just looked at each other, confused.

"Yeah," she continued. "If you don't have any water, you can use fresh urine to clean it." Turning towards the tent, she motioned us to come along. "So let's see," she said.

Realizing that she might have a good point, and knowing that what water we had would be precious, I inquired within to see if I might muster that bodily function. But to no avail, as I just didn't have to go. And then I wondered perhaps if it would be best to use the woman's own urine...

"God, that looks awful," Terry said, examining her leg. "But we definitely have to clean it, or it will get infected. And now might be a good time, since she's still passed out. Anyone got some scissors or a knife? We have to cut away that material."

"Yes," answered Ben to our surprise, looking into the tent. "Hold on..." He left back to his car, and returned with a pocket knife. Terry proceeded to cut away the loose material around the gash, and then looked up. "Anyone got to go?" she asked. "I need that." Ben looked confused.

"Yes, it just so happens I do," said Jan. And down the hill she went, in search of a container. I explained to Ben what had happened, as Jan returned a few minutes later with the goods in a used Burger King cup.

"Well, here it goes," said Terry, completing the task. I was thrilled at her bravery. "There, that should do it for now..." But a startling scream penetrated our bones, as the woman woke up in clear agony. "God damn that hurts," she cried. Terry and Jan tried to comfort her, telling her it was going to be ok.

"So what's your name?" Ben said, after the situation had calmed a bit. "Sandra," she mumbled. "Well I'm Ben, and that's Terry my daughter and Jan and Brian," he said pointing around.

"What in the hell happened?" Sandra replied, slowly coming out of her daze. "First there was this huge earthquake, and then....Well all I remember after that was this huge bear coming out of nowhere, and...and..."

"Shh, just take it easy," Jan said. "We know what happened, and we're so terribly sorry." Jan briefly explained what we knew so far to Sandra.

But then another strong tremor rocked us all back to reality, and again the sound of water sloshing around permeated our senses. Ben and I looked at each other, and with no further words needed, headed up to the perch, looking for a break in the trees. Eying a spot, he motioned me over.

"Look right down through there, and I think you can see it," he said.

And down through the slight line of sight he had found, roared the vista of open ocean, twisting and turning, some 600 feet below us. The cumulative events of the past hours rose up in me again, in one single feeling of pure hopelessness and doom. I refused to accept it in panic, and spotted a leaning tree on the other side of the hill. I was determined to climb it. I just had to see more.

Making my way branch by branch upwards, the view became a lot clearer, and much more frightening. When I reached as far as I could go, I gazed down all around us, to see what no mortal should ever have to witness. We had clearly escaped not only death, but an entire cleansing of nature. For down below us in every direction, all I could see was ocean. Vast, never ending ocean all the way to the horizon. I froze, completely consumed by the vision.

Tearing myself away, I rushed back down. I tried to get Ben to go up, but he wanted no part of it. "I believe you. And I don't want to look," he said with a morbid dread. I explained what I saw to the others, and faced once again disbelief and breakdown of human beings to raw naked cores, fearful of impending death. Brooding silence ensued once again, as we all contemplated whether we wanted to carry on.

reply to post by TrueAmerican


Quick quick, get all the food from the crushed car before other bears or another wave get them!!!

What's the debris on the ocean like? Anything alive caught on the flotsam and jetsam?

PS i need to get a life! I've been struggling with book 2 of a badly written space opera trilogy and you came to my rescue, thanks TA. I know its a lot of work for seemingly diminishing returns and I wouldn't blame you if you gave up on this, but its really good and at the very least its exercising your writing muscles.

Wow! Just wow!
Great writing style.
Nail biting scenario, written so it's very believable!
Feels like I'm right there!
I was straining to see the water!

Having people in our family with all the same names,
(except Jan), is a little disconcerting though!
Can't wait to see what happens next!
WOQ

Part 14

The silence was long, and no one wanted to break it. Jan was despondent, and even Sandra had quieted down, after taking six painkillers. We were all looking at the ground, just sitting in morbid contemplation. I thought of the little food and water. Of the lack of any real land to grow anything. And what of the animals? The birds? Was there anything left worth living for? I imagined they were wondering similar things.

I did want to know one thing though- if that was the only bear. The last thing we needed was another one. Then it struck me that I might be able to tell. I got up and slowly headed down towards the parking lot, wondering if it really mattered anymore. But upon inspecting the bear's massive mouth, I found what I was looking for. A small piece of clothing, stuck in its teeth.

"You find anything?" said Ben, coming down the hill after me. I showed him the bloodied scrap of material.

"It was in its teeth... So it probably was what attacked that poor guy," I replied with a sigh. "Let's just hope there's not any more."

"Well they're pretty territorial. So it very well could be that there isn't another one anywhere around... And especially since...Since there isn't much territory left..." he concluded, with somber realization. "But I am thinking we might hike down to the water line. I want to mark it on a tree or something. It's possible it could start to recede over time."

"That mean you want to try and keep going?" I said looking up at him with a weary eye.

"Well we're not dead yet, and you never know just who might appear," he continued. "I mean we can't be the only ones who thought of coming up here. It's a long shot... But what if a plane was to find us or something... Or even a boat... Although I know that sounds impossible at this point."

"Yeah, maybe," I responded, but my tone betrayed my attempts to sound hopeful. "Well alright, let's go take a look at that water line then. That is a good idea. But let's at least get the pistol first, and leave the rifle with them."

A nod of agreement, and we were off back up the hill. But the women were uneasy with the idea, and wanted one of us to stay. That seemed a reasonable compromise, so Ben volunteered, and suggested I take his pocket knife for marking. Then Jan decided she wanted to go, but agreed with her limp she'd better stay. Terry was game, but she wanted to tend to Sandra. So off on my own I went, heading down through the parking lot and following the descending road best I could with all the damage.

I saw a sparrow on the way, and then saw a hawk- and I wondered how long they would last as I made my way carefully. An injury now would be very bad, and I kept reminding myself of that. The road had collapsed and slid down in many places, so the going wasn't easy. But finally arriving at the edge, I was startled to find the water had impacted so hard it had taken a massive chunk out of the mountain on that side, leaving me looking out over the newly formed cliff. I eyeballed the water level with the cliff, and wondered why I didn't see anything but water out there. No debris... No nothing. Just water.

As I made my way back up, I remembered the tremendous pressure that much water could exert, and figured some 6,000 feet of it had probably crushed and disintegrated everything under it. I wondered how many times this had happened before, without the benefits of technology to warn them. Or even- with it. But surely there must be some more people left somewhere I mused, cause if the water came this way it had to leave land exposed where it came from. Maybe Ben had some ideas.

I told them of what I saw, and then realized how hungry I was. And everyone else was too.

"Well there should be some food in our... In the other car, and I think it's open," grunted Sandra, seriously mad at that bear. I remembered seeing the car intact, still in the parking lot on my way down, which for some reason did not take as much damage.

"I brought a bit too," interjected Ben, "But we really should gather all of it together and ration it out. And that bear. We should try to do something with that, and plan this best we can to make it all last as long as possible."

"Well great, you can be the new town manager," I attempted to jest, but it did not go over well. I surprised even myself with the remark, and had no idea where it came from. It was just too damn soon for anything of the sort.

Ben traded me his rifle for the pistol, and took off down the hill after the food. Then Jan and I went after what we could salvage from our wreck, and found most if not all of it- either in the car or strewn about. We set everything we could find out at the deck ruins, including tools and other things we all happened to have.

Ben put considerable thought into what to eat first, and handed me just half a well made ham and cheese sandwich, asking me to split it with Jan. "This isn't going to be easy," he reminded us. "Now, about that bear..." He held up my hacksaw.

reply to post by TrueAmerican


Hope.

There's a little sliver of hope...
but what if this water level is the 'new normal'?

Quick TA, I need to know lol!

If this is the only land in sight, are they gonna get inundated with all kinds of birds looking for land...and even aqautic mammals like seals. Also I wonder what a sudden enlargement of water surface area over land would do, if anything, to the weather? What time of year is it? Was the land warmer or colder than the water?

This story needs more attention dang it?

Something stinks about the indexing/ranking formulas in this forum.

How the [snip] can this be so far down.

BUMP.

Now how do I create a link to this wonderul piece of fiction in my sig?