This was an idea I had about 15 years ago. Always remembered it but never did anything with and I knew it'd probably be more for a short story than anything else. When my wife and I were working on our anthology, I thought it would be a good one to include as the anthology is more 'wtf' and full of weirdness more so than straight horror. I wrote it, she read it and rejected it from the book stating "it's not dark enough". So I figured I'd put it on here. As I've stated before, Most of the work put on here is old but this one was written just a month ago. Now, I've posted two things about writing and now this short story so with this posted, I'll be getting back to work.
*Among working on the rewrites to the sci-fi book and editing an anthology I'll be sending out another horror anthology for hopeful publication as well as screenplays in hopes to sell.
Here's "High Tide's A Comin'" - I hope you enjoy.
High Tide’s A Comin’
David, Rebecca, and their young girls are off to see David’s father for the day, not something they normally do. Rebecca smiles while her husband drives, not exactly thrilled.
“This is nice. We never do this. We should do it more.” She says.
“Well let’s not push it.” He chuckles.
“What’s the deal with you and your father anyway? You’ve always dodged the question. What’s is it?” His wife remains as curious as she’s always been about the subject. He looks back to their little girls who are currently preoccupied and not paying attention.
“Growing up, my father was a really bad alcoholic. He used to beat my mother and me on a nightly basis. Every time he swore to get clean, he’d turn right back to the bottle. I’ve never been able to trust anything he says. When my mother died, it was under such mysterious circumstances that many of us in the family believed the old man to have killed her.” David says in all seriousness. She stares at him, taking all this in.
“I don’t know. I don’t believe he would’ve killed her, regardless of how awful he could get.” Rebecca tells him.
“Yeah, well...” He leaves it at that and continues to drive.
It’s a nice day today. The sun is shining and there’s not a cloud to be found in such vacant skies. The neighborhood is primarily elderly. A house with vanilla paneling stands tall complete with wind chimes hanging above the porch which holds a bench. A dark blue minivan pulls up in front of this house and parks. David gets out of the driver’s side while his wife steps out of the passenger side. Upon getting out, David stands still looking at the house.
“Well we made it. I think the old man will be happy to see the girls.” He says.
“C’mon, guys.” Rebecca says to their two small children after sliding open the side door. The two are toddler twin girls.
“You wanna get the girls and I’ll go ahead and get the stuff?” Her husband asks her. She begins rounding up their toddlers while David moves towards the back of the van. The backdoor opens and is lifted up revealing the space to contain not luggage or toys for the children to play with while visiting their grandfather, but a pile of empty milk jugs, water bottles, and various other plastic containers; all kept in large trash bags. He sighs looking at the bagged recycling.
“Why does your dad always want this stuff anyway?” His wife asks. He shakes his head.
“I don’t know, honey. He’s old. Maybe recycling has become his retirement hobby. Some people collect stamps, some do bridge tournaments; he collects...garbage I guess.” David shrugs and grabs the bags.
“Why did daddy bring trash?” One of the girls, Molly, snickers to her mother.
“It’s for your grandfather.” Rebecca tells the girl.
“Grandpa likes trash?” Kaylee, the other twin giggles.
“Apparently so. Your daddy’s like Santa Claus bringing presents.” Rebecca jokes and laughs with the girls.
“Ha ha ha girls.” He mocks their laughter. “Your grandpa wants old bottles and jugs. He’s a kooky old man.” David grabs the bags and shuts the trunk as he laughs with his girls.
The family of four walk up to the house they’re parked in front of; Rebecca with a girl’s hand in each of hers and David with three full large garbage bags. On the porch, David sets the bags down and rings the doorbell. Not long after the door is opened by a short, portly man with gray hair and a white beard.
“Hey, you made it!” The man says.
“Hey, old man.” David greets him.
“Hey, young man.” He replies before squatting down with open arms. “Hey girls!”
“Grandpa!” They yell in unison running the two feet to hug him.
“Grandpa, are you really a kooky old man?” Molly asks. His eyes peered up to his son, who scrunches his face, before looking back to the girls.
“I’m the kookiest!” He hollers slightly before tickling the girls into a laughing fit. Rebbecca shoots David a look before they all head inside.
Molly & Kaylee get set up with cartoons in the living room with their mother while David walks through the old man’s house. They get just before the basement door when the old man stops.
“You can set ‘em there. I’ll take ‘em down later.” David’s father fans his hand motioning to the bags. His son, continually irritated with his father’s seemingly erratic behavior, sets them down.
“Pop, you’ve been doing this more and more over the years. What gives? What are you doing with all these?” David tries not to sound annoyed but can’t help it. His father, Jacob by birth though he’s usually known as Pop or the Old Man, shakes his head with a sigh.
“Son...high tide’s a comin’.” Jacob tells his grown son rather dryly.
“...What does that mean, dad? Okay? ‘High tide’s a comin’?” He asks slightly mocking his father. “I don’t get it. High tide’s coming, so what; you’re stocking up for doomsday? Just gonna fill all these with water when the world goes to dust and ash? Is that what all this shit is supposed to be?”
“Language!” Rebecca hollers from the living room getting his attention. “Children.” She points out. He nods before turning back to the old man who puts his hand on David’s shoulder.
“I-I can’t talk about it, son. All I can say is that it’s best to be prepared for the end of times.”
“Pop, I love you but you really sound like an old religious nut sometimes.” David shakes his head.
The Old Man comes back into the living room to greet his family. “Well, kids, I hope you like pizza! I ordered some just a while ago and it should be here any moment.” He tells them.
“YAY! PIZZA!” The kids yell in unison. Rebecca laughs along with Jacob while David watches from the doorway. The pizza is delivered and they spend their family time together happily.
It’s later back at home, the kids are tucked in bed while their parents are about to do the same. With both of them in their pajamas Rebecca sits in bed reading a book while David fluffs his pillow.
“I just don’t get it. He’s always been a bit of a loon but becoming this doomsday prepper is just nuts. He was talking about preparing for the end of days and that he can’t tell me what all the bottles and jugs are for.” David throws the covers back on his side while his wife listens to him. He gets in bed and continues, “I think I’m going to have to look into putting him in a home or something.” Rebecca closes her book and looks disproving.
“You want to put your father in a home because he collects recycling and talks about inevitable death? Do you know how many people would be put away for those reasons?” Rebecca says with her brow furrowed. David sighs and rolls his eyes.
“Honey, you don’t get it. This isn’t my father; not the man I grew up with.” He tries to reason.
“David, people change. Maybe he had some epiphany about his life or this is a late-life crisis; have you ever thought of that? I mean, look, he’s still fully capable of living on his own. He seems to have all of his faculties. We all have our quirks.” She replies with her own reason.
Frustrated, his head falls back. “I get that. Quirks are quirks. But this whole ‘the end is nigh’ crap is just ridiculous. I never knew my father to be religious at all. I never heard him talk about God. We never said grace before eating or went to church. I just don’t know where all this is coming from.” He shrugs in a defeatist manner.
“Your father’s fine, babe. He’s just old. I’m sure he didn’t think he’d ever be like this. I’m sure someday we’ll look back and feel the same about us when we’re his age.” She says nonchalantly. He thinks to himself quietly before leaning over and kissing her.
“You’re probably right. I’m probably just over exaggerating. I love you. Goodnight.”
“Everything’s fine. I love you too. Goodnight.” She says. Rebecca picks her book back up to get some reading in as he turns off his bedside lamp and turns over to go to sleep. Despite her logical reasoning he still can’t get it out of his head and continues to think about it constantly until finally falling asleep from mental exhaustion.
In his slumber, David dreams. He wakes up to a staggeringly loud BOOM. Rebecca isn’t beside him in bed and after realizing this he hears her calling from the other room, “David!”
He jumps out of bed and rushes to the other room to find Rebecca in the girls’ room. The windows have been blown out and dust and dirt fills the air. Their daughters are crying while their mother tries to comfort them.
“It’s gonna be okay, girls. It’s gonna be okay.” She looks up at her husband. “David, we have to do something.” In shock, it takes him a moment to respond.
“What in the hell is going on out there!?” He yells.
“I don’t know, but everything’s gone!” Rebecca yells while cradling the children.
“What!?” He runs through the house and outside to find what can only be described as the apocalypse. The once peaceful, beautiful neighborhood resembles the old west on a bad day. Houses and vehicles alike are destroyed and everything appears dead and dried up. The world through his eyes is covered in dirt, dust, ash, and sand. Rebecca continues to yell for him inside the house but she’s subconsciously tuned out by the sight of doomsday.
“Hello!?” He yells to no reply. David runs back in the house. “Babe it’s completely dead outside.” He says hurriedly and exasperated entering the girls’ room. He finds his wife worried and irritated as both children are coughing up dirt and dust from their lungs.
“They’ve breathed in too much! They need water!” Rebecca yells still patting them on their backs. David hurries into the kitchen, grabs a glass, and puts it under the faucet. He turns it on but there’s no water. The sound of the pipes clanging are loud before dirt spurts out into the cup. He shuts the faucet off and runs to the bathroom. The same happens with the sink and tub. Quickly thinking, he rushes to the toilet and removes the tank’s lid and it’s bone dry.
“Damn it!” David runs back to the room to inform his wife, “There’s no water!”
“Of course there’s no water, David!” She yells back in frustration. A heavy, blunt knock at the door is heard and an already exasperated David runs to answer it. His father stands before him, covered in dust with a jug of water in each hand. Dirt and dust shake off the old man with every breath he takes. David’s mind races rapidly.
“Dad!?” He asks looking this crusty, dirt covered man up and down. Jacob steps forward.
“Son, I told you the end was coming. Now it’s here and it’s best to be prepared.” His father states. David sees beyond the old man that the world outside is merely a skeleton of its former self; dried up and useless. The dream fades and a more normal sleep continues.
David was pleased to find his morning quite normal when he woke up. Now he’s at work and it feels good to finally get his mind off of his kooky father who’s turned over a new leaf in life. At this point David would much rather get calls from angry customers in his job as tech support for a security system company than even think about the fact that his father would be better suited in a padded room. The girls are in school and Rebecca is at home. He keeps thinking about what she was saying last night and hoping she’s right. David takes call after call with an unnaturally positive demeanor. With his wife’s voice echoing in his head as assurance and the constant distraction that is his job he doesn’t think about embarrassing family drama. A coworker comes up to him, “David, Mr. Hester wants to see you in his office.” Usually when the boss calls you into his office there’s a moment of dread but for David today it’s more of ‘Bring it on’. “Alright.” He happily gets out of his office chair and strolls into the office where his boss, Mr. Hester sits. “Hey, you wanted to see me?”
“Yeah, David, I’ve gotten a couple of phone calls today from your father. Apparently it’s urgent and he needs you to get a hold him ASAP. I’ve given him your extension but he said he couldn’t get it to go through. Now, listen, I understand family strife but this is the workplace and we can’t be having a lot of this.” Mr. Hester tells his employee sternly. David groans and nods.
“Yes sir. Won’t happen again.” David exits the office and heads back to his desk.
“You’re probably right. I’m probably just over exaggerating. I love you. Goodnight.”
“Everything’s fine. I love you too. Goodnight.” She says. Rebecca picks her book back up to get some reading in as he turns off his bedside lamp and turns over to go to sleep. Despite her logical reasoning he still can’t get it out of his head and continues to think about it constantly until finally falling asleep from mental exhaustion.
In his slumber, David dreams. He wakes up to a staggeringly loud BOOM. Rebecca isn’t beside him in bed and after realizing this he hears her calling from the other room, “David!”
He jumps out of bed and rushes to the other room to find Rebecca in the girls’ room. The windows have been blown out and dust and dirt fills the air. Their daughters are crying while their mother tries to comfort them.
“It’s gonna be okay, girls. It’s gonna be okay.” She looks up at her husband. “David, we have to do something.” In shock, it takes him a moment to respond.
“What in the hell is going on out there!?” He yells.
“I don’t know, but everything’s gone!” Rebecca yells while cradling the children.
“What!?” He runs through the house and outside to find what can only be described as the apocalypse. The once peaceful, beautiful neighborhood resembles the old west on a bad day. Houses and vehicles alike are destroyed and everything appears dead and dried up. The world through his eyes is covered in dirt, dust, ash, and sand. Rebecca continues to yell for him inside the house but she’s subconsciously tuned out by the sight of doomsday.
“Hello!?” He yells to no reply. David runs back in the house. “Babe it’s completely dead outside.” He says hurriedly and exasperated entering the girls’ room. He finds his wife worried and irritated as both children are coughing up dirt and dust from their lungs.
“They’ve breathed in too much! They need water!” Rebecca yells still patting them on their backs. David hurries into the kitchen, grabs a glass, and puts it under the faucet. He turns it on but there’s no water. The sound of the pipes clanging are loud before dirt spurts out into the cup. He shuts the faucet off and runs to the bathroom. The same happens with the sink and tub. Quickly thinking, he rushes to the toilet and removes the tank’s lid and it’s bone dry.
“Damn it!” David runs back to the room to inform his wife, “There’s no water!”
“Of course there’s no water, David!” She yells back in frustration. A heavy, blunt knock at the door is heard and an already exasperated David runs to answer it. His father stands before him, covered in dust with a jug of water in each hand. Dirt and dust shake off the old man with every breath he takes. David’s mind races rapidly.
“Dad!?” He asks looking this crusty, dirt covered man up and down. Jacob steps forward.
“Son, I told you the end was coming. Now it’s here and it’s best to be prepared.” His father states. David sees beyond the old man that the world outside is merely a skeleton of its former self; dried up and useless. The dream fades and a more normal sleep continues.
David was pleased to find his morning quite normal when he woke up. Now he’s at work and it feels good to finally get his mind off of his kooky father who’s turned over a new leaf in life. At this point David would much rather get calls from angry customers in his job as tech support for a security system company than even think about the fact that his father would be better suited in a padded room. The girls are in school and Rebecca is at home. He keeps thinking about what she was saying last night and hoping she’s right. David takes call after call with an unnaturally positive demeanor. With his wife’s voice echoing in his head as assurance and the constant distraction that is his job he doesn’t think about embarrassing family drama. A coworker comes up to him, “David, Mr. Hester wants to see you in his office.” Usually when the boss calls you into his office there’s a moment of dread but for David today it’s more of ‘Bring it on’. “Alright.” He happily gets out of his office chair and strolls into the office where his boss, Mr. Hester sits. “Hey, you wanted to see me?”
“Yeah, David, I’ve gotten a couple of phone calls today from your father. Apparently it’s urgent and he needs you to get a hold him ASAP. I’ve given him your extension but he said he couldn’t get it to go through. Now, listen, I understand family strife but this is the workplace and we can’t be having a lot of this.” Mr. Hester tells his employee sternly. David groans and nods.
“Yes sir. Won’t happen again.” David exits the office and heads back to his desk.
He sits down, grabbing his phone with his good mood deflated, angrily dialing each number.
“Yeah, dad, my boss said you’ve been calling?” David doesn’t hide his irritation.
“Son, I need to see you. Can you come after work?” Jacob sounds shaken and nervous.
David takes a deep breath but also thinks about the severity heard in the old man’s voice.
“Yeah, I can be there after I get off.” He says with an eye roll and an exasperated exhale.
“Great. Thank you, son. I love you.” He says in a rushed panic before hanging up. He sighs, hanging up the phone, and his day has gone back to normal; a workday peppered with drama.
David calls Rebecca to let him know he’ll be a little late but spares her the details as to why; what little details he knows. The day passes with his smile while helping people long gone as he awaits, or dreads, going to his father’s after clocking out. It’s time. He groans and grumbles and hits the road in hopes to be back sooner rather than later.
The minivan pulls up in front of Jacob’s house. He takes a deep breath before getting out. His blood pressure’s rising on the way up to the door. David already knows he’s going to leave even more irritated than he came. He knocks on the door but there’s no answer. He knocks again but this time his frustration gives way to fear thinking about how the old man sounded on the phone. David tries the door and it’s locked but he remembers he has a key. After looking through his key ring, he finds it and unlocks the door. He enters the house slowly.
“Pop?” He asks the open house. No reply is given. David walks through a little further and continues to call for his father. “Dad, where are you?” A distant voice answers.
“I’m down here, son! In the basement!” The old man yells so his son can hear him. David sighs and heads on down to the basement.
“I don’t think you’ve ever let me down here.” He says upon walking down the stairs. David stops at the bottom, the basement floor, in shock and awe of what he sees. Wall to wall, the basement is completely filled with a variety of empty plastics; jugs, bottles, etc.
“I’m back here!” His father calls from around the corner of plastic barrels. David can’t stop looking at it all. He moves slowly to where Jacob’s voice came from and finds him with large spools of rope. David’s bewildered to say the least.
“Dad, wh-what is all this? This is ridiculous.” He says motioning around him.
“Sit down. Sit down. I need to talk to you.” His father says having him sit down on one of the spools. The old man looks around nodding. “This is years and years of work.”
“I see that, I do, but what is it all for?” David’s irritation is apparent.
“Son, you know I’ve never been a spiritual man.” David rolls his eyes and nods agreeing. “But years ago something happened. At first I thought it was a vision or an epiphany or whatever you want to call it but the truth is the Lord came to me.”
“Oh boy...” David sighs. Jacob holds his hand out to stop him.
“Don’t do that, David. Okay? Don’t do that. God came to me. He spoke to me. He told me to be prepared, for one day high tides will come. He told me that he chose me. I asked if there would be others and he didn’t answer. He told me not to tell anyone else but your my son, your family is my family, and I’m trying to protect you all. I want you to be prepared.” His father finished, worried inside of what the Lord would think of him breaking the rule he’d given this man. David’s not buying any of this. He looks annoyed and nods to the old man.
“That is such a crock of shit, dad. Are you drinking again? Is this just some drunk delusion of yours?” He asks while the old man shakes his head.
“No. I’m sober. I promise. I’m telling you this because I love you.” Tears fill Jacob’s eyes.
“And did God tell you when this was to take place?” David’s tone is clearly condescending.
“He didn’t give me a date. All he told me was that it was coming.” He explained with urgency.
“Pop, I don’t even know what to say to all this. It’s ludicrous. I’m going home and tomorrow we’re checking you in somewhere where we can get you some help.” The old man’s son says turning to leave. Jacob stands up and rushes to the young man.
“Son, please, for your family’s sake, take precaution.” He pleads. David looks at him in all seriousness before putting his hand on his father’s shoulder and shakes his head.
“Old man, you are really losing it. Get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll get you some help.” David walks upstairs wide-eyed about what he’s just heard and what he’s seeing around him leaving his father to sit back down on the large spool. He looks up with tears in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Lord. I just had to warn him.” His voice begins to break. “He’s my son. I’m sorry.”
David comes home to his family already sitting down to eat. He’s clearly agitated.
“Hey, honey, is everything okay?” Rebecca asks.
“The old man has gone completely nuts. He’s just-he’s lost it. That’s all I can say. His mind is just gone. Tomorrow I’m getting him a doctor.” David says sharply in his frustration.
The kids look at each other before looking back at their mad daddy.
“Is grandpa gonna be okay?” A child asks innocently.
“He’s gonna be fine, sweetie.” Rebecca says before shooting her husband a look and whispering, “Say something.” David leaves the angry son behind and goes into “Dad mode”.
“Grandpa’s going to be alright. He just needs some help.” David swallows hard and sighs. “We’re his family so we’re going to help him.”
Dinner’s done. The girls are in bed asleep. This is all still weighing heavy on David’s mind but he’s pushing it off the best he can. He and Rebecca are ready for bed. They lean over to kiss.
“I love you. Goodnight.” David says halfheartedly with his mind obviously elsewhere.
“Goodnight. I love you too. It’s all going to be okay, babe. We’ll get him help. Don’t worry.” She turns over pulling the blanket up over her.
“Yeah...” He says dryly turning off his light. Darkness and slumber take up residence in their home. Everyone sleeps and dreams of various situations just too strange for reality. Despite the obvious metaphoric elephant in the room with their lives as of late, this night is peaceful.
Outside the wind is picking up. Not the sharp whips of cold air one would expect in the middle of the night but full, warm gusts coming in waves. The ground quakes. The family’s house begins to tremble. At first it’s so subtle like sleeping during a thunderstorm but the quakes begin to come on stronger. Rebecca wakes up first slapping and nudging her husband.
“David, what is that?” She asks in a frightened whisper.
“What in the hell...?” He wakes, looking around at his shaking house.
“The girls!” They both state in unison before jumping out of bed. They rush to their children’s room where knickknacks are falling off their dressers.
“Daddy! Mommy!” The kids shout. “What’s going on! We’re scared!”
“It’s a storm. It’s just a bad storm.” Rebecca tries to comfort her children like most parents do; with lies. David’s still waking up but joins his wife in comforting the scared kids.
“Okay, stay away from the windows.” David says pulling his family to the center of the room. He runs through the house and slings open the front door to see what’s going on. He steps out of their home and feels the warm wind, the trembling ground, and, “Oh...my...God...” David stops in his tracks, paralyzed with fear, as he sees in the middle of suburbia, across the street and behind his neighbor’s house, a tidal wave. It’s vicious, looking like a cobra poised to strike. His head scans side to side on his block to see the amount of large waves growing and getting higher. The sounds of mass destruction and the cries of families are carried through the wind and all too loud in David’s ears. The water’s rising and David shakes. He turns around and shuts the door running back through the house.
“REBECCAAAA!” He yells with all his might as he tries to make it to his family. The wave HITS. The windows, along with the front door, are obliterated and the house fills with water in the blink of an eye. David’s pushed past the kids’ room but he’s trying to swim back to them.
“No! NOOOO!” He swings his arms as hard as he can trying to swim against the current but the water’s pushing back with more might than a mere man could ever muster.
“REBECCA!” He screams. David’s pulled under the surface but keeps fighting his way back up. “REBECCA, I’M COMING!” He calls to her while coughing up the water so forcefully pushed down his throat. The house fills and he’s up to the ceiling, running out of airspace. Rebecca’s husband takes a deep breath and goes under. Using the doors and doorways in the hallway, he attempts to pull himself against the current to make it to his family. The water thrashes with Godlike force. Almost there... He pulls himself around the corner to find his girls, his family, his reasons for being, floating lifeless and being pulled around by the brute force of the current. David screams every bit of air out as bubbles; each one containing a tiny scream. The man shoots up to the top in an exasperated fight for air. In between gasps he yells out in pain for his family. He inhales, exhales, repeats. He swallows hard and coughs even harder. David takes a deep breath and drops under. Fighting through such a strong current, he makes his way to his wife and children; all dead and treated like ragdolls by the water that’s filled the house. He collects his family and tries to go through the window but the force of the waves push them back in. He holds them close and kicks his legs for dear life, bringing them to the surface. He looks the three of them over with the biggest marriage of fear and pain crawling across his very soul; they’re all dead. His face distorts as he bawls, “No... No...” His head shakes, refusing to believe it but isn’t paying attention to the water level, which is rising and there’s nowhere else for him to go and no more air for him to take in. David holds his wife and children, mourning them as the flooding covers them all and the man joins his family in death.
The case is the same for most, if not all families. The world is flooded. Most of the world is miles beneath what is now the surface. Bodies float about with their previous possessions. Sea-life casually strolls through neighborhoods. Commerce no longer exists. Politics no longer exist. The ways and rules that have been established by man for so long no longer exist. The night was long and the flooding was harsh but now the sun shines over the calm waters of the world. On these waters is a large raft made up of a ridiculous amount of empty plastic containers tied together with rope and captained by the Old Man. Jacob looks out into the new world with tears of loss in his eyes and nods. He’s lost everything and everyone he loved but keeps in mind that he’s not alone.
“Yeah, dad, my boss said you’ve been calling?” David doesn’t hide his irritation.
“Son, I need to see you. Can you come after work?” Jacob sounds shaken and nervous.
David takes a deep breath but also thinks about the severity heard in the old man’s voice.
“Yeah, I can be there after I get off.” He says with an eye roll and an exasperated exhale.
“Great. Thank you, son. I love you.” He says in a rushed panic before hanging up. He sighs, hanging up the phone, and his day has gone back to normal; a workday peppered with drama.
David calls Rebecca to let him know he’ll be a little late but spares her the details as to why; what little details he knows. The day passes with his smile while helping people long gone as he awaits, or dreads, going to his father’s after clocking out. It’s time. He groans and grumbles and hits the road in hopes to be back sooner rather than later.
The minivan pulls up in front of Jacob’s house. He takes a deep breath before getting out. His blood pressure’s rising on the way up to the door. David already knows he’s going to leave even more irritated than he came. He knocks on the door but there’s no answer. He knocks again but this time his frustration gives way to fear thinking about how the old man sounded on the phone. David tries the door and it’s locked but he remembers he has a key. After looking through his key ring, he finds it and unlocks the door. He enters the house slowly.
“Pop?” He asks the open house. No reply is given. David walks through a little further and continues to call for his father. “Dad, where are you?” A distant voice answers.
“I’m down here, son! In the basement!” The old man yells so his son can hear him. David sighs and heads on down to the basement.
“I don’t think you’ve ever let me down here.” He says upon walking down the stairs. David stops at the bottom, the basement floor, in shock and awe of what he sees. Wall to wall, the basement is completely filled with a variety of empty plastics; jugs, bottles, etc.
“I’m back here!” His father calls from around the corner of plastic barrels. David can’t stop looking at it all. He moves slowly to where Jacob’s voice came from and finds him with large spools of rope. David’s bewildered to say the least.
“Dad, wh-what is all this? This is ridiculous.” He says motioning around him.
“Sit down. Sit down. I need to talk to you.” His father says having him sit down on one of the spools. The old man looks around nodding. “This is years and years of work.”
“I see that, I do, but what is it all for?” David’s irritation is apparent.
“Son, you know I’ve never been a spiritual man.” David rolls his eyes and nods agreeing. “But years ago something happened. At first I thought it was a vision or an epiphany or whatever you want to call it but the truth is the Lord came to me.”
“Oh boy...” David sighs. Jacob holds his hand out to stop him.
“Don’t do that, David. Okay? Don’t do that. God came to me. He spoke to me. He told me to be prepared, for one day high tides will come. He told me that he chose me. I asked if there would be others and he didn’t answer. He told me not to tell anyone else but your my son, your family is my family, and I’m trying to protect you all. I want you to be prepared.” His father finished, worried inside of what the Lord would think of him breaking the rule he’d given this man. David’s not buying any of this. He looks annoyed and nods to the old man.
“That is such a crock of shit, dad. Are you drinking again? Is this just some drunk delusion of yours?” He asks while the old man shakes his head.
“No. I’m sober. I promise. I’m telling you this because I love you.” Tears fill Jacob’s eyes.
“And did God tell you when this was to take place?” David’s tone is clearly condescending.
“He didn’t give me a date. All he told me was that it was coming.” He explained with urgency.
“Pop, I don’t even know what to say to all this. It’s ludicrous. I’m going home and tomorrow we’re checking you in somewhere where we can get you some help.” The old man’s son says turning to leave. Jacob stands up and rushes to the young man.
“Son, please, for your family’s sake, take precaution.” He pleads. David looks at him in all seriousness before putting his hand on his father’s shoulder and shakes his head.
“Old man, you are really losing it. Get some sleep. Tomorrow we’ll get you some help.” David walks upstairs wide-eyed about what he’s just heard and what he’s seeing around him leaving his father to sit back down on the large spool. He looks up with tears in his eyes.
“I’m sorry, Lord. I just had to warn him.” His voice begins to break. “He’s my son. I’m sorry.”
David comes home to his family already sitting down to eat. He’s clearly agitated.
“Hey, honey, is everything okay?” Rebecca asks.
“The old man has gone completely nuts. He’s just-he’s lost it. That’s all I can say. His mind is just gone. Tomorrow I’m getting him a doctor.” David says sharply in his frustration.
The kids look at each other before looking back at their mad daddy.
“Is grandpa gonna be okay?” A child asks innocently.
“He’s gonna be fine, sweetie.” Rebecca says before shooting her husband a look and whispering, “Say something.” David leaves the angry son behind and goes into “Dad mode”.
“Grandpa’s going to be alright. He just needs some help.” David swallows hard and sighs. “We’re his family so we’re going to help him.”
Dinner’s done. The girls are in bed asleep. This is all still weighing heavy on David’s mind but he’s pushing it off the best he can. He and Rebecca are ready for bed. They lean over to kiss.
“I love you. Goodnight.” David says halfheartedly with his mind obviously elsewhere.
“Goodnight. I love you too. It’s all going to be okay, babe. We’ll get him help. Don’t worry.” She turns over pulling the blanket up over her.
“Yeah...” He says dryly turning off his light. Darkness and slumber take up residence in their home. Everyone sleeps and dreams of various situations just too strange for reality. Despite the obvious metaphoric elephant in the room with their lives as of late, this night is peaceful.
Outside the wind is picking up. Not the sharp whips of cold air one would expect in the middle of the night but full, warm gusts coming in waves. The ground quakes. The family’s house begins to tremble. At first it’s so subtle like sleeping during a thunderstorm but the quakes begin to come on stronger. Rebecca wakes up first slapping and nudging her husband.
“David, what is that?” She asks in a frightened whisper.
“What in the hell...?” He wakes, looking around at his shaking house.
“The girls!” They both state in unison before jumping out of bed. They rush to their children’s room where knickknacks are falling off their dressers.
“Daddy! Mommy!” The kids shout. “What’s going on! We’re scared!”
“It’s a storm. It’s just a bad storm.” Rebecca tries to comfort her children like most parents do; with lies. David’s still waking up but joins his wife in comforting the scared kids.
“Okay, stay away from the windows.” David says pulling his family to the center of the room. He runs through the house and slings open the front door to see what’s going on. He steps out of their home and feels the warm wind, the trembling ground, and, “Oh...my...God...” David stops in his tracks, paralyzed with fear, as he sees in the middle of suburbia, across the street and behind his neighbor’s house, a tidal wave. It’s vicious, looking like a cobra poised to strike. His head scans side to side on his block to see the amount of large waves growing and getting higher. The sounds of mass destruction and the cries of families are carried through the wind and all too loud in David’s ears. The water’s rising and David shakes. He turns around and shuts the door running back through the house.
“REBECCAAAA!” He yells with all his might as he tries to make it to his family. The wave HITS. The windows, along with the front door, are obliterated and the house fills with water in the blink of an eye. David’s pushed past the kids’ room but he’s trying to swim back to them.
“No! NOOOO!” He swings his arms as hard as he can trying to swim against the current but the water’s pushing back with more might than a mere man could ever muster.
“REBECCA!” He screams. David’s pulled under the surface but keeps fighting his way back up. “REBECCA, I’M COMING!” He calls to her while coughing up the water so forcefully pushed down his throat. The house fills and he’s up to the ceiling, running out of airspace. Rebecca’s husband takes a deep breath and goes under. Using the doors and doorways in the hallway, he attempts to pull himself against the current to make it to his family. The water thrashes with Godlike force. Almost there... He pulls himself around the corner to find his girls, his family, his reasons for being, floating lifeless and being pulled around by the brute force of the current. David screams every bit of air out as bubbles; each one containing a tiny scream. The man shoots up to the top in an exasperated fight for air. In between gasps he yells out in pain for his family. He inhales, exhales, repeats. He swallows hard and coughs even harder. David takes a deep breath and drops under. Fighting through such a strong current, he makes his way to his wife and children; all dead and treated like ragdolls by the water that’s filled the house. He collects his family and tries to go through the window but the force of the waves push them back in. He holds them close and kicks his legs for dear life, bringing them to the surface. He looks the three of them over with the biggest marriage of fear and pain crawling across his very soul; they’re all dead. His face distorts as he bawls, “No... No...” His head shakes, refusing to believe it but isn’t paying attention to the water level, which is rising and there’s nowhere else for him to go and no more air for him to take in. David holds his wife and children, mourning them as the flooding covers them all and the man joins his family in death.
The case is the same for most, if not all families. The world is flooded. Most of the world is miles beneath what is now the surface. Bodies float about with their previous possessions. Sea-life casually strolls through neighborhoods. Commerce no longer exists. Politics no longer exist. The ways and rules that have been established by man for so long no longer exist. The night was long and the flooding was harsh but now the sun shines over the calm waters of the world. On these waters is a large raft made up of a ridiculous amount of empty plastic containers tied together with rope and captained by the Old Man. Jacob looks out into the new world with tears of loss in his eyes and nods. He’s lost everything and everyone he loved but keeps in mind that he’s not alone.
“Lord, I don’t know why you chose me...but I have faith that you know what you’re doing.” And so the old man sets sail on the new seas of the Earth to see if anyone else got the Lord’s Warning.
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