The Flood

• Isabella Emery, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2017

The Flood

Waves were lapping and washing up shells. Amy and Tim were sitting on the soft, sandy beach watching the green sky while red clouds passed over quickly as if they were hurrying to the edge of the world.”Hey Amy" said Tim."Did you know there used to be these things called birds and they could fly!" Amy stared at him in awe and asked "Are they a type of plane?" Tim laughed and shrugged. Animals hadn't existed for over 300 years. Humans had seen to that. The destruction of nearly every natural ocean, rainforest, jungle and desert habitat had eliminated most species. The rest had died of starvation and disease. Tim had been reading the ancient manuscripts online. It seemed unbelievable. People even used to go to buildings called schools to learn."We don't need that, we know everything!" replied Amy.

A weekly download was provided for all citizens. Knowledge of everything was delivered directly to their brains. The past was available from the ancient manuscripts, but no one ever seemed to bother with them.

Amy couldn’t stop thinking about the extinct animals. She touched her communication patch. “Tim, the animals! I can't stop thinking about what they were like!” Amy exclaimed. “Calm down Amy” reassured Tim. “There must be a way of finding out what it was like back then”. “We need help” replied Amy. Tim thought about it. “I've got it! We need the Librarian!!” Amy seemed happy. They rushed to the library, trudging through dry leaves on the way. Susan the Librarian came over and greeted them.

“Hello children!” she exclaimed as she hugged them both “I’m so glad you came!” No one ever went to the library any more and she was excited to see some young faces. Amy smiled and asked “Do you know anything about the animal species that used to exist?” Susan sighed. “Indeed I do children” and she gestured toward some cushions “Come sit down”. The children settled down to listen as she spoke.

Susan told them about books which described many fascinating species that had roamed the world long ago. The children listened in awe as they imagined the animals. “I wish we could see them!” the children exclaimed.

Later that day Susan took the children to a creaking wooden dock where a big sail boat called “Arc” was waiting. Susan smiled and gestured for the kids to climb aboard. An old man named Friar Fred was the Captain. “Greetings children” he croaked. “Today we journey to the past!” The children screamed as the boat sailed straight upward, into a black hole.

Twenty seconds later the boat reappeared, streaming with water. The children were soaked through. Susan watched as the children started unloading samples of DNA. “What happened!” cried Susan. “A flood” gasped Tim. “The big one” muttered Friar Fred. “It’s up to us now Susan” Tim grinned. “We’re going to save them all!”