Ferocious Fatal Flooding

• Ethan Ding, Grade 5
• Short Story
• 2022

Rebecca, Charles and Daniel were lounging on their couch in their newly renovated house, watching news of all the floods that have been gobbling up people’s homes in the night of this pouring rain.
“Roomph” whimpered their dog Patrick, who was usually loud and lively but too sorry for the flood victims of this savage monster.
“Don’t worry Patrick. They’ll be alright,” harrowed Daniel, the 10-year-old of the family, shy and quiet.
“Oh no, look!” pointed Charles, Daniel’s dad. “There’s water coming through the door!”
“We’ll be fine,” assured Rebecca, the mum and also a very confident high school science teacher. “According to my calculations, this will roughly take a day to really do some damage and by then the rain will already have stopped.”
While the water kept rushing into the house, rising higher and higher, Rebecca was still convinced.
“You'd better go to bed, sweetie,” cooed Rebecca.
“Okay,” replied Daniel. “Let’s go Patrick!” But he just stayed on the corner of the couch sniffling.
Daniel couldn’t sleep. Without the comfort of his puppy beside him there was no way he would get tired in this horrendous storm.
“RUFF!” howled Patrick shockingly.
Daniel jumped off his bed to see what was going on to realize his bedroom floor flowed with water half meter deep, freezing and horrifying.
“Quick! Get to the roof onto the gum tree!” bellowed Charles. “The house is going to be underwater shortly according to the government notice.”
After like a decade long, the family were finally on the tree, sitting side by side on a thick branch, watching, as their house went underwater and, gone. The atmosphere was pitch-black with all the streetlights blacked out. The invincible storming rain hit the trio’s heads like hard pebbles.
Life threatening water raged below them, waves crashing around, ready to eat their next victim alive. Numb and paralysing, the wind blew on the three, making them huddle together, tighter and tighter.
“Crack!”
With the trunk leaned down all of a sudden, the family was made to lurch forwards out of balance screaming “Ahh!” Flinging out desperate hands, they caught on to a stick to avoid being washed away as they exhaled a sigh of relief.
“WOOF!” loudly barked Patrick, still on Charles’ head.
In the freezing water Rebecca, Charles and Daniel all joined in “HELP!” spying the lights of a boat in the dimness.
“I can’t hold any longer!” wailed Daniel.
“Only a few more seconds!” pleaded Rebecca.
A menacing wave came crashing onto their shoulders. Fainting, Daniel fell right into the void.
“AHH!”
A strong grip suddenly held onto Daniel’s fallen hand as the boat surged off to safety.
***
“We lost everything!” cried Daniel hugging his dog in the rehabilitation centre wrapped with a rag.
“No, honey. We still have ourselves!” answered Charles with his arms around Rebecca firmly looking towards the direction of their home. “We can restart!”