Drowned

It became increasingly obvious that the rain would not abate anytime soon. Georgia and i looked at each other and came to a silent mutual agreement that the house must be abandoned lest we die with it. I looked around the house sadly, and i felt it give its silent understanding. This did not make the decision to leave it here to drown any easier, but it made no sense to sacrifice ourselves with it. I looked at the rest of the group when the first wave of mental pushes came at me. By the uncomfortable looks on everyones' faces, i could tell they were experiencing the same uncomfortable battle with the house: the compulsion to leave when we wanted to stay with it. Jim said, "It wants us to go. We should go". Silently, we filed out to the van and piled in, barely noticing the water pouring off our now-soaked clothing and hair.

Georgia took the wheel and eased us onto the dirt-turned-mud road. I hoped we wouldn't get mired and have to walk. The air was so saturated with water that breathing was nearly impossible, and i didn't think we would survive. Thinking of the house drowning by itself while we drowned elsewhere made me feel numb with futility. Jim took my hand and i looked at him. He was having the same feelings. I pushed them to the side and focused on the road. We were approaching a section that had been washed out. I waited for Georgia to veer off in another direction, but she was driving straight for it. I looked at her in alarm, and discovered she'd passed out or fallen asleep. It didn't matter which, because we plunged right into the water a heartbeat later.

I got out to see if backing up would be a possiblilty. As soon as i shut the door, i saw the water suddenly pull the van all the way under. Horrorstricken, i dove in behind it without thinking. I hoped i would be too small for the water to notice as i tried in vain to jerk the doors open. The water started to crawl through the vents, and soon fountains were gushing into the interior of the van in the water's frenzied attempts to drown us. There was nothing i could do. I could feel the water's smirking malice as it watched my friends and family throwing themselves at the ceiling, trying to stay above the surface. The water lazily pulled them back under, just below the surface, and then released them again, so that they could gasp and sputter, only to be jerked back under as they inhaled, missing the air and giving the water access to their insides. I shut my eyes. There was just no telling what kind of damage the water could do once it got inside you.

Almost simultaneously, all struggling ceased. Crowing triumphantly, the water slammed itself back into the vent, exiting the way it had come in. How horrid that all they air they could have needed was now all around them if they were alive to breathe it! I wondered if i would be able to open the doors if all the water left. Gradually, the water began to seep back in. Apparently, leaving this vacancy was too much effort for the water to sustain.

Once the van had refilled, the door came open easily. I jerked Georgia out first and pulled her to the surface. Once we reached solid ground, i turned her on her side, hoping i could coax the water out now that it was cut off from itself. She shuddered a bit and then sand began to pour from her mouth. I picked up her feet and tipped her upside down to make sure it all came out. The sand liquefied back into water, and the pile-turned-puddle ran back down to the lake. I gently began to massage her temple until her menu came up. I selected 'revive' from my short list of options, and she opened her eyes.

"The water is getting closer, we'd better hurry, " i told her.

We both dived back under and returned with my mother and my sister. Following my lead, she turned my sister upside down and let the sand pour from her mouth. As before, the sand liquified and rushed back to itself. Georgia returned to the water to bring Jim and Ryan while i massaged my mother's temple. It took a little longer, but her menu came up and 'revive' was an option. I heaved a sigh of relief and moved on to my sister. I was able to revive her too.

When Georgia broke the surface, i took Jim from her and she brought Ryan out of the water. Quickly, we began emptying them of their sand. It didn't seem as though the sand was pouring as quickly from their mouths, and a growing realization that the previous puddles had communicated our doings to the larger body of itself slowly dawned on me. The sand was doing its best to stay in side.

Panic-stricken, i began to shake him violently, desperately trying to dislodge the sand. All at once it came out, but when it liquefied, it did not return to itself as it had previously. We were to be spied upon. No matter. I began to massage Jim's temple. Nothing happened. Fighting my growing despair, i tried the other temple. No menu. It was too late, the water had killed him. I turned to Georgia, and saw that she had no luck either. I felt the weight of grief crush me like the pressure of an ocean. Though the water had not entered me, it had killed me all the same. My body just hadn't realized it yet.

The living group of us decided to return to the house while the road remained. I took the dead group of us and slowly began trudging toward the waiting water. It opened its arms to us like a murderous lover, and pulled us gently in.