Torrent

God, how do I make them understand? I needed to thank him…somehow. Is he a him? I really hope I'm not misgendering them. I'll have to learn how that all works…wherever we go. Jesus, how can this be real? I should rest. But they might leave. What if I never see him again? No, I need to do this now. I have to thank him for saving my life.

***

It had been six months of staying indoors. The weather advisory reports were stark. All over the world, people were dying of heatstroke. Entire cities had been displaced because of the rising temperatures. The scenes on the news were terrifying. Images of dry, cracked ground littered with the bodies or entire cities being flooded because of the rising sea level. 

My town of Washington, Pennsylvania, had been 120 degrees for nearly eight months. Spots across the earth reached temperatures as high as 130 degrees. Anyone with access to the shelter with a cooling system was encouraged to get their stat and to stay put. Scientists warned that global temperatures averaging 122 degrees signaled a problem of cataclysmic proportions. Then it hit 125. Then 129. 

That's when the water levels began to rise. The permafrost had started thawing, and massive chunks of the arctic tips were cascading into the water. The rise in sea level felt astonishingly fast to some, but scientists had been ringing the alarm bells for decades. We had only ourselves to blame. 

We were listening to the radio. Conserving power was paramount, considering the number of people blasting AC units nonstop. Steve was pacing as I sat there listening to the news. New York City was completely underwater, and the rising tides barrelled across New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania. 

"This is fuck! We have to get out of here." Steve shouted. 

"Maybe the water won't get this far. We're closer to Ohio than we are to Phillie." I was trying to calm him.

Steve was in a frenzy. "If the waters are coming from the east, don't you think they'll be coming from all directions? Think about the Great Lakes right above us, for fuck's sake."

Yes, this was an insane situation, and tensions were high, but I hated how Steve had to be condescending. We had been living together for three years. We had always had to work on our relationship, but I thought we could do it. It just hurt so much when he was like this. I was terrified, too, but my response was to get closer to Steve. His was to push me away. I needed comfort. The world was a literal trash fire, and I just wanted to cry in his arms, but I couldn't get close. It was like he was enclosed in a forcefield of anger. 

"Well, is there anything frozen on the Great Lakes? Will it really start to flood everything like the oceans are?" I wasn't trying to pick a fight, but I didn't know if leaving our house was the best idea. Getting in a car in this heat seemed insane right now. 

"How the fuck should I know, Will? I'm not an expert on end-of-the-world science!" 

He sat on the sofa as he caught his breath. I wanted to cry. This was all too much, but I didn't know if he'd yell at me if I did. 

Steve continued, "We can't just sit here while the world ends. We have to try, right? If the water is in Pennsylvania, then the best course of action is to get the fuck out of Pennsylvania, right?" 

I honestly didn't know, but I didn't want to fight either. "Yes. Yeah, you're right. I'm just scared."

Steve got back up from the sofa and paced the floor again. "Let's get to Ohio. I have friends in Columbus." 

"Okay. Alright, let's go." Every news report said to stay put until absolutely necessary, but Steve was on a rampage. Plus, maybe he was right? Perhaps they told us to stay put because they didn't want mass chaos in the streets? Maybe we needed to get the fuck out of here? 

Stever had already walked upstairs to our bedroom. I was assuming to pack. I just sat there in silence as the voice on the radio continued to report on what was genuinely starting to feel like the end of the world. 

***

We weren't the only ones with the idea to get the hell outta doge. We were sitting in gridlock traffic. Radio reports were saying that waters were flooding into California. The entire country was trying to get to the middle. What would we do when we got there? What was the military doing? The government? Why were we listening to randos on the radio for information? I was literally getting traffic updates from TikTok, for crying out loud.

"FUCK! We can't just sit here like this!" Steve had been screaming at the traffic for nearly two hours. Being stuck in this car with him was becoming unbearable.

"How far did we even get?" We could have been close enough that we could walk. We hadn't been using navigation since Steve went to Ohio State, and I knew nothing about geography.

"We're about an hour away if we drive. Goddammit, we should have left earlier."

I didn't know if that was a dig at me for not being fully onboard when he first pitched the idea of going west, but I didn't have time to ponder it. The screaming was faint at first, then we looked outside to see people running west and past our car. 

"What are they doing?" I asked. Which was a dumb question; they were obviously running from something. I looked again, and the glistening of the road caught my eye. "Fuck. Steve, I see water coming."

"No. Are you serious?" Steve poked his head out of the window and looked back. "Get out! We gotta get out now. Get what you can carry. We're running."

"To where?" I asked.

"Anywhere away from here. If we sit in this car, who knows what will happen? If we run, we'll have a fighting chance."

I grabbed my duffle. Steve had already gotten his backpack and was sprinting. I bolted out of the car and followed. More and more people started leaving their cars and running for it once it became clear the water was getting closer. Steve started veering towards the side of the road that met the forestline. It was a smart move. The more people began to panic, the faster they were slinging open their car doors. It was like running an obstacle course. The crowd grew, and soon everyone was running. Children were crying, and the nimble were leaping from car to car. The water was getting higher. 

Steve was moving so fast that I was afraid I would lose him. I screamed for him, but he didn't hear me. I screamed again, but the cacophony of commotion drowned me out. I tried to move faster, but I had never been very athletic, whereas Steve ran cross country at Ohio State. My lungs burned, and I could feel the cramp starting to blossom on my side. 

"STEVE! STEVE!" I couldn't do it. I stopped to catch my breath. When I looked back up, I couldn't see him anymore. He was gone. "Oh no. Oh no. Oh no." I was panicking. What would I do? Why did he leave me? I felt the dampness on my feet and saw that the water was about six inches high and only getting higher. It was rising so fast. 

I needed to run and catch up to him. My side ached, and my legs hurt, but I had to catch up to him. I couldn't be alone. I needed someone. It was pandemonium all around. Moving without getting smacked or pushed by someone running past was nearly impossible. I was so happy I didn't have kids. God, they must be so scared. Their poor parents. I can't imagine what that’s like.

I heard it before I saw it. The rumbling sounds that approached were like thunder in the distance. I turned around to see the massive wall of water barreling toward us, gobbling up anyone in its path. I didn't know what to do. I had no idea how quickly it would come and suck me up. Higher ground. I had to get to higher ground. There was no outrunning that thing. I dropped my backpack and ran into the forest. I wasn't the first to have the idea to start climbing a tree. It felt stupid, but some trees reached so high into the sky that it felt like the only possible way to get above the wave racing toward us. 

I wasn't athletic, but I was scared enough to suddenly become an expert climber. I gripped onto the branches as tight as possible. I didn't know if I'd have what it took to hold on tight enough, but I had to try. 

I finally made it to the top. The wave was almost here. People were in a frenzy below. Those who couldn't keep up were trampled by the hoards. Some just sat in their cars and prayed. I grew up in a religious family but had never really been religious myself. If I was going to start praying, now was a good fucking time to do it. 

The blinding blue light jogged my system, nearly making me fall off the tree. Above me was a rectangle of blinding light blue that was getting wider and wider. Like there was an opening in the sky. I squinted at the light, trying to see what it was. For a minute, I thought it was the entrance to heaven. Had I died already? As my eyes adjusted, I saw strange figures emerging from the light. The figures began descending towards the earth. As they grew closer, I could see the outline of their bat-like wings. "What in the actual fuck!?" 

There were about fifty of them zipping around the sky. Some swooped down to get closer to the street. I could see their sinewy tail with what looked like an arrow, triangle, or something at the end. They wore tight armor that looked like black metal but with an unnatural sheen. This was the first time I had seen something like it. 

I was gobsmacked. Was this a dream? Had it gotten so hot that now I was hallucinating? I was shaken out of my ruminations when I saw him. He was about to fly right past me when he stopped and turned. Our eyes met. He had a light, umber coloring, and his hair was black, stuck out of his head in spikes. It looked like what the mall goths were trying to do back when I was in eighth grade. He flew closer, and I could see his eyes. They were big and a beautiful amber color. He had large, bat-like ears that swiveled as he studied me. I couldn't believe I was thinking how cute they were with everything happening. If this was a hallucination, I sure had good taste in dream guys, angels, aliens, or whatever I was looking at. 

He approached even closer, and he cocked his head. I felt a jolt of energy when he did. It was a warm, soothing feeling that permeated my body. He had large hands. The same umber color but with three black claws. His feet were a more extended version of the hands. Still umber, still with the three black claws, but longer, able to support his weight when he wasn't gliding in the air, I assumed. But it was those wings that were the most incredible. They were black at the edges, and what I thought was like the skin of the wings was a luminescent sage color. It was marvelous. He looked like a God floating before me. His broad shoulders and narrow waist gave a triangular shape to his torso, similar to the shape at the end of his tail. His legs were long, with ropey muscles throughout. This armor left little to the imagination. 

That broad chest caught my eyes, and I saw this interesting pattern etched into the armor. It was like a rope that looped into two circles, one over each pectoral muscle. I wanted to touch him. I reached out to him. His hand reached out for mine. He approached, and we almost touched, but the tree started moving. The wall of water was upon us. I was high enough not to get sucked into it outright, but the force of the water was strong, and the tree began to bend. Before I had enough time to realize what was happening, it bent more, and I was fully submerged in the water. 

I tried to hold on, but I couldn't. The water ripped me from the tree. I was one with the torrent, at the mercy of wherever it wanted to take me. This was it. I was going to die. The water pushed me along until I stopped abruptly. Something caught onto my leg. I tried to look behind, but the water whipped at my face. I couldn't see what I was caught on. I tried to get loose from its hold, but something swatted my hand away. Then, I started moving against the stream. Something was pulling me now. I was moving forward and up until I finally breached the surface. I was completely upside down! I look at the water rush below as it is destroyed and laid to waste everything on its path. I rose higher and higher and higher. I angled my head to look up and saw him. It was the thing, creature, angel, whatever it was. He was holding me by the leg with his tail. Those magnificent sage wings flapped harder and harder as we approached the blue light. It was so bright. I closed my eyes to protect my vision. When I opened them again, we were inside something. Like…an airplane or…or a spaceship. Fuck, was I in a spaceship? I was too busy looking at my surroundings to notice a creature similar to my rescuer but nowhere near as attractive, injecting me with something.

***

I woke up on a soft gurney-like contraption. The room was soothing and dark green, and I was hooked up to various odd devices that were utterly foreign to me. I was in some kind of medical facility, that was for sure. My foggy brain was realizing that I was definitely on some sort of alien spacecraft, and the thing that had saved me was a member of some alien race. Several of them surrounded me and tried to communicate with me. They made these weird guttural grunting sounds. I couldn't understand them, and they couldn't understand me. 

I should probably just try to sleep or reconcile with the fact that the world had basically ended, and a freaking hot-ass alien saved me, but I need to see him again. I would have drowned or crashed into some kind of tree. He wouldn't have rescued me just for them to do weird experiments on me, right? It didn't seem so. I am so afraid. I don't see any other humans. I'm… I'm alone. Again. I only know that whoever I almost touched in the tree had saved me. If he were close, maybe I'd feel less panic-stricken? I don't know, but that feeling was so wonderful. That warm, soothing feeling. Almost as if his amber eyes released some kind of lovely intoxicant that lulled me into relaxation. 

My eyes catch the designs on their chest. Each one is unique. It could be an identifier. This is it. This is the only thing I can do. I can't talk to them, so I must use my hands. I point at the one's chest and then start making circles on my own. The creature cocks his head, and, this time, I slowly trace my finger just above the design, then slowly try to recreate the design I saw on my rescuer on my chest. 

There is a look of realization. This one might understand me! They go to leave. I am still so weak from whatever they gave me that I don't have the energy to protest. A moment later, he comes in. It's him. He's so beautiful—those eyes, those cute ears, that fabulous hair. He saved me—this being saved my life. I need to thank him. "Thank you." 

He cocks his head at me. It seems the look of confusion is universal. I look at him and think of a way to signal my gratitude. I look at the swirls on his chest. I slowly reach up to them, careful not to scare him. I gently rest my palm over where his heart would be if he were human. Then I reach for his hand and pull it to rest on my heart. This is so dumb, but I am hoping he will kind of get that this thing pumping in my chest gives me life and that he saved it. We stand there for a moment. I fall into those eyes. They're so beautiful. If I could kiss this creature, I would. I know he doesn't understand, but I will repeat it. "Thank you." 

He doesn't cock his head in confusion this time. He just smiles.