Not wasting a second, Adam dove in after his sister. The first thing he realized as he swam down was the water.
It wasn't like your typical ocean water. It burned his skin from the chemicals that were picked up in the massive waves. He opened his eyes, wincing at the burning sensation, but struggled through. His only thought: I have to save Bree.
Finally he caught sight of the rings on her mission suit. She was unconcious. He grabbed her under the arms and propelled them to the surface.
Adam's head broke the surface first, and he pulled Bree up next to him. Now that he could see clearly, he noticed a red welt forming on the left side of her forehead.
As soon as Chase caught sight of his siblings, he pulled them closer with his molecular kinesis. Once they were close enough, he pulled the still unconcious Bree onto the roof and then helped Adam up.
Adam hovered over his brother while he evaluated Bree's condition.
Finally Chase looked up. "She seems to have hit her head on something, giving her a concussion and rendering her unconcious. She'll be fine in a few days, though."
Adam groaned. "We don't have a few days! People are still stuck in their homes, drowning! We have to do something."
Chase sighed. "I know." he said simply.
"What are we going to do?"
The younger pulled out a small black box from his belt. "We row. This is an inflatable raft Davenport invented." he pressed the button, and with a hiss, an bright orange liferaft appeared.
The two pushed it off the roof, and hefted their sister into it. Adam opened the canopy to sheild her a bit from the rain.
Chase pulled out a stick-like tool and pressed a button on top. It extended into a paddle, which he handed to Adam.
The boys lept into the raft, careful not to rock it. The waves were already doing a good job of that.
Chase quickly noticed how fast the raft had filled up with rain water. They had to hurry to help people stranded in their homes.
But with Bree down, could they save everyone?
The raft now had a good two inches of water and rising. Chase activated his forcefield and spread it so it covered the raft and a few feet of murky water.
Adam was rowing as fast as he could, and they were moving along at a good speed.
Chase told his brother to stop, and the two of them hopped out and began chopping a hole in a roof, allowing the people trapped inside to escape.
Adam accepted another box from his brother, which he inflated and attached to the back of thir own. The two of them helped the older people in, and handed young children to parents.
The two teens then climbed into their raft, and they went on their way.
Thirty Minutes Later
Bree slowly came to. She blinked, trying to remember what had happened.
It came back in a flash, how the wave had knocked her off their roof, and she had hit her head on something hard and cold. An submerged lamp post, to be exact.
The girl sat up and rubbed the welt on her forehead. She winced at the sting and jerked her hand back.
Bree looked around and saw that she was in some sort of small boat, and a canopy hung over her head. It provided little protection from the rain, but it was better than nothing.
She strained to see through the rain, trying to catch sight of her brothers. But it was hopeless. The drops had formed an curtain, making vision more than a few feet near impossible.
From what she could make out, there was a rooftop to her left. Venturing out a little to the edge she saw that the water was raised to the gutter, making it close to three stories tall.
Finally, she caught sight of her brothers. Adam was carrying a small child, and Chase had an ax in hand. Their faces were grim.
Adam was the first to notice she was awake.
"Bree! Are you ok? How do you feel?"
"Fine. Just a little sore." She smiled to reassure him.
Chase handed her an icepack, which she gratefully accepted. Bree snapped and shook it before applying it to her head.
Suddenly, a cry sounded off to their right.
Chase closed his eyes in concentration, trying to single it out.
"Bree, can you speed?"
She nodded.
"Ok, then I need you to speed accross the water to the 12th house on the right. Once you reach the roof, chop a hole. There is a girl trapped there."
Bree nodded and stood up shakily. She sped out onto the water, not slowing for anything. What was a girl doing alone in an attic?
She reached the roof in seconds, the wake from her speed hitting the gutters.
Pulling out the ax Chase had given her, she proceded to chop a hole. What she saw when she finished brought tears to her eyes.
A small girl was perched on top of an chest, crying. All around her and just covering the top of her perch was murky water. Her feet were red from the chemicals and such in the water. She was wet all over, and her eyes were red from crying, her light brown hair stuck to her face with dried tears. She clutched a doll to her tight to her pajama clad chest.
"Mommy? Daddy?" She looked at Bree expectantly with bright blue eyes.
Bree smiled and climbed through the hole, splashing into the water below. "My name's Bree. What's yours?"
The girl gazed at her and sniffled before answering. "Andi. Where is my mommy and daddy?"
"Um, where did you see them last?"
"When they grabbed me out of bed. They left me up here and then ran downstairs to grab their papers." Andi replied as clearly as a kindergardner could.
The teenager felt tears prickle in her eyes. If her parents hadn't returned, then...
She shook her head. No, this girl couldn't be an orphan. Maybe there was an air pocket and her parents were still alive.
She pressed the button on her earpiece. "Chase, Adam, I need your help." She quietly told them her suspicions.
"Ok, we'll be there in a few." Chase signed off.
Bree smiled as she grabbed Andi, who sniffled and laid her head on her shoulder. They made their way to a book shelf, where Bree placed the small girl.
"You must be hungry. Do you want a granola bar?"
She nodded and accepted the wrapped food. About halfway through her snack, the boys arrived.
They placed her with the other rescued people, and then hurried back into her attic.
"Bree, the chance that her parents are still alive are very slim. Don't get your hopes up." Chase told his sister as they waded to the stairs.
She looked at him with eyes filled with unshed tears. "How can you talk like that? This isn't just some game. We are talking about lives, Chase! How would you like to be the one to look that girl in the eye and tell her that her parents aren't going to ever tuck her in again. Won't be there to hug her on the first day of school, to see her graduate?" she pointed towards the hole.
He looked away ashamed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way."
Bree finally let the tears flow. "I know you didn't."
Adam stayed silent. He dove in and began to navigate through the maze. Checking every room thouroughly, he finally saw what had caused the home to flood so rapidly: the door had busted at its hinges, allowing the water to flood through.
Adam winced as he saw toys and a doll house. All the signs of life, now buried under the lifeless water. He reached what looked like an office. Swimming in, he saw an air pocket at the ceiling. In it were two still bodies embracing each other.
His face twisted up with sadness, Adam surfaced next to them. He could hear them breathing, though raspy.
The woman looked at him with dull glazed eyes. "Take care of Andi."
Her eyes closed and breathing slowed. Not wasting a second, he grabbed the two of them and swam back to the attic.
"Help!" Adam shouted. "They aren't moving!"
Chase felt their pulses and frowned. There was barely any movement.
He quickly began CPR.
Andi clung to Bree, trying to sheild her face from the rain. The two of them were outside, as Bree couldn't stand to be in there when Adam surfaced.
Suddenly, the girl's chest started to shake with sobs. "I want my mommy!" She tried to lunge out of Bree's arms.
"I don't know where she is." She struggled to hold back a sob. The wind blew through her hair, and drops of tears and rain covered their faces.
Andi cried into her guardian's shoulder, not looking up for anything.
A few minutes later, her brothers emerged from the attic, empty handed.
She looked at them hopfully.
Chase shook his head.
Bree felt her heart drop. The girl in her arms was now an orphan. She stroked her hair, and successfully calmed her down.
Andi's sobs turned into quiet breaths, and soon she was fast asleep.
The teenager in an sopping wet mission suit whispered a promise under the cloudy, rainy, windy, dark sky. " I promise to take care of you. I won't let you go."
Sorry for the wait on this chapter! Anyway, here's some news: I will be updating most all of my stories once a week at least! Sunday night is when you can expect a new chapter. But if I have a good week, I might be able to update twice. We'll see.
Also, I am making covers for all of my stories. Any art I use belongs and is made by me, unless otherwise noted.
Please comment! Thanks!