Brittany panted as she dragged herself out of the water for the last time, after exploring the Beverly Hills ocean for several hours in search of survivors as the sun made its way down toward the distant horizon. She'd found half a dozen people clinging to floating pieces of furniture on the surface or inside air pockets in the buildings, but she hadn't found anyone alive in the last hour. She knew there wasn't much hope after this. She was only wasting her energy, something she was running dangerously low on.
She pulled herself up to the black van they'd arrived in, where the survivors were resting and mingling. Mandy was supposed to be taking care of them, but she seemed more interested in talking with her mother, who was sitting just inside the van looking tired but otherwise unhurt. Brittany could understand worrying about one's mother, but not at the expense of everyone else.
She pulled off the heavy UPWATI as she pulled herself toward the van, stopping where a young boy was sitting on the grassy hill and kneeling down beside him. She put a hand on his shoulder. "You feel okay?" She asked.
"I... guess so..." The boy was shivering from cold and fear, barely able to respond. Brittany sighed and patted his shoulder for another moment before turning to check on the rest of the survivors. Luckily, there didn't seem to be any problems that some bed rest and warm cocoa couldn't solve, but she wasn't a doctor and it was better to be safe than sorry. So she stood up and approached Mandy and her mother inside the van.
"Mandy, we need to get these people to the hospital to make sure there's nothing seriously wrong." Brittany said. Mandy looked over at her, almost surprised at her presence. She nodded in a moment however.
"Yeah. Come on mom, get inside and we'll take you someplace you can rest." Mandy turned to help her mother crawl into the back of the van. Brittany shook her head and moved to help the other survivors climb into secure positions. She would have to drive carefully; the van was still full of gadgets.
"Be careful not to touch anything." Brittany ordered. The people were in no mood to argue, so she got a chorus of nods all around. Mandy looked like she wanted to stay in the back, but they needed to talk. "Mandy, come ride in the front with me will you?"
"I'm good back here." Mandy said.
"Now." Brittany narrowed her eyes darkly. Mandy rolled her eyes and gave her mom a gentle smile before sliding to the exit and climbing out of the van. Brittany closed the van's rear doors and turned to head to the driver's seat silently. Mandy climbed into the passenger's seat, looking a bit annoyed with the whole thing.
"You're relieved to see your mom... I understand that." Brittany said softly. "But there were other people out there... people who needed just as much help as she did. Maybe we could've found some more of them if you'd gone back to help me instead of spending all your time in the van." She struggled to maintain her composure as she drove along the freeway toward the Nevada Mountains, where they would be protected from the flood... for now.
"I got what I went to look for." Mandy replied. "I didn't actually promise to do any more than that. My mom's safe, that's all I care about. Now we can head to our summer home in the mountains and ride all of this madness out." Brittany struggled to keep her composure.
"There are other people who need help." Brittany told her.
"That's not my problem. I don't want to do this, and nobody can force me." Mandy replied.
"Is this a Goddamn TV show to you?" Brittany growled, quickly losing her composure. "Does the rest of the world just not matter? You found your mother and I'm happy for you, but there are thousands of people out there who will never see their mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, lovers again because you were content just to sit in the van and swap stories with your mom. Maybe if you'd helped we could've saved more lives."
"Don't preach to me, I know how the world works." Mandy replied irritably. "I'm no hero. I can't do this, the only reason I did was to find my mom. I can't keep going, and I don't want to be a hero."
"That's the thing about heroes Mandy." Brittany retorted. "A hero is someone who doesn't want to be a hero. They just are because they want to help others."
"Well I don't. Now get over it and shut up." Mandy retorted. Brittany growled, beginning to see why WOOHP wiped her mind and let her go without a fight. She was next to useless, a spoiled little rich brat who undoubtedly had never done anything worthwhile in her entire life. It was girls like her who gave teenage girls like Brittany a bad name.
The rest of the drive back to Nevada was filled with tense animosity, until they finally pulled up outside one of the hospital. It looked like it was filled with survivors of the California sinking, but Brittany helped her own load move into the hospital while Mandy helped her mother move in and find a doctor who could help her quickly.
When she had the survivors admitted Brittany turned to leave. "I hope you all get well soon." She called back.
"Bless you girl." One of the elderly men replied with a gentle smile. Brittany smiled back and nodded before turning to head to the lobby, walking for the door. It was obvious Mandy wasn't going to be joining her. As if she had any idea what to do now. Some said they saw on the internet that floods were happening on every coast of America, but they couldn't find anything about other countries, since wireless signals no longer worked.
She stopped in the lobby when she saw Mandy emerge from one of the hospital rooms, rubbing her forehead and moving to plop down in one of the chairs. Brittany paused, then turned to approach her concernedly. "Mandy? You okay?" She asked. Mandy didn't respond, didn't even look up at her. Holding her head in one hand, hiding her eyes. "What happened?" Brittany sat down in the chair beside her, genuinely worried now.
"None of your business, go away." Mandy's voice shuddered. Brittany reached up and put one hand on her shoulder, squeezing gently.
"What happened Mandy?" She asked soothingly. Mandy sniffled but didn't push her away, bringing her other hand up to completely cover her face. "Is it your mother? Is she okay?"
Mandy let out a shaking sigh. "The... the flood was too much stress..." Mandy gulped and wiped at her eyes, which were bloodshot with red cheeks. "She... she went into labor..." She sniffed and looked down, her shoulders slumped. "It was too much... It was..." She shook her head and put her hand over her eyes again. Brittany didn't need her to finish, she knew what stress could do to an unborn child.
"I'm so sorry Mandy..." Brittany said softly.
"I thought... everything would be all right." Mandy shook her head, squeezing her eyes shut. "I thought we would go on with life now... I thought we could get everything back..." She trailed off.
"I know... I would like nothing more than to go home and make it so that none of this ever happened." Brittany said. She knew Mandy was a spoiled girl... but she also knew that could only make such a loss even worse. Mandy was used to getting everything, and having everything go her way. For such a blow to be the first thing to crack that shell of confidence...
"But we can't... all I can do now is go do whatever I can to help make sure that as few of these kinds of things happen as possible." She said. Mandy shook her head and scowled.
"Pointless, we can't stop anything. I can't do a Goddamn thing..." She sniffed and looked over at Brittany angrily. "And I don't need you telling me that I'm a selfish bitch again. I'm not in the mood for that."
"I'm not going to." Brittany patted her shoulder and stood up, looking down at her partner. Mandy looked up at her through her tears. "I hope you get your life on track Mandy... I really do." She nodded politely and turned to leave, heading out front and making her way back to the black van. Mandy wouldn't be much help even if she did come at this point. It was best to let her sort her life out.
Brittany climbed into the van and headed down the road, yawning and blinking rapidly. She was exhausted from the rescue operation. A good night's rest would do her wonders... she wouldn't be any good to anyone like this anyway. So she pulled up outside a modestly sized hotel away from the infamous Las Vegas Strip and climbed out of the van.
She could see nearby in the fading sunlight that an older man with gray hair was standing on a street corner, holding a Bible in one hand and wearing a thick black coat with a white collar. "It is time for us all to turn to the Lord, for He has come to pass his judgment on the world. The end has come... repent your sins now, or only a lake of fire awaits you!" It sounded inspirational, though honestly Brittany was more worried about the giant lake of water than a lake of fire.
Brittany shook her head and turned to walk into the hotel, stretching and letting out a yawn as she approached the clerk. "I'd like a room please." She said warily.
"That'll be twenty-five thirty for the night." The clerk told her. Brittany reached into one of her pockets for her wallet and slapped the money down on the counter. "Enjoy your stay. We haven't been getting much business today, something about a catastrophe somewhere. I don't really care if it doesn't affect me directly."
"I'll remember you said that." Brittany took her key and headed into the back, making her way into her room and locking the door behind her. She sat down on the edge of the bed with a yawn, pulling out her X-Powder to try to get a signal. Of course she failed, so she stood up and unzipped her WOOHP uniform, stepping out of it in her black bra and panties and falling into the modest but relatively comfortable sheets, snuggling herself into them.
It didn't take her long to fall asleep; the day long rescue had taken a lot out of her. She awoke surprised to find the sky still dark outside, the stars twinkling high overhead. She rubbed her eyes in confusion and stood up from the bed, walking to the window to look up. She gasped when she saw what looked like a solar eclipse... but the moon was definitely far larger than it should have been. It hadn't quite doubled in size, but it was enough so that anyone with eyes could notice it. And with the sun shining from behind it, it almost seemed to glow red.
"Maybe that preacher wasn't so far off..." Brittany mused to herself as she pulled away from the window. She quickly pulled her WOOHP uniform on again, gathered up her things and turned to leave, heading out to the lobby with her key. "Hey, I'm leaving now." She walked up to the counter, but couldn't see anyone around. "Hello? I need to return the key." She insisted.
Finally she dropped the key on the counter and turned to leave. The moment she went down the small step outside and heard a soft splash she knew what the problem was. A quick scan around confirmed it; the entire valley was slowly beginning to fill with water. It would still be a while before it began to flow in earnest, but it had begun.
She jogged to her van and climbed in, shoving the key in ignition. She had to get out of there... but Mandy was still at the hospital, and likely wasn't in the right state of mind to flee. If Brittany left now, she'd probably be leaving both Mandy and her mom to drown in the coming tide. She couldn't stomach doing that, so she sighed and turned the van around, driving through the slowly rising water back toward the hospital.
It was a pretty difficult drive. The water was not only rising, but there were dozens upon dozens of vehicles all struggling through the liquid in an attempt to flee before the water got too high to drive through. Many people had outright abandoned their vehicles and made a run for it, leaving their cars in the middle of the road. More than once Brittany had to use her hefty van to knock smaller cars out of the way, but eventually she made it to her destination.
The van skidded to a stop outside the hospital as the water rose up to the van's door, sloshing underneath the vehicle dangerously. Brittany ran forward, charging into the hospital and looking around. It was empty; everyone was on the road trying to get out of town. Brittany ran through the hospital, searching everywhere she could.
"Mandy! Are you in here?" Brittany yelled. It was possible she'd left... but Mandy's mom was likely in no position to leave so soon. As she'd thought, she soon found Mandy in a hospital room bending down over her mother, holding one of her hands. "Mandy, we have to get out of here. This place is going to be underwater any time now."
"My mom can't move... I'm not leaving without her." Mandy replied.
"We can bring her with us!" Brittany marched up to them, but stopped when she saw the woman lying on the bed, her eyes closed and her chest still. She didn't look like she was resting... but hadn't Mandy said her brother was the victim? No... Brittany now realized she hadn't said that, Brittany just assumed it. The stress of being caught in that situation must've been more than Brittany had thought.
"I'm not going..." Mandy repeated shakily.
"I'm sorry... but we don't have time for this. If you stay you'll die too, and she wouldn't want that." Brittany said quickly.
"Leave me alone..." Mandy said softly. Brittany tried to think of a way to bring her around... but none came to her at the moment, and she really didn't have time to think one up.
"Sorry Mandy. But this is for your own good." Brittany brought her hand up, and brought it down on the back of Mandy's throat with a smack. Mandy's body twitched then began to collapse before Brittany grabbed her and held her in her arms like a child, running back through the now hip-deep water back to the van. Brittany threw Mandy into the passenger's seat, then climbed into the driver's side.
"KIRTT. RASH Mode." Brittany said quickly. Suddenly the vehicle around them began to shift, reshaping itself into a large, thick, and best of all airtight vehicle that was capable of rolling along the bottom of even the deepest ocean, though its air supply left something to be desired. It could only last for three hours, tops, before they ran out. Though the tank-like treads it rolled along on were great for moving across the rockiest of surfaces.
Brittany quickly put the vehicle in gear and started moving toward the east, where they could hopefully find some dry land before they ran out of oxygen. She really didn't know anymore. If the flood could reach this far inland, who was to say the entire continent wouldn't soon be submerged? Well she couldn't do anything about it but run, so that was what she would do. And try to save anyone she could.
Unlike California, this flooded city had an added danger. The city of flashy neon lights turned the waters that flooded in into electrical hazards as well. Flash frying anyone who was caught in the water once it reached high enough to engulf the flashing electrical signs that were the staple of Las Vegas' image. There was probably some symbolism in there, but Brittany didn't really care.
KIRTT moved through the water, pushing aside flooded cars and the floating bodies of those who hadn't escaped in time. Progress was slow, seriously hampered by the water and the traffic. There was no possible way they could make it out of the city in three hours at this rate.
"Uuughn..." Mandy groaned as she regained consciousness. Brittany checked to make sure the doors were locked, so she wouldn't do something foolish like open the door and try to swim back to the hospital. "My head... what..." Mandy grunted, looking around in confusion. "Where..." She blinked when she saw the water sloshing against the windows, almost high enough to engulf the vehicle.
"Good morning." Brittany said grimly. "Just in time to suffocate."
Mandy blinked in confusion, then sat up straight. "My mom!"
"Don't even think about it." Brittany said.
"You... you left her behind?" Mandy demanded angrily. "Are you insane? We have to go back for her!"
"Don't you even think about it Mandy! We're getting out of town... if we can." Brittany replied quickly.
"Let me outta here." Mandy grabbed at the door, but it was tightly locked against both sides. She growled and pulled at the door handle, then looked back at Brittany furiously. "Open the door!"
"Not a chance in Hell. The water's rising too fast, you'd never make it." Brittany said.
"I'll take that UPWATI thing."
"As soon as the water level rises high enough, it's going to be electrified. The UPWATI won't protect you at all."
"Let me out!" Mandy lunged at her, slamming her shoulder into her chest and driving her back into the door. Brittany gasped in surprise, trying to fend her off as Mandy's hands gripped at her throat. "We are NOT leaving my mother behind! Not now! Not ever!" She howled maniacally, her hands closing around Brittany's throat tightly.
"Damnit... Mandy..." Brittany gasped for breath, trying to push at the infuriated woman. Her arms were locked however, the anger giving her more than enough strength to crush her windpipe. So Brittany quickly reached back into her backpack and whipped out her Tornado Windblast Hairdryer, giving it a moment to form in her hand before pressing it against Mandy's stomach.
"Get off of me." Brittany pulled the trigger. The blast slammed into Mandy's stomach, throwing her back. She bounced off the roof of the vehicle before falling and slamming into the door, finally landing back on her seat sideways, her limbs splayed. Brittany panted heavily, reaching up with one hand to rub her throat.
"Ughh..." Mandy twitched in pain, reaching up to rub her head as she sat up halfway. Brittany still had the Hairdryer aimed straight at her, her finger pressed against the trigger. "We... we have to go back..."
"She's gone Mandy." Brittany said again. Mandy looked away from her, a look of fury filling her eyes. "Your mother... your brother... they're both gone." Mandy shook her head and closed her eyes, turning to look at the window, though Brittany could still see her face in the reflection, contorted in rage. "We have to try to get out of here. There's still more we can do. Okay? Just cool it... I'm not responsible for your mother."
Mandy didn't respond, but she didn't attack again either. So Brittany lowered her weapon slowly, keeping an eye on Mandy until she dropped the Hairdryer and turned back to the steering wheel, moving them through the water toward the East again where they could hopefully find some dry land. Of course, the delay had cost them both time and oxygen, and they didn't have a lot of either one. Maybe KIRTT could turn into something else...
"KIRTT... Submarine mode." She tried, but the screen in the dashboard simply flashed an error message. "Wheeled Submarine mode." Brittany said desperately. The error message flashed again. "Waterproof-With-Lots-Of-Air mode?" Brittany asked hopelessly. Once again the error message flashed. Brittany swore to herself. The vehicle had already been engulfed by the waves by now. They simply weren't fast enough.
"Will you shut up?" Mandy growled darkly.
"Would you LIKE to join your mom in Heaven then?" Brittany asked. Mandy looked back at her darkly. "'Cuz I don't mean to be rude, but if we don't haul ass outta here that's exactly where we're going. And then we can say goodbye to not only ourselves, but everyone we might have been able to save." Mandy huffed. "I know, you don't want to be a hero. But think about this. Couldn't your mom have used a hero this morning? Wouldn't it have been nice if someone had stopped to pick her up while they were on their way out of town? Well there are hundreds of people out there who are thinking the same things. Nobody played hero for your mom... do you want everyone else to go through what you are?"
"Maybe I do." Mandy replied.
"Then maybe your mom didn't deserve to live if she taught you that kind of attitude." Brittany shot back. Mandy growled almost evilly, her eyes boring into Brittany's, but finally her expression softened and she looked out the front windshield. Suddenly she began to move over to Brittany's seat.
"Outta the way, amateur." Mandy grabbed Brittany pushed her into the passenger's seat, getting behind the wheel herself.
"What do you think you're doing?" Brittany asked.
"Driving." Mandy wiped the remaining tears from her eyes, grabbed the wheel, and slammed the pedal down to the floor, sending KIRTT flying along the bottom of the growing ocean like a large steel bullet. Brittany gripped the arms of her seat as they began to fly through the water, the weight of the vehicle allowing it to move swiftly despite the water.
"Mandy, if we slam into something and crack the frame..." Brittany began.
"Don't tell me the consequences of failure. I hate knowing the consequences of failure." Mandy gripped the wheel as KIRTT barreled into a pair of cars in the middle of the road, sending them floating off in different directions while their vehicle roared onward with a hefty dent in the front bumper. They slammed into another, sending it flying and further cracking the hood.
"Mandy!" Brittany exclaimed when a small stream of liquid began to drip in from the dashboard.
"Shut up shut up shut up!" Mandy shouted back, taking them right between a pair of busses that had stopped next to each other. They were barreling down the street toward the freeway, which was packed with people all once struggling to get out of the city, though now only the ones who didn't make it remained in place.
Brittany braced herself and squeezed her eyes shut as they collided with the first few cars, barreling straight through them and continuing onward while they moved aside to slam into yet others in a deafening cacophony of sound. KIRTT's hood held, but more and more water began to pour into the vehicle, surging with electricity.
Suddenly Mandy let out a yelp and brought her foot up off the petal as the water splashed over it, giving her a shock. "Geeze that hurt!" She complained. "I can't touch the petal!"
"Here, I've got something." Brittany whipped her backpack off and pulled a Mighty-Fine Expandable Mascara Brush, leaning down under the dashboard and holding it over the petal. She pressed the extension button and the rod unfolded, one side slamming into the dashboard while the other hit the petal under the water, pressing it all the way down. Brittany yelped as the electricity ran through the rod to her hand, pulling back to her seat quickly.
KIRTT rolled onward, the tank-like treads tilting upward in the water to land on a nearby car, carrying them straight over it. Brittany looked up quickly to see that they were heading uphill... in fact, they were approaching the ocean's surface.
"We're almost there! Keep going!" Brittany shouted as KIRTT rumbled up the incline. She had her thighs pressed against her chest, struggling to keep from being touched by the electrified water that was gathering on the bottom of the vehicle. Mandy had her legs crossed in front of her, gripping the wheel tightly and eyeing the water.
"Gagh!" Brittany jumped up onto her headrest as the water rolled up onto the seat. She clung to the small thing for dear life, looking over to see Mandy twitching, not moving away from the wheel. "Mandy, get off the seat! You're gonna be friend!"
Mandy growled darkly, not moving away from the water. "Almost... there..." She struggled to keep the vehicle moving straight, until finally the top broke out of the water, emerging into open air.
"Mandy you did it! A few more minutes!" Brittany exclaimed. KIRTT rolled onward, eventually making it all the way out of the ocean. Brittany grabbed the door handle on her side and shoved it open, giving the water a place to spill out onto the ground outside. Mandy was panting and leaning back in her seat, so Brittany dropped to her chair and kicked the Mascara Rod off of the petal, bringing KIRTT to a full stop.
She slid over to Mandy and grabbed her, holding her up before she could slump over weakly. "Mandy! Are you okay?" She slapped the girl's cheek lightly. Mandy opened her eyes wearily, looking drained but unheard.
"My muscles hurt..." Mandy whined pathetically. Brittany let out a soft sigh and smiled down at her.
"You'll be fine Mandy..." Brittany told her softly. "You did good, but why don't you let me drive for a little while?" Mandy didn't object, so Brittany moved her to the other seat and climbed in behind the wheel. "KIRTT, Van Mode." The large tanker flashed and reshaped itself into the form of the black van she'd been driving before, with all of her gadgets stored in the back.
"Remind me to... get one of these when this is over..." Mandy quipped breathlessly.
"I'll buy you one myself, hero." Brittany smiled and drove up the hill toward the mountain, away from the rising waters behind them. One hurdle jumped... and only God knew how many were left.
TO BE CONTINUED
