Hai... o3o''' this is awkward. How about you guys just read the chapter right now instead of reading what I'll tell you at the bottom of the page? Enjoy! (sorry for dying for so long! the explanation is at the bottom of the page!)

Chapter 11: Over

"Hey, Jess, Kaytee's here!" May Belle shouted from downstairs.

Jess' eyes shot open as a jolt of shock ran up his spine. It was still really early - about 5:33 in the morning according to his alarm clock - so he couldn't exactly understand why Kaytee had come over while it was so early. He could understand her being a morning person, but five in the morning was too early, even for him. Jess somehow dragged himself out from the warm confines of his bed covers and got dressed, before he shuffled down the stairs to the kitchen where Kaytee was, being kept company by May Belle. His neighbor wore a bright red raincoat and rubber rain boots to match, both dripping in water. Jess glanced outside and suddenly noticed how heavy it was raining. It looked like it would never end.

"Hey, Kaytee, what's new?"

Kaytee smiled. "I heard the river down in the forest has started flooding due to all of this rain."

"Has it really?"

Kaytee nodded. "Yep."

"How high has the river risen?"

"High enough that it's starting to move past the banks," Kaytee said. "Sooner or later, all of the extra water will most likely travel as far as it can."

"That means part of the neighborhood could be flooded."

"That's why Dad has gone into town to get more sand bags."

"Are you worried that the flood water will reach the neighborhood?" May Belle asked Kaytee.

Jess noticed his sister looked really scared, almost like she was convinced the whole world was suddenly going to flood. Jess cast Kaytee a meaningful look that she immediately understood. With a smile that gave away nothing at all to May Belle, Kaytee said:

"Dad's gone to get sand bags just in case," she explained gently. "Besides, he also needs them for work so don't worry your little head over that. There's no way the floodwaters will reach our lovely little neighborhood."

"Hey, May Belle, go see if Mom needs help with anything."

May Belle pouted, but she ran upstairs to go find her mother.

As soon as May Belle was out of earshot, Jess turned to Kaytee, concern etched on his face.

"How bad is it really?" He asked in a low voice.

"Pretty bad," Kaytee murmured. "There's sandbags placed all around the river, five or six bags high all around. Dad says the sandbags that are currently there won't be enough to hold the water back forever. If we're lucky, the downpour will stop eventually."

Jess glanced out the window. "Sure doesn't look like it."

"That's why I suggest you get everything that's valuable stored in a safe place that the water won't reach it. That's what Dad and I have done with our belongings already. All our valuables are up in the attic, sealed in watertight bags."

"It's that bad, isn't it?"

Kaytee nodded. "I haven't even told you all the bad news."

"There's more?" Jess sounded incredulous.

"Instead of telling you, how about I show you?"

Jess raised an eyebrow at Kaytee but she suddenly pushed him out of the kitchen and gave him an encouraging push towards the stairs.

"Get your coat and let's go!"

Jess ran up the stairs and into his room. At the sight of his messy room, he was suddenly a little discouraged at the sight of it, but he refused to let that stop him from finding something that would protect him from the weather outside. He started rummaging through the piles of clothing scattered across the floor of his room, searching all over the room for his rain coat. His mother poked her head in the doorway after a few minutes, having heard frantic footsteps from the next room over.

"Jess, what are you doing?"

"I can't find my raincoat!"

His mother groaned, and Jess looked over at her.

"We forgot to buy you a new raincoat." She groaned.

Jess smiled at his mother, and dropped the clothes he was currently holding, letting them fall to the floor in a messy heap.

"It's alright," he said. "I just realized I don't need it."

His mother nodded and left. Jess shook his head. Now what was he going to do?

Feeling slightly disgruntled, Jess went back downstairs to the kitchen. At the sight of the lack of a rain coat on him, Kaytee raised an eyebrow.

"Where's your rain coat?" She inquired.

Jess shrugged his shoulders. "Don't have one."

Kaytee bit her lip quizzically, contemplating what to do next.

"You know, you can just tell me the bad news?"

"Words can't describe what's happening down at the river. Stay here and I'll go get a spare rain coat from my house. I'll be right back."

Before Jess could protest, Kaytee ran out the door into the pouring rain. He hoped she'd be back like she promised.

Although it felt like forever, standing there in the empty kitchen waiting for Kaytee to get back to his house, Kaytee eventually came running back into the kitchen, water droplets sliding off of her red rain coat like many endless streams. With a smile, Kaytee handed Jess the raincoat in her hands. Jess took it and pulled it on. It felt a little big, but at least he had a raincoat that could withstand the hellish weather outside.

"It might be a little big but it looks pretty good on you." Kaytee said.

"Let me guess, it's your dad's?" Jess asked.

Kaytee smiled sweetly. "How'd you know?" Jess noticed she sounded a little sarcastic but he chose not to comment.

"Well, let's get moving."

"So, how long have you lived here in Lark Creek?" Kaytee asked as they trudged through the muddy forest.

"Been born and raised here," Jess answered. "So about thirteen, fourteen years…"

"Cool," Kaytee said. "Growing up, Dad and I always moved around from one place to another every now and then. Wherever we moved, it never felt right for him. I just hope Lark Creek serves him well for a while, at least, because I love this place."

"It'd be great if you could stay here."

Kaytee looked at Jess, looking a little surprised and somewhat touched.

"You really mean that?" She asked.

"Definitely," Jess replied. "It'd be nice to have a kid my own age who I can relate to living in my neighborhood. Somebody I can consider a friend."

"You trust me that much to call me your friend?"

"Hey, you got me out of trouble with Mr. Hawkins. You seem more than trustworthy enough that this point."

Kaytee nodded, remembering that horrible day.

"That's true. And thank you, Jess."

Jess smiled. "No problem. So, mind telling what's going on in the forest?"

Jess heard Kaytee suck in her breath, like she had just been punched. He glanced over at her, squinting as he tried to get a clear look of Kaytee's face. Although the heavy rain blurred his vision to the point where he thought he was going blind, Jess could see the shock written on her face.

"Jess, watch out!" Came the startling scream.

Jess suddenly heard the rush of the river and he slipped, sliding down the hill straight into the river. Jess screamed as he clawed at the muddy ground, desperately trying to get a grip to stop his fall.

"Jess!" Kaytee screamed.

"Grab my hand!"

Jess looked up and spotted Kaytee holding her hand out to him and he reached up with on hand, holding a fragile grip of the ground with his other hand. He felt the ground sliding underneath him, and the thought of him dying flashed through his mind.

This is it… He thought sadly.

"No, Jess, grab my hand!" Kaytee screamed.

Jess tried to grab Kaytee's hand but the unusually rough current of the water was pulling at him, trying to pull him in. Kaytee leaned forward as much as she was able to without being brought into the current as well. Jess felt Kaytee's grip on his wrist as she tried to pull him back onto safety but the heavy current and the slippery ground seemed to be pulling him to his impending doom. Jess smiled at Kaytee, teeth showing.

"It's okay." He whispered.

Before Kaytee could say anything, Jess grabbed her hand and pulled his arm out of her grip, letting himself get swept into the current. Tears spilled onto Kaytee's cheeks as she watched in horror as her friend was swept up into the current.

"JESS!" Kaytee screamed at the top of her lungs, which was the last thing he heard before the water swallowed him whole.

It's okay, it's over…

Jess closed his eyes and allowed himself to sink to the bottom. He smiled to himself as Leslie's shining face appeared in his mind.

It's finally okay…

Cliffhanger. Shoot. Well, don't worry! I already have the next chapter already prepared, I just have to type it up and then I'll try to update this story more often. To the people who have been loyally reading and reviewing this story, I just want to thank you so, SO, SO MUCH for doing that for every chapter! I just appreciate it so much and if I could meet you guys, I'd give each and every one of you a big bear hug for a thank you! Thank you so much! Without you guys, this story would not be where it's currently at! So thank you guys for that too!

As for why I've been dead for over six months(?) is because I got so caught up with school and my grades in certain subjects were borderline grades (and they still are) so I was just under so much stress that I wasn't able to write anything. ANYTHING AT ALL. It was just so hard for me to keep my grades up that I barely had any energy to write at all. So that's why I wasn't able to update. It makes me sad because you guys kept on reviewing and constantly coming back and asking me when I was going to update and that just made me so happy to know you guys were still following me. I can't thank you guys enough for that. (:

- FluffyParakeet