fast.
We might not have time to go back to the truck, so I scanned the area. We were in front of an apartment building, several stories high.
“Get inside, now!” I shouted, opening the door to the building and shoving the kids inside as gently as I could.
Emilia
“Please, Graham,” I prayed. “Please get back here.”
I turned in the seat and stared out the back window. I couldn’t see down the hill to where he was, but my eyes did catch on some movement. An elderly woman was behind the truck, heading down the hill – straight into the danger zone.
Without thinking, I hopped from the truck, “Stop! Stay here!”
I rushed to the back of the truck. The woman had stopped, and she was looking around. “What’s going on?” she asked me.
“There’s flooding! The dam is about to break.”
“I have to get to my grandkids,” she said, panicked. “They’re down there.”
“Two boys and a girl?” I asked. The woman nodded. “Someone is getting them now.”
“But you don’t understand.” She stared at me.
“What don’t I understand?”
“I’m watching them. I have to go home and make them lunch.”
“Ma’am, I assure you they are safe. My friend went to get them to take them to safety. We have to stay on higher ground,” I said.
“But why?” the old woman cocked her head to the side, giving me the most confused look.
“Because of the flooding. The dam is about to break and—”
“The dam is about to break?” she mumbled, blinking.
“Yes, we need to get you out of here.”
“Oh, I have to make them lunch,” she muttered.
She wasn’t simply confused; she was likely suffering from dementia. “Come with me. We’ll go get your grandkids,” I said, switching tactics.
Please, Graham, get them to safety. I took the old woman’s hand, and just as we turned toward the truck, there was a tumultuous sound, too loud for actual thunder. In my heart, I knew exactly what it was, but I still turned around and watched as the water flooded the valley beneath us quickly. The water rushed in so fast, and before my very eyes, buildings disappeared.
“Graham!” I screamed, feeling like my legs might go out on me. “Graham!”
There was no sign of him. No sign of the kids either.
I continued screaming, hoping maybe he could hear me. I prayed for a miracle.
“Oh my…” the woman said, her voice shaking. She was wringing her hands. “Oh my, oh my…” She just kept repeating the same phrase.
I was terrified, and my feet didn’t want to move. I wanted to wait there for Graham. I couldn’t leave him.
Protect the baby, he’d told me before he ran off.
Our baby.
It wasn’t just my life I was saving.
The water was rising, and while we were on higher ground, it was possible it could rise even higher. I didn’t know how close it would come to us. I needed to get us to safety. I needed to get up into the mountains and call for help, just like Graham wanted me to do.
I had to be strong.
“Come on,” I grabbed the woman’s hand. “Get in the truck. Now.”
Tears streamed down my face, and my heart felt like it was ready to burst from the pain. But I had to keep moving.
Just one foot in front of the other, Emmy, I told myself.
I helped the elderly woman into the truck and rushed to the driver’s side, but not before looking to the wreckage below. Liberty, my beloved town, was nearly destroyed. At least a large section of it was. People’s homes and businesses, all gone in a flash.
And Graham…and those kids. They were likely gone too.
Stop it, I told myself. You don’t know that. Just keep moving.
I climbed into the truck and started the engine, driving off into the mountains as instructed by Graham. It physically hurt to possibly leave him behind, but I knew there was no way he could’ve survived.
“My name is Emilia. What’s your name?” I asked the older woman.
“Darlene,” she said slowly. “Are we going to pick up my grandkids now?”
“Soon,” I promised, wiping the tears from my eyes. “We’re going up into the mountain and we’re going to call for help.”
“I really need to make them lunch,” she said. “Their parents won’t be happy that I left them.”
“It’s okay. We’ll figure everything out soon, I’m sure.”
I wish I had that level of confidence. I was pretending for her sake, wanting to keep her calm. But the truth was, I didn’t think anything would ever be okay again.
We drove up the switchback