The sky, at the time; was a mucky grey-ish blue color, much like the stinging rain that fell from it. There were small rivers in the streets, which were quiet and lonely until two bright yellow buses that seemed to break the gloominess of the day pulled up to the elementary school. The small school in the center of Main Street seemed abandoned until it suddenly broke open, a large line of children ranging from kindergarten to the fifth grade streamed out. They rushed out into the intense rain, headed towards the two nearly glowing buses. A young looking fourth grade girl with silky brown hair that extended to the middle of her back and piercing gold eyes stood towards the end of the line, wearing a much too large purple hoodie and skinny jeans. The cold rain beaded up and sunk into the hoodie, leaving dark marks. She appeared confused and worried, tugging the hood of the plum purple hoodie over her head.
“Alivea.” A strong voice demanded her attention. The girl, apparently named Alivea, looked over, seeing her older brother. He was much bigger than she, even if there was only a 13 month age difference.
“Eren, why are we leaving school so early?” Alivea questioned innocently, pondering why there was so much rain as she spoke.
“From what I heard, it’s flooding.”
“What, the river you mean?”
“That’s exactly what I meant.” Eren grumbled, rolling his glowing hazel eyes as if he had expected Alivea to know immediately what he had been talking about.
“Oh wow…” Alivea mused under her breath, imagining the river overflowing with water. The group of kids, including Alivea and Eren, clambered onto the bus.
The ride felt like forever. Yet in reality, it only took about 5 minutes. Eren got off the radiant bus before Alivea, as normal, but she got off merely moments after.
“C’mon, dad said he wanted us home ASAP.”
“Okay, I’m comin’...”
The two were only two blocks away from their home luckily, so they didn’t get drenched, despite the downpour.
Eren easily opened the squeaky back door since it was unlocked. Alivea was already confused by the scene in front of her; her Nana was boiling water at the stove, Megan, her stepmother, was helping, and her dad was sitting at the kitchen table.
“Ay, there they are. We thought you two were lost.” Their dad, Andrew, joked as he stood. He was of average height, with long black hair pulled into a small ponytail and a short goatee topped with a mustache. Despite his young appearance, his hair was flecked with grey strands. Eren snorted at the comment, rolling his eyes, although he was smiling.
“Sure, sure. But- uh, question. Aren’t we supposed to evacuate?” He asked nervously. 
“Nah, we’ll be fine!”
“Dad, the river is right below us, and there are two creeks on either side of us. Are you sure?”
“I’m always sure, my boy!” Andrew replied with a hearty laugh.
Alivea thought her dad was being stupid now.
“Why’s Nana here?” She questioned, sitting next to her father, who had sat back down.
“Well…you know her house is right next to the creek.” Andrew sighed quietly, scratching his chin.
“Oh,” came the small reply from Alivea. Her Nana stayed quiet, as always, turning the stove off.
“Hey, why don’t you two go upstairs and play a videogame or something?” Dad suggested. Alivea knew this meant he needed what she called “big person adult speaking time” with Megan and Nana.
“Okay…” Alivea murmured hesitantly, giving her father a quick hug before running upstairs with her brother.
“Let's play Underground,” Eren said with a small grin. Alivea glared. She was terrible at racing games, and Eren knew it.
“Fine,” She complied anyways, picking up the black Playstation 2 controller. Eren was always player 1, which was the blue controller. The two played for quite a few hours, Eren winning every time. Alivea didn’t really mind. She soon became tired and fell asleep once Eren put a movie in, without even eating dinner.
She awoke early the next morning, much before everyone else. It was still raining, the sky a cold shade of grey. Her stomach growled, chanting for food. Alivea sighed and dragged herself down the stairs, getting almost to the bottom when she stepped in water, ankle deep and freezing cold. She let out a loud squeak of surprise, snapping completely awake. Everywhere from the third step down was flooded.
“ERENDADMEGAN WAKE UP!” She yelled, their names all jumbling together to sound like one long word. Her heart pounded as she rushed back up the stairs then burst into her dad's room. She ran to the bed, shaking his shoulder frantically. “The downstairs is flooded!!!” Alivea said quickly, her voice extremely panicked, which matched her facial expression. Her dad awoke and sat up quickly.
“What?!” he got up quickly, running downstairs to the water, but not quite stepping into it. Alivea stood at the top of the stairs, Megan and Eren joining her moments later after waking from the commotion. The three heard Andrew swearing harshly to himself. They exchanged glances. Well, this was new. Never had they heard him swear so much- or so...crudely. But, the three all mutually (and silently) agreed there was a decent reason why.
“I told him we should’ve evacuated yesterday…” Megan muttered, her face creased into a frown. Andrew came back upstairs, looking angry. He sighed, grumbling to himself. “Andrew, I’ll call for help,” Megan said to him, walking to their room. Luckily the family had two landlines, and one they kept upstairs.
“Yeah, yeah, do that…” He murmured. Alivea became worried, frowning. All of their food was downstairs, and the water was rising fast. It was already at the middle of the third step, and it hadn’t even been that long. Less than five minutes, 7 minutes at the most.The water seemed to whisper as Alivea thought silently. Megan came back a few moments later, looking nerve wracked.
“The phone won’t work.”
“It...won’t work.”
“Yeah…”
Andrew rubbed his temples. Eren, despite the dire situation, cracked a stupid looking grin. Alivea rolled her eyes.
“Maybe we should go to the attic.”
“I don’t think the water will rise that fast, or that far.” Andrew protested.
“Remember what happened last time you said the water wouldn’t get that high?” Eren snorted, crossing his arms. There was only the soft, yet thunderous noise of rushing water for a moment as Eren’s father stared at him.
“Okay, good point,” Andrew grumbled almost angrily. The four walked over to the attic door.
“Where’s the key?” Megan inquired. The attic door had a padlock on it, since the house was a double and connected at the attic.
“It should be in my desk.”
“I’ll go get it then,” she replied, walking into their room. Luckily it was right across from the attic door.
The three heard Megan shuffling around for what seemed like forever. “...It’s not here.”
“What-? I’m sure I left it there…” Andrew muttered, on his last nerve as he stormed into the room. Alivea peeked into the room, curious. She noticed from the clock that it was only 6:49 AM. Eren looked in after her.
“Uuuuh, hate to break it to you guys, but last time I saw it, it was downstairs on the kitchen counter...maybe one of us can wade through the water- it shouldn’t be that high yet- and get it off the counter,” Eren suggested, doing some quick thinking. Dad nodded.
“I’ll do it, I’m the biggest here.” He claimed, taking a moment to appreciate the fact that his family were a bunch of shorties compared to him. But now was not the time for that. The other three nodded, taking a moment to appreciate that they were all short; they wouldn’t have to wade through mucky river water.
Alivea and Eren stepped out of the doorway as their father walked through. Megan and the two kids went to the top of the stairs while Andrew continued on. He stepped into the muddy, fast moving water. It was cold around his feet; he could feel clumps of dirt and only God knows what hitting his legs as he continued down. The water was just above his waist.
Andrew slowly turned the corner of the stairs, shuffling his feet slowly across the soaked rug so he wouldn’t step on anything and hurt himself. He pushed through the hall door to the living room. He frowned, feeling something wrenching in his stomach as he waded through the destroyed room. At least his family was safe for now. Andrew quickly reached the kitchen counter, grimacing at the whatever-they-are’s hitting his legs and waist. Eren was right- they key was on the counter next to the microwave, right within his reach! He swiftly picked up the old, chilly key swiftly as he began wading back towards the stairs; now ignoring the destroyed possessions in his wake. Andrew made his way back to the stairs, rushing out of the freezing water. He shivered slightly. He dashed up the ten remaining stairs, Alivea, Eren, and Megan greeting him.
“Do you have the key?” Alivea inquired.
“Yeah- uh, you three go to the attic, I’m going to get changed,” Andrew responded, handing the key roughly to Megan. He speed walked to his room and shut the door with a thump before the three could say anything.
Megan wordlessly walked to the attic, holding the padlock in her small hand as she inserted the key into it. She twisted it to the right, a satisfying ‘click’ coming from the seemingly ancient lock. She anxiously pulled the lock out, twisting the glossed doorknob with trembling fingers. She was truly scared, and it was showing through her hands.
“Alright, let’s go. Don’t shut the door behind you, when your father is finished he’ll come up here.” She said to Eren and Alivea bluntly. The two nodded and walked into the old attic after her.
Dust swirled around the three as they ascended the creaky wooden stairs, and finally, finally, even if just for a fleeting moment, everything seemed at peace. The rain pounded against the roof, creating an atmosphere of tranquility. Alivea looked around the strangely warm, dirty attic.
There was a stack of four boxes next to a rotting piece of firewood that seemed to’ve been there for ages upon end. A few feet away from that was an opened box, filled to the brink with books and other various writings. Megan and Eren sat next to an unopened window, the wind causing it to shake and shudder; disturbing the puzzling calmness of the mostly quiet attic. Andrew’s steps up the wooden stairs could be heard before he could be seen, the door being shut prior.
“Wow, it’s warmer up here than I would’ve expected,” He said quietly, looking around. After a second he sneezed. “And dustier too.” He cracked a thin smile, as did Alivea. Eren had already fallen back asleep, leaning against the wall.
“I suppose now we wait for help, huh?” Megan questioned, looking up at Andrew. He nodded.
“I suppose so…”
As Alivea looked at her family, then out the window. As she watched the rain swirl in the wind, she had a gut feeling that everything would end up alright.