Brown, Muddy Water Swirled Up the Stairs, the House Tilted

Just then I heard a loud roar. It sounded like it was not too far off and rapidly coming our way. It sounded like a freight train collision or an explosion. I felt a sudden shock wave. Before I could collect my thoughts, a wall of water struck the Mailer’s house and jolted it half off its foundation. The jolt was worse than any California earthquake I had ever experienced. Ronnie’s mother, Ronnie and I were knocked clear off our feet. Downstairs I heard Web yell, “Holy crap!”

“Francis!” grandpa screamed.

“We gotta’ get outa’ here! Now!” I yelled to Ronnie. I struggled back onto my feet and grabbed her and her mother’s hands and helped them stand up.

“Hang on and follow me,” I ordered. I started down the stairs with them. The house suddenly tilted at a crazy angle and we all fell down again.

“Oh my God!” Mrs. Mailer screamed.

The river was swirling up the stairs; brown, muddy water coming right after us. A sickening, wrenching sound assaulted our ears as the water pulled and tugged the house to tear it completely off its foundation.

“Jump into the water and head for the door,” I commanded, “or we’re going to go down the river.”

I jumped into the muddy brown water and half thrashed and half swam for the front door, attempting to drag Mrs. Mailer with me. Once last time I heard Web say, “Holy crap!” I managed to reach the front door of Ronnie’s house and push her mom outside. I glimpsed grandpa clinging to a fence post in the front yard trying valiantly to stand up so he could slog his way back to his car. I couldn’t see Web though.

“Hurry up, get out of there,” grandpa urged me.

“My daughter!” Mrs. Mailer cried.

Ronnie had not come out of the house behind us. No way was I going to leave her behind. I shoved Mrs. Mailer toward grandpa then turned around and fought my way through the swirling water back into the house. Ronnie was floundering in the entryway between the stairs and the front door. The current was extremely strong and it appeared that Ronnie was having some difficulty.

“Give me your hand!” I yelled. I inched as close to Ronnie as I could without straying any farther from the front door than I absolutely had to. Ronnie reached out to take my hand.

Just then the house was totally knocked off its foundation. The next thing I knew, I was desperately struggling to keep my head above water and trying to avoid being dashed against furniture and appliances. A huge log, like a deadly battering ram, crashed into the house and punched right through the kitchen door. I guessed that the roar I’d heard earlier had been a log jam breaking up. That would explain the sudden rush of water. I believed at that point that Ronnie and I definitely had to get outside the house if we were going to have any chance of staying alive, but where was she?

I could feel the house moving with the water now.

“The current’s definitely caught it,” I said to myself.

I prayed with all my might for God to save me and Ronnie and thrashed around looking for her. But I couldn’t find her in the darkness and the swirling water. I noticed that the front door was blocked by sodden floating furniture. The kitchen door, where I thought it should be, was blocked by the log protruding through it. I figured the only way out of this situation was to hold my breath, try to duck underneath the log and swim to safety. But where was Ronnie? I had to find Ronnie.

“You can’t dive under the log, dummy,” I scolded myself. “You wouldn’t fit underneath it.”

I looked toward the stairs again. I had lost my flashlight and the stairs were barely visible in the darkness. I was able to discern, however, that they didn’t appear to be blocked by debris. Then I felt the house picking up speed in the water and moving at a fairly rapid rate. I had to get out of there!

My rubber boots were filled with water and dragging me down. I fought my way over to the stairs to take them off and bumped into Ronnie. She was half submerged in the water near the bottom of the stairs and appeared to have been knocked out. I was happy to discover that her head was above water and she was still breathing. Once I tugged my boots off I tried to sling Ronnie over my shoulders in a fireman’s lift. But she was so limp and I couldn’t totally stand up, and the water was making my fingers stiff and cold.

I crawled up a couple of steps on my hands and knees so I was slightly above Ronnie and pulled her by her arms up out of the water. 
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