Deluge: The Conqueror Worms II

CHAPTER 15

Henry returned to the grain silo and removed his boots and clothes to avoid the risk of infection. He dropped them into the foul water and then clambered inside the silo. He stood shivering in the doorway. Water dripped from his body and pooled on the floor. He shook himself, spraying droplets through the air.

Moxey was sprawled on her makeshift bed of burlap bags, lying on her back with her paws in the air. Her mouth was slightly open, showing teeth and receding gums. Her ribs were visible beneath her fur. She looked stiff, and at first, Henry was positive that she’d died during his absence. Then her ears twitched. Henry sighed, watching her. Eyes still closed, Moxey shook her paws and twitched her tail. Henry wondered what she was dreaming about. Probably food.

Grunting with exertion, he struggled to pull the raft inside. When it was secure, he walked across the floor to the moldering cardboard box full of wet newspapers and magazines. They smelled musty. He dumped them out and then, carrying the box with him, knelt down next to Moxey. She opened her eyes as he gently scratched her chin.

“How you doing, girl?”

She responded with a weak meow.

“I know. I know. We’re getting out of here tomorrow. We can’t stay here anymore.”

Moxey licked his fingers with her rough tongue.

“But first, I need to borrow some of these sacks.”

He picked her up and she whined in protest. Henry lined the bottom of the cardboard box with a few burlap bags and placed Moxey inside it. She turned in a circle, looking at it doubtfully, her claws flexing and prodding. His mother used to call that ‘making bread.’ After a moment, Moxey lay down and curled up. Henry smiled when she closed her eyes and began to purr.

Using his pocketknife, Henry fashioned a crude kilt and shirt out of the rest of the burlap bags. The shirt was easy. He simply cut holes for his head and arms. The kilt was a little more difficult. He used strips of burlaps as a belt to cinch it around his waist. When he was finished, he got dressed. They sacks were warm from the cat’s leftover body heat, but that warmth soon vanished. The rough material grew itchy and irritated his skin.

He strode to the center of the platform. The wooden floorboards were cold under his bare feet. Henry peered over the side, and confirmed that the water was still rising. Within days, the silo would flood.

He lay down next to Moxey and draped one hand over the lip of the box. He scratched her ears and closed his eyes.

“Yep,” he promised before falling asleep. “First thing tomorrow, we’ll head for Mr. Garnett’s house. I ain’t gonna let you starve, or get infected with whatever Mr. Burke had, or drown. I promise. I’ll do whatever I have to do to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

His stomach growled as he snored.

* * *

Sarah slept soundly, the first aid book open across her chest. At one point in the night, a particularly loud burst of thunder woke her up, but Sarah forced herself to go back to sleep. She needed to rest—needed to conserve her strength for what she planned on doing tomorrow, if it was necessary.

She thought that it probably would be.

* * *

Kevin slept, and dreamed that he and Lori were sitting naked in a huge porcelain bathtub full of warm water. It was the most luxuriant feeling he’d ever experienced. He examined his fingers. They looked like wrinkled, white prunes.

Lori caressed his shoulders. “You’re so soft.”

“Soft is good,” he agreed. “Everything should be soft.”

He leaned forward to kiss her, and she turned into water and flowed all over him.

Even as he shuddered in the throes of a powerful orgasm, Kevin did not wake.

* * *

The rain continued to fall.