Black Tide

by K.C. Jones

Jake paces behind me, nails clicking on the composite decking. He clearly disapproves of my choice to engage this man, whose name I don’t even know, and definitely disagrees with my pointing out that we’re alone and murderable.

Ma'am, he's a dog

Beth doesn’t call me out. She’s grabbing for some way to stay afloat too. Without further ado, we both get into the Subaru and gently tug the doors shut and turn to watch the dunes, as Jake has done since we got out here.

And this is when I remember this is about being stuck in a car xD

But I’ve got a firm hold on my mountain lion explanation now. I can wrap my head around that, and therefore the next logical move seems far less daunting.

They wouldn't evacuate for a mountain lion, dipshit XD

When it clears, I see Mike scramble up through the window and out of the wreckage. What a dipshit. Seriously, what was he thinking?

I see I'm not the only one calling him dipshit XD

Mike tears open a sanitizing wipe and goes to work, first cleaning away the black slime, then scooping grit from my leg.

I think we're vastly overestimating how much a wipe can do.

“Not so bad, right?” Mike asks. “Can your feet reach the pedals? Down on the floor? It’s okay to try, nothing will happen until we turn the car on.” I scoot to the very edge of the seat and stretch my legs. They barely reach, but I can feel the pedals down there. I don’t know which is which, but I’m sure Mike will tell me.

She's going to drive the jeep directly into the ocean

“Are you okay? Natalia?” What’s she doing? I see her flailing her arms around as the waves assault the Jeep—why isn’t she saying anything? “What is she doing out in the water?” Mike hollers.

Wow, how completely unexpected xD

Fleshy ivy creeps up the cedar siding and across the shingled roof. The flower buds have blossomed into what appear to be Venus flytrap mouths full of spindly teeth. One of them is closed around a seagull, the bird’s black, lifeless eyes staring out at us in surprise. The HOA would have a fit if they saw this.