• When the Rains Came Part 12

    The following weekend, the believers regrouped. Officer Davis brought two other officers with him. He’d talked to them about the evidence and managed to bring them around to their way of thinking. Best of all, they had a plan. “Okay everyone, Officer Davis –“ “Please, just Bradley,” he interrupted Drew. “Bradley and his two fellow…

  • When the Rains Came Part 11

    “We all made it back. We’re safe. Take a deep breath,” Annie was trying to comfort Drew. He was rocking back and forth in her kitchen chair, staring at the floor with a blank expression. “But those people… All those homes… Children…” “Drew!” Stephen walked up and slapped his face. “Snap out of it!” “Hey!”…

  • When the Rains Came Part 10

    Storm Season Day 51 We’re going out to the sinkhole today. As much as I want to have an answer to all of this, a small part of me hopes we find nothing. I don’t want to put anyone at risk. We already have too many missing. I’d blame myself if we lost another. I’m…

  • When the Rains Came Part 9

    “I’d like to first thank Annie,” Drew waved towards where she sat at the back of the kitchen, “for letting us have this emergency meeting in her apartment. Second, I’d like to thank all of ya’ll for coming on such short notice. I know we’re usually hunkered down when a storm is blowing in, but…

  • When the Rains Came part 8

    “What’s going on?” Annie held the door open as Drew and Stephen carried in boxes from the car. “We need to fortify the apartment. There isn’t a storm shelter nearby and we still have a few more weeks to survive.” Stephen set his box in front of the large glass patio doors. “There’s a lot…

  • When the Rains Came Part 7

    Drew paced his apartment, worrying about Annie. They’d exchanged numbers, he’d given her a basket full of bluebonnets and yet… He still didn’t feel like she was safe enough. “Dude,” Stephen poked his head out of his bedroom door, his eyes half shut. “Quit trying to wear a hole in the ground and just go…

  • When the Rains Came Part 6

    “Are you sure you’re okay?” Trey asked Annie for the fifth time as he got his gym bag packed. “Yeah. Just tired, like I told you. I didn’t get any sleep.” Annie was staring out the balcony window to where she’d seen the man disappear. The police hadn’t turned anything up yet. She didn’t have…

  • When The Rains Came Part 5

      That night, Annie stood on the balcony of Trey’s apartment, unable to sleep. She twirled the bluebonnet stem between her fingers as she watched the sky. It was about to rain. As the first drops fell, Annie retreated back under the awning but stayed outside to watch the storm. Even with the recent disaster…

  • When the Rains Came Part 4

    A phone was ringing from far away. A shrill persistent cry. Why wasn’t anyone answering? People were trying to sleep here. Annie rolled over, surfacing out of the depths of sleep. And then she realized the ringing wasn’t as far away as she’d thought as her cell phone vibrated off the nightstand. “Ugh,” eyes only…

  • When the Rains Came Part 3

    (part 1 and part 2) “Hey, new kid!” Marcus yelled across the hall as the new student tried to squeeze through the crowd. He looked around, eyes wide as though expecting something bad. “Yeah, you! Come here,” Ethan motioned him over to their group. “Hi,” he said once he’d reached them. “I’m Kevin.” “I’m Marcus,…