There was a storm brewing on the distant horizon growing closer with every chill wind. Jason stood at the door to his home watching the dark grey clouds churning themselves into a fury that would be unleashed by night fall if not sooner. It was the third powerful storm in as many weeks, a situation that could only be considered freakish by southern California standards. The last storm to tear through Los Angeles was close to the borders of insanity as far as Jason was concerned. The rain had cascaded down in steady sheets so thick that the hand in front of your face was invisible. This coming storm seemed to have all of the strength that one had and despite the news was claiming this one seemed particularly angry.
Normally Jason was the kind of person to ascribe human characteristics to things. Anthropomorphizing was for children and writers. Maybe it was the fact that he'd watched too many sci-fi movies since he'd been trapped in doors for days at a time but it seemed like the storms had certain intelligence to them. The places that could handle the rain weren't getting it, and the freshly burned country side was being battered until mudslides cut power for thousands.
Jason wanted to stand in the doorway and stare down the maelstrom. As silly as it sounded he wanted to face down the monster coming to threaten him and his home. Even if he couldn't do anything to stymie the rage preparing to deluge his home it would give him a sense of satisfaction to know that he tried. Instead he did something that might actually make a difference and shoveled sandbags into a wall at the backside of his house guiding the water around his home and down to the street. Jason had spent the morning helping his neighbors do the same thing hoping to guide the water harmlessly around valuables.
The sky continued to darken as the clouds made their intentions clear. Before attempting to drown the men and women of Riverside the storm decided to fire off a warning shot that lit the sky and thundered through the homes. It was quickly followed by several more explosions that secured Jason's fear that this wasn't a natural storm. This was a conscious being doing its best to frighten its victims into submission before starting the fight.
After fifteen minutes of echoing bluster the storm decided it was time to move onward. It was like a seam had been cut in the heavens. Every drop in the sky erupted from its slit open bladder and pounded the poor earth bound fools to their knees. The sound was nearly as loud as the thunder had been and instead of sudden shouts it was a constant assault. Jason stood near a window watching the road outside turn to a rapidly flowing river. Mud and debris flowed down stream where it would gather in the local park destroying a few of the wood benches in the process while Jason could only watch helplessly.
Jason wasn't certain if he was holding a vigil or a wake as the debris grew in size. It wasn't just floating sticks and mud after the first hour of the torrential downpour. There were two drown dogs and what Jason thought was a possum but it was far away and dark, it could have been a rat or a cat. He wasn't really certain what the difference between a possum and an opossum was either. Roofing shingles rode the waves down along with bushes and smaller trees up rooted by the relentless wind. So far the sand bags had held well diverting the worst of the flow away from the homes.
A bolt of lightning exploded through the sky and that was the end of electricity on Wilshire Avenue. A few street lights exploded but most people had already made that consensus to the storm shutting down any electronic that plugged into the wall. In the darkness it seemed absurd to keep staring out the windows occasionally checking on the backyard ready to add more sandbags or rush to a neighbor's aid at the slightest hint of trouble. Candlelight had already been flickering in Jason's home.
A second bolt of lightning revealed her. He wasn't even certain what he was looking at was alive. He had to wait for a second blast to illuminate the darkness before he was certain about what he was seeing. There was a woman. The water wasn't deep enough to swim in, it more like flailing hoping to find something to grab onto. If Jason had taken even a moment to think about what he was doing things would have turned out differently. The stupidest thing he could do was charge out into the blinding storm and get himself drown as well as the young lady. Even if he'd still found his courage the split second of indecision would have been longer than she could last.
Throwing the door open Jason charged out his front door and promptly tripped on the slick concrete skinning his chin at the same time. He scrambled back to his feet shouting, "I'm coming hold on!" At the top of his lungs. There was no way she could hear him over the rain, he could barely hear himself and just a few steps from his house and he was certain he'd drown standing up. The rain was intense enough to bounce off the concrete and back into his face. It was impossible to get back to his feet beneath the pounding fists of the rain so he stayed on all fours like a beast and continued to the street. Pulling himself into the bed of a neighbor's pick up he shaded his eyes and searched for the woman.
Just the few seconds it had taken Jason to sprint from his home to the street the waters had managed to carry her more than half the length of the block and every water logged breath he choked into his lungs let her slip farther away. Still running on pure instinct Jason leapt from the truck bed intentionally landing on his backside half swimming half sliding down the street waving his arms and shouting to get her attention. He knew that time wasn't on his side; there was more to it than just him getting to her fast enough. She had to know that someone was coming, that it was going to be alright. Without that she might just give in like Derrick had.
The water was deep and fast enough that Jason only got a few bruises slaloming down hill with only his jeans to protect him. The woman was fading fast when he got within reach. She'd stopped pulling herself from the water from desire, it was only instinct that raised her pink haired head up to notice her rescuer and even then she didn't renew the fight. She let her head slump back beneath the water. "No!" Jason grabbed her by the hair wishing there was a kinder way to haul her head above water but there wasn't. Holding her with one hand he grabbed the wheel well of a nearby car and let it sling shot their bodies into the relatively protected spot in front of it. Anchoring himself against the car he threw the limp female form into a fireman's carry and started back up the hill.
