AUTHOR’S POV
Reed emerged from the ocean with Avel in his arms, salt stinging his eyes and throat as he gasped for air. But his relief was shattered when he looked up and saw hell.
The road they had been driving on was no longer there. Entire stretches of asphalt were submerged, with only broken street signs and lampposts sticking out from the raging water. Their cars floated like forgotten toys, and Reed's heart lurched in his throat as he looked at his own car.
Further up, a gas station was half-buried in the water, with fuel pumps bobbing like corpses, and he could not believe his eyes. Houses along the curve of the road were drowning, and the water was not just coming in waves; it was surging, alive, and he realized he needed to get away.
His feet sank into the muddy slope of the
