I sat on top of the roof with my head in my hands. Small waves reached up just below my feet. The water level had settled for now. It didn’t matter, though. The city was gone, and my home was underwater.

“Hey, there!”

I looked up and saw a dot of light out on the water. Clouds had covered up the moon and stars, so I couldn’t make out who had called for me. The boat moved closer, and a man wearing a green vest with the presidential symbol on it gave me a sad smile.

“Rough day?”

I simply stared at him. I’d punch him in the face, but hitting a government worker trying to save me wouldn’t end well for me or my family.

“Come on, boy.” He held out his hand. “Let’s get you onto dry land.”

Standing, I inched down the pitch of the roof. I snatched his hand and toppled into the boat. Sitting in the bottom of it, I wiped my face.

“There, there, kid.” He pushed off the house and started to row toward high ground. “You’re alive. Save your tears.”

Turning away from him, I clenched my jaw. I wasn’t crying. My eyes were just watering. A breeze whirled through the tops of the buildings, making me shiver. I was still completely soaked.

“There’s a blanket under the bench.”

I glanced over my shoulder before quickly retrieving it. Unfolding it, I wrapped the blanket around my shoulders and curled into a ball. “How many survived?”

The man shrugged. “We’re still looking for people. Most of the town left before the waves hit, so we didn’t lose as many as we could have. Of the ones who stayed”—he shook his head—“about thirty percent made it to high ground. Are you looking for someone?”

“My mom and sister.” They were ahead of me.”

“Well, you weren’t too far from the cliffs. They could’ve made it.”

“I hope,” I said, letting out a shaky breath.

What would I do if they didn’t? I had nothing. If something happened to them and my dad, I’d be put in a children’s home. I was almost sixteen, though. Depending on space, I’d be the first kicked out onto the streets. Closing my eyes, I laid my head on the edge of the boat. The waves brushed up against the side as we slowly moved along.

“Hey there!”

I sat up and saw a man standing on dry ground, waving his arms. Lanterns lit the area. Tents were set up behind the row of small boats—the two men tied off ours.

“Only one?”

The person who saved me nodded. “Just the boy. I don’t dare go out too far. There have been reports of more waves coming.” He held out his hand to me.

I stood and climbed out.

“Yeah, that’s your last trip,” said the other man. “This whole hill is going to be covered by morning. As soon as the last boat comes in, we’re packing up and leaving. We’ll come back once the water level settles.” He put his hand on my shoulder and held up a finger. “Go up to the tents and give them your name. They’ll tell you what to do until the main boat is ready to leave.”

I nodded and started up the trotted-down path in the grass. I stopped at a desk with a lady sitting behind it.

She gave me a sad smile. “Name, sweetheart?”

I tightened my hold on the blanket around me. “Ezekiel Zale Thornton.” I glanced at the list as she wrote my name down. “My mother and sister, are there any other Thorntons?”

“Um…” She started to scan the different pages. “I don’t have the whole list. We’re going to enter it into the system when we can. When you get to the safe house, they’ll have all the names. They can look them up for you.”

Nodding, I looked around. “Where am I supposed to…”

She pointed to a few other people sitting on the grass. I shuffled out of the tent and joined them. They all had the same blank expression. I recognized a couple of them from school. Something was floating along the edge of the water. I walked a little closer until someone snatched my leg.

“Don’t,” said an older man. “Leave it.”

I backed up a few feet and sat down. A motorboat passed by, and a spotlight flickered over the object. I shut my eyes tightly when the light ran across the body’s face. Directing my gaze at my feet, I didn’t look away from the grass. I didn’t want to see anything else.

“Get the rest of them out of here.” A man in an army uniform walked behind us. “The land shifted again. This whole place will be underwater by morning.” The other workers quickened their pace to keep up with him.

I hugged my arms around my legs. My home was gone. One day and it was all gone.

We didn’t have to wait long for a larger boat to pull up to the makeshift dock. The workers gathered us up and led us onto the deck. We were directed down the stairs to a lower level. I sat on the corner of a couch, and a couple others squeezed in with me. Not much was said. I felt the jolt of the engine, and the boat started to move. I had never been outside of my hometown. It scared me as I had no idea what was waiting at the end of this boat ride.