“Alright, everyone up!”

I jolted awake from the train bench I was sprawled across. The other flood survivors started to rise. Stretching out my arms, I glanced out the window at the buildings, which soared high overhead. Things like this were only seen in pictures and movies. I swallowed hard at the overwhelming feeling.

“Where are we?” asked a woman to the man next to her. The couple had joined my group after we got off the boat last night and were herded onto the train.

“I think they brought us to the Oasis.”

“Why would they bring us to the capital? There’s nothing for us here.”

The man shrugged. “It’s where they always bring flood victims. It's not like we can go back home. We’ll have to decide from here where we want to go next.” He grabbed her hand, and the two walked out onto the platform.

Grabbing my blanket off the seat, I followed the others off the train. A large dome sat on the other side of the platform.

“Follow the signs,” said a woman in a uniform. “They’ll help you through processing.”

I nodded and stepped in line with the others. It moved along slowly toward a desk. The other train cars had plenty of people in them as well. It was soon my turn, and I stood in front of the government worker.

“Name?”

“Ezekiel Zale Thornton,” I stated.

“Age.”

“I’ll be sixteen in a few days.”

“We’ll put sixteen then.” She tapped a few boxes on her screen and then scanned a bracelet. “Keep this on. The light on the side will flash if someone comes looking for you. Under twenty goes through the green gate.” She pointed to it. “If your parents are found, they will be notified. If no one comes to claim you within a week, you’ll be transferred to a children’s center until we can confirm if your parents are alive.”

“Then what?” I asked, feeling a tightness in my chest. “What if they didn’t make it?”

She smiled at me. I could tell it was rehearsed.

“You’ll be fine. Don’t worry.” She motioned for me to continue on and the next person to step forward.

I did so. A soldier scanned my bracelet and pointed to the green archway. I glanced at the other line. Children with their parents were allowed to go to the blue arches. The tightness started to increase in my chest. What was I going to do?

Inside the dome, kids of all ages were scattered about on cots. I went to the back corner and chose one away from everyone else. Laying down, I put the blanket over my head. The tears were coming. I felt so tense and a bit lost. I wanted to be in my home, downstairs letting off steam or even playing the piano for my mother. I wanted this reality to go away. That wasn’t going to happen, though. Not in a world destined to drown.

***

“Zale!”

My eyes popped open. Was I hearing things? That sounded like—

“Zale!”

The blanket was yanked off me, and Erika threw her arms around my neck. “I knew it was you. I knew it.”

Let out a shaky breath, I hugged her tightly. My bracelet was flashing green. My mother hurried over and joined us. We sat on the cot, clinging to each other. It was such a relief to know they were alright.

“I knew you’d get out. I knew it,” said Erika.

My mother kissed my cheek. “Thank god, I was so worried. They made us leave. I begged to stay until they stopped the search but they forced us to get on a boat.”

“It’s okay.” I tightened my hold on them.

I wasn’t alone. Everything was going to be okay. I wouldn’t be sent to a children’s home, and we were going to make it through this together.

Parting, my mother cupped my face. “Are you okay? You weren’t hurt.”

“A few bruises, but nothing major,” I replied.

She gave my hand a squeeze. “Let’s get something to eat. Okay?”

Erika looped arms with me, and we exited the green area. I had never been so happy to move to the more crowded section of the dome. After grabbing some prepackaged food, we found an empty cot by the wall and sat down. Sitting at my mother and sister’s feet, I started to peel an orange.

“What are we going to do now?” asked Erika, resting her head on my mother’s shoulder.

She shrugged. “We’ll go to the bank, get some money out, and find a place to stay until we get word about your father.”

I peered up at her. “Did he get out in time? I haven’t heard anything about the government buildings.”

“I don’t know.” My mother shook her head with a sad smile. “Some say they were evacuated before the water hit, while others are saying the government buildings were the first to go under. We just don’t know. We can only hope that he’s okay.”

I separated the orange into pieces and offered it to them. They each took a section. My mother was trying to be strong for us, but she was scared. I was worried about my father, too. Without him, I didn’t know how we were going to make it.