Thriller Suspense: "Black Hurricane Horizon"

The wind pierced our ears, the shutters knocked against the window as the rain pelted the glass hard enough to bring shivers to the spine. A clap of thunder tangled with each strike of lightning. It shook and flashed the walls and floor as if we were being bombed. Water began to enter the foyer untamed and unpredictable as it flowed into each room reaching our shoes. Fear trembled my heart in the one level home. We had to escape but where and how?

From one inch to one foot, it was coming. We watched the newspaper that was on the coffee table with the headline "Gulf Hurricane Cat 5, Oil Spill Hole in One" float by before it disappeared, swallowed by the water. My mind froze - "black hurricane" ran through my head.

My legs felt greasy, the bottom of my shoes were slipping on the combination of water surge, oil and sand granules. There was no more time, we had to leave to save our lives. Out of nowhere a crash came from different areas of the house, loud, piercing like smashing glass. The thunder, lightning, wind and thick sideways rain deemed relentless.

One step forward and the house began to shift approximately an inch. I watched her face as her body swept into the constant growing current. I guided her hand to hold her up. "Mom, we have to leave! Now!" At that moment the house shifted again at such a force it knocked both of us into the murky saltwater. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her above the water. We began to swim towards the kitchen in the back of the house.

To our horror once reaching the broken window and moving the yellow curtains to the side the only sight was darkness in combination with howling winds. Lightning provided a frightening visual. Powerful white caps, no ground, no homes in sight, trees have disappeared, the bridge was gone and then it occurred to us - our home was no longer on land. My thoughts raced to an familiar warning in one second flat.

Scientists said it would happen but they were discredited by the media for the far fetched prediction while clips of the press conference ran through the kaleidoscope of my mind. They said that the oil spill created a slick ocean floor that if a Cat 5 hurricane formed and stirred the current with a powerful force the water and oil together could literally move a home.

We needed to find a flotation device, fast!

The water measured close to our chests as I felt around for the kitchen refrigerator handle, opened up the door and grabbed one milk gallon, poured out the milk before screwing the lid tight then did the same for three gallons of water. Time was of essence - time, we did not have much of.

"C'mon mom, grab two." Handing her two empty gallons I held her belt with one hand while using the other hand to grasp the remaining two empty gallons. "Mom, use one gallon per each hand to float with and kick your legs! I'll hold onto you and guide you!"

We pushed with everything we had to get outside of the broken window without being cut by the glass. The current was trying to pull us back in. Once we got out of the home we could see a dark formation through the windmill of sea mist and stabbing rain drops. A couple of transformer blowouts that popped in flares of sparks and sounds of cracking booms gave us a view that land was straight ahead, not far.

I struggled to keep mother's belt in one hand as one of my gallons fell out of my other hand. I began to go under the unstable current. Mother continued to kick as hard as she could while swaying uncontrollable from side to side. Between each cough, water entered my mouth - my throat began to close as if I were suffocating. Dizzy, weak, something was wrong. I felt a stinging sensation in my chest - the taste of saltwater with an oil aftertaste. I began to lose consciousness while struggling in the deep waters. Slowly, water began to course through my body, my vision blurred, the noise grew towards silence before I .. I ..

I woke up to the sound of an alarm clock. My eyes felt bloodshot from an active sleep, I was tired. Rolling out of bed I slowly walked into the kitchen to make myself a cup of coffee.

"Hey mom, I had the strangest nightmare last night. We were in a Category 5 hurricane and the house was pulled out to sea. Something to do with oil." She seemed more interested in turning on the television, just in time for the early morning daily report.

"Hello, and good morning from Channel 14, Louisiana's news source. Here's the top stories this April 21, 2010. An explosion occurred late last night on Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The details have not been fully released, but there are indications of some injured with possible deaths. Another concern is that oil may be releasing into the Gulf of Mexico."

As my coffee cup fell and cracked upon impact with the floor I turned to the yellow curtains of the windowsill where I keep my father's cross.

The End