To Rick, sleep had been impossible. All throughout the night the sound of rushing water and the groans of the building as it kept shifting kept his nerves on edge. Whenever he closed his eyes, the sight of the rushing water pinning him against the house’s outer wall pushed him back into wakefulness. But the vision was odd, not seen from his own eyes but from afar. It came with a panic and concern that didn’t quite feel right. It was an anxiousness that was almost primal and that almost felt as if it wasn’t his own.

The feelings kept his body on edge, his adrenaline thick in his veins, keeping the fight or flight instinct fresh and active without pause. Rick felt just about ready to jump away from the nearest shadow, out the square hole that was the window, and start swimming.

But he’d need to be far more suicidal to do that, so instead he spent the night just walking and using the flashlight from Tomas’ phone to investigate the house. The structure quiet save for the creaks and groans from stress the current provided. A current that kept his shoes submerged even at the second floor.

The rise of the water had inched its way upwards over the hours, but at least it seemed the ascent had slowed. And yet, despite all odds, Tomas and Kat had found a chance to rest… somehow. It was hard to believe they’d managed to get a blink of sleep considering the raining had not abated, nor had the thunder. The two had found some tall flat furniture to lay on and that had been that.

Which suited Rick just fine, it let his mind wander and fuss over things on its own as he circled about and tried piecing together the life of whoever had lived here. The young teacher had only found one object worth mention while exploring the upper level of the household: a black leather collar. The item looked incredibly sturdy, with metal wire weaved into the material. it was also entirely devoid of a latch, and was a single piece of black that was about as wide as his thumb and as thick as his pinky. The most unnerving part was how it tingled to the touch, as if it had a small current running through it. The sensation felt odd, wrong.

The piece of leather had been torn, snapped forcefully at some point in time, perhaps years ago.

“Whatchu found there, prof?”

A slight cough, as Rick realized he’d been staring at the thing, for how long? He wasn’t too sure. “Just discovered this.”

Kat smirked. “Someone either had a very large dog or was rather kinky.” She put her hands on her hips. “It might look good with my cardigan.”

“Don’t.” He flicked the item out of her reaching hand, and his gaze hardened. “This thing’s been dumped here for who knows how long.”

“Right, because our biggest concern is some old dusty piece of fetish gear.” Her eyes twinkled as she leaned towards him, grinning from ear to ear.

“I’d rather we just not add tetanus to the pile of things to worry over.” With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it out the window and into the raging river below. Better that than test his luck.

The house groaned- and for an instant, the floor felt like it had shifted one inch too many for comfort.

“Now you went and pissed off the river Goddess because you gave her a crappy piece of fetish gear.” The woman rolled her eyes, nervously laughing as she glanced around, her right hand grasping her left elbow and rubbing it softly. “Do you… figure the house might fall? I’ve seen some vids of when that happens and it’s crazy, they say that-”

“Kat. Please.” Rick looked at her with a deep sigh. “Where’s Tomas?”

“Still snoring.”

The teacher leaned back against the wall. “You couldn’t sleep?”

“He’s a nice fuck, but doesn’t really know how to squeeze the right way to make it comfortable to sleep.” With her words, the teacher coughed, but it only made her smirk widen. “Hey, I figured you already knew.”

“I’d guessed it was the case, but I was not looking for confirmation about it.” He sighed and shook his head.

“Eh, thought I might as well not play coy about it.” She shrugged nonchalantly, leaning against the wall opposite to his. “So since we’re talking about it to try to distract ourselves from impending doom, how’s the cat?”

“The… cat?”

“Monica.” She wriggled her hips slightly. “She yowls a lot, so how’s the wild pussy in the sack?”

The teacher shot her a flat unamused look. “None of your business.”

“Prude.”

Shaking his head, Rick closed his eyes. “Got anyone you want to go back to?”

“Mom. But both of us have always been somewhat free spirits in that sense. Gramps is the ‘family values’ guy.”

“Father?”

“Dead.” The answer came out dry and accompanied by a shrug.

Rick grimaced. “I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be, it was his fault.” The young woman glanced downwards, shrugging her shoulders. “You got anyone waiting for you back home?”

“Loki.”

“Unless you’re talking about a DVD collection, I take it that’s a pet.” She arched a brow.

“Black cat, three years old and ready to claw my face out.” The teacher sighed deeply. “I never was much of a cat person.”

“How times change. First you didn’t like cats and now you fucked one.” The sophomore giggled, watching him fluster slightly. “If you’re not a cat person, why the cat?”

“Wasn’t my choice, I wanted a goldfish.” His gaze turned towards her, brows lowered. “I’m guessing Loki’s at least in a better state than we are.”

“In heaven?”

This time it was his turn to chuckle. “Neighbor has my keys. She loves that little devil more than her own family.”

“Oho, quite the ladies man.”

“She’s eighty.”

“Age is only a number, just saying.” She cackled at herself even as Rick was ever less amused.

A rumbling noise shook the house- thunder that reverberated from the floor and up through their very bones. Kat flinched and shrank, the smile gone fast enough to show it had been there only through force of will. The teacher looked at her and did his best to appear calm. “It’s going to be alright. We’ll make it through this.”

Her eyes were glued to the water that was up to her calves. “I wish I could believe you.”

Rick stared at her for a moment, reaching up to scratch his cheek. He wasn’t sure what to say- how could he reassure her? Or at least help her focus herself back? Whatever the answer might have been, Kat chose to lean into a hug before he could decide. She buried her face into his chest and squeezing tightly.

With a grimace, the teacher quietly wrapped his arms around her shoulders. “I’m a terrible hugger, just a warning.”

“I’m the one supposed to be doing the bad jokes.” She held him tighter.

Looking down at that bed of wild dirty golden hair, Rick’s gut tightened. He couldn’t let himself fail here. The others were depending on them finding help, even these two students- they might be adults, but they’d barely stepped into that world. He almost had a decade at it and felt just as lost as the two sophomores did.

But he had to look the part of the bigger adult in the room.

The house shook again, the rumbling of thunder closer, far closer. Kat gasped and tightened her grip on him on instinct. The teacher patted her head and turned to stare out the window. There was another rumble, a colossal shudder that rattled the dust off the ceiling.

Alarms were starting to blare louder inside his mind. Something was wrong.

It took an instant to realize why. “There’s no lightning.”

“What?”

Rick let go of Kat. “Wake up Tomas, NOW!”

The look of confusion took just one second to vanish. She didn’t hesitate, not sure what or why he’d said so; her feet turned, and she sprinted down the corridor as Rick took the opposite direction. He approached the window and shoved the half-torn wooden blinder off so he could glance outside.

Outside the storm raged on. Even when it was daytime, there was little light to be had. The sky was a dull dark grey, and the rain poured down with a vengeance. The river had grown, swallowing the whole farm and submerging it under muddied opaque water. Trees were dragged down the raging stream, rushing their way through, branches and pieces of debris from the less sturdy building pressed against the outer wall of the house.

There was a flash of lightning, and the rumble of thunder.

It was followed by more rumbling, louder, and deeper. It shook Rick’s feet and made him feel like he was in the middle of a stampede. It was coming closer. And it was with the feeling of his stomach dropping to the floor that the next bolt of lightning revealed the source.

Rick’s body froze as he saw the large boulders rolling down the stream, some of them large enough to eclipse the building they were currently using as shelter.

The mountain was falling.

And it was coming their way.