Chapter 8: Marine Mammal Massacre
Thomas and Angela sat quietly in the restaurant, looking quite misplaced. Amongst the destruction that surrounded them they sat very tranquilly; not providing the slightest attention to the devastation that lay scattered all around. The antiques and artifacts that once hung peacefully on the walls and rafters now lay shattered on the chilling wooden floor. Though the wind still blew strongly, most of the trees surrounding the restaurant had been stripped bare of their branches and were hardly a threat to the two content aristocrats. An odd branch would still smack into the building but, it was less harmful now.
Thomas was scrolling compulsively on Angela’s phone since his device had been broken earlier that day, when he fell upon something that spiked his curiosity.
“Angela, I was just reading my horoscope and it-”
“I don’t want to hear it!” She snapped moodily. “You know I don’t believe in that crap.”
“But it’s really accurate sometimes!” Thomas insisted. “Listen to this: Today you will pay for the sins you’ve committed that you never owned up for. In an ironic way the earth, stars and people around you will make you suffer the consequences of your bad actions and decisions.” Thomas paused as he further pondered the words. “Do you think maybe the reason this terrible storm is happening is because of what we did in Tswwassen?”
Angela didn’t even blink an eyelash before her ignorant retort spewed out of her self-conceded mouth.
“No, that’s absolutely ridiculous darling. We did that for money and the earth loves money.”
“How do you know the earth loves money?” Thomas sneered.
“Well the earth makes trees, so we, the superior humans, can make paper to print boat loads of cash. Plus, you and I both can agree money runs the world and the earth is a big part of this world, so it has to love money.” Angela leaned back a bit and almost fell off her chair with pride in her not so intelligent argument.
“But, money causes-” Thomas began but, Angela grasped his hands lovingly.
“Let’s not fight anymore darling; it never ends well.” Angela sighed in her most graceful voice. Thomas wasn’t listening. He was peering over her shoulder staring awestruck at the window.
“What is it darling?” Angela spun around to see water rising outside the windows.
Thomas bolted towards the front doors which were just beginning to allow water to pour in, and slammed them shut. Then, with a frantic mask covering his once uncaring face, he found a historic mining track piece out of the museum section of the building and slid it in between the handles completely sealing the door shut. When he returned to the restaurant, the water had risen almost a foot more than before. Angela stood frozen in the center of the room, her red outfit standing out against the rising green water. Suddenly, a tight grip began clenching her arm strong enough to stop the blood circulation as Thomas dragged her up on top of the table.
“Get up to the rafters! It’s the only way.” demanded Thomas, his eyes emitting a fearful gaze as he shoved her up onto the dusty beams.
After hauling himself up, they both stood awkwardly on the rafters listening intently to the strident creaking noise that was rattling the whole building. It echoed through the hallways in a mysterious manner, taunting the two aristocrats in wonderment of what the noise could be. Their heads turned slowly towards each other revealing their expressions of anticipation and fear for whatever was coming next.
Water was now covering the entire previously cracked window when the first chip finally fell out of place. It was no bigger than a minor windshield chip, sliding so naturally out of place, but causing so much harm. Rapidly water busted in through the first window, followed by the breaking of many others as tons of water poured unwaveringly into the restaurant. Flowing harshly through the openings like flood gates opening at a dam, the water began to flood the inside of the building at an intensely alarming rate. Angela and Thomas clung to the centre beam praying they don’t fall into the swirling mess below.
Thomas watched as the water level rose nonstop towards them, promptly revealing their impending doom. A cowardly lump grew in his throat after realizing the water level was already above the table tops were they once ate. His tearing eyes scanned for an escape route when he noticed a bulky grey shape gliding by the floor. He tracked it as if he were mesmerized by its appearance, as it swiftly moved across the room where it met with another one which was being followed by another one that looked exactly the same as the others. Thomas realized what they were…harbour seals.
A small dog like head popped out of the dark green water and glared up at them with its pure black eyes fixed into theirs. Clipped to its ear was a small white plastic tag that clearly read in dark eerie writing “Tswwassen”. It dove under the now person height water and began splashing the water around vigorously. Angela began to panic even more than before, squealing and shrieking at every drop of splashed up water.
“What if the water doesn’t stop rising?” She quivered, as her hands shook over her vile mouth. “We’ll be eaten alive by those filthy animals!”
The thought struck Thomas’s pessimistic mind like poisoned arrow, spreading negativity throughout his thinking process making it unbearable to figure out a way to live.
“The water will stop soon!” cried Thomas desperately, as he tried to inspire confidence in not only her, but himself too.
Unexpectedly, a wave of water forcefully flushed out of the hallway as the front doors exploded open. The water which was building up under them became very disturbed and splashed high enough to touch their shivering feet. The water rose vastly quicker with the unstoppable flow from the front door, now officially engulfing the smoky kitchen with bacteria filled water. Pots and pans began floating up on the surface of the rough water along with other kitchen utilities that shall never be used again. A confident seal slunk cockily past the doomed aristocrats, shooting them a thuggish glare as it carried a long serrated knife in his mouth.
Just as alarming as the doors bursting open, a spray of water gushed from the corner of the room behind them. They both swung around; their faces ashen and their eyes bulged so big they almost popped right out of their sockets.
“What- was-” Angela panted before being interrupted by another fountain like spray that erupted a foot away from them.
A tall black blade headed straight towards them in a slow creeping manner. They helplessly stood still as statues while the meter high dark object cut through the water. As it neared closer to them they held their breath as if by holding their breath protected them from the shadowed beast before them. For a moment it appeared that it was going to strike the beam but, it submerged back into the flood as another black thing rose from the mysterious depths. This one was much wider and also curved which finally identify the creatures to the hopeless aristocrats.
Two orca whales had just entered the building, their dorsal fins protruded out of the four meter high water projecting heckling cackles at the humans. The male, with the straight fin of course, continued to charge at them threateningly and more aggressively each time while the female, with the curved fin, pierced their ears with high pitch squeals.
The rising water was now a dangerously hellish mess. The sea mammals’ fins were flicking up strong waves of water while intimidating barks and squeals crept from within the animals souls. Kitchen equipment was being smacked around and also flung into the air by tails of the upset orcas and to continue making matters worse the water continued rising with the same consistency as before.
Thomas, who was overwhelmed by the whole situation, luckily heard the whistling sound barreling towards his head and ducked before a waffle iron could strike him off the beam. There was nothing to say. Nothing to do. Except one thing he had wanted to do for a very long time.
“Angela,” he said as he got down on one knee and whipped out a little black box. “I’ve wanted to do this since the moment I met you; and since we are about to die anyway,” He opened th
e box to reveal the breath taking ring, uttering the classic cliché. “Will you marry me?”
Angela placed her hand on her chest as her facial expression changed from terrified to joyful in a blink of an eye. The golden ring contained a cluster of diamonds that were welded into the shape of a master diamond with little Latin writing wrapped around the outside of this twenty thousand dollar ring.
“I will.” She gasped without thinking as she began to reach for the expensive ring.
As if those words had triggered a trap, a flying fish flew out of the water and knocked the ring out of Thomas’s hand, sending it flinging into the water. Thomas feebly stretched out his hands to catch the ring but, was too late. The ring was gone.
Angela felt her knees drop like sacks of flour onto the moist beam and belted out a scream of disbelief. Her eyes filled with tears when she realized she was kneeling in the water which had now gone over the beam and was touching just above Thomas’s ankles. He looked down at her in disbelief, his mouth gaping open when a powerful wave carrying a hollow metal pot struck him directly in the left side of his face. He toppled over into the water, and never resurfaced.
Angela stood alone against the cruel forces of the rioting world around her; a destructive woman facing destructive forces. She spun around rapidly on her high heels, showing the many ill symptoms of a panic attack as she screamed distraughtly for her new fiancé. More horror unfolded around her as nature finally was able to get pay back for the crimes she has committed. The revenge seeking mammals began to circle around their frightened prey, creating an indoor whirlpool of horror for our criminal mistress. The tables were uprooted from where they once sat, uncontrollably spinning around with the strong force of the current, along with the sharp pointed antiques. Out of the corner of her devilish eye, Angela caught a glimpse of the knife wielding seal drifting on top of a table. She placed her full attention on it and with that motion it lunged at her. It did not reach the wooden plank but, her response was to take a step back, a fateful move. Her high heel of her right stiletto slipped off the beam tipping her backwards unstably. The male killer whale had its mouth wide open in mid-cackle when the snobby sobbing woman stumbled right into its tearing sharp teeth.
The earth became just a bit safer.