Eridanus Flooding

2: A Series of Very Fortunate Events

Sitting on the edge of the tub, she turned on the water and added some scented oil to the mix.

When the bath was steaming and full, she sunk down into the water to relax from her stressful day of husband hunting.

The water cooled long before she was ready to exit the tub.

She heaved herself out of the tub, rivulets of water cascading down her legs and soaking the tiles. Silvia's fingers were wrinkled and she shivered slightly as she reached for a silk robe hanging nearby, loosely tying it. Her heavy hair was still sopping wet but with no time to dry it, Silvia pinned the highlighted champagne strands up sloppily.

Her stomach growled mercilessly for sustenance, so she obliged by heading downstairs for food. She opened the oven and bent to peak at the dish she had put inside earlier. Its thick, saucy aroma rose rapidly and drifted into her nose.

At the same time; however, heat from the oven escaped, sending a blast of hot air into her face. She reacted instinctively, jerking back as to avoid the heat. In doing so, she unknowingly stepped back onto the tie of her robe which had fallen to the floor. Her feet, still wrinkled from the bath, had no grip and as a result, gravity acted.

In a wild attempt to stop from hitting the floor, she grabbed the counter to her right. But instead of establishing a hold on the ledge, she missed entirely, knocking off her used wine glass.

Silvia fell on her rump with an undignified shriek, the yell followed by the sound of glass breaking. Lying in the shards of the broken wine glass disoriented, Silvia stared at the ceiling, trying to make sense of it all.

There was too much glass.

Too much glass for just a wine glass.

Where had it come from?

Had she knocked over more than one?

The answer came to her quite quickly as she hefted herself onto all fours. The window to the right, over the sink, was completely shattered.

Absolutely nothing was left.

No shards, no fragments, nothing.

It was like the window never existed.

The sound that had accompanied the breaking glass sounded very familiar--like the little firecrackers given to kids on the Fourth of July.

But it wasn't July.

In fact, Silvia doubted there had ever been fireworks in this ancient town.

That left only one other possibility, and it wasn't a good one.

She felt her heart thump in her chest, like horses wildly galloping across an open field, hooves slamming into the ground. Adrenaline rushed through her veins and before the shock could set in, she army crawled her way out of the kitchen.

In a panic induced rush, she reached for her phone, only for it to fall through her fingertips at the last second. Silvia dove for it, cradling the phone to her chest like a newborn. Her fingers scurried across the touchscreen and her terror started to ebb when emergency services answered.

"Hello? Hello?! Please, you have to help me. Please! Someone is going to kill me!"

The dispatcher tried to calm Silvia, reassuring that officers had been deployed to her residence and to remain on the line.

Silvia continued to scurry backward in a panic, finding herself in the living room. With nowhere to run, she locked herself in a closet, huddling to the floor:

Hoping.

Praying.

Wishing she would survive the night.