Zodiac Story

Commemorate This August Era With Five Azure Storms Part 2

"Hey, I'll come back." She smiled.

Ménmén was satisfied at that answer and flicked his tail.

She cleared her throat. It's generally impolite to be yelling at a group of strangers, but this was necessary. This needed to be fast.

"Everyone get away from the window!"

All those clustered at the window made way.

"What are you doing? Why is your jacket off?" The young woman from earlier asked.

"It's only going to increase drag, and I'm going to save those kids."

She took off running, her feet pounding against the hardwood floor. Running past the astonished onlookers, she reached the window and leapt into the waters below.

The landing was rough, with Yǔfēi narrowly avoiding a trash bin and a bench. After resurfacing and reorienting herself, she spit out water and tried to find the children again. They were due north of her, but the current was pushing her to the west. She recalled her breaststrokes, one arm forward, then the next, then the next, then the next...soon she was pushing against the current, using any available buildings to propel herself forward. Dodging someone's smart car, she weaved in between the various cars in the water, diving when the surface became too crowded with debris. The sky overhead was a cloudy grey. Was it just her, or were the waters still rising? She wasn't an expert in geological Calamities, but she knew the water level shouldn't be increasing. At this rate, it would be at the same level as her apartment.

Eventually, she reached the children. Most of them were shivering and wet. Pushing herself onto the balcony, her feet landed on solid ground. She thought about possible solutions. Leading the children in swimming is out of the question. The amount of debris and hazards in the water made it unsafe, and there's the possibility that one of them would be swept away or that they succumbed to hypothermia. If she directed the little raft instead...

"Hello!" She waved. "My name is Huá Yǔfēi, and I know where to find your parents. All I need you to do is to stay on this no matter what, alright? I can pull any of you back on if needed."

They all nodded, although one of them started shaking.

"Where's my mother?"

"I'm scared."

One of them started crying.

Oh, these poor children. She scanned the water, watching a tree dipping below the surface, a streetlight bobbing along, and to her dismay, several human bodies floating. She covered the kids' eyes, despite one of them squirming underneath. They shouldn't be exposed to this, she thought.

"What are your names?" She asked. If she knew their names, then they would be more comfortable around her. At least that was what she was told by her psychologist cousin.

"Liáng Báizhú."

"Huáng Shānqí."

"Jīn Zhìmíng."

"Mèng Xiàměi."

Yǔfēi nodded. "Xiǎo Liáng, I want you to grab onto this corner." She pointed out a small part of the sheet that wasn't sharp. "Xiǎo Huáng, grab this corner." She pointed to another corner of the sheet. "Xiǎo Jīn, hold onto this. Xiǎo Mèng, this is your corner. I don't want any of you to hold onto each other, alright?"

"Yes."

"Good." She scanned the water. "Hold on tight. On five, we'll be in the water, alright?"

"Alright." Liáng Báizhú replied. "Māmā is safe?"