The Flooding

With Nathan in the kitchen the two continued to talk. He held the phone on his shoulder while he poured out chips into large bowls: he listened to the buzz of his uncle on the other line.

"Sorry Nate," the older gentlemen hummed over the line. "The river's flooded pretty bad so I won't be able to leave the factory til the morning. You got a handle on the kids?" He was concerned for his nephew.

"Nah." He dismissed the man's worries. "Nikki and Jon are here."

His uncle's mirth could be heard rattling over the receiver. "Did you kidnap 'em again?" Nathan's response was a non-committal scoff. "Alright, just let Jon's sister know. You know how she is. Gotta go for now. Love you."

"Yeah, love you too tio." He regarded the man affectionately before hanging up.

Picking up the bowls Nathan would then return to the living room, placing the snacks onto the coffee table. He settled down beside Nikki, the young woman offering him the second controller as they started the fighting game up. All the while Nathan’s younger siblings could be heard downstairs making noise, playing with the toys they had downstairs. Pool tables, child-safe bowling games and darts, among just a few entertainments. As for the young adults upstairs they would settle playing their games while the storm raged on. Violent winds shook the trees nearby, lights threatened by the unstable lines. Heavy droplets of rain cascaded into the streets, onto parked cars, and roofs with such force that the drumming was difficult to ignore. It was nothing to worry about though because this happened every autumn. It was only a matter of time until the power went out...

Back in town shops were closed up tight as the streets were flooded up to the curb. The drains were handling the overflow well, but there was concern as many of the old pipes could no longer maintain it's advantage over the outflow. There had been warnings from the processing plant that if they had anymore blocks of debris like last year the pipes would risk a burst.

Pa-kun was running out of the theater, holding naught but some fabric scraps overhead as he hurried towards the Arcade. In the past fifty years the arcade was opened: it never once closed. It was something the owner, Mac, took pride in. Pushing in the door Pa-kun squeezed the rrag, using it to wipe his face.

"Damn it Paulie!" The older man called as the theater junkie made a sopping puddle. "Go get the mop!" He stood behind the counter, a short man that needed a standing still to peer over the desk.

"Sorry..." Pa-kun mumbled before making his way to the utility closet for the mop.

Everyone that came to the arcade was treated like family so that meant when you made a mess Mac made you clean it up. It was probably why the Arcade was the nicest place in town and could afford to stay open so long. As Pa-kun weaved his way through the machines he would catch sight of Bo and Terry. Bo had his hand on Terry's shoulder, the two laughing about something or another. Pu-kun peeked around the machine at them. They looked to be eating some hot dogs that Mac probably warmed up for them. Pa-kun wiped his scruffy hair a bit more before stepping between the arcade cabinets.

“Hey you two!” He would call as he slung the rag over his neck.

Pa-kun was dressed in loose, hand-me-down clothes a few sizes too big for him. A loose flannel shirt and some baggy cargo pants he had some work boots that he always worked about the theater with and they were clearly worn with age. Terry stood up and smiled softly towards the familiar face. Bo would nod, sitting back on the table he had been on, not bothering with the benches save as foot holds. Terry’s hair was soppy and hanging down, looking as if it was just starting to dry.

“Did you get stuck in the rain?” Terry asked with concern.

“Yeah, I was still in the theater, got distracted and missed the bus. So I came here to Mac’s.” Pa-kun motioned to the puddle. “So I gotta clean up my mess.”

Terry nodded and patted the smaller man's back. "Okay. I was just having out with Bo. This is his first time in this kinda storm." Which seemed odd, but knowing the family arrived from s primarily snowy country it made sense.

"Oh!" Pa-kun chirped. "That's pretty interesting, but for another time. Be back!" With that Pa-kun hurried to the supply closet which was down in the basement of the arcade.

It has been an old bomb shelter so it was well insulated from the rain and sound. As Pa-kun descended the steps the harsh cacophony of the storm was muted by the thick stone walls. Along the dry walls of mortar and concrete were shelves of tools, cleaning agents and a locker where Mac kept the mop, push broom and his power tools. A heavy padlock hung from the doors' slots, but Mac had lost the keys years ago so it was twisted so that it simply hooked over the hooks and held the door closed conveniently. There were no windows down in the basement, but there was a vent above where an old rattling fan worked to weakly ventilate the room. Removing the lock Pa-kun would retrieve the mop and head back upstairs. As he did he caught the sound of dripping water. As he made his way back up the steps he could see water just under the doors leading into the bathrooms.

"Hey Mac... I think the toilets are backed up again..." They would call, moving off towards the front to mop up the small puddle.

"Oh gawd damn!" The older man jumped off the stool and hobbled toward the hall.

By now Terry and Bo were into one of the cabinets, playing some shooting game, the ones with the bright plastic guns for player one and player two. They peered at Mac as he kicked in the door only for a wash of questionably colored liquid to rush over his waders. The arcade owner could be heard cursing out his rotten luck. It looks like one of his pipes backed up and burst.

"Terry, you an' the big guy come lend me a hand!" Mac called before looking to Pa-kun. " Paulie go down ta O'Brian and slam on that prick's door. Get my shop vac!" He grumbled and sloshed through the contaminated water before heading to the basement.

Pa-kun sighed. After he just mopped everything up he needed to head out anyway. Setting the mop to lean against the door he would leave the Arcade and head two shops down: past Misha's Munchies and the Music Store. O'Brian had a hardware store that carried tools and locksmith's services so it was usually open. Like Mac the man rarely closed down his shop, seeing as he lived just upstairs. Pa-kun was not bothered by the rain, so made no rush to the shop. He peered through the glass door hoping to find signs of life amongst the dreary, dusty shelves. The lights were off inside. Was there a power outage? But when he looked to the street lights they were still on.