Heat

Kira looked from Jessie to her grandmother. They were supposed to be on the priority list. The power had always come back sooner for them than others; they’d hosted dozens of guests this year alone, people needing a place with aircon, or heat, or just a charging port. It had never taken this long. She put a hand to Mamaw’s cheek and flinched; it was painfully dry and hot. Heatstroke. She had hours, maybe, if the power didn’t come back soon.

Jessie stirred on the couch and woke up. “Kiki?” she asked, her voice halfway between a whine and a whimper. “I’m hot.”

“I know, baby.” Kira picked up her fan and waved it gently over Jessie.

“When’s the power coming?”

“Soon.” Kira felt the lie curdle on her tongue. “So soon. Just try to sleep.” The solar powered flashlight’s beam was weak, but she flicked it on anyway, looking over the scabbed, healing sores on Jessie’s cheeks, arms and legs. Could she last ten minutes in the water? Would it be enough to cool them down?

Kira checked the window again, craning her neck to see the hospital. Still dark. Not even sirens. She checked her phone battery - 8% - and texted Jamie: I need to get them out of here.

The reply came instantly. Where to?

Unless you know somewhere better…

There was a long pause during which Jamie appeared to be typing and erasing something over and over again. Finally, they answered. Be there in 5.

There wasn’t enough charge in Jamie’s car to run the aircon, so Kira rolled all the windows down. Jessie slumped against the car door; Mamaw began to gasp in a way so frightening Kira wished the engine was loud enough to cover the sound. Jamie eased them through a series of alleys, parking lots, and side streets, evading the traffic as much as possible, until they got to the barred entrance of The People’s Public Pool. The barricades had been knocked down; the gate was half off its hinges. Kira and Jamie exchanged a worried look and headed up the long driveway toward the parking lot.

There was light coming from the pool. And music. It sounded like someone had an old generator and was using it to throw one last party. They could hear cheers and shrieks above the thumping bass. Jamie parked and wrapped one of Mamaw’s arms around their shoulders, taking one agonizing step at a time toward the gate. Kira picked up Jessie and raced ahead of them.

She stopped when she reached the edge. Hundreds of people were packed into the pool, a mangled knot of limbs and wet hair writhing against the music’s beat. She hadn’t seen it that full since opening day. In the light that emanated from the pool’s floor, she could see that no one was cheering. Everyone was screaming.

Jessie stirred in her arms. Kira immediately pulled her closer, trying to keep her sister from looking. She could hear Jamie behind them, yelling over the roar of the music and the screaming crowd, encouraging Mamaw. “Just one more step. There you go. I’ve got you! One more!”

Don’t, she wanted to scream. Turn around. Get us out. There has to be somewhere else. We can’t go down like this. But she couldn’t even make herself turn away from the pool. There wasn’t enough light to see it clearly, but she knew some of them had been in there long enough that the sores would already be deeper than the skin, the ground chemicals finding a feast of muscle and tissue. Several people tried to climb out of the pool on the side closest to Kira; she caught a flash of half eaten face and turned, retching on the pavement, nearly dropping Jessie.

As soon as she could stand upright, she turned around, arms shaking, stomach heaving. She shuffled back toward the pool’s entrance, knowing there would be a patch of dirt where she could lay Jessie down without risk of burning her. She found Jamie and Mamaw just steps from the entrance, Mamaw slumped in Jamie’s arms, Jamie shouting as they tried to hold her up. Their eyes met as Kira leaned Jessie against the chain link fence, aiming her face away from the carnage in the pool. She lurched toward Jamie and Mamaw. Jamie shook their head as she approached.

“Check her pulse,” they yelled. Kira jammed two fingers under Mamaw’s chin and closed her eyes, searching for something. Anything. A flutter.

Nothing.

Kira shook her head, a tearless sob forcing its way out. Jamie couldn’t even hear her over the rage of screams coming from the pool. Together, they laid Mamaw down. Jamie reached for her, but she shook her head, turning back toward the pool. “Jessie,” she mouthed, pointing. Jamie nodded. Together, they staggered up the path.