Flash Flood - #AtoZChallenge

 

Hala brought the tray of snacks out to the men sitting around the fire. "You'd better lay off the ale soon," she told her husband. "You have work tomorrow."

"According to Noah, the world is ending. No more work!" he replied. Hala rolled her eyes and headed back inside as they began chanting, "No more work! No more work! No more work!" Ever since that Noah started building his huge boat on the edge of the forest, the men used the "end of days" as an excuse to get out of work and chores.

Ludon took a swig of ale and told his friends in a mock-serious tone, "You know, it rained pretty hard two weeks ago. The market down by the river was actually flooded."

Hogar laughed. "Yeah, maybe Noah got the message wrong. Maybe God said he'd bring 'flash' flooding, and Noah just panicked." The group howled in laughter. "Hey, Shel, you're working for him. What's the deal?"

Shel had been quiet. "Hey, he might be crazy, but he pays well."

"Of course he does. The world is ending. He won't be needing his money when everyone else is dead!" Another roar of laughter rose from the group. "What's the boat looking like these days, anyway?" Ludon asked.

"I could take you over to look, if you want. Animals have been coming lately, taking residence in some of the pens, so it kind of stinks a lot, but -" He looked around to see wide-eyes and big grins.

"Yes, please!" 

"Let's go!"

"Why not?"

Shel got up to go, ale in hand, and explained as they left Ludon's place, "Yeah, we're almost done anyway. Just the roof left to go on. I guess if you want to see inside, it's now or never."

"Noah won't care?"

"I don't expect he'll know. They're probably asleep in their house nearby." He led them to the edge of the woods, which was full of stumps from the trees Noah had cut down. 

"Whoa!" Ludon stopped dead in his tracks and Hogar walked into him. They emerged into the clearing and stood, awestruck. "That's a big boat."

Shel frowned. "Looks like Noah's sons worked late to finish the roof." He moved closer to look, but the others didn't follow.

"Shel, stop! Shel?" Shel turned to look at his friends. Hogar was pointing beyond the boat. A trail of animals was emerging from the far side of the clearing. Animals none of the men had seen before. A big white bear. A huge grey thing with giant ears and what looked like a tail in the front and back. Some brown thing with fists raised and a long thick tail, hopping toward Noah's big boat.

Staying near the trees, Shel moved around the boat to get a better look. The ramp was down, as usual, and the animals were following a worn trail in the grass to the base of the ramp. He sat on a stump, mesmerized.

Soon his friends joined him. "I vote we wait until this group of animals are done before we go in," joked Ludon. They sat laughing and joking as they finished their ales, and fell asleep in the grass. Hogar woke in the night to feel a smattering of rain on his face. He moved just inside the shelter of the trees and passed out again. It was just another sprinkling of rain.

Reference: This prompt was provided by Dave Roller of Homeschooldad, on my Theme Reveal Post. The story of Noah is told in the book of   Genesis, chapters 6-9. This pre-flood bit would have fit within the first chapter or so. The story is fairly familiar, even in to non-Christians, I think(or not). How do you think Noah's neighbors would have reacted?