A Tense Rescue

The rescue boat officer pulled the boat as close to the house front door as he could get it safely. He secured it by tying a rope around a tree. Then he trudged through the water to the front door that was slightly opened. He opened the door wider and called for the children.

"Hello! My name is Officer Preston. Your mother is safe at the end of the street. I will get you to her with your cooperation."

Anya and Mario walked out of the bedroom, through the hallway into the living room where they could see the officer standing at the door. Officer Preston saw their cute faces peeking shyly at him, and he smiled relieved. He waved at them to come closer as he moved slowly towards them.

"I'm going to get the two of you into the boat and bring you to your mother, alright?" Officer Preston guided.

Anya nodded smiling, but Mario halted for a minute.

"My uncle is locked in his bedroom. I think he needs a doctor right away." Mario told Officer Preston.

"Yes, your mother told us about your uncle," Officer Preston reassured Mario, "First let me get the two of you into the boat. Then I will check on your Uncle."

Mario and Anya allowed Officer Preston to guide and place them into the rescue boat without any trouble. They sat in the boat looking around the neighborhood, while Officer Preston went back into the house to find their uncle.

The officer walked carefully through the dark hallway and noticed only one door closed. He attempted to open the door, but the door knob proved it was locked.

"Hello?" the officer called through the locked door, "Hello? This is Officer Preston. We are here to get everybody out of the flood water. Are you in there? Can you hear me?"

There was no sound or reply. The officer wasn't sure what to do. He could break the door easily, but if there was a major problem on the other side of the door that would not help the two children waiting in the boat. He decided to focus on the children.

He went back outside to the boat and began to untie the rope from the tree.

Mario was frowning and protested.

"Where's my uncle?" Mario demanded.

"I know you're worried kid," Officer Preston explained as he began to pull the boat, "The door is jammed locked and not a sound from that room right now. I'll get some more help to find out about your uncle, alright."

Mario put his arms around his chest unsatisfied. Anya remained quiet and kept looking back and forth down the street to see if she could spot Fig and any others.