Trapped in the Basement by Rising Flash Flood Water

Trapped in the Basement by Rising Flash Flood Water

I was stuck in the basement level of my local grocery store with my coworker Dave, but it had somehow merged with my old high school gym. A huge flash flood warning went off on our phones, and muddy water started pouring down the emergency stairwells, rising past our ankles fast. We had to haul ourselves up these slippery metal utility shelves to reach higher ground, trying to salvage canned soup and dry cardboard boxes of pasta before the water contaminated them. My phone battery dropped to 2%, and I kept fumbling with my car keys, terrified that if I dropped them into the dark water, we'd never be able to drive away once we made it out. We were shimmying across a high ventilation duct trying to reach a service door, heart pounding with pure dread, just desperate to stay above the rising water until morning.