And on the Seventh Day
Linda Doughty
Trapped by an explosive, supernatural flood that obliterates Tucson, Rosie grows tired of surviving on candy. She finally succeeds in forcing open the Biosphere 2 gift shop door and wading into the unknown, only to be accused of tax evasion and lifted from the water by a tractor beam. As she ascends, she readies herself. This is not her first abduction, but it may be her most dangerous.
Rosie watched the Baptizers exit the gift shop with their dampened flock. Every Sunday, another hopeful group of Taxpayers wept while wading into the abyss of the analog ocean. It disgusted her, the way their tears altered the pH of the ocean and tainted the atmosphere under the glass of Biosphere 2.
The explosion that evening flattened Tucson before anyone noticed. Then water swept through the valley and around the Santa Catalina Mountains, submerging the desert, rising heavily against the gift shop doors, making it impossible for Rosie to leave. She was trapped.
On the sixth day, restless and sick of surviving on candy bars and bottled drinks, Rosie put on her boots, then rolled up her jeans, jumping off the counter and sloshing through a foot of standing water, her backpack slung over one thin shoulder, and she shoved against the front door which yielded, slowly at first, then with a rush of blue-green effluence that smelled unlike anything she could recall.
She stepped out the door and stood for a moment in the surreal hush, the only sound an almost imperceptible lapping against her ankles, when a booming voice on high called out:
“Tax evader! Tax evader! Time to pray. Time to pay.”
A tractor beam locked onto her like the teeth of a predator and lifted her upwards toward the voice. This was not Rosie’s first abduction, and as she clutched her backpack, she thought, I've always paid my taxes on time. Now, it's time to fight.
Linda Doughty
lindadoughty.com
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Linda Doughty holds degrees in flute performance from the University of Wyoming and Carnegie Mellon University. She retired from her orchestral career in 2020 and began writing poetry and flash fiction. She lives near Tucson with her husband and a Mexican Street Dog named Mack. Her poetry is featured in the anthology What She Wrote, and her flash pieces are published in Snoozine, MicroLit Almanac, and 50 Give or Take.