God had promised Noah that he would never send a flood again. But he never said no one else would. As the water began to rise gradually, many people fled to higher ground. The smart people took up the challenge and started to prepare. I thankfully lived in the mountains where the flood waters did not reach, however, we had to battle the monsters and demons that came with the rising waters. When the storms finally stopped, more than three-quarters of the world's population was gone, and the monsters from the deep had risen, and we had to fight back.
Back in 2019, my husband and I lived in Florida. We were expecting our daughter, Charlie. Late one night I was having trouble sleeping and he had suggested that we take a drive near the beach. We grabbed our drinks and drove to the shore around midnight. We were going to go to the local boat dock and watch the water, however when we got to the road there was a police check point.
We knew the officer and he came to the car and and asked, "Can't sleep?"
My husband Sam said, "How did you guess? We only have a week or so now."
"What's going on Max?" I asked.
He said, "Major flooding. When high tide creeped in the whole boat ramp went under a foot of water. We set off the horns and most people already left. Most homes are still safe but it is weird to have late flooding like this."
"Is it safe to go the other road?" Sam asked.
"So far so good," He said. "Let me check, though, with Maggie's condition, we do not want you guys to get stuck."
He radioed other officers, and he laughed. He said, "Alright, Chuck, it's Sam and Maggie. Yeah, she has another week to go. I will tell them they are good and to look out for you."
He said, "Chuck is up by Murphy's he said the roads are still clear. If you drive near Aripeka, just be cautious, alright."
Max shook Sam's hand, and we turned down the alternate beach road. As we drove, Sam said, "Wow, the water is high even on this side."
Looking around I said, "I am glad we live away from the coast."
We drove past Chuck sitting in Murphy's fish market and he honked as we drove past. Honking back we continued to drive. As we got to the area of the road which had more marshlands Sam slowed down and said, "I swear I think I am tired and my eyes are playing tricks on me."
"Why babe?" I asked.
"I swear I saw bigfoot in the woods," He said.
Laughing I said, "Why don't we go home I can write a bit to work on my new book."
He agreed and we headed back to the highway. As we were driving through the area which had forest on one side and water on the other he stopped as a ten foot tall creature ran across the road and disappeared into the trees. We looked at each other and I said, "I do not think you were seeing things. Please tell me you have the dash cam on."
He nodded and said, "Yes I do. Holy shit. Let us go home and look at it on the computer."
As Sam drove home I checked my email. I saw an email that said, "Urgent response required."
Opening the email I read, "Dear Maggie please read this is not a scam. I do not want anything from you. Your Dad was my cousin my name is Oscar and he passed away last month. He owned a cabin in Denali National Park. The cabin is far up the mountain. If you would like to reach out, I have included my phone number."
Sam asked, "Maggie are you alright?"
I read him the email and I said, "I know he was last seen in Alaska, but Babe, I never expected."
He said, "Email him Maggie. Let him know we cannot travel due to Charlie being due any time."
I sent a message back to him stating hello it's nice to meet you I cannot travel at this time because I'm due any moment with my daughter. My husband and I were thinking of relocating and would like to see pictures of the cabin and what we can do with it would you mind taking pictures and sending them to me. I also included my phone number so you can call me please wait till morning after 10:00 a.m. because I still can't sleep right now because the baby is being difficult with me.
As we pulled into the driveway my phone rang with an email message looking at it I saw it was another email from Oscar. He said congratulations on the upcoming birthdays your daughter my newest cousin my wife and I cannot wait to meet her when you come to Alaska. As Sun is going down soon I'm going to go ahead and head over in the morning so expect to see pictures around 2:00 p.m. your time when you come decide to come out don't worry we'll come get you from the airport and you can use our spare car I do want to let you know that your dad did miss you a lot and he only stayed in Alaska because of your mom. he wanted to make sure that there was no problems with her to keep the peace for you. I can let you know that the house contains three bedrooms two baths and a beautiful kitchen my wife always said she wanted to catch it like that there's also a barn a smokehouse as well as a greenhouse attached to the side of the cabin and when I mean it's in the mountains we have to have our supplies choppered in but if you and your husband want to have a place that is in the remote area of Alaska with beautiful snow and beautiful animals and this is the place for you. Not that I'm not trying to sell you on the place it would be good to have family here as I don't want the cabin to sit but I know this is going to sound weird I feel like something big is happening I have friends that live down in Louisiana and they're saying that they've had some weird flooding going on with living in Florida have you had any of those issues.
I sent a reply back it's funny that you had mentioned that since I couldn't sleep my my husband took me for a ride tonight and that's actually when I received your email. When we went to the water to drive around on the roads parts of the roads were blocked off by the police because they said there was flooding now I'm not sure if you believe or not but believe it or not we're going to check our dash cam footage we swear a Bigfoot ran right across the road in front of us if we have a clear enough video I will send a copy of that too also how long and far do you live away from us.
As I had a cup of tea made and was sitting down at my laptop did right on my next book a reply came from Oscar again. He said wow Bigfoot he was actually we do believe in that we have a lot of indigenous lore here and the Alaskan version of the yeti is one of them and I don't know about you but with the baby and everything and living in Florida you may want to really consider moving to Alaska especially if the flood waters are rising I would not want you guys getting stuck out or hurt.
Sam came over and looked at the email and said well Max what do you think do you think we're going to move to Alaska after Charlie's born.
Looking up at him I said well you know now that your parents aren't here anymore and we're really not talking to my mom I don't see why we shouldn't I mean you always wanted to farm it has a barn it has a greenhouse and I can always write in the cabin as long as Charlie's health is okay I don't see why we shouldn't. You should find out from Oscar how we would get supplies up to the cabin cuz if we're serious we need to make sure it's loaded up with everything that we're going to need. Not that we don't already have a pepper's paradise and the back storage room.
I sent a reply to the email that Oscar sent me and asked him we are really thinking about saying yes and moving out there even though we want to see the place first but how would we go ahead and get supplies to the cabin we would really like to come out there spend a week after the baby is born and then move up after that after we see the cabin if we need to do anything to it before we move in.
5 minutes later I received a email back from Oscar and he said and closes the address to the supply Port that we have that will send all the supplies back to the homes. If you guys want to order supplies before the baby comes and have them sent up here just put your full name Maggie and then care of Oscar and believe it or not we have the same last name what will happen is when they come up to our house with our supplies cuz my wife is always on Amazon they will bring your packages as well and then what I can do is load them in the 4x4 with a cart and I'll bring them over get into the cabin cuz I have a spare key and I'll put everything that you send up on the kitchen table if it's perishable I do know the power is on because you're on solar grids and I'll make sure that everything's put in the fridge or freezers. With your little one coming I would suggest cloth diapers cuz that's how most people do it out here for that because we don't have garbage pickup you would have to burn them after but even if you do want to just have a few spare diapers go ahead and send that up as well we'll make sure everything gets into the room that's right next to the master which just so happens to have room for crib so if you need to send a crib ahead of time go ahead and send it or even a porta crab will make sure it gets set up in your room.
Sam said well if we're going to be going up there it is only the beginning of August so we'll have to go up there when the baby is about a month old so why don't we go ahead and do an order and send it care of Oscar that way we can just have stuff up there and not have to worry about traveling with so much. Also since we haven't bought a porta crib yet we can just have one sent there and then we'll have to worry about one less thing to buy after Charlie's born.
I said yeah we might have to wait on that as well as looking at the video from the road Sam gave me a physical look and asked why would that be and I stood up walking towards our bedroom and said because my water just broke.
He jumped up and said it's time oh my God all right you go get changed and I'm going to go ahead and call the doctor and let him know that we are on our way to the hospital.
5 hours later after rushing to the hospital our beautiful little girl Charlie Grace was born at 8 lb 3 oz and 22 and 1/2 in Long. As we sat there in the hospital room I looked at Sam and said I think the Alaska is going to be the perfect new start for us.
A week later we were arriving in Anchorage. Now I know what some of you must think a week after your baby's born you guys decide to go take a trip to Alaska well our hand was moved a bit because in certain areas of Florida the flooding has not stopped although the water went down a little bit on Hernando Beach people were able to evacuate their homes and empty them of everything but the water has risen in some parks that we used to go visit we're now completely underwater we decided if we're going to do the move we need to do it soon for not only our safety but Charlie's.
When we got into the waiting area of the airport Oscar and his wife Kaylee were there and they both ran up to us with open arms we had formed a strong friendship via video calls email and text between all four of us and Oscar was just like the brother I never had.
When we got into the car Oscar said we are picking up a U-Haul so if you guys want to go shopping you guys can pick up whatever you need we are also doing the same unfortunately there has been a lot of water rising around the world and we are going to be safe with this we planned on going to Sam's club and Costco that's an Anchorage before we headed home are you guys okay with that.
Sam said that is a great idea we even though we've been sending supplies to your house for the last week we wanted to make sure that there's something that we can get as well.
Oscar said yeah way the things are going with the flooding in the South we are making sure that we are fully stocked you can call the slow key preppers if you want.
Laughing I said you know what we are about the same our spare room is going to take up half a U-Haul with nothing but emergency supplies as well as whatever else we buy before we come out there and I plan on hitting a few stores in the south in a few more in Alaska on the way to Alaska before we drive in fully we're going to make sure we stock up on everything and anything that we may need till we can get the garden in the farm going. We do plan on getting sheep and chickens as soon as we get up here.
Oscar said we'll just see you guys know there is a river that runs to the east side of the property and it's always full with fish so we will be very lucky if our food supplies get cut off we also have a greenhouse like your dad had built on to the cabin and we cut wood to make sure it stays at temperature to keep the plants growing I'll show you guys the best ways to do everything when we get up there.
Kaylee said first we're going to go ahead and stop at our hotel room that way we can spend the day in Alaska and then head up tomorrow after a late breakfast we got a sweet so there's two bedrooms and we made sure the hotel provided a porta crib for Charlie. I'm not sure about you Maggie but I actually so and if you want to get some stuff for some cloth for Charlie then we should definitely hit up the fabric store here because they got a shipment in yesterday and it goes very fast they also got some really nice yarns and threads and material.
Well we got to the hotel Sam tried to pay for the room and Oscar said nope our treat we can't wait for you guys to move up here it'll be nice to have family less than a 5-minute walk away. Kaylee said so you guys are going to go to the hunting store pointing to the guys Maggie and I are going to take Little Miss Charlie with us and we're going to go to the cloth store since you guys can drive the U-Haul we're taking the SUV and we will meet back here around 1:00 p.m. for lunch.
Sam handed me as American Express and said go wild I have my other credit cards for whatever we're going to need at the hunting store.
Laughing I said you do realize I can spend a fortune in the crafting store and he nodded smiled and climbed into the U-Haul with Oscar.
We followed them out of the hotel parking lot and headed to the craft store. When we arrived I said, oh yeah I can shop this plaza.
Kaylee laughed when I said that and waited while I put Charlie in her carrier. With both hands free we eached grabbed a cart and headed to the first isle.
We spent the next two hours shopping and loading carts. When we were on the last two isles we were joined by Oscar and Sam. Sam asked, where is the rest?
Kaylee said, we have five more carts each up front. We will be done here in a few.
Oscar laughed when the store manger came up and said, Mrs we did have the items in back and since you are buying in bulk we will add the discount. There are an additional two flat carts ready for each of you.
I said, thank you. We will be up in a few minutes to check out.
After he left Kaylee quietly said, they have noticed many mountain residents are here stocking up. We may have to plan on a few trips and a lot more orders. I think we need to see the chief soon Oscar something seems off.
He nodded and said I will call when we are at lunch.
We finished shopping and headed to check out. The cashierwas sweet and said, I will have to do this in a few transactions as our system stops at 100 items.
We assured her it was fine and when we were done we took everything out to the U-Haul and the guys loaded everything to the right side of the truck. We walked to a seafood restaurant to have lunch. As we sat we watched the news reports from Miami which said the ocean has risen by five inches in the last month.sam and I looked at each other and Oscar said, why don't we get a ticket and come back with you guys. That way we can help you pack and we can shop all the way back to Alaska. Do you all have Charlie's passport ready.
Sam said, yes we expedited it two days after she was born. It will be ready when we get back home.
Kaylee said, well shop away. With two extra drivers we can get a large U-Haul and your vehicles here. We should be fine with not having to stop unless Charlie gets too fussy.
We went to all the local stores after we ate lunch and the next morning after a few stops along the way we made it to the end of the road where everyone from the mountain parks for cabins. Looking at Oscar I asked, how will we get everything to the cabin?
He laughed and said Sam ordered a side by side in town before we took the final leg. It will be ready in two days. But this will be how you get everything from the cars to the cabin and save money on the helicopter. First let's get you guys loaded.
He pointed to a four wheeler and a cart attached. I climbed in with Charlie and Sam hopped next to me with Kaylee. Oscar added my backpack and diaper bag and said. Hold on each trip takes about thirty minutes.
Weroad through the woods and Kaylee pointed out the trail and markers. When we got up to the cabin I said, wow.
Climbing out we saw the smoke house, and barn. We heard chickens and Kaylee said, I bought some earlier this week so I grabbed you some as well. The coops in the barn along with a horse named Max. He was your dad's. He pulls the cart there. Oscar will hook him up so it will take less time to get the stuff to the cabin.
When we went inside I saw a bunch of boxes and packages around the kitchen table. I said, we may not need to bring as much as I thought.
Walking around I found the master bedroom, Office, our beautiful kitchen and the guest room. Kaylee showed me the storage room and pantry. Both which held two massive deep freezers. She said, this rooms storage is insane and the cabinets in the pantry are huge. You will have plenty of room. The pantry had some canned goods from your dad as well as the storage room. We cleaned and got rid of open packages to keep the bugs away.
When we got to Charlies room there was a plaque that said Charlie and Kaylee said that it was a gift of the local Indian village. They make signs for all the new babies.
Charlie's room has large windows and besides the bed was a large space for her crib.
Sam called out, we are going to head down for our things. We will deliver everything to you first Maggie so you can get everything put away while Charlie sleeps.
I waved him of as I looked at the storage in the office. Kaylee said, I set up the porta crib in your room before we headed for the airport.
Thank you, I said as we headed to my room and I laid Charlie in the bed. We headed back down and I found the package with all the storage bins in them. I lined one full wall with the bins before I asked. Did Dad know he was dying?
Kaylee said, yes. His last week he stayed with us and I came here and cleaned everything for you. He wanted to see you but the last time your mom talked to him she threatened you.
Hence why I do not talk to her anymore, I said.
She put her hand on my shoulders and said, in the office on the shelf above the desk is your dad's journals he wrote to you. But let us be happy and get you unpacked. Also anything burnable goes in the wooden bin next to the door to the greenhouse or the wood boxes itself.
Good to know. I said, let's see what we have and I can say where they go.
Before they guys came back Kaylee and I made a dent in what was sent to the cabin. Looking out the window I saw a bare circle with a covered box and Kaylee said, now that you are here the delivery service can drop everything to your box. Or next to it if there is to much.
They guys made four deliveries to my house before Sam said, Kaylee we are ewDy to deliver to you.
Kaylee hugged me and said, I have a mess to put away I will see you in the morning.
Sam said he would be back soon and I got back to work putting away the meat we put purchased that morning. By the time Sam was back and he had stalled Max and fed both him and the chickens I had almost everything organized and put away.
Sam looked around and said, wow this is amazing. Also Oscar arranged for the tribe to care for the animals for both of us while we are gone. Tomorrow there is a animal auction and I was going to see about cows, sheep and pigs if you are okay with that. Kaylee was gonna take you to the local shops where we can place orders and have them delivered to the cabins while we are gone. They normally will deliver them to a spot in the house of our choosing.
That sounds great, I said. Do we provide them a key?
No, Sam said. Do you see the access panel on the door. We give them the code. That is how Kaylee and Oscar came in.
We heard Charlie wake up from her nap and Sam went to get her. When he came back he said, I think someone is ready for food mama. I changed her diaper already. I added her cloth diaper to the bag we had but we will need to wash the bag later.
Taking her I said, I will feed her if you want to wash the diapers.
Maggie- Main Sam- Secondary
Max, Chuck-Officers
Oscar cousin Kaylee Oscar's wife
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