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cylindrical mass, as long as a man
is tall, was rolling down the middle of the street, pushed along by
the rising water. It looked like a bolt of tangled black cloth, or
a log wrapped in fabric, or–
    –or a human body, overwhelmed by the rush of
water, rolling over and over in the surging current.
    It was the same size, the same color, as the
man in the pea coat who had walked past them a few minutes
earlier.
    “Is… is that a person ?” Ken said,
squinting through the rain.
    “Oh my God. Oh my God .” It was Genelle,
standing behind them again. Ken turned to her and saw Tony O’Meara
behind the waitress, and the scientist even farther back. He looked
grim.
    “We been seein’ all kind of
shi–ah, stuff all
day,” he said. “Maybe that’s nothin’.”
    Rose pressed her hand flat
against the glass. “Help him,” she said. She turned to her father,
outraged and desperate. “ Help him!”
    Ken moved towards the main entrance with Tony
close behind.
    “It’s just somethin’ got washed up in the
rain,” Tony said. “Come on, Ken, don’t bring that crap in my
place.”
    Ken didn’t take his eyes off the turning
black thing in the water. It was still rolling south. He was barely
pacing it as he reached the door and tried to push it open.
    The door didn’t move. He looked away from the
turning thing long enough to see that the wide glass door wasn’t
locked, so he pushed harder.
    “ Wait a second, for Christ’s sake!”
Tony said. He put a strong hand on Ken’s arm. “Look at that water!
You open that door, you’ll flood the place!”
    Ken looked down. At least eight inches of
water was flowing past the door, holding it shut, and it would roll
into the restaurant like a miniature tidal wave if the seal was
broken.
    “He’s right,” the scientist-woman said.
“Maybe there’s something else…we can…”
    The turning thing had
stopped for a moment, snagged on something under the water. Foam
and mud was boiling around its trailing edge as it shifted, twenty
feet away, right in front of them. There was a sudden flash of
white – What was that, Ken thought. A hand? – that disappeared in an instant, then the thing
came loose and started flowing south again, rolling and
rolling.
    “I’ll help you clean it
up,” Ken said, and started to shove at the door as hard as he could.
    Tony ripped him away from
the glass, turned him around, and slammed his back against the
opposite wall. “You leave that fuckin’ thing alone,” he said under
his breath, holding him in place. His square face was bright red
under his tan, sweating and slightly swollen. “ Leave it. I don’t want that shit in
here.”
    The scientist didn’t move
to help. He didn’t expect her to. “Tony. Come on. They could be
hurt. Hell, it could be somebody you know .”
    Tony didn’t let him go.
“This is my place,” he said. “ Mine . And that is not my problem. I don’t want
it in here.”
    “But –”
    “ I
don’t want it in here!”
    Ken tried to push him away
and Tony shoved him back again, tight against the wall. “Don’t,” he said, and
this time it wasn’t a joke. “Just… don’t .”
    They stood together, tight and motionless for
a long beat… and one more. Then Ken nodded. “Okay,” he said. “Your
place.”
    Tony looked at him hard to make sure he
wasn’t bluffing. Then he let him loose.
    Ken straightened up and looked into the
street. The turning black thing was gone, swept south now, out of
sight. Rose was standing at the edge of the waiting area, her hand
on her mouth, her beautiful eyes huge and unblinking.
    “I’m sorry,” Ken said to her. He felt small
and stupid and angry as hell.
    “It’s okay,” she said. Her voice was almost
trembling.
    “I tried, I –”
    “It’s okay. ”
    Tony picked up their ridiculous tablecloth,
neatly folded and ready to go. “We got the back entrance
sand-bagged already,” he said gruffly. “It’s up a little higher
back in the alley there. We’ll help