I'm Dustin.

One morning,

I woke up to my mom crying.

I forced myself to open my eyes.

"Dustin,

your grandfather's had a heart attack.

He's in the hospital.

Your grandmother wants us to be there."

Visiting my grandfather?

That was the last thing I wanted to do.

"Mom, you're acting like the hospital is a few blocks away,"

I complained,

"Grandpa's in Atlanta,

we live in Florida.

That's an 8-hour drive!"

She wouldn't listen.

"Dustin, please.

Your dad is waiting in the car.

Come on, we need to leave now!"

"Mom, don't make me go!

It's not  like being there is going to magically heal my grandfather,"

I groaned.

"I've been waiting months  for summer vacation.

I want to enjoy it!"

"I can't believe you!"

Mom growled angrily.

"This might be the last time you see him,

and you're saying you don't want to go?"

"Yes, Mom, exactly!

Now, let me sleep in,"

I said, pulling the comforter over my head.

I drifted back to sleep almost immediately.

When I woke up, my parents were gone.

I went into the kitchen for a snack.

There was a note for me on the fridge door:

"Dustin Scott!

There will be consequences when we get back!"

Obviously, I had upset my mom,

but I didn't  give it much thought.

It was time for me to kick off my summer vacation!

I put some cereal into a bowl,

and ran to my computer.

A new version of my favorite game had just been released,

and I wasn't leaving my PC until I managed to beat it.

The following two days passed just as I'd imagined.

I was progressing faster than expected.

I played my game the whole day, non-stop.

I only got up when I had to go to the bathroom

or was too hungry, and had to make myself a sandwich.

I was totally  lost in my own world,

and I was having a blast.

On the third night,

I realized that my parents hadn't called me since they left.

They had to be  furious at me.

Maybe if I texted Mom and asked  how my grandfather was doing,

she'd soften up.

Perhaps they'd be less mad when they got back.

When I went to text her,

I realized my phone had died.

All this time,

I thought they were just mad at me,

but they just hadn't been able to get through.

At this point,

a text message wouldn't cut it.

I had to call to make it up to them.

It was too late at night,

so I decided to call them first thing in the morning.

I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore.

I plugged in my phone

and fell asleep as soon as I got into bed.

In the morning,

I woke up to a loud commotion.

At first,

I thought I was dreaming,

but soon realized I wasn't.

The noise continued.

I jumped out of bed to figure out what was going on.

And I found myself knee-deep in water.

My room was flooded!

Had I left the water running somewhere?

I waded towards the door,

the water slowing me down.

I grabbed the doorknob and pulled.

Suddenly,

I was completely submerged in a rush of water.

The hallway must have flooded.

The force of the water knocked me off my feet,

tossing me mercilessly in a dizzying torrent.

I couldn't believe it.

Our entire house was filled with water!

I struggled to gain my bearings,

and get some air.

When I finally surfaced,

I was very close to the ceiling.

As I took a few deep breaths,

my brain finally woke up.

The water was coming in from outside.

At that moment,

three alarming words sounded in my mind:

Florida,

hurricane,

and flood!

It had been only four months since we moved to Florida.

We knew there would be hurricanes from time to time.

Dad comforted us during the move by saying

"Don't worry.

Officials send notifications to our phones

before the hurricane hits.

They'll warn us if that ever happens,

so we can take precautions,

or even evacuate."

"Why didn't they warn us this time?"

I thought.

Then it dawned on me.

Of course, they had.

But I had been stuck in my game world.

I bet my parents had even called me

when they saw the hurricane was approaching on the news.

But they couldn't reach me...

my phone was off.

The water was rising almost to the ceiling.

I had to get to the roof immediately.

That way,

I could at least avoid drowning,

and hopefully get the attention of a rescue helicopter.

Getting there wouldn't be easy,

but I had no choice.

Our house was two stories tall,

and had two bedrooms and a bathroom upstairs.

My parents' bedroom had a skylight.

It was my best chance of getting on the roof.

I took a deep breath and dove down, swimming upstairs.

Almost out of breath,

I was about to reach the stairs.

Right at that moment,

I saw it right in front of me.

There was a giant alligator  swimming in our house!

You've probably heard about this,

but Florida is famous for its alligators.

They live in the rivers,

lakes, and wetlands

around the state.

One time, my dad saw a giant alligator

passing  through the course while playing golf.

It looked terrifying.

He  had taken a video of it, and sent it to us.

I couldn't believe my eyes,

but an alligator of the same size was now prowling our house.

It'd probably been swept into the city by the flood,

somehow finding its way

into our home in search of its next meal!

I swam to the surface, and stuck my head out of the water,

gasping for breath in fear.

My heart was pounding.

I looked around anxiously

to figure out where the alligator was.

I was so close to the stairs.

I took a deep breath,

and got back in the water.

And that's when I came face to face

with the alligator!

It had seen me,

and now it was coming for me.

I started swimming with all my might,

not looking back to see if it was following me.

I made it to the stairs,

but at the last second,

I caught a glimpse of a large shadow from the corner of my eye.

Then it struck me.

I felt immense pain

as the alligator slammed me with its tail!

Disoriented,

the flood's current carried me to the upstairs bathroom door.

The door was closed,

so the room hadn't been filled with water.

I grabbed the doorknob,

and twisted it until the door swung open with a crash,

the water violently tossing me into the bathroom.

Somehow I ended up in the shower stall,

and I managed to shut the door

before it was filled with water

by some feat of adrenaline-fueled strength.

My dad paid extra to install this state-of-the-art shower

when we moved in.

I remember my mom being pretty upset with him at the time

because of the added cost.

But even she had to admit it was worth it.

With the touch of a button,

you could adjust the water temperature, and pressure,

change the color of the lights,

and even play music.

Plus, it was completely sealed so it could be used as a sauna.

Now it served as the final barrier between me,

the flood,

and the giant alligator.

Unfortunately,

it only took our unwanted guest a few minutes

to discover where I was.

I screamed when I saw it enter the bathroom.

Apparently,

alligators were more intelligent  than I thought.

It started hitting the shower stall with its tail.

I waited helplessly,

hoping it wouldn't break the glass.

Thankfully, the stall was sturdier than I thought.

The alligator tried,

but couldn't break it.

After a while,

it gave up and swam out the door.

I wasn't ready to risk leaving the safety of the shower.

My gut told me it would be back.

I waited anxiously.

I was so hungry and tired.

I really needed to sleep.

But the alligator could be back anytime.

I tried my best to stay alert,

but couldn't keep my eyes open.

When I woke up, the bathroom  was filled entirely with water,

except for the shower stall.

I felt trapped.

But I couldn't stay here forever.

I'd inevitably run out of oxygen.

In fact,

I was already having difficulty breathing.

The alligator was nowhere to be seen.

If  I could make it to my parents' bedroom,

I could get up to the roof through the skylight.

It was my only way out.

There was no way anyone could figure out

I had gotten stuck in the shower underwater.

My plan was simple.

I was going to open the stall door,

and swim for my life.

If the alligator wasn't with me upstairs,

I could reach my destination before it spotted me.

It was hard,

but I managed to open  the stall door.

I took a deep breath before I was completely submerged again.

I swam through the bathroom door.

When I came out to the hallway,

I was horrified.

There were two alligators now!

They saw me,

and I'm sure they were as hungry as I was.

But I had no intention of being eaten alive.

I swam for my life so fast

that I could've easily broken a world record.

When I entered the bedroom, I closed the door,

and made it to the skylight

that opened to the roof.

It wouldn't budge.

I couldn't open it no matter how hard I tried.

I could hear the dull thuds

as the alligators tried to get through the door

only a few feet away from me.

At that moment,

I did the first thing that came to mind.

I flipped upside-down,

and kicked the glass with my feet.

The glass broke,

and I clambered onto the  roof

in a fit of gasping and coughing.

The flood had turned our street into a river.

I stumbled off the roof,

and into the river while trying to get on my feet.