"Is that you, Carlos? You're such a dear for coming to my rescue. Don't mind the blood. I broke my dentures on the steering wheel," she said softly, turning back to face the swamp. "It's so beautiful, isn't it?" she added, staring off into the darkness.
He offered the woman his arm, which she gratefully accepted. "What's so beautiful?" Carlos asked, looking confused.
"The great city. HIS city," she said, pointing into nothingness ahead. He wasn't sure what disturbed him more, Rose’s words, or the branchless tree trunks protruding from the water taking on the appearance of great black monoliths rising into the sky.
In the distance, Carlos heard the wail of an approaching siren, but there was another sound rising in his ears. Something called out his name, and he knew what that meant.
"We need to get to the road now," he said, gently pulling on Rose's arm.
"Oh, yes, dear, I suppose you're right," she said, letting Carlos carefully guide her.
He saw the flashing lights of the police cruiser approach, and soon a bright floodlight was sweeping across the landscape. Within a moment, the police officer on the road found the pair and called out to them on a bullhorn. "Stay there, paramedics are on their way down to assist."
"Such a fuss for an old lady," Rose mused.
Two paramedics in navy blue uniforms approached, one of them carrying a bright orange medical kit and the other a flashlight. "Is anyone hurt?" one of them asked.
"Rose here broke her dentures and cut her mouth," Carlos replied.
As the paramedics approached, Rose turned to him and smiled. "They're all coming home, Carlos," she said. "All his children are returning."
"What? Who is coming home?" he asked, looking confused.
"I'm so sorry about you and your friends though," she said, patting his shoulder fondly.
"Wait...What?" Carlos' eyes widened. He heard the words, but he didn't understand her intimation.
Rose turned to Carlos, smiling sweetly. "You're all going to die horribly, my dear," she whispered.
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