He grabbed the old well pump from the shed, set it up beside the pond, and prayed the motor still worked. When it sputtered to life, sending out a thin stream of water, he almost cried from relief. He filled a large plastic tub, the kind he used for soil, and began transferring the koi one by one. They thrashed at first, then quieted as he poured more water over them.
He knelt there in the dirt beside the tub, his clothes soaked, hands trembling. The fish were safe for now, but his patience wasn’t. Something inside him cracked that night, quiet but final. Walter didn’t sleep that night. The house felt hollow, the hum of the distant generators leaking through every wall.