The friend had owned a giant fish tank, which has now been smashed by thieves trying to get the water.Īt Kelton’s house, there’s tension between his parents because his mother wants to share their stockpiled water with needy neighbors, but his father thinks they will only have enough to keep themselves alive. They find Garrett in an abandoned house where one of his friends once lived. Alyssa borrows a bike from Kelton, who rides along with her to help with the search. Afraid of his parents’ disappointment, Garrett runs away from home on his bike. Tragedy strikes at Alyssa’s house when Garrett accidentally knocks bleach into the bathtub full of drinkable water they had been hoarding.

His thoughts also turn toward Alyssa, on whom he has a long-term crush. Even though his family is better prepared than anyone else, it still seems like they’re not ready for the magnitude of this crisis. On the third day after the taps run dry, Kelton grows concerned. On the news, the first death from dehydration is recorded, and incidents of people attempting to steal water from a hospital are mentioned. Then Uncle Basil leaves to stay with his ex-girlfriend so he won’t use up any more of Alyssa’s family’s water. Alyssa’s has a friend named Sofia whose entire family packs their belongings and leaves California. The leader of the homeowners’ association comes to the McCrackens’ house with an expensive present, hoping that in return they’ll share their resources with others, but Kelton’s father isn’t sympathetic to people who are unprepared for a crisis.ĭay by day, the situation worsens. His parents are prepared for the apocalypse, complete with a well-guarded home, a stockpile of water and a backup generator for power. A man attempts to take it from them.Īlyssa’s next-door neighbor Kelton McCracken is a survivalist geek. The cases of water are already gone, but Alyssa comes up with the clever idea to buy a cart full of bagged ice to melt for water. Teenage Alyssa, her 10-year-old brother, Garrett, and Uncle Basil go to Costco to buy bottled water and notice the tense, combative attitudes of everyone in line. Then one day, the taps dry out completely. A drought known as the Tap-Out leaves California with a severely decreased water supply.

Dry jarrod shusterman