Escaping the Giant Wave

by Peg Kehret

  “We’re looking for our parents.”

  “We’re also looking for Pansy’s owners,” BeeBee said.

  I told the woman what had happened to us.

  “We have a temporary headquarters set up in a tent, only half a mile up the beach,” she said. “Go there, and they’ll give you something to eat and help you search the information we have, to see if your parents and your friends have been found.”

  “Thanks,” I said.

  We headed toward the tent.

  “What if Mom and Dad haven’t been found?” BeeBee asked.

  “Then we’ll keep looking for them. The emergency people probably have a computer network where names can be entered. We’ll put our names in, so if Mom and Dad are searching for us somewhere else, they’ll know we’re okay.” I sounded confident, but it was all an act.

  “There’s still no power,” BeeBee said. “They could use laptops running on batteries to collect data, but without telephone lines they can’t send that information elsewhere. How would the modem work?”

  “Did Norm and Josie ever say their last name?” I asked.

  “I don’t think so. If they did, I don’t remember it.”

  A long line of people stretched out of the tent. “Before we get in line,” I said, “let’s walk past everyone who’s waiting, in case Mom and Dad are here.”

  We walked beside the line of people. My eyes skimmed each face as I hoped desperately that the next one would be familiar.

  None were.

  When we reached the point where the line of people went inside the tent, there was a table where workers were serving sandwiches and juice.

  “I’ll look for Mom and Dad inside,” BeeBee said. “You get us some food.”

  I took three sandwiches and two cans of juice. Soon BeeBee came back. “There are twelve people waiting inside,” she reported, “plus the twenty-five in line outside, but I don’t know any of them.”

  We took our place at the end of the line and started to eat. BeeBee was so glad to get decent food that she didn’t even bother to pick the lettuce out of her sandwich.

  I broke the third sandwich into pieces and gave them to Pansy.

  “This is a real dog sandwich,” BeeBee said, “Not like the one we made during the tsunami last night.”

  Last night. Less than half a day. I could hardly believe that so little time had passed since BeeBee and I had held Pansy between us while we hid behind the cedar tree. The night had seemed endless.

  Yesterday morning at about this time, I had been walking on the beach with Mom and Dad. We had read the warning sign and I had made my sea picture. It seemed like ten years ago, like a happy memory from when I was only three or four years old.

  A fist jabbed me right between the shoulder blades. “Well, well,” said a familiar voice. “The scaredy-cat made it through the big bad wave.”

  Last night I had hoped Daren would survive. Now that he was here, I had mixed feelings.

  “I’m glad I went uphill,” I said. “It saved my life.”

  “You were scared stiff,” Daren said. “While you were running away, I walked down to the beach and waded in the water.”

  “What happened when the big waves came?” BeeBee asked.

  “The first one picked me up and dropped me on top of the Totem Pole Inn’s elevator tower. I clung to the edge of the roof when the wave receded.”

  “We saw the two people on the tower roof,” I said, “but we couldn’t tell who they were.”

  “It was me and a cook from the hotel. We found a trap door in the roof that went inside the tower to the elevator equipment. We stayed in there all night and climbed down this morning. We heard the second wave, but the concrete tower held.”

  “You were lucky,” I said.

  “Not lucky, just brave. I wasn’t scared for one second.”

  Liar, I thought. We were all scared.

  “You’re the one who was afraid,” Daren went on.

  “Anyone with sense would be afraid of a tsunami,” I said.

  “Are you saying I don’t have any sense?”

  “I’m saying you were just as frightened as I was.”

  Daren raised his hand as if to punch me.

  I pushed his hand away and looked him in the eye. “You were plenty scared yesterday,” I said, “when you thought you were going to be burned alive in the hotel.”

  “I was never scared!”

  “Then why were you yelling for help? Why did you rush past us in the stairway and push my sister down after we saved your life? You’d have been burned alive if I hadn’t dragged you down the stairs with us.”

  “I didn’t yell for help, and you didn’t save me. What a joke! If you tell anyone that you saved my life, I’ll swear you’re making it up.”

  “He did too save you,” BeeBee said, “and he has a witness. Don’t forget: I was there.”

  “Why you little brat,” Daren said. “I ought to . . .”

  I took a step toward Daren, keeping BeeBee behind me. “Lay a hand on her, and you’ll wish you hadn’t,” I said.

  Daren’s mouth actually dropped open. He looked the way cartoon characters look when they’re surprised.

  “That goes for next year at school too,” I added. “Keep away from her.”

  “Are you threatening me?”

  “That’s right. I may be shorter than you are, but I’m smart, and if you don’t quit bothering us, the whole state of Kansas is going to hear how you pushed an eight-year-old down in order to save yourself.”

  Daren gaped at me for a few seconds. Then he shrugged. “Hey, man,” he said. “No need to get all worked into a twist.”

  I felt ten feet tall. Daren was backing down!

  “You’re alive because of me,” I said. “You should be grateful.”

  He glared at me, but he didn’t deny what I said. I knew we’d never be friends, and I knew my problems with Daren probably weren’t over permanently, but I had taken a giant step on the road to solving them. Maybe I’d make my summer goals after all.

  “Have you heard from your parents?” I asked. “Do you know what happened to the Elegant Empress?”

  “No. I was on my way to the tent to ask about the ship when I saw you.”

  “This is the line for information,” I said. “You can wait with us.”

  BeeBee gave me a surprised look. I was surprised too. I never thought I’d invite Daren to spend two seconds with me, but now that I had finally confronted him, he had lost his power over me. He was just another kid looking for his parents, the same as we were.

  “Where did you get the sandwich?” Daren asked.

  I told him, and he left to get some food.

  “Thanks for sticking up for me,” BeeBee said.

  “If he ever bothers you again, tell me.” I smiled, remembering the conversation.

  “I wonder why he acted ashamed of being scared when the hotel was on fire,” BeeBee said. “I was scared.”

  “So was I. Who wouldn’t be?”

  We had waited in the line half an hour when Pansy gave an excited “Yip!” and took off down the beach. She ran in circles around the man walking toward us, leaping in the air with joy.

  “It’s Norm!” BeeBee said.

  “Norm!” I called, waving my hands over my head.

  BeeBee ran to him and threw her arms around him. Together they returned to where I waited in line.

  “I’m so glad to see you,” Norm said, wiping tears from his wrinkled cheeks. “And Pansy!” He picked the wriggling dog up and hugged her. “We let her go last night, figuring she’d follow you kids. We wanted her to be safe even if we didn’t make it.”

  “Where’s Josie?” BeeBee asked.

  “She’s gone,” Norm said, his voice breaking. “When we heard that second big wave coming, I climbed up a tree and pulled Josie up after me. When the wave hit us, I was able to hang on but Josie couldn’t. The force of the water was too much for her. She lost her grip and was swept away.”

&nbs
p; Norm stroked the dog, unable to talk for a moment. “I thought of going with her,” he said. “We were together forty-seven years, and it would have been easy to release my hold on the tree and let the water take me too. But then I thought about our son and our grandkids. I’d like to see those grandkids grow up. I worried about Pansy too. She needs me to look after her.”

  “I’m sorry about Josie,” I said. “I liked her a lot.”

  “I loved her,” BeeBee said. “I have her handkerchief. Pansy found it this morning.” BeeBee held the handkerchief toward Norm.

  “You keep that, honey,” Norm said. “Think of my Josie whenever you use it.”

  “Thank you.” BeeBee folded the handkerchief carefully and tucked it in her pocket.

  “You kids saved Pansy’s life,” Norm said.

  “And she saved ours,” I replied. “She barked to let us know when the second wave was coming, and we hid behind a big tree.”

  Norm stood with us while we waited in line. He told us that his house had been destroyed by the tsunami. “One of the firefighters helped me get down the hill,” he said. “He managed to stay afloat on a beam from the hotel during the first wave, then swam ashore and ran up the hill before the second wave hit. He found me as soon as it got light, and we came down together.”

  “We saw footprints,” BeeBee said. “We knew someone else had been in the woods.”

  The line moved slowly. We had not yet reached the entrance to the tent when a man with a megaphone came out and shouted an announcement: “If any of you are here to inquire about passengers on the Elegant Empress, please follow me.”

  BeeBee, Daren, and I hurried toward the man. So did several other people who had been waiting in the line. When we were all grouped around the man with the megaphone, he said, “I have good news for you. The Elegant Empress was far enough away from shore that it was able to ride the tsunami waves without capsizing. All passengers and crew are safe.”

  “Wasn’t the ship damaged?” someone asked.

  “No. The captain waited until the all-clear signal was radioed to him and then . . .”

  The man kept talking, but I found it hard to concentrate on his words. They were safe! Mom and Dad were alive!

  When I tuned in again, I heard him say, “The captain kept the Elegant Empress out until daybreak because he knew the Fisher Beach dock where he normally arrives and departs was destroyed, and he didn’t want to dock someplace new in the dark. He traveled twenty miles north before he found a suitable dock that was intact. He’s now landed safely, and the passengers are getting off.”

  “If the phone lines are still out, how do you know all that?” BeeBee asked.

  “Emergency workers have mobile radios that run on vehicle batteries, plus we have a network of ham radio operators. A TV news crew has a satellite link, and were getting reports from their helicopter too.”

  When we looked for Norm to tell him our good news, we found him with a younger man.

  “This is my son, Arnie,” Norm said. “He’s invited me and Pansy to stay with him and his family for a while.”

  “Thank you again for helping us last night,” I said. “Here’s your flashlight.”

  “We’ll always remember you and Josie,” BeeBee said.

  Even though we had known the elderly couple for only a few hours, I knew BeeBee was right. We would never forget their kindness.

  An hour later, Mom and Dad arrived in a yellow school bus that had been pressed into service. Daren’s parents were with them. Mom cried when she saw us, and I admit I had a lump in my throat too.

  The governor declared the whole Oregon coast a disaster area. Since we had lost all of our clothes and luggage, as well as our hotel room, we decided to fly home as soon as we could. By seven o’clock that night, we had ridden to Portland and booked a flight back to Kansas.

  Alexander the Greatest was glad we came home early. He rubbed around my ankles, purring his pleasure. As I poured fresh water in his bowl, Mom said, “Dad and I are proud of how you acted in an emergency, Kyle. We’ve decided to raise your allowance.”

  All right! I did a victory dance around the kitchen.

  “What about my allowance?” BeeBee asked. “I was brave too.”

  “You were brave,” Mom agreed, “but Kyle’s the one who made the decisions. He was responsible.”

  To my surprise, BeeBee didn’t argue.

  With my increased wealth, I bought BeeBee a new teddy bear. I thought she’d name it Bill Junior, but she didn’t. She named it Dollar Bill.

  A couple of weeks later, I started seventh grade. I never did get my batting average where I wanted it, but I ended the season batting .235, which was fifteen points higher than the year before, and I made two double plays as a shortstop. I didn’t learn to pop a wheelie on my scooter either, although I skinned up my arms and legs trying.

  On the first day of school, my new language arts teacher assigned a report. We were each supposed to write about our summer vacation.

  During lunch recess, Gary and I were kicking a soccer ball around when Daren walked toward us.

  “Here comes trouble,” Gary muttered as he picked up the ball. “Let’s get out of here.”

  “It’s okay,” I said. “He won’t bother us.”

  Gary looked skeptical, but I stayed where I was.

  Daren stopped beside me. “Are you going to do your report on the trip to Oregon?” he asked.

  “Yes.”

  “If we tell everything that happened that night,” Daren said, “nobody will believe us.”

  “Especially the part about you landing on the elevator tower during a tsunami. That was amazing.”

  “Amazing,” he said, “but true.”

  And then the really amazing thing happened: Daren Hazelton actually smiled at me. I thought Gary was going to faint.

  “I’m going to call my report,‘The Terrible Trip,’ ” Daren said.

  “It was the worst vacation ever,” I agreed, but I knew the trip hadn’t been all bad. I wasn’t afraid of Daren anymore.

  Author’s Note

  Thousands of people have been killed by Pacific Ocean tsunamis, and scientists fear that more giant waves will hit in the future.

  The west coast of the United States is vulnerable to tsunamis because there is a nine hundred milelong crack in the earth’s crust offshore. This crack can create powerful earthquakes which displace the sea floor and result in waves that travel up to six hundred miles per hour and rise to one hundred feet in height.

  Tsunamis can occur at any time of the day or night, in any kind of weather condition. The first waves may reach shore within minutes after the earthquake—or they may not hit for several hours.

  My research for this book included two trips to Pacific coast towns, one in Oregon and one in Washington, where I gathered tsunami information and followed the evacuation signs.

  In Washington the state Emergency Management Division posts “Tsunami Hazard Zone” signs instructing people what to do in case of an earthquake. Tsunami evacuation routes are clearly marked to show coastal residents and visitors the best way to get inland, and to higher ground. Community programs seek to educate people about how to protect themselves in the event of a tsunami.

  In Oregon no schools or hospitals can be built near the shore, and evacuation drills are held in many areas. Beaches have signs telling how to escape a tsunami.

  There has been controversy over the best way to alert people when an official tsunami warning is issued. Some towns prefer not to use sirens because the meaning is often misinterpreted, especially by visitors. The idea of using cows came from the town of Cannon Beach, Oregon, which uses mooing instead of a siren as a tsunami warning.

  The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Weather Radio broadcasts emergency tsunami information as well as shelter locations.

  Other helpful sources of information were:

  Killer Wave: Power of the Tsunami, a video produced by National Geographic in 1997
/>   Tsunami: The Underrated Hazard by Edward Bryant (Cambridge University Press, 2001)

  Tsunami! by Walter Dudley and Min Lee

  (University of Hawaii Press, 1988)

  Publications from the Washington State Emergency Management Division

  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, www.noaa.gov

  “Tsunami: The Great Waves” www.nws.noaa.gov/om/brochures/tsunami.htm

  WE HOPE YOU LOVED READING THIS EBOOK!

  We have SO many more books for kids in the in-beTWEEN age that we’d love to share with you! Sign up for our IN THE MIDDLE books newsletter and you’ll receive news about other great books, exclusive excerpts, games, author interviews, and more!

  CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP

  or visit us online to sign up at

  eBookNews.SimonandSchuster.com/middle

  ALADDIN

  An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division

  1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, New York 10020

  www.SimonandSchuster.com.

  This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the authors imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2003 by Peg Kehret

  All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form.

  ALADDIN is a trademark of Simon & Schuster.

  Book design by Daniel Roode

  The text for this book is set in Bembo.

  The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows:

  Kehret, Peg.

  Escaping the giant wave / by Peg Kehret.

  p. cm.

  Summary: When an earthquake creates a tsunami while thirteen-year-old

  Kyle is babysitting his sister during a family vacation at a Pacific Coast resort, he tries to save himself, his sister, and a boy who has bullied him for years.