The Tsunami Countdown

by Boyd Morrison

  Everyone stepped back, and Brad threw it in reverse. The four-wheel drive bit at the pavement under the back wheels and the mud below the front. Water and mud sprayed high into the air in front of the vehicle. He put it in first, with the same sprinkler effect in the other direction. The Humvee rolled slightly back and forth but didn’t make any progress.

  The radio in the Humvee crackled.

  “Dare! Are you all right? Dare, what happened?”

  “That’s our pilot, Captain Wainwright,” Peabody said.

  “Dare! Airman Peabody! Come in!”

  Brad grabbed the mouthpiece.

  “Captain, Dare’s got a bump on his noggin, but he’ll be okay.”

  “Who is this?”

  “This is Brad. I’ll get back to you in a minute. We’re trying to get this SUV out of a hole.”

  “What do you mean? What’s going on?” Captain Wainwright continued to call, but Brad was right. They didn’t have time to waste explaining the situation.

  “This isn’t working,” Kai said to Brad. “Try turning the wheel to the left. The hole doesn’t look as steep on that side. If you can get the whole Humvee down in there, you might be able to climb out.”

  “Are you crazy?” said Chuck. “He’ll stall out if he gets the whole thing down there.”

  “Shut up!” Kai said. “Brad, what do you think?”

  “It’s worth a try. My way still might work, but not in time.”

  Brad cranked the wheel to the left and floored the gas. The Humvee rotated a little to the left and then stopped.

  “It’s stuck on something. Everybody push on the back left of the truck. Even you, Chuckles. If I spin the wheels, the traction should be low enough on this mud to push it.”

  “This is a waste of time,” Chuck said, although he lined up on the left rear fender with the rest of them except for Lani and Mia. “This thing must weigh a couple of tons.”

  “Ready?” Brad said.

  “Yes!” they all yelled, their feet planted as firmly as possible.

  “Start pushing as soon as I gun it.”

  Brad revved the engine and then dropped the clutch. The water didn’t spray right at them because he had the front wheels turned, but they were getting soaked anyway from the backsplash on the undercarriage. The back wheels started spinning, and that was their cue to push.

  “Go!” Kai yelled. He pushed, using up whatever adrenaline he had left. This was their one chance out of there, and he wasn’t leaving anything in reserve.

  At first, nothing seemed to happen. Kai was about to let up when he heard Brad yell.

  “It’s working!”

  That gave Kai an extra burst of energy, and finally he felt the back end give. The rotation of the Humvee accelerated, and the right rear wheel slipped off the concrete.

  “Come on, baby!” Brad yelled.

  Then the left rear reached the edge of the hole. They gave one last heave, and with a big splash the back end of the Humvee dropped into the hole.

  Brad didn’t let up on the gas, and after an agonizing moment when it seemed like the Humvee would bog down, it sprang forward and launched itself out of the muck.

  Everyone whooped with joy, and Brad leaned out of the window.

  “Anyone want a ride?”

  Kai put Mia in the backseat and jumped in the front passenger seat next to Brad. The rest of them climbed into the rear.

  When they were all aboard, Brad jammed the pedal to the floor, and they hurtled forward.

  “Why don’t you let the captain know we’re on our way? I’d better keep my eyes on the road.”

  Kai picked up the transmitter.

  “Captain, this is Kai Tanaka, one of the people you so kindly agreed to pick up. We’re out of the mud and on our way.”

  “Good. What’s your ETA?”

  “I think it took Peabody about two minutes to get here, so I’m guessing the same for the trip back. Captain, can you see if the water is receding?”

  “What?”

  “If you can see the shoreline moving seaward, that means the tsunami is almost here.”

  There was silence on the other end for a second, as if they were discussing something. Then he came back on.

  “Uh, Mr. Tanaka,” Wainwright said. “The shoreline is so far out, I can hardly see it. Make it quick. I mean real quick.”

  “You better believe it,” Brad said.

  Brad followed the tracks that Peabody had made getting to them as closely as he could, knowing that the path was safe. It was the bumpiest ride Kai had ever experienced, and the people in the back were thrown around viciously.

  After another minute they were back on smooth concrete, and it was a straight shot to the plane directly in front of them.

  “Look at that,” said Peabody. The sight was familiar to everyone else, but he was in awe at seeing it for the first time. In the distance, the ocean rose precipitously. Kai had lost track of time, and now they were out of it. The massive tsunami kept climbing into the air as it rushed toward the runway. It looked to be about a half mile from the end of the runway where the C-130 sat.

  Captain Wainwright came back on.

  “Do you see that, Mr. Tanaka?”

  “We see it. How long will it take you to lift off the runway from a dead stop?”

  “It’ll take a little longer because of the state of the runway. Maybe thirty seconds.”

  Kai did the mental calculation. Without time to analyze the data, he couldn’t be sure of anything. But he couldn’t take the chance, and so he made the call.

  “Start your takeoff roll now,” Kai said.

  “What? But you’re less than three hundred yards away! We’re not leaving without you.”

  “Believe me, I don’t plan on you leaving us.”

  “Then we’ll wait.”

  “Captain, you don’t understand. Waiting will kill us all. If you don’t start your takeoff roll right now, that plane will never get off the ground.”

  FIFTY-SEVEN

  12:37 p.m.

  Fourth Wave

  The C-130’s propellers spun up to full speed in preparation for takeoff. “Are you insane?” Chuck screamed. “You just told him to take off without us!”

  Kai ignored him.

  “Listen to me, Captain,” he said, not only for Wainwright’s benefit, but for everyone in the Humvee. “We’re going to come up behind you and jump onto the cargo door, so keep it lowered.” They couldn’t drive onto the plane because, although the door was lowered, it couldn’t contact the runway during takeoff. “That way, you can take off as soon as we’re all on board.”

  “I get it. A running start. I’ll keep the speed down as long as I can, but I’ve only got about six thousand feet of clear runway, and there’s a big-ass hole at the end. We’re on our way.”

  The plane lurched forward and started moving down the runway. The Humvee was now only two hundred yards behind and closing quickly.

  “Let’s change places,” Kai said to Brad.

  “No way! You know I’m the better driver.”

  “I don’t care. Move!”

  “It’s too dangerous. And you’re crazy if you think I’m stopping.”

  Kai lowered his voice.

  “Brad, someone’s got to be at the wheel to hold it steady while the rest of us get on. And I don’t see a cruise control.”

  Brad let it hang there for a second without answering. “I’ll figure something out,” he finally said.

  “What?”

  “I’ve got an idea.”

  “What?”

  “Dammit, Kai! I don’t have time to explain. Let me concentrate.”

  The huge tail of the C-130 loomed in front of them. An Air Force crewman stood at the back of the plane, hanging on to a strap and beckoning them to get closer.

  To their left, the tsunami grew to gigantic proportions, heading at them on an angle. It wouldn’t swamp the runway all at once, but would hit the part in back of them first. Because of the angle, the wave would b
e chasing them down the runway at an effective speed of about 150 miles an hour, far above the Humvee’s top speed of seventy.

  Their closing speed with the aircraft slowed, but Brad had the accelerator floored. Kai could see the airman in the plane talking into a headset, and the plane decelerated a little, allowing them to catch up.

  When the Humvee was within five feet of the plane, Chuck jumped up from the rear truck bed. He scrambled over the cab and onto the hood directly in front of Brad.

  “You idiot!” Brad yelled. “I can’t see!”

  “Wait until he’s closer!” Kai yelled to Chuck.

  But Chuck didn’t listen. In his impatience to get on the plane, he couldn’t wait until they got closer than three feet. He ran forward, and just as he was about to jump, the Humvee hit a piece of debris on the runway.

  The jolt sent Chuck reeling sideways, and before the airman in the plane could grab him, he fell off the side of the Humvee and tumbled onto the runway.

  Denise screamed as she watched Chuck’s cartwheeling body. Kai didn’t say what he was thinking, which was that even if Chuck survived the fall, there was no time to turn around and get him.

  The Humvee rammed against the back of the C-130.

  “Now!” Kai said as he crawled into the backseat. “Hurry!”

  Denise, Peabody, Tom, and Stan, who were in the back of the Humvee, climbed onto the roof. Kai followed Teresa and Lani out the open back window, then pulled Mia through.

  Tom and then Denise quickly crossed to the plane without incident. Peabody was next. With his blurred vision, he misjudged the step onto the cargo door. He lost his footing on the front of the hood and dropped onto his back, his butt suspended in a space that had opened up between the C-130 and the Humvee.

  There was no way Peabody could pull himself up. The airman inside the plane let go of his strap, but he couldn’t reach Peabody’s hand. Stan pulled Peabody up by his shoulders. Together they stood, and with Peabody’s arm around his shoulder, Stan ran and jumped onto the deck of the C-130. They both went down spread-eagled, and the airman pulled them out of the way.

  Teresa grabbed Kai, who now had Mia on his back.

  “Be careful,” she said.

  “Don’t worry. I’ve got her.”

  “Okay. I’ll take Lani with me.”

  Kai looked at his daughter. He saw no fear, only determination. “I can do it, Dad,” she said.

  Kai’s thoughts flashed through everything she’d accomplished today—towing Mia to safety, coming up with the idea for how to use the raft, showing such stamina after nearly drowning—and realized she was right.

  “I know you can,” he said. “Now, go!”

  Using the wide rooftop rack as a brace, Teresa and Lani pulled themselves over the Humvee’s roof.

  Kai stole a quick look behind him. Chuck, who was futilely chasing the plane, slipped in the muck and fell. As he pushed himself up on his knees, he turned to see a wall of water three hundred feet high tower over him, blocking the midday sun. Chuck raised his arms as if he were Moses trying to part the Red Sea, and then he was absorbed by the wall as it surged onto the runway. He was gone.

  Kai, numbed by the day’s experiences, couldn’t bring himself to feel sorry for Chuck.

  Once Teresa and Lani were on the hood, Kai clambered over the Humvee’s roof, pulling Mia sloppily with him. Holding Teresa’s hand, Lani jumped onto the plane’s cargo door, where she grabbed the airman’s outstretched arm. She tottered for a second and then collapsed with Teresa to the deck, out of harm’s way. Kai breathed a sigh of relief.

  The airman frantically waved to Kai, so he knew there was little time left before the C-130 would have to take off. He stood and hoisted Mia onto his back. Even with the plane blocking the wind, the current of air was strong enough to push him to the side, and he misplaced his foot on an edge of the hood. He heard Teresa’s scream faintly over the rush of air and the airplane’s engines.

  Mia tilted her body to the side, helping Kai right himself before he fell. With a last burst of adrenaline, he leaned toward the airplane and made a dash across the hood. He leapt onto the cargo floor, and the airman caught him.

  Kai retained his footing and passed Mia to Teresa. He grabbed a strap that the airman handed to him and spun around to see what Brad had planned.

  The tsunami was so close to their flank now that, with the tail of the aircraft blocking Kai’s view, he couldn’t see the top of it unless he looked straight back. The solid mass of water dwarfed the Humvee.

  Brad was talking into the radio transmitter. He had a big smile on his face, but it belied the sadness in his eyes. The plane pulled away from the Humvee. That was his plan all along. Kai locked eyes with Brad and shook his head.

  “Don’t do this,” he mouthed, knowing that Brad would never be able to hear him.

  Brad pointed at Kai and gave him a thumbs-up. As Kai continued to stare at him, the plane lifted into the air. He could see Brad’s smile grow even bigger when he saw the plane take flight. That was Kai’s last image of Brad—smiling, his eyes shining with tears—as the tsunami overtook him and swallowed the Humvee.

  They had barely gained the required three hundred feet before the tsunami passed underneath them by only a few yards, the turbulent air causing the plane to buck. The wave was so close that Kai tasted the salty spray.

  “Are you Kai?” the airman on the plane asked.

  Kai nodded dumbly, completely drained.

  The airman handed Kai the headset.

  “The captain wants to talk to you.”

  Kai put the headset on.

  “Yes?”

  “Kai? This is Captain Wainwright. Your brother told me that it was more important for you to get on the plane than him. I talked to him right before the end. He had a message for you. He said, quote, ‘Kai, don’t worry about me. I’m not afraid of the water anymore. Take care of my niece for me. I love you, brother.’ End quote.”

  Captain Wainwright paused, but Kai didn’t have anything to say.

  “I’m very sorry for your loss,” he said.

  “Me too,” Kai said, and tore the headset off.

  He sagged to the deck of the aircraft, and for the last time that day, he cried.

  FIFTY-EIGHT

  Aftermath

  When the C-130 landed at Wheeler, Denise and Stan went their own ways, leaving Kai and Teresa to find treatment for the injuries that Tom, Lani, and Mia had sustained. They were in the same circumstance as thousands of others who crowded around the edges of the runway tarmac. Wheeler had its own small oil power plant, so it was self-sufficient in case of island power outages. With all of the coastal power plants wiped out, it was one of the few places on Oahu that still had electricity.

  Displaced residents and tourists from all over Oahu had converged on the air base as a safe haven. Thirty-five jets had been forced to land because they didn’t have enough fuel to return to the mainland. They packed every bit of spare concrete at the air field, including a long-abandoned runway. Since the base didn’t normally accommodate airliners, there were no motorized stairs or walkways for the planes to unload. Most sat there still full of passengers, while others had disgorged using their emergency slides.

  Tripler Army Medical Center had rapidly filled to capacity with patients requiring use of its trauma center, so all other injuries and illnesses were routed to a temporary triage center set up in a hangar at Wheeler. That’s where Kai took his daughter for treatment.

  Kai stopped, speechless, as he took in the enormity of what had happened. Before him was an image he had seen previously only on TV. Row upon row of people were being tended to by dozens of men and women, some in uniform, some in scrubs, some in civilian clothing. Because the disaster had happened so fast, only a limited supply of cots was available. Most patients lay on blankets or stretchers on the hangar floor. Many of the victims moaned or wailed, some from injuries, others from the mental anguish of their loss.

  An Army lieutenant directed them to
a second hangar, where they saw a similar scene of woe. A nurse found an empty space for the children to lie down and gave them some blankets. When she found out that Teresa was a doctor, she took her aside, out of earshot of the kids, who dropped to the floor, exhausted from the ordeal.

  After a minute, Teresa returned. “They’re short of doctors,” she said.

  “I’m not surprised,” Kai said. Hundreds of people lined the floor in this hangar alone. He could only guess how many more there were.

  “I need to go. Lani will be okay. I don’t think there’s any permanent damage. Tom’s shoulder will need to be checked out by an orthopedist. And Mia needs an MRI, but that won’t happen until we can get back to the mainland. The nurse said nobody has any spare clothes yet, so we’ll just have to dry out until we can get some.”

  Tom massaged his shoulder, but he seemed more intent on looking around the hangar.

  “When you find someone in authority,” Kai said, “let them know that Tom is looking for his parents.” Then he realized that even after all he had gone through with the boy, Kai still didn’t know one important detail about him.

  “Tom,” Kai said. “What’s your last name?”

  “Medlock,” Tom replied, understanding why he was being asked. “My parents are Joseph and Belinda Medlock.”

  “I’ve got it,” Teresa said. “We’ll find them, Tom.” More quietly, she said to Kai, “Listen, I’m just … Oh, God … I mean, Rachel …” Before she could finish, she burst into tears and grasped Kai in a hug. After a few moments she pulled away. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

  Teresa took a breath to compose herself, then made her way toward the front of the hangar. Kai turned his attention back to Lani and Mia.

  Neither of them spoke. Mia stared off into the distance, and Lani slowly flipped through the photo album Kai had saved. It was hard to believe these were the same girls who had been so chatty this morning.

  Kai knelt down and smiled at Lani.

  “How are you feeling?” he said.