Rogue Wave

by Boyd Morrison

  "Just like you thought it would. I'm so proud of you." Kai took her in his arms, relishing the warmth that was missing from her skin just a few moments ago.

  "She'll be OK," Teresa said. "We'll just have to make sure she doesn't get pneumonia from all the sea water in her lungs."

  She turned her attention to her own daughter. Mia cradled her right leg, but otherwise seemed intact.

  "Thank God we got you out," she said, holding Mia. "How's your leg?"

  "It hurts. Is it broken?"

  "Let me look." Teresa touched her leg tenderly. "I don't see any broken bones. Can you wiggle your toes?"

  Mia tried it and nodded. She repeated the same for her ankle. When she got to the knee, she winced and cried out.

  "Looks like you might have a torn ligament in your knee. In any case, you're going to need help moving."

  "Look, I don't want to be a jerk," said Brad, focusing the point on Kai, "but we're currently sitting in the world's largest game of Jenga. Can we go now?"

  He was right. The condo building was precarious at best. It could collapse at any time.

  "You," Kai said, pointing at Brad, "are going to carry Mia." He cut the dry bag loose and slung it over his shoulder. "Lani, can you walk?"

  "I can make it."

  Kai applauded her guts, but he didn't think she would make it far without help. Her lungs would be raw from the near-drowning, and the debris outside would make the walk anything but easy.

  "All right, let's move."

  They made it out to the hallway when Kai heard a squeal behind him. The life raft that had been pinned under the girder had been slowly sliding out, lubricated by the water. It finally gave up and shot out from under the girder, bouncing around the room before it went through the open wall and over the side of the balcony.

  They all chuckled at the silly spectacle and then stopped when they heard a more ominous noise coming from all around them.

  "Down! Down!" Kai yelled.

  Leading Lani by the hand, he tore down the stairs, constantly sliding on the muck left behind by the water. Several times, he slipped and caught himself with what was left of the railing.

  When Kai got to the third story landing, he heard Tom crash to the floor. Kai turned and yanked him up.

  "No time for that."

  As they ran, the groaning of the building grew, and Kai knew they didn't have more than a few seconds left. When they got to the first floor, Kai and Lani jumped through the open space where the windows used to be and ran in the direction that was most clear of debris: toward the beach.

  Kai looked over his shoulder to make sure everyone was behind him; he wasn't going to let anyone fall back. Brad carried Mia piggyback, with Tom in front of him and Teresa close on his heels. Out of the corner of Kai's eye, he saw the condo building tilt at a strange angle. Lani ran too slowly, so he gathered her up like a baby and pumped his legs as fast as they would carry him across Kalakaua Ave.

  An immense bang of snapping steel erupted behind him, and Kai felt a whoosh of air pound his back. He dove into the sand of Waikiki, now covered with a slimy ooze, and shielded Lani with his body. Pulverized pieces of the disintegrating building pummeled his back, but nothing bigger than a small pebble landed on him.

  When the sound died, Kai pushed himself up. His back and head were coated in fine powder that clung to his wet skin. Instead of seeing the building they were just in, all he could make out was a fog of dust and a pile of debris. The entire ten-story Seaside condominium tower was now a pancake of rubble 20 feet high.

  Kai sat on the sand surveying the now unfamiliar surroundings. The landscape of Waikiki had been utterly changed in the 30 minutes since they had entered in the Seaside. Shattered structures littered the streets like crumpled beer cans. Other buildings were nothing more than skeletons stripped bare of their innards. Massive piles of junk had been caught against the various mountains of wreckage that used to be hotels and condominiums.

  But even without the landmarks, the outline of the mountains behind was familiar. Kai recognized the pattern because this was where they had come ashore with the Jet Skis. Of course, the water craft were nowhere to be seen.

  "Nice job, Kai," Brad said, squeezing the water from his filthy t-shirt. "We're back where we started."

  Chapter 45

  12:04 PM

  8 minutes to Third Wave

  Jerry had fallen unconscious, his head wound more severe than Rachel had first thought. After spending a few minutes trying to wake him, they decided to attempt to carry him up the stairs. Because of his bulk, it took all three of them-Rachel, Paige, and Sheila-to pull him down the hall and up the stairs. At each landing, they stopped for 30 seconds to catch their breath. They had only made it up one flight to the 12th floor.

  As they carried him, Doris kept the children occupied and told them about herself and her kids. Their last name was Wendel, and Doris had been widowed two years earlier when her husband, Herbert, had been stricken with cancer. Neither of her children were married, so they had all come out to Hawaii for a family vacation. When the tsunami warning was issued, they had returned to their room as they were initially instructed. When the warning changed, Jerry had thought it was best to stay put.

  After the first tsunami, they realized that staying was a bad idea, so they got in the elevator to get up to the roof. That's when the power went out, and they became stranded. As Rachel listened to the story, it dawned on her that she was risking her life for people who had blatantly ignored her warnings to leave.

  The progress climbing the stairs was slow; at the rate they were going, they wouldn't be on the roof until the next tsunami hit. But it was either leave Jerry behind and try to bring help down from the roof in time to get him, or continue their struggle. Given the time between the first two tsunamis, Rachel didn't want to risk leaving him, even though it was his ignorance that put them in this situation.

  As they wrestled Jerry up to the 14th floor, they heard voices coming from the stairway above them, getting louder. People headed toward them.

  Rachel stopped.

  "Hello!" she called out.

  The movement above froze. She saw two faces peer over the railing about 60 feet above her at the 20th floor. One of the strangers waved. Then they began coming down the steps even quicker than before.

  In less than a minute, they had covered the distance. A thirty-something couple, obviously happy at finding other survivors, smiled at Rachel, their bright red faces burned from exposure to sun they obviously weren't used.

  "Are you coming from the roof?" Rachel said.

  The couple looked at each other and shrugged. The man in the couple then started speaking rapid-fire in a language that sounded Slavic.

  "Oh no," Rachel said. "Are you with the Russian group? Russkie?"

  The man repeated the word "Russkie" and pointed at him and the woman. He then started speaking in Russian again.

  "Do you speak English?"

  "Nyet." He shook his head. "No English." Rachel guessed that it was the only English phrase he knew.

  They were two more of the hotel guests that had refused to leave their rooms when the evacuation was taking place. Either that, or they had gotten separated from their group when they had been shuffled around the lobby. In any case, they were going the wrong way.

  Rachel pointed down and said "Nyet."

  At this, the smiles disappeared. The man's voice became angry, even indignant. Perhaps he didn't like being told what to do by a woman. Whatever the reason, he gesticulated and nodded vigorously as he pointed down.

  Rachel motioned to her badge, which was still attached to her soggy suit. It said "Rachel Tanaka, Hotel Manager." Under those words was an image of the Grand Hawaiian logo. She hoped that would lend her an air of authority.

  She pointed at Jerry's inert form and tried to indicate that they needed help carrying him. The man, who was fairly burly, nodded and grabbed his arms.

  "Good. He understands." She turned to the Russian ma
n. "Thank you. Spasebo."

  Rachel grabbed one leg, and Sheila got the other. But instead of continuing up, the man rotated Jerry around and made as if to carry him down the stairs. Rachel immediately put his leg down and grabbed the man's arm. She shook her head.

  "Nyet!"

  The Russian became furious and practically dropped Jerry onto the cement. He made a rude gesture and took his girlfriend, who had been watching all of this silently, by the shoulder. They continued down the stairs, the man muttering to himself.

  "Where are they going?" Sheila said.

  "They're going to die," Rachel said, the weariness evident in her voice. She was too tired to sugar-coat anything. "They don't know another tsunami is coming, and that it's going to be bigger than the last one."

  "Shouldn't we try to stop them," Doris said.

  "How? That guy is bigger than any of us. And you heard all the Russian I know. If you can speak it, be my guest. Our bigger problem is that this is taking too long." She waved her hand at Jerry. "It would go a lot faster if we got some help."

  "From that guy? You just said…"

  "No. From Max."

  "Who's Max?"

  "He's my concierge. He's up on the roof with the other guests."

  "But if one of us goes," Paige said, "there's no way two of us can carry him."

  "No, but we can still make progress if Tyler goes. He can run up those stairs in just a few minutes."

  "Sure I can!" Tyler said.

  "What if something happens to him?" Paige said. "What if he gets lost?"

  "There aren't many choices. They're either still in the restaurant or they're on the roof. He just needs to tell Max to come down and help us."

  Paige grabbed Tyler close to her, sheltering him from some unseen enemy. She buried her face in his hair, and then faced Rachel, her eyebrows arched in despair.

  "I'm sorry about what I said earlier. About you being responsible for Bill."

  "Don't be."

  "When that building fell down, all I could think…" Paige broke down without finishing.

  "It's OK," Rachel said, placing her hand gently on Paige's shoulder.

  "You saved our lives," Paige said. Then she squared her shoulders in renewed determination. "That's why I'm going to let Tyler go up there."

  Paige knelt beside Tyler.

  "This is very important, honey. Do you understand what we want you to do?"

  "Go and get Max."

  "Or any other adult up there. But you come right back down as soon as you find him, you understand?"

  He nodded.

  She hugged him. "I'm so proud of you. I'll see you in a few minutes."

  Tyler padded up the stairs. They picked up Jerry again and renewed the slog upwards.

  * * *

  "How are you doing?" Kai asked Lani. Her breathing was a ragged rasp.

  "Hurts a little."

  "I'll give you a lift in a minute." Even though they were jogging, Kai needed at least a little bit of a break. He ached all over from being twisted and turned by the water. He had strained his shoulder when he was holding on to the doorway trying to keep from going out to sea. Not to mention the cuts and bruises too numerous to count. Still, it could have been much worse.

  Teresa put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. Kai winced but didn't pull away.

  "Thanks, Kai. For Mia. If you hadn't gotten her free…" Her voice trailed off, the implications too much for her to bear.

  Kai put his arm around her and returned the hug. "I know. Same for Lani."

  "Where are we going?" Brad said. "Isn't that building closer?" He pointed at the building directly in front of them about 300 yards away.

  "It's closer, but it's only 20 stories tall. I'm not sure that's high enough. Besides, it's going to get the brunt force of the next wave. I'd rather be in one that had a little protection and doesn't get a direct blast. Remember, the next wave is going to be the biggest yet."

  "I wish you'd stop saying that," Brad said. "So which one are we going to?"

  "To that one," Kai said, nodding.

  "Which one?"

  "The one with the boat sticking out of it."

  On the ocean side of a 30-story apartment building, the aft end of a 60-foot charter fishing boat was suspended 100 feet above the street. Its twin propellers were easily visible from their current position about a quarter mile away.

  "Man!" Tom said.

  "If that doesn't show the power of a tsunami," Kai said, "I don't know what does."

  "Yeah," said Brad, "we sure haven't seen enough examples of that yet." He jumped in front of Kai and led the way, Mia still clinging to his back.

  Lani began coughing again from the exertion.

  "That's enough jogging for you," Kai said. "Hop on." She jumped on his back, and he continued to trot, albeit a bit more slowly. It wasn't that she was heavy. It was that Kai was beat. And the debris was getting treacherous; the terrain was literally post-apocalyptic. They continually detoured around large heaps of splintered wood, twisted metal, and dislodged concrete that impeded their progress.

  They were still two blocks from their designated refuge when they found an intersection piled three deep with cars, buses and trucks that had gotten wedged against the bottom of a cement foundation. Brad skirted it and stopped when he rounded the corner of the pile.

  "You've got to be kidding," Brad said.

  "What?" Kai said, coming to a stop beside him.

  "There's a couple of people up ahead. They're heading this way."

  Sure enough, two young men were making their way through the debris towards them. Kai couldn't tell if they were high school or college students, but they couldn't have been older than 20. They looked like they were in good shape, and both had their shirts off and sticking out of the back of their shorts, as if they were on an afternoon stroll. One of them held a video camera.

  "Hey!" Brad yelled. "You're going the wrong way."

  The men angled toward them, appraising the motley crew.

  "No we're not, man," the one with the camera said.

  "You are if you don't want to die."

  "Look, we're not stupid, you know. We're heading to that building on the beach."

  "You are stupid," Kai said. "There's another tsunami coming." He kept going, and the others followed. He wasn't stopping to chat with these bozos.

  "Why do you think we're taking this with us?" the one without the camera said. "We're gonna sell the video. We've already got some good stuff of that building coming down over there." He pointed at the remains of the Seaside condo.

  "You idiots," Brad said. "We were in that building."

  "Cool," cameraman said and turned his camera on them.

  Their comment got Kai to stop. He turned and stared at them, unable to comprehend how crass and greedy some people were.

  "You two little shits look at all this destruction and death," Kai said, "and all you can see is some money for yourselves?"

  "Hey, the TV networks are making money off this. Why shouldn't we?"

  "You're not going to make any money because you are going to die. That building is not going to stand against a wave 200 feet in height."

  The two men laughed at that.

  "You think this is funny?"

  "Man, this is going to be great footage."

  "Turn that camera off, you asshole!" Brad yelled. He moved as if he was going to take it away from them. The two backed away quickly, but Kai stopped him.

  "Forget it, Brad. No one's ever going to see that footage anyway. If they're too dumb to take good advice, they're on their own. We don't have time for it. Let's go."

  The two men stumbled off in the direction of the beach, talking in low voices and laughing.

  Kai was angry at them, not just because they were cold opportunists, but because they made him see how futile his job could be in some cases. Kai's job was to warn people of danger. The people could do with that warning what they wished. He couldn't force them to get to safety. He couldn't save
them if they didn't want to be saved. Now he was seeing that reality up close. And what made Kai feel even worse was that he didn't want to save them. He really felt that they deserved what happened to them.

  As Kai's group got close to the boat-building, as he had come to think of it, Lani tapped him on the back.

  "Daddy, I hear something."

  "What?"

  "A voice, I think. It's coming from your bag."

  My bag? Then Kai realized how stupid he had been. In all the rush, he hadn't remembered to check the phone or the walkie-talkie. Someone was trying to reach them.

  Chapter 46

  12:08 PM

  4 minutes to Third Wave

  Jerry made it to the 21st floor before the women carrying him were too fatigued to continue. Even for three of them, Jerry's dead weight of 250 pounds was too much. They were spent.

  "What are we going to do now?" Jerry's sister, Sheila, said, her voice strained from fatigue and worry. "We can't just leave him."

  "He's too heavy. We need some help. We'll have to wait for Tyler to get back."

  "What's taking him so long?" Paige said. "He should have been back by now. I shouldn't have let him go. I should have trusted my instincts. I'm going to look for him."

  Despite her exhaustion, Paige forced herself up the stairs, but before she could get to the next landing, a door slammed, and the sound of light feet drifted toward them. She stopped.

  "Tyler?"

  "Yes?" Tyler replied. They could hear him crying as he came down.

  "Are you all right?"

  "No!"

  Paige quickened her pace upward, and Rachel followed. They met him on the 23rd floor landing. His eyes were red, his cheeks stained with tears.

  "What's the matter, honey?" Paige ran her hands over him, looking for injuries. "Are you hurt?"

  Tyler shook his head.

  "Then what's wrong?"

  "I couldn't find anyone," Tyler said between sobs.

  "No one anywhere?" Rachel said.

  "I swear, I looked all over. They're all gone."

  He took out the walkie-talkie that he still had from when Rachel had given it to him before the incident at the elevator.