by Chrys Fey
She shook her head. “No, it’s not, Donovan. It’s not going to be okay. They’ll follow us everywhere we go. They won’t stop.”
“We’ve seen at least one of them. We can ID him and help Thorn catch him. Finding him could lead us to the rest. It will be okay.”
She nodded again. It’s true she had enjoyed, to some extent, the undercover work she did for Thorn, but she didn’t want to relive what happened when they helped to take down David Buckland and Jackson Storm.
As she considered this, a flock of birds flew overhead. She looked up to see not one flock but several different species—ducks, geese, tropical birds—flying away from the coast as fast as their wings could carry them. While looking at the birds, a roaring sound grew louder. The rumble was so powerful the windows in the shops shook. At first, she thought it was the wind, but the more aggressive it became, she realized it sounded wet.
“What’s that noise?” She frowned at Donovan in confusion. “It sounds like…the surf.”
A blast of wind slammed into Beth’s back, knocking her forward. Mist swooped around her. The smell of salt tingled her nostrils. She turned to see a wall of water surging toward them. Cars were whisked away as if they were toys, and palm trees were flattened. People were screaming and running past them, but Beth was paralyzed with fright. The wave reached far above the buildings it engulfed. It was massive. Incredible. Terrifying.
Tsunami!
The word blazed through Beth’s mind. Even though she knew what it was, it was too impossible to believe. A tsunami couldn’t strike on her honeymoon. A tsunami couldn’t wash her away. The thought was crazy, something that could happen in dreams or fiction. Too impossible for real life, and yet, it was happening.
Donovan pulled Beth to him.
She grasped his arms. Fear of the wave, of not telling him she loved him, and not having a life with him beyond their wedding rippled through her, tearing her insides to shreds with long, curved talons. Water washed over her feet and flowed up her shins. She sucked in a breath a millisecond before the wave plowed into her, tossing her backward, knocking her down, and yanking her from Donovan’s hold. Her body slid along the black pavement. The feel of her skin peeling away made her grit her teeth. Then the water lifted her and sent her rolling. She fought against the sheer power of it as she would fight off an attacker, but this wave was fiercer than any opponent she had ever faced.
Terror had her failing her arms, kicking her legs, using up more of her oxygen. The water twisted her around and around until she couldn’t tell which way was up. Debris pelted her body—parts of trees, chunks of buildings, random objects from the street. She couldn’t see anything in the murky, churning water, but she could feel it. Her arm got stuck in something with metal strings that cut into her skin. She tried to wrench her arm free. Her other hand grasped a tube of rubber, and she realized it was a bicycle tire. Panic rose high in her. The wires scrapped against her skin. The second she pried it off, she slammed into a vehicle and rolled over the hood.
Branches smacked her. Glass cut her.
Desperate for air, she forced herself to go lax. When bubbles danced along her body and floated upward, she worked her arms and legs until she broke the surface.
Air filled her lungs a precious second before she was dragged back down. Water flowed into her mouth and down her throat. She pushed herself to the top and coughed up water. Each time she made it to the surface, she gasped for breath only to be shoved under again. She paddled hard. When water pooled off her face, she blinked it from her eyes. A log floated in front of her. Holding onto it, she was able to see everything.
Water lapped at the roofs of buildings. She turned to look behind her and found an endless ocean. How can there be so much water? Her eyes ticked left and right, searching for Donovan. Debris zoomed past. Large objects banged into her.
“Donovan!”
The roar of water deafened her. If Donovan was calling out to her, she couldn’t hear him.
A car floated past. The driver and passenger were pounding on the windows.
Tears flowed down Beth’s cheeks. The water was so fast she didn’t think it would stop. She screamed for Donovan and searched the torrents for him. Heads bobbed up and down, but she couldn’t see any of their faces. She turned her head to see a boat slam into a building. Glass and concrete flew into the air and splashed into the water. Right behind the boat was a second wave piling more water on top of the roaring flood. A gasp flew from her lips.
No!
She latched her legs around the log and linked her fingers. A second before the wave rushed over her, she sucked in a breath. She kept her grip on the log, but the force of the wave sent her and the log rolling as if she were in the middle of a tornado. She had to focus her strength on not releasing the log in panic. When the log bobbed to the surface, she unhooked her legs. The log rotated and brought her to the surface. She greedily inhaled air and swallowed sea water by accident. The taste of it was revolting. She gagged and coughed.
The water was faster than before. Everything was a blur. White torrents surrounded her. She tried to keep her legs tucked beneath her to prevent further injury, but it wasn’t easy. Her muscles gave out, and her legs dangled below. Something wrapped around her ankle, nearly pulling her off the log. She hoisted her upper body over the log and tightened her hold. As water sped her past buildings, she kicked her leg. Whatever had hooked around her ankle wasn’t letting go. She scraped the sole of her sneaker down her leg and pushed whatever it was off her foot. At the same time, she lost her sneaker. Not having shoes could be a bad thing once the water went down, but there was nothing she could do about that now.
She looked up before she collided into a building. The impact punched a yell loose from her chest. She released the log to put her hands against the wall. The water was so strong it flattened her to the building. Gritting her teeth, she clawed her way to the edge of the building and pushed around it. The moment she cleared the building, water snatched her and carried her away. She kicked her legs to keep her head above the water, but it splashed over her head. Gasping for breath. Spitting out water. Paddling with all her might. She battled her way to the surface when the torrents overpowered her and shoved her down. She came up and blinked water from her eyes.
A tree bumped into her side and pushed her off course. As it zoomed past, she was sucked back under. Stroking with her arms, her hands cutting through water and vegetation, she made it back to the top. Pieces of long grass clung to her head. She ripped them off to see a concrete post with a light fixture at the top sticking out of the water. She aimed her body to it. When she got close, she reached out and grabbed hold of it. Fighting the water, she snaked her arms and legs around the rough concrete and latched onto it for dear life.
Branches, a toy ball, a beach chair, and other random objects sailed by her, some of it hitting her back and limbs. She cried out when something crashed into her legs. Fresh tears coursed down her salt-slicked cheeks.
A high-pitched scream caught her attention. She turned her head to see a young woman battling to keep her head above water. She was desperately flapping her arms and swallowing mouthfuls of water. Her scream gurgled as she was dragged under.
When she came back up, Beth realized she was racing right toward her.
“Hey,” she shouted. “Grab my hand!” She tightened her legs around the post, making sure her ankles were locked, and stretched out her right arm.
The girl looked and reached for Beth. Their hands touched. Beth grasped the girl’s fingers. She couldn’t get a good hold though, and before the girl could grab on with her other hand, the wave ripped her away.
Beth tried to snatch her hand again but missed by mere inches. “No!”
The girl’s eyes widened. She tried to swim to Beth, but couldn’t beat the tide. “Help me,” she cried.
Beth wanted to help her, but there was nothing she could do. If she released the light post, they’d both die. “Grab onto something,” she shouted. �
�Grab onto a tree. Anything!” Feeling helpless, she watched the girl until she couldn’t see her anymore.
Minutes drifted by. After a while, the flow slowed to a standstill. Water lapped at her back.
All seemed calm. And would’ve been if the Pacific Ocean wasn’t smothering Oahu. The sky was a crisp, cloudless blue. It was a perfect beach day. Beth’s eyes misted when she thought about Donovan. Is he alive? Will I see him again? She couldn’t stop her thoughts from turning morbid, couldn’t stop herself from imagining what her life would be like if he died before they got to taste married life.
Her mind drifted to the happy families, the surfers and sunbathers at the beach when the tsunami swept over the shore.
She was considering swimming to the nearest building and clambering onto the roof when the tide began to retract. She inched her body around the post so her back was to the rushing water. It started slowly but quickly escalated. The water roared around her, pressing her roughly into the concrete post, pulling on her arms and legs. The pressure was so great she cried out in pain.
Screaming, she felt as though her ribs would crack and her limbs would be yanked from their sockets. The current was so strong, and she was so tired, she wanted to surrender, to let the water whisk her off to the middle of the ocean. The second that thought came, the water’s level dropped. It leaked down her body, uncovering her bloody knees.
Her muscles quivered. When the water receded far enough to eliminate the threat of drowning, she scooted down the post. A few feet from the ground, she unlatched her legs and dropped. Her legs shook, and she fell into a foot of water. Her body shivered with exhaustion.
Frightened thoughts whirled in her head. Tears spilled down her cheeks.
She wrapped her arms around the light post and hugged it as she cried. The fear she had when she was underneath the water, caught in the wave’s clutches, broke from her body in loud sobs. She had thought she was going to die. Never in her life, not during Hurricane Sabrina or the earthquake that struck San Francisco, had she been more scared. She couldn’t contain her emotions. They broke free from their dam, and she surfed them until she was depleted.
On top of her fear and desperation were questions. Didn’t Hawaii have a tsunami warning system? Why hadn’t sirens gone off or emergency messages been broadcasted? Everyone could’ve gone to safety before the tsunami hit.
What happened?
Aches and pain radiated from every part of her body. She peered down at herself to assess the damage. Her right arm was scrapped raw from the bicycle’s wires. A large bruise was already forming on her leg. Smaller bruises dotted every inch of her skin along with several lacerations. None of the cuts were fatal though, thank God. Her hip bone and shoulder felt tender, and she was covered in blood and dirt.
Stomach muscles heaving, she used the concrete post to pull herself to her feet. Her legs wobbled uncertainly. She kept her hand against the post as she took a careful step to test her strength. Her legs held.
She looked left and right. The people who had been there were gone. What if I’m the last person on the island? She shook her head. That was a silly thought, but she couldn’t help wondering where everyone was. She didn’t want to be alone. Not now. Not ever again! Where were the locals? Where was Donovan?
What she saw while searching for people shattered her heart. Rooftops sat in piles of wood and shingles on the ground. Buildings were reduced to heaps. Trees, with their tangled roots, lay in the road. Brush and other debris created huge knots. Everything was filthy and coated in grim. Seeing what Oahu, a once bright and happy island, had been transformed into lodged a cork of grief in the center of her chest. She rubbed her chest as more tears clouded her vision.
Not knowing if Donovan was ahead of her or behind her, she decided to walk in the same direction the wave had been taking her, in case he had been carried farther. She called out Donovan’s name. The other part of her knew that if she kept going straight, she’d find a part of the island the wave hadn’t touched. And people. She’d find people.
She longed to hear Donovan’s voice shouting back to her, but silence only answered. He could be dead. I’m on my honeymoon, and I might already be a widow. She tried to banish that thought but couldn’t dislodge it. It clung to her mind like sap on a tree.
She came up to a door ripped off its hinges. White flowers decorated the pink paint. It was a little girl’s door. She pressed her palm to a flower.
Had the girl been in her room when the tsunami hit? Did the wave tear apart her home? Was she alive?
Beth snatched her hand away as if the door had burned her skin. Her watery gaze rose to the sky. The brilliance of the blue horizon and the golden sunlight angered her. She had seen a sky like it before, after Hurricane Sabrina slunk away from the Sunshine State. She’d rather the sky mimic the hurt and destruction left behind by the disasters with rolling black clouds. Seeing the sky looking so pristine, when the world was in ruins, was cruel.
She walked past the pink door, her steps awkward with one sneaker, and felt as though she was leaving behind the corpse of a sweet girl in a pink, flowered dress.
Blades of grass created a blanket atop the standing water. Pieces of it stuck to her bare legs. An eerie quiet had swallowed the land. The roar of the water and the horrified cries were gone, replaced with a death-like silence. Sunlight reflected off the water, blinding her. She tore her eyes off the water to look ahead. Buildings were husks of what they used to be. Windows blown out. Walls crumbling.
Concrete skeletons.
Bones of a community.
A graveyard of twisted metal and broken concrete.
Everything looked like a war zone, as if the tsunami had grenades in it. She never knew water—something so serene and beautiful—could be so explosive.
Her eyes lowered, and she froze. A body lay in the muddy water a few feet from where she stood. It appeared dead until it shuddered and gasped for breath. Her feet launched into action. She fell to her knees next to the body.
A shard of glass was embedded in a woman’s chest. Blood soaked her shirt and seeped from the corners of her mouth.
Beth looked into the woman’s face, and a pang of dread stabbed her heart. It was the young woman she had tried to save.
“Oh, God.” She gripped the girl’s trembling hand.
The girl was crying and gagging on blood. Her eyes gleamed with the knowledge she was dying. Seeing that realization in the eyes of someone so young stole the breath from Beth’s lungs, stole it like a thief.
The glass protruded from the girl’s chest and vibrated with her beating heart. A sick rolling sensation dominated Beth’s intestines. She forced down the urge to vomit and tightened her grasp on the girl’s hand.
“You’re not alone,” Beth said. “You’re not alone.”
The girl’s shaking increased. Squeaks escaped from her mouth. Drops of blood splattered onto her chin.
Tears blurred Beth’s vision, distorting the girl’s features. All she saw was her blonde hair, pale skin, and blood. Beth’s own shaking was magnified by the girl’s spasms. Her heart thudded frantically, and her chest constricted. She wanted to be strong for the girl, but her emotions were haywire. Instead of holding it in, she sobbed.
Staring at the girl’s face, Beth saw the life leaving her eyes as if they were doors, but it was leaving slowly, reluctantly. The girl convulsed as she fought to breathe through the blood filling her throat.
Beth held her still and looked up at the sky. “God, take her. Take her now. Please, please, please.” The girl’s suffering was too much. She wanted the young woman’s pain and misery to end. “Take her, take her, take her,” she whispered. Grief had its hands around her throat, choking her. Her chant continued until the girl’s shaking ceased. She closed her eyes as her heart sank like an anchor. When she peeled her eyes open again, she looked at the girl’s immobile face and wished she knew her name so she could give her a proper goodbye.
Her hand trembled as she lifted it. The
feel of the girl’s warm and lifeless eyelids gave her chills as she lowered them. “I’m so sorry.”
This girl would be alive if Beth had held on tighter, reached farther.
Her gaze lowered to the slick, pink glass. The urge to remove it was combatted with having to pry it free from dead flesh. She couldn’t do it.
Drawing herself to her feet, her muscles quivered and her body swayed. She searched for something she could use to cover the girl’s body—a blanket, tarp, or jacket—but found nothing. She hated leaving her there, exposed. Except there wasn’t anything she could do about that, as much as it hurt.
“I’m so sorry,” she repeated. “Please forgive me.” She took one faltering, sloshing step then another. Although she was moving away, her mind stayed with the girl.
****
She continued to walk. Her soggy sock slid down her foot. Her eyes roved over the water, looking for bodies and debris that could hurt her. Caught in a nest of wood and grass was a chunk of black rubber. She stared at it, unbelieving. A lone black sneaker. She hurried to it and plucked it out of the water. The brand and size were the same; it was her shoe. Laughing, she hugged it to her chest. What were the odds of finding her shoe when she couldn’t even find her husband? Tears leaked from her eyes as she wedged her foot and the wet sock back into her sneaker.
Several minutes later, she came across a woman trying to carry two young children. She staggered and the boy and girl slid down her hips. They whimpered as they clutched her.
“H…” Beth’s voice was a weak croak. She cleared her throat and tried again. “Hello?”
The woman paused. When she turned, the children slipped down to her knees. Their little arms wound like ropes around her legs.
Beth trudged toward them. “Are you okay?”
The woman nodded, although tears coursed down her face. Beth saw the same relief at finding another person alive mirrored in the woman’s eyes. Blood streamed down her face from a gash close to her hairline. The little boy had a nasty bump in the middle of his forehead, and the little girl had a scratch down her neck. She didn’t have any shoes on her tiny feet.
