The Tsunami Countdown

TWENTY-ONE

10:33 a.m.

49 Minutes to Wave Arrival Time

Kai called Rachel himself this time. He needed her to know how dangerous the situation was, especially because what he was telling her sounded so improbable. “It’s good you didn’t have Brad call me,” Rachel said. “I’d think it was a joke.”

“I know this sounds crazy, but it’s what the data are telling us.”

“An asteroid? I can’t believe it.”

“I know. But if I’m right, nobody is safe in that hotel.”

“What about the Starlight restaurant on the twenty-eighth floor? We’ve got lots of room up there.”

“Rachel, even if the wave doesn’t reach that high, the building might collapse.”

“But we have over a thousand guests staying in the hotel! Not to mention a ballroom full of disabled veterans.”

“You’ve got to start evacuating them now. Do you have any buses for them?”

“I had some scheduled to pick them up and take them to the cemetery for the ceremony this afternoon, but they’re not supposed to be here for another hour.”

“Look, it’s at least a fifteen-minute walk to a safe zone from there. That means you’ve only got about thirty minutes left to get everyone out.”

“That’s not enough time—”

“Rachel, the tsunami doesn’t care if it’s enough time. That’s when it’s going to get here, and anyone left in the hotel after that time won’t make it.”

Kai could hear a pause while she tried to accept what he was telling her.

“Okay,” she finally said. “Where should they go?”

“They should use one of the west bridges off of Waikiki and then just head uphill until they can’t go any farther. The best would be for them to try to get up to the Punchbowl or into one of the hillside neighborhoods. If they aren’t safe there, I don’t know where they’ll be safe.” The National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific, known locally as the Punchbowl, was an extinct volcanic crater holding vast rows of veterans’ graves. The sides of it were over four hundred feet high.

“What about Lani? What about Teresa and Mia?”

“I haven’t heard from them. I’m sure they’ve heard the warnings and are heading to high ground as we speak.”

“Then why haven’t they called?”

“The phone lines are jammed. I’m lucky I got through to you. Plus, Teresa’s phone battery is dead. She probably doesn’t want to stop and call us from a landline until she’s safe. Which is the right thing to do.”

“Okay. But let me know the minute you hear anything. I better get going. I’ve got a lot of people to evacuate.”

“Rachel, promise me you’ll be walking in thirty minutes.”

“I promise that as soon as I get everyone out, I’ll get out too.”

“If you don’t get out before that, you’ll be stuck in the hotel. There won’t be time to get to safety between the waves. They’re too big.”

“I understand that, Kai, but I am responsible for these people. I have to do my job.”

“I know. Go do it. And, honey, I love you.”

“I love you too,” Rachel said. “I’ll see you when this is over.”

She hung up. Kai stared at the phone, hoping to hell that she was right.

Rachel immediately got on her walkie-talkie.

“Max, come in.”

“This is Max. Rachel, are you watching the TV?”

“No, I’m up in the ballroom.”

“They just issued a new tsunami warning. But now they’re saying—”

“They’re saying it’s going to be a lot bigger, and they’re telling us to evacuate the hotel.”

“So you are watching it.”

“It doesn’t matter. We’ve got to evacuate.”

“I was having problems just getting people to go back to their rooms. We’re swamped down here in the lobby.”

“I know. You’ve been sending the guests with rooms on the first, second, and third floors to the Wailea Ballroom, right?”

“Yes, that’s the procedure.”

“Not anymore. Go up and tell them to leave the hotel. They should head up Kalakaua Avenue. Then have them go up Manoa Road to Woodlawn.”

“Woodlawn? That’s got to be at least three miles away.”

“I know. That might be far enough inland.”

“Are you kidding?”

How many people are going to ask me that today? Rachel thought.

“I’m not kidding,” she said. “Just do it.”

“Okay, but how do I convince the guests? Some of them have asked me where the best place to view the tsunami is.” Max paused for a moment. “What if we set off the fire alarm?”

“I thought about that,” Rachel said, “but it might make people more confused. They might think it’s an alarm for the tsunami and stay where they are.”

“Then what about the people already in their rooms?”

“First, spread the word to the staff that we’re evacuating the hotel. Then, after you’ve informed the guests in the Wailea Ballroom of what’s going on, take as many of the front desk staff as you can spare and go room to room to make sure people know to evacuate.”

“What if they won’t?”

“We can’t force them to leave, but make sure they understand how dangerous the situation is. Remember, my husband works at the PTWC. If he says to get out, we’re going to damn well do it.”

“And what about you?”

“I’ve got five hundred guests in the Kamehameha Ballroom. I don’t leave until they do.”