The Tsunami Countdown

THIRTY-ONE

11:11 a.m.

11 Minutes to Wave Arrival Time

When Brad and Kai reached the exit for Waikiki, the roads were packed, with all lanes going in the direction of the mountains. Even using the shoulder, they got bogged down by the traffic as they neared downtown Honolulu; but thanks to Brad’s breakneck driving, they’d been able to make the trip in a record twenty minutes. Kai noted with surprise that they didn’t seem to be the only ones headed down to Waikiki. Some were misguided tourists intent on saving luggage or money that had been left behind on their day out, and others were locals heading to workplaces to save materials that they thought were vital. Like the man in the Lexus on TV, still others were trying to make it to the marina to get to boats they didn’t want destroyed by the wave.

The thought of all those people blatantly disregarding his warnings appalled Kai. The vast majority of them would not live to see the end of the day.

The traffic coming from the shore was at a standstill. Hundreds of abandoned cars lined the side of the road, but Kai saw plenty of other vehicles filled with people desperately trying to make headway through the gridlock: a family of four in an SUV crammed with suitcases and other bric-a-brac; a lone woman in a small Toyota, her two border collies jumping back and forth between the windows; a wizened hippie in a scuba shop van; the driver of a Coca-Cola truck shouting into his radio handset. Kai wished he could stop and tell each of them to get out of their vehicles, but he knew it wouldn’t do any good even if he had the time.

Throngs of people were on foot, and Brad had to slow to avoid hitting them. Most walked calmly but briskly on the sidewalk or the side of the road, but some in the horde were screaming or running or otherwise panicking. There didn’t seem to be any pattern to it. Many called out names of those they’d been separated from. The scene reminded Kai of old photos showing refugees fleeing bomb-ravaged cities during World War II.

As they approached the hotel, Kai was relieved to see that the crowds thinned until there were just stragglers and the police who were trying to gather them up. One of the policemen tried to flag them down, but Brad simply passed him.

He screeched to a stop in front of the Grand Hawaiian lobby. Brad leapt off the bike and tossed his helmet onto the ground. Kai dropped his as well and ran with Brad to the front door.

Before Kai could go into the hotel, a clap of thunder ripped the air, visibly shaking the glass in the hotel’s window. It was so loud that the few people still around halted where they were, searching the clear blue sky for the source of the din. Brad stopped as well, and Kai looked toward the ocean with dread. The sound continued to peal like a battleship’s cannonade for more than ten seconds before it finally faded.

“What the hell was that?” Brad asked.

Kai had read stories about how islanders thousands of miles from Krakatoa had heard the blast of the eruption, so he knew what it was instantly.

“The asteroid impact. That’s the shock wave.”

“Jesus!”

Traveling twelve hundred miles, it had taken more than two hours for the sound of the explosion to reach them. But what really scared Kai was that in open ocean, tsunamis traveled only slightly slower than the speed of sound. The wave wouldn’t be far behind the sonic boom.

“Come on,” he said. “We don’t have much time.”

They sprinted into the hotel. Kai yelled Rachel’s name as they entered the lobby. It was deserted, with the few TVs in the lobby showing either the EAS broadcast or video from the other islands, including Johnston Island. Then another picture came on the TV with the word live in the upper right corner and lahaina, maui at the bottom. Kai recognized the waterfront from several visits there. As he watched, every building—none bigger than five stories tall—was washed away by a gigantic tsunami. He sucked in his breath as he saw one of his favorite places destroyed. Their time was running out.

On the far end of the lobby, twenty people, some of them in wheelchairs, were making their way toward a bank of elevators. Kai recognized Rachel’s red hair cas-casing down the back of her business suit. He called her name again, and she turned. When she saw that it was Kai, her eyes went wide with surprise, and she ran to him.

“Kai!”

She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. Then she pulled away. The people in the group she had been leading stopped, appraising them from across the lobby.

“What are you two doing here?” Her voice rose an octave when she realized they wouldn’t have come without good reason. “What’s wrong? Oh my God! Lani! Where is she?”

“Have you seen Teresa?” Kai asked. “Brad told her to come here.”

“No. Where are they? Didn’t they get away?”

“We saw Lani and Mia. They’re in the ocean, kayaking off Waikiki somewhere.”

“What! How do you know that?”

“There’s no time to explain. We need to get to them before the tsunami arrives. We’ve got about ten minutes—”

As Kai spoke, Teresa blew into the hotel lobby. She had been running and was obviously frantic. The girls weren’t with her.

“Thank God you’re here!” Teresa said. “Have you seen Mia or Lani? I can’t find them anywhere.”

“They’re on kayaks somewhere in the bay.”

“What? Did they call you?”

“Where in the bay?” Rachel said.

“I don’t know,” Kai said. “The recreational equipment—is it still out?”

Rachel immediately understood what he meant. “Yes, down by the beach—”

A boy who was about fifteen years old ran into the lobby. Kai had never seen him before, but he looked exhausted.

“Lani’s mom!” the boy yelled. “Lani’s mom!”

For a moment they all stood stock-still, their mouths agape. Brad was the first to go over to him.

“You’re the kid from the video,” he said. “On the kayaks.”

In his shock at seeing Lani and Mia on TV, Kai had barely registered the boys with them, but Brad had always been more observant than he was.

Teresa, Rachel, and Kai rushed over and began to pepper him with questions.

“Where are they?”

“Aren’t they with you?”

“Can you show us where they are?”

The boy looked befuddled. He was tired and his chest was heaving.

“They’re still out there,” he gasped. He could barely get the words out between breaths. “In the bay. Mia was paddling too slow, so I went ahead. When I got to shore, I could only see two of them. I don’t know what happened.”

Kai grabbed his arm. “You’re going to show us where they are.”

“What?” Rachel said. “This kid can barely walk.”

“Rachel,” Kai said, “without him, we may not find Lani in time.”

“I’m fine,” the boy said. “How are we going to get them? Do you have a boat?”

“The hotel rents Jet Skis down at the beach. Let’s hope they’re still there.”

“Then what?” Rachel said. “The wave—”

“I’ve got a plan.” Kai nodded at Rachel and Teresa. “But you two need to leave now. Rachel, take the hotel’s rental bikes—”

“I’m going with you,” said Teresa.

“I don’t have time to argue—”

“Then don’t. That’s my daughter out there. You can’t stop me. I’m going.”

Kai didn’t waste time on it. She was coming.

“And I’ve got to stay with my guests,” Rachel said.

Kai pulled Rachel aside.

“You can’t stay here,” he said. “The biggest wave might be over two hundred feet high. This hotel is right on the beach. I don’t know if it can stand up to a tsunami that big.”

“I’ve got to help these people. I’m responsible for them. I’ll get them out. Somehow.”

Kai felt his heart skip a beat, and his eyes welled with tears. He couldn’t bear the thought of never seeing her again. He didn’t know what was going to happen, but he was never more proud of her. In those few seconds, Kai could see the same thing flashing through her mind.

Rachel slipped her walkie-talkie off her belt and tucked it into Kai’s dry bag.

“I’ll use Max’s. I may not be able to get through to you on the cell phone. I want to know that you’re all right.”

“Thanks.”

They shared a tender, warm kiss, the one they had missed earlier in the morning. Kai wanted to hold her longer, but neither of them could linger another moment.

“I love you.”

“I love you too.”

He looked at her one last time and then sprinted for the door, following Brad, Teresa, and the boy.

Rachel yelled after Kai, “Call me when you’re safe!”

On hearing that, Kai’s mind flashed back to Lani eagerly waving to the camera on the news chopper, and it became clear to him how Rachel should get her guests out of the hotel. Just before he dashed out into the sunlight, Kai stopped and shouted one word to her:

“Helicopter!”