thing is to keep your regulator in your mouth. Keep it clenched tightly between your teeth, and use your hands to hold it on. We don't have masks, so keep your eyes closed. There's going to be a lot of debris flowing past us, so try to protect your head as much as you can. This is going to be tough, but it's not impossible. We can do it.'
'And we'll jack them out when the water recedes?' Teresa said.
'Absolutely.' Kai patted the jack, which he had lashed against the girder, just next to his tank.
Everyone grew silent as they sensed something change in the air. In the distance, Kai could make out the first inklings of the now familiar roar they had heard only 25 minutes before.
He strained against his ropes and could barely see through the blown-out door of the condo on the other side of the hallway. The window frame 25 feet away perfectly framed the blue sky. Normally, this far from the ocean- side window ledge, he'd be able to see the water only at the distant horizon. But even from his awkward vantage point, Kai could see that the crest of the second tsunami, rushing across Malama Bay at 40 miles per hour, was already higher than they were. Although the first-hand sight of a tsunami was no longer novel to him, it was breathtaking nonetheless.
Kai gripped Lani's hand tightly.
'Here it comes!' he yelled. 'Everybody brace yourselves!'
Then Kai clenched the regulator in his mouth and steeled himself for the impact of a billion gallons of water.
Chapter 41
The remnants of the skybridge swayed in the breeze, screeching where the metal rubbed against the side of the Moana tower of the Grand Hawaiian. Bill Rogers had been able to hold on, but he struggled to pull himself up onto the pillar that he was dangling from. Paige looked down helplessly from the safety of the building not more than ten feet away.
'Mommy, help Daddy!'
Paige's daughter Ashley had wandered away and was now standing at the edge of the broken skybridge. Paige yelped and snatched the girl back from the six-story precipice.
'Honey, wait over by that door.' Paige pointed at the stairwell exit sign.
'But Daddy…'
'You have to do what I tell you so that I can get Daddy, OK?'
Ashley grudgingly nodded and retreated to the door.
Paige returned to see Bill clinging to the tenuously attached remnants of metal. The pillar warped from his 250-pound weight now that it was not firmly anchored at both ends. It was all he could do to keep from falling. There was no way he'd be able to climb up on his own.
'Bill, I'm going to find something to lower down to you.'
'Is Ashley OK?' Bill yelled.
'She's fine.'
'Good. Hurry. I can't hold on much longer.'
Paige went to find the only thing she could think of that would be both strong enough and likely to be found somewhere nearby. A fire hose.
'Stay there!' she told Ashley.
She ran toward the ocean side of the building, hoping to find a hose still in its hallway glass storage case. Given the extent of damage from the previous wave, it could be in any state, which was obvious from the condition of the business center lobby windows blasted out on the ocean side of the building.
That's when she heard the tsunami. Paige saw the foamy white line building and cascading across the bay and realized that she had no more time to find something to lower to Bill. She would have to do it herself.
Paige ran back to the skybridge. From his vantage point, Bill had already seen the tsunami.
'Did you find anything?' he said.
'I didn't have time. I'm going to climb down onto that pillar above you and grab your hand.' She began to lower herself over the edge.
'No!' screamed Bill. 'The skybridge can't take your weight, too. We'll both go down.'
'Then what should I do?'
As the freight train roar of the wave got progressively louder, Bill gave Paige a look that was both sad and loving.
'Go.'
'No!' Paige sobbed when she understood what her husband meant. 'I'm not doing it!'
'Paige, you have to get Ashley to safety. You have to be their mom.'
'No! No! You're coming with me!'
'Paige, I won't let you die trying to save me. Go!'
'You don't have a choice. I'm not leaving you!'
The wave was no more than 500 yards away. It would cover that distance in seconds.
'I'm not leaving you!' she repeated.
'I understand. It's not your fault. I love you!'
And with that, he let go.
'Bill!'
The six-story plunge was mercifully short. His broken body lay motionless on the debris below. Paige stepped back, wailing in anger and grief, not wanting to see her husband that way. She leaned against the wall, rooted to the spot as she sobbed.
The riotous sound of the wave shook her loose. The water was almost upon them. She had to make sure that her daughter was safe, that her husband hadn't sacrificed himself in vain.
Still crying uncontrollably, Paige swept Ashley up in her arms and dashed into the stairwell.
The view from Wheeler Army Airfield was far removed from the action, but Reggie Pona had a front row seat courtesy of a TV hastily set up at the front of the crowded office. He was talking with Frank Manetti, his contact at the Alaska/West Coast Tsunami Warning Center, on his cell phone.
'You seeing this?' Reggie said, absently patting Bilbo, who panted beside him. When the ride had been offered to Reggie, his only condition was that Bilbo would be allowed to come with him. The dog remained calm, but eagerly watched the commotion going on around him.
The TV showed a helicopter view of the second tsunami coming in. The TV stations, who weren't going to let a little thing like complete destruction of their facilities get in the way of covering one of the biggest disasters in history, had quickly moved their satellite uplink vans to high ground. Any cameras still operating in the islands were now broadcasting via those vans.
When Manetti didn't respond, Reggie said, 'Frank, you still there?'
'Yes. I just can't believe what I'm seeing.'
'Believe it. Kai's still somewhere out in that.'
'You found him?'
'Not yet. I haven't heard from him since his last message. The helicopter didn't find anyone on the rooftop. The building next to it was blown to hell. Maybe they got out in time and made a run for it.'
'If they did, they've got a bigger problem headed their way.'
'Right,' Reggie said. 'The third tsunami.'
'That's not what I mean.'
'What could be a bigger problem than a 200-foot tsunami?'
'There's a fourth wave.'
'A fourth wave!' Reggie blurted out. 'Are you sure?'
