'I repeat, Rachel at the…Hawaiian…returning from Trip…you up. Are you…there?'
Then Rachel's voice came through clearly. 'You are breaking up. This is Rachel Tanaka on the Grand Hawaiian. Repeat your message.'
Now the voice came through with no interruptions. 'Rachel, this is Stan Milne from Wailea Tours. I am returning from Tripler to pick you up. Be prepared to jump aboard.'
'Stan, listen to me,' Rachel said. 'You have to get my husband and daughter first.'
'You have someone else with you?'
'No,' she said, 'they are on a white apartment building about half a mile northeast of me.' From the walkie- talkie, overpowering Rachel's voice for a moment, Kai could hear rumbling that was even louder than it was on his building. It was worse than he feared. The Grand Hawaiian was about to collapse. Suddenly, all he could think about was that his wife was in danger, and he couldn't help her.
'So I should go there first?' the pilot said.
'No, pilot!' Kai shouted. 'Stan! Pick Rachel up first…'
Chuck grabbed Kai's wrist and yanked his thumb off the talk button.
'Are you crazy?' Chuck said, a wild look on his face. 'We need to get off this pile before it falls down.'
Brad pushed Chuck away with a flick of his arm, but his face registered as much panic as Chuck's.
'Kai, unfortunately, I agree with the bozo here. We should be first.'
Rachel's voice cried out through the tinny walkie-talkie speaker. 'Kai, no! Get Lani out of there first. Pilot, if you can hear me, get my husband and daughter first.'
To Brad, Kai said, 'The Grand Hawaiian took the full force of the tsunami. We're lucky it's still standing as it is.'
'We're lucky this building is, too,' Brad said. 'And I'm not going back in the water.'
'Stop thinking about yourself, you bastard. That's my wife over there.'
'Kai, think straight. Your daughter is over here, along with seven other people.'
So that was the choice. Kai's wife or his daughter. There was no right answer, just a terrible decision. He looked at the haggard faces around him. Teresa averted her eyes. Kai could see that she was conflicted as well, but he also knew that Mia was her first priority, as Lani was to him.
'Kai,' Brad said, 'I may be a bastard, but you know I'm right. Rachel would never forgive you.'
Brad was right; Kai wasn't thinking straight. Even though Rachel's situation was critical, he'd let his emotions get the better of him. Lani was what mattered above all else. Kai keyed the walkie-talkie. His voice strained to keep from breaking.
'OK, Stan. Come get us first. Are there any other helicopters in the area?'
'I haven't been able to get one.'
'Then we'll get her ourselves.'
'How many of you are there?'
'Eight.'
There was a hesitation. Then Stan said, 'We'll make it work.' If someone had to stay behind on the Grand Hawaiian, Kai would gladly let Rachel take his spot.
'Roger that. You should be able to see my A-Star by now. Northwest of your position.'
Kai took a quick look and saw the helicopter speeding toward them. It was small. Kai could see why their numbers gave the pilot pause.
'Did you hear that, honey?' he said. 'We'll be there in just a few minutes.'
'Kai, let me speak to Lani.'
He held the walkie-talkie up to his daughter.
'Hi, Mom.'
'Honey, I want you to know how much I love you.'
'I love you, too, Mom,' Lani sobbed.
'You be good. I can't wait to give you a hug.'
In the background behind her voice, Kai could hear loud crunching, as if the Grand Hawaiian was being eaten by an enormous monster.
'Rachel, what's that?' But he knew what it was because the building they were standing on was making the same noise. Both buildings were in their death throes. 'Are you OK?'
'Just hurry, Kai!'
The chopper hovered over them but didn't land. The pilot pointed at the antenna in the middle of the roof. The rotor blades would strike them if the helicopter tried to land. The railing all around the roof rose four feet above the deck. The best the pilot could do was lower the left side of the helicopter so that it skid was resting on the railing. With the pilot sitting on the right, both the front and rear doors were accessible. The sound of the rotors was deafening, and the downdraft from the blades buffeted the group mercilessly.
The building shuddered again. It felt like the structure was on the verge of collapse.
Before Kai could establish an order for getting in, Chuck pushed past everyone and jumped into the back seat, pulling his small suitcase behind him. Denise stood next to Kai, as flabbergasted as he was.
'Hey!' Brad yelled and scrambled in after him. He started wrestling with Chuck, trying to pull him out of the chopper. 'You bastard! Children first!'
'Stop it!' Kai shouted. 'Forget it! There's room for all of us. There's no time.'
Brad stopped fighting, but before he moved back to the opposite side, he wrested the bag from Chuck.
'That's mine!' Chuck screamed.
'Not any more!' Brad yelled back and threw it out the door. The rotor wash blew it sideways, where it smashed into the outer wall of the building, popping open. Just as Denise had said, baseballs, dozens of them, dropped to the water below.
Chuck threw a murderous glare at Brad, who saw the expression.
'Don't even think about it, Chuckles,' Brad said. 'Or you'll follow them.' Chuck buckled himself in, and Brad turned his attention back to the others trying to get in.
Brad hoisted Tom by his good arm while Kai boosted him up from below and guided him into the seat next to the pilot. The breeze from the ocean challenged the pilot to keep a steady position. Despite Stan's efforts, the A- Star kept moving back and forth in response, making it difficult to get a grip. Kai climbed up on the six-inch-wide railing of the building and held on to the helicopter as he gingerly pulled Mia up. Teresa and Lani supported her and tried not to hit her bad leg.
'Don't look down,' Kai yelled over the sound of the rotors. He didn't follow his own advice and peered through the space between the helicopter and the skid. The water had reached its acme, but it was still a hundred feet below them. Kai looked away quickly before vertigo could claim him.
Once Mia was safely inside next to Tom, he grabbed Lani's hand and yanked. When she got onto the railing, she teetered for a second, and Kai thought for sure that she was going to fall. She screamed, and Brad grabbed her other hand, swinging her into the back seat.
Denise crammed into the front seat with Tom and Mia, leaving enough room in the back seat for the rest of them.
That left Teresa. As Kai pulled her up, a gust of wind blew the helicopter farther along the railing, which threw both of them off balance. She stumbled sideways, wobbling precariously on the railing, and Kai fell against the side of the chopper.
Mia yelled 'No!' as Brad threw himself onto the floor of the helicopter and grabbed both of Kai's arms to keep him upright.
'Teresa!' Kai shouted. 'Come on!'
She careened back towards him and latched on to his legs to keep herself upright. Suddenly, her full weight pulled on him. The wind had changed direction and pushed the helicopter away from the building. They were suspended high above the water.
'Don't let go!' Kai screamed to Teresa, as if that would help.
Seeing that Teresa might be crushed against the building if the pilot tried to get even with it again, Brad yelled, 'Up! Up! Up!'
The weight pulling Kai down seemed to double when the pilot maneuvered up. Kai felt Teresa slip down his legs and scream.
