The engines roared back to full throttle out of the turn and the bow lifted up. Jimmy and Reese tumbled together to the transom in a knot of arms, legs, and curses. Reese lay there for a moment, groaning. His back had slammed against the hull again. Jimmy got to his hands and knees, bleeding from a cut to his forehead. He’d lost his fancy sunglasses and his face dripped pink-tinged seawater. He turned his wide eyes on Reese. “You…you just saved my life.”
Reese slapped him on the shoulder and tried to smile, but it came across more like a grimace. “Out here, we’re on the same team—us against the ocean. And right now, the ocean is doing her best to kill us all.”
“Was that it?” asked Jimmy looking around. “Did we make it past the tidal wave?”
Reese got to his feet and wiped spray from his face. “Tsunami. And no, we just changed course. This is just normal ocean chop. Hopefully we’re nowhere near the tsunami yet…”
“What?” asked Jimmy, feeling his head and looking down at his hand, covered in blood. “Eddie said—”
“We’re heading north,” Reese blurted, smiling as he took in the L-shaped wake behind them. He shouldered past Jimmy to get a better look. “There’s land!” he said, pointing forward.
Mount Desert Island was just a smudge of brown-green on the horizon, but when they rose up over the waves, he could just barely see the tip of Cadillac Mountain. Crashing back down into a trough, the island vanished behind the water once more.
“But our cars are in Green Harbor,” Jimmy yelled over the engines.
Reese shook his head. “There’s no time to get there. We either ride out the wave on the water, or we have to get to shore, right now!” He wanted to go back to the bridge, but judging by the arguing between Eddie, the captain, and Ben, there would be little point.
Reese leaned forward, willing the miles to fly by as the boat raced for shore at 35 knots. He closed his eyes to calculate. They were only what, ten minutes—at most—from land? He opened his eyes and glanced over his shoulder. Would it be enough?
He froze and stared east. The far horizon looked…off. It shimmered, like a mirage. He didn’t see a Hollywood-esque tower of water racing forward—this far out from land, the tsunami would be measured in inches, not feet—but that mirage-like effect told him everything he needed to know. A ripple of water that stretched horizon to horizon rushed at them with the speed of a passenger jet. Their time was up.
“Oh no…” he breathed.
Chapter 4
Charleston, South Carolina
Cami’s level of alertness rose a notch as they stepped off the bridge over the marina. The stream of boats below the bridge, both powered and sail, grew thicker as more people made to escape to the sea some ten miles away on the other side of the Charleston peninsula.
On land, people stood in front of shops and watched cars parked in the traffic. Everywhere Cami looked, people were on phones or looking at phones—in cars, on sidewalks, in chairs by little outdoor cafes, on benches and in crosswalks. Everyone stared at phones.
“Mom...” Amber said quietly. “What’s going on?”
Cami pulled Amber down the street through the growing pedestrian traffic. “This way, it’s right there at the corner.” They were still on the extreme western edge of Charleston, and probably out of the danger zone, but she couldn’t resist getting a few more supplies before running for the hills. Especially since the shop was right there.
They caught snippets of conversation from people as they walked. Most voices were raised, to talk over the traffic noise.
“...unbelievable...”
“...can’t be real...”
“...it’s all fake news...”
“We’ve got to hurry—I know where the car is, let’s go!”
“...no, I’ll meet you there…”
“...some stupid tidal wave...that kind of stuff never hits over here.”
At last Cami and Amber fought their way through the growing crowd and entered the deserted camping and outdoor adventure supply store. The door closed with a little chime behind them and the noise from outside, while still above normal levels, was blissfully muted.
“Sorry, we’re closing early—oh, hey Cami-san!” a bearded, bean-pole of a young man said from behind the counter across the show room. He moved quickly around some merchandise to shake hands.
Amber watched with eyebrows raised to her hairline. “Friend of yours, mom?”
“Amber, honey, this is Mitchell Adams. Remember him?”
“Last time I saw you, you were what...here?” Mitch asked, holding his hand palm down about at the bottom of his ribcage. He stood a good six inches taller than Cami.
“You two used to play together when your father and I would come in to get provisions for that floating money pit of his. You remember the Ashley Marina? Mitchell’s dad ran the place for years.”
“Still does,” Mitch said, grinning.
Amber narrowed her eyes. “Wait...Mitchell? Mitchy-mitch? From the docks?”
Mitch laughed, a gut busting, hearty sound that brought an instant smile to Cami’s face. “The same!”
Amber’s face split into a wide grin. “Oh my gosh, it’s been so long—I didn’t even recognize you! And the beard! What’s up, Grizzly Adams?”
Mitch ran his fingers through the tangled bush on his chin. “Grew it the last time we were in Yellowstone a few years back. Kinda just became a thing, I guess.” The smile faded from his face. “So, what brings y’all in here? I just got word to close up...”
“I wanted to get some more things, you know, top off my supplies,” Cami said, reaching for a hand basket from the tidy stack at the end of the counter. “Is that okay? If you’re closing—”
“No problemo, Cami-san,” Mitch said in a laid back voice that would be more appropriate if he’d had a surfboard tucked under one arm. “Amber, could
