“Hey!!” she called over her shoulder, but the man who’d complained was already gone, swallowed up by the crush of people. Her other hand tugged back as Amber fell to one knee. Cami forgot the bag of supplies and pulled hard on Amber. “Get up, sweetie!”
Someone bumped into Amber and pitched her forward, and her bags fell, spilling rope and freeze dried food all over the road. Mitch propelled the cooler he carried into the chest of the closest person, which not only freed his hands to help catch Amber, but made the man right behind her pull up short. Ice and juice boxes flew everywhere and the man cursed, but three people slammed into him from behind and he vanished in a hail of curses.
Mitch hauled Amber upright and pulled her to the side to avoid the crush of bodies that stumbled forward. They awkwardly separated, clearing throats and looking away from each other, both blushing, they turned to retrieve what they could from the bags.
“No time for that! Forget the gear,” Cami ordered, trying to force her way into the crowd again. Several people, all bigger than her, blocked her path. “Mitch! Clear the road!” She pointed at the church. “We have to go that way!”
“Right on, Cami-san!” He grinned, a wolfish expression on his face, and lowered a shoulder. A man yelped in front of them, but the path cleared as Mitch bulled his way toward the church, cutting across the stream of pedestrians. Cami jumped into the clear space behind him, pulling Amber along.
The ground shook and glass shattered in windows as they passed buildings in their mad dash to the church. A wooden shutter dropped from an upper floor and exploded on the ground at Cami’s feet, which caused her to stumble and curse. She caught herself on the side of the building and pushed forward. Ahead, she noticed a thin trickle of water seep around the edge of the building.
“Hurry! It’s here!” she yelled over the increased roar and all the screaming behind them.
Once they got away from the bridge, the flow of pedestrians slowed to a trickle and Mitch led them at a run to the church. When Cami glanced over her shoulder to make sure Amber followed her, she noticed at least a dozen people had broken away from the main crowd and followed them as well. Water already lapped at the ankles of people in the intersection. The wave was only seconds away from unleashing its full force on the poor souls still struggling to get across the bridge around all the parked cars.
As Mitch approached the church, Cami felt a queasy sensation. The ground trembled. She’d never been in an earthquake, but it had to be similar. Her stomach rebelled at the suddenly unstable ground beneath her feet. Her mind tried unsuccessfully to comprehend the sheer volume of water it would take—and the speed at which it moved—to cause the ground to shake almost a dozen miles away from the ocean.
“Mom, I see smoke,” Amber called out.
"Don’t worry about it, we’re almost there!” Cami yelled over her shoulder. “Keep going—Mitch, don’t stop, get to the church!”
"I'm right behind you!" Amber replied.
New voices echoed down the street behind them. More and more people poured out of side alleys, looking for refuge. A few ran across the road in front of them, only to be pushed over the short retaining wall into the river below by the crowd that surged down the street. Cami took a quick look over the side as they sprinted the last hundred feet to the church to notice the river was flowing far faster than normal, fueled by the additional seawater pushed forward by the wave.
Those who’d been knocked into the river were pulled with the surge away from the ocean. It was an unnatural sight that made Cami’s skin crawl as she ran. The monster from across the Atlantic had arrived.
“Stay with us!” Mitch yelled.
Cami glanced over her shoulder to see him urge forward the woman they’d met earlier and her two small children.
Cami raced to her, the trendy, but not very utilitarian flats she wore slapping on the pavement. Amber was right behind her. "Follow us! We’re going to that church. It looks like it'll hold."
The young mother didn't hesitate at all. She followed, and with Cami and Amber shepherding the kids, as Mitch took the lead and ran toward the church. A couple teenagers sprinted past them, and shouted that the wave was right behind them.
A priest dressed all in black opened the church’s double doors as they arrived. He stepped out onto the porch and urged everyone in, standing aside as the first refugees rushed past. "Hurry! It’s all over the news! The floodwaters will be here any second!" It was only as the priest called out that Cami noticed the buzz of several news helicopters in the distance.
Water poured into the street ahead of them and cut off the route to safety. It was ankle deep, brown and choked with flotsam, but moved fast. In the suddenly water-logged street, Cami’s shoes were next to useless. She tripped and splashed to her hands and knees.
The force of the water immediately grabbed her, and she fell on her side. Filthy water hit her in the face and Cami flailed her arms, coughing and sputtering as she felt herself pushed across the street.
“Mom!” Amber screamed from nearby. Water splashed into Cami’s face and muffled sound to a muted roar in her ears.
Cami’s back hit something hard and she
