"The waters are receding!" somebody called from down below.
"Praise God!" cried the priest through the open roof access door. Cami heard the people inside the church clapping and cheering.
Cami looked at Amber. "We have to get out of here before the next wave hits—and before everyone else realizes it’s coming.” She turned to the young mother with her kids. "You're welcome to come with us…"
The woman offered a sad smile and shook her head. "Thank you, but no. This church has saved us so far. I…I can’t…” She took a deep breath and smiled. “We’ll stay here. God will protect us."
Cami reached out and put a hand on the woman’s shoulder. She squeezed in reassurance. "I'll be praying for you."
"You too," the woman said with a nod, her eyes brimming with tears. "Thank you…thank you so much. You saved our lives…my children…" she said, looking down at her kids. She stifled a sob and pulled them into a close embrace.
“Try to stay as high up as you can," Cami said.
"Thanks again," the woman said as Cami, Amber and Mitch disappeared down the stairwell.
"I thought you said the water was too high," Amber observed as they pounded their way down the steps to the ground floor.
"I did—but that was before I realized there were more waves coming…and the next one’s even worse.” They burst through the bottom door into the flooded church. Refugees, most of them mud-splattered and dripping wet, had gathered near the altar, and still others limped up the steps and dragged floating belongings through the muddy water that sloshed around inside.
Cami and Amber made their way to the front door, bumping elbows and shoulders and apologizing the entire time. The priest met them and shook their hands. "Praise God, we have saved all these people. He works miracles!"
“Amen,” someone said behind them.
Cami pulled the priest to the side. "Father, a new alert just came through. This was just the first of many waves—the next waves will be even stronger…"
The priest smiled and nodded his head. "So I have heard. Fear not, sister, God will provide. He has protected us so far —"
“We're leaving," Cami said, stepping around him. She wasn't willing to spend any more time trying to convince someone to leave who didn't want to. She had to get her daughter home. They had to be ready if—when—Reese came back. She was sure that being out on the water, he would've received an alert from the Coast Guard faster than people on shore had been notified. By now, Reese was probably already in his car heading inland to find an airport.
Massachusetts was a long way from South Carolina…maybe the tsunami didn't hit that far north at all? She didn't have time to look up the answer on her phone—it was time to get home.
As they stood in the foyer, preparing to step out into the sunlight, the lights in the church flickered a few times and then winked out. Cami took a deep breath. She hadn't even considered the possibility that the flood water might be electrified. She closed her eyes and took Amber's hand in hers.
"We gotta stay strong, sweetie. We have to move fast and not stop for anything. Anything. You understand?”
“Momma…” Amber whimpered.
“Whatever you do, don't let go of my hand, okay?" Cami asked, turning to look at her daughter.
Amber’s eyes glistened, but she nodded, her mouth set in a grim line. With her free hand, she adjusted the straps in her backpack. She took a deep, shuddering breath, then squared her shoulders the same way Reese did when he was expecting trouble. “What's the plan?"
Cami smiled. Her husband would be so proud. “We’re going to make our way to the bridge, and see if we can’t get across.”
“The water looks like it's already receding up the street—look, at least it’s not getting any deeper,” Mitch observed.
“And once we get across the bridge?" asked Amber.
Cami smiled grimly at her daughter. Amber didn’t know the meaning of ‘quit.’ Her smile turned to a wince as she stepped into the jarringly cold water and felt something bump against her leg, hidden in the brown murky depths. "We'll figure that out once we get across."
Chapter 7
Mount Desert Island, Maine
Over the tremendous roar of the water crashing into the mountain below, Reese heard the sound of an engine working hard just above them. "Come on! There’s a road up here, we can get help!"
Just below him, Ben cursed, scrambling over some rocks to grab onto a pine tree. "Great," he panted, "I could use all the help I can get right about now…”
Reese pulled himself up over the edge of the roadway, using the guardrail like a ladder. Finally standing on somewhat level ground again, he leaned over, his hands resting on the sun-warmed metal rail as he watched steam and haze swirling through the trees just below them. He had no way of knowing how high they were, only that the water hadn’t reached them yet.
He looked back and saw the whitewater raging up the hill, snapping trees and flinging boulders aside like toys. The water roiled with debris. One of the TechSafe winners, further down the hill turned and threw up his arms, only to disappear in a silent explosion of sea spray.
Reese’s heart skipped a beat. The tsunami wasn’t slowing down at all, but continued right up the hill after them, destroying everything in its path. “Keep moving, Ben!”
"Thank’s coach, great pep talk,” Ben said, hauling his slightly overweight frame to the roadway. "Civilization at last,” he panted, laying on the pavement.
Tree trunks snapped, cracking like cannon fire. Leaves and smoke and dust choked the air as the wave rolled up the hill. The ground began to tremble.
“Are we high enough?” asked
