He swallowed. Reese only had one direction to go: south. He stepped away from the map and walked back into Ben's room.
"Sure doesn't sound good out there," Ben muttered.
Reese sighed. His arms and legs moved stiffly, almost of their own accord. As he sat on the stool next to Ben, he rubbed his face. “I can't stay, Ben. I've got to go."
"Then I'm going with you," Ben said, trying to sit up.
Reese scoffed. “Relax, I’m not leaving right this second. You can't even walk yet." He leaned against the wall.
Ben collapsed back on the cot. "I appreciate that, man. But you have a family to get back to.” He stared at the ceiling and laced his fingers across his stomach. "Go on—get out of here. I'll figure something out."
Reese snorted. “Ah, probably can’t go anywhere, anyway. With all the destruction, I'm sure the bridge to the mainland’s been washed out."
"Well, you could at least head down the mountain and check it out, right?"
Reese looked at Ben and grinned. "I knew there was a reason I was keeping you around." He slapped Ben on the shoulder and stood. "All right. I’ll go check it out."
"I miss you already!" Ben called as Reese left the room.
Reese walked purposely to the front door but hadn't even turned the knob before Jo caught him. "Where you think you're going?" she demanded in her gruff voice.
"I can't just sit here,” Reese replied, not looking at her. “I’m going down the mountain to see how bad it is—see if there's a way to get to the mainland."
"There is, it's called the Trenton Bridge. But, there ain't gonna be much of it left."
Reese looked at her. “You telling me I can't go or that I shouldn't?"
Jo narrowed her eyes like a cat watching a bird. "I'm a park ranger, not a Texas Ranger. You do what you want. I just don't want to see anybody get hurt on my watch, is all."
Reese nodded and moved a hand toward the door.
"Hold up—I just put your friend Humpty Dumpty back together,” Jo said with a jerk of her thumb toward the room down the hall, “and you’re just gonna up and leave him?”
Reese sighed. "I appreciate what you did for Ben, but I'm not leaving him. I just…I just need to see…I can't stay here and wait. I’ve got to do something. My wife and daughter—”
Jo put a rough hand on Reese's shoulder and squeezed with surprising strength. "They’re two thousand miles away from here. Are they safe? We don't know. No one knows. The situation is too fluid, Reese. But if you need to do something, then go. Walk on down this hill and see for yourself.” She looked out the window. “You see for yourself that nobody's getting off of this rock. I don't blame you for wanting to do something—just be careful, you hear?”
“I will,” Reese replied as he opened the door and stepped outside.
“I ain’t gonna take care of your boyfriend forever!” she called out as he left.
Across the parking lot, two men argued next to a pair of the dusty SUVs. The argument drew the attention of the others milling around, and Reese was no exception. The path down the side of the mountain led through the parking lot, so he walked over.
"You're crazy if you think you can get off of this island,” one man said to the other.
"You can't stop me—what, you some kinda cop?" the second said, opening the driver’s door.
“You’re just going to leave everybody up here?" asked a woman in the small crowd of spectators.
"Hey, I don't know these people—they're not my problem. I'm getting out of here, and anybody that wants to come along is welcome to do so." He slammed the door and rested one meaty forearm out the open window.
The woman who spoke lifted her chin in defiance. “We should stay here until we hear from the authorities."
The driver scoffed. "Lady, the only authority left on this island is that crazy park ranger," he said, jerking a thumb toward the ranger station. "You want to stay with her? Fine. I'm heading down this mountain. Anybody wanna come with me? It’s gettin’ on sunset and I don’t wanna waste any more time.“
"I'll go," Reese said, stepping across the gravel to the car.
"Finally!" the driver said. “A man with some sense. Hop in stranger, let's get out of here."
“Matt Cotton," the driver introduced himself as they pulled out of the parking lot.
"Reese Lavelle.”
“You’re no Mainer. You got family down south?” asked Matt. "I'm from Kennebunkport. You?"
"Charleston." Reese glanced at the driver as they wound their way down the side of the mountain. "South Carolina."
Matt whistled. “Ahyup, that’s a long drive."
"All the more reason to get started right now," Reese said, adjusting his position in the passenger seat. The further they bounced down the mountain from the ranger station, the more anxiety filled his heart. The cabin grew louder on the way down the mountain—the constant rumble and hiss of the tsunami easily penetrated the car’s soundproofing.
“What do you think we’re gonna find?" asked Matt.
Reese stared out his window, unable to answer for a long moment. He knew what he hoped to find—a bridge to the mainland, undamaged and ready to cross. An open highway with no traffic all the way down the eastern seaboard to South Carolina. A rental car, gassed up and ready to roll just waiting to bring him home. "I don't know," he muttered.
Matt continued to ramble on, talking through his own nerves, explaining where he'd been, how he'd grown up by the ocean and never seen anything like a tsunami in Maine before.
