the tablecloths to wave as a signal.”
“You’re not going down there, are you?”
“They may need help getting across. Besides, once they get over to our building, they may try to go down instead of up. That would be a bad decision. Max, do whatever you have to do to get that helicopter.”
He nodded. “Be careful.”
“You too. I’ll see you in twenty minutes. If I’m not back by then, that means …” She trailed off, not wanting to actually say the words.
“You better be,” Max said.
With that, Rachel ran to the door marked by the emergency exit sign and started down the stairs.
Over the skies of Honolulu, Kai saw more helicopters than he even knew existed. Army Black Hawks and huge Navy HH-53s were the biggest, but there were news choppers, scenic tour helicopters with their logos emblazoned on their sides, and everything in between. At one point he counted over a dozen helicopters buzzing around the city in all directions. All seven of Kai’s group waved their arms wildly, but even with that many helicopters in the air, not one of them came in their direction. There were just too many other people clamoring for their attention.
The only other option was to go down. The water swirling below made that an unpleasant prospect. Along with the inorganic wreckage, Kai now saw bodies being drawn back to the ocean. Most of them were facedown, so he was spared looking at their last expressions, but he could see the tsunami had been indiscriminate.
In the short time that the water had begun to withdraw, Kai saw at least thirty bodies of men and women, some still in flowered shirts or bathing suits, others stripped completely naked. But the most horrible sight was the children. The first one was a girl about Lani’s age, her long blond hair floating around her. Kai felt the urge to jump in and pull her out, but he restrained himself, knowing it would be a pointless gesture that would not only get him killed but would also mean he’d no longer be there for Lani. Each time he saw a child float by, Kai looked for signs of life in the hope that he might save him or her, but each body remained still. He told Lani not to look, but he knew he couldn’t protect her for long. Eventually, they would have to go out in that.
Almost as horrible was seeing the pets that had been taken by the wave. Dogs and cats were mixed in with the people. Some of the dogs still had their leashes on. It made Kai wonder for the first time how Bilbo was, but he realized with relief that if Reggie was okay, his dog was too.
Then they saw another carcass, one so out of place amid all of the other carnage that Kai blinked several times before realizing what it was.
“Is that what I think it is?” said Brad.
Below them, swirling next to a Volkswagen Beetle, was an enormous orange and white giraffe, floating on its side.
“What on earth …?” Teresa said.
“The zoo is right over there in the park,” Kai said, pointing in the direction of Diamond Head. “It must have gotten swept away by the wave and pulled over here.”
“Poor thing,” she said. “They must not have had time to get the animals evacuated.” Kai shook his head. Every animal in the zoo must be dead.
On the building behind them, the water level was now half a floor below the high-water mark. It was definitely receding.
“Come on, everyone,” Kai said quietly. “We need to make our move now.”
He led them down to the main stairwell, where he peered over the side to inspect the damage. The surface of the ninth-floor landing dripped with water and silt, but the steps looked otherwise intact. Pieces of trash were caught in the railings and wrapped around the pillars that held up the outer part of the stairwell.
A pungent smell surrounded them. The bodies hadn’t begun to decay yet, but the tsunami had mixed sewage, gasoline, garbage, and assorted chemicals into an odor that Kai had never before experienced. He coughed at the stench.
The water drained surprisingly quickly off the eighth-floor platform. The flow past the building must have been greater than ten knots, much faster than a person could swim—even faster than the currents of many rivers. Occasionally a large object would bang off a pillar, startling them.
Instead of following the receding water down the steps, Kai opened the door leading to the tenth-story condos, the only dry floor left.
“What are you doing?” Brad said.
“With all that debris outside, Mia and Lani are going to need shoes.”
“You mean, we get to bust down some doors?” he said, a little too delighted at the prospect of Kai’s proposed thievery.
“This building won’t be here in an hour, so we might as well help ourselves. Teresa, you stay here with Tom and Jake. Lani, you and Mia come with us.”
“I want Mia to stay with me,” Teresa said with a hint of fear.
“She needs to try on the shoes,” Kai said calmly, trying to ease her mind. “And I need Brad to help me break down the doors. If Reggie gets my message and sends a helicopter, someone will need to run up to the roof as fast as possible to flag it down. It’s okay. We’ll be right back.”
The hall was dark from the lack of power, so Teresa held the fire door open while Tom and Jake went to the mid-story landing to get a better view outside. Kai walked down the hall to the first condo door on the left, 1001, facing the ocean to the south. He lashed out with a kick, but the solid door just rang from the impact.
“Let me try,” Brad said.
Brad threw his weight into a kick, and the door frame cracked. Two more kicks, and the door swung open with a crash. Kai shot him a curious look.
Brad shrugged. “Karate classes,” he said.
They passed a kitchen in which the sink was piled high with dishes and entered a living room that held little more than a massive leather couch, a coffee table littered with issues of
Frustrated in their search, Kai and the others emerged into the hall for another try.
“Any luck?” Teresa said.
“Dude’s apartment,” Brad said.
“The water’s down to the sixth floor now!” Jake yelled from the stairwell. He and Tom followed the water farther down.
“This is taking too long,” Kai said. “We need to be ready to run once the water reaches the bottom. Let’s try two apartments at a time.”
Brad nodded, and this time they both kicked open the door of condo 1002, directly opposite 1001. It opened right away. Brad proceeded to the next condo with Mia while Lani followed Kai into 1002, the expression on her face betraying her tension.
“Remember,” Kai said, trying to lighten the mood, “we’re not looking for cute strappy heels. Just sneakers.”
She gave him a look that said his attempt at humor was not well received.
The patio door to the balcony was wide open, as was the custom in Hawaii, to let the breeze ventilate the condo. Kai heard Brad yell from the adjoining condo’s patio door.
“Looks like a family lives here! We might get lucky.”
“Mine too!” Kai yelled back.
Lani had already made her way into the bedroom and was rooting through the closet.
“Find anything?” Kai asked from the doorway.
She held up a pair of white sneakers. The rest of the shoes were either high heels or sandals.
“Are they your size?”
“Close enough,” she said.
“Okay, put them on.”
Kai went back to the living room to let Brad know they’d found some. When he got there, he heard a strange hissing sound coming from the direction of the balcony. The high-pitched whine of escaping gas was unmistakable, and was soon supplemented by the roar of fire. Kai dashed out onto the balcony to find out where it was coming
