The Tsunami Countdown

burned into her memory. If anything like that happened to Ashley, she’d rather depend on herself to save her child.

As Bill was ready to take his final steps toward the safety of the building, Paige heard a commotion on the other side of the bridge.

Five college-aged men stumbled to a stop at the end of the bridge. Each of them talked in a sloppy midwestern twang fueled by at least a twelve-pack of beer apiece.

“Hey, look,” one of the guys said. “See, I told you I could see people crossing from our room.”

“Come on,” said another one. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Before Paige and Bill could shout more than “No!” all five of the drunken frat boys stepped onto the bridge. They hadn’t gotten more than a few feet before one fell, dragging two of the others down with him. The impact resonated on the already fragile skybridge. It started to bounce, snapping cables, swaying sickeningly over the courtyard below, now drained of water.

“Bill!” Paige shouted. “Jump!”

But Bill wasn’t going to be able to get to the Moana tower without falling, possibly losing Ashley, so he grabbed the child’s arm and pulled her off his back. He swung her around and hurled the small girl toward the waiting arms of Paige six feet away.

At that moment the center of the skybridge snapped from the added load. The two halves, still attached at the ends, swung toward their respective towers. All five of the drunken men slid off the deck and screamed until dull thuds marked their passing. Paige turned Ashley’s head away so that she didn’t see the resulting impacts. The opposite end of the walkway crashed against the building and then sheared off, collapsing into a pile of bent metal far below, burying the bodies.

Bill had wrapped both arms around the pillar he was holding. When his end of the bridge slammed into the tower, the floor of the walkway detached from the roof at its base, smashing into the courtyard below. But the roof, along with the vertical pillars, remained attached to the Moana tower, suspended by only two surviving steel rods.

Paige peered cautiously over the edge, fearing what she would see below. To her relief, she saw Bill still clinging to the pillar, but it was only a matter of minutes before he either lost his grip or was engulfed by the next massive wave.

Rachel, exhausted from running up and down the stairs and the ordeal at the skybridge, rested her head against the metal fire door of the sixteenth-floor stairwell. She had been trying to raise Kai on the walkie-talkie and was terrified because he wouldn’t answer.

“Kai, are you there? Kai, come in, please.”

“Who’s Kai?” Wyatt asked.

“He’s my husband. He’s with my daughter, Lani.”

“What happened to them?” Hannah asked.

“I don’t …” Rachel started to answer but a sob caught in her throat, and before she could stop herself, she began to cry.

She buried her face in her hands as it all came rushing out. The stress. The responsibility for all the hotel guests. Not knowing whether her family was safe or … She didn’t want to think about the possibility of the worst case, but it came anyway. And now she was responsible for someone else’s children.

Hannah hugged her. “It’ll be okay, Rachel. Lani and Kai will be okay.”

Rachel sobbed again and held the little girl to her tightly. How can a child keep it together while I’m such a mess, she thought. Teresa was right. There was nothing glamorous about saving lives, but the outcome was worth the toll.

After another moment Rachel caught her breath and calmed down.

“Thank you, Hannah,” she said, stroking Hannah’s hair. “I’m sure they’ll be okay too.”

Wyatt, who was standing behind Hannah, looked embarrassed by the emotional display.

“Can I try the walkie-talkie?” he said. “I have one like it at home. Maybe I can get him.”

Rachel smiled and wiped her face on her sleeve. “Sure, Wyatt.” She handed the walkie-talkie to him. “Just press the red button and talk.”

“Kai, are you there?” he said. He waited for a response. None came.

“Try again, and make sure …” Rachel stopped in mid-sentence and cocked her head.

“And make sure what?” Wyatt said.

Rachel raised her hands.

“Shhh!”

“What?” Hannah said.

“Be quiet for a second. I think I hear something.”

Rachel turned her head so that her ear pressed against the door. Wyatt and Hannah followed suit.

After a moment of silence, a thudding sound was distinctly audible. Normally the whirring of fans and the rush of air movement throughout the hotel’s ductwork masked low-level sounds. But with the power off, the hotel was bathed in an eerie stillness.

The noise repeated at regular intervals. One, two, three, four. Silence for four counts. Then again: one, two, three, four. The faint pounding reverberated through the metal door. The sound was definitely man-made.

“What is that?” Hannah asked.

“I don’t know,” said Rachel, “but it sounds like it’s coming from the hallway.”

She sprang to her feet and opened the door. The sound was louder now and more distinct. It seemed to be emanating from somewhere in the deserted corridor.

“You guys wait here,” Rachel said.

“Where are you going?” Hannah said.

“I need to find out what that sound is. I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere unless your parents come back. And keep the door open.”

Rachel walked down the hall, stopping every few seconds to get her bearings on the noise. As she went farther into the building, the pounding got louder, until she was able to zero in on it without stopping. About halfway down the corridor, she rounded the corner to the elevator lobby. It was now obvious where the sound was coming from.

The sound of a voice accompanied the pounding.

“Help! Is anyone out there?”

Someone was trapped in the elevator.

Carrying all of the equipment slowed them down more than Kai thought it would. Time was short as they hurried out of The Seaside’s tenth-floor stairwell and into the condo.

“We were beginning to think you forgot about us,” Brad said. His voice had a facade of cheer, but Kai could sense the despair just underneath the surface. He was trying to keep up Mia’s spirits.

“Not a chance, haole,” Kai said. “We’re going to get you out of there.”

Teresa showed him the jack.

“That’s a beautiful sight,” Brad said.

“Let’s try it,” she said.

“Wait,” Kai said. “We don’t have time for that yet.”

“What are those for?” Brad said, noticing the scuba tanks.

“For us. All of us.”

“Why don’t you get us out first?”

“We have two minutes at most,” Kai said as he cut the rope into ten-foot segments with the dive knife. “We need to get ourselves tied down first.”

“Kai, you’re kidding, right?”

“No.” Kai didn’t have time to cushion the news. His mind flashed back to Brad trapped in that shipwreck and the panicked rapping at the door before Kai had been able to free him. Brad hadn’t dived since, his fear of the depths approaching phobia.

“I’m not staying here,” Brad said.

“Unfortunately, Brad, you’re going to have to.”

“Kai, get us out of here!” Brad began to struggle against the girder. “I can’t stay here.”