Surviving the Storm Page 5

  A high-decibel wail vibrated her eardrums to the point of pain. Aria clamped her hands over her ears.

  David spun around. “Is that what I think it is?”

  Her mouth gaped open. No, it couldn’t be. The wail continued. “A tsunami warning!” Aria’s stomach clenched and wouldn’t let go. If the men, the fire or the tsunami didn’t kill her first, the stress and fear would do the job.

  David ran to her. “Time to leave.” The warning siren released another series of high-pitched wails.

  “Wait! Who’s going to stop them? The police won’t come now! We can’t just let them get away with this.”

  David squinted, his eyes hard. “The tsunami warning says otherwise.”

  He was right, of course, but she hated it. She wished she could do something, anything. David reached for her arm and stiffened. “I see flames. That Robert guy is in between the buildings. I think he spotted me.” He tugged on her elbow. “Come on!”

  Her soggy shoes made slapping noises against the matted grass as they cut across the garden to her car. If Robert had spied them, he would only have to follow the sound.

  David ran around to the driver’s side. Aria wasted no time hopping in and buckling up. She scanned the area, and while she couldn’t see either of the men in suits, the spiraling black smoke from behind the cottages meant the fire was spreading. “Where’s that snow and rain when you need it?”

  David cranked the ignition and spun the steering wheel so fast they whipped around one hundred eighty degrees, ready to drive east, directly away from the ocean. He frowned, momentarily frozen, his eyes focused on the sand dollar dangling from her rearview mirror. “You kept it?”

  She bit her lip, wishing he hadn’t seen it, and toyed with the idea of fibbing. Yes, it was the same sand dollar he had found and given her four or five years ago, and yes, she had researched the best way to preserve it, but for all he knew it could’ve been from one of the tourist shops. “Yes.” She shrugged. “It’s rare to find one so unblemished. Can we go now?”

  Aria pictured the tsunami evacuation brochure. It was the only thing she had to read in the tiny cottage besides the Bible and the takeout menus. She almost had it memorized. “The warning means we have fifteen...forty-five minutes at the max.”

  He stepped on the gas, and her head flung back into the seat cushion.

  “I don’t know where I’m going,” he admitted.

  “The evacuation tower.” She pointed to the far corner up the hill. The entire town from the shores to the highway was slanted. If they reached the highway, they would, hopefully, be out of danger and close to help.

  But the tower was the safest of all. The community had decided after the tsunami of 1964 that if they ever built a town hall, it would be large enough to hold up to 1500 people and strong enough to withstand thirty-foot tidal waves. Built on post-tensioned concrete beams, it had an open system that allowed the water to flow through without resistance. It cost the state millions of dollars but it held a stash of supplies that could feed and care for a small army. And it’d save lives.

  “Think there will be enough room for us?” David asked.

  Aria had forgotten David hadn’t been back in the past couple of years. He hadn’t seen the architectural feat built. She scoffed. “It’s the slowest month of the year for tourists. Most of the people here during winter are living past the highway. Yeah, I think there will be plenty of room.”

  She peeked a look over his shoulder to read the speedometer. He was pushing her Bug as fast as it could go. Much longer up the hill at such speeds and her car would likely shake itself apart. It was too old to be pushed like this. She wasn’t about to encourage him to take it slower, though. The rearview mirror glinted with a flash. Behind them was a silver Hummer approaching fast. “David!”

  His knuckles turned white, his fingers gripped the steering wheel with such force. “I see. Get down. They’re either rich tourists eager to get away from the tsunami or we’ve got unwelcome company.”

  Aria knew which of the two it was. There were no other resorts or homes behind them on this road other than the conference center. Lord, please keep us safe from these men. Please help us get somewhere safe before the tsunami hits, and help everyone in its path get to an evacuation zone.

  The sound of a gunshot hit her ears. She strained to look in the side mirror. One of the thugs was standing up through the sunroof, aiming at them.

  “Are you hurt?”

  “No.”

  David’s eyes darted from side to side. She knew he was trying to find a place to turn, to hide. Sadly there were only small businesses and a few vacation rentals along the way. There wasn’t another road they could take that wouldn’t lead them parallel to the ocean or back down to the shore. To their left was the state park on top of the cliffs, but there was no road to it besides the highway.

  They needed to go straight east, away from the coast. And she was pretty sure George’s murderers knew it too.

  * * *

  David fought the steering wheel for control. The Bug was still chugging forward but slowed ever so slightly. The sand dollar hanging from the rearview mirror swung in a pendulum arc from all the shaking. Lord, help! He needed to get out of the line of fire. I just need more time. Please hold off the waves.

  The road widened, and the Hummer sped past them. The gunman turned around, his torso just above the vehicle’s roof, until he faced them. This time the car didn’t obey David. “We’ve been hit!” The Bug spun sideways, and another gunshot jolted the car. “They’re trying to leave us here.”

  “If we don’t get to the evacuation zone before the tsunami hits, we won’t get out. You can’t outrun—”

  “I know,” David interrupted. He didn’t need to be reminded that if the gunmen didn’t kill them first, the tsunami would. His throat burned. A metallic shine to his left caught his attention. He jerked the wheel and slid them into a cracked open aluminum shed—as if the occupants had left in a hurry—and prayed if the Hummer came after them, they’d pass it by as inconsequential. The Bug barely squeezed into the space without hitting the ATV in front of them. “Never thought I’d be thankful for this car’s small size,” he muttered.

  He prayed the all-terrain vehicle was in working condition otherwise they’d have to flee on foot. David jumped out of the car. “Look for the key to the ATV.”

  As she stepped out of the car, he grabbed the string wrapped around the rearview mirror and tugged. The thread snapped easily in his hands. As he jogged around the front of the car, he slipped the preserved sand dollar into the front of his tool belt.

  Aria threw her hands up. “No key in sight.”

  “I knew it would be a long shot.” David straddled the seat of the purple-and-chrome four-wheeler. Never had he been so glad that he and his brother had been stranded in the mountains a couple of years ago, their key lost among the sea of sage bushes. With the help of his cell-phone browser and video tutorials, he had learned how to hotwire the ATV. David prayed this model worked the same way.

  He fumbled for the pocketknife in his tool belt. He flipped open the flat blade and applied pressure to the area around the keyhole. Despite the sickening crunch of breaking plastic, he kept working at popping out the ignition, using the knife as a lever. He didn’t care about keeping the four-wheeler in good condition and he doubted, at this point, the owners cared either, as long as they were somewhere safe. Everything in town was about to be underwater anyway.

  The circular keyhole popped out, despite his trembling hands. He imagined this was how SWAT teams felt while defusing a bomb—in his case, the bomb being the tsunami that could destroy them at any moment. He pressed harder with the knife. He just needed the tabs to come off so he could get it going.

  The parts he needed were now exposed. David leaned over the side and tried to start it. Nothing. He heard
a rumbling outside the shed.

  “I think it’s the Hummer coming back,” Aria stated.

  “Hop on, then.”

  She squeezed behind him. The four-wheeler may not have been meant for two people but they were going to have to make it work.

  Aria jumped off the ATV.

  It cranked, then died. His heart raced. He had almost gotten the ATV working. “I can’t keep you safe if you’re not going to stay with me!”

  She spun around from the wall of the shed with two helmets, one in each hand. “Would be a shame if we escaped from the tsunami and the gunmen only to be killed by accident. You focus.” She shoved the helmet onto David’s head and attached the buckle for him with expert hands, although it was hard to keep working while looking over her wrists. He wanted to growl at her, but she had that determined look in her eyes. Best not to argue. A second later, she slipped behind him.

  David squeezed the starter. Lord, I really need this to work. He cranked the handle and the engine sputtered to life. Thank You. He turned his head sideways. “Hold on to me tight and squeeze the seat with your legs.”

  It was going to be a bumpy ride. They needed to get vertical, and fast.

  He revved the engine and they shot diagonally out of the shed’s entrance, heading due north. Time was moving too fast. With the Hummer on the roads he doubted they could make it to the evacuation tower. And even if they did, then the people there would also be in danger from the gunmen. They needed to make it to the state park—and get there a way the Hummer couldn’t follow. If they could make it to the bluff, they’d be out of danger from the tsunami, and hopefully from the men...at least for a while.

  He heard another engine fast approaching. A quick glance over his shoulder confirmed the Hummer had pulled up right behind him. It was time to see how fast the four-wheeler could go. He searched for gauges—no fuel gauge, no speed gauge. He would have to push it for all it was worth and hope it had enough gas to get them to safety.

  A firecracker sound hit his ears at the same time a sharp corner dug deep into his right rib. He shouted and arched his back but somehow he was able to keep his hands on the handles.

  “They shot my computer,” Aria cried. “The battery saved you!”

  The sharp pain dissipated but a dull ache remained. It was the corner of her laptop that had shoved underneath his rib. Her computer? He hadn’t been shot?

  To his left, only a sliver of sun over the ocean remained. David swerved to the right at the sight of a dirt mound in the distance. “Hold on,” he shouted. At full speed, he aimed directly at the middle of the mound. It was the closest thing to a ramp he could find. He just hoped it’d be enough to jump over the creek.

  Her arms clutched around his waist a half second before the vehicle went airborne.

  SEVEN

  David squeezed the seat with his legs and hoped Aria was doing the same lest they separate from the machine in midlaunch.

  He braced himself, but the impact still jarred his bones. He pressed the throttle down. The four-wheeler spun to the right, where the ground started to weave up to the top of the cliffs among black boulders. Aria’s grip loosened, and he feared he’d lost her until he felt her nails dig into his side. He tightened his stomach but wasn’t able to handle the sting much longer. “Your nails,” he yelled.

  Her hands slid around and latched in front of his stomach just as he had to whip the handle around to avoid another boulder. They were making their own path as the sun dipped below the horizon. He zigzagged left and right over and over again at full speed. The sand and dust kicked up, and David was suddenly more than thankful that Aria had insisted on helmets. While the sand stung his neck and the dusty air filled his mouth with grit, he could still see.

  He couldn’t afford to look behind him to see if the Hummer was still in pursuit. He jerked the handles to the left, barely able to stay upright inside another hairpin turn as they ascended a hill never designed for hikers or vehicles. Aria was having a tough time breathing, judging by the way her shoulders rose and fell against his back.

  Ahead, the hill split into two different mounds, but David prepared himself for another sharp maneuver. They needed to take the most vertical route.

  “Look what’s coming,” Aria screamed.

  “I can’t! I know they’re shooting at us.”

  “No. The sea. It’s being sucked back.” Her voice shook and her arms squeezed tighter around his middle.

  He understood from growing up near the coast that if the sea ever retreated backward at an alarming rate, then you’d better run because it meant a tsunami was imminent. Unfortunately, in such an instance, most people saw fish flopping on the beach and ran toward the ocean as if it was a sudden low-tide treat. Thankfully, because of the bad weather, there didn’t seem to be any uneducated tourists in danger. Because once a tsunami started, the ocean could roll in at speeds up to five hundred miles per hour. There was no outrunning or outdriving a tidal wave.

  David dared to glance down. They were maybe twenty-five feet up, but the ocean wave could be as high as thirty feet, judging by the strength of the earthquake. It was still too close for comfort. The four-wheeler started to choke and sputter. “No!” Lord, help us. We need to get higher! The vehicle chugged along at a slower pace but kept climbing the sharp incline. His eyes rose to the sky, where twinkling stars grew brighter. Just a little farther.

  “Can’t you speed up?”

  David clenched his teeth. “No,” he hollered back. “Is the Hummer gone?”

  “They drove away. They’re close to the highway by now, I expect. But I think they can still see us, David. The whole town would be able to see us up here.”

  “Right now all I care about is a wall of water not being able to see us.” He maneuvered the ATV forward and crested the last hill. He breathed a sigh of relief. They had to be over a hundred feet above shore now, hopefully even more. A brown sign in front of three Sitka trees warning hikers not to go farther let him know he was entering the state park. He’d let the rangers lecture him tomorrow for treading all over the plants. He wouldn’t have blazed a new trail if it weren’t necessary. They hit a rock he hadn’t noticed in time to avoid. His chest slammed into the front of the handles.

  Aria jumped off the back of the ATV and slipped on the slick plants and rocks. David reached out with his right hand and grabbed her wrist. Her back was an inch from the sharp edge of a small boulder. She pulled on his arm, her legs straining until she returned to an upright position.

  He dismounted and put a hand on her shoulder. “We should be safe here.”

  They slipped off their helmets and hooked them on the handlebars. He dared a look in the direction of the highway. An outline of a dark, square vehicle sat on the top of the hill near the highway. The headlights shone in their direction.

  “That’s the edge of the safe zone,” Aria commented. “If the evacuation map can be trusted, that is.”

  “They’re watching us. Trying to figure out where we’re going.”

  Aria groaned. “So they can follow us.”

  David’s ears twitched at the sound of a massive incoming wave. His eyes adjusted to the twilight. The shadow of the ocean’s approach shot fear straight to his heart.

  * * *

  Aria took an involuntary step back despite knowing the state park was considered an evacuation zone. Theoretically, they should be safe here. She’d read about tsunamis and heard the tales from some of the locals who had experienced it years ago but, she realized now, she could never have been prepared for the sight and sounds erupting below.

  A gust blew her hair back, whether from the wind or the sheer force of the ocean approaching, she couldn’t ascertain. It wasn’t like anything she’d imagined. It didn’t resemble a tidal wave. It was more as if the entire ocean decided to move and make Sand Dollar Shores part of the
sea. And the water kept coming.

  David’s hand covered hers, but his hand was trembling as well. “Please let everyone be safe, Lord,” he prayed aloud. “All along the coast. Please let them have listened to the warning and gotten to safety in time.” His voice was strong but strained.

  She moved toward him, terrified at the potential loss of life below. He wrapped his arms around her, and they clung to each other, not able to take their eyes off the scenery below. She was stunned and paralyzed at the sight. In that moment, it was as if they were the only two people left in the world, and the sudden loneliness was crushing.

  The winds shifted direction and the clouds moved to make way for moonlight. Aria gasped. The buildings had at first seemed to withstand the ocean as the water slammed against them, but as if changing their mind, the structures broke off their foundations and joined the current. The sound of the wave was magnified two hundred times by the snapping of trees and buildings, as if they were made from rubber toothpicks. Aria’s shivers magnified into violent shaking.

  The debris moved as one, now resembling matchsticks and boxes. Cars rose up to the top of the water and swirled alongside them. The entire small town she’d come to love was destroyed. David squeezed her shoulders, but his arms shook and she knew the devastation had an effect on him as well.

  This place had been her second home, and after her father died, it had become her only refuge from pain. Now it had vanished in the blink of an eye.

  “I can’t believe what I’m seeing,” David said.

  “Most people don’t realize a single cubic yard of water weighs almost seventeen hundred pounds,” she muttered.

  In her peripheral vision she saw him turn toward her. “You memorized the warning pamphlet, didn’t you?”

  She shrugged. In many ways, she was a different person from the girl he once knew, but some things hadn’t changed. “Guilty,” she admitted. Her gaze moved to the tower set just below the highway as the waters rushed toward it. “Imagine if this much water had hit us at this speed.” She trembled. It wasn’t the water she worried about—she knew the architecture of the evacuation tower was sound, but like a tornado, the debris a tsunami carried with it at high speeds was the unknown variable.