He crossed the room to my window and looked out. “We need to find the others. Dr. Berard has a degree in geology. He’ll know for sure.”
The ocean from my window was still a placid lake. I looked at Jack and said, “If it was an earthquake, maybe it was inland. Maybe it’s nothing.” But the pool of fear in my gut didn’t abate. Amidst all the global upheaval, there’d been more seismic activity in this region, never enough to cause severe damage. But an earthquake out in the water could mean disaster. It could mean a tsunami.
“Let’s go find who we can. We should all go up on the roof just to be safe.” He was thinking what I was thinking. Flooding. He noticed the glint of fear in my eyes. “Hey, you might be right. It might be nothing. After all, a tsunami wouldn’t dare intrude on our new love affair, would it?”
He’d just acknowledged my very thought of a tidal wave sweeping us all away, and full panic flooded my veins. He was still smiling, though, and I knew it was for my benefit.
“Come on,” he said, and I was thankful for his authoritative manner.
I decided against taking a bag from my room, so it was just us going up to the roof. We encountered several guests along the way, all discussing the earthquake in curious ways, but no one seemed to realize the potential threat of what an oceanic disturbance could mean. We encouraged them to join us up on the roof, but we had no takers. We didn’t have time to explain to them that we were scientists who had seen the destruction of tsunamis elsewhere in the world. I hoped the rest of the team was already up there, and, as we climbed the stairs, forgoing the elevator, my heart rate picked up. Jack opened the emergency exit door to the roof. We stepped out into the early morning sun, and I saw that we weren’t alone. Cora, Dr. Kim, and Dr. Berard were also there, standing near the edge and looking down at the street below. No one had begun to panic yet. The streets were calm. It seemed everyone had shrugged this off as a minor event. But I looked closely at Dr. Berard’s face, and what I saw there made my heart grow cold. Jack had grabbed my hand. Cora looked over at us, her expression distracted but not yet fearful.
“Hey guys.” She grinned when she saw us holding hands. “Have a good night?”
I ignored her insinuation, instead turning to Dr. Berard with the question on my face. He nodded. “Yeah, it was a quake. And I’m pretty sure it was out in the ocean, not inland.”
“Has anyone seen Ingari?” Jack asked, his voice tense.
Dr. Kim had joined us, and shook his head. “I think he’s passed out in his room. There’s probably time to go find him, though.”
And suddenly the gravity of our situation hit me hard. If there was a tsunami coming, it would be devastating, and no one was aware of the danger.
“We should tell the hotel staff so they can warn people,” I offered quietly, forcing my voice to remain steady.
“And cause a mass panic? We don’t even know if a tsunami is inevitable,” Cora said, flicking her short hair to the side and putting her hand on her hip. She was intent on remaining relaxed, I thought to myself.
“Stay up here and keep your eyes on the ocean. I’ll go try to find Ingari. And maybe we should tell the staff …,” Dr. Berard trailed off, his own eyes on the horizon. “It felt far enough out that we might have some time. But I think it was a strong one. And if it was, we’re— well—screwed.”
He turned away abruptly, and went toward the exit. Jack was still gripping my hand, and I looked at his face, trying to memorize it. How was it possible that our perfect happiness could be so interrupted by the threat of a watery death? The disconnect in reality was clanging in my head.
“I’ll stay here with you,” he whispered in my ear, and I closed my eyes.
We waited for what seemed an eternity, the four of us staring out at the beach, a mile away. All was quiet. Hearing the door open, we saw Berard returning with several tourists. They looked confused but not frightened.
“I couldn’t find Ingari. He might be out running on the beach.” Dr. Berard’s voice was taut, his eyes searching the coastline.
“I told these people there might be some trouble coming, but they don’t speak very good English.”
I looked at the tourists, realizing they were a family. The man muttered something in German, but with my limited vocabulary I couldn’t understand what he was saying. His wife and young son joined Cora at the roof’s edge. In slow motion, Cora’s hand lifted and pointed. With feet that felt mired in cement, I walked over to her and lifted my own hand to shade my eyes against the sun. And there, on the horizon, a wall of water was approaching the beach.
“Jack,” was all I could manage.
“We’re going to be OK,” he said into my ear, and held me close.
The tiny figures on the beach had spotted the incoming tide and were running. People down on the street had spotted it too, and panic was taking hold. The German family was frightened, and the mother was urging her son and husband to move back along the far wall of the roof. My team, missing one member, looked at one other. I found myself wishing wholeheartedly that I was closer to these people— Dr. Berard, Dr. Kim, and even Cora. And suddenly any opportunity to become better friends was going to be washed away. It was a regret unlike any other I’d ever experienced.
“When it comes, try to grab onto something big and solid and stay above water. There’s not much time now,” Dr. Kim said, his brown eyes solemn.
We knew that surviving wasn’t a guarantee, but even our years spent in imminent danger hadn’t prepared us for what we now faced. No one was emotional. But my heart, despite its racing, felt heavy. It wasn’t fair, my mind was saying. I felt like throwing a tantrum. Here I was, with Jack, finally. And there was our fate, rushing toward us in the form of inexorable salt water.
The tide reached the beach and engulfed it along with its scrambling inhabitants. It was moving faster now, and would soon reach the city. Power lines were soon eaten up. Next came the houses. I didn’t want to watch the people being overcome, but their cries reached my ears. I heard the creaking and crashing of buildings being torn apart as the sound of the encroaching waves ripped through my eardrums.
“I want you to take a deep breath and hold onto me,” Jack said, his face close to mine and his eyes intent.
The others were pressed against the wall, their eyes trained on the swirling, rising water. It looked dark and cold, and my skin cringed from it in anticipation.
“It might pass us by. We’re up pretty high,” I said, my words hopeful but falling heavy as rocks.
Jack smiled, and I allowed myself to bask in it. “Just hold on. Promise me.”
I promised.
The water was building and growing beneath us like a live thing. I looked along the edge, and bits of wood and roofs flashed past. I saw people swept up in the current, calling out for help. My hand reached out of its own accord, but Jack grabbed it and held it tightly. The water began to creep up over the lip of the roof, and it was clear it would soon sweep us away. I trained my lungs to grab the air in preparation. Another swell came, and the water took me. And it was as frigid as death.
For several seconds, my senses could take in only the darkness surrounding me, and I needed to look up first to locate the sun, hanging indifferently above us. A strange feeling of detachment overcame me, as if this was happening to someone else—a matter-of-factness. I was still grasping Jack’s hand, thankful it hadn’t been torn from me yet. But the strength of the current was too insistent, and, as I broke the surface, I lost him.
“Mina!” he cried, and the current swept him away from me.
I couldn’t see the others, but I saw a ragged tree trunk sweeping along beside me and I grabbed onto it. Something tore into my hand, but I gritted my teeth and hung on. I was rushing past other buildings now, my head whipping around looking for Jack. I had to find him; we were going to make it out of this. I took another gasp of air, thanking myself for all the years of running. They had formed strong lungs. Then I felt the pull of something on my leg beneath the torrent, and I was yanked under again. The water filled my nose and eyes. I tried not to panic, but the fear of death had taken over the deepest parts of my brain. I had plenty of air. I began kicking back up toward the shaft of light that pierced the swirling chaos. Another rip along my leg, and this time I felt blood leaving my body. The pain was searing, but I didn’t gasp. That would mean dragging in water, and I’d be doomed. My strong legs kicked, and I broke the surface once more. I was passing a house where one person had managed to climb onto the roof. He darted his hand forward in an effort to catch me. I reached up in time and felt a strong grip. I took a second to look around me, searching for anyone, everyone. I saw no other people in the debris.
“Hold on!” came a panicked voice, and I blinked the salt out of my eyes to look up into the shadowed face of my rescuer.
He began trying to pull me out of the water, and I kicked my legs in assistance, my left hand in his, my other hand reaching up to grab onto anything, finding no purchase. Another blow came, this time from the hood of a rusted car. It tore along my side, and I cried out in agony. I was ripped from his grasp, and the water rushed me along again. I was losing blood quickly now, but I still had air in my lungs. I was pushed underwater, and this time the strength in my legs failed me. I felt the violent water tossing me to and fro like a rag doll, and numbness began to overtake my limbs. I looked up at the splintered sunlight again, watching the bubbles of my breath rise to the surface, and I imagined how warm it would feel to lie in. In a brief moment of stillness my mind went to Jack once more, and his smile. I had time to hope he was OK, that he’d found help. Then the water burgeoned, tossing me to the side, and a sharp blow fell across my skull. My last thought as I lost consciousness was of how nice it would be to hold his hand again. And then I died.