Waves of fury, p.6
Waves of Fury, page 6
Yet…
All I can do is remain frozen, my brain the only thing moving and wildly at that.
The heavy rain pelting the building is nearly deafening coupled with the way the wind howls. The building groans and creaks, making me wonder how much longer it can take the storm’s abuse. If it collapses and washes away, we’ll be dead within seconds.
Might be the easiest way out for everyone.
Quick death by drowning.
Kyle starts swimming back toward us, face twisted into a frustrated glower. Brian remains near the windows, staring out into what used to be the bay.
Barb shudders and turns to look at me. “Should we move the furniture like Tyler said to do?”
The mention of Tyler has my anxiety ratcheting up again. They’ve been gone for a good fifteen or twenty minutes, which unnerves me, especially since Frannie is with them. What if they got trapped without air?
I nod, attempting to shake away my fog where I want to hide away from reality and responsibility. Pretending this isn’t happening won’t save us.
You can’t run from your problems this time.
If only Dad and Knox were here to see you now, facing shit head-on like a man.
“Yeah,” I agree with a grunt. “Let’s do what we can until they come back.”
If they come back…
Kyle wades out of the water and collapses next to Barb. His suit, soaked through, molds to his body and his chest heaves with heavy breaths. His wild eyes meet mine, a mixture of disbelief, terror, and fury. Tearing my gaze from his, I stand on shaky legs and then assess my office, or what remains.
Since most of the furniture is floating around or possibly swept out the window to the sea, moving the heavy concrete plantar, bookcase, and table with one remaining chair shouldn’t be difficult.
I’m contemplating where to start first when someone pops out of the water, sucking in a huge breath. Tyler. Relief floods through me when Hope and Frannie show up right after. Tyler splashes toward me, brows pinched.
“What?” I demand, voice hoarse. “What’s wrong?”
He shakes his head. “Nothing. The stairwell is dry. We need to get everyone there. It’s a lot safer than this.” He gestures to my office that’s half underwater. Then he lowers his gaze. “There are bodies there, though. We’ll need to do something with them.”
My starved stomach seizes at the thought of seeing and touching a dead body. The only one I’ve ever touched was that of my mother. I’m already cracking under the stress of today. Memories of Mom will only obliterate me completely.
“I, uh, I c-can’t,” I stammer out with a shudder. “Tyler, I can’t.”
Rather than showing frustration with me, he turns to survey our wrecked group. With a sigh, he beckons for Hope. Her blond hair is matted to her head and her breasts are nearly obscene-looking in her white, now transparent blouse, but she has a fierceness about her that I’m lacking in this moment. She’s a much better choice than me.
“Me and Hope will move the bodies to…” he trails off, rubbing at his temple. “Where can we, uh, contain them?”
Hope bounces on her bare feet as if to work some warmth into her body. “Conference room. It’s an interior space. We can close the door.”
Tyler gives her a nod of approval before turning his deep brown eyes on me. “Give me and Hope fifteen minutes and then you and Frannie need to get everyone out of here to the stairwell.” He points at his backpack. “Can you bring my pack? I don’t want to risk losing it while dealing with the bodies. The little supplies we do have are too precious.”
“Of course,” I grunt. Before he can retreat, I grab onto his bicep. “Thank you for doing this.”
His intense expression softens briefly and then he’s gone, Hope dipping under the water along with him. I glance over at the people sitting huddled on the far corner of my office. They’re all beat down and terrified. This is not at all how any of us expected the afternoon to go down. I pull my phone from my pocket out of habit to check the time.
Dead.
Completely waterlogged.
My thoughts drift back to my brother and dad. Would they have heard the news by now? Are they trying to reach me? Do they even care? I try not to think about the latter. Knox may be pissed I bolted after Mom died, but he’s still my brother. I have to believe he’s worried sick about me.
Dad, on the other hand, probably thinks I brought this on myself somehow. Punishment for leaving him and his legacy high and dry.
With a quick shake of my head, I toss my useless phone into the water with a splash. I pull the straps of Tyler’s backpack over each shoulder, tightening the straps so it won’t get lost in the dive. Finally, I take stock of what’s left of my office. Nothing of value remains. Just the people.
“Listen up,” I state, hoping to inject some confidence into my words. “We’re going to be moving to the stairwell. It’s safer than in here.”
As though to punctuate my words, a swell of water comes rushing past my feet all the way to my knees, nearly submerging those who are sitting on the floor. Elise squawks in surprise, clinging to Gerry so she doesn’t get pulled back with the wave when it retreats. Everyone scrambles to their feet, eyeing me warily. No one wants to stay here and I don’t blame them.
“Frannie, lead the way,” I instruct. “I know we all know where the stairwell is, but since it’s all underwater, it may be confusing. Frannie will take one group—Gerry and Elise. I’ll follow with my group—Barb, Brian, and Kyle. Tyler and Hope will meet us there. We good?”
Everyone nods, eager to move along to the next place.
Frannie, Gerry, and Elise all disappear under the water. We give them five minutes or so and then Kyle leads the way with Barb behind him. Brian goes after Barb and I’m last.
I really fucking hate water.
Ever since I was a little kid and fell into a water hole at the ranch, it’s spooked me. I can thrash enough to keep my head above water, but actual swimming is something I never learned how to do because of my fear of it.
And now my worst nightmare is sloshing around my ankles.
Just hold your breath, paddle, and use walls or furniture to propel yourself.
My little pep talk does little to calm my erratic heart, but it’s enough to have me dipping into the water. With a huge gulp of air, I drop beneath the surface. The doorway to my office is open and I see Brian’s legs kicking as he goes through it. I push off the floor, using the force to send me surging toward the doorway. When I reach it, I grab hold of the frame and pop up on the other side. Brian is bobbing in the small pocket of air and gives me a grim smile. He sucks in a breath and then goes under. I mimic his actions and follow after.
Even with my eyes open, the reception area is dark. Furniture floats amidst scattered paperwork. I search the murky water until I see Brian up ahead. Using the doorframe, I shove off it, rocketing toward where I last saw him. The door to the stairwell is open and I kick my legs as I reach it. My lungs are starting to burn, so I hope I’ll be there soon. I can hear muffled voices above me. My hand slaps at what I think is the surface, but I don’t hit air. For a moment, I panic that I won’t make it.
It’ll be like when I kept slipping on the mud beneath the water at the ranch, unable to get my footing, sucking in a lungful of water instead of air.
Before the memory can steal me completely, someone grabs hold of the backpack I’m wearing from behind. Then, with a tug, they pull me upward toward the surface. As soon as my face bursts out of the water, I suck in air with a harsh sound. The hand on the backpack remains, guiding me toward the stairs that are visible. Once my feet hit the steps, I feel brave enough to look at my savior.
Tyler.
He flashes me a quick smile and then releases me to slosh up the steps. Hope is behind him, her lips turning slightly blue. I follow them up the steps to a landing between the rooftop access and the floor of my office. It’s dry and relatively safe. The others are all sitting on the landing, catching their breaths.
Thunder rumbles, making the entire building vibrate. We all pause, bracing ourselves for something catastrophic, but nothing happens.
“I’m going to take a look on the roof,” I say to Tyler, breathless. “Make them huddle for warmth and figure out a way to ration what we have.”
Tyler nods, taking his backpack that I offer to him. “Be careful.”
I make my way up the steps to the doorway of the roof. An axe sits on the floor beside a concrete hunk that appears to be keeping the door closed. I pull the heavy piece of debris far back enough I can slip out the door.
Rain stings my face as the wind slings it at me. I squint, hand shielding my eyes as I attempt to survey my surroundings. With the building leaning considerably to one side, I take care with each step so I don’t slip and make a fatal mistake. The rain continues to batter down on me, making it nearly impossible to see more than a few feet ahead.
The wind howls so noisily it hurts my ears. Beneath me, the building shifts and groans.
Fuck. We need to get off this damn building. But how? I can’t exactly Uber a life raft.
Rumbles and groaning of buildings can be heard between claps of thunder. Occasionally some big piece of debris scrapes along a building, maybe this one, and causes more racket.
How many people survived this…this thing?
Are we the only people left in this godforsaken city?
Considering there are only a few buildings left sticking out of the water that are a little taller than ours, I’m going to hedge my bets that not many made it. Furthermore, any and all opportunities for rescue are gone. The police precincts, fire departments, hospitals—hell, the coast guard—are all sunken tombs now.
We are well and truly fucked.
I’m about to turn and head back inside to shelter from the storm when I see something dark in the distance. Slowly, it begins to materialize between the sheets of rain coming down. My mind has trouble understanding what I’m seeing.
What the hell is that thing?
Thunderous crunching of metal against concrete is a deafening cacophony. I’m stunned, staring at the monstrosity.
No, it’s not an alien spacecraft.
It’s a goddamn cruise ship.
For a brief second, elation surges through me as I allow hope of a rescue to needle its way in. The happiness is quickly dashed as it continues to drift. There are no lights on in the vessel. It’s apparently an empty ghost ship, somehow come loose from wherever it was docked before the tsunami hit.
It’s unmanned, which means no one is controlling the thing.
And it’s heading this way…
One of the buildings nearby screeches as the cruise ship bumps into it. The concrete trembles and then with a moan of defeat, the building collapses under the stress of it.
Oh, fuck.
The waves of the building sinking rush toward the roof and spray up the sides. I’m blinded as to where the cruise ship has gone, but I know it’ll be here soon.
I have to warn the others.
If I can get them out and onto the roof, maybe we’ll have a chance to swim to another building. Well, those of us who can swim. The rest of us are as good as dead.
Snapping out of my shock, I turn on my heel and sprint to the roof door. I fly through the opening where Tyler is now standing with the ax in hand, skidding across the slick concrete until I slam into the railing.
“Brace for impact!” I roar just as the ship hits our building.
Everything rumbles and quakes beneath us. I lose my footing, flipping right over the railing. Falling face first into the dark depths of the water in the stairwell, I let loose a panicked yell.
Crash!
I hit the water with my arms above me in an effort to block my head from hitting anything that could be fatal. Water surges up right as I break the surface, shooting me all the way back up to the ceiling. Muted metal groans can be heard as I’m completely submerged. And even though my head slams into the concrete above me hard, the water hasn’t come back down yet. Just as I wonder if I’ll suffocate, the water sucks back down and a new sort of panic ensues as I’m pulled into the depths of the stairwell.
Pain rips along my side, jerking me to an abrupt halt. It takes me a second to realize the railing pieces that buckled and came loose hooked me. Gasping for air, I attempt to pull myself up the railing to no avail.
Water rushes toward me again without warning like a geyser, but this time rather than shooting me back up, I remain tangled on the metal.
I twist and thrash in an attempt to pull myself off the railing, but the sharp metal digs deeper into my flesh, further goring me.
I’m not going anywhere.
Here’s to hoping I don’t drown.
Tyler
We’re all going to die.
My heavy backpack pulls me down to the floor and the rooftop door pins me in place. Using the ax, I attempt to hook it into the railing so I can pull myself free. Just as I make headway, the water is sucked back down and I greedily gulp in air.
Once the water is gone and stays down this time, I slowly push the roof door away from me and rise shakily to my feet. Thank fuck I still have my backpack on or we could have lost what little supplies we have.
“Barb’s hurt,” Kyle barks out, cradling the older woman in his arms. “She smacked her head.”
Since I don’t know a thing about head injuries, I wait for someone else to step in and help. Luckily, Frannie staggers over to them. Gerry is helping Brian out of the water and Hope consoles Elise, who won’t stop crying.
Where’s Kellen?
“Help,” a hoarse voice chokes out. “I’m stuck.”
Snapping into action, I lean over the railing just before where part of it is missing to discover Kellen. His suit appears to be caught on the metal and he dangles there above the water.
“Gerry,” I bark out. “I need help over here.”
Gerry trudges my way, exhaustion making his features haggard. When he looks over the side and sees Kellen, he tenses.
“Can you reach your arms up, Kell? Me and Gerry are going to pull you off there.”
Kellen angles his head upward to see us and then looks back down. His entire body is trembling. Blood drips from some part of him, splashing into the dark waters below.
“I-I can’t fall into t-that,” he stammers, pointing wildly below. “I’ll d-die. Fuck, I don’t want to d-die.”
“You’re not going to die,” I assure him with a steadiness in my voice that I don’t feel. Nothing about this situation is certain, but that won’t help calm him down. “We’re going to pull you out. Reach your arms up.”
He continues to stare at the churning water beneath him. When the water surges a bit, swelling over his ankles, he starts to panic. I watch helplessly as he flails his arms and legs.
“Help! Help me!” he cries out. “Tyler, help!”
“Kellen,” I growl, “look at me.”
“I can’t. I’m going—”
“Look. At. Me.”
His head jerks up and his frantic stare meets mine. For a bigshot CEO clearly in his late thirties or early forties, in this moment, he doesn’t look a day over Jesse’s sixteen years.
“Reach your arm up,” Gerry says, voice soothing. “We’ve got you, man.”
Kellen grunts as he attempts to raise his arm. He flinches and then shakes his head. “It hurts. This metal gored me.”
Sickness roils in my gut. How much metal is inside him? What if it’s keeping him alive?
“Well, we can’t leave you there forever,” I grumble. “Can you hold on to the end of the ax at least?”
Leaning over the railing, I grip both hands around the ax right under the blade and offer him the wooden, blunt end. It’s just long enough for him to grab onto.
“Don’t let go,” I tell him. “Gerry is going to do what he can to unhook you while I pull you up. Trust us to get you out of this mess.”
He nods rapidly, pleading eyes latching onto mine. “I won’t let go.”
I wait for him to get a good hold on the ax handle while Gerry slides on his belly, reaching his arms down below the bottom of the railing. He scoots until half of his body is hanging over the ledge. Brian rushes over to hold on to Gerry’s feet to keep him from flipping completely over.
“On the count of three,” I say to everyone. “I’m going to pull you up and when you can, use your feet to get a footing onto the rails.” I brace myself against the railing. “One, two, three!”
As I pull Kellen up, using every ounce of strength left in my reserves, he howls in pain. I can hear Gerry saying something placating to him but can’t make any of it out. My biceps scream from the exertion and the railing digs into my gut. I’m careful not to accidentally cut myself on the sharp ax end as I manhandle him off his hook.
“He’s off!” Gerry yells just as Kellen belts out a cry of agony. “Pull!”
I struggle to bring him any higher, but then Kyle is beside me, grabbing onto Kellen’s suit jacket. Together, we pull him up and over the railing.
Kellen is essentially dead weight and he collapses on me, his head narrowly missing the deadly end of the ax. Thankfully, Brian reaches over and tugs it out of my grip. The steps dig into my back and I’m completely spent from expelling what little energy I had left, but relief floods through me.
Kellen trembles and his teeth chatter loudly. Brian, Frannie, and Gerry stand around, worry gleaming in their eyes. Kyle has moved back over to where Barb is sitting leaned up against the wall beside Hope and Elise.
“We need to take a look at your injury,” I grunt out. “Come on, big guy. I can’t move under you.”
Kellen winces as he lifts himself off me. His face is pale and a bluish bruise is forming across his forehead. He’s alive and able to move, so that’s something. Gerry helps him to his feet and then guides him to the top of the stairs. The door keeps swinging open and closed, making all kinds of racket as the stormy weather continues on, but Gerry sets Kellen in front of it, using his back as a doorstop since our concrete hunk is now missing.
