Escaping the Giant Wave (7 page)

“We heard the cows mooing,” the man said.

“We heard them too,” I said. “It sounded like a tape recording.”

“That's the tsunami warning,” the man said. “The town council decided cows wouldn't be as frightening as a siren, so when there's a tsunami warning in this area, they broadcast the sound of cows mooing.”

“In Kansas we have tornado warnings,” BeeBee said, “but the warnings don't sound like cows; they're sirens. We didn't know what the mooing meant.”

“That's a problem,” the man said. “We knew because we live here, but visitors don't have any idea what it means when those cows start in. Of course, they might not know what any other warning signal means either.”

“We thought a farmer had lost one of his cows and was calling it home,” BeeBee said.

“Oh, lawsy, that's a good one,” the woman said.

“If there's been an official warning, why aren't more people coming up the hill?” I asked.

“Usually guests from the Totem Pole Inn come up the hill with us, but the inn isn't open any more,” she said. “I heard two or three rooms were used last night because of a convention, but officially it's closed. The new lodge isn't renting rooms yet, so only a small staff is on duty. With the fires and all, they may have left before the tsunami warning.”

“We stayed at the Totem Pole Inn last night,” I said.

“I'm glad you got out safely,” the man said. “We're the ones who called the fire department. We live in a beach cabin just down the road.”

“Do you have neighbors?” BeeBee asked. I knew she was still wondering why other people weren't coming up the hill with us.

“None close by,” the man said. “There are always a few people having beach picnics this time of night, but many of the locals ignore the warnings because there have been so many false alarms. The cows moo, the radio and TV announcers get all excited and create a panic, and when the wave finally comes, it's only two feet high. It's happened half a dozen times.”

“The problem,” the woman said, “is that the scientific weather instruments can predict the time of a tsunami, but not the size of the waves.”

“Warning signals only work if people trust them,” the man said. “I'm afraid the folks who live around here have lost their trust.”

“We told those people watching the hotel fire to get to high ground,” the woman said, “but most of them went down to the beach instead. One girl said if there was a tidal wave, she wanted to see it. I told her, ‘Honey, the only way you'll see a tidal wave is when it washes you away,' but she laughed and went down to the water anyway.”

“Has a tsunami ever hit this area?” I asked.

“Not in the fifteen years we've lived here, but the experts keep saying it's going to happen, so every time there's a warning we take Pansy for a walk up the hill. Better safe than sorry, that's my motto. By the way, I'm Josie and this is Norm.”

“I'm Kyle,” I said, “and this is my sister, BeeBee.” It would have seemed like an ordinary conversation, except that all of us kept walking as fast as we could, as if we were hurrying to catch a bus.

“Kyle's a hero,” BeeBee said. “He got us out of the hotel when it was on fire, and he rescued a boy who had passed out from the smoke, only that boy wouldn't come up here with us. He said it was safer at the ocean because water doesn't burn.”

“Maybe he'll hear about the tsunami warning,” Norm said. “Sometimes officials go around and broadcast the news. They tell people to evacuate, to go to higher ground.”

“Where are your parents?” Josie asked.

“They went on a cruise,” BeeBee said. “They're having dinner on a big yacht.”

I added, “It's a business event for the company they work for. They had to go because our dad was the salesman of the year, but the dinner was only for adults.” I didn't want this couple to think Mom and Dad were a couple of deadbeats, off at a party while their kids were left alone in the hotel. “We ordered pizza from room service, and then we were supposed to watch a movie until they got home.”

“The pizza fell on the floor and the milkshakes spilled,” BeeBee said.

My throat felt tight. Talking about Mom and Dad made me wonder again where they were. If they were still out on the ocean, what would happen if a tsunami hit? Would the ship be able to ride the huge wave, or would it capsize?

If the ship had headed back early because of the earthquake and the fires, the captain would know about the tsunami warning and would tell the passengers where to go to stay safe. But would Mom and Dad do it, or would they rush to the Totem Pole Inn looking for us?

Now that I knew there was an official tsunami warning, I was certain I'd done the right thing by coming up the hill, but I also realized how much danger my whole family was in.

BeeBee apparently had the same thought, for she said softly, “What if Mom and Dad get washed away by the giant wave? What if we never see them again?”

I didn't answer. I couldn't reassure my sister when I was every bit as worried as she was.

The celebration on board the
Elegant Empress
was in full swing. Cotton ball clouds drifted across the sky, and the hum of the ship's engine accompanied a string quartet that played soft music in the background.

The Davidsons filled their plates at the buffet table.

“You can win salesman of the year anytime,” Mrs. Davidson told her husband, “if it means an evening like this.”

“It
is
special,” he agreed, “but don't expect me to win every year. Enjoy it while you can.”

“I feel guilty being on a yacht eating grilled vegetables and salmon and chocolate mousse while the kids have pizza in that dumpy hotel room.”

“Now don't start worrying about the kids,” Mr. Davidson said. “BeeBee seems to like having Kyle be the sitter, and I don't think he minds too much. Besides, they'd rather eat pizza than grilled veggies any day.” He helped himself to some garlic bread.

Just then Mr. Wray, the president of the real estate company, signaled to the quartet to stop playing. He went to the microphone and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry to interrupt your dinner, but the captain has received a radio message that the town of Fisher and Fisher Beach were hit by an earthquake a short time ago.”

Mrs. Davidson gasped and reached for her husband's hand.

“There wasn't any major damage, and as far as we know there were no injuries, but the power is out in the entire area and we have reports of a few fires that started when the earthquake broke a natural gas line.”

Mrs. Davidson opened her purse and removed the cell phone. Mr. Davidson took a piece of paper out of his pocket and handed it to her. On it was the phone number of the Totem Pole Inn.

She punched in the number and waited. “Nothing happens,” she said. “It doesn't ring.”

“If the power is out, the hotel's telephone line is probably out too.”

“I'll keep you posted on any further developments,” Mr. Wray said. “Now please enjoy the rest of your dinner. We'll be presenting the awards soon.”

Instead of returning to their table, the Davidsons approached Mr. Wray.

“Shouldn't the
Elegant Empress
head back to shore?” Mr. Davidson asked.

“The earthquake is over,” Mr. Wray said. “There's no reason to go back early.”

“We left our children at the hotel,” Mr. Davidson said, “and the phone isn't working. Is there any way we can contact the hotel by radio?”

“I'll ask the captain,” Mr. Wray said, but he looked annoyed.

“You stay here and finish your dinner,” Mr. Davidson said. “I'll find the captain.”

“I'll come with you,” Mrs. Davidson said.

They left their food at their places, then found the captain and asked about radio contact with people on shore. “We left our children by themselves,” Mrs. Davidson explained. “Our son's thirteen and he's stayed with his sister many times before, but never in an earthquake. We'll enjoy the rest of the cruise more if we know they're okay.”

“Which hotel?” the captain asked.

“The Totem Pole Inn.”

A strange expression flickered across the captain's face.

“What is it?” Mr. Davidson said. “What's wrong?”

“That's one of the buildings that caught fire. That and the big new hotel right beside it. I understood that the Totem Pole Inn was closed. I didn't realize people were staying there.”

“We have to go back to Fisher Beach,” Mr. Davidson said. “Now! Our kids might be hurt or in danger.”

“I have radio contact with shore,” the captain said. “I'll see what I can learn and then . . .”

“Excuse me, sir.” One of the crew approached the captain. “There's a tsunami warning for the Fisher Beach area.”

“When?”

“It's due to hit in half an hour.”

Mrs. Davidson whispered, “No.”

Mr. Davidson turned pale.

“We won't be able to return as scheduled, sir,” the crewman said. “Should we stay here or head out to sea?”

“Out to sea.”

“We can't head farther out to sea!” Mr. Davidson said.

“I'm responsible for the passengers on this ship,” the captain said, “and the farther out we are, the safer they'll be. Excuse me.” He hurried away and disappeared into a room marked “Crew Only.”

Mr. Davidson turned to the crewman. “Our children are at Fisher Beach, and the hotel they're in is on fire! We have to get back there right away. Is there a small boat or life raft that we can use?”

The crewman shook his head. “That would be foolhardy,” he said. “You'd risk your own lives, and even if you made it, there's no way you would get to the hotel in time. We're too far out at sea. The town broadcasts tsunami warnings; your kids will be told what to do.”

“We should never have left them alone,” Mrs. Davidson said.

“The tsunamis usually peter out before they reach shore,” the crewman said. “There's never been damage on this part of the coast. We've had many warnings, and then the waves turned out to be so small we couldn't tell when they passed under the ship. That will probably happen again.”

“Thank you for telling us,” Mrs. Davidson said. “I hope it's a small wave this time too.”

The crewman left, and the Davidsons stood alone on deck as the music drifted out of the banquet area.

“We may as well go back to our table,” Mr. Davidson said.

“I've lost my appetite.”

“So have I, but I don't want to miss anything that the captain tells the group.”

They walked back to the party.

“We should tell the Hazeltons about the fire,” Mrs. Davidson said. “As far as I know, their son was in the hotel too.”

“It would only worry them. They can't go there or do anything to help their boy any more than we can help Kyle and BeeBee.”

“Still, I would want to know,” Mrs. Davidson said.

They spotted the Hazeltons across the room and were headed that way when the captain made an announcement about the tsunami warning. “We're heading due west,” he said, “to ride the waves before they gain their full size. I expect the ship to handle any surges easily, but all passengers need to put on a life jacket and leave it on until the danger is past.”

Mrs. Hazelton screamed and demanded that the ship head for shore immediately. “My baby's at Fisher Beach,” she sobbed. “My baby!”

Mr. Hazelton threatened to sue the real estate company if anything happened to Daren.

Mr. Wray did his best to calm them down, but the Hazeltons continued to create a scene long after the captain hurried out of the room.

Mr. and Mrs. Davidson put on life jackets and sat praying silently for the safety of their children.

• • •

After Kyle and BeeBee left him, Daren watched the firefighters at the Frontier Lodge. Huge streams of water arced from thick hoses, making the fire hiss and spit like an angry cat.

A dozen people milled around, talking about where they had been during the earthquake. Everyone had a story to tell.

Daren listened but said nothing. He didn't want anyone to know that he had been overcome by smoke and rescued by that wimpy Kyle Davidson. If Kyle ever told what had happened, Daren would deny it.

Daren wondered if his parents were still on the yacht. Did they know about the earthquake and the fires? If they did, they'd be plenty worried about him.

He had wanted to go swimming or walk on the beach after they left, but Mom and Dad insisted it wasn't safe for him to do those things by himself. He was supposed to stay in their room at the Totem Pole Inn until they returned. Period. No excuses.

Ha! Daren thought. It's a good thing he hadn't done that. If he had stayed in the room, he'd be a goner.

When his parents got back and discovered that the Totem Pole Inn had burned to the ground, they'd be sorry they had told him to stay in the room. Maybe he would let them look for him for a while before he showed them he was okay.

It was fun to be out here alone, with all the excitement of a fire and nobody to boss him around. Along with the shouts of the firefighters, he heard the snapping of burning wood and, somewhere in the distance, the mooing of cows.

A van with an official seal on the door drove into the hotel driveway and stopped behind the fire truck. Large megaphones anchored to the roof of the van blared out: “ATTENTION! A TSUNAMI WARNING HAS BEEN ISSUED FOR THE FISHER BEACH AREA. FOR YOUR OWN SAFETY, GO TO HIGHER GROUND IMMEDIATELY. REPEAT: A TSUNAMI IS EXPECTED TO HIT FISHER BEACH AT FIVE-THIRTY P.M. GO TO HIGHER GROUND NOW AND STAY THERE UNTIL YOU'RE NOTIFIED THAT IT'S SAFE TO RETURN.”

Daren looked at his watch: It was already five-twenty. The tsunami would be here in ten minutes! He scowled. Kyle had said he was going up the hill because there might be a tsunami. Daren didn't want to be wrong and have Kyle be right. He had been so sure that Kyle was foolish to run away. Now the van made it sound as if the beach might be dangerous, as Kyle had said.