Sedulity (Book One) Impact (14 page)

“But your ship survived these waves. Correct? So they could
not be as large as you and some of our sensors are reporting.”

“No, you idiot! It was a miracle that this ship made it over
the first wave. It was higher than this cruise ship is long! Luckily it was
more of a giant bulge in the ocean than a breaking wave, and we were able to get
the bow pointed towards it, otherwise we would have capsized. As it was the
massive swells caused extensive flooding aboard. It was like being on a roller
coaster with the ship climbing a
thousand feet
above sea level before
falling back into the trough. I don’t have a firm headcount yet, but I fear we
have already lost hundreds of souls. I should be focused on the emergency here,
but that is nothing compared to what is headed towards you and everyone else on
the Pacific Rim!”

“Calm down, Captain. I’m sure it’s not as bad as you fear.”

“No? Then you are a fool as well as an idiot and millions of
people will die because of it. Do you think this is a joke? A prank? Do you
think I am making your sensor buoys give you false data all over the ocean? I
am reporting a global disaster in progress and you are the only people I know
who can issue a warning in time to make any difference. Time is running out.
You will begin losing contact with the Marshal Islands, Micronesia and French
Polynesia any time now. It’s too late to warn them and wouldn’t help them
anyway. Next in line will be Australia and Indonesia, as well as your location
in Hawaii. Yes, it’s coming for you too. After that Asia and the Americas will only
have hours to prepare, but only if you warn them now. Stop wasting time and
sound the alarm!”

“Please hold the line again, Captain. I need to confer with
my superiors.”

****

Chapter 11:

In addition to the blast wave, impact
Tsunami, and incipient torrential storms, the asteroid strike also triggered
unprecedented seismic events. The impact crater on the seafloor of the Mid
Pacific Basin generated an earthquake registering 8.9 on the Richter scale and
lasting more than fifteen minutes. During that time the 12 mile wide and 4 mile
deep transient impact crater went through collapse and reconfiguration into a
complex crater 17 miles wide and only half a mile lower than the surrounding
seafloor. The other three and half miles of crater depth were filled in by
molten material from the asteroid and collapse of the surrounding seafloor into
the transient crater. 

If this were the extent of the
seismic activity it would have been a serious but predominantly local event.
The seismic Tsunamis would have been minor when compared to the displacement
waves that were already racing away from the impact zone. Unfortunately, the
location, depth, strength and duration of the impact generated quake combined
to trigger a tectonic shift along the Clipperton Fracture Zone running across
the Eastern Pacific Ocean north of the equator. This 4,500 mile long series of
undersea ridges and troughs include a string of previously dormant volcanoes strung
in a line running straight towards Central America.

Within half an hour of the asteroid
impact the Clipperton Fracture Zone was active again for the first time in
millions of years. Furthermore, it threatened to trigger additional tectonic
shifts in the Clarion Fracture Zone, the Molokai Fracture Zone, the Murray
Fracture Zone, and the Mendocino Fracture Zone. In short, the seafloor of the
entire North East Pacific was destabilized, including fracture zones off the
West Coast of the United States. The result was a series of earthquakes that
spread like falling dominos around the Pacific Rim.

Lydia gathered her courage and reached for the handle on the
door leading up to the Med Center. It didn’t look as if the door had a lock, so
only the latch handle was holding back the water that leaked from around the
frame. She took a deep breath and, standing away from where she thought the
door would swing, leaned forward to turn the knob. Her hand was almost broken
as the door flew open under the pressure of the water trapped behind it. A
raging torrent exploded across the partially flooded deck of Broadway, washing
across the corridor and splashing back in a roiling wave that smashed Lydia up
against the wall.

Water continued to gush out of the narrow stairway behind the
door and fear gripped Lydia as she realized she would have to make a break for
the waiting Emergency Bypass compartment. She launched herself off the wall
into the rushing torrent of water that carried her back down the corridor. 
Lydia was a good swimmer, despite her exhaustion, and fought to stay close to
the wall where the bypass passage awaited her. The water was still only waist
deep and she was moving with the leading edge of the flood. It felt like
bodysurfing a breaking wave as it rushed into a narrow cove. 

Approaching the closed watertight door blocking the corridor
and the open bypass door, Lydia was struck by fear as the force of the rising
water pushed the small bypass door closed. She struggled against the current
and reached the door mere seconds after it closed. It wasn’t locked and she
grabbed the handle to pull it open. Unfortunately, the rising water level in
the corridor was already exerting considerable pressure against the closed
door. It was designed not to open if the water level in the corridor was higher
than in the bypass compartment and it did its job well. The water filling that
section of Broadway was already up to her shoulders and continued to rise
inexorably.

Giving up on her fallback plan, Lydia was almost out of hope
and feeling defeated. Her mind almost went into panic mode, but she took deep
breaths as her feet floated off the deck and forced her to tread water. She had
allowed herself to be swept down Broadway to what had become a dead end. Her
only hope now lay in fighting her way back to the stairwell that was still
spewing water into the corridor. If she could get there and wait until Broadway
filled completely, equalizing with the water pressure from above, she had a
slim chance of swimming up the stairs in hope of surfacing before her breath
ran out. Lydia marshaled every ounce of her remaining strength, kicked off her
shoes, and started swimming back up Broadway as the water continued to rise.

****

Armando and Rachel caught up to Hank and the other injured
couple on the last flight of stairs leading to Deck 1. The point where they
stopped had actually become the bottom of the stairs because standing water
lapped at the third step up from Deck 1 where the Medical Center was located.
Additional water continued to trickle down the stairs from Deck 2. More
daunting than two feet of water filling the lobby of Deck 1 were the dead and
injured people immersed in it. Bodies bobbed in the water as it sloshed back
and forth to the gentle roll of the ship. Survivors sat or stood in the water,
forming a ragged line in front of the doors to the Med Center. Cries of pain,
suffering and fear echoed through the corridor. The steps above the water level
were also crowded with seated wounded. It was a depressing and frightful scene.

“Christ on a crutch!” Hank Donner blurted. “This is a hell of
a cluster fuck. Who thought it was a good idea to put the hospital on the
lowest level of a ship? Didn’t anyone think that an emergency might include
some flooding?”

“I think they expected any flooding to come from below
instead of above,” Armando said as he helped Rachel take a seat on the stairs.
Turning to her he spoke softly, “Wait here while I go check with the medical
staff. I’ll try to get you signed up for priority treatment too. I’m sure the
most serious injuries will be handled first.”

“Thank you,” Rachel whispered. It was clear that she was
going into either physical or mental shock. Finding these bodies floating in
front of their destination was certainly not helping. Armando fervently hoped
that Brad Brewer wasn’t one of them. He was attempting to move past Hank when
two more survivors arrived from above. Armando glanced back and immediately
recognized them.

“Officer Perkins! Mr. Summers! What are you doing down here?”
Armando called out.

“Armando?” Kevin asked. It was obvious that he found Armando
hard to recognize after everything the bartender had been through. “We’re looking
for my wife and daughter. Have you seen them down here?”

“No, not here,” Armando replied with a smile and short laugh
that brought Kevin up short. What could possibly be funny about that? Seeing
his reaction, Armando quickly added, “They are safe Mr. Kevin. I escorted them
to the Bridge myself. Then the Captain sent me here to have these burns
treated.”

Kevin sank to a sitting position on the stairs, as if all the
wind had been knocked out of him, but in a good way. He raised his head and
smiled at Armando. His worst fears had been wiped away, at least the personal
ones. His family was safe. That was all that he could think about, even in the
face of horribly injured and dead bodies, not to mention the horror that he
knew was in store for multitudes ashore. All he could say was, “Thank God.”

Then the first twinges of survivors’ guilt set in.  Kevin
looked around at the dead and injured, including Armando whose burned and
blistered face was still smiling back at him. He took in the fact that several
feet of water flooded Deck 1 and the Med Center. He saw and heard the others
who had come here for medical care. And he realized that his own worries were
minor in comparison to those of others. Kevin wanted nothing more than to turn
and run back to join his family up on the Bridge, but his conscience told him
to help these people first.

“Officer Perkins?” Kevin said to the radar man. “Shouldn’t we
see if we can offer some assistance here?”

“Absolutely, Mr. Summers, and I’m happy your family’s safe.
Let’s see if we can figure out how to drain off this water and get more aid to the
injured.” He helped Kevin to his feet and they moved down to join Armando who
had already turned to wade into the standing water.

“Never let it be said that Hank Donner didn’t step up when
the chips were down,” the Texan chimed in. “Just give me a second to take off
my boots. They cost a fortune.”

 Kevin and Petty Officer Perkins exchanged glances, but held
their tongues while they stepped down into the water and waded past the dead
and injured towards the Medical Center. Armando went with them and Hank
followed a few moments later.

“Please remain calm,” Petty Officer Perkins called out. This
was clearly something that all the ships officers were trained to say in
stressful situations. “We’ll get this minor flooding sorted out and see that
all of you get medical attention based on the severity of your injuries.”

A woman dressed as a nurse heard them approaching and came
out of the Med Center to meet them. “Thank God you’re here,” she said. “We’ve
been trying to drain off this water, but the people on the Bridge say there’s a
problem with some watertight doors causing the water to back-up in this
section. It’s gone down a couple of inches in the past few minutes, but it’s
almost impossible to treat patients in these conditions.”

“We’ll see what we can do,” Perkins replied, heading towards
a side corridor that he knew contained an elevator and stairwell with access to
crew spaces on the lower decks. As he suspected, the stairwell was full of
water. He and Kevin were about to discuss their options when there was a loud
clang and a sucking sound. Suddenly all the water in the stairwell started to
empty down below and the standing water in the Medical Center rushed to follow
it. 

Kevin and the radar man grabbed whatever they could to steady
themselves and keep from being sucked down the stairs. As the water drained it
formed a whirlpool and Kevin made the passing observation that it did indeed
rotate clockwise. He would have smiled if the circumstances hadn’t been so
dire.

The rush of water lasted close to a minute while all the
water trapped in that section of Deck One drained below. Close to a dozen
floating bodies were carried down the stairs as well. The men ignored the dead
that washed past, but did reach out to rescue several of the injured that were
in danger of joining them. As the last of the water drained away and the stairs
leading below became visible, Kevin said, “Well, that was easy.”

“I have no idea what just happened,” Perkins replied.
“Perhaps the Bridge was finally able to open one of the watertight doors
below.” While he was speaking the water level in the stairwell stabilized a few
feet above the level of the door to the deck below. Most of the bodies that had
been sucked down there now choked the stairwell in a floating tangle of
lifeless limbs. It was a disgusting and distressing sight.

Kevin was about to turn away when movement caught his eye.
Was it possible that one of those bodies that washed by them wasn’t really
dead? Something or someone was definitely moving around down there, causing the
floating mass of corpses to wiggle and shake. Kevin didn’t hesitate to rush
down the slick steps in hopes of rescuing a survivor. Holding onto the handrail
with one hand, he waded into the water that still filled the lower half of the
stairwell and started shoving bodies aside in search of one that was moving
beneath them. Perkins and Armando followed him into the stairwell, but there was
only enough room for one person to work effectively. Kevin was almost convinced
that he was too late, or that the movement of the bodies had been caused by a
current in the water, when a groping hand grabbed his foot below the surface,
scaring him half to death.

Kevin reached down and grasped the arm, then pulled with all
his might, dragging a living person up through the tangle of dead bodies
floating in the stairwell. The thing that shocked him most at first sight of
the woman he rescued was that he was certain she had not been one of those
sucked down from Deck 1. The second thing he noticed was that he thought he
recognized her from somewhere, although she was totally disheveled and
half-drowned. The real shock came when Perkins leaned down to help him pull the
woman out from among the bodies and exclaimed, “Mrs. Krystos? Dear God! It’s
the Captains’ wife!”

****

Captain Krystos had been on hold for several more minutes,
multi-tasking damage control all the while, when Dr. Kline came back on the
line. “Captain, Krystos?” The Captain grunted an affirmative and the scientist
continued, “Sorry for the delay, but we’ve had a number of developments here
that seem to confirm your story.”

“It’s not a story, damn it!” the Captain exclaimed. “It’s a
disaster in progress.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” Kline stammered. “Well, suffice it to
say that we are taking your warning seriously. We did record a massive
mid-ocean seismic event centered near you in the past hour, but our computers
gave it a low probability of creating a Tsunami due to the depth and topography
of the ocean floor there. However, if it was indeed an asteroid impact, we
could be dealing with something totally unprecedented.”

“Which is exactly what I have been telling you,” the Captain
said in as calm a tone as possible.

“Yes, indeed. Well, we now have confirmation from independent
sources too. It seems that NORAD has finally gotten around to telling us that
an object did hit the earth and actually set of nuclear detonation warnings
from their satellites. Other satellites are logging an unusual number of EPIRB distress
signals in the mid-Pacific, including one from your ship and several from your
lifeboats.”