The Tsunami Countdown (30 page)

12:31 p.m.
6 Minutes to Fourth Wave

A
s promised, the C-130 swooped down and, from Kai’s vantage point, looked like it was landing on the water itself. It came
to a stop, still far in the distance, and its rear cargo door lowered. The transport had just entered Hawaiian airspace and
was headed to Wheeler when the pilot, a Captain Martin Wainwright, heard Stan’s plea over the radio. Wainwright had gotten
a bright idea and volunteered to help.

It was the cargo that was particularly relevant: three Humvees headed for Pearl Harbor. The cargo door lowered to disgorge
one of them.

“Come on,” Kai said. “Let’s cut the distance that guy has to come get us.”

Brad spotted a section of the partially collapsed roof that they could easily slide down to get to ground level. When all
of them were safely down, they started jogging
in the direction of the reef runway. Brad carried Mia on his back, and Kai carried Lani. Teresa, Stan, and Tom jogged behind
them. Chuck and Denise were in fairly good shape, so they could keep up—not that any of them could go fast anyway. The muck
was slippery, and there was standing water everywhere.

Just a few seconds into their trot, Stan ran through what, on the surface, looked like just a shallow puddle. But when he
stepped into it, his leg sank up to his knee, and he fell facefirst into a pool of water two feet deep.

“Dammit!” he yelled, sputtering the filthy water from his mouth.

“You okay?” Kai said, helping him out.

“I’m fine. The water’s so dirty, I couldn’t see the hole.”

“Well, let’s try to steer around water where we can’t see the bottom.”

“You think?” said Chuck. “You’re a genius.” He kept running.

Brad made a move toward him, but Kai put his hand on Brad’s shoulder and shook his head. They didn’t need the distraction.
After Stan’s plunge, they had to constantly make detours around obvious holes, standing water, and wreckage. Their progress
slowed considerably.

“This is a dumb idea,” said Chuck. “I bet that pilot could have found a helicopter if he’d tried harder.”

“Why don’t you shut up?” said Brad. “I’m sick of your
bitching. If you had been smart enough not to go back to your apartment, you wouldn’t be out here with us.”

“I don’t have to shut up. I can say anything I want.”

“Well, why don’t you say thanks to me for not tossing you out of that helicopter?”

After inching down the cargo ramp for what seemed like an eternity, the Humvee roared off in their direction. With all the
debris on the ground, it would still take a few minutes for the Humvee to get to them. They would be cutting it close.

The cargo ramp lifted, and the plane pivoted so that it would be ready for takeoff.

While Brad and Chuck verbally duked it out, Denise came closer to Kai.

“I’m sorry about my husband,” Denise said. “He’s a jerk.”

“I noticed,” Kai replied.

“I can’t believe I’ve stayed with him so long. Listen, thanks for saving us. If it wasn’t for you, we’d still be on that building.”

“You’re welcome.”

“You know, you look really familiar,” Denise said. “Have I seen you somewhere?”

“Maybe. My name’s Kai. Kai Tanaka. I work at the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. Or worked, I should say.”

“Right!” she said. “I saw you on TV this morning.”

“Wait a minute!” said Chuck, overhearing their conversation. “I saw you too. Whatever they were paying you, it was too much.”

Brad grabbed Chuck from behind and wrenched him to a stop.

“If it wasn’t for him,” Brad said, “nobody would have had any time to evacuate.”

“Get out of my face,” Chuck said. “He screwed up, and now we’re running for our lives because of it.”

“He lost more than you’ll ever know today.”

“Well, he deserves it.”

Anger flared across Brad’s face, and without another word, he belted Chuck in the jaw. Chuck went down hard on his back. He
lay there stunned for a moment and then picked himself up. None of the others moved a muscle to help him.

When Chuck was fully standing, he continued looking at the ground. Apparently he was a big mouth with nothing to back it up.
Kai understood that the guy was scared, but that didn’t mean he had to like him.

With Mia still clinging to his back, Brad walked to within three inches of Chuck’s face and loomed over him. Brad had a good
four inches and thirty pounds on him.

“Now, you’re going to keep your mouth shut, or we’re going to leave your sorry butt out here. Got it?”

Chuck didn’t look at him, but he didn’t say anything, either. He got it.

“Come on,” Kai said. “The farther we run, the sooner we’ll be on that Humvee.”

In a minute, the Humvee was less than a half mile from them. It closed in on them at a high speed that bordered on reckless.
The mud was no match for its huge tires and ground clearance, so the driver took as straight a line toward them as the debris
on the airfield would allow, instead of following what was left of the airstrip concrete. Splashes of water periodically shot
into the air as it pounded through large pools.

“I know we’re in a hurry,” Teresa said, “but that guy better watch out—”

Before she could finish her sentence, the Humvee nosedived into another pool. This time a massive plume sprayed twenty feet
high in front of the vehicle and it came to a dead stop, its front submerged in a rut three feet deep. The engine sputtered
and quit.

They all skidded to a halt, their mouths agape at seeing their only way to safety literally dead in the water.

12:33 p.m.
4 Minutes to Fourth Wave

K
ai sprinted to the Humvee. It was one of the models that look like an enormous pickup truck, with the back of the Humvee open
to the air. The driver’s door swung open. An airman in a green uniform stumbled out and fell into the pool. He was the only
one in the vehicle. He clambered out of the hole, his hand over his forehead. Brad and Kai got there first and let Mia lean
on Lani.

“Are you all right?” Kai said.

“Yes, sir. Hit my head on the steering wheel. Guess I should have worn the seat belt. No air bag.”

He lifted his hand, and Kai could see a nasty gash above his right eyebrow. The blood flowed down into his eye.

“That’ll make a great scar,” Brad said.

Chuck and Stan came to stop behind them, followed by Tom, Denise, and Teresa.

“Let me look at that,” Teresa said, and put pressure on the wound.

“Are you the pilot?” Chuck asked. Why he thought the man would be the pilot, Kai had no idea.

“Loadmaster,” the crewman replied. “Airman Darrin Peabody. Sorry about crashing the truck.”

“How old are you?” Chuck asked. “Thirteen?”

“I’m twenty, sir.”

“Great! They sent a teenager to save us.”

“I said shut your mouth,” Brad said, and Chuck did. “It’s all right, Airman. Stan over there took a header a few minutes ago.”

“I’d love to introduce you to everyone,” Kai said, climbing into the Humvee’s driver’s seat, “but we need to get out of here
right now.” Peabody was in no condition to drive.

“Oh, no!” Brad said. “Move over. You drive like an old lady.”

“What’s the best way to get this thing unstuck?” Kai asked Peabody.

“Jeez, I don’t know. I’ve only driven these things a couple of times, and that was just to get it on the plane. My job is
to make sure it’s loaded right.”

“Never mind,” Brad said, putting it into gear and starting it up. “It’s like any other truck, just a lot bigger.”

The engine wasn’t entirely submerged, or they might
really have been out of luck. The front of the Humvee rested against the edge of the hole, which looked like a less solid
part of a taxiway that had been stripped away from the concrete where it met the runway. The back wheels were up on the remaining
concrete, so the truck sat at a steep angle.

Everyone stepped back, and Brad threw it in reverse. The four-wheel drive bit at the pavement under the back wheels and the
mud below the front. Water and mud sprayed high into the air in front of the vehicle. He put it in first, with the same sprinkler
effect in the other direction. The Humvee rolled slightly back and forth but didn’t make any progress.

The radio in the Humvee crackled.

“Dare! Are you all right? Dare, what happened?”

“That’s our pilot, Captain Wainwright,” Peabody said.

“Dare! Airman Peabody! Come in!”

Brad grabbed the mouthpiece.

“Captain, Dare’s got a bump on his noggin, but he’ll be okay.”

“Who is this?”

“This is Brad. I’ll get back to you in a minute. We’re trying to get this SUV out of a hole.”

“What do you mean? What’s going on?” Captain Wainwright continued to call, but Brad was right. They didn’t have time to waste
explaining the situation.

“This isn’t working,” Kai said to Brad. “Try turning the wheel to the left. The hole doesn’t look as steep on that side. If
you can get the whole Humvee down in there, you might be able to climb out.”

“Are you crazy?” said Chuck. “He’ll stall out if he gets the whole thing down there.”

“Shut up!” Kai said. “Brad, what do you think?”

“It’s worth a try. My way still might work, but not in time.”

Brad cranked the wheel to the left and floored the gas. The Humvee rotated a little to the left and then stopped.

“It’s stuck on something. Everybody push on the back left of the truck. Even you, Chuckles. If I spin the wheels, the traction
should be low enough on this mud to push it.”

“This is a waste of time,” Chuck said, although he lined up on the left rear fender with the rest of them except for Lani
and Mia. “This thing must weigh a couple of tons.”

“Ready?” Brad said.

“Yes!” they all yelled, their feet planted as firmly as possible.

“Start pushing as soon as I gun it.”

Brad revved the engine and then dropped the clutch. The water didn’t spray right at them because he had the front wheels turned,
but they were getting soaked anyway from the backsplash on the undercarriage. The back wheels started spinning, and that was
their cue to push.

“Go!” Kai yelled. He pushed, using up whatever adrenaline he had left. This was their one chance out of there, and he wasn’t
leaving anything in reserve.

At first, nothing seemed to happen. Kai was about to let up when he heard Brad yell.

“It’s working!”

That gave Kai an extra burst of energy, and finally he felt the back end give. The rotation of the Humvee accelerated, and
the right rear wheel slipped off the concrete.

“Come on, baby!” Brad yelled.

Then the left rear reached the edge of the hole. They gave one last heave, and with a big splash the back end of the Humvee
dropped into the hole.

Brad didn’t let up on the gas, and after an agonizing moment when it seemed like the Humvee would bog down, it sprang forward
and launched itself out of the muck.

Everyone whooped with joy, and Brad leaned out of the window.

“Anyone want a ride?”

Kai put Mia in the backseat and jumped in the front passenger seat next to Brad. The rest of them climbed into the rear.

When they were all aboard, Brad jammed the pedal to the floor, and they hurtled forward.

“Why don’t you let the captain know we’re on our way? I’d better keep my eyes on the road.”

Kai picked up the transmitter.

“Captain, this is Kai Tanaka, one of the people you so kindly agreed to pick up. We’re out of the mud and on our way.”

“Good. What’s your ETA?”

“I think it took Peabody about two minutes to get here, so I’m guessing the same for the trip back. Captain, can you see if
the water is receding?”

“What?”

“If you can see the shoreline moving seaward, that means the tsunami is almost here.”

There was silence on the other end for a second, as if they were discussing something. Then he came back on.

“Uh, Mr. Tanaka,” Wainwright said. “The shoreline is so far out, I can hardly see it. Make it quick. I mean
real
quick.”

“You better believe it,” Brad said.

Brad followed the tracks that Peabody had made getting to them as closely as he could, knowing that the path was safe. It
was the bumpiest ride Kai had ever experienced, and the people in the back were thrown around viciously.

After another minute they were back on smooth concrete, and it was a straight shot to the plane directly in front of them.

“Look at that,” said Peabody. The sight was familiar to everyone else, but he was in awe at seeing it for the first
time. In the distance, the ocean rose precipitously. Kai had lost track of time, and now they were out of it. The massive
tsunami kept climbing into the air as it rushed toward the runway. It looked to be about a half mile from the end of the runway
where the C-130 sat.

Captain Wainwright came back on.

“Do you see that, Mr. Tanaka?”

“We see it. How long will it take you to lift off the runway from a dead stop?”

“It’ll take a little longer because of the state of the runway. Maybe thirty seconds.”

Kai did the mental calculation. Without time to analyze the data, he couldn’t be sure of anything. But he couldn’t take the
chance, and so he made the call.

“Start your takeoff roll now,” Kai said.

“What? But you’re less than three hundred yards away! We’re not leaving without you.”

“Believe me, I don’t plan on you leaving us.”

“Then we’ll wait.”

“Captain, you don’t understand. Waiting will kill us all. If you don’t start your takeoff roll right now, that plane will
never get off the ground.”

12:37 p.m.
Fourth Wave

T
he C-130’s propellers spun up to full speed in preparation for takeoff. “Are you insane?” Chuck screamed. “You just told him
to take off without us!”

Kai ignored him.

“Listen to me, Captain,” he said, not only for Wainwright’s benefit, but for everyone in the Humvee. “We’re going to come
up behind you and jump onto the cargo door, so keep it lowered.” They couldn’t drive onto the plane because, although the
door was lowered, it couldn’t contact the runway during takeoff. “That way, you can take off as soon as we’re all on board.”

“I get it. A running start. I’ll keep the speed down as long as I can, but I’ve only got about six thousand feet of clear
runway, and there’s a big-ass hole at the end. We’re on our way.”

The plane lurched forward and started moving down the runway. The Humvee was now only two hundred yards behind and closing
quickly.

“Let’s change places,” Kai said to Brad.

“No way! You know I’m the better driver.”

“I don’t care. Move!”

“It’s too dangerous. And you’re crazy if you think I’m stopping.”

Kai lowered his voice.

“Brad, someone’s got to be at the wheel to hold it steady while the rest of us get on. And I don’t see a cruise control.”

Brad let it hang there for a second without answering. “I’ll figure something out,” he finally said.

“What?”

“I’ve got an idea.”

“What?”

“Dammit, Kai! I don’t have time to explain. Let me concentrate.”

The huge tail of the C-130 loomed in front of them. An Air Force crewman stood at the back of the plane, hanging on to a strap
and beckoning them to get closer.

To their left, the tsunami grew to gigantic proportions, heading at them on an angle. It wouldn’t swamp the runway all at
once, but would hit the part in back of them first. Because of the angle, the wave would be chasing
them down the runway at an effective speed of about 150 miles an hour, far above the Humvee’s top speed of seventy.

Their closing speed with the aircraft slowed, but Brad had the accelerator floored. Kai could see the airman in the plane
talking into a headset, and the plane decelerated a little, allowing them to catch up.

When the Humvee was within five feet of the plane, Chuck jumped up from the rear truck bed. He scrambled over the cab and
onto the hood directly in front of Brad.

“You idiot!” Brad yelled. “I can’t see!”

“Wait until he’s closer!” Kai yelled to Chuck.

But Chuck didn’t listen. In his impatience to get on the plane, he couldn’t wait until they got closer than three feet. He
ran forward, and just as he was about to jump, the Humvee hit a piece of debris on the runway.

The jolt sent Chuck reeling sideways, and before the airman in the plane could grab him, he fell off the side of the Humvee
and tumbled onto the runway.

Denise screamed as she watched Chuck’s cartwheeling body. Kai didn’t say what he was thinking, which was that even if Chuck
survived the fall, there was no time to turn around and get him.

The Humvee rammed against the back of the C-130.

“Now!” Kai said as he crawled into the backseat. “Hurry!”

Denise, Peabody, Tom, and Stan, who were in the back of the Humvee, climbed onto the roof. Kai followed Teresa and Lani out
the open back window, then pulled Mia through.

Tom and then Denise quickly crossed to the plane without incident. Peabody was next. With his blurred vision, he misjudged
the step onto the cargo door. He lost his footing on the front of the hood and dropped onto his back, his butt suspended in
a space that had opened up between the C-130 and the Humvee.

There was no way Peabody could pull himself up. The airman inside the plane let go of his strap, but he couldn’t reach Peabody’s
hand. Stan pulled Peabody up by his shoulders. Together they stood, and with Peabody’s arm around his shoulder, Stan ran and
jumped onto the deck of the C-130. They both went down spread-eagled, and the airman pulled them out of the way.

Teresa grabbed Kai, who now had Mia on his back.

“Be careful,” she said.

“Don’t worry. I’ve got her.”

“Okay. I’ll take Lani with me.”

Kai looked at his daughter. He saw no fear, only determination. “I can do it, Dad,” she said.

Kai’s thoughts flashed through everything she’d accomplished today—towing Mia to safety, coming up with the idea for how to
use the raft, showing such stamina after nearly drowning—and realized she was right.

“I know you can,” he said. “Now, go!”

Using the wide rooftop rack as a brace, Teresa and Lani pulled themselves over the Humvee’s roof.

Kai stole a quick look behind him. Chuck, who was futilely chasing the plane, slipped in the muck and fell. As he pushed himself
up on his knees, he turned to see a wall of water three hundred feet high tower over him, blocking the midday sun. Chuck raised
his arms as if he were Moses trying to part the Red Sea, and then he was absorbed by the wall as it surged onto the runway.
He was gone.

Kai, numbed by the day’s experiences, couldn’t bring himself to feel sorry for Chuck.

Once Teresa and Lani were on the hood, Kai clambered over the Humvee’s roof, pulling Mia sloppily with him. Holding Teresa’s
hand, Lani jumped onto the plane’s cargo door, where she grabbed the airman’s outstretched arm. She tottered for a second
and then collapsed with Teresa to the deck, out of harm’s way. Kai breathed a sigh of relief.

The airman frantically waved to Kai, so he knew there was little time left before the C-130 would have to take off. He stood
and hoisted Mia onto his back. Even with the plane blocking the wind, the current of air was strong enough to push him to
the side, and he misplaced his foot on an edge of the hood. He heard Teresa’s scream faintly over the rush of air and the
airplane’s engines.

Mia tilted her body to the side, helping Kai right himself before he fell. With a last burst of adrenaline, he leaned toward
the airplane and made a dash across the hood. He leapt onto the cargo floor, and the airman caught him.

Kai retained his footing and passed Mia to Teresa. He grabbed a strap that the airman handed to him and spun around to see
what Brad had planned.

The tsunami was so close to their flank now that, with the tail of the aircraft blocking Kai’s view, he couldn’t see the top
of it unless he looked straight back. The solid mass of water dwarfed the Humvee.

Brad was talking into the radio transmitter. He had a big smile on his face, but it belied the sadness in his eyes. The plane
pulled away from the Humvee. That was his plan all along. Kai locked eyes with Brad and shook his head.

“Don’t do this,” he mouthed, knowing that Brad would never be able to hear him.

Brad pointed at Kai and gave him a thumbs-up. As Kai continued to stare at him, the plane lifted into the air. He could see
Brad’s smile grow even bigger when he saw the plane take flight. That was Kai’s last image of Brad—smiling, his eyes shining
with tears—as the tsunami overtook him and swallowed the Humvee.

They had barely gained the required three hundred feet
before the tsunami passed underneath them by only a few yards, the turbulent air causing the plane to buck. The wave was so
close that Kai tasted the salty spray.

“Are you Kai?” the airman on the plane asked.

Kai nodded dumbly, completely drained.

The airman handed Kai the headset.

“The captain wants to talk to you.”

Kai put the headset on.

“Yes?”

“Kai? This is Captain Wainwright. Your brother told me that it was more important for you to get on the plane than him. I
talked to him right before the end. He had a message for you. He said, quote, ‘Kai, don’t worry about me. I’m not afraid of
the water anymore. Take care of my niece for me. I love you, brother.’ End quote.”

Captain Wainwright paused, but Kai didn’t have anything to say.

“I’m very sorry for your loss,” he said.

“Me too,” Kai said, and tore the headset off.

He sagged to the deck of the aircraft, and for the last time that day, he cried.