Boyd Morrison - The Tsunami Countdown

Sheila climbed in next. Deena waited for Rachel, but Rachel shooed her in. As Deena climbed in, Stan said, “Lose the camera!”

“What?” Deena said. “Do you know how much this costs?”

“I don’t care. It weighs too much, and we’re overloaded. We need all the lift we can get.”

Deena grudgingly dropped the camera from her shoulder and removed the tape. She handed the camera to Rachel, who was standing outside. Rachel set it gently on the roof.

“Get in!” Stan yelled to Rachel.

“I thought the weight was too much.”

“It’ll be close, but the kids are light, so we’re going to try for it. This building isn’t going to be here much longer.”

“But it’s jammed. Where should I sit?”

Stan pointed at Deena. “Get on her lap.”

Rachel scrambled on top of Deena awkwardly. Her hand slipped and dug into Deena’s leg. Deena flinched.

“Sorry.” There was no way for Rachel to fasten a seat belt around herself, so she grabbed the seat in front of her as tightly as she could.

Stan secured himself in the pilot’s seat on the right, with Paige and the kids squeezed next to him. He brought the engine up to speed.

“Okay,” Stan said. “We’re going to do this slowly.”

With the engine at full speed, he pulled back on the stick. For a second, nothing happened. They simply sat there, the helicopter blades throbbing over their heads.

Stan pushed the throttle until the engine passed the redline. The helicopter jumped a yard into the air. Stan struggled with the collective, trying to keep the chopper level. But before he could get any more height, the aircraft skidded to the right, dangerously close to the huge rooftop air-conditioning unit. The helicopter rotated awkwardly, and for a moment the sound of grinding metal buzzed behind them, sending a cascade of sparks flying past them. Piercing screams filled the cabin.

Stan rotated the helicopter back around and dropped the stick. The helicopter thudded onto the roof, the main rotor blades sweeping past the machinery with only a foot to spare.

“I’m sorry, guys,” he said. “This isn’t going to work. Someone’s going to have to get out.”

“Only one of us?” Rachel said. “Will that make a difference?”

“I hope so. That sound you heard was our tail rotor brushing the air-conditioning unit. It seems okay, but I can’t take any more chances of bumping it. Nine passengers is just too many. I’ll be lucky to take off with only eight of you.”

There was an uneasy silence for a second.

“If I drop these people at Tripler,” Stan said, “I can be back in five minutes. I’d volunteer to stay behind, but unless one of you can fly a helicopter—”

“I’m staying,” Rachel said with a resigned tone.

“Maybe you should draw straws,” said Stan.

“No, this is my hotel. I’m responsible. I’m the one who should stay.”

Everyone else remained quiet. Even if they had argued, Rachel wouldn’t have let one of them stay behind while she was whisked to safety.

Before Rachel could climb out, Paige grabbed her arm and hugged her fiercely.

“Thank you for giving my family a chance.”

“Thanks for helping me. Take care of those kids.”

Rachel backed away to give the helicopter room to maneuver.

Stan brought the helicopter up to speed again. Without Rachel’s added 120 pounds, the blades were able to claw more lift from the air. The chopper slowly rose and angled away from the air-conditioning machinery.

After it was clear of the hotel, it circled once thirty feet above Rachel. They waved, and Rachel gave them a thumbs-up.

Then the helicopter swung away and headed in the direction of downtown Honolulu, leaving Rachel on the roof of the Grand Hawaiian, alone.

12:17 p.m.

20 Minutes to Fourth Wave

When Kai and the others saw the helicopter take off from the Grand Hawaiian, they let out a weary but jubilant cheer. It was quickly cut short by a rumble from far below them. The building continued to resist the force of the water, but it protested mightily. The noise made Kai step up the broadcasting of his Mayday. It would be extremely risky to wait for Rachel’s helicopter to get back. “My name is Kai Tanaka, and we are standing on a white building approximately six blocks from the beach and eight blocks west of the Honolulu Zoo. To anyone who can hear us…”

The power of the walkie-talkie limited the radius to just a few miles, so he was hoping something would fly within range long enough to hear the message. After a couple of broadcasts on the new frequency Rachel had given him, he got an answer.

“Mr. Tanaka, this is CWO Henry Mitchell on Army flight one niner three. I see your party. What is your situation?”

Teresa hugged Mia, and Tom yelled, “All right!”

“You see us?” Kai said to the pilot.

“We’re just passing over Diamond Head.” Kai turned and looked to the east, where saw a Black Hawk helicopter speeding toward them.

“Thank God! We’ve got eight people here.” A huge antenna sprang from the center of the building’s roof, a feature Kai hadn’t noticed from the ground. Three microwave transmitters were perched on the antenna. Kai didn’t see markings on it, but it couldn’t be anything other than a cell phone tower. It would get in the way of any helicopter trying to land. “You’ll have to hover next to the building to pick us up.”

Chuck and Denise, the other couple on the roof with them, saw the commotion and edged closer.

“What’s happening?” Chuck asked. “Did you get someone?”

“A helicopter,” Brad said.

“Which one?” Chuck pointed at the Black Hawk. “That one? Why isn’t it coming down?”

Kai expected the helicopter to start dipping down toward the building, but Chuck was right. It was maintaining its altitude. It would pass over them in a few seconds.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Tanaka,” the pilot said, “but I don’t have any room.”

“Even for a few people?” Kai pleaded. “We have children here.”

“I’m packed to the gills with injured from Maui. I’m heading over to Wheeler to drop them off. I’ll be back for you as soon as I can.”

“How long will that be?”

“I’m running low on fuel, so we need to gas up. That could take thirty minutes.”

“Thirty minutes!”

“Maybe longer. Wheeler’s jammed, and it’s the only place that still has refueling equipment for choppers.”

The Black Hawk roared overhead, tantalizingly close.

Chuck, who had been listening to the conversation, pushed next to Kai and snatched the walkie-talkie from Kai’s hand. Kai stood in shock as Chuck keyed the Talk button.

“Pilot, this is Chuck Bender, and I have ten thousand dollars in cash here for you if you—”

Brad grabbed Chuck’s wrist, pressing his fingers into Chuck’s carpal tendon. Chuck screamed in pain and dropped the walkie-talkie into Brad’s other hand.

“That’s not yours,” Brad said, and handed the walkietalkie back to Kai. Chuck glared at Brad but thought better about taking it further.

“Did I hear that right?” Mitchell said. “Do you think I do this for money? Who was that?”

“I’m sorry, Chief Mitchell,” Kai said. “That was another party here. He does not speak for me. We’d appreciate any help you can give us, but thirty minutes will be too long. There is another wave coming. And I’m not sure the building will even survive that long. We’re hearing a lot of rumbling coming from it. It might go at any time.”

“I’m sorry,” Mitchell said. “I’ll see if there are any other helicopters available. In the meantime, I suggest you keep sending out the SOS. Good luck.”