Tsunami

By Lexie Orgill

I was watching cartoons when the first warning came. 

I know, I know. It’s silly, a 15 year old girl, curled up on the couch, watching Scooby Doo. I just needed to feel safe, and for me, the safest I can feel is watching something so silly, real life doesn’t feel so scary any more. 

My parents were off on one of their fancy vacations. This one was to Hawaii. I didn’t care. Every time I went with them, I just sat in a so-called ‘luxury’ hotel. Technically, my parents were there on strictly business. Somehow, they always ended up with amazing stories and pictures to share though. Eventually, I gave up on going with them. This time was the first day that they actually trusted me to stay home alone. I was so excited. They told me that it was just a trial run. They would only be gone for a day or two. If all went well, I might be able to stay home alone again. All went well for the first day. It was the second day that everything went wrong. 

I was just reaching the point in my episode where they were unmasking the ghost, this time the Phantom Shadow, when my screen went dark. It stayed that way for a second, then flicked to a storm warning. There was a pretty, middle aged newscaster. She had perfectly straight teeth that gleamed when she smiled, and lucious blonde hair. I had seen her before, but this time it felt different. She smiled a perfect smile, but the smile never reached her eyes. She looked… worried. 

“This is a storm warning.” What? No way! I thought, rolling my eyes. The newscaster continued, her voice smooth, and gentle. “This message is for the city San Francisco. If you currently reside in San Francisco, you may want to get prepared for a long night. There is evidence of earthquakes in the ocean near you.” 

I frowned. I hadn’t felt any earthquakes. 

“It must be a prank.” I mutter, trying to change it back to Scooby Doo. It didn’t work. Whatever this was, I was stuck with it until the so-called ‘threat’ passed. I stood up, stretched my legs, and walked upstairs to grab a snack. After a moment of indecision, I pulled a couple packs of crackers out of the cupboard. I was walking back downstairs to try and change the channel again when the phone rang. I set the crackers on the table, and picked it up.

“Hello?”

“Oh, Delilah, thank goodness you’re okay!” It was my mom. Her voice sounded panicked. 

“Why wouldn’t I be?” I asked, a bit of worry creeping into my voice. 

“Weren’t you watching the storm warning?” My eyes widen, and I race downstairs to the TV. The newscaster looked terrified as she said, “San Francisco, evacuate now. The tsunami is coming straight at you.”  

Panic pierced me, sharp and unforgiving. I gasped for air, but the panic surrounded me, suffocating me. 

“Oh n-no,” I gasped, clutching the phone with a white-knuckled grip. 

“Delilah,” My dad said in a dangerously low voice. “Are you still at the house?”

“Yes,” I wailed. 

“Delilah, I need you to listen to me,” My dad said, his voice catching as he spoke. “Upstairs, in the kitchen, there is a thick black bag below the sink. I need you to grab that, okay? That has everything you need. Then I need you to get out of there. Take a bike, a car, whatever. Just get out of there.” 

“Okay.” Once I agreed, he whispered, “I love you Del. Just get somewhere safe.” Then he hung up, leaving me to face the tsunami on my own. 

“Okay. Step one,” I muttered to myself. “Get the thick black bag from under the sink.” I dashed upstairs, and opened the cupboard right below our main sink. The black bag was there, hidden carefully in the shadows. I pulled it out, and opened it up. Inside, there was money, clothes, food, and more. Everything I needed to survive was in there. 

“Step two. Get out of here.” I would have driven the car, if I had known how to drive it. Unfortunately, I had failed my drivers test two times in a row. I raced out to the garage, clipped on a helmet, and started riding my bike away from the beach. As I glided up the sidewalk, I realized it was a good thing I didn’t know how to drive. There were cars everywhere, with traffic clogging up the road. I easily passed most of the cars. They honked angrily at me, but I didn’t care. I just kept thinking, Get out of here. 

A couple of families took one look at me, and followed suit. They realized it was faster on foot than by car. It didn’t matter to me. I just kept riding. It wasn’t too long before I had made it a couple miles inland, where people had made a barricade of sandbags. I didn’t know if it would help, but who was I to judge? I glided past, and kept pedaling. I was biking up a steep hill, when I heard a soft whimper. I glanced back, and saw a medium sized black dog. 

“You better get going,” I called as I continued to pedal up the hill. Just when I made it up the hill, I heard the whimper again. This time I turned around completely, and stared at the dog limping up the hill. I noticed it had curled one of its paws to its chest, and was struggling to walk. I bit my lip. I could see the wave rising in the distance, threatening to crash down at any second. Then I looked back at the dog, who whimpered again, and tried to limp farther. My heart broke, and at that moment I decided. 

I spun around in the road, and let gravity pull me down the hill. Down, down, down I went, picking up speed as I went. When I reached the bottom, I heard a thunderous crash. I kicked the bike away, scooped up the dog, and started to tear up the hill. I hadn’t made it far before the water crashed over me. 

I spun around wildly, clinging to the dog. The water pushed me around, with no rhyme or reason to it all. After what seemed like forever, my head popped above the water, and I sucked in a breath of sweet, delicious air. 

“Air is so good!” I wheezed, lifting the dog as high out of the water as possible. He yapped happily, and I sucked in one last breath before I was sucked below the water again. It happened over and over. I get sucked down, holding my breath for as long as possible, until I break the surface, get one breath in, and the whole thing starts over again. 

I was growing tired. I could barely lift the dog out of the water. Eventually, it reached the point where I couldn't lift the dog at all. I was at the mercy of the water. I could feel the dog growing weak, and in a last-ditch effort to save him, I hurled him as far away from me as possible, towards what looked like the floating roof of a house. He landed with a sickening thump, but he landed on the roof, out of the water, where he could breathe. That was more than I can say for myself. I never knew when my next breath would be. I just waited. I waited, and hoped for the best. 

I curled my hands over my head, hoping that it would stop anything from hitting it. This, however, left me open for a blow in another spot. 

My back slammed into something, pushing air out of my lungs. NO! I thought, trying to squirm free. My air was running out fast, and trying to get out didn’t make it any better. I paused, holding still for a second, then tried to swim upward again. 

Yes! I thought as I surged upward. However, my happiness was short-lived. After only a moment the water slammed me backwards, pinning me again. NO! I swiped feebly, trying to break free, but to no avail. I snapped my eyes open, and saw that I was pinned against the wall of a house. 

I hadn’t had my eyes open for long before red rimmed my vision, creeping farther, and farther, until my world went black. 

The light was warm. Gentle, even. It wrapped around me, pulling me away from the tsunami. But something bit back, pulling harder than the light, pulling me upwards, towards life. 

The black faded away as my head broke the surface, and I filled my lungs with air. 

Every breath hurt, like there was a giant dumbbell sitting on my chest, but the air was worth it. Life was worth it. 

Suddenly, I remembered what happened. 

“Who?” I sputtered. I lifted my head up to find the dog, laying next to me, on what looked like the roof of a car. 

“How?” I asked. But he just cocked his head, panting wearily. “How did you even get me on here? I don’t remember you pulling me on here…” I stared at him, half hoping that he would magically tell me everything. He didn’t of course, but he looked at me so calmly, that I knew he understood everything. 

“Well,” I said, grabbing him, and pulling him close. “I saved your life, and you saved mine. We’re even.” He barked once, and I mistook it for excitement. But then he barked again, and I remembered that we are not out of danger yet. The water is pulling back, receding. For one joyous moment I was thrilled. The tsunami is over! But then I remembered where we were. The water was receding, and pulling us back with it. If we didn’t move fast, we would be sucked out to the ocean with the rest of the rubble. 

“No, no, no,” I muttered, rallying my courage. “We gotta get out of here.” I said to the dog. He eyed me warily, then dipped his head. I scooped him up, and scanned for anywhere we could jump. But I didn’t see anywhere. All I could see was rubble. “Where do I go?” I spun around faster and faster, until I dropped dizzily to the ground. 

“I don’t, I don’t,” I gasped, my breathing ragged. The panic from before came back, and this time it was stronger. It struck hard, making every breath a struggle, a fight for survival. I collapsed backwards, hitting the car with a dull thud. I breathed in quickly, trying to suck in air before the panic could strike again. Then the dog stared at me, his big brown eyes gentle, and understanding. He laid his head on my stomach, and there we lay, for eight precious seconds, before the panic had surrendered, ending the miniature war inside of me. 

“Let’s go,” I said, my voice shaking. I scooped him up again, and this time I surveyed my surroundings calmly. 

“There.” I nodded my head towards a large house, towering in the distance. “Get ready.” I braced myself, getting ready to jump the second we got close enough. My muscles tensed as the water rushed us closer, and closer, and then I jumped. 

While I was in the air, I swear I could feel something pushing me farther, just enough that my feet landed on the edge of the roof of the house. 

“Yes!” I shouted. I dropped the dog to the ground, and we both danced around excitedly. Suddenly, I dropped to my knees and hugged the dog. Because even though we almost died, and everything we knew was in shambles, we were alive, and we are together, and in the end, that was what really matters. 

*Note* I had some problems with this story. It kind of changed perspectives halfway through the story, but I went through and changed that. I hope you enjoy it! *End Note*