2042: The Great Cataclysm (29 page)

Ten minutes had passed as Nick and Graham nervously eyed the lift doors, flinching as they heard the hiss of the lift settling beside them. The bandanna man emerged grinning. ‘Nothin’ up there but a fancy gym and a fancier pool, you should see it. This bloody dude’s got too much money.’

‘He sure as hell doesn’t keep it here.’ Hud drawled as he unfolded his long legs and stood waving his gun in the direction of the lift, forcing them inside again.

The lift opened on the living area again and Hud pushed Nick into to the room. He looked toward the bandanna man and nodded toward the blown entry door.

Bandanna man grinned and left the room. He returned after number of minutes motioning his companions toward the lift. ‘Let’s try some of the apartments on the lower floors.’

‘It’s a private lift.’ Bill warned. ‘It’ll only take you downstairs and then to the foyer below us or the ground floor.’

Hud glared at Bill and the others.
‘You stay here, or somebody else will get shot.’ The lift doors closed in seconds and they were gone.

Chapter Thirty-six

Trapped

Nick turned to the emergency stairs beside the lift.

‘Wait!’ Graham urged. ‘Let’s make sure they’re gone.’ They watched as the lift stopped on the floor below Bill’s apartment. ‘Looks like they’re going to go out the way they got in.’

‘Just how did they get in Bill?’ Nick asked.

‘They would’ve come up the public lift that stops on the level below. Our housekeeper lives in an apartment on that floor, they must’ve found the key to the stairwell there.’

More seconds passed and Nick and Graham walked cautiously toward the entry door to the stairs that was now a dark hole in the wall. They climbed over the rubble into the stairwell. Nick climbed the stairs to the next floors to find the door to the pool room firmly locked.

‘Damn!’ Nick thumped the door. ‘He’s locked it!’ He yelled down to Graham who had descended to the lower floor and found that door locked also.

They returned to the foyer where Bill and the women waited, g
rim faced.
Karen was pushing the lift button over and over, but there was no response. ‘It looks like they’ve disabled the lift somehow.  I can’t get it to come back up!’ She said.

‘They don’t want us in their way.’
Nick said.
‘They’ve probably smashed the mechanism. Bill, they’ve locked the doors to the stair exits and taken the keys, is there any other way out of here?’

‘No, I’m afraid not, unless you can get the lift working. We’re stuck!’

‘We’ve got to get to the roof!’ Karen cried.

‘What about the balcony? Can we climb to the next floor from there?’ Nick asked.

‘There aren’t any balconies on the other floors.’ Bill explained. ‘Safety reasons. There’d be at least twenty metres of sheer Navilon windows between us and the roof top. The balconies below don’t line up with these on this floor either, a defence against spider-men.’

Graham punched at his sat-phone phone. ‘It’s no use I can’t raise anyone, the lines are jammed and my batteries are running down.’

‘Phone.’ Bill ordered, and his house phone merely beeped.

‘Bill I s’pose this’s a silly question to ask, but d’you keep any tools on this floor, anything we could use to force the doors?’ He asked.

‘Even if I did, you’d never get through those fire doors, they’re over a foot thick, and I’ve had special security locks put on them. Same as the one in our foyer, those bastards had to blast their way in.’

‘What about the lift? Could we prise the doors open and lower ourselves to the floor below?’

‘No, it’s our private lift, it goes all the way down the ground floor, with smooth walls all the way down, nothing to hang on, another security measure.’

The horror of their situation began to dawn on them. They were trapped!

It was four o’clock, eight hours since the first warning had been received. Nick knew it would be any time now. Sweat began to seep from every pore in his body. The sweat of fear. He had not counted on this. They had run out of time. He thought of the Liberty, sitting silently on the roof waiting, their only escape. It may as well be a thousand miles away!

‘Then there’s nothing we can do but wait and pray.’  Nick announced, walking away from the group to shield them from his fear. ‘I’ll be out on the balcony.’

***

Karen had cried herself out while trying to contact Brian, and sat on a couch beside Bill who was red eyed and silent. Veronica twisted a handkerchief in her fingers and whispered silently to herself.

Graham paced the room while Bill poured himself another drink.

The balcony on the north-east corner of the building off the living room faced the Pacific Ocean, and Nick stood there in silence, bracing his arms on the white aluminium railing. He lowered his head, focusing his eyes momentarily on the floor at his feet and clenched his teeth as the cold wind from the sea bit savagely into his flesh, drying the perspiration that moments before had drenched his clothing. He leaned over the railing and his eyes searched the building and the surrounding grounds below. Palm-studded gardens one hundred metres below formed an apron, reaching out and stopping abruptly at the long wide concrete dyke a mere fifteen to eighteen metres from the building, where the sea lapped its edge. There was absolutely no protection from the ocean and whatever wrath she decided to hurl against them. He shivered and retreated inside leaving the door open, moving swiftly to the next room for further inspection of the exterior of the building.

Darting from room-to-room Nick found every view similar.  No escape! He reached the south-western corner that overlooked the Navilon-domed walkway. From this perspective he could see it in more detail, the cross spanning the southbound highway below converged with the others at a centre point, where they were supported by a steel column stationed on the grassed medium strip between the two highways. From there it continued across the northbound highway to link the two western towers of the complex. It was only two floors below, but there was no access from any point on the floor where they were trapped. His attention was drawn to two shadowy figures running along the walkway toward the south-eastern tower. It could have been the looters, but he was unable to tell from here.

He returned glumly to the group. ‘No luck I’m afraid.’ He announced calmly, careful to hide his rising panic.

Despite the pain killers Karen had administered to Bill, he complained of a throbbing ache in his shoulder and his face was a light shade of grey. ‘I could do with another drink.’ He said.

Softening to his plight Veronica resisted her normal sarcasm and responded. ‘I’ll get it for you dear.’

‘No.’ Nick said, ‘he’s had enough, we don’t want him drunk.’

‘At least I wouldn’t feel anything.’ Bill whined.

Graham paced from room-to-room. He pulled Nick aside and asked in raspy tones, ‘How long have we got?’

Nick didn’t answer immediately, he was gazing at the horizon. ‘The continental shelf’s about 80k’s from here. The wave could be travelling at over a 1000k’s an hour when it meets with it, which will slow it right down to eighty or a hundred.’

‘Then what?’

‘When that happens, the ocean rushing in behind will pile up increasing it’s height over twenty times. We can see about 24k’s from here with the naked eye, so once we spot the rise on the horizon we’ll have about twenty minutes before it hits us.’

Graham’s eyes locked onto the horizon. ‘Bill! He called over his shoulder. ‘Have you got any binoculars up here?’

‘I think so. Veronica, have a look in the desk, that’s if the looters haven’t taken them too.’ Bill said.

‘Don’t bother!’ Nick whispered. ‘It’s on its way. Look at the edge against the dyke below, the ocean’s receding!’

Graham looked down in horror not quite believing his eyes. The sea began to retreat from the wall, slowly at first, then rapidly, exposing the sea floor to a degree never before witnessed, uncovering rocks, stranding fish. ‘Jesus Nick, what’s happening?’ He said white faced, unable to tear his gaze from the surrealist scene facing him. ‘You didn’t say anything about this!’

‘It’s normal.’

‘Normal!’ Graham squawked.

‘The quakes have collapsed the sea bed, creating vast depressions on the ocean surface. Then the sea instantly sweeps in from all sides to close those depressions, sucking water away from the coastal areas with such speed that it overfills the depressions and creates counter surges that flow back to the land as tsunami. Then there’s the added factor of new islands displacing more sea water.

Remember in the past how the water receded from the beach a little before a wave came in. It’s the same thing only a million times bigger.’

The others had gathered on the balcony as Nick spoke, and Veronica handed him the binoculars.  They waited apprehensively as he peered wordlessly toward the horizon. Nobody spoke. Overcome by terror ordinary words seeming superfluous. They were struck dumb, dreading the inevitable event that until now had seemed like a story from a Hollywood disaster movie. ‘I see it!’ Nick hissed.

Chapter Thirty-seven

The Tsunami

The flat line of the horizon began to break up and undulate slowly. It stretched the entire length of the coastline like a black snake slithering from its lair, gradually eating up the distance between the sea and the dusk clouds in the sky.

Nick glanced at his watch, four forty-five! At this time of year the sun sets at around five ten, so it would be on them just on dark. Nick snapped his head around to find the terrified group mesmerised, paralysed with fear. ‘Veronica see if you can find a torch.’ He barked, realising that action would help to alleviate their panic. ‘We’ll lose power.’

‘There’s a generator in the basement.’ Bill said. ‘It kicks in automatically.’

Nick knew there would be nothing left of the lower floors, maybe even the entire building. Veronica looked as if she was about to faint, her fair skin had taken on a death-mask appearance and the pupils in her eyes were enormous, reflecting the terror raging inside her.

‘It won’t be any good the basement will be flooded.’ He replied.

Nick knew this was just the first wave, there would be three, four, or more before it was over, each one larger than the last. He didn’t know when, or how soon the sea level would start to rise, or if the building could withstand the massive overpowering thrust of all that water. Fear crawled through his veins, nerves tingled as his adrenalin pumped rapidly, making him feel slightly light-headed. A tight knot developed in his abdomen and he had to fight the urge to run.

What would they say about this tsunami in years to come? Will they name them like they did tropical cyclones? Tsunami Ellen, Robert? No, he didn’t think so. Why not? That thing certainly had a life of its own. Life? God. How many lives will it destroy? Probably thousands, millions around the world. If he lived to be one hundred years old, he never would expect to see anything as evil or destructive as this again. He gritted his teeth
.
Christ! Pull yourself together mat
e
, he thought
.
You’re going to have to be strong, or the others will never get through this!

Veronica returned with a small torch. Nick checked the battery before stuffing it into his trouser pocket. ‘There’s nothing we can do, is there?’ Veronica pleaded, wringing her hands.

‘I’m afraid not.’ Nick answered. ‘Even if we were to find a way out, it’s too late. We’d never make it before it hits us. Veronica, find something to tie us all together: tablecloths, anything. We can tie us to the revolving floor in the dining room. All of you, start tying yourselves together!’

He walked out on the balcony again. There was a strange and eerie feeling in the air and the sky in the east was darkening, deep purple clouds gathered their stormy heads as if in sympathy with the land about to be pulverised by a force unknown, and unexpected. The setting sun behind them illuminated the surrounding buildings with the soft glow from its failing rays, highlighting the stark outlines of several news Vetos flying out over the sea like a swarm of black bees hovering excitedly over a hive. The exposed sea bed glittered as the sun’s dim rays bounced off thrashing, dying, silver fish. An ominous green luminous band of colour reached up from the surface of the black sea in the distance, meeting the pale and darkening hues in the sky, staining them with its inky fingers. Looking around they noticed many people on the balconies of other buildings, unbelievers, recklessly waiting with cameras and binoculars in hand to capture their ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ shot.

‘Brian’s in one of those Vetos.’ Karen said wrapping the knotted line of table clothes, towels, and curtains they had stripped from the walls around her body. ‘Why don’t we try to signal for help?’

‘He couldn’t help us, we’re out of time.’ Graham said as he slid the makeshift line around the revolving floor. ‘Besides it’d be impossible to lower a rescue sling against the building in this wind.  It would put their lives in danger as well as ours.’

Five minutes had passed and Nick estimated the distance now at fifteen kilometres.  They could see the wave in more detail now, but it was hard to calculate the height from where they stood looking down on it, but he guessed it to be at least thirty metres and growing. Nick’s thoughts flashed again to the waves recorded in the North Sea, where eleven metre waves had destroyed high man-made breakwaters constructed of thousands of tons of rock, steel and concrete.  This one was going to be five times bigger!