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Authors: Brenda Beem

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BOOK: Knockdown
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“Toni?” A cute Asian guy with dark eyes and black hair ran up to me. He reached for my bike. “It’s okay. I
’m with your brothers. You can let go.”

I gripped the handlebars and searched the crowd. Nick nodded at me.

I handed off the bicycle. Without its support, my legs gave way. The Asian guy dropped the bike, scooped me up, and sat me on the corner storage box.

My cheeks burned. “Where’s my family?”

“They told us to stay out of their way until you got here.” He searched the way I’d come. “Are your parents still unloading their car? Do they need help?”

My voice squeaked.
“They’re not here?” I scooted off the box. My legs felt like rubber as I climbed aboard my family’s sailboat.

Cole popped out of the opening from the deck to the cabin below. “Toni, you made it.”

“What’s going on? Where’re Mom and Dad? That guy—”

“Get down here so we can talk.”

I grabbed the teak handrail and climbed down to the main cabin. I leaned on the wall and waited for my eyes to adjust to the dim light.

Cole
gave me a quick hug. “Dad was gone when we got here. He left us this.” He shoved a sheet of lined green paper at me. I recognized the paper from the ship’s logbook.

Shaking hard, I tried to
focus on the writing, but gave up. “Just tell me what he said.” I handed back the note.

Cole lai
d it on the chart table. “Mom went to pick up Aunt Susan and the girls. Uncle Bob is away on some business trip and Susan called Mom. On their way back to the boat, someone crashed into them.”

My hand flew to my mouth.
“Are they…?”

“Mom t
old Dad they were all fine, but her car’s a mess. Then cell service went down. Dad couldn’t call or text us. He left around nine to rescue them. If he can’t make it back to the boat by eleven, he’ll turn around and head to the mountains. He told us take the boat and sail south.”

“He wants us to sail
into a tsunami without them?” I collapsed on the couch.

“He
wants us to take the boat far out in the ocean, prepare it for a knockdown, go below, and ride the tsunamis out.”

“Oh
. My. God.”

Dylan came out of the bathroom
. “Toni. You made it. Took you long enough.”

I s
lammed my helmet down on the seat.

He held up his cell. “It’s after eleven.”

I stood. “I don’t care what Dad said. We aren’t going without them, right?”

My brothers stared at
each other. I hated it when they did that. I swear they could read each other’s minds. I always felt left out.

Dylan
put his phone away. “We need to finish up down here and shove off.”


No way!” I paced from one side of the cabin to the other. “If Mom and Dad are going to the mountains, we should go too. We don’t know how to sail a boat by ourselves. And what are we going to do with all those guys you brought?”

Cole
stopped me. “Dylan and I know a lot about sailing. We’ve helped Dad race the boat.”

Dylan
grimaced. “And it’s too late to make it out of Seattle now.”

I
went back to pacing. “The roads
are
totally blocked. I was angry you had the car, but it was actually easier to get through the traffic on my bike.”

Cole hurried to the bow and threw a pile of heavy coats onto the bed in the front bedroom. “Without cell service we’d never find Mom and Dad
, even if we made it to the mountains.”

Dylan raced to the bathroom with a pile of towels. I glanced around the boat. Empty boxes and bags were scattered all around. My brothers had been busy stowin
g the gear Mom and Dad had left behind.

“Where’s this giant tsunami coming from
, anyway?” I asked.

“A whole bunch of volcanoes erupted in Indonesia.” Cole checked his phone. “We gotta go.”

I held my hand up. “Wait! Why sailing?”

Dylan spun me around to face him. “Ash and sulfur will block the sun.
It will get really cold here in the north. The roads south are already jammed. Sailing is the best way to travel. Dad promised to call us when cell service is back and we can pick them up. Now, come on.” He pushed me towards the stairs.

I held tight to the railing and paused. “This is insane, but if we’re going to do it, we need more stuff. Can’t we have another half
-hour? Find supplies for the extra guys and give Mom and Dad a little more time? They’ll be here. I know it.”

Dylan and Cole
were silent.

Finally
Cole said, “She’s right. We need more supplies. A half-hour won’t make that much of a difference.”

I faced
Dylan. “And why is the entire football team here?”

Dylan
shoved me up the steps. “It’s not the entire—”

I climbed
out on deck. Dylan followed close behind.

Cole grabbed the empty boxes and handed them up.
“The guys out there opted to stay home for football practice when their families left on vacation. When coach told us about the tsunami, they asked to join us.”


And Zoë?” I asked. “What was she doing at football?”

Dylan
glared at me. “She helps the team, and had cheer practice. Her parents are in Hawaii.”

I couldn’t imagine how she could help the team, but before I could ask,
a girl close by screamed.

“Zoe!” Dylan ran and jumped to the dock below.
Cole rolled his eyes.

 

Chapter Two

 

Seventeen Hours Before

 

I leapt off the boat to the dock where Dylan and Cole stood. Their friends were moving towards them.

“Here’s the deal,
” Dylan told the group when they had gathered. “This is my dad’s idea, but he might not be coming.”

“What do you
mean?” The team quarterback glanced around, searching for our missing parents. “What do you mean? He might not show?”

“W
e’re going to wait until noon, then shove off even if Dad isn’t here,” Cole said.

“If you want to bail, you still have time to go to the mountains or ba
ck home. But you have to decide and you have to decide now.” Dylan spoke slowly and looked at every face in the crowd.

Zoë
moaned. “Your parents might not make it?”

Dylan
nodded. “That’s right. Mom went to get our aunt and cousins and got in a car accident. Dad went to rescue them. He said that if he couldn’t make it to the boat by eleven, we were to leave without them. Cole and I know how to sail. Dad wrote out his plan. But once we shove off, there’s no turning back.”

My brothers
draped their arms around my shoulders. They were shaking almost as much as I was.

“I’m not going without your
parents. That’s suicide,” the quarterback snarled. “I’ll take my chances on land.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a set of car keys. “Who’s coming with me?”

Zoë
studied the guy waving his keys. “Dylan, I don’t know—”

“We
’re all scared.” Dylan took a step, but then stopped. “It’s your decision.”

The team
’s running backs, one white with freckles, the other African-American, moved beside the quarterback.

“We’re leaving too,” Freckles said.

“Anyone else?” Dylan focused on Zoë.

Tears streaked
Zoë’s cheeks. “Why’d my parents go to Hawaii?” she asked. “It’s not fair.”

S
he threw herself into Dylan’s arms. “I’m going with you.”

“It
’s settled, then.” Cole reached out to the guys who were leaving. “Good luck.”

The three shook hands, said good-bye, and sprinted
down the dock. The freckled running back kept looking back at us as he ran. I wondered if he’d change his mind, but he didn’t.

Cole
asked me, “Where should they store the bags they brought?”

I
shrugged. “I guess Zoë and I should take the aft cabin. You guys can have the main and v-berth. Go below and throw your stuff on the berths for now. We can work it out later.”

The group
stared at me.

“W
hat’s an aft cabin?” Zoë asked.

I
pointed. “The aft is in the stern, or back of the boat. The v-berth is the cabin in the bow.”

Blank faces looked back
at me again.

“The front of the boat. When you see it y
ou’ll know why it’s called the v-berth.”

“Just follow me.” Nick
picked up his gear.

The group scurried around to find their school packs
and climbed aboard the boat.

Nick was the first to stow his stuff and com
e back. His long dark hair was tied in a ponytail and he was even taller than my brothers. In middle school, I’d had a huge crush on him. But like most of my brothers’ friends, he treated me like a little sister.

Nick’s eyes were downcast as
he pulled himself up on the dock storage box. He came from a large Italian family. I wondered why he wasn’t with them.

The Asian guy came up top
next. Unlike the rest of the guys, who wore sports shorts and sleeveless tees, he had on a collared shirt and dress shorts. I didn’t remember ever seeing him on the team. I wondered where he came from.

He stopped in front of me.
“I didn’t introduce myself earlier. I’m Takumi.”

M
y face was turning red again. “I’m Toni. Guess you know my brothers?” I silently groaned at my stupid question.

He nodded and
glanced at
Whistler
. “Beautiful boat.”

“Thanks.”
I hoped he knew something about sailing. “Are you on the football team too? I don’t remember seeing you.”

“Yeah.
But I’m really a soccer player. The coaches asked me to be the football kicker.”

“Cool.” I
stood tongue-tied.

Takumi
cleared his throat.

Zoë
zipped past me. She wore a low-cut halter top, short shorts, and flip-flops. Her long dark hair blew in the gentle breeze. My brother put his arm around her.

Jervis
joined us last. Although I recognized him from the team, I’d never really spoken to him. He was African-American, not as towering as my six-foot tall brothers, but wide, really wide. He would take up most of the room in the boat’s main cabin.

My brothers
told stories about Jervis. I guess he played jokes on guys in the locker room. He winked at me as he walked by.

Really
?

“Okay
, everyone!” Dylan shouted. “Dad and Mom loaded the boat with some supplies this morning. They worried we didn’t have enough food for the five of us, and now there are seven.”

He
brushed Zoë’s hair away from her face. “Did any of you bring extra clothing?”

“Just my cheer stuff,”
Zoë said.

I
t was my turn to roll my eyes.

Dylan glared at me.
“We were at practice, Toni. We came straight from school.”

“Okay.
Okay.” I’d come from dive practice and was in a Speedo and sweats. Unless Mom packed some clothes for me, all I had was what I was wearing too. But at least I had sweats and not pom-poms.

“We have less than forty-five
minutes before we shove off.” Cole put his cell in his pocket. “There’s a marina grocery store. Toni and I will go there and find food.”

“Fine. The rest of us will
check out the boats and look for clothing and sleeping bags.” Dylan headed for the end of our dock.

I grabbed Dylan’s arm.
“Don’t take anything from a sail boat. The owners might show up to do what we’re doing,”

“T
his time tomorrow, the marina, and all these boats will be wiped out.” Dylan pulled away.

“I don’t care. Don’t touch the sail b
oats.” I turned. “Cole?”

“I agree with Toni. Now,
let’s go. We’ll meet back here at noon.” Cole headed for the store.


Give me a sec. I want to leave Mom and Dad a note.” When we got back, they were going to be at the boat waiting. I was sure of it.

Before the boys
could respond, we heard someone yelling. “Wait! Wait up! We’re coming!”

Cole and I
stared down the dock. The
ispanic
girl from the tent ran towards us carrying her sister on her hip and a giant pack on her back.

BOOK: Knockdown
10.79Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
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