My thanks to whoredinarygirl for editing.
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Day One;
We had been climbing for almost an hour; my sister had complained for most of the way, and I was beginning to regret that I had talked her into coming along. Giving in to her whining, I agreed to a short rest at a small out crop.
The view was breathtaking, overlooking the cove where the sloop was anchored, Mom and Dad sunbathing on the foredeck, tiny islands sprinkled here and there, with a backdrop of blue ocean as far as the eye could see.
Crystal was the first to notice it, barely visible to the naked eye. Pointing, she asks, "Hey Royce, what is that?"
I peer in the direction she indicates and reply, "Looks like the ocean to me. What of it?"
"Of course it's the ocean, smart ass. I mean that dark line," she says, with worry in her voice.
I turn to look at her, and the expression on her face was not idle curiosity, but genuine concern.
Looking back toward the ocean, I can now see what she's talking about. I quickly shed and open my backpack, digging out my field glasses; I do a quick, sweeping scan of the horizon.
I told my sister, "There's no mistake, it's a tsunami!"
I started yelling down toward the sloop, waving my arms frantically and pointing out to sea in a futile effort to warn our parents. Unable to understand my screaming or discern my intentions, they merely waved back.
There was nothing of reference to gauge the wave's height, but I knew that even a small one would be devastating. I also knew it was traveling at hundreds of miles per hour and would be upon us in minutes.
The world closed in around me, and everything seemed to go into slow motion as I snapped into survival mode. I grabbed my sister by the arm and started dragging her, kicking and screaming, to higher ground.
Finally, I slapped her, grabbed her by her shoulders, and screamed, "Do you really think we can reach them? And if we could, what would we do? There's no time! Look!"
The wave visibly swelled as it approached shallow water and the outer islands, completely washing over some of the smaller ones, and now, a distinct ocean roar could be heard.
As we watched, the first indication our parents knew something was amiss, was the sloop swinging seaward on its anchor chain as the tiny cove started to drain.
Within moments, as they attempted to reach the safety of the cabin, the small craft sat on the sea floor where fifteen feet of water used to be. As we looked on in horror, the wave slammed into the cove, and the sloop disappeared as it crashed onto the beach.
Crystal cried out with an indescribable grief, as though her soul was being torn from her body. I could only watch, my mind reeling, too numb to feel anything and not wanting to. Nothing could survive the kind of raw power on display below us.
Sweeping away anything in its path, the water continued to rise as it bored into the low-lying areas and stopped only a few yards below the safety of our position. The water seemed to boil around us, growing quiet before it roared into a rapid descent toward the sea, leaving debris scattered everywhere.
Crystal collapsed to the ground, crying uncontrollably. I walked the few steps back to the outcrop, where we had previously been, and surveyed the carnage.
What I beheld was unbelievable, trees, rocks and boulders, some as big as cars, strewn all along the beach. There was no sign of the sloop, except for broken bits and pieces. My legs were trembling and head swimming, trying to grasp what my eyes and heart were telling me. Our parents were gone.
I raised my fists and, without words, bellowed my defiance to the heavens. Crystal soon appeared beside me as heart-wrenching grief overtook me, and I crumpled to the ground. We clung to each other and cried for untold minutes.
Ultimately, after both of us regained some semblance of composure, Crystal asked through her tears, "Shouldn't we look for Mom and Dad?"
"No, we can't chance it," I told her. "There could be multiple waves, and we don't want to be caught on the beach." I had no sooner spoke the words and looking seaward, could see a second wave approaching.
As it mauled the outer islands and crashed ashore below us, it carried with it, tons of debris that had been washed out to sea from the first wave and the sound, was even more intense. Waves three and four followed around fifteen minutes apart, completing the destruction. The silence afterward was almost deafening, broken only by our sobs of grief.
Eventually, looking toward the sky, I said, "It will be a clear night, it's warm and high ground will keep us safe. We have enough water for now, although we need to think about conserving what we have until we find a freshwater source."
I rose to my knees and rested on my heels, turning to face Crystal and grasping both of her hands, I said, "We are all alone here. Help will not arrive for days, if at all. The rental boat came with a satellite phone; Dad was good about calling in our present GPS position and the location of our next destination. When the news of the tsunami reaches civilization, rescue efforts will organize and deploy hundreds of relief teams."
Pausing to gather my thoughts, I then continued, "I would assume the rental company would notify authorities about the sloop, if for no other reason than insurance claims. Kind of morbid, isn't it?" Crystal nodded her agreement and listened quietly as I continued.
"Survival is our paramount concern; first, our supplies will be limited to what we have and are able to find. Second, would be shelter, however, it will be getting dark soon, so tonight, we'll have to rough it in the open. Tomorrow, we can check out our options concerning shelter. For now, we had better take inventory of what we have with us."
I emptied my backpack on the ground; three bottles of water, two sandwiches I had prepared earlier, two granola bars, a fire starting kit, a magnifying glass, a butane lighter, a zip lock holding cotton balls soaked in Vaseline, a first-aid kit, a survival blanket, and knife; the field glasses still hung around my neck.
"We only have a couple of hours of light left and need something to build a fire. We'll find dry wood from here up, so let's get busy." We both started scrounging for pieces of wood, twigs, dry moss, and leaves. Soon, we gathered plenty, what I figured would last until morning.
Wanting to conserve the other supplies for cloudy days or nighttime, I cleared off a patch of flat rock, and with what sunlight was left, started a fire using the magnifying glass. As the sun crept below the horizon and from slowly adding larger pieces, we had a nice campfire providing warmth and comforting light in the darkness.
Huddled close to the fire, sharing a bottle of water and eating our sandwiches, Crystal asked, "Do you think Mom and Dad could have survived?"
"I don't know." Not really believing my own answer, but hoping to console her for the moment.
"Are we going down in the morning," she asked.
"Yes, there may be things we can use," I answered.
