Chapter 3 #3
Mila tried to block the incessant scream of the siren but glanced towards the ocean. Nothing yet. She hefted the slab of the wooden wall, wishing the two special forces guys would miraculously materialise again and help her.
They didn’t, and the slab didn’t shift.
Spotting a wooden pole, she dragged it out and used it as a lever to move the panel. It lifted enough for the old woman to shift from under it.
Muscles burning, Mila ensured the woman was clear before she dropped the panel. She panted as she helped Ibu Minar to her feet. The woman screamed in agony. Her foot protruded at an odd angle.
Fighting the urge to vomit, Mila placed her shoulder under the small woman’s arm and half lifted her to the moped.
Above the sirens came a low roar that increased in volume.
Shit.
She placed the woman on the bike, stuck the key in the ignition and turned.
Nothing.
She tried again and again.
The woman pointed at a wire sticking out. “It’s come out.”
Mila would bet Agus had done it to stop her leaving.
“Wait!” The desperate cry of a child made Mila turn.
The old woman tugged on her arm. “I fix. You go!”
Mila scanned the darkness and spotted a small child who was maybe five hobbling towards them. She left the woman on the bike and ran over. “Cepat-cepat.”
She lifted the child into her arms as the moped roared to life. Mila spun to find the old woman at the handlebars, looking over her shoulder. Mila followed her gaze. A black wave bore down on them.
She sprinted to the bike as the old woman accelerated. “Wait!” She shoved the child on the seat behind the woman, but before Mila could get on behind her, the woman took off.
Leaving Mila behind.
Fuck.
She spun. The wave kept coming, moving houses along with it in a wall of debris, mud and foam, far faster than Mila had anticipated. Fear jump-started her heart in a frenetic beat and she sprinted after the moped which was almost out of sight.
The roar of the water increased until she heard nothing else. The ground sloped upwards and her thighs burned as she reached the edge of town. At the intersection ahead of her a black four-wheel drive peeled around the corner, full of black-clothed men, one of whom was hanging on the back.
Suddenly the man on the back fell, landing hard against the road.
The car didn’t stop.
The man rolled to his feet and glanced back at her.
“Run!” she screamed.
The water pushed at Mila’s feet, overtaking her, and the force of it swept her off her feet and she fell as the swirling surge of sludge surrounded her.
She sucked in a breath before she was dragged under. The power was immense. She felt like a leaf in rapids as she was battered on every side by unseen debris. She tumbled over and over losing track of which way was up.
Her lungs burned and suddenly the water forced her mouth open and she swallowed the muddy, salty liquid.
Mila’s stomach revolted, and she gagged, desperately clawing her way to the surface. Her feet hit something hard, and she pushed off it. Finally air touched her face, and she choked in a breath, struggling to stay above the water.
Palm trees flashed by her as the wave hit the jungle and the screech and swoosh of breaking trunks added to the cacophony.
By some act of fate, she was being pushed up the road.
Something grabbed her arm, and she turned to find the soldier right next to her, clinging to a door.
Their eyes met. Rather than fear, she saw determination.
It gave her hope. She grabbed onto the door to stay afloat though the water dragged at her body.
He yelled something, but she caught only a few words. “Turn soon…. grab tree.”
Of course. The wave would reach its peak and then turn. If she wasn’t careful, it would drag her out with it.
The wave shifted, pushing them towards the jungle. A tree came out of nowhere and they hit it hard, the soldier’s hands sliding off the door as he was pulled under the water.
No!
She reached for him, but it was no use. He was gone. Then the water ripped the door from her grasp and she fought the pull, her arms burning with the effort to keep her head above the water.
She was almost two kilometres from the shore. Surely the wave had to stop soon.
Tears filled her eyes as her arms grew heavy. One shoe ripped from her foot and her bag pulled against her neck almost choking her.
The water spun her around, and the tempo changed, slowing. She was surrounded by water and debris, but her feet brushed the ground.
The wave had reached its zenith, which meant it would soon start receding, dragging everything with it out into the ocean.
Including her.
Frantically she swam towards the jungle like the soldier had suggested. She scanned the nearby water for him but saw no sign of him amongst the debris and branches.
The edge of the wave was only ten metres ahead of her.
The water withdrew more slowly, dragging her with it.
She gasped and increased her effort, lungs burning, muscles aching.
Nearly there.
Mila reached out and her fingers brushed the smooth trunk of a palm tree.
One last stroke and the water shifted, slamming her against the next tree. Her breath evaporated, but she grabbed the trunk and curled her arms and legs around it.
She struggled to get air back into her lungs as the trunk began to creak and lean.
The water was ripping it out and trying to pull her grip from the tree.
She sobbed as she scanned the wave’s progress. Five metres, three metres, two metres.
An arm stretched in supplication out of it across the road in the jungle.
The soldier. He was alive.
For now.
She tried to keep track of him, but he disappeared beneath the water again.
The tree trunk was at a forty-five-degree angle now and still Mila clung to it.
The last of the wave washed past, and the tree stayed standing.
Mila couldn’t let go. Her body was locked into position.
She exhaled, feeling every ache and pain in her body. Slowly she unlocked her ankles and let her feet fall to the ground, then she pried her fingers apart and slid to the dirt.
Her stomach retched, and she vomited dirty water all over the ground.
She panted, taking stock of the cuts and scratches on her arms and legs, the heavy bruises that were already forming. Slowly she moved each limb, checking for breaks.
Every cell of her hurt, but nothing was broken.
Safe. For the moment.
How quickly would the next wave come?
The fear forced her to her feet. She leaned against another tree to get her breath and then turned back towards the town.
Devastation.
Her raised vantage point up the sloped road revealed few buildings remained standing. Her little apartment was no longer there and the market square was full of rubble.
The scent of refuse, dirt and saltwater hit her, along with the screech and bang of buildings as the wave forced its way back to the ocean.
It would be a miracle if anyone survived.
She gasped. The soldier.
She had to find him. His team would be back for him and there might not be a lot of time before the next wave. “Can anyone hear me?” Her voice was raspy and she cleared her throat as she limped across the road and into the jungle. “Hello? Soldier man?”
Her whole body ached, and each step required her entire focus.
“Anyone?”
A moan and then a gurgling cough sounded nearby.
She moved further into the jungle. “Where are you?”
She followed pain-filled moans as if he was trying to be quiet but couldn’t stop himself.
She almost stood on the soldier, whose head was the only thing visible.
The rest of him was covered in debris. Quickly she lifted and turned his head as he vomited a stomach full of tsunami water.
When his retches stopped bringing up water, she lowered his head and shifted the leaves and branches from him.
“Are you OK? What’s your name?” His dark hair was knotted under her fingers.
He was one of the men who’d helped her rescue Fajar’s family.
“Ethan.” He stuffed his fist into his mouth and groaned.
Her heart raced. He sounded as if he was in agony. He was hurt, badly. “Nice to meet you, Ethan.” She kept her tone low and friendly. “I’m Mila. I’m sure your friends will be back pretty soon, so we need to get you out of here.”
“Can’t move.”
Oh hell. Nothing covered his body. She hoped that didn’t mean he was paralysed.
“We’ll figure it out. Can you move your feet?”
“Pelvis,” he gasped.
Shit. She knew nothing about broken pelvises. She reached for his hips and he pushed her away. “Go. The next wave won’t be far away.”
Fear gripped her and she glanced towards the ocean. “I’m not leaving you.” He’d caught her, told her what to do when the wave turned. He’d given her hope. “What do you need?”
“Stretcher.” The word ended on a wail and he shoved his hand back into his mouth.
There wasn’t anyone around to hear… unless Agus was nearby. She dug into the bag still around her neck. She always kept a bucket hat inside in case she went into the sun.
She squeezed out the excess water and handed it to him. “Use this.”
He stuffed it into his mouth and moaned around it, the pain striking her deeply.
“I’ll find a stretcher.” She wasn’t strong enough to carry him, but she might be able to drag him.
Housing debris was littered around her; a piece of ceiling, a window frame… surely there had to be a door somewhere. “I’ll be right back.”
She marked a straight path from Ethan to the road so she could find him again and jogged down the cleared path before finally finding what she was searching for.
A wooden door lodged between two palm trees.
Mila yanked on it and it didn’t budge. Come on. She had little time. She glanced back towards the ocean but couldn’t see the wave any longer.
Quickly she moved around the other side and noticed vines tangled around it. She shoved at them but they didn’t budge. What she needed was a knife.
Her hand tapped her bag and she grinned. Her mother had given her a multi-tool when she’d joined the army reserves. She’d never used it but kept it in her bag. She fished it out of her soggy bag and flicked the knife open, sawing at the vines until they sprang open.
Finally she dragged the door free. It was too large to get it under her arm, so she grabbed one side and dragged it back up the road.
“Quiet,” Ethan called.
She smiled, relieved to hear his voice. “Be right there.” She couldn’t help the noise she was making.
The door got stuck on a few more things before she got it back to Ethan. She lay it next to him.
His eyes flickered open, and he removed the hat from his mouth. “Thanks, Angel.” He groaned. “I don’t feel so good.”
“We’ll get you on the door and I can drag you to the road so when your friends arrive you can ask them what took them so long.”
A question she wanted answered. Surely they would be back for him.
She heard a car engine and hope filled her. “That will be your friends now. I’m going to flag them down and I’ll be right back.”
She moved back to the road.
Hopefully one of them was a medic.
Because Ethan needed a lot of help.
Fast.