Total pages in book: 111
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 530(@200wpm)___ 424(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
It’ll be like when I kept slipping on the mud beneath the water at the ranch, unable to get my footing, sucking in a lungful of water instead of air.
Before the memory can steal me completely, someone grabs hold of the backpack I’m wearing from behind. Then, with a tug, they pull me upward toward the surface. As soon as my face bursts out of the water, I suck in air with a harsh sound. The hand on the backpack remains, guiding me toward the stairs that are visible. Once my feet hit the steps, I feel brave enough to look at my savior.
Tyler.
He flashes me a quick smile and then releases me to slosh up the steps. Hope is behind him, her lips turning slightly blue. I follow them up the steps to a landing between the rooftop access and the floor of my office. It’s dry and relatively safe. The others are all sitting on the landing, catching their breaths.
Thunder rumbles, making the entire building vibrate. We all pause, bracing ourselves for something catastrophic, but nothing happens.
“I’m going to take a look on the roof,” I say to Tyler, breathless. “Make them huddle for warmth and figure out a way to ration what we have.”
Tyler nods, taking his backpack that I offer to him. “Be careful.”
I make my way up the steps to the doorway of the roof. An axe sits on the floor beside a concrete hunk that appears to be keeping the door closed. I pull the heavy piece of debris far back enough I can slip out the door.
Rain stings my face as the wind slings it at me. I squint, hand shielding my eyes as I attempt to survey my surroundings. With the building leaning considerably to one side, I take care with each step so I don’t slip and make a fatal mistake. The rain continues to batter down on me, making it nearly impossible to see more than a few feet ahead.
The wind howls so noisily it hurts my ears. Beneath me, the building shifts and groans.
Fuck. We need to get off this damn building. But how? I can’t exactly Uber a life raft.
Rumbles and groaning of buildings can be heard between claps of thunder. Occasionally some big piece of debris scrapes along a building, maybe this one, and causes more racket.
How many people survived this…this thing?
Are we the only people left in this godforsaken city?
Considering there are only a few buildings left sticking out of the water that are a little taller than ours, I’m going to hedge my bets that not many made it. Furthermore, any and all opportunities for rescue are gone. The police precincts, fire departments, hospitals—hell, the coast guard—are all sunken tombs now.
We are well and truly fucked.
I’m about to turn and head back inside to shelter from the storm when I see something dark in the distance. Slowly, it begins to materialize between the sheets of rain coming down. My mind has trouble understanding what I’m seeing.
What the hell is that thing?
Thunderous crunching of metal against concrete is a deafening cacophony. I’m stunned, staring at the monstrosity.
No, it’s not an alien spacecraft.
It’s a goddamn cruise ship.
For a brief second, elation surges through me as I allow hope of a rescue to needle its way in. The happiness is quickly dashed as it continues to drift. There are no lights on in the vessel. It’s apparently an empty ghost ship, somehow come loose from wherever it was docked before the tsunami hit.
It’s unmanned, which means no one is controlling the thing.
And it’s heading this way…
One of the buildings nearby screeches as the cruise ship bumps into it. The concrete trembles and then with a moan of defeat, the building collapses under the stress of it.
Oh, fuck.
The waves of the building sinking rush toward the roof and spray up the sides. I’m blinded as to where the cruise ship has gone, but I know it’ll be here soon.
I have to warn the others.
If I can get them out and onto the roof, maybe we’ll have a chance to swim to another building. Well, those of us who can swim. The rest of us are as good as dead.
Snapping out of my shock, I turn on my heel and sprint to the roof door. I fly through the opening where Tyler is now standing with the ax in hand, skidding across the slick concrete until I slam into the railing.
“Brace for impact!” I roar just as the ship hits our building.
Everything rumbles and quakes beneath us. I lose my footing, flipping right over the railing. Falling face first into the dark depths of the water in the stairwell, I let loose a panicked yell.
Crash!
I hit the water with my arms above me in an effort to block my head from hitting anything that could be fatal. Water surges up right as I break the surface, shooting me all the way back up to the ceiling. Muted metal groans can be heard as I’m completely submerged. And even though my head slams into the concrete above me hard, the water hasn’t come back down yet. Just as I wonder if I’ll suffocate, the water sucks back down and a new sort of panic ensues as I’m pulled into the depths of the stairwell.