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It’s been six years and I still can’t believe I moved to Lincoln City. I hate the coast. The stench of rotting fish. The seagull droppings covering everything. It was the last place on earth I thought I would ever live, and yet, here I am. I can’t say I love it, but it’s not as bad as I had previously thought. It beats the noise of living in the city. Life seems to move at a slower pace, and I like that.
Finding a condo in a fourplex near the end of a dead-end street with an overview of the Pacific Ocean was a miracle. At least that’s what my friends and everyone at work told me. I had no trouble. I had a great realtor who knew of a pocket listing. The whole process seemed easy.
Two of the other three condo owners were very welcoming. Rainey, who lives in the condo beneath mine, was the first neighbor I met. She always has a smile and seems to be in a good mood. I like that about her. The couple who lives across from her on the first floor, Richard and Carol, are opposites of Rainey. They never smile, in fact, they scowl all the time. I can’t imagine what life is like behind their closed door. Clay lives above them and across the landing from me. He's okay. Not exactly bubbly like Rainey, but not a sourpuss like the Watkins below him.
I parked my car in the carport beside the building. As I headed for my door, I noticed Toby, the neighbor’s dog from the house across the street, pacing and yowling. Toby, a miniature schnauzer, is usually a quiet dog. He doesn’t even bark at strangers.
“Toby, boy, what’s the matter?” I called to him, but he ignored me and kept pacing. How odd. I shook my head and started up the stairs.
“Hi, Austin,” Rainey greeted me after opening her door. “I thought I heard you talking to Toby,” she said, stepping out of the condo.
“Hi, Rainey,” I greeted her and stopped on the second step. “Yeah, something must be bothering him.” I glanced over my shoulder at the dog.
“You don’t think he’s sick, do you?”
“Nah . . .” I shook my head. “But I don’t understand why Ted or Barb hasn’t come out to see what the fuss is.”
“I saw them leave just after the mail came. It’s the first of the month and they usually go shopping after their social security checks come.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right. Why they don’t do direct deposit when it’d be so much easier for them, I’ll never know.”
“They don’t trust the new technology.”
“New? My parents were doing it nearly thirty years ago.”
Rainey laughed. “I know. I guess some people just hold onto the past too tightly.”
“Well, I wish they were here to calm Toby. He looks really upset about something.”
A flock of birds hidden in the trees behind the Harrison’s house suddenly took flight.
“Wow!” Rainey gasped and took a step back. “Where’d they come from?”
“More like, what startled them?”
“Stupid cat!” Clay shouted as he stepped out onto the landing above. “Stay in there and think about what you did!” He slammed his door and looked down at us. “Oh, sorry.”
“Trouble with Mittens?” I asked.
“She was being mouthy and trying to get out. When I went to put her in her kennel, she scratched me. I don’t know what’s gotten into her,” he explained as he walked down the stairs to join us holding a hand to his cheek. When he took it away and looked at his palm, he noticed blood. “Oh no! I’m bleeding!” he shrieked.
Rainey took his hand and raised her chin to examine the scratch. “Better come inside and I’ll clean it up for you.”
“Is it bad?” Clay whined.
“No, just messy. But you don’t want to get an infection.”
“Infection?” Clay wailed. “Will it leave a scar? I can’t have a scar. Not on my face.”
“Oh, come on,” Rainey said, dragging him into her condo. “I’ll see you later,” she called to me before closing the door.
I headed upstairs to my condo.
Walking inside I noticed the calm and quiet. The condo was well insulated against the noise outside. I couldn’t even hear Toby’s whining. I walked across the living room to the sliding glass door and drew back the drapes. The room was immediately flooded with light from the late afternoon sun. In the distance, almost on the horizon, I could see a large ship. I watched it for a while and noticed it was heading south.
Turning away, I headed for the kitchen. I love having separate rooms. None of this open concept nonsense for me. I don’t want strangers to be able to case my entire house in one glance when I answer my door. Plus, if I couldn’t get to the breakfast dishes, no one would know.
I opened the freezer and took out a Stouffers frozen lasagna, my favorite. I popped it into the microwave and went back to the fridge for my green salad. Cooking for one was difficult but the premade salads and tv dinners, though probably not very healthy, made it easier. It’s been seven years since I lost my wife. Seven painful years after twenty wonderful years. Damn cancer!
The timer on the microwave beeped as I poured a glass of red wine. It startled me and I spilled a drop on the counter. I quickly grabbed a paper towel and wiped it up before it had a chance to stain my stain-resistant countertop.
Sitting down at the dining room table, I stared at my instant meal. I longed for the days when I would come home and the house would smell so delicious from my wife’s cooking. In those days the lasagna was made from scratch. Even the salad she made herself. None of that prepackaged stuff soaked in chemicals. Then, there was the smell of fresh-baked garlic bread—oh, I forgot the bread.
As I walked back into the kitchen, I heard a deep rumble. Like a train going by. But there aren’t any trains for miles. The building began to tremble. The stemware in the cupboards began to clink together. The grandfather clock in the living room began to chime. The shaking became more violent. I rushed back into the dining room. My wineglass fell over, spilling red wine on the white tablecloth before shattering on the floor.
“What’s going on?” I shouted to no one. An extremely violent shake knocked me off my feet. I hit the floor hard but managed to get back up. Staggering as the shaking continued, I made my way to the front door. When I opened it, the shaking stopped.
I reached the bottom of the stairs as Rainey and Clay ran out of her condo.
“Did you feel that?” Clay asked, grabbing my arm. His eyes were wide. His hands were trembling.
If I wasn’t also frightened, I would have made a snappy comeback. “Of course,” I said, instead.
The door of the Watkins’ condo opened and the two of them came outside.
“What happened?” Clay blurted.
“That was an earthquake,” Richard said, sounding unfazed.
“I thought it was going to bring the whole building down,” Carol said. She wasn’t as calm as her husband. “I thought we left all of that when we moved away from San Francisco.”
Rainey was holding a hand over her heart and trying to catch her breath.
“Are you okay,” I asked her.
“I’ve never been in an earthquake before,” she said.
“Nor I,” I admitted. Looking at Richard, I asked, “So, what do we do now?”
Richard turned toward me. “We check the building,” he answered. “We walk the foundation. Look for cracks and anything that wasn’t there before.”
“Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. At forty-seven I had thought I overcome most of my phobias. But this—this earthquake—this was new. My legs were still shaking. My mind was still racing. It was hard to focus.
I followed Richard around the outside of the building. While he rambled on about a gas meter we don’t have.
He stopped and looked at me. His lips pressed thin, and he scowled even more than usual. “Are you listening?” he said. With his short, crewcut hair and thick, black-rimmed glasses, he reminded me of my father. I suddenly felt as though I were ten again.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Then what do you do if we had a gas meter?” he asked, challenging me.
“You shut it off,” I answered, but had no idea where that came from.
His eyes narrowed. “Right,” he said and turned toward the back of the building. “You also need to look at the walls for any cracks or abnormalities that could indicate structural problems.”
For the rest of the distance to the corner, I looked at the wall. If there were any problems, I didn’t see them. I was still rattled and feeling shaky.
When we reached the carport on the north side of the building, I looked across the street. Toby was quiet but still appeared nervous. He was walking in a circle.
“I’ll go check on the neighbors,” I told Richard and went across the street. “Hey, Toby,” I said in a calm tone. “It’s all right boy. It was just an earthquake.”
Suddenly, Toby stopped and looked at me. He bared his teeth and gave off a deep guttural growl. I took a step back. The fur on his back was standing on end. Confused by his sudden change in behavior, I slowly backed across the street. When he charged and jumped against the chain-link fence, I turned and ran back across the street to the safety of the others.
“What’s the matter with him?” Clay asked.
“I don’t know. I guess he’s never been in an earthquake before either.” I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the pooch. It was obvious that neither Ted nor Barb had returned home.
“I suggest we all go back to our apartments and check for structural damage,” Richard said in a tone that sounded like an order. Even though he was a few years younger than me, he was the only one, besides his wife, who had been in an earthquake. So, I ignored his bossy tone and followed Clay back upstairs.
A quick examination of my condo revealed no major damage to the walls or structure. There was a crack in the Sheetrock above the sliding glass door. Other than that, and a few broken glasses in the cupboard, a stain in the tablecloth that was not going to come out anytime soon, and pictures on the wall that needed to be straightened, my apartment survived unscathed.
I returned to the landing, but no one was outside. Then I heard another noise. This one was coming from town. It was the sound of a siren that grew louder and louder.
That brought Rainey out of her apartment and up the stairs. “What is that?” she asked.
“I’m not sure.” I knocked on Clay’s door.
“Come in,” he shouted from inside.
When I opened the door, I was immediately struck by the scent of air freshener and cat box odor. Trying not to breathe too deeply, I made my way to his living room.
“Did you have any damage?” I asked.
“Not really, but take a look at this,” he said, standing at his sliding glass door and looking out at the ocean.
We walked across the surprisingly tidy room and stood beside him. My jaw dropped when I saw the ocean had receded like it does at low tide. The three of us stood, mesmerized by the sight, and didn’t hear the Watkins come in.
“What are you doing?” Richard asked.
“We’re just—”
“Don’t you hear the tsunami sirens?” he interrupted Clay.
“Tsunami? We’re safe up here, aren’t we?” I asked. I knew about tsunamis and what damage they could cause. Years ago, my nephew had lived through in one in the Philippines. It wasn’t something he talked about very often. My sister had explained he lost a lot of friends that day.
“We should be,” Richard answered. “But a lot of people in town are going to be running for higher ground. Which means they may be heading our way.”
“Oh my,” Rainey gasped.
“Look!” Clay shouted and pointed at the horizon.
We all stared at the ocean.
“Here it comes,” Richard said. “It’s huge.”
I looked at him and then back at the horizon. The wave didn’t look all that huge. I mean, not like the tidal wave from the Poseidon Adventure big. But as it drew nearer, I noticed it was much larger than the usual waves.
Through the open door to Clay’s condo, we could hear car horns honking and people yelling. We left the window and went outside.
Our quiet dead-end street was a traffic jam. People I’d never seen before were abandoning their cars and heading higher up the hill into the wooded area. Toby was barking like crazy at the strangers and animals going by. I would have liked to say the people were being calm and orderly, but they were panicking and shoving each other like frightened animals. From down the street I heard a loud bang, like someone had crashed their car into the one in front of them. Horns were honking as drivers became impatient. They must not have realized this was a dead-end street.
Across the street I noticed a group of twenty-something-aged guys enter the neighbor’s house next to the Harrison’s. To my shock and horror, they emerged with all sorts of things, a television, a computer monitor, a stereo. They’re looting!
“Are you serious?” I heard myself say out loud.
“What?” Rainey asked.
“People are stealing things from our neighbors.”
Rainey’s eyes went wide. She rushed back to her door and locked it before returning.
As we stood, looking downhill toward town we saw a wave come ashore. It didn’t look like much from this distance, but it began to grow wider and deeper. Every time I thought the water would recede, another wave came in. I found myself thinking about the people who worked near the mouth of the D River. I wondered if they had made it out of harm’s way before the tsunami hit. And I wondered where Ted and Barb were.
With all the commotion from the people in the street, I didn’t notice when the sirens quit sounding. The sun was beginning to set but the lights weren’t coming on. I slipped away from the others and went upstairs to my condo. I flipped the light switch on, but nothing happened. No electricity.
I turned around when I heard a knock on the door. Clay was standing on the threshold.
“No power, either?” he asked.
“None. I guess the wave took out a substation or something.”
“Great. I can’t find Mittens anywhere in my apartment,” he said. “I think she got out when the door was left open.”
“Oh, no,” I said. “She’ll come back when things settle down. I’m sure her instinct kicked in and she headed for safety somewhere. But she’ll come home, don’t worry.”
“I hope you’re right. I’ve had her for nine years. I can’t imagine life without her.” His eyes filled with tears.
Nine years didn’t sound like a long time to me, but to Clay who was barely into his thirties, I’m sure it felt like a lifetime. I put my hand on his shoulder and before I knew it, he wrapped his arms around me and began sobbing on my chest.
“I hate to break up this love fest,” Richard said from the landing outside my door. “You should come outside and have another look.”
Clay turned around and I followed him out the door, locking it behind me. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I noticed Rainey and Carol standing at the edge of the street looking toward town. Rainey had her hand over her mouth. She glanced in my direction and rushed to me.
“Oh, Austin,” she said. “It’s horrible. It’s like it’s the end of the world.”
“What?” I said and headed to the street. Rainey followed me.
When I looked toward the center of town, I saw the red glow of a fire. There were several buildings burning, the flames reflecting off the receding water.
“What happened?” I asked, confused because water doesn’t burn.
“I don’t know,” Richard said. “It started over there.” It was too dark to see where he was pointing. “Then it popped up over there and there. My guess is gas lines broke in the quake.”
Just then the ground shook again, causing the alarms in several of the abandoned cars clogging the street to go off. Toby started barking again along with some other dogs that were running loose. Rainey screamed and grabbed my arm. Clay whimpered and moved closer.
I didn’t let out a peep, though I was just as frightened. I hate the feeling of helplessness and the growing darkness accentuated it, but I, as the oldest, I needed to be strong for my friends.
“I can’t take this anymore!” Carol screamed at Richard. “I want to get out of here.”
“It’s going to be all right,” he said to her, but his tone was less than convincing.
I pulled my arm free of Rainey’s tight grip and wrapped it around her shoulders to restore the blood flow. She put her arms around my torso and held fast.
“I thought it was going to be different here,” Carol continued to chide her husband. “That’s what you said. I should never have listened to you!”
“Earthquakes can happen anywhere,” Richard said.
“Is that true?” Rainey whispered to me.
“I’m not sure. But I guess every place has its own issues. The east coast has hurricanes. The Midwest, tornados. I guess the west coast has earthquakes, but this is the first time I’ve felt one.”
“I don’t like them,” Rainey said.
“Do you think there will be another tsunami?” Clay asked.
“I honestly don’t know,” I told him. I felt his shoulder against mine. He was trembling.
“Should we go back inside?” he asked loud enough for Richard and Carol to hear. I must admit, I was wondering the same thing.
“No!” Richard answered. “We have to make sure that last tremor didn’t cause any damage to the building.”
“How are we supposed to see? It’s dark out here,” Clay said.
“Flashlights,” Richard said. “I have a couple in my truck. Do any of you?”
“No,” Rainey answered.
“I have one upstairs but—”
“Why would I have a flashlight?” Clay asked. “There’re supposed to be lights.”
“This is why,” Richard said. “Austin, come with me.”
I slipped free of Rainey’s grasp and followed Richard to his truck. I heard the clunk of his doors unlocking. The interior lights came on, when he opened the driver’s door, and nearly blinded me. He grabbed the flashlights, long enough to double as clubs, from behind the front seat. He switched them on before closing and locking his truck. Handing me one, he said, “Follow me.”
Once again, we walked around the condo building inspecting the concrete foundation. At one point he stopped and took a closer look at what he thought was a crack, but it turned out to be a tall blade of grass. We reached the carport on the north side of the building where my car was parked between Rainey’s and Clay’s. The Watkins had their parking on the south side. Richard shone his flashlight round at the edge of the carport. A chill shot through my body when I noticed the ground had cracked. It never occurred to me that, living on a hill on the Oregon coast, there could be landslides.
Dear God, what else could possibly go wrong?
I followed Richard as he took a closer look.
“Do you think it’s going to slide?” I asked him.
“I don’t think so. It doesn’t appear to be deep, but we’ll have to get a better look in the morning light.” Turning back toward the building, he said. “I think we should be safe to go back inside.”
“Good,” I said, feeling a bit of relief. I started to hand him the flashlight, but he told me to keep it for now.
“You’ll need it when you get inside,” he said.
“Oh, yeah.” I nodded. I looked at Rainey and Clay. They were too afraid to be alone, so they joined me in my apartment.
“Something smells good,” Rainey said when she entered.
I took a sniff and remembered my lasagna. It would be cold by now, but even cold it was still good. The thought made me hungry.
“I’m not sure if it’s enough for us all, but I have a bit of lasagna if you would like some? Sorry it’s not a lot.”
“Oh, I think I have some hotdogs in my fridge, downstairs. Should I go get them?”
“I never turn down a weenie,” Clay said.
“I’ve noticed,” Rainey teased. “I’ll be right back.”
“Wait a sec,” I said and went into the kitchen. I opened my junk drawer and quickly found my flashlight. Turning it on, I was relieved to see the batteries still worked. “Here, take this,” I said and handed it to her.
“Be right back.”
“Would you care for a glass of wine?” I offered.
“That would be great,” Clay said.
He followed me into the kitchen.
“Careful, there’s broken glass on the floor,” I told him.
While I poured three glasses of wine, Clay noticed the lasagna.
“Mind if I have some?” he said.
“Not at all. Let me get you a plate.” I took a plate from the cupboard, grabbed a fork from the drawer, and handed them to him.
Another tremor shook the building, but not nearly as violently as the previous aftershock. Clay grabbed onto the table while I held onto the sink. By the time the shaking stopped, Rainey was back. She carried a grocery sack full of things from her kitchen and set it down on the counter.
“I just about lost everything on the stairs,” she said.
“What did you bring?” Clay asked.
“I brought buns, relish, mustard, chips, and—”
Clay laughed. “You should have been a Girl Scout.”
“What makes you think I wasn’t?” she teased back.
“Here’s some wine,” I said, handing Rainey a glass.
After everyone had fixed their dinner, we went to the living room and sat on the floor around the coffee table. Rainey put the bags of chips in the center. We ate and drank until the wine and chips were gone.
I don’t know who was first to fall asleep on the floor, but when I woke up, I was in my bed in my bedroom. The sun was shining through the window. I grabbed my robe and rushed to the living room. To my shock and surprise, Rainey and Clay weren’t there. I checked my guest bedroom. They weren’t there. I went to the kitchen, it was clean. There was nothing broken. Nothing spilled. No evidence of any earthquake. Still in my robe, I opened my front door. Clay opened his door at the same time.
“Morning,” he greeted me with his cat Mittens in his arms.
“Morning,” I said. “I see Mittens came home.”
Clay’s eyebrows pinched as he gave me a strange look. “Where would he be?”
“I thought—” I stopped myself. “Never mind. I must be mistaken. I’m just going to go get my newspaper.”
“Okay,” Clay said and stepped back into his apartment.
I walked down the stairs and out to the row of mailboxes and paper tubes at the edge of the narrow street. I glanced down the hill toward town. To my surprise, everything looked normal, like it had every morning since I had moved into my condo. I pulled my paper out and looked at the headlines. Nothing eventful on the front page. Tucking it under my arm, I went back inside.
Across the street, Toby jumped off the porch and began running back and forth along the fence line, whimpering.
Finding a condo in a fourplex near the end of a dead-end street with an overview of the Pacific Ocean was a miracle. At least that’s what my friends and everyone at work told me. I had no trouble. I had a great realtor who knew of a pocket listing. The whole process seemed easy.
Two of the other three condo owners were very welcoming. Rainey, who lives in the condo beneath mine, was the first neighbor I met. She always has a smile and seems to be in a good mood. I like that about her. The couple who lives across from her on the first floor, Richard and Carol, are opposites of Rainey. They never smile, in fact, they scowl all the time. I can’t imagine what life is like behind their closed door. Clay lives above them and across the landing from me. He's okay. Not exactly bubbly like Rainey, but not a sourpuss like the Watkins below him.
I parked my car in the carport beside the building. As I headed for my door, I noticed Toby, the neighbor’s dog from the house across the street, pacing and yowling. Toby, a miniature schnauzer, is usually a quiet dog. He doesn’t even bark at strangers.
“Toby, boy, what’s the matter?” I called to him, but he ignored me and kept pacing. How odd. I shook my head and started up the stairs.
“Hi, Austin,” Rainey greeted me after opening her door. “I thought I heard you talking to Toby,” she said, stepping out of the condo.
“Hi, Rainey,” I greeted her and stopped on the second step. “Yeah, something must be bothering him.” I glanced over my shoulder at the dog.
“You don’t think he’s sick, do you?”
“Nah . . .” I shook my head. “But I don’t understand why Ted or Barb hasn’t come out to see what the fuss is.”
“I saw them leave just after the mail came. It’s the first of the month and they usually go shopping after their social security checks come.”
“Oh yeah, that’s right. Why they don’t do direct deposit when it’d be so much easier for them, I’ll never know.”
“They don’t trust the new technology.”
“New? My parents were doing it nearly thirty years ago.”
Rainey laughed. “I know. I guess some people just hold onto the past too tightly.”
“Well, I wish they were here to calm Toby. He looks really upset about something.”
A flock of birds hidden in the trees behind the Harrison’s house suddenly took flight.
“Wow!” Rainey gasped and took a step back. “Where’d they come from?”
“More like, what startled them?”
“Stupid cat!” Clay shouted as he stepped out onto the landing above. “Stay in there and think about what you did!” He slammed his door and looked down at us. “Oh, sorry.”
“Trouble with Mittens?” I asked.
“She was being mouthy and trying to get out. When I went to put her in her kennel, she scratched me. I don’t know what’s gotten into her,” he explained as he walked down the stairs to join us holding a hand to his cheek. When he took it away and looked at his palm, he noticed blood. “Oh no! I’m bleeding!” he shrieked.
Rainey took his hand and raised her chin to examine the scratch. “Better come inside and I’ll clean it up for you.”
“Is it bad?” Clay whined.
“No, just messy. But you don’t want to get an infection.”
“Infection?” Clay wailed. “Will it leave a scar? I can’t have a scar. Not on my face.”
“Oh, come on,” Rainey said, dragging him into her condo. “I’ll see you later,” she called to me before closing the door.
I headed upstairs to my condo.
Walking inside I noticed the calm and quiet. The condo was well insulated against the noise outside. I couldn’t even hear Toby’s whining. I walked across the living room to the sliding glass door and drew back the drapes. The room was immediately flooded with light from the late afternoon sun. In the distance, almost on the horizon, I could see a large ship. I watched it for a while and noticed it was heading south.
Turning away, I headed for the kitchen. I love having separate rooms. None of this open concept nonsense for me. I don’t want strangers to be able to case my entire house in one glance when I answer my door. Plus, if I couldn’t get to the breakfast dishes, no one would know.
I opened the freezer and took out a Stouffers frozen lasagna, my favorite. I popped it into the microwave and went back to the fridge for my green salad. Cooking for one was difficult but the premade salads and tv dinners, though probably not very healthy, made it easier. It’s been seven years since I lost my wife. Seven painful years after twenty wonderful years. Damn cancer!
The timer on the microwave beeped as I poured a glass of red wine. It startled me and I spilled a drop on the counter. I quickly grabbed a paper towel and wiped it up before it had a chance to stain my stain-resistant countertop.
Sitting down at the dining room table, I stared at my instant meal. I longed for the days when I would come home and the house would smell so delicious from my wife’s cooking. In those days the lasagna was made from scratch. Even the salad she made herself. None of that prepackaged stuff soaked in chemicals. Then, there was the smell of fresh-baked garlic bread—oh, I forgot the bread.
As I walked back into the kitchen, I heard a deep rumble. Like a train going by. But there aren’t any trains for miles. The building began to tremble. The stemware in the cupboards began to clink together. The grandfather clock in the living room began to chime. The shaking became more violent. I rushed back into the dining room. My wineglass fell over, spilling red wine on the white tablecloth before shattering on the floor.
“What’s going on?” I shouted to no one. An extremely violent shake knocked me off my feet. I hit the floor hard but managed to get back up. Staggering as the shaking continued, I made my way to the front door. When I opened it, the shaking stopped.
I reached the bottom of the stairs as Rainey and Clay ran out of her condo.
“Did you feel that?” Clay asked, grabbing my arm. His eyes were wide. His hands were trembling.
If I wasn’t also frightened, I would have made a snappy comeback. “Of course,” I said, instead.
The door of the Watkins’ condo opened and the two of them came outside.
“What happened?” Clay blurted.
“That was an earthquake,” Richard said, sounding unfazed.
“I thought it was going to bring the whole building down,” Carol said. She wasn’t as calm as her husband. “I thought we left all of that when we moved away from San Francisco.”
Rainey was holding a hand over her heart and trying to catch her breath.
“Are you okay,” I asked her.
“I’ve never been in an earthquake before,” she said.
“Nor I,” I admitted. Looking at Richard, I asked, “So, what do we do now?”
Richard turned toward me. “We check the building,” he answered. “We walk the foundation. Look for cracks and anything that wasn’t there before.”
“Okay,” I said, taking a deep breath. At forty-seven I had thought I overcome most of my phobias. But this—this earthquake—this was new. My legs were still shaking. My mind was still racing. It was hard to focus.
I followed Richard around the outside of the building. While he rambled on about a gas meter we don’t have.
He stopped and looked at me. His lips pressed thin, and he scowled even more than usual. “Are you listening?” he said. With his short, crewcut hair and thick, black-rimmed glasses, he reminded me of my father. I suddenly felt as though I were ten again.
“Yes,” I answered.
“Then what do you do if we had a gas meter?” he asked, challenging me.
“You shut it off,” I answered, but had no idea where that came from.
His eyes narrowed. “Right,” he said and turned toward the back of the building. “You also need to look at the walls for any cracks or abnormalities that could indicate structural problems.”
For the rest of the distance to the corner, I looked at the wall. If there were any problems, I didn’t see them. I was still rattled and feeling shaky.
When we reached the carport on the north side of the building, I looked across the street. Toby was quiet but still appeared nervous. He was walking in a circle.
“I’ll go check on the neighbors,” I told Richard and went across the street. “Hey, Toby,” I said in a calm tone. “It’s all right boy. It was just an earthquake.”
Suddenly, Toby stopped and looked at me. He bared his teeth and gave off a deep guttural growl. I took a step back. The fur on his back was standing on end. Confused by his sudden change in behavior, I slowly backed across the street. When he charged and jumped against the chain-link fence, I turned and ran back across the street to the safety of the others.
“What’s the matter with him?” Clay asked.
“I don’t know. I guess he’s never been in an earthquake before either.” I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the pooch. It was obvious that neither Ted nor Barb had returned home.
“I suggest we all go back to our apartments and check for structural damage,” Richard said in a tone that sounded like an order. Even though he was a few years younger than me, he was the only one, besides his wife, who had been in an earthquake. So, I ignored his bossy tone and followed Clay back upstairs.
A quick examination of my condo revealed no major damage to the walls or structure. There was a crack in the Sheetrock above the sliding glass door. Other than that, and a few broken glasses in the cupboard, a stain in the tablecloth that was not going to come out anytime soon, and pictures on the wall that needed to be straightened, my apartment survived unscathed.
I returned to the landing, but no one was outside. Then I heard another noise. This one was coming from town. It was the sound of a siren that grew louder and louder.
That brought Rainey out of her apartment and up the stairs. “What is that?” she asked.
“I’m not sure.” I knocked on Clay’s door.
“Come in,” he shouted from inside.
When I opened the door, I was immediately struck by the scent of air freshener and cat box odor. Trying not to breathe too deeply, I made my way to his living room.
“Did you have any damage?” I asked.
“Not really, but take a look at this,” he said, standing at his sliding glass door and looking out at the ocean.
We walked across the surprisingly tidy room and stood beside him. My jaw dropped when I saw the ocean had receded like it does at low tide. The three of us stood, mesmerized by the sight, and didn’t hear the Watkins come in.
“What are you doing?” Richard asked.
“We’re just—”
“Don’t you hear the tsunami sirens?” he interrupted Clay.
“Tsunami? We’re safe up here, aren’t we?” I asked. I knew about tsunamis and what damage they could cause. Years ago, my nephew had lived through in one in the Philippines. It wasn’t something he talked about very often. My sister had explained he lost a lot of friends that day.
“We should be,” Richard answered. “But a lot of people in town are going to be running for higher ground. Which means they may be heading our way.”
“Oh my,” Rainey gasped.
“Look!” Clay shouted and pointed at the horizon.
We all stared at the ocean.
“Here it comes,” Richard said. “It’s huge.”
I looked at him and then back at the horizon. The wave didn’t look all that huge. I mean, not like the tidal wave from the Poseidon Adventure big. But as it drew nearer, I noticed it was much larger than the usual waves.
Through the open door to Clay’s condo, we could hear car horns honking and people yelling. We left the window and went outside.
Our quiet dead-end street was a traffic jam. People I’d never seen before were abandoning their cars and heading higher up the hill into the wooded area. Toby was barking like crazy at the strangers and animals going by. I would have liked to say the people were being calm and orderly, but they were panicking and shoving each other like frightened animals. From down the street I heard a loud bang, like someone had crashed their car into the one in front of them. Horns were honking as drivers became impatient. They must not have realized this was a dead-end street.
Across the street I noticed a group of twenty-something-aged guys enter the neighbor’s house next to the Harrison’s. To my shock and horror, they emerged with all sorts of things, a television, a computer monitor, a stereo. They’re looting!
“Are you serious?” I heard myself say out loud.
“What?” Rainey asked.
“People are stealing things from our neighbors.”
Rainey’s eyes went wide. She rushed back to her door and locked it before returning.
As we stood, looking downhill toward town we saw a wave come ashore. It didn’t look like much from this distance, but it began to grow wider and deeper. Every time I thought the water would recede, another wave came in. I found myself thinking about the people who worked near the mouth of the D River. I wondered if they had made it out of harm’s way before the tsunami hit. And I wondered where Ted and Barb were.
With all the commotion from the people in the street, I didn’t notice when the sirens quit sounding. The sun was beginning to set but the lights weren’t coming on. I slipped away from the others and went upstairs to my condo. I flipped the light switch on, but nothing happened. No electricity.
I turned around when I heard a knock on the door. Clay was standing on the threshold.
“No power, either?” he asked.
“None. I guess the wave took out a substation or something.”
“Great. I can’t find Mittens anywhere in my apartment,” he said. “I think she got out when the door was left open.”
“Oh, no,” I said. “She’ll come back when things settle down. I’m sure her instinct kicked in and she headed for safety somewhere. But she’ll come home, don’t worry.”
“I hope you’re right. I’ve had her for nine years. I can’t imagine life without her.” His eyes filled with tears.
Nine years didn’t sound like a long time to me, but to Clay who was barely into his thirties, I’m sure it felt like a lifetime. I put my hand on his shoulder and before I knew it, he wrapped his arms around me and began sobbing on my chest.
“I hate to break up this love fest,” Richard said from the landing outside my door. “You should come outside and have another look.”
Clay turned around and I followed him out the door, locking it behind me. When I reached the bottom of the stairs, I noticed Rainey and Carol standing at the edge of the street looking toward town. Rainey had her hand over her mouth. She glanced in my direction and rushed to me.
“Oh, Austin,” she said. “It’s horrible. It’s like it’s the end of the world.”
“What?” I said and headed to the street. Rainey followed me.
When I looked toward the center of town, I saw the red glow of a fire. There were several buildings burning, the flames reflecting off the receding water.
“What happened?” I asked, confused because water doesn’t burn.
“I don’t know,” Richard said. “It started over there.” It was too dark to see where he was pointing. “Then it popped up over there and there. My guess is gas lines broke in the quake.”
Just then the ground shook again, causing the alarms in several of the abandoned cars clogging the street to go off. Toby started barking again along with some other dogs that were running loose. Rainey screamed and grabbed my arm. Clay whimpered and moved closer.
I didn’t let out a peep, though I was just as frightened. I hate the feeling of helplessness and the growing darkness accentuated it, but I, as the oldest, I needed to be strong for my friends.
“I can’t take this anymore!” Carol screamed at Richard. “I want to get out of here.”
“It’s going to be all right,” he said to her, but his tone was less than convincing.
I pulled my arm free of Rainey’s tight grip and wrapped it around her shoulders to restore the blood flow. She put her arms around my torso and held fast.
“I thought it was going to be different here,” Carol continued to chide her husband. “That’s what you said. I should never have listened to you!”
“Earthquakes can happen anywhere,” Richard said.
“Is that true?” Rainey whispered to me.
“I’m not sure. But I guess every place has its own issues. The east coast has hurricanes. The Midwest, tornados. I guess the west coast has earthquakes, but this is the first time I’ve felt one.”
“I don’t like them,” Rainey said.
“Do you think there will be another tsunami?” Clay asked.
“I honestly don’t know,” I told him. I felt his shoulder against mine. He was trembling.
“Should we go back inside?” he asked loud enough for Richard and Carol to hear. I must admit, I was wondering the same thing.
“No!” Richard answered. “We have to make sure that last tremor didn’t cause any damage to the building.”
“How are we supposed to see? It’s dark out here,” Clay said.
“Flashlights,” Richard said. “I have a couple in my truck. Do any of you?”
“No,” Rainey answered.
“I have one upstairs but—”
“Why would I have a flashlight?” Clay asked. “There’re supposed to be lights.”
“This is why,” Richard said. “Austin, come with me.”
I slipped free of Rainey’s grasp and followed Richard to his truck. I heard the clunk of his doors unlocking. The interior lights came on, when he opened the driver’s door, and nearly blinded me. He grabbed the flashlights, long enough to double as clubs, from behind the front seat. He switched them on before closing and locking his truck. Handing me one, he said, “Follow me.”
Once again, we walked around the condo building inspecting the concrete foundation. At one point he stopped and took a closer look at what he thought was a crack, but it turned out to be a tall blade of grass. We reached the carport on the north side of the building where my car was parked between Rainey’s and Clay’s. The Watkins had their parking on the south side. Richard shone his flashlight round at the edge of the carport. A chill shot through my body when I noticed the ground had cracked. It never occurred to me that, living on a hill on the Oregon coast, there could be landslides.
Dear God, what else could possibly go wrong?
I followed Richard as he took a closer look.
“Do you think it’s going to slide?” I asked him.
“I don’t think so. It doesn’t appear to be deep, but we’ll have to get a better look in the morning light.” Turning back toward the building, he said. “I think we should be safe to go back inside.”
“Good,” I said, feeling a bit of relief. I started to hand him the flashlight, but he told me to keep it for now.
“You’ll need it when you get inside,” he said.
“Oh, yeah.” I nodded. I looked at Rainey and Clay. They were too afraid to be alone, so they joined me in my apartment.
“Something smells good,” Rainey said when she entered.
I took a sniff and remembered my lasagna. It would be cold by now, but even cold it was still good. The thought made me hungry.
“I’m not sure if it’s enough for us all, but I have a bit of lasagna if you would like some? Sorry it’s not a lot.”
“Oh, I think I have some hotdogs in my fridge, downstairs. Should I go get them?”
“I never turn down a weenie,” Clay said.
“I’ve noticed,” Rainey teased. “I’ll be right back.”
“Wait a sec,” I said and went into the kitchen. I opened my junk drawer and quickly found my flashlight. Turning it on, I was relieved to see the batteries still worked. “Here, take this,” I said and handed it to her.
“Be right back.”
“Would you care for a glass of wine?” I offered.
“That would be great,” Clay said.
He followed me into the kitchen.
“Careful, there’s broken glass on the floor,” I told him.
While I poured three glasses of wine, Clay noticed the lasagna.
“Mind if I have some?” he said.
“Not at all. Let me get you a plate.” I took a plate from the cupboard, grabbed a fork from the drawer, and handed them to him.
Another tremor shook the building, but not nearly as violently as the previous aftershock. Clay grabbed onto the table while I held onto the sink. By the time the shaking stopped, Rainey was back. She carried a grocery sack full of things from her kitchen and set it down on the counter.
“I just about lost everything on the stairs,” she said.
“What did you bring?” Clay asked.
“I brought buns, relish, mustard, chips, and—”
Clay laughed. “You should have been a Girl Scout.”
“What makes you think I wasn’t?” she teased back.
“Here’s some wine,” I said, handing Rainey a glass.
After everyone had fixed their dinner, we went to the living room and sat on the floor around the coffee table. Rainey put the bags of chips in the center. We ate and drank until the wine and chips were gone.
I don’t know who was first to fall asleep on the floor, but when I woke up, I was in my bed in my bedroom. The sun was shining through the window. I grabbed my robe and rushed to the living room. To my shock and surprise, Rainey and Clay weren’t there. I checked my guest bedroom. They weren’t there. I went to the kitchen, it was clean. There was nothing broken. Nothing spilled. No evidence of any earthquake. Still in my robe, I opened my front door. Clay opened his door at the same time.
“Morning,” he greeted me with his cat Mittens in his arms.
“Morning,” I said. “I see Mittens came home.”
Clay’s eyebrows pinched as he gave me a strange look. “Where would he be?”
“I thought—” I stopped myself. “Never mind. I must be mistaken. I’m just going to go get my newspaper.”
“Okay,” Clay said and stepped back into his apartment.
I walked down the stairs and out to the row of mailboxes and paper tubes at the edge of the narrow street. I glanced down the hill toward town. To my surprise, everything looked normal, like it had every morning since I had moved into my condo. I pulled my paper out and looked at the headlines. Nothing eventful on the front page. Tucking it under my arm, I went back inside.
Across the street, Toby jumped off the porch and began running back and forth along the fence line, whimpering.
Copyright © 2023 James M. McCracken
JK Press
All rights reserved.
JK Press
All rights reserved.
