Page 18 of Waves of Fury

It’s underwater.

Fabulous.

I’m rethinking my decision when I hear muffled voices and more sobbing. I take into consideration the slant of the building and the windows of Kellen’s office. If only one corner of his office is above water, it means the others on this floor may not have much air. If they’re injured, too, they may only have a matter of minutes. I have to help.

Sucking in a huge breath, I drop into the cold water, sliding along the floor until I’m completely submerged. It stings to open my eyes, but I need to see where I’m going. The water is dark and murky, but I soon find the outline of his office door. I swim toward it. A filing cabinet is sitting on one side, pinning the door down.

“Kellen, are you in there?”

The water muffles the voice, but it’s definitely a female. Soft thumps on the door can be heard below me.

My lungs start to burn, so I push up to the surface for air. “Hey, lady, can you hear me?” I yell through the wall. “Me and Kellen are safe. What’s your status?”

“It’s Frannie! I’m Frannie. We have some pockets of air, but every time a wave hits—”

Her words are drowned out and then I can hear coughing on the other side.

“There’s a filing cabinet on the door,” I holler. “I’m going to move it and then get the door open. Be ready to swim. I’m going to get you out of there.”

I don’t wait for a response and then dive back into the water. The filing cabinet is heavy now that it’s full of soaked papers and files, but I manage to dislodge it. Before I can grab the handle, it’s pushed open and an older woman pops through. I take hold of her arm and drag her in the direction of relative safety. Once we emerge and she sees Kellen, she starts to cry.

Finally, he wakes from his fog and scrambles forward. I’m grateful to see he still has hold of my bag, even as he takes her hand, helping her to the floor beside him.

“T-There are others, b-but I’m not sure where,” she says, her entire body quivering. “We have to help them.”

I give her a sharp nod. “Stay here with Kellen. I’ll go find them.”

The water is chilly but not unbearable as I make my way back under the surface. This time, I swim through the door and into the reception area. I realize there’s a small pocket of air above me, so I take a second to take a breath and regroup.

“Anyone there?” I call out.

Several voices reply at once, seemingly eager at the prospect of rescue. Unfortunately for them, it’s just me. No police or coast guard or guardian angels. It’ll have to do.

I dive back under the surface, swiping papers and other debris out of my way as I swim toward where I think the people are. I see several legs treading water on the other side of the elevator.

Popping up at the surface, I quickly survey the survivors. I immediately recognize the geek, the asshole, and the old woman from the elevator. There’s also a man and two other women. All of them are soaked and terrified, looking at me like I’m their savior.

“Kellen and Frannie are in Kellen’s office,” I explain, breath as choppy as the water around us. “There’s a pocket of air between here and there. There’s room to sit in his office. Follow me.”

Not waiting for anything else, I dip back down after a deep breath. Turning, I make sure they’re following before swimming through the reception area. I stop to suck in more air near the door, hearing several others behind me do the same before swimming through the doorway.

Kellen is still hugging onto Frannie when I make it back into the office, my bag secured in his iron grip. I crawl out of the water and then start tugging people onto the carpet. Eventually, everyone is safely out of the water and huddled together on the small patch of space that’s not underwater.

“Anyone else on this floor?” I ask, eyes darting to Kellen.

He frowns and shakes his head, uncertainty in his voice as he says, “I don’t think so.”

“No,” a blond woman says firmly. “This is everyone.”

Eight pairs of eyes land on me, assessing me as though I have the answers as to what’s next. Truth is, I have no idea. I’m just as lost, terrified, and confused as they are. Difference is, I’ve spent a lifetime hiding those fears—first with my parents and then later in foster care. Even now, I’m just faking adulthood, hoping no one notices I’m as clueless as they are.

“What do we do now?” the asshole asks. “We’re royally fucked.”

Kellen bristles but says nothing.

I let out a heavy sigh, realizing once and for all that no one is going to step up. It has to be me. “Yeah, it appears we’re fucked. But we can survive this. I’m Tyler.”

“I’m Frannie,” Frannie says. “This here is Kellen as you know.” She points out the others, starting with the geek, the asshole, and the old lady from the elevator. “Brian, Kyle, Barb.” Then she points to a guy about Kellen’s age, a sobbing brunette, and the fierce-looking blonde. “This here is Gerry, Elise, and Hope.”

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