Page 21 of Waves of Fury

Barb shudders and turns to look at me. “Should we move the furniture like Tyler said to do?”

The mention of Tyler has my anxiety ratcheting up again. They’ve been gone for a good fifteen or twenty minutes, which unnerves me, especially since Frannie is with them. What if they got trapped without air?

I nod, attempting to shake away my fog where I want to hide away from reality and responsibility. Pretending this isn’t happening won’t save us.

You can’t run from your problems this time.

If only Dad and Knox were here to see you now, facing shit head-on like a man.

“Yeah,” I agree with a grunt. “Let’s do what we can until they come back.”

Ifthey come back…

Kyle wades out of the water and collapses next to Barb. His suit, soaked through, molds to his body and his chest heaves with heavy breaths. His wild eyes meet mine, a mixture of disbelief, terror, and fury. Tearing my gaze from his, I stand on shaky legs and then assess my office, or what remains.

Since most of the furniture is floating around or possibly swept out the window to the sea, moving the heavy concrete plantar, bookcase, and table with one remaining chair shouldn’t be difficult.

I’m contemplating where to start first when someone pops out of the water, sucking in a huge breath. Tyler. Relief floods through me when Hope and Frannie show up right after. Tyler splashes toward me, brows pinched.

“What?” I demand, voice hoarse. “What’s wrong?”

He shakes his head. “Nothing. The stairwell is dry. We need to get everyone there. It’s a lot safer than this.” He gestures to my office that’s half underwater. Then he lowers his gaze. “There are bodies there, though. We’ll need to do something with them.”

My starved stomach seizes at the thought of seeing and touching a dead body. The only one I’ve ever touched was that of my mother. I’m already cracking under the stress of today. Memories of Mom will only obliterate me completely.

“I, uh, I c-can’t,” I stammer out with a shudder. “Tyler, I can’t.”

Rather than showing frustration with me, he turns to survey our wrecked group. With a sigh, he beckons for Hope. Her blond hair is matted to her head and her breasts are nearly obscene-looking in her white, now transparent blouse, but she has a fierceness about her that I’m lacking in this moment. She’s a much better choice than me.

“Me and Hope will move the bodies to…” he trails off, rubbing at his temple. “Where can we, uh, contain them?”

Hope bounces on her bare feet as if to work some warmth into her body. “Conference room. It’s an interior space. We can close the door.”

Tyler gives her a nod of approval before turning his deep brown eyes on me. “Give me and Hope fifteen minutes and then you and Frannie need to get everyone out of here to the stairwell.” He points at his backpack. “Can you bring my pack? I don’t want to risk losing it while dealing with the bodies. The little supplies we do have are too precious.”

“Of course,” I grunt. Before he can retreat, I grab onto his bicep. “Thank you for doing this.”

His intense expression softens briefly and then he’s gone, Hope dipping under the water along with him. I glance over at the people sitting huddled on the far corner of my office. They’re all beat down and terrified. This is not at all how any of us expected the afternoon to go down. I pull my phone from my pocket out of habit to check the time.

Dead.

Completely waterlogged.

My thoughts drift back to my brother and dad. Would they have heard the news by now? Are they trying to reach me? Do they even care? I try not to think about the latter. Knox may be pissed I bolted after Mom died, but he’s still my brother. I have to believe he’s worried sick about me.

Dad, on the other hand, probably thinks I brought this on myself somehow. Punishment for leaving him and his legacy high and dry.

With a quick shake of my head, I toss my useless phone into the water with a splash. I pull the straps of Tyler’s backpack over each shoulder, tightening the straps so it won’t get lost in the dive. Finally, I take stock of what’s left of my office. Nothing of value remains. Just the people.

“Listen up,” I state, hoping to inject some confidence into my words. “We’re going to be moving to the stairwell. It’s safer than in here.”

As though to punctuate my words, a swell of water comes rushing past my feet all the way to my knees, nearly submerging those who are sitting on the floor. Elise squawks in surprise, clinging to Gerry so she doesn’t get pulled back with the wave when it retreats. Everyone scrambles to their feet, eyeing me warily. No one wants to stay here and I don’t blame them.

“Frannie, lead the way,” I instruct. “I know we all know where the stairwell is, but since it’s all underwater, it may be confusing. Frannie will take one group—Gerry and Elise. I’ll follow with my group—Barb, Brian, and Kyle. Tyler and Hope will meet us there. We good?”

Everyone nods, eager to move along to the next place.

Frannie, Gerry, and Elise all disappear under the water. We give them five minutes or so and then Kyle leads the way with Barb behind him. Brian goes after Barb and I’m last.

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