There’s a lot of people on the beach and since half the beach is being swallowed up by waves, it feels strangely crowded. Quite a few are down by the shore and few of them are almost swept away from a rogue wave that reached in further than anyone expected. They shriek and run away from the surf playfully, like they have no idea how close they were to being sucked out to sea.
“Holy shit,” I say. “Those people are crazy. Didn’t they see the sign?”
“Ignorance heeds no signs,” Daniel says, trying to retie his hair back into a ponytail, the wind making it difficult. “If they did, we wouldn’t have people dying here all the time. Have you heard of Queen’s Bath? Guide books won’t even post about it because of all the people who die there. People just don’t listen. They think the waves can’t be that big, the current can’t be that strong, that their swimming skills are better than the average person.”
“The other year,” Nikki says between handfuls of granola, “a family was here, just like this. Dad turned his back for a second to get out food and the kids got too close to the shore. The wave swept them out. Bless him, he swam right in the waves after them and got them.”
“They made it out?” I ask.
“Eventually,” Logan says. “They couldn’t get back to shore. See the cliff right there? Around the corner is a small cave. He shoved his kids in there. Saved their lives. Hung onto the edge of the rock walls. The rescue boats came but it took a while—it’s six miles to the nearest harbor. And there’s no signal or reception out here so someone has to run back on the trail all the way to Ke’e Beach to get help. When the boats came, it was too rough and dangerous for them. Finally, two firefighters on one of the boats decided to swim for them. Took forty-five minutes for each person to be rescued. Fucking miracle. And that wasn’t a case of being negligent. It just happened. But those folks over there,” he says, pointing at the people by the water. “Are pushing their luck.” He looks at his watch. “And we might be too. Five more minutes. I thought I heard thunder a few moments ago. Wind is picking up.”
All of us look up to the mountain ranges behind us and the dark clouds that are swooping darker through the valleys. The wind is steadier now, colder and wet.
I finish my bar and dried mangos and slide my shoes on, hypnotized by the violent waves down by the shore, when I hear Logan mutter, “Shit.”
“What?” Daniel asks.
I look over at Logan. He’s staring off at the area where the stream runs across the beach before it’s swallowed up by the ocean. “It’s changed,” he says. “The stream is running brown.”
Just then, someone in the distance yells, “It’s rising, it’s rising, everyone out!” While someone else yells. “Flash flood!”
“Fuck,” Nikki swears as we all quickly get to our feet.
“What’s happening? Flash flood?” I ask with wide eyes.
Logan nods. “We have to hurry. Grab your stuff, we’re running.”
Oh my god. I pick up the backpack and hurry after them as we scamper over the rocks heading back to the stream.
There’s a backlog of people there at the stream’s edge on both sides. The stream is barely recognizable. It’s no longer clear, but brown and growing and seems to be getting higher and wider right in front of my eyes. The rocks people were crossing over earlier are nearly submerged, and people are still trying to cross over them.
“What happens if we can’t cross?” I ask Logan.
“We’re stuck here overnight. Might have to be helicoptered out.”
“Hey they have a rope,” Daniel says pointing to a guy who has tied a long rope around one tree and now is crossing the rocks with it. “He’ll tie it on the other side. You can cross by hanging on.”
“I don’t know,” Logan says warily and just as he does so, the sky opens up and rain starts to fall. “We have to go now if we’re going to go.”
“I’m going,” Daniel says. “Otherwise there’s no bartender for tonight and I’m not giving up the tips.” He makes his way to the swollen banks and grabs onto the rope after the guy has safely used it to cross the water. The rocks are now totally submerged and the water looks to be at least three feet high and moving faster and faster.
“Me too,” Nikki says, going after Daniel.
Logan looks at me. “Get on my back. It will at least save your phone.”
I look down at the stream. Everyone is steadily crossing using the rope. No one is getting a piggy-back ride.
“I’ll keep it in my hat,” I tell him and I quickly take out my phone and slide it in under my baseball cap.
He stares at me, the rain dripping down his face. A few beats pass and I can’t figure out what he’s deciding. Then he nods, once. “Okay. You’re going first, I’ll be behind you.”
“Hurry up!” Daniel yells at us. He’s made it to the other side and is helping Nikki out of the water.
And I’m trying to hurry. I get to the edge and then it’s like I freeze. I can’t see the bottom of the stream, it’s just this swirling, brown, depthless water that’s rushing past me, and even though there’s another woman in front of me using the rope, the water is already at her waist.
You can do it, hold onto the rope, keep your eyes on Daniel, and go, I tell myself.
I grab the rope with shaky hands. It’s thin and slippery and nowhere near as sturdy as I thought. If anything, it’s loosened, creating a dangerous slack.