Graham lay sprawled beside the jeep with the wind temporarily knocked out of him, but he had the presence of mind to hold onto the gun. Recovering swiftly he jumped up and using the jeep for cover, leaned the gun against the upturned chassis and aimed for the Land-cruiser. Silence descended as his thumb found and released the safety catch. The dust settled and he could see the stationary Land-cruiser clearly, sitting menacingly less than ten metres away. Dark tinted windows prevented observation of the occupants. How many? Graham wondered. To what lengths would they go?
Bill lay on the ground holding his wounded arm. His face was red with anger ‘Don’t give ‘em the advantage. Strike first!’
Before further thought could deter him Graham raised the shotgun and pulled off the first round. The deafening blast from the gun was accompanied by a shattering crash as the windscreen of the Land cruiser disintegrated into thousands of crystals, spraying out over the bonnet and the ground in a shower of glass. Without pausing Graham pumped the gun and fired three more times, peppering the front of the van with pellets.The pungent irritating smell of spent powder filled his nostrils, and his ears reverberated from the sound of the blasts. Silence, as stunning as the thunderous discharge from the gun, encased his numbed brain. He waited for retaliation.
By now the others had regained their senses and were crawling up beside him under the cover of the upturned jeep. There was no movement from the Land-cruiser, he guessed he had won the first round with the element of surprise. Obviously their attackers had not expected them to fight back so ferociously. Suddenly the Land-rover engine roared into life and the vehicle shot backwards, skidding and swerving in clouds of dust as he reversed away from the scene, until a loud thump indicated contact with something solid. They were out of range of Graham’s gun and enveloped in dust and debris. The driver found first gear before the cloud had settled and screamed away in the direction from where they had come, leaving the shaken group cowering beside their stricken jeep.
‘Well done Graham! You gave them what for.’ Nick slapped him on the back. ‘Remind me to keep you by my side in the future.’
Nick helped up the terrified girls. Bill lay in the dirt clasping his shoulder and cursing his bad luck. ‘At this rate I’m never going to get this bloody shoulder to heal. Feels like it’s bleeding again.’
Veronica was examining a bad gravel rash on her leg that now accompanied the cuts and bruises from the tsunami, but otherwise they were all unhurt. Graham inspected the jeep, she wasn’t badly damaged. However, it would need more than he and Nick to lift it out of the ditch. ‘Mmm, looks like we’ll have to walk the rest of the way. How far’s your house Karen?’
‘About a kilometre. It’s all downhill so it’s an easy walk.’
They set off, sharply aware there could be another attack by looters at any time. Graham patted the shotgun and confidently replaced the safety catch. It was mid morning now and the heat was becoming oppressive. It was very unsettling to be so hot in the middle of winter. The sweet smell of fresh bushland invaded their nostrils, and some Currawong’s melodious calls, a sound typical in the Australian bush, filled the air. A canopy of gum trees and palms covered them and the crickets that usually deafened only in the summer months, were chirping in rising crescendos.
They rounded a bend and were startled when a man in combat clothing leapt from the bush. ‘Stop, or I’ll shoot!’ He demanded.
They huddled together momentarily shocked and Graham raised the gun, but this time the element of surprise was in favour of their foe and he dropped the rifle to his side when he recognised his friend.
‘Joe! Thank Christ it’s you. We just had a run-in with some people about a klick back, they ran us off the road!’
Joe was one of the crack team Graham had organised to protect the house. A huge man and even though well into his fifties, a good ally to have on one’s team. ‘We’re going to need your help to pull the jeep out of the ditch, but first we need to get everyone to safety.’
‘It’s good to see you mate. These gangs have been hounding us all day.’ Joe replied. ‘From what I’ve seen this morning, we’re going to be besieged by them for some time to come. Have you seen what’s out there yet?’ He said gesturing toward the coast.
‘We were in the thick of it last night, but we haven’t seen it by daylight yet.’
‘Come on, but be prepared for a shock. I can’t believe what’s happened. We lost power but the boys have rigged up the generator we nicked from the army.’
Nick had a good idea of what they were about to see when they entered the clearing around the house, but the others gasped in shock as they surveyed the scene of devastation below. Even though Nick had expected it, he was shaken when faced by the sickening reality.
Where there had been houses, farms and buildings for kilometres to the east, there was now only the sea! The former coast line had disappeared, covered by an angry, surging ocean. The multitude of distant high-rise buildings that once proliferated was gone, as were the ugly dykes!
Only two buildings remained; the Phoenix complex, whose four towers were standing forlornly in the ocean like solitary citadels, islands in an angry new sea. The other building was not so easily recognisable, all other landmarks having disappeared. By counting the floors still visible above the water line, Nick calculated the depth of the water surrounding the Phoenix to be about fifteen metres! No sign of any other structure remained, every one crushed and destroyed by the wicked, awesome power of the tsunami.
The turbulent sea roared inland until it crashed onto massive mountains of debris, the remains of the city that had been picked up by the towering tsunami and flung like millions of matchsticks onto the pulverised land. Spray hurled by the angry sea burst into the air and the once peaceful country side around the foot hills resembled a monstrous garbage dump.
‘My God.’ Karen whispered hoarsely to Nick. ‘It’s worse than I could’ve imagined. How far do you think that wave we followed came ashore?’
‘My guess is only about ten kilometres, but the sea level rose behind it pushing the water farther inland.’
‘Will it be like this everywhere?’
‘I’m afraid so. Cities lower than eighteen metres above sea level would’ve been annihilated.’
‘That’s most of the Australian coastline!’ The horror dawned on Karen as she mouthed the words. ‘What’re we going to do? Where are we going to get food? My God everything’s been destroyed! What about the rest of the world? There must be unbelievable destruction everywhere!’ They stared out across the newly formed sea, unanswered questions on all their lips.
One of Joe’s security men approached asking which one was Nick Torrens. ‘There’s a call for you, someone called Josh. I couldn’t make out his last name. Communications aren’t good, the sat-phones are still working, but there’s so much interference.’
Nick ran to the house before he’d finished speaking and grabbed the phone with trembling hands, eager to talk to Josh.
‘Josh, Josh, is that really you?’
‘Hello! Hello. Nick! Are you there? Are you okay? I’ve had a hell of a time trying to get through. Laura’s here.’ The line dropped out leaving Nick frustrated and annoyed. He waited for it to ring again and after five minutes began to think they would not get through. He paced the floor impatiently and flinched when the phone finally rang ten minutes later. Snatching it he babbled, ‘Josh is that you? We’re all okay. How are you? You said Laura was with you. Can I speak to her?’