Chapter 42

Tsunami

"Miriam, fix the stupid leak," Helga muttered, half asleep. Another wave of water crashed down on her. She opened her eyes slowly.

The ocean was jet black. The cloudy sky barley let the moon shine dimly through. Rain poured down in heavy streaks, never ceasing for an instant. Thunder and lightning echoed across the dark sky. Tall, menacing waves rose up all around. The raft was tossed about in the water like a rag doll.

Helga sat up. "Arnold!" she cried.

He was lying down, grasping the sides of the raft.

"Get down and hold on!" he shouted above the wind.

"Why?"

"Just do it!"

A strong gust of wind knocked her down. She grabbed onto the side of the raft with one hand and grabbed Arnold's hand with the other.

"What in the name of criminy is going on here?!"

"I think it's a tsunami!"

"I think it's a really bad storm!"

Suddenly, a four foot high wave rose up and slammed down on them. Helga screamed and clenched Arnold's hand even tighter.

He was actually kind of glad. He was scared too.

"We're all gonna die!" Helga screamed. "We're gonna drowned and sink to the bottom of the ocean, and piranhas will feast on out flesh, and-"

"No, we're not! Just hang on!"

The waves flung the raft every which way. It got pulled underwater, but it always managed to rise back up to the surface. They struggled for a few hours, and the storm just grew stronger.

"Arnold, we're not gonna make it! The waves are too big!"

"Yes, we are! We have to! We…" He trailed off, looking in horror at a humongous black object in the distance.

Helga looked at him curiously and followed his line of eyesight, until she saw the fifteenth foot tidal wave that was coming towards them with alarming speed and growing larger.

"Oh…my…" She screamed at the top of her lungs and squeezed Arnold's hand as hard as she could.

"Ow! Not so tight!"

"What are we going to do?!" she screamed, ignoring his protests.

"We'll go over the wave! Then we'll come down the other side!"

"Are you nuts?! That's a twenty something foot drop off!"

"It's better than being crushed!"

"How do you know we'll go over?!"

"I don't! We'll just have to hope that we do!"

"Hoping doesn't do anything Arnold! I've been hoping for years, and it never happens!"

"What never happens?"

"Um, well, ya see…"

"Tell me later! First we've got to make it over the wave!"

The enormous wave stood just a few feet in front of them.

"But I have to tell you now! I might not get another chance!"

"No time! Listen Helga, no matter what happens, don't let go of my hand!"

"Why?"

"We can't be separated, even for an instant! There's a much better chance of surviving if there's two of us!"

"How come?"

"I have no idea! Plus, I'm really scared, and I don't want to die alone!"

"You're scared?! I'm completely freaking out!"

"I thought you weren't scared of anything except rats!"

"Forget what I said! Killer waves scare me too!"

The giant wave loomed right in front of them. It began to tip forward under its own weight.

Helga screamed. Arnold grabbed her and pulled her against him. She was too scared to push him away. She wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him as tight as she could. He hugged her back. Helga closed her eyes and waited for death.

Suddenly, by some miracle, the wave started to upright itself. It was still wavering, but it was clear that it wasn't going to tip over.

"We're gonna make it Helga!" Arnold cried.

The wave started to pull the raft upward, higher and higher.

"We're gonna die, we're gonna die, we're gonna die-"

"No, we're not Helga! We're going over the wave, just like we planned!"

"We can't drop that far!" she cried, her eyes still tightly closed.

"It's not that far…only about twenty feet."

"I hope you're kidding."

"We'll soon find out. We're almost at the top."

Helga stifled a gasp. "Arnold, don't let go of me!"

He nervously laughed. "Is that the least of your worries?"

"Just don't! Promise me you won't let go! I-I don't want to die alone!"

"I promise, Helga," he said solemnly.

The raft teetered at the top of the wave. Helga slowly opened her eyes and peered over the edge of the raft. The water looked like it was one hundred feet below them; a huge asphalt road, ready to destroy them upon impact.

Helga screamed. "Arnold, it's gonna kill us-"

"No, it's n-"

"Shut up! Arnold, I-I have to tell you something. I…um…I-"

The wave suddenly lurched violently forward, dropping the raft.

Helga screamed and hugged Arnold so tight he thought she was going to suffocate him.

"ARNOLD, I LOV-"

The raft hit the water. Her head smacked against the wooden boards. Everything went black.