The Sphinx Project by Kate Hawkings Page B

milling around the street before sweeping along the coastline and out to what was, at that point, a still, quiet ocean.
    He returned to the beach, showing the people playing volleyball in the sand and the small lifeguard's building. It seemed so serene, but moments later he yelled a swear word, which was beeped out by the censors, and pointed the camera out to sea. He yelled for his buddies to come and watch the churning wave rushing inland.
    My stomach clenched, trying to force its contents out again. At the bottom corner of the screen, James, the girls, and I were clearly caught sprinting at full speed—much faster than possible for a regular human.
    "No," Nicole said faintly to no one in particular. Mouse choked on her food, while Sarah and Julie instantly drew their breath
    I suddenly became aware of the quiet sound of helicopter blades somewhere far overhead. The chance that they were tracking us already was miniscule, but I itched to go right now.
    "What you are seeing here is one of the first moments the tsunami came into contact with the U.S. Coastline," the reporter narrated. "Take note of the figures on the pier."
    The guy taping it yelled about how fast we were running, just beating the water. "Oh beep ! Oh beep, dude! There's a baby!" he yelled from behind the camera, the moment I veered toward Kelly.
    At the time, I hadn't realized quite how close the wave was to me when I'd scooped her into my arms. Watching the replay made me realize how near it had actually been. I set my good hand against my stomach, as if it would somehow convince its tumultuous contents to stay down. This was getting worse and worse.
    The cameraman lost sight of me as the wave engulfed us, reverting to watching the debris and water smash through the road like a river in a canyon. Some buildings, the hostel included, managed to stay relatively intact, but most were significantly damaged.
    Eventually someone alerted the cameraman to the fact that I'd surfaced on the tree with Kelly. Except for momentary sweeping shots of the street, they kept the camera on us until we managed to climb down from one of the ornamental palms lining the street.
    He'd recorded my frantic attempts to resuscitate Kelly and her mom's hysterical sobs. Somehow he'd even managed to capture the sorrow etched into the man's face as he held the pregnant woman away from her own child.
    "Such acts of heroism are rare." When he said heroism, my face heated. "But they leave a lasting effect on those who benefit from them." The reporter's face appeared again, this time in front of an ambulance. He talked and walked at the same time, using his hands to emphasize certain points. "We're sad to say that Melanie, the mother of the young girl featured in this video, lost her unborn child."
    My eyes prickled as I thought about how the poor woman must be feeling. Somehow, the others seemed unmoved by the news.
    "But due to one young woman, she will still be able to hold her daughter, watch her grow. Melanie is, of course, quite distraught. But she has issued a statement saying she wants to meet the young woman who saved her daughter so she can thank her in person and perhaps see if there is anything she could do in return.
    "We don't know who this young woman is, only that she was staying at the beachfront youth hostel on a short holiday. She left the scene with the aid of an older man and some friends immediately after passing little Kelly back to her mother." The screen changed to a photo of us eating outside the bar, probably from a security camera. "If you or anyone you know has encountered this woman, please call us on the number below. We'd love to talk to her."
    As our picture faded, we remained quiet, staring solemnly at the screen. The anchor appeared and James moved to switch off the screen. "You're not calling them."
    "Wait!" I urged, ignoring his statement completely. I had no interest in even picking up the phone so it wasn't an issue.
    James froze.
    A picture illuminated