Cascadia's Fault

Prologue It's been 500 years since the last tsunami. The next one is 300 years overdue. Bumpy Start The bus burped and farted its way down the highway, hitting every bump and pothole on the road. Bodies stuffed into the worn vinyl seats jumped and bounced to the rhythm of the worn shocks. The hiccups of the highway did not stop the incessant chatter, voices raised over the thunk and crash were bubbling with excitement about the time away from parents, mourning the weeks away from friends, and establishing a new hierarchy among new acquaintances. Caz wedged herself a little firmer down into the cracked and peeling seat, adjusting one of the leather cuffs on her wrist as the bus banged over the crappy road. Even though it was chilly outside, the air conditioning spat out puffs of cool air in defiance of all the bodies crushed into every seat. Her brother, CJ, bounced against her again, just another testament of how sitting so close would land him in her lap. CJ's pile of gaming books shuffled and shifted as he tried desperately to keep them all in its bag. Caz didn't know how he thought he'd talk anyone into an RPG, but she knew if anyone could, then it would be her little brother. Here they were, on their way to camp and his nerdy-self was planning his next apocalyptic campaign complete with dwarves, elves, orcs, and humans. The least he could have done was find a fellow geek to sit next to so she wouldn't get banged from all sides every time the bus took flight. The noise and chaos were truly awe-inspiring. Even with earbuds. Caz dug out her phone and started thumbing through playlists. The voices, the shocks slowly dying, CJ's incessant page-turning... oh, yeah, she definitely needed to choose her own noise. Rolling her eyes, she finally just picked one out of self-defense against the threat of bonding over finger painting and what all. Her only hope was being able to quietly abandon CJ to the camp counselors and sit on the beach. It didn't matter that the water was freezing since it came straight down from Alaska, it was still the beach. The next curve and bump had CJ's books flying in all directions. Caz could feel her eyes rolling again as she went to unwedge herself from the seat and help him. Another boy was already scooping up gaming manuals from the spilled backpack. She snagged one that slid under the seat in front of them, looking under the row to make sure nothing had gone any further. When she climbed back into their seat, she saw CJ and the other boy talking, heads together. She couldn't hear them with her earbuds and stupid level of decibels from the bus, but whatever it was had CJ gathering up the rest of his stuff and moving to the seat behind them. The other boy plopped down where CJ had been and had Caz yanking out her earbuds. "What are you doing?" He scrunched down, jamming long legs into the seat in front of them, "Sitting here. Looked like the kid needed more room and I definitely needed better company." Caz decided her grandmother was right: if she kept rolling her eyes like this, they were going to get stuck that way. "Good luck with that," she said, jamming her buds back in and pumping up the volume. She shifted so she could not only stare out the window but keep CJ in her line of sight. The elbow digging into her ribs made her turn and glare at her new bench buddy. "Pal, I am no one's distraction. If you're looking for one, go borrow one of my brother's books." The boy grinned, his long straight hair falling into his face as the bus tried to launch them into the stratosphere again. "The kid didn't mention you were his sister. He was just happy to have a seat to himself. Mostly. My own sister ditched me so you're obviously a better person than she is." "Uh huh," she hunched back down, "I'm pretty sure you're old enough to take care of yourself. CJ tends to do things like forget to eat, drink, and breathe if he's not reminded once he gets into gaming mode." "Well CJ," the boy glanced over the back of the seat, "seems to be doing just fine without you." Caz bared her teeth in a saccharine smile, "And you seem to be doing just fine without your sister." Be careful what you wish for, she thought, stuffing her earbuds in for the third time. She couldn't help but mentally grouch at her parents for thinking this camp was just what she and CJ needed. Water, beach, a camp that technically offered workshops that included archery and martial arts – which was the only reason she even let herself get mostly talked into it – was still an enormous pain in the a*s. Since their parents were leaders in their community, and this camp was supposed to focus a lot on leadership skills, there was almost no way out. Politics. Gets you every time. She just hoped the camp had indoor plumbing.