The Elementals
CHAPTER FORTY-TWO: Video

I once watched a video from the tsunami I was found in, before the wave actually hit.

Once.

The thing that struck me was how happy everything was. The day was clear and sunny, perfect beach weather. Carefree children splashed through the water while laughing parents strolled along the sand. They had no idea.

The video was bad filming, shaky and blurred, probably from some drunken teenager’s phone camera, but I remember one shot that was clear as day. It was right after someone pointed to the approaching mountain of water. A couple people shouted something about a “rad surfing wave” in slurred voices, but then the camera was dropped on a table and it showed a girl’s face.

She was still, unlike the people starting to run in the background. Her face wasn’t twisted in fear; she wasn’t screaming for help or crying. She just sat there with a look of dread. Accepting of the fact that a massive wave of force would soon destroy her and everything she loved. It was a look of knowledge.

It was a look of sick anticipation. She knew there was nowhere to go, nowhere the water wouldn’t seep through and crush her. She knew what was coming, and she didn’t do anything about it.

It was the look I saw on Caelum.