CH. ONE: Hurricane SZN

RANDY: Hopefully I don't get robbed.

tw // talk of death, drowning

🌺

IT WAS ONE OF THE HOTTEST DAYS OF THE YEAR IN CALIFORNIA, which meant that Declan, Kapua, and Agro all arrived to the Santa Monica Pier with their surfboards tied to the top of Declan's green Land Rover D90—it was his moms and she left it to him in the will; she actually left most of her stuff to him in her will and he was her only next of kin—with their bodies shiny with spray-on sunscreen and their favorite swimsuits decorated their tan skin.

That morning, Declan threatened to swear a speedo because of how hot it was. Even with their power out, Kapua and Agro both said that they would rather stay inside than go out with Declan dressed in a speedo.

The trio noticed how high the waves were and they all grinned. While California had its fair share of good surfing waves, Hawai'i was definitely the better option of the two for surfing. They all missed Hawai'i dearly, but they all decided to move out to California when Declan's mom passed away because Kapua and Agro didn't think it was good for Declan to be alone, and they both loved Valerie Katz like she was a second mom.

"Another day, another wave!" Kapua cheered, recording the high waves on the digital camera that she always carried around for videos and pictures of her friends—she always joked that she was filming them so that she could make a video of them for their funeral—for no particular reason other than to have fun.

"Let's do it!" At Agro's cheer, they all hopped out of Declan's car and walked towards the back where Declan opened up the back door. In the back they had their supplies—extra wax, waterproof bags for their phones, draw string bags for their belongings, extra sunscreen, a first aid kit, and then some other things that go with their boards—some of which they wouldn't be keeping with them since they didn't trust people in Santa Monica all that much, especially the teenagers who think they can do anything and everything.

They all grabbed their things and slid their boards off of the top of the Land Rover, Declan's blue, Agro's yellow, and Kapua's green. Declan locked the car when they started to walk away from it and towards their favorite restaurant on the edge of the beach where their favorite California native worked; Randy Whitney.

Randy Whitney was what you imagined an old California man would be like—an old man who wished he was still in his prime and always talked about the waves he surfed and the competitions he won, even having the pictures and trophies to prove it—and everyone loved him. Except some of the tourists, but who cares about them anyway.

"Randy!" Declan called out when the trio walked in the front door to the SURF & TURF restaurant that Randy had ran since he was 20. The old man was standing behind the bar, chatting it up with a regular couple while mixing them up some margaritas.

     The Surf & Turf was a tourist attraction that wasn't built to be one. It was one of the only non-fast food restaurants within a block of the beach and it just looked like the perfect Californian beach restaurant. On the outside, it looked like a large boat shack and on the inside it was a surfer's dream. Surfboards, old circular lifebuoy's, and taxidermied fish that Randy had collected and caught over the years decorated the walls, as well as old and torn fishing nets that weren't able to be used anymore. Behind the bar there was a mirror that showed the backs of the top shelf alcohol—which wasn't deserving of being top shelf—and then a shelf above that was attached to the wall, showing off all of Randy's trophies, along with a couple of Declan's, Kapua's, and Agro's that they dedicated to him and the Surf & Turf.

Randy was more or less a father figure to the trio, and most of the locals, but the trio were definitely his favorites (or least favorites, depending on how you look at it).

"Mornin', runts," Randy said after he bid a goodbye to the couple and he walked up to the other end of the bar which was closest to the door. He had a white towel thrown over his right shoulder over a coral Surf & Turf t-shirt that had a Kapua designed logo on the breast pocket and a bigger version on the back. It was of a Great White shark surfing with black sunglasses on and a coconut with a straw in his left fin. It was one of their best selling shirts with the tourists.

"You goin' out?" Randy asked, pointing at the boards the trio held.

"Do you even have to ask, Rand?" Agro said, leaning his surfboard against the bar to slide his drawstring bag off of his back—in it were some necessities, but things that he didn't really want to risk getting lost like the native Hawaiian jewelry that his mom made him when he was younger, and some other significant things. It was the same for Declan and Kapua. "Merry Christmas, Randy," Agro said as he slid his bag, along with the others, across the bar and right into Randy's hand.

"Hopefully I don't get robbed," Randy said the same thing every day when he stashed the kids bags in the back office so that they didn't get taken by some random person on the beach, despite them having at least one person sitting with their things while the other(s) surfed. "You kids are lucky that I like you," he sent them a side eye that had no heat behind it as he walked away from them and into the door that was right next to the bar that led into the kitchen that led to the back office.

"He likes us," Declan grinned at his friends who grinned back. The blonde turned and looked at the people in the small restaurant that was more of a shack. It was mostly filled with locals who were getting a bite to eat before going into the waves, but there were a couple of tourists who actually looked like they were enjoying their time there. Then, there were two servers who walked around and also knew the trio pretty well.

"Alright," Randy said as he walked back out of the door and behind the bar, "your stuff is now safe."

"Thank you Randy," Kapua smiled at Randy with an appreciative smile. "We appreciate you!" She called behind her shoulder when she turned and started to make her way out the front door. The two boys followed suit after calling their thanks and goodbye's towards the old man.

"What a bunch of rascals," Randy said to the local couple that he was talking with before they walked in.

The trio walked to their spot on the beach and sat down, pulling out the fins for their boards from Agro and Declan's trunks pockets. Soon, their boards were ready to ride and glide through the water.

"Who's first today?" Declan asked from his spot, his back facing the water, in their little circle they had sat in. They had a rotation of who would go first into the water for 15 minutes before they switched and that person (or duo) would come back in and sit by their stuff.

"I think you are," Agro said, smoothing down one of his sponsor stickers that sat low on his board. Kapua nodded in agreement, hooking up her phone to her bluetooth speaker and she started to shuffle their shared playlist quietly so it wouldn't bother the other patrons at the beach—Still Beating by Mac DeMarco being the first song to play.

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Declan laughed and hooked the leash around his ankle before standing up and picking up his blue surfboard before jogging out to the ocean. He was confused to see not that many people surfing despite the high waves, noticing the yellow flag that stood tall on the lifeguard's tower (yellow flag means medium hazard - moderate surf and/or currents. It isn't suggested for weak swimmers to go in since of the possibility of tough currents).

The first 5 minutes of Declan's 15 were going good—awesome even—and he even had a kid stop him after one of his runs to ask if he was Declan Katz and if he could get a picture. Of course Declan said yes. After, he ruffled the kids hair before he ran back into the water, saying that this run was for him.

But when 5 minutes turned into 6 is when shit started to hit the fan.

Declan had been in multiple earthquakes in his time, but he's never been in the water when one hit. He was mid barrel when the 7.1 earthquake hit, though it stared off slow. He heard people yell from the beach as it started to get harder. Declan could see the end of the barrel, but the earthquake caused the water to rumble and crash down quicker than expected. Declan was crushed by the water and immediately lost consciousness.

🌺

WHEN THE EARTHQUAKE HIT, Agro and Kapua immediately jumped up and looked out into the water, trying to catch a look of Declan. When they couldn't catch an eye, they held onto each other and ran towards other people at the beach who were having trouble standing on their own and keeping their balance.

"Away from the water!" Agro called, waving his arm for people to get away from the water. Usually, there's a risk of a tsunami when there's an earthquake near the edge of the ocean, and even though there doesn't look to be one starting, it's still good to take precaution.

"Here, come here," Kapua ran over to a kid who was right near the water and grabbed him, dragging him away from the water. "It's not safe, kiddo."

It was over as quick as it started, the waves getting lower, revealing the blue surfboard that belonged to Declan. Agro quickly dived in as Kapua brought the kid to a worried mother, quickly running back to the shoreline to wait for Agro to come back with the surfboard and hopefully Declan attached to it.

Agro ran out of the water with the blue surfboard, leash unhooked and no Declan in sight. He was out of breath as he ran up tor Kapua. "Call 911! I don't know if we'll have service so try the payphone. I'll run to the Surf to see if Randy has a landline." They also experienced many earthquakes in their time, though none this big, but they knew that the phone lines had to have been down.

Kapua nodded, worry swirling in her eyes, "Alright. Be safe, Agro." She ran back to their stuff, scooping it all up with her and dropping them on the ground when she made it to the payphone. She tossed a couple of quarters—that she stole from Declan's wallet—in and punched in 911.

With Declan's blue surfboard still in his hands, Agro ran over to the Surf & Turf and sighed in relief when he saw that it was still standing. When he stepped inside he noticed the large mess that was made, but at least the building was still upright. He didn't see Randy behind the bar so he leaned the blue surfboard against it and ran behind the bar, noticing an unconscious Randy. He looked over the bar and noticed the patrons and servers were conscious and helping others, so he stayed down with Randy.

"911 what's your emergency?" A woman asked over the payphone. She seemed nervous but Kapua couldn't blame her, she would be nervous too if she worked for 911 and an earthquake just happened.

"Hi," Kapua said, knowing and hating herself for breathing heavily over the phone as she turned and looked at the water again to see if she could catch a glimpse of one of her best friends, "my name is Kapua Hale and I'm at the Santa Monica beach and my friend was surfing when the earthquake hit. We can't see him anymore. His board washed up but we can't see him."

While inspecting Randy, Agro came to the conclusion that he just took a little tumble and hit his head and passed out, and since there wasn't any blood anywhere, he didn't hit the bar. He smacked Randy's cheek a couple of times until he woke up. "Good morning sleeping beauty," Agro chuckled as he helped Randy sit up and then stand, getting him to a bar stool. Agro turned to the couple Randy was chatting with before, "Could you watch over him? I'll call 911." They nodded and Agro took that as his cue to run into the kitchen and into the office, pulling the landline phone off its holder, dailing 911.

"911 what's your emergency?" A guy asked over the phone; his voice calm and serious like he had been doing this for a while and Agro felt security because of that.

"Alright, Kapua. Firefighters and EMTs are on their way," the woman said, Kapua hearing keys clicking in the background of the call. "I'm going to be completely honest and tell you that it's going to be a while before they get there, but I do not advise you to go out into the water to look for him. Your friend Declan is going to be alright, okay?"

Kapua nodded but provided an auditory agreement because the 911 operator couldn't actually see her on the phone. "Okay, yeah. I won't. Can you- are you able to stay on the line? I know you have a bunch of people on the lines but I think if I get off his phone call I'll do something stupid."

"Of course, Kapua."

"My name is Agro and I'm currently at the Surf & Turf restaurant on Santa Monica Pier and we have a couple of injuries. Nothing too mainstream, some I could probably fix up myself, but my friend was surfing when the 'quake hit," Agro said in one breath, speaking quickly. "My other friend already called 911, at least I think so, I'm not sure because I don't know if the landline is-"

"Sir, is your friend's name, Kapua Hale?" The guy asked, cutting Agro off from his nervous ramblings. He surprisingly pronounced her name correctly, too. Agro nodded and hummed in agreement. "Then yes, she already called 911 and we have a fire unit and ambulance on route to your location already. A second ambulance will be sent because of our new knowledge of the injuries. Do you need anything else, Agro?"

"No, thank you, sir," Agro said, ready to hang up the phone. "Have a good day and good luck."

"Thank you sir, you as well."

"-and now we live in a house together on Santa Monica Pier for super cheap because of the construction that was happening in front of our house," Kapua said. For the past couple of minutes, Kapua had been telling Maddie—the 911 operator who shared her name after saying that it's better to know someone's name before telling them about your friend—the trio's "origin story" and how they made it to California.

"Maybe you'll have to show me a couple of places near that are cheap because I'm currently living on my brother's couch," Maddie had laughed. The 911 operator could feel Josh's eyes on her, so she quickly turned back to serious and calm E.R. nurse Maddie and told Kapua, "Alright, Kapua. My mentor is currently staring me down, but firefighters and EMTs are pulling up to your location now with water equipment at the ready."

"Thank you so much, Maddie," Kapua sighed of relief and turned once she heard the sirens of a firetruck and ambulance, "And good luck with the rest of your calls." She hung the phone up and waved her arm, calling the truck and ambulance over in her direction.

"It doesn't look like you have a concussion," Agro said, his hand dropping from its position from in front of Randy's face. He was putting his lifeguard training to good use as he took care of the patrons at the Surf & Turf, along with Randy, who seemed to have woken up a bit more since Agro left him with the couple. "I think you just got a bump on the head, you'll be fine," Agro smiled kindly at the older male who was refusing his help earlier.

"Thanks, runt," Randy said, patting Agro's bicep before turning and looking at his messed up restaurant. His back started to hurt by just looking at the tables that fell over, the pictures that fell off the wall, and the top shelf alcohol bottles that crashed to the ground during the earthquake.

Agro followed his eyes, looking at the restaurant. He smiled tightly when he looked back to Randy, "Don't worry. Kapua, Declan, and I will help you pick it all up." Agro completely forgot about Declan being lost in the ocean as he helped the patrons of the Surf & Turf.

"My friend," Kapua started, running up to the firefighters who stepped out of the truck; they looked utterly exhausted, but also like they had a mission to do, "he was surfing when the earthquake hit. He was in the middle of a barrel," they made it onto the sand as they walked while Kapua talked—the kid from before, who was about 14, looked over at the stuff Kapua left abandoned, "and it crashed down onto him and we couldn't find him. My other friend dove in and got his board and he ran over to the Surf & Turf."

The older firefighter turned to Kapua when they made it to the shoreline, two of the firefighters shared a glance, "What's your friends name?"

"Declan Katz," Kapua said, recognition washing over the two firefighters that shared a glance. She turned back to the water and gestured in the direction she saw Declan last, which to the left of the pier, "He was over here, about, when I saw him last."

As the older firefighter started to bark orders at the firefighters in his charge, Agro ran up to the group, out of breath and no longer holding the blue surfboard that used to be attached to Declan by the ankle. "They're okay at the Surf, nothing but bumps and bruises, but we might have a job for the next day or two," he said to Kapua, nodding at the worried girl.

"Buck and Eddie," the firefighter turned to the two firefighters who seemed the recognize the name Declan Katz, "go onto the pier and scout from above. If you see him, call us and get on the rope, see if you can pull him out." The two nodded and were quickly off, shedding their turnout gear as they ran up to the firetruck to grab the roping gear that Buck was going to end up using.

One of the other firefighters, a shorter asian one, walked up to Kapua, "Are you guys hurt at all? Any one else here hurt?"

Kapua shook her head, "Not that I heard. We both have lifeguard training, so that basically kicked in when the earthquake hit and started to get everyone off balance." She turned to look at Agro, nodding for him the answer too.

"There were some people at the restaurant just over there," he pointed in the direction towards the Surf & Turf, "but I took care of it and EMTs showed up and allowed me to leave since I wasn't hurt at all."

It was silent with the group as they then looked up and watched the two firefighters—Buck and Eddie—on the pier work and look around in the water. It didn't look like they were seeing anything as Buck pulled out binoculars from a bag that was on the pier next to his feet. Eddie's eyes were squinted as he looked around the water. He leaned forward a bit to look under the pier. His head moved from the end of the pier to the beginning, stopping at a point further down the pier.

"Buck," he smacked Buck's arm and jogged up to the spot right above he saw something. He saw the slowly flailing arms of someone who used to be drowning and was slowly losing consciousness. They had to get in there quick. Eddie pressed onto the side of his radio, "Cap, we see him, but we have to be quick."

Both Agro and Kapua sighed in relief as the firefighters left them on the shoreline to run back to their truck and ambulance to grab extra supplies. They couldn't see Declan from their position, but maybe that was the best.

🌺

DECLAN KNEW AGRO AND KAPUA WERE GOING TO LOOK FOR HIM, but that's not why he was so calm at the moment. His lungs were threatening to fill up with water as he held his breath, trying to swim up for the sweet relief of fresh air, not enjoying the idea salt water burning his lungs. But, he wasn't panicking at the thought. He knew that if Agro and Kapua didn't get to him in time, at least he will be with his mom again, sitting on the front porch of the first house they lived in in Hawai'i.

Before he could dwell on that any more, he was pulled out of the water by his arms and he took a big gulp of air, his entire body hurting after all of that struggling. Declan coughed a couple of times as he was lifted into the air higher and higher until he reached the pier.

Declan squinted when he was placed onto a backboard and lifted onto the stretcher, "Jesus Christ...that sun is no joke, huh?" The firefighters laughed and shook their heads as two of the stood over him, one of them blocking the sun from his squinting eyes.

"Anything hurt?" The guy asked; Declan could read Han on his name tag.

"Other than the cramping pain in my entire body after be trashed around in the water?" Declan asked, trying to relax against the hard surface of the backboard he was laid on. "My right knee hurts and my right ankle hurts. I've sprained my ankle previously," Declan said, his eyes fluttering shut. They started to push the stretcher faster.

"No, kid. C'mon, stay with me. Declan," Han said, snapping his fingers right in front of Declan's face to keep him awake. They made it off the pier and Agro and Kapua made their up to him, but they were pushed away by the firefighters who rolled him towards the ambulance.

"'m tired," Declan slurred before shutting his eyes. Before either Agro or Kapua could hop into the ambulance, they shut the doors and sped off to the hospital. The captain turned to them and told them what hospital he was at before jumping in the firetruck and driving off.

Agro and Kapua gathered their things from beside the payphone—supposedly the kid who asked Declan for a picture watched their stuff and would bark at the people who got close to it????—and from inside the empty Surf & Turf (which they locked), and then they hopped into the Land Rover, which wasn't damaged at all, and sped off to the hospital where they were taking Declan.

━━ 🌺 ˎˊ- tyler yaps !

total word count is 3,991 ... HUHH

did you guys like the split pov thing
i did with agro and kapua? they were
doing different things at the same time
so i didn't want to break after doing one
pov to go to the next one

[ unedited ]