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Leilani kept pace with the other woman. By the time they reached the apartment, people were pouring out of the building into the street. Women carried small children. Older kids carried younger siblings. Old people moved as quickly as their frail bodies could manage.
Just as they reached the structure, Olina’s three children emerged, herded out by a police officer.
“Oh, thank God.” Olina ran for and engulfed her kids in a tight group hug.
The youngest child, Noa, coughed, tears slipping down his cheeks. “The policeman said we had to get out of our house.”
“Where do we go?” Eight-year-old Palili looked up at her mother, her big brown eyes rounded and worried.
“Mom, we have to get out of here.” Mamo, the oldest daughter, looked around Olina. “Where’s the car?”
Olina scooped Noa up into her arms. “The roads are blocked. We had to get out of here on foot.”
Leilani took Palili’s hand. “Come on, we have to move fast. The fire is getting closer. I don’t think we can get out of town fast enough. But, if we hurry, we can make it to the water.”
Already, Leilani could feel the heat as the fire bore down on Lahaina. She prayed they had enough time to get the children to the ocean. “Run!” she yelled and took off, running as fast as Palili’s little legs could go.
With heat searing her back, Leilani finally grabbed Palili and swung her up into her arms. The little girl wrapped her arms and legs around Leilani and held on tight as they ran with others toward Lahaina Harbor.
After her first terrifying glance back at the flames leaping high into the sky from the roofs of homes and businesses, Leilani focused on the path ahead. Looking back would only slow them down. They had to make it to the water before the fire caught up to them.
As she passed others, looking lost and indecisive, Leilani yelled, “Head for the water!”
The heat intensified to the point Leilani felt as if she were being baked in an oven. Drenched in sweat, she blinked to keep the salty moisture from burning her eyes. Passing between buildings, she could barely see through the haze darkening the sky. Her lungs burned from breathing hard, every breath filling them with the thick, smoky air. Burning embers fell from the sky, carried from the fire through the air by hefty gusts of wind.
“Have to make it to the water,” she murmured, unsure of her direction as she fought for each step.
“There!” Olina cried.
Through the billowing smoke, Leilani glimpsed the harbor ahead.
As she neared the water, the embers landed on her, burning her skin. She didn’t hesitate, running into the cool Pacific Ocean and wading in all the way up to her waist before easing the weight of the child in her arms.
“Stay close together,” Olina called out.
Leilani moved closer to Olina, Mamo and Noa, the waves and current threatening to carry her further out.
She stared toward the boat slips, wondering if they could make it to one of her boats. Even if they did, she didn’t have keys to start an engine.
Finally, she turned to look at the shore, her heart sinking low in her belly. The town that had been home her entire life was a raging inferno. Flames licked the dark clouds, flinging fiery embers into the air, igniting a car, cooking through the paint, melting the tires and...
Boom!
The gas tank exploded, sending shrapnel and flaming fuel through the air.
Leilani ducked lower in the water to avoid the burning embers. “Hold on, Palili. I won’t let go of you.”
“I’m scared,” she said, her arms wrapping tightly around Leilani’s neck.
Mamo and Olina, holding Noa, edged closer.
“I’m right here,” Olina said. “We’re safe out here. They’ll send people out to help us.”
“When, mommy?” Noa asked, his teeth chattering, his little body shivering in the cool water.
“We have to be patient,” Olina said. “It might take a while, but they’ll come.”
The heated air did nothing to warm their bodies below the surface. The chill soon spread through Leilani. She moved around to keep blood circulating and hugged Palili’s body close to share what little body warmth each could generate.
