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secret.  These pills might be useful if we run across other earthquake survivors,” said Rick solemnly.  “Abby and Leanna, let’s go.  We have to find higher ground with a clear view of Port Fortand.”  Looking at Brenda and Lucy, he warned, “Count on aftershocks.  They are more frequent right after an earthquake and will diminish with time.  The earliest ones are the worst.  Keep the kids away from the cliffs and the landslide area.  We should be back in a couple of hours.”
    “Please be careful, you guys,” whispered Brenda. 
    “Notice how much Lucy cares about me,” Leanna said sarcastically as the threesome started up the summit trail.  “She’s completely forgotten that I’m her foster kid.  She’s been hovering over Dakota like a mother hen, but she hasn’t said a word to me since before we got on the bus this morning.”
    “It really bothers you, huh?” asked Rick.
    “Nope.  She’s given me the best foster home I’ve ever had.  My feelings aren’t hurt.”
    “Liar,” said Abby.  “You wouldn’t have mentioned it if it didn’t bother you.”
    “OK, how about this?  It hurt my mind for a split second but it doesn’t hurt my heart.  What I don’t know can’t hurt me, right?  I have no idea how it feels to be somebody’s kid.”

Chapter 4              Port Fortand
     
    “What are you expecting to see at Port Fortand, Rick?” asked Leanna, huffing as she tried to keep up.  Rick was moving up the long trail at a near running speed, regularly glancing to the west to find a view of the coastline below. 
    “I have no idea what to expect.  Anything…” Caleb’s frenzied barking alerted them to the aftershock before they felt it.  The ground shook beneath them as they fell to the ground and covered their heads.  Rick listened for landslides over the rumbles of the quake and said a silent prayer of thanks when the rocky and heavily wooded area above them remained stable.  When the tremors finally died down, he hugged Caleb from his kneeling position.  “Looks like we have a custom warning system; Caleb started yowling at us right before it hit.  Is everyone OK?”
    Both girls nodded and scrambled to their feet.  “I didn’t hear any more of the cliff crashing down to the coast so the others must be OK,” said Abby shakily. “Do you think we will be safe where we left our stuff?”
    “I don’t think there is any accessible place that is safe right now.  We’ve been unbelievably lucky so far, so stop worrying, OK?  Now hurry up.”
    “What’s the rush?” puffed Leanna after ten more minutes at Rick’s rapid pace.  “Geez!” 
    Rick ignored her and sprinted up the final stretch of the mountain’s balding summit.  Abby, who was close behind him, took one look at his shocked face and forgot her screaming muscles and overtaxed lungs.  She raced to where he stood and covered her mouth with her hands.  Leanna was the last to arrive and stopped dead when she saw the sight below.  The quaint town of Port Fortand, so picturesque from high above while they were approaching on the 101, was unrecognizable.  
    “It looks like the whole town was smashed and then swept into a bunch of rubbish heaps!” Leanna cried.  “The long docks where all the boats were are gone, along with every single boat!  And where is that big marina?  Was the whole town washed out to sea?”
    “I don’t remember the beach being so wide,” whispered Abby, beginning to shake. 
    Rick didn’t answer.  He stared at the ocean for a long time before he pointed, “There.  There it is.  See that white line of breaking waves out on the horizon? You can barely see it from here. That’s another tsunami making its way to shore.  It looks like at least one small one has already washed through town and retreated back to the ocean.  That’s why it looks like someone piled the wreckage into rubbish heaps.  The tsunami grabbed everything in its path on the way in, and