Don't Forget You're a Badass

3.

"We're going to have to split up." Buck said, as they rode towards the pier. Eddie had already called his abuela and Pepa who were trying to get information from the school.

"I know," Eddie said, "But I don't like letting you out of my sight in all this."

"Yeah, but Chris comes first." Buck replied.

"I know, I'm not arguing, just saying I don't like it." Eddie acquiesces, rubbing a hand over his face.

Just then the truck stopped and they hopped out, the road they were standing on became water only 10 feet away.

"Dios." Eddie said and Buck could only hum his agreement, this could not possibly be worse.

"Alright one of us has to go with search and rescue through the streets, the rest are coming with me and we are heading for the pier." Bobby called to them.

"I'll go with S&R." Buck called and started putting on the red waterproof suit they all needed to wear.

"Alright, keep your radio on and in contact," Bobby nodded, "and Buck, don't be too Buck about all this, please."

"Sure, cap." He said over his shoulder, jogging over to where the other team was waiting for him.

"That wasn't exactly reassuring," Chim said as they watched the boat speed off towards the streets North of the Pier.

......................................................................

Buck was standing on top of a car that was on the edge of a pile of debris stuck in a intersection with two teenagers. They both had scrapes and bruises and one of them a broken leg, but they'd both be ok as soon as they got to a hospital. They'd been picking people up out of the water and sending them back in groups to dry land where they'd be transported back to hospitals and refugee centers.

This was their third stop, the boat was across the street, picking people up from a different debris pile while Buck stabilized the two teenagers. Not that he needed to do much. As it turned out, the two had come to the pier together for a first date, and the wave had come. The boy, Eli Carter, had broken his leg at some point in the initial wave, and the girl Elisia Lark, who he'd been informed was a lifeguard, had swam them both to the car and they'd pulled themselves up. Elisia had even already stabilized Eli's leg with a piece of wood drifting by and some scraps of her shirt.

"You did a great job." He told her and she blushed, "you should consider becoming a firefighter, you've definitely got what it takes."

"Thanks," she replied, "but I think I'll stick to lifeguarding for now, at least till I graduate High school." 

"Fair enough." He chuckled then spotted the boat heading over to them, "here they come, are you two ready?"

"More than," Eli said with a grin, "dry land and pain meds here we come!"

"And an important lesson about skipping class, I hope." Buck added as he helped the S&R guys to get Eli onto the boat.

Just then the car they were standing on started to shake, and their comms started blaring the alarm letting them know there was another surge. A little bit too late if you asked Buck as the water started pouring over their legs and quickly rising.

"JUMP!" He yelled and pushed Elisia towards the boat, where Mike was braced and ready to catch her.

The force he used pushing her knocked him off balance and before he knew it he was under the water. He kicked as hard as he could trying to breach the surface, but the current was strong and he was being pummeled by debris. He finally made it to the surface though, just as the burning in his lungs became unbearable. He gasped in breaths greedily looking around for the boat, but it was nowhere in sight. In fact nothing that he could see was familiar at all. He must've been dragged farther than he thought.