CHAPTER ELEVEN

MANUEL QUINTANA, his wife Cathy, and their three sons had seen hell face-to-face and lived through it. Very possibly, no human being since mankind appeared on earth had come so close to the primordial force of the heavens and survived. As darkness fell, they had heard the roaring of the ocean, the crashing of giant waves, and the grinding and cracking of giant portions of the planet’s surface as it was ripped violently apart by the incredible power of the earth’s internal forces released by the meteor.

The experience had drained every vestige of emotional and physical strength from them. Seen against the vast caldron seething below them, they were like five tiny flyspecks, huddled together for safety. Yet, not even their fear could hold back the sleep of exhaustion.

Dawn reached their mountaintop while the remains of Los Angeles were still shrouded in shadows. As the giant wave collapsed back into the ocean, it had set up a vacuum that sucked air from all directions. Fierce winds howled about Mount Wilson during the night, but the Quintana family was wrapped in the sleep of oblivion. They noticed nothing until the sun’s rays began to warm their faces.

They had grown up as native Angelinos. Smog to them was a part of daily life. On some days, it was thick and acrid; on others, hardly noticeable. But there was always smog.

Manuel liked the old Jimmy Durante line, “I don’t trust any air I can’t see.” But today is different, Manuel thought. The air is clear—no smog, excellent visibility. He realized it was only a question of hours before the smoke of distant forest fires would once again pollute the air.

Fortunately for them on this sparkling morning, they knew nothing of a coming global winter. There was just this day: the sun was shining, the smoke was gone, and—thank God—all five of them were alive.

“Manolo,” Cathy said. “Do you remember the old song from when we were kids? ‘Morning has broken like the first morning. .

. .’ That’s how I feel this morning. Don’t you? It’s like we’ve got a ringside seat at the first creation.”

“Yeah,” Manuel replied. “It may look like creation, but those big waves are on the way to Asia right now. Before they’re finished, I’m afraid millions of people will be drowned. I don’t even want to think about how many of our people in Mexico are going to die before it’s over.”