Kyle and BeeBee start heading for higher ground in case a tsunami follows the earthquake. Kyle has doubts about his decision to take BeeBee up the hill instead of staying by the beach, but he remembers that “Mom and Dad trusted [him]” and that he needs to take charge (73). As they walk, they notice that nobody else is going the same way they are. They hear cows mooing in the distance and after listening, Kyle and BeeBee realize that it is a recording of cows mooing, but they don’t know why.

An elderly man and woman and their dog run into Kyle and BeeBee on the road as they make their way inland and tell them that the mooing sound is the town’s tsunami warning. They learn that the tsunami is supposed to reach the beach at 5:30 that evening and that the locals don’t trust the tsunami warning because there have been many false alarms in the past (79). Kyle and BeeBee join the couple, Norm and Josie, and they all head uphill. Kyle worries about what happened to his parents since they were onboard a yacht when the earthquake hit.