by Sofia Grey
The attendant smiled indulgently and made his way to the cabin. Daisy sat down again, next to Sylvie. As much as she needed to know, she wasn’t sure she actually wanted to know.
The attendant returned, looking decidedly worried. “There’s been a series of earthquakes in Wellington, a small one followed by several larger ones. The airport is currently closed, with all incoming traffic being diverted. They say the telephone network is down across the greater Wellington district.”
Daisy had no words. It felt as though she’d been sucker punched. Charlie, she wanted to cry. Please be okay. Be safe.
She stared out into the darkness but saw Charlie’s cheeky grin instead of the night sky. Would she ever see him again?
*
Any second now, and the Merc was going to fly off the side of the road. Charlie thanked whatever deity might be listening that he’d fastened his seatbelt.
At the last second, Lucky clawed back an element of control and turned them into the spin, gaining traction. Somehow, he found grip on the soaking wet road and dragged the car to a shuddering halt. The smell of burning rubber mixed with burned-out clutch plate would normally be unpleasant. Now though, it meant he’d stopped the car before it overshot into the river.
Charlie’s heart pounded against his chest, and his pulse beat in time in his temple. He fought to suck in a breath. And another. Fuck, that hurt.
“Charlie,” shouted AJ from the front. “Talk to me, man.”
For some reason, he was slumped against the door. “Yeah, s’okay.” He took in some air and winced at the pain. “You?”
“Yeah.”
Lucky slowly turned the car again, so the powerful headlights shone into the newly formed chasm. “There’s no way across. In the car, at least.”
Charlie forced himself to sit up straight. “On foot?” he ventured.
Lucky climbed out of the car and hurried to the boot.
“Let’s go see.” Charlie winced as he climbed out of the car, battling to open the door in the wind. “What’s he looking for?”
“Flashlights.” Lucky reappeared with two Maglite torches and tossed one to AJ. “Sorry, you’ll have to share. There are only two.”
AJ stood with his head cocked to one side. “Hush. Did you hear that?”
Charlie listened. He heard the wind, the rain, the sea roaring up against the sand, and a seagull wailing. Or was it a child crying? He froze.
Callum.
*
Juli’s hysterical relief when Jack pointed out the helicopter was replaced by the realisation that the background rumbling was another quake.
Juli didn’t believe in God, but she was willing to convert and pray every day, if it made the chopper land in time and get them away from here. She couldn’t think about the hundreds of people still inside the hospital that would not be so fortunate.
As they scrambled inside and hastily fastened their safety belts, the co-pilot handed them both headsets, and Juli tugged hers on.
“Where are we going?” The guy asked.
“Just lift off,” she said. “Get in the air quickly, please.”
He complied. Juli felt the floor drop away beneath them, and the lurch as they rose into the air. Safe.
Beside her, Jack smiled and yawned. “Millate,” he murmured. “Good choice.”
“Huh?” She stared at him, bemused.
“Millate,” he repeated, leaning back and closing his eyes. “The Mil-8? It’s a good helo.” His arms came up to encase her, and pull her onto his chest.
She allowed herself the luxury of resting against him for a long moment, hearing his steady heartbeat and feeling the solid strength of his hard muscles.
The pilot asked again for a heading, and she thought about it. She was safe now, with Jack, but they couldn’t leave his friends in danger.
When she tugged her phone free, there was no signal. Damn, the telephone network must have been affected.
She racked her brains. Where did Tanner say they were looking? The Botanic Gardens. She spoke into the mic. “Can we head for the Botanic Gardens, please? I want to look for our friends. Is there anywhere open enough for you to land there?”
“Yup. Shouldn’t be a problem. Anderson Park is nice and flat. Sit back and enjoy the ride. It’s just a short hop.”
Minutes later, the pilot called back to say they were approaching the Botanic Gardens. Did she know where her friends were, or should he just fly low over the area? The latter seemed like a great idea, especially when a bunch of brilliant searchlights flicked on, illuminating the ground beneath them.
“There’s Anderson Park, but we’ll struggle to land there tonight,” he said.
It looked like a playing field, large and green and flat, but covered with tents and stalls. There must be some kind of event taking place this weekend.
She didn’t want to disturb Jack, who dozed next to her, but she spoke to the pilot again. “Can you please carry on like this? I might be able to see them.”
He obliged. They flew low and slow, criss-crossing the park and woodlands below. A bright-pink firework shot into the sky in front of them, arcing high and throwing out brightly coloured streamers of light that hung in the air longer than normal. What the hell?
“There’s a flare,” the pilot called out. “Could that be your friends?”
*
Charlie had damaged something in the skid. His right arm hurt to move, and he felt a sharp stabbing pain when he breathed deeply. Well that was easily resolved—no deep breathing.
With the car headlights and Maglites to guide them, they advanced toward the remnants of the bridge, following the wailing that had to be coming from Callum.
AJ yelled for Cal, then Joni, then Cal again. It was difficult to hear anything over the howling wind and the pounding of the waves on the shore. The wind would drop for a second, they’d hear Cal crying again, and then the gale would drive all other sounds into the background.
They were only a few feet from where the bridge used to be. Lucky stared down into the river, AJ beside him, flashing their torches down the slope.
And there it was. The blue Ford.
Charlie’s best guess was that Joni had simply driven straight over the edge and down into the river. A few days ago, this was a quiet stream, but now it gushed and swirled in a mad torrent. The back end of the car was partway down the slope, maybe ten feet down. The front was submerged in water.
“I have to get down there.” AJ peered over the edge of the chasm. “Fuck. It’s a sheer drop.”
“We need rope. There was some in the garage. I’ll run to the house,” said Lucky. “You stay here with Alex, okay?”
“I have to go down there,” AJ repeated. “Hold my arm while I crawl down this first part.”
What could Charlie say? His right arm hurt like fuck. He lay down on the sodden, muddy grass and extended his left arm as far over the edge as he could, trying to press himself onto the ground. “Go on.” He had to yell to be heard.
AJ hesitated, glanced at the torch, and then stuffed it into the belt of his jeans. Charlie stared down the slope with the reflected light flashing against the sides. The first six feet or so was a sheer drop, then it sloped to the back of the car. AJ would have to slide down the first part and hope the car would stop him from careering into the water.
If he missed? He’d slide right down the mud bank to the churning river below. And if he hit the car too hard? The jolt might push it further in. It seemed to be wedged against the sides, but fuck knew how secure it was.
He didn’t want to think about how fast the water might be rising. That would be another level of horror.
“AJ,” he shouted. “Make sure you don’t push it any further down.”
“Just hold my arm. For fuck’s sake, Charlie, don’t let go.”
As Charlie watched in the near-darkness, AJ flipped onto his stomach and slithered carefully backward, grabbing Charlie’s hand to slow his descent. He was still feet away from the car, but closer
now.
“Right,” he shouted. “I’m letting go.” He opened his hand and shot down the muddy bank, feet first.
There was a jolt when AJ freed himself from Charlie’s arm, followed by a pain that reverberated through his entire body. He felt sick. He had to close his eyes for a moment. There was the sound of mud squelching, and then a dull thud as AJ’s boots made contact with the car.
Charlie forced himself to ignore the fire burning in his chest and look over the edge. AJ was shining the torch through the back window and rubbing at the glass with his arm. It must be muddy.
The crying was louder now. It had to be Callum, and the poor sod sounded hysterical.
“Are they in there?” Charlie asked.
“I don’t know yet.”
If he wasn’t in the car, where the fuck was he?
“Yes,” shouted AJ. “It’s Cal, but I can’t get him out. The back doors are locked, and the driver’s door won’t open either. I need to smash the glass. Can you get me something to break it?”
Like what? Charlie stupidly looked around in the darkness, as though he expected a pickaxe to materialise. There might be something in the Merc, parked a few feet away.
“Wait there.” Okay, that was stupid as well. Where else could AJ go? Come on Charlie. Get a fucking grip.
He found the lever to open the boot and flipped it open, relieved when a light came on. There should be a toolkit somewhere. He lifted flaps and carpet pieces, and found the tyre-changing equipment, which included a long piece of sturdy metal—some kind of spanner.
He ran back to the chasm and yelled down. “I’ve got something. It should do it.” How could he get it down there? If he dropped or threw it, chances are it would fall into the river.
Fuck. He’d have to take it. “I’m coming down. Shine the torch over here. And grab me when I land.”
“What?”
Charlie didn’t wait. Like AJ did, he lay on his stomach, trailed his legs over the edge, and gripping the spanner-thing firmly in his left hand, pushed off downwards into the darkness. Dumb move, shrieked his brain.
He was briefly aware of torchlight flashing nearby, as he squelched and banged against the mud bank. Shit, that hurt. Then AJ grabbed his right arm, as he slumped onto the back of the car. Ow. Fuck, that really hurt. A spasm ran along his arm, and he was at risk of vomiting any second. Beneath his feet, the car jolted and shifted a fraction, and AJ gripped more tightly.
Charlie drew a painful breath. Then another. The car stayed still. He lifted his arm and pushed the spanner-thing into AJ’s hand.
“This is good, but why didn’t you just throw it down?” AJ sounded fierce as he looked at Charlie. “Don’t answer that. And don’t move an inch. Otherwise we’re in the water.”
AJ handed him the torch, and Charlie pointed it toward the back window. “Which one are you going to break?”
“The back one, and pray the glass doesn’t hurt Cal.”
It looked as though Cal sat on the left of the seat, not directly behind the driver. As Charlie watched, AJ raised his arm high and smashed it down onto the window.
He repeated the movement, but the window must have been made of toughened glass. He made a small neat hole, with a spider-web lattice radiating out from it. He smashed again, and another hole appeared. Heedless of the glass, AJ thrust the spanner-thing at the spider web and pushed at it, following up with a punch.
That did the trick. Cal yelled louder, and AJ reached in with one arm, to touch him. “I’m here, Cal. Alex is here.” Turning to Charlie, he shouted over the wind, “I need to kick the glass through.”
AJ must have been a contortionist in a previous life. He wriggled to change position, and then cleared most of the back window with one well aimed boot. He twisted again and slowly disappeared, head first into the car.
“Is he okay?” Charlie asked. “Is Joni in there with him?”
He heard AJ talking to Cal in a soothing tone, and then AJ emerged with his child, small arms tight around his neck.
The relief was overwhelming.
AJ eased himself to a sitting position on the boot, feet resting inside the gaping window space, and hugged Cal tighter. “Joni’s in there, slumped over the steering wheel. We need to get her out.”
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Lucky hollered from the top of the bank. “I’m dropping a rope to you. Have you got Callum out okay?”
Charlie’s relief was short-lived. Even as Lucky sent down a rope, he felt the now familiar vibrations running up through the car.
“Hold on.” AJ wrapped one arm around Cal, bracing them against the car.
“Here’s the rope.”
The end brushed past Charlie’s face and he reached for it, fingers flailing before they closed around it.
“Take Cal up for me,” said AJ. “I need to get Joni.”
“Hold on. I’m coming down,” called Lucky. Moments later, he dangled on the rope like a monkey, his face pale and ghostly in the reflected torchlight.
The vibration was getting stronger. The car bobbed under Charlie’s feet. Would AJ be able to keep hold of Callum?
Lucky didn’t wait. He reached out to AJ, kicking against the mud bank, and took the child. Cal wailed again, but Lucky held him and began to haul himself up the rope one-handed. “Wait for me to get to the top,” he said, “and then follow me up. I’ll come back down for Joni.”
It was a good plan. Great, even. But then the tremor hit its peak, and the car jerked and lurched further down.
Charlie and AJ yelled and grabbed each other. They’d moved a foot deeper into the water.
Charlie’s lungs were on fire. It was all he could do, to stay upright, and he bent over trying to catch his breath.
“You okay? Mate?” AJ clapped him on the shoulder and the pain ricocheted through him. “Will you be okay while I go for Joni?”
Charlie lifted his head, his lungs rasping. “Yep.” He flashed the torch up the bank. “Cal’s safe.”
“That’s good. Shine the light down here, and don’t move while I go back in. ’Kay?”
Charlie wasn’t going anywhere.
He hunkered down on the boot lid, braced his right hand on the frame, and used his left hand to point the Maglite into the car. It was a struggle to hold it steady, between the pain and the cold and the wet.
Charlie was over this. He thought of Daisy’s welcoming smile and the way she looked at him, as though he was amazing. After his fuckups, he didn’t deserve her, but he had a shot at redeeming himself, and he’d take it.
Would they get out of this? He shivered so hard, he nearly dropped the torch.
He’d do his damnedest to make sure AJ got home again. Alive.
His mind was wandering. He was losing focus. He rubbed his eyes and regretted the move immediately. Now he had mud in them. The sting woke him up, and he blinked hard until he could see again.
“She’s alive,” called AJ. “But she’s stuck. I need to pull her out.”
Charlie watched AJ grab Joni under the arms and haul her backward. She came free with a jerk, and the car shunted forward again.
“The fucking water’s rising. Help me, Charlie.”
Every movement sent a searing pain through Charlie’s chest, and his right arm was nigh on useless, but he was the only one who could help. Lucky said he’d be back, but AJ couldn’t wait.
Charlie forced his way through the window, wriggling past the headrests, and looped his left arm underneath her armpit. Together, he and AJ dragged her up a few inches, AJ doing most of the work.
It all went a bit fuzzy at that point. Charlie screamed as AJ hauled himself up, holding onto him. It sounded shrill to his ears. It must have shocked AJ.
Next thing he knew, AJ was sitting on the back of the car, a sodden and still unconscious Joni lying across his knees, while he hung onto Charlie’s shirt to keep him out of the water.
“Charlie. Charlie.”
Fuck. He must have blacked out. Lifting his head, he managed a gr
unt.
“Jesus, Charlie, you scared the shit out of me. Are you back with me now?”
“Uh huh.” Speaking hurt. Breathing hurt but was essential. He remembered something. “Lucky?”
“Coming down the rope now. We need to get you up there.”
Charlie tried to speak normally. “Joni first.”
By the time Lucky appeared, dangling a few feet above them, Charlie had pulled himself to a higher position on the car, that was now halfway submerged, water lapping around their feet.
They had to get Joni up there.
AJ said, “I’ll stand up and lift her. You hold my legs.”
She was visibly heavy, wet, and muddy. AJ’s feet slipped, as he tried to brace himself. He grunted, lifting her in his arms.
Lucky reached down and grabbed her. He tossed her over his shoulder and started to climb back up.
“When I get to the top, I’ll shout. You come up, one at a time.”
It sounded like a plan. They sat, shivering and with teeth chattering, waiting to hear Lucky’s voice. At least the rain had eased a little, although they were so wet it made no difference.
Had the quakes finished?
The car made a strange, sighing noise and lurched downwards. With them riding on the back.
*
There had to be another option, besides flying to Sydney. Daisy and Sylvie talked it through. On their current flight plan, they’d be in the air for something like four hours, then another four to come back. They couldn’t wait that long for news, but with the telephones down, they had no way to contact the ground anyway.
Duh! Of course they did. The pilot had radioed the control tower in Wellington. If he could talk to Wellington airport, he could also talk to Auckland airport.
“You’re right.” Sylvie sat up straighter. “Let’s talk to Jordan again.”
They went back to his seat, and Daisy launched straight in. “Why are we going to Sydney? I mean, why not Auckland?”
“Aiden suggested it. He had no idea how severe the quakes might be and wanted us at a safe distance.”