by J. F. Penn
Rangi had stared straight into it and had seen creatures from the stories his grandmother had told, back on the marae when he was young. Back then, he had believed those myths. He had sat wide-eyed at tales of the Time Before. And in that wave, he had seen them again.
He took another toke, pushing the thoughts aside.
A young woman walked towards him along the road from the rest stop. Her blonde hair was bright in the sun. Only a few days ago, she would have smiled at the ocean, but now her face was set like all the others. She had a pack on her back and she limped a little, but there was determination there. New Zealanders were survivors, clinging to the edge of this violent land, and she was definitely no tourist.
As she walked closer, Rangi caught sight of the pendant around her neck. The greenstone caught the sun and he saw the head of the albatross in the manaia … And then, he saw the curl of the creature he had glimpsed in the wave.
The wave was in her. She was the ocean.
Rangi's eyes widened at the strange thoughts in his mind. He shook his head and dropped the joint, crushing it underfoot.
The young woman came closer, until she stood right in front of him. Rangi couldn't keep his eyes from the pendant. He should tell her to go away, but it transfixed him. The spirits swirled around this Pakeha girl.
"I'm looking for my sister," the young woman said. "Her name is Amber. I'm Lucy."
Her blue eyes seared into him and Rangi felt as if she saw right through him.
"I was told there might be people coming through down here," Lucy continued. "Do you know anything about that?" She looked pointedly at the truck behind him.
Rangi stood up, his six-foot-five bulk towering over her.
"There's nothing for you here, girl." Rangi spoke quietly. "You should go." He didn't want the Indo guy seeing her. She was pretty, not someone who should be out in times like these.
"I have to find her. Please. Do you know anything?"
As Rangi opened his mouth to speak, a banging came from inside the truck. The heel of a boot on the metal side panels.
"What's in there?" Lucy asked, her voice rising. "There's someone in there, isn't there?"
Rangi spun around. He had guarded plenty of trucks before, but none had sounded like this. If she spoke the truth, this product wasn't one he could let pass.
Lucy ducked under his arm and tried to tug the door open, but it was locked. Rangi grabbed a wrench and, with a mighty heave, he cracked the lock and slid the back door open.
There were kids in the back of the truck. They lay curled around each other, clearly drugged. Five of them – two girls, three boys. The youngest looked to be around four, the same age as his nephew.
Rangi felt sick to his stomach. Rage welled inside him.
This was enough.
"Amber," Lucy cried, scrambling into the truck.
Then all hell broke loose.
13
Ben grabbed Gina’s hand and pulled her back towards the entrance.
"We have to go," he shouted. "Stay right behind me."
"No way," Gina said. She overtook him and dove into the tunnel first. She crawled ahead of him so fast that Ben struggled to keep up, even as he felt the icy fingers of darkness seeping after them.
As the tunnel widened, they ran upwards. The cave walls shook and crumbled. Chunks of ice fell down and the cracks became visible above and around them. The noise of disintegration, the creaking of shifting ice, the cracking of its seams, split the air.
"We can’t make it," Gina shouted. "We can’t outrun the collapse."
Ben grabbed her hand. Whiro would not take them here. Not while Ben still drew breath.
"Yes, we can."
He pulled her onwards. They ran left and right, dodging the falling ice as they raced up the tunnel. It widened further as they got closer to the exit, and then Ben caught sight of a speck of natural moonlight reflecting off the ice walls.
"We’re almost there," he gasped, his breath almost gone.
"Ben, wait –"
He heard a cry as Gina slipped and fell on the broken ice. She rolled, her hip smacking on the hard ground. Ben turned back.
A deep rumbling came from behind them. He could see the tunnel collapsing, folding in on itself, swallowing everything in an icy tomb. Dark smoke rolled towards them, clawed talons stretching towards Gina on the ground.
Ben grabbed Gina under the arms, hefting her into a fireman's lift. She moaned as he ran, lumbering for the opening.
A hunk of ice fell. The sharp edge sliced open the flesh on his cheek. He ignored the burning pain and ran faster.
A sharp retort echoed through the cave as cracks opened up above. Ben ran through a mist of icy dust and leaped for the exit, hurling them both from the cave.
He landed heavily and Gina fell from his shoulder. Ben tumbled sideways as a deafening roar exploded from the cave. A hail of shards rained down upon them as the ice collapsed and buried the entrance.
After a moment, it was quiet again.
Ben sat up and brushed the ice off his skin. Gina lay unmoving next to him, her face turned away.
"Gina?"
Ben knelt next to her and put a hand on her back, rolling her towards him. She groaned and blew a lock of hair from her face.
"You really know how to show a girl a good time."
"Dammit. I thought you were dead."
"I’ll probably wish I was tomorrow," she said. "Everything hurts."
Gina sat up and Ben leaned back, his legs folded beneath him.
"I can’t believe we made it out of there," she said. "The military will be up here soon, though, after all the noise from the cave-in. We should go. Do you know where to next?"
"North," Ben said, feeling the pulse of the double talisman around his neck. He didn't know where yet, but it was definitely north.
"Well, that clears everything up," Gina said with a wry smile. "As long as there are beaches up there, I'm coming too. I’m done with the cold."
Ben stood and brushed the ice from his clothing, then helped Gina do the same. Together they stumbled away from the glacier, arms wrapped around each other.
Gina didn’t say much as they headed back down the trail towards where they had left the truck. But then, Ben wasn’t sure what he expected her to say. She wore her punk-rock attitude like a comfortable pair of jeans, yet what they had experienced was so bizarre that he couldn’t imagine what was running through her mind.
"Are you alright?" he asked, the only question that seemed both safe and appropriate.
She took his arm and they stopped for a moment. The first light had appeared in the east, lighting the sky from beneath with a golden glow.
"This is some crazy shit, Ben."
"Yeah, I know. Sure you want to be part of it?"
"In a few weeks I’ll be back at the coffee shop on Wacker Street. You think scaling ice caves and vanquishing smoke demons is hard? Try surviving a Chicago winter."
They laughed together as they stumbled back to the truck. Once there, they changed into warmer clothes and ate some of the rations.
"We need to get to the North Island," Ben said. "It's about eight hours' drive to the Picton ferry, so we can take it in turns and sleep on the way. I'll take first shift."
Gina pushed the passenger seat back, pulled her fleece jacket around her, and was soon asleep. As Ben pulled out onto the highway, his mind was filled with thoughts of smoke in the ice. It wasn't over yet, but at least he would make it further north.
14
The door to the office across the yard opened and Sitona ran out. He pointed a gun at Lucy as he screamed abuse.
"Get out of there, you little bitch!"
Rangi saw the albatross in his mind's eye, the wanderer hovering over him, and he felt his spirit soar above the earth.
He stepped in front of the man and backhanded him to the ground with a powerful blow. The gun skittered across the yard.
"How dare you?" Sitona snarled. He rubbed his split lip as he tr
ied to stand, blood dripping down his chin. "We have a deal."
"There's no deal if it involves kids." Rangi stepped in and kicked him in the gut, his thick-soled boots thumping against flesh. Sitona slumped on the ground, clutching his belly. He moaned in pain and rolled in the dirt. Rangi felt the adrenalin rush of violence, the part of him descended from Tumatauenga, the red-faced god of war.
"These are my people," Rangi shouted, his bulk towering over the prone man. "You pollute my land. The gods may be punishing us, but you cannot take our children."
He pulled a knife from his boot.
At the glint of metal, Sitona put his hands up in surrender.
"Stop! I'll let them go."
But Rangi saw evil in the man's eyes – evil done in the past, and evil in his future. Now was a time of vengeance in the land. Blood had been spilled, but not enough to assuage the anger of the gods.
They needed more.
He bent and grabbed the man's head, twisting it and wrenching it back. Sitona whimpered as Rangi held the knife against the pulse in his neck.
Rangi wanted to slice deep and fast. It would be just like killing a pig for the hangi. His breath came hard as he angled the knife for the cut.
But then he looked over at Lucy cradling her sister in the truck. He wanted to be part of the good in the world now. He was done with his violent past.
"Stay away," Rangi growled in Sitona's ear. Then very slowly, deliberately, he drew the knife across the man's cheek, deep enough that it would leave a scar. Sitona thrashed in Rangi's arms but he clenched the man's neck tighter and repeated the deep slash on the other cheek. Blood ran down Sitona's face, coating Rangi's hand and speckling the ground of the boatyard.
Rangi pushed the man away and Sitona fell back to the ground, clutching his wounded face.
The yard boss stepped out of his office. Rangi stood tall and proud over his whimpering foe, like a warrior of the olden times. His fists were clenched, ready to defend his actions. Ready to protect the children.
The older man looked at the truck where the children lay. Lucy hugged her unconscious sister, rocking her silently. After a moment, the man nodded at Rangi, assent in his eyes. He stepped back into the office and shut the door.
Rangi wiped his knife and put it back in his boot. He walked to the outside wash basin where they filleted fish every day and washed his hands, watching as the blood ran down the drain.
An albatross called high above him. Rangi looked up to see the great bird soaring in the blue, its wingspan casting a shadow on the bloody earth. He turned to the truck where Lucy sat, the manaia pendant around her neck. Something about it called to him.
He walked back to the truck.
"I can take you north," he said. "There are boats going over the Strait."
Lucy stared behind him at Sitona moaning on the ground. Her eyes hardened and then she looked up at him. There was no judgement there, only hope.
"Yes," she said. "I'd like that."
Lucy looked over at the huge man as they drove back up the hill towards the emergency station. His thick black hair was tied back with a leather cord and his goatee was neatly trimmed. Tribal and gang tattoos wound their way under the neck of a motorcycle t-shirt, emerging on his powerful arms. His nose was crooked and his ears mashed like a rugby player's. Lucy touched the pendant around her neck. What had he seen in it?
He was the type of man she would usually cross the road to skirt around, avoiding eye contact. The type of man she would never get in a vehicle with, let alone trust a group of children to. His dark eyes were fixed on the road, and there was a tension in him born of the violence he had inflicted. Lucy could still see traces of blood on his fingernails where he clutched the wheel.
"Why did you help us?" she asked quietly. "I don't even know your name."
"I'm Rangi," he said, not looking at her. "The kids …" He shrugged. "And things have changed." He looked out towards the ocean, shaking his head. "Everything has changed."
He crunched the gears of the truck as they pulled into the emergency area at the top of the town.
"I need to go and get the medics," Lucy said, her hand hovering over the door handle. She wondered whether Rangi would take off while she left the truck for a moment.
He turned off the engine and pulled the keys from the ignition, handing them to her. She met his eyes. Unexpectedly, she saw something of her father there. She didn't know why, but she knew this man would protect her.
"I'll check on the kids," Rangi said. "I'll need to carry them to the medical area anyway."
Lucy jumped out of the truck and ran to the Red Cross tent. It was packed with people, some sitting in a daze, others getting bandaged.
"I need help," she called as she approached. "There are kids here. They've been sedated."
One of the medics jogged over to the vehicle with her and began to check on the children, pointing out the ones that Rangi should carry back to the medical tent.
"Lucy," a thin voice called.
Amber was awake. Lucy jumped back into the truck and pulled her sister into her arms.
"I'm so sorry," she whispered into Amber's hair. Tears spilled down her cheeks. "It's alright. You're safe now."
Amber clutched at her, pale fingers weak from the drugs.
"We can help her at the tent," the medic said from the back door of the truck. "Your friend carried the other kids over there too."
Lucy looked out at the craziness of the rest stop, the vehicles backed up on the road coming into town. It looked like the whole of the South Island was heading north, away from the destruction. The emergency area was swamped with people desperate to find their loved ones. Now that Amber was awake, it was better to head north.
"We're going on to Picton as soon as we load up," she said. "Thanks for your help."
The medic jogged back over to the emergency center.
Lucy put her pack under Amber's head.
"You need to rest awhile," she said, "but we need to help other people as well."
A huge figure appeared at the back of the truck. Amber gasped and clutched at Lucy's hand. Rangi leaned in.
"Catch," he said with a smile, and tossed a Moro bar inside.
Lucy caught it and handed it to Amber, who tore off the wrapper and bit into the chocolate and caramel.
"This is Rangi," Lucy said. "He's taking us north."
Rangi met her eyes and nodded.
"I'll see you girls right," he said, and Lucy noticed how he kept looking at her pendant with respect in his eyes. She didn't know what would happen on the way, but she felt drawn north. Perhaps she would still find Ben … if he was alive.
She slipped out of the truck and went back to the administration tent. The ruddy-faced Maori woman was still juggling files and questions. She looked up as Lucy entered.
"Find your sister then?"
Lucy nodded. "Yes, and some other children, too. They're in the medical tent, so hopefully they can be reunited with their families."
"If they've got any left," the woman said, her tone dejected. "We've heard about another massive aftershock further south, and more quakes across Fjordland." She shook her head. "More refugees heading north."
"We're going on to Picton," Lucy said. "We've room in the truck for more people. Who do you want us to take?"
The woman shuffled her pile of papers, raising an eyebrow.
"Give me ten minutes. I'll send a bunch over."
Lucy walked back over to the truck to find Amber sitting up front in the cab next to Rangi. Her sister giggled at something he said and Lucy couldn't help but smile at the moment of normality. In the midst of chaos, it was still possible to laugh.
"Feeling better?" she asked as she swung in next to them.
Amber nodded. "I don't really remember much, though," she said. "I remember queuing with you in the square and then the quake. Then I ran … but that's it."
"It doesn't matter now," Lucy said. "That part's over. But we've got further to go today."
As he got back into the cab, Lucy handed him the keys.
"It's not too far to Picton," she said.
"True." Rangi nodded. "We'll take it easy, but should be there by early evening to make the last ferry – if the weather holds." He looked out towards the ocean and Lucy saw his lips move in a silent prayer. He must have seen something out there, too.
The road out of Kaikoura hugged the coastline as it wound north. The sound of the truck's engine was soothing. Amber rested her head on Lucy's shoulder and was soon asleep. The refugees were quiet in the back, and Rangi's eyes were fixed on the road. The sun on the water to the east was glorious, the ocean calm. It was almost as if nothing had happened.
Lucy reached for the pendant around her neck and held it, feeling the curves of the manaia. The messenger spanned the transition between the realms. The country felt as if it were in that between-place now as well, a limbo poised between life and death, creation and destruction. The primeval forces that welled up beneath the earth, cracked it open and split it apart, also renewed and reinvigorated. New Zealand had ever pulsed with the movement of tectonic plates, and it seemed that the land cared not for those who walked upon its crust. Lucy clutched the pendant more tightly. But perhaps the spirits did care, and wanted the people gone. It certainly felt that way right now.
Rangi turned on the radio, keeping the volume low. Lucy listened, but she felt a separation from it all now, a sense that the whole world only existed in this truck, in each kilometer they traveled. The reports of destruction across the South Island seemed unbelievable. The numbers of the dead and the lost were abstract in their size.
Her mind couldn't take in any more.
Lucy recognized signs of shock, post-traumatic stress and fatigue in herself, but there would be time for collapse later. Once they were safely on a boat heading for the North Island, where things sounded better, she would sleep.