Days Like This

by Alison Stewart

  Lily looked to her right and was relieved to see Kieran. He was still carrying Daniel and had stopped about fifty metres from the facility. He was looking around frantically.

  ‘I’m here. Over here,’ Lily said, jumping up and down, waving her arms.

  ‘Thank God, Lily,’ Kieran called. ‘I don’t know where the others are, but we’ve got to get out… somethings happening. It’s more than just a quake. Whatever it is, it’s not good.’

  He took off and again it was difficult keeping up. Great cracks were appearing in the cement, zig-zagging wildly outwards from the building walls.

  Kieran craned his head around as he ran. They passed the smaller building and were headed for their entry point in the bushes.

  The earth stopped jolting, but now there was a strange, high-pitched humming sound which seemed to come from all around them.

  ‘The others, what about the others?’ Lily said.

  ‘Listen, can you hear that? There’s no time. If you want to save your brother, we’ve got to get him back over the Wall,’ Kieran said.

  ‘But I have to get Alice,’ Lily said desperately.

  Luca appeared suddenly, running alongside them. Greta was with him.

  ‘Where’s everyone else?’ Kieran panted.

  ‘I was hoping you’d know. Good, you’ve got your brother,’ Greta said. The high-pitched hum had become a roar and it was getting louder.

  ‘Where did you go?’ Lily asked Luca. ‘And where’s Sal?’

  ‘I was organising transport,’ Luca said. ‘I lost Sal when the earthquake started. Follow me.’ He headed towards the boundary bushes, which snagged and scratched. The ground was starting to lunge and buckle again.

  ‘It’s the second shockwave,’ Greta said. She was calm.

  She’s almost a different person, Lily thought, from the nervous girl I first met.

  ‘At least we’re away from the building. Where are the others?’ Greta said.

  As if on cue, Sal burst through the bushes. She was holding her arm and blood oozed through her fingers. ‘Fell,’ she said.

  ‘Where’s Ingie?’ Greta said.

  ‘I don’t know,’ Kieran said. He adjusted Daniel slightly on his shoulder and Daniel groaned softly. ‘We got separated when the lights went out.’

  ‘She’s on her way to the Wall if she’s got any sense,’ Sal said, grimacing and twisting her arm to look at the jagged cut. ‘Come on, let’s go!’

  ‘I still want to find Alice,’ Lily said sharply. ‘Will you come, Greta?’

  ‘Yes.’ The girl didn’t even stop to think about it.

  ‘I’ll come, too,’ Luca said.

  ‘No!’ Sal’s voice was a wail.

  ‘I’m not asking you, Sal,’ Luca snapped. ‘I’m going with them, end of story. You of all people …’ He trailed off.

  ‘Well, then, I’ll bloody well come, too.’

  Luca shrugged. ‘Let’s go.’

  ‘Shouldn’t we go back for Ingie?’ Lily said. They couldn’t just abandon her.

  ‘For heaven’s sake, no,’ Sal spat out. Her face was completely drained of colour. ‘The last I saw of her before we separated, she was up ahead. If I managed to get out, she would have, too. The place felt like it was about to collapse. We can’t go back in.’

  As Sal talked, Greta ripped off a bit of her shirt and bound Sal’s arm.

  ‘Someone’s got to take Daniel back over the Wall,’ Kieran interrupted. ‘That was the plan. Maybe I should do it.’ He was shifting his weight from leg to leg, impatiently. The ground was still shaking.

  ‘No, that’s the easy part. I’ll do it,’ Ingie said. Like a ghost, she’d emerged from the bushes.

  ‘Thank God you’re okay,’ Kieran said.

  ‘You can’t lose me that easily,’ Ingie grinned. ‘I’ll take him back over the Wall.’ She went to haul Daniel off Kieran’s shoulder.

  ‘But you’re not strong enough to carry him,’ Lily said to Ingie.

  Sal gave a short laugh as Ingie lifted Daniel effortlessly, placing him gently over her shoulder.

  ‘Ingie’s probably the strongest of us all,’ Kieran said. ‘More of us should go for your sister. That’s going to be the hard part. Ingie can get him over the Wall. You’ll have to trust her, Lily.’

  ‘I promised I wouldn’t leave him,’ Lily said.

  ‘I’ll take care of him, Lily,’ Ingie said. ‘You can count on me. You have to go – now, before the waves come.’

  ‘What waves?’ Lily said.

  ‘Enough talking,’ Luca said. ‘Everyone, get over here. You too, Ingie.’

  He barged deeper into the bushes and everyone followed. There were no arguments now.

  Luca had found two vehicles. One was small with only one front wheel, but two back ones, so it looked reasonably stable. The other was slightly larger, more like a mini van. Both were dented and rusted. The mini van was missing it’s doors, the tyres looked flat and neither vehicle had a windscreen.

  ‘Great job, Luca,’ Kieran said.

  ‘I spotted these the last time we came here,’ Luca said. ‘They’re petrol-powered and, unbelievably, there’s still some in the tanks. Ingie, you take the smaller one.’ Luca pushed Ingie towards the car.

  Daniel moaned softly, his head lolling.

  ‘You’ll get to the Wall quicker this way. I’ll strap Daniel to you and then you need to go as fast as you can,’ Luca said.

  ‘Don’t worry, I’ll be fine,’ Ingie said. ‘You should all get a move on.’

  ‘Take care, Daniel,’ Lily whispered, wrapping her arms around his pitiful body. He could just lift his head. ‘We’re going to find Alice and then we’ll meet up with you and Ingie. I’ll see you over the Wall, I promise.’ She kissed the top of his head.

  ‘I love you, Lilla.’ His voice was croaky, unfamiliar.

  ‘I love you, too, Dan.’

  ‘Can you try and hold on to Ingie, Daniel?’ Kieran said.

  Yup.’

  Ingie revved the vehicle, which sputtered and coughed to life, throwing out a cloud of black smoke. Daniel’s body slumped and slid, but Luca strapped him to Ingie with a piece of material. Ingie released the brake and sped away, the vehicle lurching dangerously to one side.

  ‘Take care of him,’ Lily yelled after them.

  Above them, the great silver building swayed.

  ‘It’s going to topple,’ Sal screamed. ‘Let’s go!’

  They squeezed into the van. Luca got behind the wheel.

  ‘We don’t have enough petrol to get us over the Harbour Bridge, and it’s too dangerous anyway,’ Luca called back to the others. ‘We’ll have to drive to the harbour and go across the water like we planned. It’s more direct.’

  It was downhill all the way and they moved as quickly as the derelict vehicle could go, keeping the Wall at their backs.

  EIGHTEEN

  As Luca steered the vehicle down to the harbour, they passed people on foot and in vehicles heading in the opposite direction, uphill towards the Wall. There were Blacktroopers among the crowds, most in armoured cars, but some on foot. They lashed out with their weapons, beating people aside in their haste to get ahead.

  In the distance, Lily heard a gigantic rumble and crash, followed by a series of sharp retorts and booming echoes. It had to be the draining facility collapsing.

  Some people heading uphill in that direction paused briefly, looking confused, but then the crowd started moving forward again. Everyone, even the Blacktroopers, looked petrified as they negotiated the heaving earth.

  Luca had to drive carefully to avoid the people. The other problem was that the roads were literally ripping open as the earth shook, creating jagged rifts. Trees leaned drunkenly sideways and there were smoking piles of rubble that only moments earlier must surely have been homes or walls.

  The roaring grew louder. It was as if all the winds of the world blew through a giant vortex. It was a miracle that they’d got Daniel out just in time. Lily thought miserably of all the poor people
in the facility who had not been so lucky.

  The roaring was almost more terrifying than the earthquake because they didn’t know what it meant. No one had ever heard anything like it. Kieran took Lily’s hand, holding it securely.

  ‘We got him out just in time,’ Lily said, her voice shaking. ‘Daniel and Ingie must survive, Kieran. And I have to find Alice.’ Repeating this was comforting.

  He nodded, trying to reassure her, but he was looking around nervously.

  ‘This is bad,’ Kieran said. ‘it’s bigger than the other quakes, much bigger.’

  Luca flung the van around corners, almost sending them up on two wheels. There were fewer people around now that they were closer to the harbour, just handfuls here and there struggling uphill on foot or in cars. Some waved frantically, yelling at them to turn back.

  ‘Why are they saying that?’ Lily asked Kieran. ‘It’s a bad quake, but surely it will end soon and a lot of houses are still okay.’

  ‘It’s not just the quake, it’s the big waves they’re scared of,’ Kieran said.

  ‘What?’

  Kieran looked at her. ‘Didn’t your parents let you out at all?’

  ‘Not in the last few years. Committee edict. Everything changed; they changed.’

  ‘What about the screens?’

  ‘I never saw anything about waves on my screen.’

  Kieran shook his head. ‘The last two earthquakes have been followed by big waves.’

  ‘So when I was in my parents’ house, waves followed those two large earthquakes?’ Lily said, flabbergasted.

  Kieran nodded. ‘Your house was safe. The waves were only large enough to cover the first set of barricades. The waves that followed the second quake were bigger. That’s why people are worried. We should be worried. We have to find Alice as quickly as we can and then get back over the Wall.’ He smiled wryly. ‘It’s ironic that the people who grabbed the best land with water views and walled themselves in are now the ones who are trapped,’ he said.

  The glittering harbour appeared up ahead, penned behind large seawall barricades. Flotsam bobbed and snagged around moorings, butting up against the barricades.

  ‘Keep your eyes out for a boat.’ Luca jammed on the brakes and they lurched forward out of their seats.

  ‘Go easy, Luca, you’ll have us in the harbour,’ Sal said.

  The ground went still and the roaring sound eased as if a giant vacuum had sucked all air away. The only noise was the lap and bump of water against the barricades. It was a creepy, waiting silence.

  ‘Here’s one,’ Greta called. She’d run a little way along the short strip of foreshore, swinging herself over a small inner barricade into a private garden. A sleek but compact boat was moored at the large outer barricade. You could just see the top of it’s cabin bobbing about.

  ‘Come on,’ Luca said as he vaulted up onto the first row of barricades and then sprang from one to the next. He jumped onto the boat and checked the control panel. He exclaimed triumphantly and started to cast off before the others had even boarded.

  ‘How do you know it’ll work?’ Sal called dubiously.

  ‘How do you know it won’t?’ Luca called back.

  The boat coughed to life. It sounded too loud in the eerie post-quake stillness. They pulled away, Luca sending the boat diagonally out into the central channel of the harbour, headed for the bridge and the eastern suburbs.

  Debris littered the water, making their progress hazardous. As they made their way across the harbour, Lily saw that the quake had brought down houses and buildings in some areas, but not in others. It was like looking at a mouthful of broken teeth. There was still an eerie hush and everyone in the boat sat tensely. They huddled on the smooth tan seats at the back while Luca stood and steered.

  ‘Hope we don’t hit anything big,’ Sal muttered, ever the prophet of gloom.

  Greta got up and went to stand beside Luca, pointing the way. Lily willed them across the water towards the great grey bridge with it’s steel-riveted underbelly, but something prompted her to look behind. In the distance, the Wall, huge and white, bigger than she’d ever imagined, stretched across the harbour from one side to the next. It was a shocking sight.

  ‘I can’t believe it,’ she said. ‘They’ve put it right across the harbour.’

  ‘Don’t you know anything?’ Sal was still clutching her arm. It must have hurt more than she let on. ‘Of course they’ve built it across – they don’t care what’s on the other side outside the Wall – just what’s inside. If they hadn’t done it, people would’ve just come back in by water. They had to be sure there was no way in. The Wall pretty much runs along the harbour waterfront starting at the sea opening at South Head, all along the eastern suburbs, the city, then across the harbour to the north shore and then all along to the northern opening of the harbour at North Head.’

  ‘Leave her alone,’ Kieran said. ‘How was she supposed to know? We’ve been outside for much longer, remember?’

  But Lily thought Sal was right. She should have guessed. And now the sight of the Wall stretching right across the water upset her. It was a stark visual reminder of the Committee’s authority.

  Lily noticed that there was no one else on the water, not one person or boat. They were completely alone.

  ‘So, basically,’ Lily said to Kieran, ‘you think there are massive waves coming and we’re heading straight for them?’

  ‘That’s about it,’ Kieran said. He looked up at the Harbour Bridge and then at the debris collecting underneath. Hardly any water showed through the mass of timber and other battered objects floating on the surface. The small boat rocked and shuddered as it shouldered through. Luca slowed to a crawl, but picked up speed again as they approached the shore at Point Piper.

  Lily looked apprehensively to her left towards the two massive headlands that framed the opening from the harbour to the sea. A haze drifted in from the sea, but nothing more, certainly no large waves that she could see.

  Luca cut the engine and they floated gently towards the outer seawall barricades. Lily looked up at the row of mansions that overlooked the water. They’d been luckier over on this eastern side of the harbour – there wasn’t quite so much damage and in some cases, none at all. Luca tied up the boat carefully.

  ‘Okay, Greta, lead the way. We can’t waste any time,’ Luca said.

  ‘We’re not far from where I lived or from Crescent Avenue,’ Greta said. ‘Follow me.’ She set off at a fast jog.

  Unlike on the northern side of the harbour where crowds of people were fleeing their homes, the streets here were deserted. It was deeply unsettling. Lily wondered if there was anyone at all left in the houses.

  ‘This is Crescent,’ Greta called over her shoulder. They entered a broad, curving street with houses on both sides, all of them behind huge walls. The houses on the low side of the street overlooked the harbour, while those on the high side rose above their walls and vegetation to make the most of the views. Lily thought the houses were beautiful, but that exploiting your children was a very high price to pay to live in them.

  ‘Thirteen, fifteen, seventeen,’ Greta called out. ‘We’re almost there. It’s twenty-five, that’s the number the woman said, isn’t it, Lily?’

  ‘That’s right,’ Lily said.

  Here and there on the street, trees leaned sideways, windows were shattered or tiles had slipped off, but, apart from that, there was little visible damage. The eerie silence felt like they were standing in the eye of a cyclone.

  Number twenty-five was on the low side, buffered by a massive white wall, which strangely resembled that other Wall that ruled their lives. Lily leaned over to touch it, shuddered and pulled her hand away. A large crack ran diagonally across this wall.

  ‘Well?’ Sal said, impatiently. ‘We’re here, so what are we waiting for?’

  Kieran tried the gate, but it was locked. ‘Give us a leg up. I think I can boost myself up and then get over,’ he said.

  Lily, Greta
and Luca took the weight of his legs and heaved him up. He scrabbled a bit at the top and then swung his legs over. There was a thud on the other side, and then the gate swung open.

  Keeping close together, they crept around the side of the house, avoiding the front entrance. Large windows at the back of the house looked out onto the garden. Some were cracked and glass crunched underfoot, too loudly.

  ‘We can get in here,’ Greta whispered. Something about the place made you want to whisper. A French door hung slightly off it’s hinges and they entered gingerly, one by one, huddling just inside. Unlike Lily’s old house, this one was definitely occupied, at least until recently. There was a familiar smell of furniture polish and, yes, of Lily’s parents – that faint reek of chemicals and decay they’d developed in recent years. Lily had to swallow hard to force down nausea.

  Kieran came up close beside Lily and put his hand on her arm. ‘Let’s look upstairs for your sister,’ he said.

  ‘I’ll come, too,’ Greta said.

  ‘We’ll take downstairs,’ Sal said, nodding towards Luca.

  ‘No, we should stay together,’ Greta said.

  ‘Just go,’ Sal snapped. ‘We don’t have time to stuff around.’

  Chunks of plaster lay on the floor and some of it littered the furniture. A few of the lamps had fallen and a delicate dresser on spindly legs, which Lily recognised, had tipped over, spilling it’s contents.

  Greta, Lily and Kieran went up the stairs two at a time, the carpet muffling their footsteps.

  Greta, slightly ahead, stopped Lily and Kieran at the top of the stairs and they all listened. Doors led off a long hallway that drew the eye to a high arched window looking out over the garden below, a glittering slice of harbour and a partial vista towards the northern headland. You couldn’t see the barricades from up here and the panorama looked almost serene.

  ‘The end door,’ Lily whispered. She could see a key protruding from the lock.