The Repossession

by Sam Hawksmoor

  to you. You won’t be safe till you’re eighteen.’

  ‘She won’t . . .’ Genie began, but Rian shook his head.

  ‘I can finish high school somewhere else. Hell, we aren’t stupid, Gen. We’re in the top five per cent of students in our year. We can pass the test anytime. My dad took out a university fund when I was a kid and it’s all paid up.

  I can access it when I’m nineteen and it will pay all my tuition. So don’t feel guilty. I want to be with you. You’re worth the world to me.’

  ‘But your mother relies on you so much. You know she does.’

  ‘She can rely on Mr Yates. Mr Yates is sooo wonderful.

  She tells me how great he is every day. She won’t miss me one bit. I promise, and I’m not a child. I made this decision and we’re going through with it.’

  Genie sat back in her chair and took a deep breath.

  ‘Wow, Mister. You must have been thinking about this stuff for a while.’

  ‘And you weren’t?’

  Genie smiled, finishing up her pasta. ‘I was going to kill myself if you didn’t come and rescue me by the end of summer. I had it all worked out. Half starved myself to death already. It was a plan, right?’

  Rian pulled a face. ‘Sucky plan. Glad I got there first.’

  ‘Me too.’ Genie drank off her juice and slammed the

  glass down on the table. ‘Me too.’ Suddenly the room was going around. ‘Ri?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘I feel sick. I haven’t eaten so much food in a month.’

  ‘Don’t you dare . . .’

  But she ran for the toilet. It was all going to come up.

  Nothing in the world was going to stop it.

  ‘Sorry,’ she bleated, between bouts of nausea. ‘Sorry.’

  A few minutes later, she lay down on the bed, feeling guilty. He’d been such a sweetie for cooking for her and she’d ruined it by throwing up. This whole thing was doomed. He’d get tired of her fast. She knew it. He’d get moody and one day, without warning, he’d be gone, back to his home and she wouldn’t blame him one bit.

  Not one bit.

  She watched him cleaning up and being ‘sensible’, wondering how exactly she scored him and why he stuck with her, knowing that she was a bunch of problems. He saw she was watching and flashed her a smile. It struck her like a missile, lifted her one, two metres off the bed.

  He could still smile at her. What was it about his smile that made her feel so light, so happy? She didn’t deserve it, didn’t deserve to be loved at all.

  Rian busied himself cleaning up. You didn’t live with someone in a wheelchair any length of time without

  learning you had to clean up ‘accidents’ and say nothing.

  He was still in shock about how ill Genie looked. He believed her when she said she’d tried to starve herself to death. They’d done horrible things to her. She’d tell him when she was ready. All he knew was that this was his decision. They had to protect each other, forever. That was the plan. It wasn’t going to be easy. How many kids ran away with nothing and survived? Where were all the other kids who’d gone missing this summer? Tunis said they were living in city doorways, pan-handling for food, maybe even prostituting themselves to eat. No one really knew what happened to any of them, they never called home. Well, if determination was worth anything, they’d make it.

  ‘It’s getting colder,’ Genie remarked. ‘You feel it?’

  Rian thought about it and sensed she was right. ‘Maybe it’s because we’re below the waterline?’

  Genie crawled off the bed and went into the tiny bathroom again. Glad he had cleaned it and guilty all over again she hadn’t been able to help. ‘Got to brush my teeth.’

  ‘Yeah. You want anything?’

  Now she had moved, Genie discovered she needed to pee as well. Suddenly shy, she shut the door. First time she had ever peed so close to a boy. She shrugged. He’d

  heard her puke her heart out; he wasn’t going to be embarrassed she had to pee.

  ‘I’m OK. Really,’ Genie told him, looking up at a faded 1973 Canadian Tire calendar on the door. She remembered something suddenly. ‘Ri, you ever hear of a kid called Anwar? He was in a class I went to.’

  Rian frowned. Third time that name had come up tonight. ‘What about him?’

  ‘Promise you won’t freak out on me?’

  Rian smiled. ‘I won’t.’

  ‘I was staring at my wall. Earlier, before you came.

  Suddenly his face appeared and he was staring at me and he said, “You’re next”.’

  Rian said nothing for a moment.

  Genie didn’t like the silence. ‘See. You are freaked. I knew I shouldn’t have told you.’

  He sat on the end of the bed looking at the closed door. ‘Anwar went missing today. Ran away. It was on the news. You must have heard it on the news.’

  Genie pursed her lips. ‘News is forbidden in my house, remember? I haven’t heard anything or spoken to a single normal sane human all summer.’ She flushed and went to wash her face and hands.

  ‘Well. We already know you’re kinda spooky. And, well he was right, yeah?’ Rian was saying. ‘You were next.’

  Genie thought about that. She found a toothbrush and put the paste on it. ‘Well yeah, but . . .’ She had been next, but instinctively she didn’t think that was what Anwar meant. Couldn’t exactly say why. Poor kid. She wondered why he’d run.

  The rain fell even harder then. She thought of Anwar out there in this rain and felt really bad for him.

  Rian was lying on the bed with his shoes off when she came back. He smiled when he saw her. She blushed.

  No reason. Suddenly shy.

  ‘Don’t look so scared. This is me. Mr Knight in Shining Armour.’

  She laughed and jumped on the bed, curled up beside him. ‘You are my knight in shining armour. Always will be, Ri.’ She looked up and he kissed her. She felt the familiar tingle and it spread out right across her body, head to toe. She felt his arms go around her, pull her closer, her lips burned under his touch . . .

  She saw it then. A wall crashing down. Saw them gasping for breath, seconds from death. It was so vivid she must have cried out. Rian was looking at her with astonishment.

  ‘What? What did I do?’ Rian asked.

  Genie was trembling. ‘It’s bad. Something coming. I

  don’t understand. We’re in danger, Ri. Terrible danger.

  It’s real close.’

  At that precise moment the rain stopped, as suddenly as it had begun. The silence was sharp, uncomfortable, uncanny. They both heard the bells at the same time, felt the ropes straining as the old boat moved. The boat was like a rock out in this water. Hadn’t moved, except up and down with the water levels.

  Rian reluctantly extricated himself from her arms and sat up. ‘I’d better check.’

  Genie rolled over to the corner, grabbed her bunny.

  Rian saw her do it and smiled. ‘Bunny’s not going to save you.’

  Genie pulled a zip down in the bunny’s back and pulled out some cash. ‘This is everything I ever saved.’ She stuffed it down her pants. ‘If we have to run, I’m ready.’

  Rian was astonished, but impressed. He went to inspect the outside. The bells were down by the landing and they were installed to warn of gales, but strangely he couldn’t hear any wind.

  Genie was getting clothes together. They’d be running soon. The danger was coming and she didn’t understand what it was, but experience told her to heed the warnings well.

  Rian went to the hatch and flung it open. Outside was

  still, water dripped from the canopy, but it had certainly stopped raining. He could even see some stars as the clouds parted. The ropes strained again and he looked down at the water. It was moving fast. As fast as the spring melt. No way it should be going this fast in summer.

  He squinted as he looked upriver towards town. As he did so he could hear a noise, akin to thunder, but steady and growing louder al
l the time.

  Genie popped up beside him with his backpack.

  ‘What is it?’

  Suddenly he understood exactly what it was.

  ‘Hell, Genie. Flash flood. It’s a flash flood!’

  And now he didn’t know if it was safer to ride it out in the boat or run for high ground. But there was no high ground nearby. This was the widest part of the river. Any flash flood would just roll in and . . .

  ‘Close the door. Fasten it,’ Genie told him. ‘This boat’s been here ninety years. You said so. It can survive this.’

  Rian wasn’t so sure. Wasn’t sure of anything any more.

  A wall of water was coming downriver and there was no way they could outrun it. No way.

  ‘Inside,’ Genie yelled. ‘Now.’

  Her guess was as good as any. He followed her back inside and pulled the old oak doors shut. They weren’t by

  any means watertight, but they were tough and could withstand some force.

  ‘Genie, check the portholes. Screw them shut. Close cupboard doors.’

  Genie was on it, running from cabin to cabin to check the windows. Only one was slightly open and there was no way she could tighten the brass fittings. It was stuck fast. Water would get in for sure.

  They could hear it roaring now. There’d be debris, trees, logs, boats, anything that got in its way would be coming round that bend and on top of them in seconds.

  Rian followed her, grabbed her arm and dragged her to the stern, trying to figure out where the safest place would be.

  Genie clung on. Not shaking now. She’d already seen the danger. She already knew what was going to happen.

  Her job now was to get Rian through it.

  ‘We’ll be fine. Just never let me go, Ri. Never let me go.’

  The noise was deafening and then they were flying through the air, crashing against the bulkhead as a whole tree smashed through the upper structure and ripped away the roof. A wall of water crashed down, scoured out everything in there and Rian and Genie were scooped up, sucked in and spat out, joining everything

  else that tumbled in the debris of the first wave.

  Genie felt something scrape her arm. Rian was hit hard by something as they somersaulted, breathless, swallowing water, desperate to hang on to each other, stay as one as they flowed along with the torrent.

  ‘Got to grab a log,’ Rian yelled. ‘We’ll go under if we—’

  They went under as the water turned, sluiced by rocks in a different direction. Genie clung to Rian, he to her, both hardly able to see anything. Another huge tree crashed into the water ahead as the riverbank gave way and the water piled up behind it momentarily. Rian lunged for a branch and got a hold. Genie emerged, gasping for breath, and grabbed a branch. This river wasn’t stopping for any tree, the surge of cold river water continued to swirl and churn. The tree began to roll.

  ‘Let go, let go,’ Rian shouted to Genie, but she was gone already.

  ‘Genie? GENIE?’

  He let the current take him again. He had to find her.

  The speed of the water was amazing. Now he was desperate. ‘GENIE?’

  Genie was spinning as the water propelled her ahead.

  She couldn’t believe they were separated and she knew that if she didn’t get something solid to hold on to real

  soon, she’d flounder. The water wanted to pull her under and it was so very cold.

  ‘Genie?’ She heard his cry, thought it was to her left.

  More in the middle.

  ‘Ri. Ri, I’m over here. Ri!’

  She felt something bump her. She grabbed it and it wriggled. She could see nothing but it was strange to touch and it moved again. Suddenly its head surfaced.

  A pig! It was alive. Must have swallowed a ton of water, but it was alive and she grabbed its head to keep it above the water. The pig struggled a little but she kept a firm grip and talked to it. ‘Keep breathing. You’ll be OK. We’ll both be OK.’

  Just saying it calmed her, the weight of the animal slowed her down and made her think survival. She could swim. She’d learned first aid and she knew how to save lives in a pool. The flash flood was crazy but she leaned back into the flow and pulled the pig with her, got her arms under his forelegs and kept both their heads out of the water. No one would ever believe it, she realized.

  There wouldn’t be anyone to tell either. She was gone from Spurlake forever. The flood was her parting gift from a place that had given her years of misery. The pig squealed, but she gripped it tight and it must have sensed that she was helping. She hoped so at least. A surge of

  water took them forward again and they moved at speed out of the main stream where the riverbank had given way.

  Lightning struck a truck nearby and it burst into flames. For one complete second she could see everything.

  Fifty metres away, damaged cars were all piled up against the walls of a giant glass tower, like so many broken toys, two vehicles burning brightly now, helping her get her bearings.

  Lightning exploded to her left again, momentarily illuminating the glass building. Genie frowned. Where?

  How? This was the middle of nowhere; who would want to build an office tower here? Men in fire uniforms with intense bright flashlights were running everywhere inside it trying to stop the water from flooding the building. She shouted out but no one was listening.

  Dangerous showers of sparks were spilling down from overhead power cables. Genie and the pig were spinning around now, both spitting out foul-tasting water and then abruptly they found direction again and moved on, swept away into darkness.

  Rian found himself among huge floating logs. This was dangerous. Hold on too tight and another log could roll on to yours and crush you. ‘Genie?’ he yelled again,

  growing hoarse now. It began to rain again. Lashing it down like before and visibility completely disappeared.

  He felt despair. He’d lost her. He’d saved her and lost her in one night and he’d live with the guilt for the rest of his life.

  There were huge bright sparks up ahead and the lights on the hills blinked out. He suddenly knew exactly where they were. Up ahead somewhere was the hydro power station on a river bend. Half the water would go to the power station; the rest would be diverted by way of a channel to the lower level. There were giant metal grilles to divert debris and keep the logs to one side on their journey to the coast. Now Rian was worried that a whole lot of stuff was going to pile up in one place and they would be caught up in this heap and crushed.

  Something crashed into the log he was holding and he was submerged again. He tried to swim back up, but his way was blocked by another log. He tried going another way and that too was blocked and he was rapidly running out of air. He urgently struggled to get to the surface again, his lungs bursting.

  Suddenly the water flowed sideways and he found himself pulled along with it. He surfaced, took in a huge gulp of air. He was moving rapidly again with nothing to hold on to. The rain obscured his vision but he knew

  instinctively he had been diverted – not to the regular channel; this had to be a breach in the riverbank. As the river was squeezed through it, the water flow speeded up. A narrow canyon would take some of the runoff and then a couple of kilometres after it lay orchards and fields. If he wasn’t knocked out cold by a dead tree, he’d be OK. But what about Genie? Where would she wash up? Was she even still alive?

  She had no idea how long they had been floating but Genie and the pig were both choking. She and the pig had been bowled along for what seemed like forever, until quite unexpectedly the water had finally run out of puff and spread out as it had found open fields to flood. Now the pig was struggling to stand on the mud, whilst Genie was on her knees, throwing up river water and God knows what else she had swallowed. The pig had noticed the change first and violently twisted out of her arms. It stood rather uncertainly near her, resentful and angry. There was a light from a wrecked truck’s headlights pointing at the trees on the slope beside them and s
he could see that the pig was one big animal, like her, covered in sludge.

  She couldn’t believe that she had saved such a huge creature. She had no idea where she was, but it wasn’t near the river. Even the river probably wasn’t near the

  river either from the sound of water rushing by below her.

  She shivered and coughed, glad she was alive. But Ri?

  What had happened to him? She shouted his name but realized it was pointless.

  The pig wandered off, steering well clear of the water.

  Genie thought she had better do the same, find somewhere dry on higher ground. She stood up and shouted Rian’s name for luck once more, but of course, he wasn’t there.

  Her voice came out all strained and hoarse. She turned and followed the pig up the hill. It seemed to instinctively know where to go.

  Out of the water, gasping for breath, Rian saw a truck set off ahead, its lights sweeping across the water before turning and heading up a track. He shouted and was running as fast as he could, but the ground was muddy and he saw it pull away and dip out of sight over a ridge.

  He stopped to catch his breath, turned as he saw a burning car about two hundred metres below him. Thunder rattled overhead and the rain grew more intense. He had to find Genie and shelter. She would be somewhere out there, dead or alive. He tried to block out visions of her body floating along the wild river. He uttered a short prayer for her and grimly smiled to himself; it was the first prayer he’d ever said and ever meant. God save Genie – please.

  But that awful vision of her floating dead body stuck in his mind and wouldn’t leave.

  She had walked for hours up the hill and then through the forest, following an old narrow track. Genie had lost the pig or the pig had lost her, but at least she had found an old barn. It never stopped raining and the thunder was still audible in the distance. The barn was dry at least and there were straw bales stacked on one side. She would be safe here. Rain drummed on the tin roof. There was a strong smell of apples and that was comforting in some way. Many farmers grew apples around Spurlake.