Just Jack

by Adele Broadbent

  I tied the rope around her neck and, pressing on her chest, I backed her up, step by step. The rope snaked across the debris, tightening with each step backwards. Nothing moved at first, and the rope creaked with the strain. A puff of dust floated out from beneath the beam.

  ‘Aaarrrgggh!’

  ‘Whoa, Copper!’ I cried, louder than I meant to. She shied, tugging on the rope. ‘Aargh!’ cried Laddie again.

  Damn Kenny! I needed his help. If I went to check Laddie, would Copper stay put?

  I couldn’t take that chance. I untied her from the beam rope, retied her to a buckled rail by the tack room and clambered back over to Laddie. The beam still hadn’t cleared him, and I couldn’t see why moving it hurt him. When I checked him again his eyes were closed. Again I worried I was too late. ‘Laddie?’

  ‘Isobel,’ he groaned. ‘Where’s Isobel?’

  Sighing with relief, I reached down and touched his forehead. I didn’t know what else to do. Mum used to do that when I was sick, saying, ‘You look pale, Jack.’

  Laddie looked very pale.

  ‘Isobel.’ Laddie’s voice rose. ‘Where’s Isobel?’

  I don’t know! I wanted to yell. I was sure she’d be in the house. But no one had answered. What should I do? I didn’t want to leave him alone, but terrible thoughts were creeping into my mind. Where was Isobel? I stood up, knowing I had no choice: I had to go and find her. Besides, maybe she could help. ‘OK, Laddie. I’ll be back soon.’

  Even though I’d tried before, the house seemed the best place to start. ‘Isobel? Isobel!’ I called into the house over the glass-covered floor. I cocked my head, listening for anything in response, silently cursing my bare feet. Maybe she wasn’t even in the house. A ginger streak shot across in front of me. Isobel’s cat!

  ‘Puss, puss, puss,’ I cooed. It spun around, spitting and hissing, its fur standing on end, twice its normal size. ‘It’s all right, puss. Where’s Isobel?’ I asked, staring down at it, racking my brain. Of course. The front porch!

  But when I reached the front steps, the porch was empty. ‘Isobel!’ I yelled from the steps, my hands cupped around my mouth.

  A horse’s squeal cut the air as another tremor shook the ground. Copper! I limped back around the house.

  A quick glance told me she was all right, so I continued down to the other horses. Besides their constant pacing, they seemed fine. In desperation I climbed the yard fence. ‘Isobel! Where are you? Isobel!’

  Chapter 19

  A tiny flash of red caught my eye. The drawing seat! Pain spiked up my leg when I leapt off the fence. ‘Isobel!’

  She was huddled in a tight ball under her seat. The red I’d seen was a ribbon in her hair. ‘Isobel.’ I shook her shoulder. ‘Are you all right?’ A soft whimpering came from her curled-up body.

  ‘Isobel, come out from there,’ I coaxed. ‘Please come out. I’m so glad you’re all right.’ She didn’t move.

  ‘Isobel, Laddie wants to see you. He needs to know you’re all right.’

  Ever so slowly she turned her head, staring out at me with puffy, red-rimmed eyes. ‘Father?’

  ‘Yes. He’s hurt. He’s asking for you.’

  She uncurled bit by bit, and with my help slid out from under the seat. She sat staring into space. ‘Father,’ she whispered.

  I helped her to her feet. ‘Come on, Isobel,’ I urged. ‘We have to hurry.’

  Just as her dazed look began to fade, another tremor shook us. ‘Nooo!’ She ripped her hand from mine and scrambled back under the seat. Within seconds the shaking stopped, and I had to coax her out again.

  She clung to my arm, back down the drive to the flattened sleeping quarters. She gaped at the rubble, before I led her over to where Laddie lay.

  ‘Father! Oh, Father,’ she cried, kneeling at his side. Laddie’s eyes opened a little. He smiled. ‘Isobel,’ he murmured before closing his eyes again.

  ‘Father!’ She shook his shoulder, tears streaming down her face. ‘Please, Jack! Please do something. He’s all I have. Please, Jack.’

  ‘We have to find some help.’

  ‘But where’s Baldy?’

  ‘He’d have been out getting grass. He’s probably gone home to check on his mum.’ I looked at the house. ‘Mrs O’Brien must be out. Kenny was here,’ I said glancing down the drive. ‘He ran off.’

  Isobel gasped. ‘But —’ She stared at Laddie amongst the rubble. ‘Did he see Father? Did he know he was hurt?’

  ‘Yes. He was scared, Isobel. Really scared.’

  I don’t know why I made excuses for Kenny. He should have stayed and helped. But whether it had been his fault or not, something terrible had happened on the day of that accident. ‘Maybe he’ll come back.’

  ‘I can’t believe he’d leave Father like this,’ whispered Isobel.

  ‘It’s just us,’ I said. ‘And Copper,’ I added, nodding over at the horse. ‘She’s going to help me get this beam off.’

  Isobel sniffed, staring over at Copper. ‘Why is she snorting like that?’

  ‘She’s frightened, too. I’d better hurry. You watch Laddie.’ But when Copper started pulling the beam, both Laddie and Isobel cried out to stop.

  After checking again, I finally discovered why. A piece of torn tin was scraping along Laddie’s side each time the beam was moved. I grabbed a length of timber next to Isobel. ‘I’ll use this to hold the tin off Laddie while you guide Copper back.’

  ‘But … I … I can’t,’ she sobbed.

  Looking into her pale face I saw her terror — different to when the tremors hit, but terror all the same. ‘Isobel, you have to — for Laddie.’ She jerked as I gave her the order. I felt mean speaking to her like that, but it got through.

  She stood, and with one last look at Laddie, she picked her way back over the bricks and approached Copper.

  ‘That’s it,’ I called. ‘Talk to her, remember she’s scared, too.’ Isobel looked back.

  ‘Keep going,’ I urged, pleading silently against another tremor. It took forever for Isobel to inch close enough to Copper to finally reach for the lead rope.

  ‘Well done, Isobel. Just lead her away slowly.’ Copper snorted, shaking her head. Isobel squealed and dropped the rope.

  ‘Hurry, Isobel,’ I ordered. I saw her take a deep breath before reaching out again. She began to pull Copper away. ‘It moved, Isobel! Keep going.’

  Inch by inch, the beam scraped across the thicker one. Roofing iron shrieked as it was pulled against more iron, but this time Laddie didn’t cry out. When it cleared his body, I dashed over to Isobel. ‘You did it! Here, let me take Copper. You go back to Laddie.’

  She gazed at Copper for a moment before passing me the rope, then struggled back over the rubble.

  With Copper back in her yard and the gate tied shut, I went back to the others. Crouching at Laddie’s side, I held Isobel’s hand. ‘You were very brave. I couldn’t have done it without you.’

  ‘Really?’ She gave a teary smile. ‘What should we do now?’

  ‘Well, we can’t move him,’ I said, thinking aloud. ‘He’s too heavy. Even for both of us.’ The sun, high in the sky, beat down on us. ‘What we need is … an umbrella!’

  She frowned. ‘An umbrella?’

  ‘To shade him from the sun while I go for help.’ I jumped to my feet, wincing at the pain in my thigh.

  ‘Oh, Jack, you’re hurt. I never saw before.’

  My fingers came away smeared with blood. ‘It’s all right. Where will I find an umbrella?’

  ‘Inside the back door,’ Isobel said after a moment. ‘There’s a long wooden box under the shelves.’

  As I made my way back to the house, I noticed the toe of my boot poking through the bricks. I found the other close by, split and battered. It was much easier climbing over the rubble wearing my boots. I fetched the umbrella and clambered back over to the others.

  ‘Hold this over him, Isobel. I’m going for help. I’ll be back as fast as I can.’

  ‘O
h, Jack,’ she cried, ‘please don’t leave me here alone!’ She grabbed my hand. ‘What if something happens to Father? What do I do?’

  I touched her face, wiping away her tears. ‘You’ve been very brave, Isobel. You have to keep being brave for Laddie. Now just stay here,’ I said softly. ‘Talk to him. Hearing your voice will make him feel better. I’ll be back soon.’

  My leg began to throb as I limped down the drive in the same direction Kenny had gone.

  I reached the end of the drive, hoping I’d see someone who could help. The road was empty. Standing there, I was aware of the strange silence. No birds sang. No dogs barked.

  Another tremor hit, making me stumble. I looked back down the drive, hoping Isobel wasn’t too frightened. There was no other choice. I set off along the road. There must be someone, somewhere.

  Even though the first two houses looked empty, I called over the front gates. ‘Hello! Is anyone there?’ With no response, I continued on.

  Almost every chimney had fallen. Some had smashed through roofs; others had fallen outwards onto sheds and outbuildings. Verandas leaned crookedly and fences slouched at all angles.

  A man ran up the road towards me and pushed through a gate in a high hedge, calling, ‘Elizabeth! Elizabeth!’

  ‘Sir!’ I called. ‘Help — I need some help.’ But he’d vanished behind the hedge.

  I almost ran into him when I limped in the gate after him. He stood on the front path, staring at the house.

  The roof of the veranda had slid forwards, blocking the entrance. ‘Elizabeth,’ he whispered.

  I grabbed his arm. ‘Sir?’

  He spun around. ‘My wife’s in there. You must help me find her. She always waits for me on the veranda.’ He yanked me down the path towards the house.

  ‘But my boss. He needs help. He’s hurt.’

  ‘Help me, boy,’ the man ordered. ‘Then we’ll see to your boss.’ There was no one else about. He was right. I’d help him, then he could help Laddie.

  We pulled boards and tin away from the front of the house, spilling chimney bricks aside. Thankful I’d found my boots, I balanced on splintered beams and yanked at a stubborn piece of wood.

  The man slid aside a sheet of iron. ‘Elizabeth!’

  A woman in a pale-yellow dress lay across cracked concrete steps. Her arm was twisted awkwardly beneath her. I was no doctor, but even I knew it must be broken. He knelt at his wife’s side, and lifted her head gently. ‘Elizabeth, wake up.’

  Her eyes opened, her eyelashes coated in a fine dust. ‘George?’ She swallowed hard. ‘What happened? I was waiting—’

  ‘There now, dear,’ he said. ‘We’re going to get you out. Can you sit up?’

  By the time the couple had struggled free of the timber and tin, the woman crying out in pain, precious time had flown by. I trailed behind them to the front gate.

  ‘Sir? What about Laddie? Can you help me?’

  It was as if I wasn’t even there. He picked up his wife and carried her down the road without looking back.

  People had appeared along the roadside. An old lady, her cardigan torn and hanging off one shoulder, clasped her hands and prayed loudly to the sky.

  A woman clutching a screaming baby tugged on a small boy’s hand and hurried up the road.

  The sound of a squealing horse made me look back the way I’d come. Jet? Silk?

  A black mare bucked around in the centre of the road, rearing over a cowering man.

  ‘Watch out!’ I called, making my way towards them. My leg throbbed painfully, slowing my progress. The terrified horse saw me before her owner did. She tossed her head wildly, snorting and dancing about, her hoof missing a deep crack by inches.

  ‘Whoa,’ I soothed. ‘Whoa.’ I held up my hands, bringing them down gradually, looking the horse in the eye. Calm, gentle words quietened her jittery hooves, clattering on the road. Taking a step closer, I held my hands out, palms open, letting her take in my scent.

  She wasn’t ready. She snorted and lashed out with her hooves. I talked to her again, all the while dreading another tremor. I reached behind me, keeping my eyes on the mare. A rope was placed in my hand.

  Step by step I approached and finally got close enough to stroke her and slip the rope over her head.

  ‘Thank you,’ sighed the stranger, taking the rope. ‘She got away on me. She leapt clean over her fence.’

  ‘She’s beautiful,’ I said, then pointed at the split road. ‘I didn’t want her to break a leg.’

  ‘Crikey!’ the man said. ‘You’re right. I owe you one.’

  ‘Can you help me? My boss. He’s hurt.’

  ‘Of course. Where is he?’

  ‘Follow me.’ Heading back to Laddie’s, I whispered under my breath, ‘I’m coming, Isobel. I’m coming.’

  The stranger put his hand on my shoulder. ‘You’re limping, lad.’

  ‘I’m all right. We have to hurry. I’ve been away too long.’

  Laddie’s driveway had never seemed so long. We tied the mare to a tree away from the buildings and rushed around the back.

  The frilled cream parasol looked ridiculous in the centre of the rubble. The man’s eyebrows shot up. Isobel’s splotchy, red face peered out from under it.

  ‘Isobel,’ I called, ‘I’ve brought someone to help.’

  ‘Ray, Ray Gibson,’ offered the man, as he climbed over the bricks and wood.

  Isobel dropped the umbrella and leapt to her feet. She clung to me, ‘Oh, Jack. I thought you weren’t coming back. I didn’t know what to do.’ She stared down at Laddie. ‘He talked a little when you left, but he’s been ever so quiet since then. I can’t wake him up.’

  Chapter 20

  Ray leaned closer to Laddie. ‘He’s breathing.’ Looking around us, he noticed the beam with the rope still attached.

  ‘We pulled the beam off him,’ I explained. ‘Well, his horse Copper did.’

  ‘You probably saved his life, son. He’s in a bad way, by the looks.’

  Isobel squeezed my hand, biting her lip.

  ‘He’s not bleeding anywhere besides that gash on his cheek. There are no big bumps on his head. It could be something inside.’ He looked up, shielding his eyes with his hand. ‘Good thinking keeping him out of the sun. We need to get him on a stretcher.’ He frowned, looking at my leg. ‘But you’ll never carry him, lad,’ he said, shaking his head. ‘Wipe some water on his lips — not too much, mind. We don’t want him swallowing anything until we find out what’s wrong. I’ll get some more help.’

  He tripped back across the bricks and timber. ‘I’ll be back with a car,’ he called to us, disappearing down the drive.

  ‘Jack, why won’t anyone help us?’ Isobel gazed down at her father.

  ‘You heard him: he’s going for more help. We’ll have to make the best of it until he comes back.’

  She soon tired of holding the umbrella, and I could see we needed something more substantial. With broken wood and a horse blanket from the tack room, I made up a sun shelter. Isobel talked to Laddie while she wiped water on his lips. He was still not responding.

  Time ticked by, slow and thick, like treacle on a cold day.

  Isobel’s fingers dug into my arms as aftershocks struck again and again while we waited. My leg began to bleed again when I went to find more water.

  Tearing up a towel and tying it around my thigh seemed to do the trick. I stared down the driveway, looking for any sign of Ray. It was taking too long. With deepening dread I knew I had to leave Isobel alone again with her father.

  Leaving her for the second time was even harder than before. She’d gone quiet, staring into space, which was worse than when she was upset. I knew I wouldn’t get far with my leg aching like it was, so I fetched a bridle and limped down to get Copper.

  The first thing I noticed out on the road was a group of women huddled together on the corner, pointing at a gigantic black cloud filling the sky to the east. Something big must be burning.

  A little girl stood
on the edge of the group, with cuts and scrapes on her face and arms. Her round, brown eyes gazed up at me. I thought of Annie.

  Home. They probably didn’t even know what had happened.

  Further up the road I came across a man backing a truck up a drive. A familiar face appeared from the passenger side. ‘That’ll do it,’ he called to the driver, then disappeared into the house.

  ‘Billy!’ I called.

  The driver jumped out of the truck. ‘Just a second, matey,’ he called, following Billy into the house.

  They soon emerged, laden with blankets, sheets and pillows. They threw the loads on the back of the truck and then Billy leapt up after them.

  ‘What are you doing?’ I cried, sure someone’s belongings were being stolen.

  He finally stopped long enough to see me. ‘Jack!’ He jumped down and slapped me on the shoulder. ‘It’s grand to see you’re OK.’

  ‘Do you live here?’ I asked.

  ‘No. We’ve been ordered to find as much bedding as we can. They’re setting up a hospital at the racecourse.’

  A hospital, and so close! ‘Can you help me? My boss is hurt. Our sleeping quarters collapsed on us. I got out but … He’s really bad.’

  Again I made my way back to Laddie. It was slower than I would have liked, with the ruts in the road slowing the truck, but finally we arrived.

  Isobel still sat hunched in my makeshift lean-to. When she saw us she leapt to her feet. ‘Jack, you did it!’

  She could hardly watch as we eased Laddie onto a horse blanket. Part of me was relieved that he was unconscious when we heaved him up onto the truck.

  ‘What about blankets, Billy?’ the man asked. I really wanted a doctor to see to Laddie, but I knew he was right. ‘Isobel,’ I said. ‘Where does Mrs O’Brien keep the blankets?’

  She stared blankly at the house and pointed. I grabbed her hand. ‘Show me.’

  Another tremor shook the house just as we reached the back door. Isobel screamed, clinging to me. ‘I can’t go in there, Jack, I can’t.’

  When the shaking stopped I gently pressed her away from me. ‘You said that about Copper, remember?’