by Amy Shojai
Willie snorted. "Yeah, getting drowned would suck. Ask Kinsler." The dog's head poked outside his jacket like Wack-A-Mole and Willie pushed Kinsler's head back down. Willie’s complexion matched Kinsler’s pale fur.
Nikki figured she wasn't at her best, either. Her favorite shoes looked ruined, and her jacket would never recover, but at least she wasn’t swept away like Steven and Lenny. And Shadow. Before she could dissolve into a blubbering baby mess, Nikki pinched herself, hard. That hurt. But it worked.
Their bales shifted again. Nikki reached out and grabbed Tracy to keep her steady. The little girl didn’t notice, simply clutched her soaked dinosaur and rocked faster and faster. "We've got to go. Now."
Nikki gave Melinda a shove. "Wait, you mean into the water?" Melinda wrinkled her nose.
"It's either that or fly. Go ahead, step off real careful. Willie, give her your hand." Nikki paused, and when Melinda hesitated, her tone sharpened. "You want to die? You want all of us to die?"
"Okay, I'll do it. Willie, don't let go." Melinda sat on the edge of the bale, and let her feet drop into the cold brown water. "Nasty, stinks like a sewer. I'm going, already." She clung to Willie's hand and slid off to stand in the water, adjusting to the tug of the current. If the stack of straw let loose in the doorway, the current would turn into a water shoot and blast them out.
"Steady yourself against the bales." Nikki had already been in the water and knew what to do. Melinda gained confidence after a couple of steps. "Get to the wall, and wait for Willie. Once he's there, follow the wall until you reach the metal wire fence."
Melinda nodded, but said nothing, biting her lip in concentration. She reached the wall, and waited for her brother to draw near.
Willie joined his sister. "Go ahead, Melinda.” Nikki talked as loud as she could without screaming, so they could hear her. “Hug the wall, and be real careful you don't slip because there's nothing to catch you. That's the reason for the tether, see? It’s our contingency." Dad always said a contingency was the most important part of any plan. Dad was the smartest person she knew. Well, Doc Eugene was super smart, too, being a veterinarian and all.
Melinda moved more quickly. She reached the near edge of the suspended fencing and grasped the wire, but tripped and went chest-deep in the water.
Willie yelled and started toward his sister.
"Stay where you are, Willie. Keep the twine tight so you can reel her in!” Nikki held her breath.
"I'm okay." The older girl dragged herself upright, spitting and making a face after getting a mouthful of the runoff. "Willie, don't go toward the middle. There's a rut or something in the ground." Melinda turned back to Nikki. "What about the little one?"
Nikki had it all figured out. She spoke softly to Tracy, explaining exactly what would happen. She wasn't sure if the girl understood but talking worked with the spooky feral cats at the clinic, and they didn't understand people talk, either. Doc Eugene and September said tone of voice meant more than words, so she spoke with confident encouragement and hoped Tracy understood.
Tracy stopped rocking long enough to let Nikki lift her. With the girl's legs and arms firmly wrapped around her waist and neck, Grooby trailing down her back, Nikki took a first careful step into the water. She moved sideways, clawing deep with both hands into the bales to anchor herself along the way, until she reached Willie.
"Now you. Along the wall, Willie, to Melinda at the grid." He made hurried progress and soon joined his sister. "Melinda, how about you moved to the far edge of the fence to hold it steady, while Willie holds his side. Hang on tight, though." She waited until they sloshed into position. Was it her imagination or had the water got deeper, but the current slowed? Whatever. They couldn't stop now.
"I need some help here. Willie, make sure you have a good grip on the panel. Yeah, that's good, hook an arm through. Now find your end of the twine, and keep it tight as I come to you."
If she slipped while holding Tracy, they'd both head out to sea unless the twine held. September said it would hold. But they only had a single strand, while September used multiple thicknesses to secure the fence-ladder. "We don't weigh much, though, do we Tracy?" The little girl squeezed her neck, and Nikki smiled. "I'll take that as a yes." She took a breath. Here we go.
The tether tension Willie provided, along with leaning one shoulder hard against the barn wall, gave Nikki enough extra balance. She only slipped once, and thank goodness, quickly recovered. Finally, they all stood beneath the suspended horse panel. Water now reached Melinda’s butt and stood well over Willie’s waist.
"Now what?" Melinda waited for direction.
Nikki examined the cross beam above. It wouldn't be easy to climb the metal fence, and tricky to get from the beam to the solid floor of the loft. They'd come this far, though, and she wouldn't give the other kids any reason to doubt their ability. Dad said that, too. You had to believe, before you could do. I believe, Daddy.
"Tracy first." Nikki unwrapped the girl's arms from her neck. "You can do this. I'm going to hold you up to grab hold, and Melinda and Willie will hold the bottom steady. Climb, and don't look down. Climb like you do the monkey bars at the playground, okay?"
Nikki worried the girl would freeze, or cling to her and yell or something equally dumb. She was clean out of ideas if that happened. But happily, Tracy gripped Grooby between her teeth, and scrambled quick as a squirrel up the ladder contraption. "Wow, good job. Tracy, you're a champ." She turned to Willie. "You next. Watch out for the dog."
"Got it covered." Willie had tucked his jacket into the waist of his pants to secure Kinsler. "If Tracy can do it, so can I."
Nikki didn't appreciate the girl-slam, but at least it gave Willie incentive. Real heroes got scared, too. They didn't let the brain freeze shut them down. "So make like a monkey already."
He made a face, and hooted his chimp impression, but let Melinda give him a boost up before he quickly climbed the fence.
Nikki’s shoulders relaxed. September's idea worked great.
"Now you." Melinda wiped hair out of her eyes. "I'm the tallest, like you said. I can get up that first step on my own, but you'll need me to give the first boost. And I’m the oldest. You've done enough; I got to step up, too." She dropped her voice. "Girl power, right?"
"Girl power.” Nikki smiled. “Okay, we got this." She searched with her foot under the water to find Melinda's braced knee, balanced briefly on one foot while grabbing the wire, and pulled herself up.
With only one person steadying the make-do ladder, it wanted to shimmy as Nikki climbed. It took her twice as long to reach the loft as the first two kids, but her arms already ached from holding Tracy. Finally, she grabbed the beam, and crab-walked to the solid loft floor.
Nikki sank to her knees, so relieved she wanted to cry. She looked around, and saw the other kids around September, who sat in one corner of the loft with her knees drawn up, shaking and crying and acting totally weirded out.
She wanted to find out what was wrong, but had to wait for Melinda. Just as the older girl grabbed the wire handholds, the topmost wedding-cake bales broke off. The straw stopper unplugged and the rest of the bales washed out the barn door like bumper cars. The sudden outflow swept Melinda off her feet.
Chapter 35
The water tasted of dirt, animal dung and dead bugs, fermented grass and bitter bark. Shadow sputtered, struggled to keep his head above the tumbling torrent, and lunged once more. He grabbed and latched onto cloth. A familiar scent, one never forgotten, filled him with confusion.
Protectiveness. Affection. Distrust. Fear. Memory of the "other-ness" of his-boy pointing the gun that bit a good-dog's ear.
He gulped air in panting breaths. Small scared whimpers escaped but he didn't dare let go his grip on the coat. Nose thrust hard against Steven's back, Shadow's jaws ached with tension and his stomach churned. When his flank smashed into something hidden beneath the rush of dark water, he nearly lost his grip, but didn't yelp. Shadow drew his paws up tight,
helpless, riding the whims of the water.
His-boy's odor crinkled Shadow's nose, the bite-sharp terror spilled through Steven's clothing more potent than the cat pee dribbling from the little orange cat. Smells choked his throat. Water filled his ears, muffling the flood's roar and cat's screams. Shadow wanted to shake his head. But he clenched his jaws and hung on.
Bam!
The sodden bale hit, stopped, tipped downward. One of Lenny's arms flopped into the water. Shadow's hold broke loose when the bale reared high, a legless horse vaulting a hidden obstacle.
He flailed; paws churned to find solid purchase, and turned water to filthy froth. The wet, muddy bank beckoned, only a dog-length distant. Current tugged him away.
Steven's arm whipped out. His-boy grabbed Shadow's collar, and kept his other fist latched onto Lenny’s bale. Steven had grown in the time away, and his legs were much longer than Shadow's. When he found his feet, Steven stood chest deep and braced himself against the surge.
Shadow reluctantly met Steven's eyes. Neither of them liked eye contact with strangers, and after all the time that had passed, they were strangers. But something had changed. The "other-ness" in Steven's eyes remained but it no longer spoke of danger.
The floating bale bucked again. Shadow's collar tightened. Steven swung him through the water closer to the bank where shallow water pooled.
Shadow didn't think. As his paws touched, he clawed and scrambled out of the water. He shook himself so hard, he nearly fell over. He panted and shivered at the same time, then in one convulsive heave, threw up.
The current continued to push wreckage along the water's surface. An underwater tree had hooked the bottom of the bale. The tree bobbed up and down in the current. When down, the bale tried to squeak over the branch, which then boosted it up again.
Steven waited until the bale dipped low, then grabbed something shiny and flat from between Lenny's legs. With a smooth gesture, he Frisbee’d it toward Shadow.
Shadow lunged and caught it. He recognized it from the earlier show-me game. Steven didn't smile, but sensed his-boy's approval. He wagged.
Shadow cocked his head when the orange cat yowled with each bounce of the floating bale. He wondered why the cat didn't jump off and race to higher ground. Macy-cat picked a safe tree to climb and wait for Shadow to seek and bring him home. But this cat didn't move, merely kept his claws secured in Lenny's shirt, and burrowed closer to the boy.
Steven clung to the bale, wading with careful small steps to reach the bank. He had to let go of the bale to climb up like Shadow, but kept slipping back into the water. The bank's soggy mud turned loose of trees and grass so there was nothing his-boy could grab. Boys don't have claws like dogs.
Shadow put down the tablet he’d caught, and slowly put one paw and then another on the fallen tree. His weight held it steady. When Steven reached out, Shadow stretched his neck and grabbed the end of Steven's coat sleeve, and tugged.
That gave his-boy enough help to scramble up on the tree limb. With both Steven and Shadow standing on the slender trunk, though, the limb sank further beneath the current, bouncing the straw bale and giving it enough leeway to pass over the temporary snag.
Steven sprang at Shadow, and Shadow nearly dodged away. But something told him to stay still.
"Good-dog."
Shadow pricked his ears with surprise. His-boy had never told him that before.
He held still, marveling at Steven's gentle touch. His-boy quickly pulled off Shadow’s collar and tossed it toward Lenny, just as the current again captured the bale and swirled Lenny and the cat out of sight.
Chapter 36
September screwed her eyes tight against the flames. Her flesh blistered, charred and fell away. She struggled to breathe in the super-heated furnace of the burning barn. Her legs, cocooned in an ever-tightening noose, strangled every effort to escape. She clawed, flailed and bucked to get out, crawl away, to survive. A heavy weight crushed the air from her chest and pinned September to the hard pack dirt.
From far away Shadow yelped, followed by an anguished howl. Oh God, don't let him burn, too! Wet flame licked her face, and September screamed, screamed, screamed for a lifetime and only fell silent when her raw throat and heaving lungs failed. The relentless heat bathed her face again and again. Barks and whines cut through the fog of horror, hot air fanned her neck, and she recoiled — then recognized the sensation with a sob of relief. Not a furnace blast, but anxious dog panting. Canine whimpers sounded a counterpoint rhythm to each attention-seeking slurp-kiss aimed at her eyes and mouth. His icy nose shocked her out of the flashback.
Her heart still hammered its marathon sprint, and her entire body shook with chills despite the heat flushing her face. September kept her eyes closed. She told herself to breathe slowly, and managed to curtail gasps and unclench still tingling hands. Thank God, she had Shadow, her sweet baby-dog, to keep her safe, to anchor her in the real world.
"Good-dog, I'm okay." Shadow knew better, but saying the words gave her a goal. She put up a hand to block his enthusiastic face kisses. His wet fur was wrong.
Kinsler, the white terrier mix, got in one more slurp before she pushed him away. Shadow? She sat up with a gasp, disoriented.
Still in the barn. A different barn. Cold and wet, no choking smoke or flame. Tornado. The flood. The kids. Lenny. Steven.
A choked sob caught deep in her lungs. Her fault, her terrible fault. Steven, her dirty reminder, fruit of the trauma she'd never ever escape. But she'd never wished him ill, even put her life on the line to save him.
Then Steven was gone. And she was glad.
She was a monster. Only just for God to punish her, she deserved it, the taint on her soul she'd never scrub clean. But not Shadow, why punish him? His loyalty, his love, his innocence. They shared one heart. She'd bleed to death from his loss. The mind-numbing grief threatened to suck her back into the void.
Kinsler nose-poked her again, and more of her surroundings came into focus. Willie rode her legs like a pony. "Willie, get off."
The little dog scampered around, as the boy dismounted. "You were moaning and flailing around, and I didn’t want you to roll off the loft."
Her scowl silenced him. She pushed away the dizzy hopelessness before she fell back down the rabbit hole. September steeled herself. Get over it. Life wasn't fair. She wasn't meant to love, or be loved. Accept it. Move on.
"How'd you get up here?" She was afraid to ask about the other kids. She had no more grief to spend.
"It worked. That ladder thing we built, it worked." Willie couldn’t stand still, excited and happy, a kid on an adventure. "Nikki made us work together. Tracy's over there," he pointed to a corner of the loft, "and Nikki's helping Melinda climb up. Everyone's okay. Well, except for Lenny and Steven." His smile faded but his words remained hopeful. "Maybe they'll be okay, too."
She didn't answer. Easier to accept their deaths, ignore the hollow emptiness, and work to save the living. There’d be time later for a lifetime of regrets.
She wanted to scream to the heavens the depth of her loss. But she wouldn’t dare, not when children’s lives were lost. Her silence would be the worst betrayal of Shadow’s trust.
The wooden floor and upper walls reverberated as if a semi rammed the structure. Dust and straw sifted from the ridgepole. Water gush increased to a roar.
September scrambled to her feet. "What was that?"
"No no no!" Nikki crouched above the makeshift ladder. She nearly lost her balance when the floor shuddered. "Hang on, Melinda." Her frantic expression implored help.
September rushed to Nikki's side. Below, Melinda had a double-fisted grip on the bottom "rungs" of the horse panel, but her legs trailed in the water that poured out the open barn door so fast, the girl couldn't stand up.
"I'm slipping. I'm going to fall." Melinda's shriek made the rafters ring.
"No. You will not fall." September's temple throbbed and fists clenched, damned if she’d lose another kid. "Nikki,
move back." September searched the loft for something, anything, to help.
Across the loft, Tracy poked around a stack of dusty wardrobe boxes. "Dammit, what are you doing? Leave that alone, Tracy." For the first time September noticed the baling twine that trailed from Tracy’s waist across the floor. She looked sharply at the other kids. "Are y'all tied together?"
Nikki nodded, pointing to twine that dangled from her waist over the edge of the loft. If Melinda lost her grip and water yanked her away, Nikki and the rest of the kids would jerk along like the tail of a kite. It worked both ways, though. They could give Melinda a toehold if they could keep from tumbling off the edge.
In the dark corner above the boxes hung a metal contraption with a large pulley that ran on an overhead track attached to a high beam. September had seen fancy multi-pulley contraptions re-purposed into lamps in antique stores, but this hay trolley worked. Melinda needed the extra boost to get her footing. This would work. Because it had to work.
"Nikki, cut loose that twine, but hang on to the end for all your worth." September rushed to the trolley as she spoke, caught and tugged the end until it followed, jerking along the overhead track. "Now give me your twine."
"I'm slipping. My hands feel numb." Melinda twisted and turned in the current.
"Don't try to stand, not yet. Going to get you some help, sweetie, hang on." Working fast, September threaded Nikki's end of the twine through and over the large metal pulley. "Melinda, when I say NOW, I want you to pull as hard as you can and grab the next rung up. Okay?"
Gathering the slack, September wrapped the twine around both hands, shouted, "NOW!" and pulled down with all her strength. The twine cut both palms, but the reel gathered the twine and levered Melinda upwards. September released one hand to get a grip further up, and sensed Willie take up the excess cord behind her and add his weight. She couldn't see Melinda's progress, but the weight and steady movement told her the girl must be moving. When Melinda’s red head poked over the edge, September dropped the twine to grasp the girl’s arm and pull her the rest of the way up. Willie grabbed her other arm, and the two fell into each other's arms.