Rain In My Heart (27 page)

Chapter Fifty Four

              By the time we reached the link corridor, we could see the flicker of Marshal
l’
s torch.

            
 ‘
Where are you, Kate
?’
he shouted
.‘
WHERE ARE YOU
?
’

I guess he realised h
e’
d been tricked.  We waded through the dark, between the floating furniture.  Byron did his best, despite his pain.  Curtis was drunkenly slow and I had to drag him, chivvy him,
order
him to keep up.  But we did
n’
t worry about being quiet or moving in secret.  We just needed to move fast.   If Marshall had been angry before, h
e’
d be
furious
now.  We had to get to the art room before he got to us.

            
 ‘
Come on
!
’ I urged
.‘
Keep up
!
’

              I pulled Curtis by the sleeve, but he stopped completely.

            
 ‘
Wait
,’
he said
.‘I’
ve got an idea
.
’

            
 ‘
We ca
n’
t hang about now
!
’

              He ignored me.  Instead, he pulled an upended table towards him and twisted it so that it jammed the width of the corridor.

            
 ‘
Road blocks
,’
he said, with a grin.
 ‘
I
t’
ll slow him up.  You were right, Kate.  He does
n’
t sound very nice.  In fact, he sounds like a bit of a tosser
!
’

            
 ‘
A
bit
?
’ mumbled Byron.
 ‘
He makes
me
seem like prom-king material
.
’

              We swamalong the corridor, throwing whatever we could in our wake - more tables, a chair, a stack of box files, anything that would get in Marshal
l’
s way.  He was
n’
t far behind now, shouting like crazy, calling me a bitch, telling me he was going to kill me.

              We shoved the door to the Vis A stairwell.  My SOS flag was still flapping in the entrance.  How pathetic.  Why did I think a flag would help us?  We splashed up the waterfall stairs.  In the half-light, the art room looked like the sunken remains of a ghost ship.  The easels, the desks, the pottery wheel, my black folder containing my designs for the mura
l–
they were still there, but they were changed.  They were
n’
t the everyday clutter of an art room anymore.  They were evidence of a disaster.

              As for the wall where the mural was going to be - the reason why our nightmare had begun in the first place - it had
gone
.  Obliterated.  In its place was a gaping hole.  Through this hole, the corner of a battered mobile classroom protruded.  There was rubble all over the floor, twisted metal and dust.  It was unreal.  As I stared, despair overwhelmed me.  I tried to push through it, to focus on our escape.  I searched and tried, but all I could feel was despair.  And then I realised it was
n’
t just the state of the room that had changed.  It was me, too. 

Everything had stopped.  The feeling was suffocating.   It was as if the whole world was moving, but I was frozen, trapped in the moment.  I could
n’
t move.  Curtis beckoned me towards the mobile classroom.

‘
This way
,’
he said.
 ‘
Across the roof.  I
t’
s easy
.
’

            
 ‘
I ca
n’
t
,
’ I cried.
 ‘I’
ve had enough.  I ca
n’
t take it anymore.  I
ca
n’
t
-
’

              Curtis offered his hand.  Byron looked on, bewildered by my change of heart.  But all I could think about was Leon.  For all the time w
e’
d been captive, fighting with Marshall, trying to flee, Leon had been lying in that water, cold and broken.  It could
n’
t be.  I just knew.  It was too late.

              I broke down, knelt to the floor.

              I do
n’
t remember how I got moving again, but I know that Byron and Curtis did everything.  They worked together.  They hoisted me up, put one foot in front of the other, slung my arm across their shoulders andheld my waist so I would
n’
t fall.  Curtis snapped himself out of his inebriated haze.  Byron stepped up.  Tha
t’
s what good people do, is
n’
t it?  Even if they make mistakes, or always act the joker, or tell lies, or say the wrong things, when it counts they step up to the mark.

            
 ‘
Keep going, Kate
,’
said Curtis.
 ‘
Nearly there
.
’

            
 ‘
Come on, Kate
,’
said Byron.

              And thanks to them, I got my fight back. 

              We scrambled onto the roof of the mobile classroom.  It felt good to be out in the open ai
r–
especially now it was
n’
t raining.  The sky was starting to lighten.  I had no idea what time it was.  4am?  5am?

‘
YOU CA
N’
T HIDE, KATE! 
I’
M COMING UP THERE
!
’

Marshal
l’
s voice sailed up the stairwell.

Curtis grabbed my arm and I grabbed Byro
n’
s.  We ran across the flattest part of the roof, to where we could see the bank of the ridge, only to discover w
e’
d underestimated the challenge.

            
 ‘
Uh,oh
!’
said Curtis, stalling.
‘
The classroom must have shifted with the water
.
’

            
 ‘
W
e’
ll never jump that
!’
I cried.

              We looked back towards the art room.  We could see the bounce of torchlight, Marshal
l’
s shadow behind it.

            
 
‘
–
But w
e’
ll have to try
!
’

              Curtis faked a smile and looked to the ridge.  It was a good three meters away, across a trench of fast moving water.

            
 ‘
Choose your ex-boyfriends more carefully next time
,
’ he grumbled. 
 ‘
Thank god
I’
m good at long-jump
.
’

            
 ‘
Me too
,’
I replied.

            
 ‘
And me
,’
said Byron
,‘
- not that
I’
ve ever tried it
.
’

            
 ‘
You better stick with me, then
,’
said Curtis.

              Before Byron could argue Curtis grabbed his hand and dragged him with him.

‘
Here goes
,’
he called.
 ‘
See you on the other side
.
’

After a short run-up, they lurched and leapt.  Curtis landed neatly.  Byron caught the bank and stumbled, but Curtis managed to haul him into a secure, safe position.  Thumbs up.  Their success made me soar.  I glanced back and saw Marshall looming towards the collapsed wall.  I gave a brief thought to my family, my friends, and to Leon.  I threw myself forward, shut my eyes, swam the air.  The moment seemed to last forever.

              The next thing I knew, I hit the bank with a thump.  I was
n’
t as agile as Curtis.   My knees took the brunt of it.  I rolled and tumbled, felt every bump.  I ended up on my back, eyes to the sky, legs in the air.  But I made it.  I crawled up the bank and collapsed in a heap.  When I looked up again, I saw that the mobile classroom had been taken by the current.  It was sailing downstream.  And standing on the roof, hands on hips, face aghast, was Marshall.  For once, just
once
, in this big crazy mess, nature seemed to be on our side.

Chapter Fifty Five

We clambered up to the highest point of the ridge, where we could see across the valley.  The River Slode was a bloated brown serpent.  Everything in its wake had been destroyed or damaged. The town was unrecognisable.  Curtis broke the silence.

‘
We should try and get down to the playing fields
,’
he said.
 ‘
I bet that's where Gemma's gone.  There are helicopters about.  If one flies over, it'll be the best place to attract attention
-
’

‘
Okay, but we need to check on Leon first
,’
I said. 

'Yeah, Leon,' said Curtis.  'Where is he?  Wher
e’
s my boy?'

I hugged myself, looked to the sky, then explained how he'd smashed his ankles at the bottom of the ridge.  Curtis looked appalled. 

‘Is he okay?’

I shook my head, fought the tears.

            
 ‘
I don't think so
,’
I whispered.
 ‘
The last time I saw him, he was
n’
t..
.
’

              I stared at the ground.  Suddenly I could feel Byro
n’
s gaze on me, boring into me.  Did he feel guilty?  Did he feel bad in some way?

‘
Has anyone noticed the ground feelsfunny
?’
he said.

I blinked.

‘
Sorry
?
’

‘
The earth, the soil, it feels funny, kind of sludgy.  I doubt this ridge was a well-thoughtpiece of landscape design
,’
he continued
.‘
More like a dump of rubble the council were too cheap to remove
.
’

W
e’
d all heardthe rumours, that the ridge was full of toxic waste, that it was an ancient burial mound, that there was a nuclear bunker in the centr
e–
mostly silliness.  And, in any case, why was Byron concerned about it now?  Whatever it was made from, it was our salvation, the only chunk of dry land for miles around.

‘
Landslides
,’
he said.
 ‘
Poor ground stability combined with an excess of rain and bad drainage - tha
t’
s a landslide waiting to happen
.
’

‘
Why do you always have to be so
negative
?’
said Curtis.
 ‘
W
e’
ve got enough to worry about, without having to think about geography.  Besides, there's no way w
e’
re having a landslide.  They only happen in muddy countries
.
’

Byron sighed.

‘
If tha
t’
s what you think
,’
he said.

              Curtis shrugged and stared down the gulley, towards Vis A, or what was left of Vis A.

‘
Wait a minute
!’
he said.

              He jumped to his feet, stumbled forward and squinted.

            
 ‘
I can see him
-
’

              My pulse accelerated.

            
 ‘
Yes, there he is!  Down there, at the edge of the water!  Leon!  LEON
!
’

              He started waving his arms, shouting.  I leapt to his side and stared into the chasm.  I could just about seethe outline of Leon's slumped body, an outstretched arm, a mound of a back.  He had
n’
t moved from the tree root.  The water was up to his waist.  He did
n’
t look very alive, but seeing him made it real.  I just wanted to scoop him up and hold him.  I turned to the others.

‘
We need to help him.  We ca
n’
t leave him down there.  Between us we could carry him - '

              Neither of them said anything.  I could see the panic on their faces, the anguish, but I knew their minds. In the distance, we heard the whir of a helicopter.

            
 ‘
Well, are we going to help him or
what
?
’

              They couldn't look me in the eye.  The helicopter seemed to be drawing closer.

‘
We should go
,’
said Curtis.
 ‘
We need to get down to the playing field, before it flies away.  This might be our only chance - '

I shook my head, felt a million emotions splinter my thoughts.

‘
But we ca
n’
t go without Leon
.
’

              Curtis closed his eyes.

          
 ‘
I do
n’
t think we have a choice
,’
he said. 

            The helicopter was now above the trees.

           'We need to go.  We'll tell the rescuers he's down there.  We'll send them back for him.  The
y’
ll know what to do.  The
y’
ll have proper equipment and stuff
.
’

           
 
Now we could see a search-light, circling the sky.  I knew I should be relieved, ecstatic that after all w
e’
d been through, we had a genuine chance of rescue.  But instead, I felt torn.  I knew what Curtis was saying.  I knew it made sense, but my
instinct
told me not to leave Leon.

            
 ‘
Come
on
,’
begged Curtis.
 ‘
Le
t’
s go!'

He started to run.  Byron hobbled after him.  And I - muddled, confused, heart-broke
n–
followed them.  Half way towards the path to the playing field, however, my conscience exploded.  I stopped still, held my breath.  Byron stopped too, gestured for me to keep moving.

‘
I
t’
s going
,’
he said.
 ‘
The ground is loosening.  Can't you feel it?  Any minute now.  W
e’
ve got to get off this ridge, Kate, before it collapses
.
’

I heard him, but
I’
d fixed. 
I’
d made up my mind.

‘
I do
n’
t care
,’
I said.
 ‘I’
m going back for Leon
.
’

I expected him to shrug and run, to leave me to it, but instead he clambered backwards, took my hand, adjusted his broken glasses.

‘
Well, come on, then
,’
he said. 

Hand-in-hand, we scrambled back towards the gulley.  Curtis was so focused on getting to the playing field before the helicopterhe did
n’
t notice our departure.  We ran down the slope as fast as we could, but after a few meters, we started to slip. I steadied myself on a tree stump, squeezed Byro
n’
s hand, caught my breath.

‘
Whoa!  Did you feel that?  It was like the ground came right out from under us
!
’

Before I could say anything else,Byro
n’
s hand ripped away from mine.  I turned, managed to catch his eye, but it was too late.  It was happening.  The earth was falling.  I heard Byron shout as it pulled us apart, but there was nothing I could do.  We were sliding too fast, too hard.   My body bounced.  The brambles lashed my arms and legs.  The sloppy earth cascaded beneath me, around me, on top of me. I felt the mud and grit and dirt in my mouth, felt my body turn three sixty degrees.  I felt it and got ready to die.