by J. F. Penn
She had wanted to ask him in that night, but the tales he had told combined with his passion for the ocean had made her want more than just a fling. She had considered going after him, seeking him out at the boatyard he'd told her about in Christchurch. But she'd ended up staying for the season, making friends out here, and the days had passed along with her infatuation. The West Coast felt like the edge of civilization and she had come here to escape, not entangle herself again. New Zealand was a long way from Chicago and it was time to break the pattern.
Now Ben was back, even though the world was going to hell. She had planned to leave later that night, to head north in the evacuation with the gang from the bar. If he had come tomorrow, she would have gone. But now …
Gina turned back to the queue of people, handing out the ration packs more quickly now, eager for her shift to end.
Returning to the truck, Ben climbed in and closed his eyes. He leaned his head back on the rest and exhaled. Images of his grandfather's death whirled before him, visions of the destruction of Christchurch, of what he'd seen within the wave.
He didn't even know whether Lucy was alive, and here he was, thinking about another woman. But Gina's friendly face seemed like a lifeline and Ben clung to it. He would go on his way after catching up with her.
A sharp rap on the driver’s side window made him jump and he opened his eyes. Gina stood on the other side, a backpack over one shoulder. Ben leaned over and pushed the door open. She climbed inside, turning sideways to look at him, her hazel eyes curious.
"What brings you back here?" She smiled softly. "Of course I'm pleased to see you, but this isn't exactly the direct route north from Christchurch."
Ben reached for her hand. "I meant to come back, you know. That night, it was –"
"I know," Gina said, her eyes meeting his. "It wasn't the right time. So, what are you doing here?"
Ben wanted to tell her about the wave, his grandfather, the demon in the smoke, but he knew it would sound crazy.
"I need to get up to the glacier," he said, looking pointedly at the military truck ahead of them.
"What's so important that you want to get up there now?" Gina asked. "They're evacuating to Greymouth, so it would be better to stick around for that, I reckon."
"I have to…" Ben's voice trailed off.
Have to what, exactly? Save the world from demons with a magical Maori talisman?
"What?" Gina asked. "What do you have to do?"
"My brother," Ben said, grasping for something rational to say. "He was climbing on the glacier. I haven’t heard from him since the quakes hit."
"I'm so sorry," Gina's hazel eyes showed concern. "I didn't know you had a brother. But the soldiers said that no one can enter the park now. The quake may have opened fissures in the glacier. It’s not safe."
Ben nodded, but he still looked towards the park entrance. "It might be best if I stayed here and waited for the authorities to give the all-clear."
"You're going anyway, aren't you?" Gina looked at him, her head cocked to one side. "Think maybe you need some company?"
The twitch at the side of her mouth and the sparkle in her eyes held a promise.
But Ben remembered the creature in the smoke, the way it had ripped his grandfather's flesh from his body. It wasn't safe to take anyone with him.
And Lucy. She had to be alive. He could feel it in some inexplicable way. I have to find Lucy, and here I am flirting with this girl.
"No," he said, shaking his head. "You stay here. You’ll be safer getting evacuated."
"I want to help," Gina said. "I mean, this is your brother, right? And you can't go into the glacier alone. I've done a lot of ice climbing since you were here last. I've got some gear in there and I know the ice." She indicated the pack. "Face it, you need me."
Ben looked out at the glacier rising above the trees over the town. She was right – he didn't know the ice. If he died up there falling into a crevasse, his grandfather's dying request could not be honored. And if he were honest, it would be good to have some company – someone to keep his mind from the horror of the last days. Surely he had left the demon behind in Tekapo.
"If you're certain," he said.
Gina nodded. "I want to help. Do you know where your brother was last seen?"
Ben felt a tug from the talisman, like it drew him on. Like it was being called home.
"Not quite, but I'll know when we get there. We'll drive to the edge of the glacier, park up and then hike in."
They drove out of the area and down a side road, heading towards the glacier. As they approached, Ben looked out his window at the forbidding expanse of ice.
"You sure about this?" Gina asked.
"I have to find my brother," Ben said.
"What's his name?"
"Jerry," said Ben. It was the first name that came to mind.
"Ben and Jerry?" Gina raised her eyebrows and stifled a giggle.
They drove further and reached the trailhead, only to find soldiers at the entrance. The uniformed men walked the parking lot, tending to the injured and lost. Bright orange hazard cones stood in front of the trailhead, but no one was actively guarding the route. Ben guessed that they assumed no one would be crazy enough to head for the glacier at night, especially mere hours after a major earthquake.
"We're going to have to sneak past the men with guns to get in there," Gina said.
"Something you Americans are used to," Ben replied with a wide grin.
Gina tucked a strand of purple hair behind her ear. "We’re not all riding around in Chevys with gun racks, asshole."
Ben backed up the truck and they parked a little way from the main lot so they were hidden in the trees. They filled their packs and checked their gear.
"It's getting dark. We'll head that way." Gina pointed towards the edge of the bush. "We can sneak round the main entrance and meet the path further down."
They dodged the emergency lights and ran alongside a wooden fence before heading down the trail into the gloom. They walked single-file down the track, maintaining a fast pace until the sounds of people behind them had faded.
Only their footsteps could be heard in the night air. A freezing wind blew from the glacier and the talisman burned against Ben's chest. It drew him deeper, towards the ice.
They continued in silence for the better part of an hour, until the trail came to a fork with a signpost. The darkness was close now, almost absolute. Ben couldn't read the sign, but Gina was confident even in the dark.
"Left takes us on a loop around the face of the glacier towards the main climbing area," she said. "Right takes us to the ice caves and it's unlikely your brother would be there. So it must be this way."
She turned left. Ben grabbed her elbow.
"Wait," he said.
From the deep ice, a steady, slow drip drip echoed like a gigantic clock.
"We need to go right," he said. "Into the caves. I'm sorry, but I haven't been honest with you. You need to make a choice, Gina."
9
Dust filled the air from the fallen building, and Lucy coughed as she tried to stand on the shaky ground. Above her, the night sky darkened and rain poured down from the heavens, the sound of lightning and thunder adding to the chaos. It was as if nature wanted to wipe the city from the earth and Lucy had a momentary sense of how small she was in the face of all this.
As the ground shuddered still, she got up and ran towards the massive concrete structure that now bisected the square.
"Amber!" she called, even as she knew there was no way her sister would hear her over the chaos. She beat her fists against the concrete, tears welling. She began to climb the rubble, the Red Cross tent forgotten in the need to be reunited with her sister.
As the building came down and then the shock rippled beneath her, Amber instinctively darted for the doorframe of a shop, throwing herself into it as the wave of energy pulsed beneath. She hit her head as she fell, but as the concrete crumbled around her, she managed to
drag herself under the thickest part of the door.
The line she had stood in moments before was buried now, crushed beneath the huge tower.
Lucy was under there, she knew it.
Her sister was dead, just like their parents.
Amber wanted to curl up and close her eyes – to stay here and sleep and never see anything again. Her mind froze. She was alone. She had no one.
As the shocks calmed a little, the sounds of screams and crying filled the air. Volunteers rushed to help, but as they pulled bodies from the rubble, Amber knew this wasn't the end of the anguish.
There would be more shocks. There would be more death. There would be no help. She had heard the words of the man earlier: the entire country was in trouble.
Amber knew she had to get away from here. She couldn't stand the sound of grief and pain and terror any longer. They only stoked her own feelings of despair. There must be strong buildings near here where she could shelter for the night. She thought of the museum at Hagley Park. It was only a few blocks west. It was also somewhere that the Campion family used to visit regularly. Maybe Lucy was safe; maybe she would come and search there.
Amber pulled herself upright and leaned against the doorframe. She looked out over the ruins of the square, then turned away and hobbled south and west along Hereford Street.
As she crossed the river, a voice called from the shadows at the side of the bridge.
"Careful, child," a woman said. "The gods are angry and Aotearoa must pay the price in blood." She stepped from the shadows, her brown face marked with the Maori moko for women, blue-black ink on her lips and geometric patterns on her chin. "Be sure that yours is not among those called to sacrifice."
Amber shrank away from the fierce woman, hurrying on as the woman's laughter echoed behind.
As she passed the Christchurch City Council Water and Waste Unit down the road, she saw torchlight and the outline of a young man. He was smoking, the red end of his cigarette glowing bright.
"There's food here," he called out in a friendly tone. Amber was hungry, and her stomach rumbled at his words. The man looked Indonesian, with black hair like the friendly people she had met on holiday in Bali with her parents a few years back.
"You can shelter here," the man said. "There are some other kids too. Kids who have lost their families."
Amber was tired and hungry and desperate to rest. She had lost her family; maybe she should stop here with the other kids. Everything would be better in the morning – that's what Lucy always said. In the morning, the sun would shine. She would find her sister … She needed to eat right now, and get some sleep. Just for a little while.
She stepped towards the light.
The girl was slight and blonde. Pretty little thing. Must be about fourteen.
Perfect.
Sitona smiled as he waved her over, stubbing out his cigarette.
"You'll be safe here," he said. "We have some food, too."
"Are you sure it’s safe?" the girl asked.
"Of course. If you come inside, you can meet the other kids and get some sleep."
"Is it dark inside?" The girl's voice shook a little.
"Yeah, kinda. But we got torches. What’s your name?"
"Amber," she said.
"Follow me, Amber."
Sitona flashed her a jackal’s grin and led Amber deeper into the building, where the shadows and darkness merged. He fished the keys from his pocket and unlocked the door. He pushed it open and several young, frightened faces looked up at them.
"What –"
Sitona shoved Amber into the room, cutting off her words, and slammed the door shut. She screamed and pounded on the other side. The noise echoed down the corridor as Sitona walked away. No one would come for her, and once they all drank the water he'd laced, they'd all be out cold and no trouble at all.
Now he needed to ship the product, and he knew just the place. Time to call in a favor.
He jogged down a few blocks to a rental place he knew that was gang-affiliated. A bearded man holding a shotgun sat at the front door. The man recognized Sitona and smiled, but kept the shotgun in his embrace.
"'Sup Sito?"
"You got vans?"
The man raised his eyebrows but didn’t respond.
"Do you?"
"Those vans are worth a lot of money right now."
"Juno’s coming down from Indo."
The bearded man paled a little and then nodded. He set the shotgun on the table and opened the door to the yard. Several vans had fallen into a gaping crevasse opened by the quake, but two remained in their normal parking spaces.
"You’ll tell Juno I did you a solid, right? You’ll tell him."
"Yeah, man. You got my word. But I need this van now."
The bearded man tossed Sitona a set of keys and stepped aside. "Take the one with the scorpion badge on the back. Better on the roads."
Sitona walked to the van, opened the door, and was immediately hit with the stink of dried coffee and stale beer. He climbed in, checked the cargo hold, and nodded. It was big enough for all of them. Now he had to get the product north.
10
By the time Lucy made it over the rubble, the medics on the far side were pulling bodies from under the fallen building. They lay them in lines for identification and removal. It was a grisly sight.
"Amber!" Lucy called as she clambered down the other side, slip-sliding over the broken masonry. Her hands were bleeding, nails ripped. She was covered in dust and sweat and blood. Nothing mattered but Amber now. She couldn't lose her sister too.
Her calls were drowned by the cacophony of disaster. Lucy looked around in desperation, but she couldn't see Amber anywhere. She caught sight of the woman who had been behind them in the queue, sitting dazed on the ground, her eyes glassy and unseeing.
"Have you seen my sister?" Lucy asked, bending down to kneel next to the woman. "She was near you earlier, before the building came down."
The woman stared at her, brown eyes suddenly focused.
"It's all lost," she whispered, shaking her head. "It's all gone this time."
Lucy turned away from the woman's grief, scanning the area around. But there was no sign of Amber.
Then she noticed where they were, right on the corner of the square with the road to the museum heading west. She and Amber had spent many days there over the years. If Amber had survived, if her body wasn't buried under the mounds of rubble, then perhaps she had gone to the museum.
Lucy's heart lifted with hope. Amber was alive – she wouldn't consider any other possibility.
She headed west.
At the bridge over the river, a Maori woman emerged from the darkness of the trees.
"Kia ora," she said. Lucy stopped at the greeting.
"I know you, girl." The woman's voice was rough. "I've seen you with Ben Henare. He's motuhake – special. He will need you in the final battle to come."
"Is Ben alive?" Lucy said. "You've seen him?"
"In a way, girl, I have." The Maori woman walked to the side of the bridge and stared down at the water. "I've seen him in the water and the trees and the birds, like I see all of us."
Lucy began to walk on. The woman was clearly crazy.
"And I've seen your sister, too."
Lucy spun around and jogged back.
"Where is she? Where's Amber?"
The woman shook her head.
"Bad men come at times of trouble. Bad things happen even to those who are on the side of the gods. Your sister has been taken. You must go to her, to Kaikoura and then onwards."
Lucy wanted to shake the woman.
"What do you mean she's been taken? Please. You have to know more."
The woman leaned forward, thrusting a hand out. A greenstone pendant dangled from it.
"Take this north. The pounamu will protect you on your journey. I can't do any more than that. My place is here, to witness the end, but you still have a chance, girl. Go now, before dawn flushes the sky. T
here is more destruction coming here. The gods are not finished with us yet."
The woman turned and walked away into the shadows, disappearing quickly into the darkness.
Lucy stood for a moment, unsure of what had just happened, unsure of what to do next. Should she trust the word of a crazy woman? She clutched the pounamu and then opened her hand, looking at the greenstone more closely.
It was a manaia design, representing a mythical creature with the head of a bird and the body of a man. To the Maori, the manaia was the messenger between the physical world and the domain of the spirits, used as a guardian against evil.
In the depths of her fear and grief, in the maelstrom of the Christchurch disaster, Lucy felt a calmness descend upon her. Perhaps she should go north. She loved Kaikoura, and the Campions had camped there for many summers. Ben had told her Maori myths of the place. It resonated with the spiritual power of the ocean, even to a Pakeha like her. She thought of Ben's laugh, the warmth of his hand in hers. They had fooled around as teens, but nothing serious. Both had dated other people, but now Lucy realized that it had always been him. The Maori woman seemed to suggest that their futures would somehow entwine; that the land itself was connected to their journey.
Lucy didn't know what to do. The darkness shrouded closer around her. The sound of running footsteps and sirens broke the night.
She couldn't stay here.
She would have to trust the woman. Kaikoura was only a few hours north. She just needed a way to get there. She fastened the pendant around her neck and began to walk, heading for the road north. There would surely be trucks ferrying people towards Picton, towards Wellington, the capital on the southern tip of the North Island.
Exhaustion overwhelmed her, but Lucy didn't stop. She couldn't. Not now. If she stopped to rest, she wouldn't be able to get back up again. One step after the next, Lucy thought. One more corner. Perhaps Amber will be there.
She turned her face north and felt the wind from the ocean, smelled the sea on the air. It was a scent she associated with happiness, with exhilaration. She half smiled. Even after the destruction, it still meant that to her. It meant Ben. Could she trust that he was still alive?
