Wisps of Cloud

by Ross Richdale

  *

  With an hour of school left on this Tuesday afternoon the classroom was a hive of activity with the desks placed along one wall and all the children helping paint a background scene on a massive roll of cardboard that would be hung along the back of the hall stage for the breakup.

  A screech of car brakes made Karla glance up. She noticed the fleeting image of a white car swinging around with the tyres smoking. There was a whoosh followed by a bang. After a second of silence one of the children screamed. Everyone stood up and more children began to cry out, sob or run to her. Something had exploded in the porch!

  Luckily, the interior door to the porch was closed but like the rest of the century-old building it was wooden and bone dry, Smoke, dirty black stuff that stunk of cordite hissed through the gap under the door. It was less than a minute but already Karla could feel the room heat up and hear a cracking sound. Children began to cough.

  It was up to her!

  "Come to me." She forced her voice to be calm." Justin, Lorena. Remember the drill we had. Get your children, take them out the back door and across to the woodshed exactly as we practised."

  Justine's face was white but he acted first. Each of the two senior pupils had five younger ones to look after. He rushed forward, literally lifted two little ones up in his arms, gathered up the other three and like a shepherd with a flock of sheep, headed for the rear door.

  "Lorena!" he screamed. "Do what Karla said. Get your kids!"

  The girl who had stood there frozen for a second now burst into action. She grabbed the hands of two eight year olds and desperately looked around for three more.

  Smoke poured through the door and rose to the ceiling. The interior door burst into flames from the bottom up and the whole side wall sort of bulged out. In seconds it would collapse in on them.

  "I've got two of them, Lorena," Karla gasped. "Follow Justin."

  But one child was missing! Karla stared in horror as Tina the five-year-old ran towards but not away from the now flaming wall.

  "Tina!" Karla shouted, handed the children holding her hands onto Lorena who glanced at Karla, wiped her blinking tear-stained eyes and headed to where Justin was waiting by the door with one hand out.

  "Bobby!" howled little Tina. As Karla grabbed her in a tight hug, the little girl screamed, hit out and kicked. Bobby was her teddy bear that she always brought to school with her.

  "I'll take Tina!" Lorena was beside her.

  Karla nodded, handed the little girl over and saw the teddy bear a few metres away. She rushed forward just as the entire left hand wall exploded in a sheet of flames. Acid smoke and searing heat engulfed her. She staggered, eyes streamed with tears and she could smell burning hair. Her hair!

  What was she there for?

  Yes, Tina's teddy. She saw it though the smoke, coughed, gasped for breath but managed to grab the soft toy before she turned around. She saw Lorena and Tina heading out the opened back door. Flames were everywhere, the cardboard on the floor was alight and pottles of paint bubbled and hissed like miniature fireworks before bursting into flames.

  She staggered forward but had to shut her eyes for the smoke was stinging them. Her left sleeve of the painting jacket she had put on for the art session was smouldering

  Oh my God! Her clothes had started to burn!

  She staggered forward, felt rather than saw the door ahead and lost her footing. She fell forward, hit a side panel and would have crashed to her knees if a hand didn't reach out and seize her. She was hauled forward and realised it was Justin who had grabbed her.

  "The other children?" she gasped between coughing spasms.

  "Lorena's got them at the woodshed, Karla." Apart from smudgy soot across his face Justin looked no different. "I stayed here to help."

  They raced forward! Behind, the door they had just come out of burst into a sheet of flames. Two seconds earlier and... Karla felt dizzy but swallowed and stared out of her stinging eyes. Before her, sitting cross-legged in front of the woodshed were the eight younger children. Lorena stood beside them with a sobbing Tina still in her arms.

  Karla gave Justin a hug. "Thank you," she said. "I am so proud of you two seniors."

  "I put it out, Karla," Justin was almost in tears and held up his two hands that were raw and red. "Your sleeve was on fire. I put it out!"

  "Did you?' Karla gulped. "Thank you. Now I want you to go out to the back tank and hold your hands under the tap there for at least five minutes. Understand?"

  "If you want me to," he muttered in reply.

  "Yes, Justin. It is the best treatment for burns."

  "And you?"

  "Oh Justin," Karla sighed. "Please do it."

  The boy looked at her intensely, shrugged and ambled across to the tank. She saw him do what she had asked and switched her attention back to the other children. The teddy bear was still in her hand so she went across to Tina. "Bobby's safe too," she whispered and handed it to her.

  Tina looked up and smiled through her tears as she cuddled in close to Lorena "Thank you, Karla. Bobby's naughty."

  "No he isn't. He just got a fright like the rest of us."

  Karla reached in her pocket. Yes, her mobile was still there! She scrolled down to the number wanted and the call was immediately answered. "Ryan, the schools been fire bombed. Get up here!"

  Only then did she turn to face the building. It was a sheet of flames that poured up the walls while smoke poured out horizontally from under the roof. The whole structure shivered, there was another gigantic retort and several pieces of roofing iron exploded straight up in the air through black smoke before crashing down only twenty metres from them. The heat was intense and most of the children were crying but thankfully, none panicked and they still sat cross-legged on the ground.

  "We'll go around behind the woodshed," Karla said. "We are safe. The flames won't reach us here and the shed will protect is from the heat."

  This time around, Lorena responded first. "Come on Red Group." she said, gathered up her five including Tina with the teddy bear and moved around the shed.

  Justin grimaced. "You lot too, Blue Group," he said. "We've gotta get behind the shed." He turned to Karla, "Your hair's all singed. Are you okay?"

  Karla nodded. "Yes, the school's gone but we're all safe. That's the important part."

  "And I thought you were being a bit fussy with that fire drill last week," Justin continued. "If Old Ted was here…" He shrugged and waited for her as she walked around the shed.

  Behind them, there was no school, just a rectangle of towering flames with now brown smoke bellowing into the air.

  *

  Karla called the emergency number and spent her time helping the children who were obviously distressed but except for Justin with his burnt hands and herself with a painful right side of her face and arm, none of them suffered any burns.

  "Lucky you were firm with us about our quad bikes," Justin said after a break of answering worried questions from every child.

  "How?" Karla looked at him.

  "We always used to park by the building but you insisted we leave them at the gate. If they were by the school they'd have blown up by now."

  "But everything else has gone," Lorena whispered. "Our computers, ipads, books, everything we've done. Why would someone do this to us, Karla?"

  "I can only guess, Lorena. As for the computers and ipads, they can be replaced. We are here and safe. That's important."

  She glanced up as two vehicles roared in the gate. The locals had begun to arrive. Ryan wasn't the first there but was close to it. He ran up to her from his pickup, swept her in his arms and suddenly stopped when he noticed the children watching. He grinned, gently placed her on the ground and stepped back.

  Both Dillon and Sharon Gosnell arrived and within minutes, practically everyone else. A siren howled and the local fire engine roared in. Firemen soon had hoses in operation but it was futile. The old school was an inferno so all they could do was to dampen the outbui
ldings and hose down the oak trees that had begun to smoulder.

  Sharon came up and placed her arms around Karla in a solemn hug. "Thank you," she said. "If it wasn't for you, we could have had fatalities here today. My God, that's what I thought when we came up the road but there you were all sitting by the woodshed." She frowned. "You look awful, Karla. Are you in pain?"

  Karla realised that her right side was throbbing and she had no idea what her arm would be like under the blackened sleeve. "It's Justin we need to look after," she said. "He practically used his bare hands to smother my burning sleeve. Without him and Lorena there would have been those fatalities you feared."

  Ryan, who had been talking to Dillon, came up. "The rescue helicopter is coming. We're sending Justin and you into the Masterton Hospital."

  "I can't leave the children," Karla protested,

  "Thanks to you they are fine," Dillon interjected.

  "I'll stay and see them all home," Sharon added. "Most of their parents are here anyway."

  "There will be no school tomorrow." Dillon added. "By Thursday we'll have something set up in the hall." He looked grim as he glanced over at the building that had almost burnt out with more smoke rising as three hoses saturated the crumbling frame with water. "That's a promise, Karla but if you can't make it then, Sharon can take the children."

  "I'll be there," Karla said.

  "And when we get the buggers responsible…" Dillon muttered.

  The red rescue helicopter appeared out of nowhere and dropped down at the far end of the football field. Moments later, Karla, Jason and his mother Lucy who she met for the first time, were in the air and before she had time to think about it, they were landing near the Masterton hospital. Ryan had promised to follow in his vehicle

  The hospital emergency department wasn't busy and the young doctor who examined her, classified her right arm as a second-degree burn and that on her right cheek as the less sever first-degree burn. "You were lucky if that is a good term to use in this situation, for if your clothing had not been put out you could have suffered major burns across most of your upper body and face. How are you feeling?"

  Karla looked at the doctor. "Worse than earlier."

  "That's to be expected. Shock has set in. I'll dress your arm and apply gauze. Leave it on for at least twenty-four hours before changing…" He continued with more instructions as he cut away the sleeve material, sprayed on an antibiotic ointment and gave her two painkillers. "You will need a sling?"

  "A sling. Why?" Karla replied.

  "It is mainly your upper arm that is burnt but as you can see, the forearm is also affected. You need to keep your arm raised for at least two days to reduce swelling."

  Karla was about to refuse but decided not to be stubborn. "Thank you. You're the expert."

  The doctor smiled.

  A few moments later she walked out of the cubical with her right arm in a sling. Ryan had joined Justin and his mother in the waiting area. Justin had gauze wrapped around his hands but looked to be in good spirits.

  "I brought your car," Ryan said and turned to Lucy. "Would you like a lift home?"

  The woman nodded and thanked him. She was a frail woman who looked almost elderly and Karla wondered if she was really Justin's grandmother. She knew little about the family except that they lived in a rented cottage on one of the farms and Lucy helped cook and do other casual work for the shearing gangs and farmers around. From Justin's earlier comments, she knew there was no male apart from the boy himself in the household. It saddened her somewhat for Justin was quite a capable boy but probably received no educational motivation from home.

  "You sit in the front, Justin," she said when they reached the car. "I'll sit in the back with your Mum." She caught Ryan's slightly raised eyebrows and gave a brief nod in reply.

  "It's the druggies," Lucy muttered after they had been driving for five minutes in silence. "For some reason, you were getting too close to their turf and they decided to warn you away."

  "Why do you say that, Lucy?" Karla asked.

  The woman shrugged and stared out the window. "That's how they operate. A few of them are in the shearing gang I cook for but most don't do proper work; just live off the dole and make money cultivating weed. Probably got some growing on your man's farm…" She nodded at Ryan in the driver's seat. "It could be him that they don't like. He's come back and could put pressure on their operations. Old Clive turned a blind eye so they left him alone." She flashed a glance at Karla before looking away. "But I've said too much. Thank you for looking after Justin. He's a different lad since you've come."

  She clammed up and said no more. Karla also sat in silence and thought about the brief conversation. Lucy was probably spot on for Clive had suggested doing nothing about the marijuana they'd found. They had done nothing but as Lucy said, gangs didn't need proof about anything to provoke them. She shuddered. The peaceful rural atmosphere was beginning to show it's shady side.

  They took a loop road in before their own turn off and dropped Lucy home at a small farm cottage with well maintained lawns and garden. Justin stayed with them for a trip back to school, as he wanted to drive his quad bike home.

  "Mum's okay," he said almost as an excuse.

  "I like her," Karla said.

  Justin turned. "You do?" He sounded surprised.

  "Sure. Why shouldn't I?"

  Justin shrugged. "The snobby landowners think they're too good for us." He flushed. "Not you two though. You're both different."

  "City slickers?" Ryan asked with a chuckle.

  "More than that," Justin whispered. Like his mother earlier in the journey, he said no more and gazed out the window as they headed towards what remained of the school.

  *

  They arrived back to find the fire had been put out but all that remained was a three-wall skeleton and a collapsed roof with ash and cinders everywhere. The entire area around the site was enclosed in a yellow police tape and a tent erected on the lawn. Two police cars accompanied the fire engine on the front asphalt area and people, both adults and children milled around. Sitting forlornly at the gate sat Justin's quad bike. The boy looked apprehensively at the police cars.

  "Trouble?" Ryan asked.

  "The cops won't like it if I start up my bike and head up the road."

  "So what if I take it up around the corner for you?"

  Justin's face lit up. "You will?"

  "Why not? I think the cops have more on their plate than noticing you but it pays to be careful. Slip across the grounds and come out the back where it meets the road around the bend. I'll meet you there."

  Ryan pulled in behind the quad bike and grinned at Karla. "Partners in crime," he said.

  A moment later he was chugging up the road on the quad bike.

  "Bye Karla," Justin said. He jogged around away from the buildings and disappeared across the football field.

  The Gosnells, including Lorena and the younger children arrived. They all commented on her sling and showed concern about her wellbeing.

  "I'm okay, thanks" Karla replied and turned to Dillon. "So what happens now?"

  "The police want to speak to you but most things are done. The volunteer fire fighters will stay a while to douse any smouldering timber and later in the week the remains will be bulldozed down."

  Karla gulped as she stared around. Luckily she had a copy of all her planning and even some photocopies of children's work held in an icloud and accessible to any computer. However, her laptop was gone as were all the school's computers and ipads. She turned back to Dillon. "I have a copy of most of my records but what about the Board of Trustee's records? They'll be gone, won't they?"

  Dillon grinned slightly. "We aren't entirely behind the times, Karla. Everything has been copied on USB flashdrives and held by Ralph and myself at our places." Ralph was another parent and the board's treasurer.

  "But so much has gone." Karla whispered. "The children's work, reading books, sports gear… everything. It's just beginning
to hit me."

  "Us too," Sharon said. "But we will cope. Dillon has already been in contact with the Ministry of Education and NZTCA, that’s the school trustees association. They both promised to help."

  Karla spent the following hour talking to police, fire officers and two television crews as well as local and national press reporters who had arrived in droves. It was Ryan who finally took a stand. He told everyone that Karla was exhausted and in pain from her burns and any more interviews could wait until she had recovered.

  One television reporter muttered an apology and signalled for her team to back away.

  "Thanks," Kate said a few moments later as she sat in their car while Ryan drove home. "This was a day from hell, wasn't it?"

  "It was but I you handled everything so calmly. I'd be lashing out and swearing at everyone to bugger off."

  Kate smiled and nudged him with her sling-bound elbow. "You practically did. I don't think that TV crew knew what hit them."

  *

  CHAPTER 10

  The day following the fire was one of mixed feelings for Karla. She hardly slept as everything kept going over and over in her mind. As well her arm stung whenever she rolled over or bumped it. She was up at dawn and sat at the breakfast table gazing at the eggs on toast that Ryan had cooked up for her.

  The telephone rang. "Hello, Karla Spicer speaking."

  "Sharon here. Hope I didn't awaken you, Karla."

  "No. We're having breakfast." Karla glanced at her watch. It was only twenty past seven.

  "Dillon has got a couple of trucks coming with desks and equipment. Can you get down and unlock the hall?"

  "Sure. That was fast."

  "There are huge amounts of stuff floating around Masterton. You may remember they closed several schools down there a few years back and much of the stuff was handed onto the schools amalgamated into so they ended up with extra desks, equipment, readers and library books they often didn't need. The intermediate school and two primary schools are sending us stuff. I'll hand you onto Dillon…"