The Spark (White Gates Adventures Book 4)

by Trevor Stubbs

  12

  “What’s that smell?” demanded Bandi. “Yuk! What’re you cooking, Mum? Is there something in the oven?”

  It was evening and Yeka had been in bed for a couple of hours. She had not been in a good humour – the Christmas tree had been taken down the previous day and no amount of telling her that they would get another next year would console her. She had gone upstairs reluctantly and had taken some persuading to put her head on the pillow.

  Kakko looked up from her paper on the latest specs concerning the intricate components of the recycle buffer of the thrust system of the 4G intrahelical engine she was working on. Jack was marking some of the work the children had done on their blind script machines; Shaun was studying Abby’s latest speech that she was due to give at the Longmead debating society in the new term; and Jalli was reading an article about integrating solar panelling with pollinator hives. Matilda had taken herself off to her room to read herself to sleep.

  “No,” answered Jalli. “It could be next door. Perhaps Hatta and Callan are having a barbecue.”

  “It doesn’t smell like that,” said Bandi. The smell grew stronger and he got up to see where it was coming from. When he opened the door, he was struck by the stink of acrid fumes.

  “Something’s on fire!” he yelled. “The place is full of smoke!”

  “Yeka!” screamed Jalli. But Kakko was already out of the room and running up the stairs three at a time. Bandi followed. On the landing the smoke was so thick they couldn’t breathe.

  “Down! Down on the floor,” urged Bandi. “Crawl.”

  Kakko managed to get to Yeka’s door. They could now feel heat from above – the fire must be in the thatch. She pushed the door open. Shaun coughed. “I’ll get Nan,” he croaked and crawled on to the next door.

  Inside Yeka’s room Kakko couldn’t see anything. She felt for the bed and found her sister wrapped in the bedclothes. She tried to wake her but couldn’t, so she rolled her off onto the floor and then began crawling and dragging the bundle to the door. It seemed a long, long way to the top of the stairs. Kakko had no idea whether her sister was alive or dead – she appeared to be unconscious. At last Kakko reached the landing and slid and stumbled down the stairs with Yeka in her arms. Jalli was there to catch them. She swept up her youngest and rushed her into the garden where Jack was waiting with Shaun standing on his crutches. Kakko turned and climbed back up the stairs and found Bandi. He was attempting to pull Matilda’s lifeless body along the landing. With Kakko’s help they soon had her down the stairs. The outside air was rushing in through the front door and it was easier to breathe but the heat and the terrifying noise from above intensified. Kakko pulled herself up and then helped Bandi carry their nan into the fresh night.

  The roof was now well alight – especially above Jack and Jalli’s bedroom. If Yeka and Matilda had been at that end of the house, they probably wouldn’t have stood a chance of getting them out.

  Bandi was coughing and struggling; Kakko tried to turn her attention to Matilda but couldn’t summon the strength. But Jack was with her and was intent on checking on her breathing, while Jalli, to her relief, had managed to stir some life into Yeka.

  Then they heard sirens and, before they knew it, firefighters in protective gear were storming through the gate. “Anyone in the house?” one yelled.

  “No, no,” replied Jalli. “We’re all here.”

  Then another woman with a heavy bag came hurrying into the garden. “Paramedic,” she shouted, and put her hand to Matilda’s neck. “We’ve got a pulse. Well done! Let’s get her into the ambulance.” A second medic was already conducting Jalli carrying Yeka out of the gate.

  Soon, inside the vehicle, both Yeka and Matilda were on oxygen. Then a second ambulance drove up, blue lights flashing, and they took care of a coughing Kakko and Bandi and put masks on them, too. The pure, fresh oxygen flowed into Kakko’s lungs and she felt herself recover almost instantly. She nodded she was OK. Bandi gasped, “Yeka? Nan?”

  “The little girl and the old lady?” asked a man in a paramedic uniform. Bandi nodded.

  “They’re in the other ambulance. You brought them out?” Bandi nodded again and pointed to Kakko.

  “You did well. A fire in the roof of a thatched cottage takes hold very quickly.”

  “How? How…?” stammered Kakko.

  Then Jalli was inside the vehicle. “You OK?”

  “Yeah. Yeka? Nan?”

  “Alive. Both of them. Thanks to you and your dad’s attentions. I’ll never tell you not to act without thinking again!”

  “How?” said Kakko. “How…?”

  “No idea,” said Jalli.

  “Lady,” interrupted a paramedic, “we need to treat you and your husband for shock. Your family is in good hands.”

  Abby walked with Shaun as he swung his crutches away from the sparks that were now blowing almost as far as the road. It was then that she realised that he was in a severe state of shock, too. His former dismissive positiveness had evaporated and he was now almost incoherent – it was clear that he was a very fragile young man. A paramedic took him in hand and forced him to lie on a stretcher and covered him with a foil blanket. Then he took Abby’s arm.

  “Best get you both to the hospital, too,” he said.

  As the ambulances drove off, Jalli saw at least three fire appliances. Water was being sprayed onto the roof which was now belching black smoke. Other brave firefighters were up ladders dragging off thatch. Then it hit her. Whatever happened, even though they might all survive, the cottage would never be the same again. Tears began streaming down her face. She didn’t see Wennai running as fast as she could towards the scene.

  “The people… The family… ” shouted Wennai. “Anyone inside?”

  The firefighters didn’t hear her across the noise of their appliances and the general hubbub. Wennai found some other bystanders.

  “Anyone still in there?” she asked as a firefighter came towards them to push them back and deploy barrier tape.

  “Can’t say. I was in the third appliance. The first thing we saw was a raging inferno.” He ushered her back. “Sorry, we need you all to move further back.”

  “Did you see who was in the ambulances?”

  “There was Jack,” said another who knew the family. “I recognised him because of his being blind and that. I think Jalli got out, too. There was someone on a stretcher. Can’t say I recognised anyone else.”

  “What about Shaun?”

  “Don’t know. Was he in there?”

  “I think so. I was coming up to see him. I phoned him but he didn’t pick up.” Then the firefighters were called to manhandle a ladder and the police took over with the tape.

  “Will everyone stand further back. Please allow the firefighters to do their job… Now,” he barked at Wennai.

  Wennai called Shaun’s number. All she got was his voicemail. She texted him, telling him to contact her and let her know how he was. Then she watched as the firefighters poured streams of water into the cottage. There was nothing more she could do. She tried to stay calm, tried to pray even but it came out in a moan. Despite the heat and the fervour of the situation, she began to feel cold on the inside. She swung her arms to keep warm and then tried ringing Shaun again. Nothing, except an infernal woman’s voice inviting her to leave a voicemail. Why didn’t they let it ring longer? She swore at the woman – even though she knew she was only a computer.

  The smoke and flames were beginning to subside to be replaced by clouds of steam.

  At last the noise lessened.

  “Is everyone out?” shouted Wennai again as a policeman came within earshot.

  “Are you a relative?”

  “N… No. Just a friend.”

  “Look, lady, you’ll have to ask through the proper channels. All I can tell you is some people were taken by ambulance to the hospital… Sorry, I can’t tell you any more. Your best bet is to contact the hospital. I don’t think you should hang about here…�
� Wennai swayed. “You OK?”

  “Ye… Yes.” Wennai’s head was becoming light. She had to put in all her effort to stay on her feet. Her head swam but she couldn’t pass out! Not now… Then she lost the battle; her world faded and she slumped forward. The policeman caught her. Looking up for help, he called to his chief. “This young woman’s out for the count,” he said as he gently laid her down onto the grass.

  “Was she inside?”

  “No. She was just asking about the family – said she was a friend and then fainted. Looks like shock to me…” Wennai began to come round and tried to sit up.

  “I think you should get attention, miss,” said the police chief.

  “No, I’ll be alright…”

  But she clearly wasn’t.

  “Excuse me.” Hatta Giroonan came forward. “I’m a neighbour. This girl is a friend of one of the young men who live here.” She bent down to Wennai. “Would you like me to take you to the hospital?”

  Wennai nodded. She had to find out if Shaun was safe. Then she started to shiver.

  Hatta became worried and took her in charge. She wrapped Wennai in her own coat and led her to her car.

  ***

  Inside the hospital, Jalli was immediately reunited with Yeka. They had cut off her smoke-stained blackened pyjamas and dressed her in a clean cotton hospital gown with pink teddy bears printed on it. The doctor pronounced that he didn’t think there would be any long-term damage. They had got her out of the smoke just in time.

  The nurse allowed Kakko and Bandi in to see Matilda as soon as they had decided they were well enough to do so. They found her sitting up in the bed, conscious but pale.

  “They tell me,” she croaked, “you saved my life. All I remember was that I woke up coughing, and realised what was happening. I remember getting out of bed but then I must have fainted.”

  “You were on the floor behind the door,” explained Bandi. “I’m afraid I had to push very hard to get the door open. There was so much smoke and I couldn’t stand. I had to drag you. I’m sorry. I pulled you very roughly. I wasn’t sure we were going to make it…”

  “Which explains why I feel bruises in places I hadn’t realised I had got. They tell me, although I shall never see it, that my behind is all black and blue.”

  “Sorry… ” said Bandi again.

  “Young man, you had no alternative. I think I can put up with a few bruises… Ehrg…” Matilda found that getting animated was not good for her lungs and she fell silent.

  “You’ll mend,” said Kakko in an off-hand, matter-of-fact kind of voice. Matilda smiled and waved her away. The girl was incorrigible. But she knew Kakko was not really in charge of her feelings. None of them were. The shock had hit them deeply.

  Hatta drove Wennai straight to the hospital. When they arrived, Wennai became agitated and started asking more questions but Hatta would not let her talk. Hatta explained to the nurses in A&E that Wennai had collapsed while watching the fire. She was now conscious but rambling.

  “I want… Shaun… his family…”

  The doctor injected a sedative and she relaxed a bit.

  “I’ll make enquiries for you,” he assured her, “but you must rest here. I don’t want you roaming the hospital. Can you give me a surname?”

  “Smith,” said Hatta. “I don’t know how many were inside when the fire started. Quite a number I would have thought.”

  A nurse was back very soon. “They are all here. All the eight are accounted for and receiving treatment – nothing is life-threatening. Like you, young lady, they are in a state of shock and they have been sedated. I will let them know you came.”

  “Thanks,” said Wennai relieved. “But can I go—?”

  “No. Not tonight. They must sleep… and so should you. Where do you live?”

  “Not far. In the city.”

  “I suggest we phone your family and ask them to collect you.”

  Wennai nodded.

  ***

  The warm sun permeated the blinds as the doctor was saying that he recommended they keep Yeka in just for a few more hours for observation, then they could take her home. It was then that it occurred to Jalli that their home was going to be a mess.

  “The cot-tage?” she said to Jack. “What are we going to do?”

  “We must get back and sort things out,” answered Jack. “Let me go see how my mum is getting on and then we’ll go home.”

  “I don’t think it’ll be habitable,” stated Jalli. “You didn’t see it. The flames…”

  Just then, Hatta and Callan appeared at the entrance to the ward.

  “Can we come in?” asked Hatta, gently tapping on the door.

  “Of course! Hatta, Callan, so pleased to see you… I’m sorry; we must have disturbed your night. Was it you who sent for the fire brigade?”

  “Yes,” said Hatta. “Callan saw what happened.”

  “He saw the flames coming from the roof?”

  “Before that. He saw the flaming torch coming from the wood…”

  Hatta stopped when she saw the shocked expression on Jalli’s face.

  “Flaming torch…?” Jalli mouthed.

  “They haven’t told you?”

  “Who?”

  “The police. They’ve been at our house all night.”

  “We haven’t seen them yet. We’ve only just finished with the doctors… getting over the shock,” said Jalli.

  “Are you all alright?”

  “Yes, thank you. We are. Nobody’s severely hurt. Yeka and Nan passed out with the smoke – but they’re recovering. The doctors are keeping Matilda in for a few days, and Yeka here is getting better. They just want us to stay in for a few more hours to make sure… So, what did happen? You say a flaming torch?”

  “Yes—” began Callan.

  Hatta put a hand on her husband’s arm. “We thought you had all got out but in all the confusion we couldn’t be sure – it was dark, and the flames. We can’t say how relieved we are… We brought Wennai into the hospital. She fainted. She didn’t know how you all were – how Shaun was. She was in a bit of a state. I took her home after she was treated.”

  “We’ll call her. Where’s Shaun?”

  “Don’t know,” said Jack. “I don’t know anything. With not seeing. This is about the most frustrated I have been since… since I woke up in that hospital in Wanulka and realised for the first time that I couldn’t see… Callan, tell me about this firebrand.”

  “You know how fascinated I am these days by the stars. Stargazing has grown on me over the years of listening to your tales. Well, last night it was perfect. There were no clouds and the stars were brilliant. I took myself out into the garden, and sat in my deckchair to look up at the heavens. Because it was so dark, I didn’t see anyone in the wood until he – I say ‘he’; it could have been a ‘she’ – struck a match and lit something. Whatever it was, he must have dowsed it in petrol or something because it flared up fast. Then he threw it onto your roof. I saw it swing through the trees. It landed above where you sleep – on the wood side of the cottage.

  “Then he ran away through the undergrowth back into the heart of the wood. I was stunned when I saw your roof catch. It was amazing how quickly it began to burn. I rushed up the lane to warn you. By the time I got to your gates, I saw some of you coming out – I knew you were aware, so I went back home to find my phone and call the emergency services. They got to you pretty quickly because by the time I got back to your gate to see what I could do, I heard sirens and saw the blue lights racing up the lane. Then the police came and prevented us from following. You sure you’re all OK?”

  “We’re fine,” said Jack. “Badly shocked of course… but I can’t get over what you’re saying. You’re telling us the fire was started deliberately.”

  “Definitely. I saw somone throw a burning torch.”

  “Who would want to do that… to us?” Jalli began to shudder. “We could all have died in there. Does someone want to kill us? If we’d all been in be
d asleep, we could all have died… It was only the quick thinking of my grown-up children that saved Yeka and Nan.” Jalli went cold and began to shake. Jack held her tightly. A nurse came across and felt Jalli’s wrist.

  “She’s still in shock,” she pronounced and rang for assistance. They called for a doctor, who ordered another jab.

  “She must rest,” he said firmly. “I suggest you leave her for now.”

  “I’m sorry,” said Hatta; “we didn’t know you hadn’t realised how it started.” Jack led them out of the cubicle.

  “That’s OK,” said Jack. “We had to find out soon. Better from you than the police. She’ll be alright… Tell me, what state is the house in? Is there any chance we can stay there this evening?”

  “No way,” said Callan. “There’s no roof left. It’s all blackened down one side and running with water.”

  “Callan,” chided Hatta. “You have no tact at all! But he’s right, you can’t stay there until it’s been repaired. We left the police and the fire brigade still looking for clues.”

  “I’ll make arrangements with a hotel,” sighed Jack. “I think the insurance will cover that… But all our documents are in the house, of course. I can’t really remember the details of the insurance off the top of my head.”

  “But you know the insurance company name?”

  “Yes, I think so.”

  “I’ll phone them for you if you like.”

  “Thanks. That would be helpful… Tell them we’ll confirm everything as soon as we have access to the files… Jalli’s in no state to look for anything at the moment…”

  ***

  Back in Woodglade, the fire service and the police were continuing to investigate. The fire officers declared the fire out but the damage was severe. The lawn was piled up with half-burnt thatching straw, the roof was a criss-cross of blackened and charred timbers, and water was still trickling from a pool that had collected around the greenhouse. Inside, up the stairs, greasy with ash and melted plastic, the forensic team were attempting to verify Callan Giroonan’s witness statement. Officers were also over the fence in the wood.