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I just laughed and didn’t say a word.
‘Then,’ Homer said, ‘a second later along came this flame. I don’t think the soldiers could work it out. They just stood there, pointing at it and calling to each other. They couldn’t see the tanker, cos it was tucked very nicely in under the bridge. But then they all suddenly decided that they were in danger. They turned around and went belting off the bridge. They were just in time. You’ll be glad to know,’ he said, looking at me, ‘that I don’t think any of them were hurt.’
I nodded a thank-you to him. It meant a lot to me, but not everything. If I knowingly did things like blowing up bridges, then the fact that by sheer good luck no one was hurt didn’t let me off the hook. Once I’d made my decision to go with the tanker I’d been ready to live with the consequences, whatever they were.
‘There was a pause of another second,’ Homer went on. ‘And then she blew. I tell you, I’ve never seen anything like it. The bridge lifted about five metres at the tanker end. It actually hung in the air for a few seconds, before it fell back. But when it fell back everything seemed just slightly out of alignment. Then suddenly there was a second explosion and bits flew everywhere. This massive fireball went straight up, then there were two more explosions, and all we could see was fire. There were spot fires everywhere, as well as the main fire. The whole park seemed to be burning, let alone the bridge. Like Lee said, it was a real blast.’
‘Well, Wirrawee’s been wanting a new bridge for a long time,’ Lee said. ‘Looks like they’ll have to get one now.’
Homer’s bedtime story had been exciting, and I’d enjoyed it, even though I was almost scared by the power of what we’d done, and what we were able to do. The only thing Homer had left out was the way he’d wept when he’d found us both safe. I saw the sweetness of Homer then, that he’d had as a little guy, but which some people probably thought he’d lost as a teenager.
We went off to some shady spots in among the rocks. Lee had first sentry duty. I wanted to sit up with him, to keep him company, but suddenly a wave of fatigue hit me, so powerfully that I really did buckle at the knees. I crawled into a cool gap between some boulders, and with a purloined pillow made myself comfortable. I went into a sleep so deep that it was more like unconsciousness. Lee told me later that he’d tried to get me up to do a sentry turn, but he couldn’t wake me, so he did my shift for me. I didn’t wake till 4 o’clock.
It was nearly dark before any of us showed much life or energy. The only thing that got us going was a desire to get home, to see the other four again. We decided it was safe to use the bikes – we worked out a route that would both take us back to my place, where we’d left the Landrover, and a leapfrog pattern of travelling that should protect us from unwelcome patrols.
It’s fu
So, at about ten o’clock we set off. We were careful, we travelled slowly, we were as quiet as possible. It was about midnight when we rode up my familiar driveway, bypassing the house and going straight to the garage. The Landrover was hidden in the bush, but I wanted some more tools from the shed. I switched the bike off and put it on its stand then turned the corner into the big machinery shed.
What I saw there was like one of those Christmas tableaus at church, with Joseph and Mary and the shepherds and stuff, standing in their positions, lifelike but frozen. The tableau in our shed was lit by a dim torch, its batteries starting to weaken. Kevin was sitting against an old woolpress that was up against the wall. Crouched beside him was Robyn, with one hand on his shoulder. Chris was standing on his other side, looking down at Corrie. Corrie was lying across Kevin’s lap. Her eyes were closed and her head was back and there was no colour in her face. As I stood there Kevin and Chris and Robyn all turned their faces towards me, but Corrie still didn’t open her eyes. I couldn’t move. It was as though I too had joined the tableau.
Then Kevin said, ‘She’s been shot Ellie’.
His voice broke the spell. I ran forward and knelt beside Corrie. I heard the exclamations from Homer and the others as they came into the shed, but I had eyes only for Corrie. There was a little blood coming out of her mouth, tiny bright bubbles of pink blood.
‘Where was she hit?’ I asked them.
‘In the back,’ Chris answered. He seemed almost u
‘What are we going to do?’ Fi asked, coming forward. I glanced up at her. Her huge eyes seemed to fill her face with shock and horror.
‘We’ll have to take her into town,’ Homer said. ‘We know the Hospital’s still functioning. We’ll have to trust them to look after her. There’s no other choice.’
He was right. There wasn’t.
‘I’ll get the Landie,’ I said, standing up.
‘No,’ Homer said swiftly. ‘The Merc’s still here. It’s closer and it’ll give her a better ride.’
I ran to get it. I backed it into the shed and jumped out to help lift Corrie in. But they didn’t need me for that; they moved her carefully and slowly into the back seat. Then we stuffed the footspace with hessian sacks, and jammed cushions all around her, so she couldn’t roll or move. I choked on my sobs as I watched her lying there, her chest slowly rising and falling with each gurgling breath. This was my dear Corrie, my lifelong friend. If Homer was my brother, Corrie was my sister. Her face looked so calm, but I felt that there was a terrible war being waged inside her body, a fight to the death. I straightened up and turned to the others. Homer was speaking.
‘This is going to sound cruel,’ he said, ‘but the only thing to do is to take her to the gate of the Hospital, abandon the car with Corrie in it, ring the bell, and run like hell. We’ve got to try to think rationally about it. Seven people are better than six. If we lose not just Corrie but someone else too, well, it weakens us badly. Not to mention the unpleasant questions that person would have to face.’
Kevin stood. ‘No,’ he said. ‘No. I don’t give a stuff what’s rational and what’s logical. Corrie’s my mate and I’m not going to dump her and run. It has to be me or Ellie because we’re the only drivers, and Ellie, if you don’t mind, I want to do it.’
I didn’t say anything, didn’t move. I couldn’t.
Kevin walked around to the driver’s seat and got in. Fi leaned through the window and kissed him. He held her arm briefly then let it go.
‘Good luck Kevin,’ Lee said.
‘Yes,’ Homer echoed, as the car started to reverse. ‘Luck Kevin.’
Chris patted the bo
‘Kevin,’ I said. ‘Give my love to Corrie.’
‘Sure will,’ he answered.
‘And to you Kevin.’
‘Thanks Ellie.’
The car was out in the open and making its turn. He put it in first and turned on the lights and drove away. I could see the concentration in his face as he avoided the bumps in the driveway. I knew Corrie was in good hands, and I understood the lights too. I stood watching until the red tailspots had disappeared in the distance.
‘Let’s go home,’ Homer said, ‘to Hell.’
Epilogue
It’s hard to work out where stories begin – I seem to remember saying that at the start of this one. And it’s hard to work out where they end, too. Our story hasn’t ended yet. We’ve been holed up here for a week since Kevin drove away with Corrie in the back seat. I’ve been writing frantically all that time, but the others have been up on Tailor’s Stitch a lot, checking around. There’s no sign of any patrols yet, so we think Kevin’s been able to fake them out with some story about where he and Corrie were hiding. That camping stuff was still under the Masonic Hall, so maybe he remembered that and made good use of it.