The Girl in the Hard Hat (41 page)

‘What?’

‘I eat. Trust me, I’ll be fine. Besides,’ he shrugged, ‘we won’t all fit in one. Not comfortably anyway.’

Gavin walked into the linen cupboard, grabbed three blankets and a few sheets. ‘We’ll swap you linen for food.’

Chub took the pile of bedding and stepped out to allow Gavin in to choose a few bits and pieces.

Wendy shivered as she waited, her eyes darting to the windows across the other side of the reception room. It was so dark outside. She couldn’t see more than a few metres in front of the window.

‘Okay.’ Gavin deposited the food in the second storeroom and came back out to shake Chub’s hand. ‘Good luck.’

‘You too, mate.’ Chub squeezed Wendy’s shoulder and reluctantly she tore her gaze from the windows.

‘Don’t come out for any noise, all right,’ Chub warned. ‘Stay put until you hear the sirens.’

He kissed her on the cheek and then, as though slightly embarrassed, turned quickly and walked into his cocoon, slamming and locking the door behind him.

Gavin and Wendy walked into the other storeroom and shut the door.

It had been dark outside, but the storeroom was pitch black with the door closed. Not a single iota of light penetrated their senses.

They stood in the centre of the room, their wet bodies pressed together. Wendy shuddered as another distant explosion crashed overhead. The building trembled. She began to quake. Tears rolled down her face. The storm roared outside like a jet engine. It was overwhelming.

Almost.

She felt two hands on her shoulders and Gavin’s lips spoke close to her ear so he wouldn’t have to shout over the blare of the cyclone. ‘We should strip down to our underwear and wrap ourselves in blankets. We could be here for a few hours and it would be better to be warm. What do you think?’

She nodded, before she realised he couldn’t see her body language in the dark. At her silence his hand moved up her shoulders and she felt his thumb against her cheek, wiping her tears away. She nodded again with his hands on her face, knowing he would feel it, and then moved away, not wanting him to realise how undone she really was.

With trembling fingers she unbuttoned her shirt. It felt so good to rip that thing off her clammy skin. Her jeans were next. Wet as they were, it was like peeling off a pair of tights. A blanket flew around her and suddenly she was enveloped in warm wool. A little scratchy against the skin, but dry was better than wet.

She said, ‘Thank you,’ but, because she hadn’t shouted, didn’t actually hear the sound of her own voice in the darkness.

His hands were suddenly in her hair, undoing the clip that kept it up. He turned her around and started drying her soaked locks with a sheet.

She felt like a child. A helpless, lost, vulnerable little child.

She wanted more from this man than these polite gestures. The silent darkness in this room was like a wall between them. Devoid of his teasing grin and mocking voice, she felt so bereft.

A loud
BANG!
shook the building, followed by the squeal of tearing metal. Followed by another
BANG!

It sounded like they were losing the roof over the mess, or maybe it was the games room. Who knew?

Who wanted to know?

She fell back against him, her breathing short and shallow as she began to tremble violently.

‘Hey, it’s all right. We’ll be okay, Sarge.’ She felt his lips against her ear lobe and shuddered. Not from fear this time but from a building awareness that was curling through her body like the flame of a growing fire. He drew his blanket around her shoulders as well. She turned in his arms, letting her blanket slide off her shoulders and pool at their feet, happy to take the warmth of his body instead.

She felt his chest spasm at the sudden feel of her skin against his. She laid her ear against his heart. The steady, if accelerated, beat was a welcome change from the racket going on outside. His arms tightened about her, his lips kissing her hairline.

The shelving rattled as another
BANG!
erupted somewhere in the building. She lifted her face up to gasp or cry out but he moved his head and his lips were on hers.

Like a shot of morphine, relief was instantaneous. There was no cyclone.

Except the one raging inside of her.

They kissed like they were being chased, devouring each other with feverish abandonment. She pressed her body into his, her hand at the base of his neck, feeling the sudden leap of his pulse.

Something pelted a wall behind them, like shots fired from a machine gun.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

She pulled him closer. Their mouths did not break contact.

He tied the blanket in a loose knot behind her neck so his hands could roam down her back and undo the clasp of her bra. It fell away, along with all inhibitions. She slid her undies down with one hand and kicked them off.

A
CRASH
sounded in the kitchen. The tumbling of pots and pans. Had the shelving torn down?

She didn’t care.

Her fingertips feathered over the contours of his abdomen, over his chest. Glorying in all that was male, in all that was Gavin, in all that was hers.

Metal drew hard against metal.
Creeeaaaaakkkkk!
It wailed in desperate protest. No doubt the building was under attack from stray sheeting.

His long strong fingers curled around her bare bottom and then under her thighs. She felt herself leave the floor as he pulled her legs up around him. She hooked her ankles behind his thighs, her arms about his neck, grazing her chest against his.

BANG! BANG! BANG! CRASH! SMASH!

His lips slid down her throat as her back hit the wall behind them. She grasped him tighter, welding herself to him till she didn’t know where her body ended and his began.

CRASH!

SMASH!

Her fingers curled desperately into his hair as she moaned with the storm.

CREEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAK!

Wendy’s eyes flew open as she cried out.

Fireworks burst overhead.

Rocks hurled, shards pierced, glass shattered, walls collapsed. The shelving rattled till she thought the joints might give way.

CREEEEAAAK! BANG!

But still no burst of light penetrated their dark cavern. The walls had not caved in. The roof had clung on. The rain had not snuck in through the cracks. She closed her eyes as her forehead fell to his shoulder. His lips were on the curve of skin where her neck met her shoulder. His body went limp.

The storm continued to rage outside. But as far as Wendy was concerned, it was already all over.

Wendy awoke to the sound of a FESA siren.

This one at least was good news. The cyclone had passed. They were giving the ‘all clear’.

She had absolutely no idea what time it was, but felt like they had been trapped for hours. Probably all night.

She and Gavin had eaten a few biscuits and things around what she assumed was dinner time. They’d spoken sparingly as it was difficult to hold a conversation over the noise.

Then they’d noticed the storeroom was starting to flood: a circumstance that was possibly even more scary than being out there in the raging storm.

Luckily, the water in the storeroom rose only a few inches before stopping. Gavin pulled out one of the steel shelves and leaned it against the wall so that they could actually sit on the shelving and take their feet off the floor. They laid blankets on the shelving and around themselves. For the longest time, they sat side by side on a steel shelf, hands clasped, backs against a cold wall.

Some time during their vigil, she must have fallen asleep. They were no longer holding hands, but his arm was around her, and her head was on his shoulder. As the wail of the siren faded, an eerie silence fell.

She slowly lifted her head, feeling her neck cramp. It was still pitch black in their safe haven. But they were unhurt. A smile tickled her mouth.

We’re alive!

She felt his thumb rubbing up and down her bare arm and wondered if he had slept too or had been awake the whole time. He certainly didn’t sound groggy when he asked, ‘You okay, Sarge?’

‘Fine. You?’

‘Perfect.’

‘Have I been asleep long?’

‘A few hours. I was glad – you needed it.’

A thought occurred to her. ‘Chub!’ She flung off the blanket that had been around her and started to ease forwards.

‘Easy now,’ he warned.

She landed with a splash on the ground in front of the shelving.

‘Oooh gross.’ She swore. ‘It’s so cold and I can feel things floating in it.’ She rolled her shoulders. Her limbs were sore and aching from sleeping in an awkward position.

She heard Gavin’s dry chuckle in the darkness. ‘Forgot about the moat, did you, Sarge?’

‘Well, we should try to get out now, don’t you think? Check if Chub’s okay?’

‘You might want to put some clothes on first.’

‘Yes.’ Her voice croaked. She was glad it was still pitch black so hiding her embarrassment was super easy.

‘They’re probably still a bit damp though,’ he said, suddenly sounding a little breathless.

‘Well, we don’t have much of a choice.’ She was surprised that her voice didn’t tremble on the words.

She felt the shelves, searching for the place where she’d left her shirt, until her fingers touched material. It was a little wet but she could bear it.

Where the hell is my underwear?

Heat infused her cheeks as she remembered the circumstances of their removal. Her bra was probably floating somewhere in the swamp at her feet.

So she decided to do without. She slipped on her shirt and then felt around for her jeans. They were definitely not dry and grated against her skin when she sat back on the edge of the shelf and pulled them on. Wet and tight, they were about as pleasant to put on as freshly mixed cement.

She heard Gavin getting dressed next to her and fought the urge to ask him,
Did last night mean something to you?

Because it meant something to me.

But that conversation had to wait, especially with Chub possibly seriously injured next door.

She cleared her throat. ‘Should I try the door?’

‘I’ll do it,’ Gavin said.

A splash as he jumped down to the door and then the click of the lock releasing. The door opened about two inches before jamming.

‘Damn,’ Gavin muttered. ‘Something has fallen on it.’

The two inches, however, was enough to let in a shaft of light. It was definitely the next morning.

‘Little mate?’ a third voice called. It was Chub, and Wendy breathed a sigh of relief. She waded gingerly over to the door.

‘Cobber,’ she called through the space. ‘Are you all right? We’re fine but we can’t get out.’

Suddenly, a portion of Chub’s face appeared in front of hers. ‘Yep, out and about over here. Looks like you got some sort of metal beam leaning on your door. It’s wedged against the wall in front of the storeroom. Hang on, I’ll see if I can move it.’

‘Be careful,’ Gavin warned. ‘You don’t want to disturb anything else.’

They heard Chub grunting and then the clang of metal bouncing on concrete. The door to their storeroom flung wide. Wendy’s arm immediately rose up to protect her eyes from the sudden burst of sunshine.

‘Well, aren’t you two a welcome sight?’ came Chub’s jolly greeting.

She slowly lowered her arm.

Oh my God!

It looked like a war zone. The building was not even a shadow of its former self. It wasn’t even a building. More like a mass of brick, steel, rubble and smashed furniture. Of course, not all the walls were down. But much of the roof was certainly off. She looked up and saw no ceiling, just clear blue sky.

‘Frankly, I think it’s an improvement.’ Chub rubbed his hands together. ‘Always thought this building needed a facelift.’

‘I think it’s had a little more than a facelift.’ Gavin’s head tilted back, his eyes squinting at the clouds. ‘Nothing like being chewed up and spat out by the Pilbara.’

Wendy rubbed her cold, damp arms. ‘Do you suppose we can get out of here?’

Chubb nodded. ‘Not a bad idea.’ He stepped over a fallen roof beam and around the reception desk, which looked like it had been cut in half. The windows were all smashed. If he’d been smaller, he could have crawled out through one of them. Instead, he stepped cautiously through the debris to the far wall, which was still standing, and unlocked the door there.

He stepped out of the building. Wordlessly, Gavin took Wendy’s hand and led her carefully in Chub’s wake. When they stepped through what felt like the ‘portal of life’ Chub noticed their joined hands. But his eyes flicked away and, to Wendy’s relief, he said nothing.

In any event, it was good to be breathing fresh air even though she was chilled to the bone. As they stepped out onto the car park bitumen, a squeal erupted a few metres away. Wendy looked across the debris-littered tar and spied Carl and Dimitri standing in front of Chub’s upturned ute.

Carl looked positively green as his gaze ran over the savaged vehicle.

There were two FESA officers beside them. A FESA ute and a Barnes Inc ute were parked side by side further back. The car park flooding was pretty minor, though the rest of the camp didn’t look like it had fared as well. Some dongas were still standing, but at least half were tipped on their side.