Arcadium (27 page)

Liss has
nowhere to go and is crushing up against my face. My fingers start
slipping and suddenly I’m bumped off. My arms flail back and flap
about, trying to keep my body upright through the fall. The ground
comes up so fast but somehow I land on my feet, though it’s not
without pain.

I scream out as
my shins explode with stinging heat. I drop the torch on the
concrete but I’ve no time to cry about my pain. I think my legs are
still in one piece just shocked from the sudden landing.

“Jump!” I call
up and grapple for the torch at the same time. Liss comes flying
down to me and we both collapse backward. “It’s a big drop, Kean!”
I yell. I know he’ll be fine with it. I just focus on getting us
back on our feet and shining the torch up so they can see where
they’re going.

Henry dangles
off Trouble’s back and I hope his grip is good, a fall from there
would mean a bad ending. Above them I see other people are flooding
out onto the roof and following.

Kean touches
down and he grabs my arms so they make a sort of net. Trouble is so
strong he lowers himself to the very last rung and hangs there to
give Henry the best chance.

“Henry, drop
now!” Kean grips my wrists and the torch points to his stomach.
Henry lets go and drops quicker than I thought possible. We lurch
forward and catch him perfectly. We step back and Trouble drops
down, angling himself so Henry can get back on his shoulders.

“One minute
left, guys, lets go!” I point the torch toward the back fence and
sprint. For every single step I take I’m convinced the explosion is
coming. With less than a minute to go we’re out of the building,
but just how far away do we have to be?

I don’t know
why but as I run my mind goes to Jacob. Is he still inside? Did he
get out? And then Adrian. Is he still taped to the chair in the
surveillance room? If he is… But I can’t allow myself to worry
about them anymore.

I reach the
wooden fence and climb, gripping with my strongest fingers and
thumbs. My hands are clumsy and they shriek with pain but I figure
that pain is better than being dead. Liss overtakes me on the
right, climbing effortlessly, and is up first. I flick myself over
and straddle the top of the fence, shining the torch down so Liss
can see where to go. Kean is up and trying to help Trouble, though
there’s not much he can do.

I can’t help
but think all this commotion will be attracting the infected people
in droves. I flash the torch around the back yard just before we
drop down, and I run straight for the side gate. “Liss, remember
we’re out in the open now. Infected people could be anywhere.”

That’s the
overly protective sister in me, running from a potential explosion
but still finding the time to warn Liss about everything else. We
burst through the side gate and forge on down the driveway.

Thirty
seconds
, my mind screams.
Thirty seconds
.

I pause briefly
when we reach the street and then head right. We need to get to the
main road, get a car and get out of here.

“How far do we
have to be?” Kean yells, running up along side me.

“I don’t know!”
We hit Centre Road at top speed and turn left, heading away from
Arcadium. The night is alive with the sound of running footsteps.
They almost sound like rain, the way our soft soles patter against
the bitumen with abandon.

“We should take
cover!” Kean yells. “Now, before the blast!”

We weave
through silent cars, following the small torch beam through the
darkness.

“Florence. Find
cover,” Kean yells again.

With just
seconds left I dive behind a car and drag Liss with me. Kean waits
for the others and helps Henry down. I pull Trouble down too, just
in case he tries to get up.

I glance up at
Kean. He’s just about to crouch down and I feel the blast before I
hear it. It’s like a wind snapping out, surging under the car and
over it. I duck my head and pull Liss in tight as the sky erupts
with sound.

It’s so sudden,
like a deep vibrating thunderclap right inside my head. As the
sound dies down my ears begin to ring.

Debris clatters
to the ground around us: pieces of stone and shards of building.
And when I open my eyes again the sky is blood red. I let Liss go
and kneel behind the car, watching. A huge fireball is burning up
into the night sky and a cloud of smoke spreads out in the wind,
blocking out the stars.

“Is everyone
ok?” I say.

Liss is
standing now, wiping her face. Trouble is shaking dust from his
hair but Henry is just sitting against the back of the car, staring
out into the darkness. I follow his gaze and realise what he’s
looking for. Kean is gone.

I jump to my
feet and take a few steps. “Kean?” I call.

Nothing.

“Where’s Kean?
Henry, do you see him?” I spin about in case he’s sitting off to
one side. Liss and Trouble are watching me, slowly coming toward
me.

“Help me! Help
me find Kean!”

Liss starts
calling out his name. Trouble hoists Henry up onto his back and
they move between the cars, searching left and right. Where is
he?

I lead the way
with the torch, swooping it low over the ground. When I last saw
Kean he was on his feet… how far could he be now? How far could the
blast propel him? “Kean! Where are you?” I scream. I don’t even
care about being quiet now.

How can we have
come this far? After everything we’ve been through, this is how it
ends? I just can’t accept that. I don’t even care if an infected
person jumps out and attacks me right now. It wouldn’t matter.
Maybe I’d just let it. Maybe I don’t want to be this fragile,
knowing that if any thing happens to Kean, I can break this
easily.

“Kean!”

We move
together, looking back and forth. Trouble actually yells his name.
I suppose it’s not hard to pick up on when we’ve screamed it a
hundred times. But it’s the way Trouble says it that gets to me.
It’s like he’s sifting through sand looking for a tiny piece of
himself.

Trouble’s the
only one calling out now. Everyone else has fallen silent.

“There!” Liss
points to the right. And I see Kean’s crumpled body pressed up
against a car. He’s not moving.

I run forward
and skid to a stop beside him. I don’t know what to do, if I should
touch him or leave him. Either way I have to do something, and I
don’t think I can cause him any more damage, so I roll him over and
touch his face. “Kean? Are you all right?”

His eyes are
closed, hiding his crystal green gaze. His lips are parted slightly
and sit perfectly still. It’s like touching a stuffed toy.

I glance up at
Henry but he can’t look away from his brother. And I feel ashamed
suddenly, because I can barely look at Kean now.

Suddenly Kean
coughs.

Trouble kneels
down. “Kean?” he says.

Liss touches
his foot and Kean groans this time. His lips pinch into a grimace
but I don’t feel relief. Kean’s been thrown far. He could have any
number on injuries that we can’t treat.

Kean opens his
eyes and looks around. “What do you know, Trouble knows another
word.” He coughs. “Second best word to know in the apocalypse.”

“Can you sit
up?” I say.

Kean grabs my
hand and hauls himself up. “That was some powerful blast… like
being smacked in the face with a mallet.”

Even though
it’s a totally inappropriate response to have, I laugh. Trouble
puts Henry down next to me and Henry bursts out laughing too. Liss
breaks into a smile, looking between us.

“I thought you
were gone,” I say.

Kean stares at
me for a moment and smiles. “I told you I could be the hero. Just a
few more and I’ll be equal with you.”

“You can be
equal now,” I say, shaking my head. “We’re totally equal. You can
even be ahead if you like.”

A car rumbles
to life and we all look over. Trouble is hanging out the driver’s
side window doing a double thumbs-up. Kean gets to his feet slowly,
clutching my hand. I grab Liss around the shoulders and Trouble
comes back to pick up Henry.

“I feel like we
should be doing some kind of epic slow motion walk away,” Kean
says.

“Yeah,” Henry
says, over Trouble’s shoulder. “With the buildings burning in the
background and an ACDC song playing.”

We pile into
the car; Kean and Trouble sit up front and Henry, Liss and I sit in
the back. Henry grabs the driver’s seat headrest as the car begins
to move and pulls himself forward. “I’m going to need another
wheelchair, guys.”

Kean leans his
head back. “I’m sure there’s an old folk’s home around here
somewhere.”

“I don’t want
old people wheels.” Henry grins. “I need light performance
materials. I need cool.”

“For picking up
all the chicks?”

Henry and Kean
keep shooting witty comments back and forth. Liss yawns and I rub
some dirt or something off her head. “So how far is it from here?”
she asks.

I want to
answer with an eye roll but I just put my arm around her shoulder.
“Not far, this time.”

I lean forward
and point for Trouble. “That way.”

“Where are we
going?” Henry asks. “It’s not another Arcadium, is it?”

I look over and
shake my head. “No. No way.” I draw in a breath. “No one’s going to
look after us but ourselves. We’ll make our own sanctuary and wait
for the world to catch up again.”

“That sounds
better.” Henry sits back. “We’re going to need new threads too,
these are so uncool.”

I glance down
at Liss and she giggles. I lean my cheek on the top of her head and
close my eyes.

I can’t believe
we’re alive, all of us. And together again on the open road. It’s
dark and yeah there are infected people out there still, but
everything I need is right here. And whatever happens next is
probably supposed to be the happily ever after. But whatever.

Epilogue

Liss and I sit
on the swing together, and I swear her laugh is contagious. Her
purple dress floats with each sway and her bare feet dangle over
the wooden balcony. Above us the trees groan in a gentle breeze and
the sun trickles through the leaves, making her hair sparkle. We
swing back and this time when we swoop forward I step off.

My bare feet
connect with the wooden balcony floor and I can’t tell you how nice
it is not to have to wear shoes all the time anymore.

Trouble is
leaning on the balcony, looking out into the forest. He looks over
at me as I pass by and gives me one of his sunshine smiles. “Hi,”
he says.

“Hi.” I smile
back.

Liss calls to
him and he walks over. He gives the swing a big push and she
cheers.

Henry is behind
them, trying to lure birds onto the balcony rail with crushed
M&Ms.

The leaves
above us brush against one another and sound like running water.
They sprinkle the golden afternoon light across us like
glitter.

“Lunch!” Kean
steps out of the house wearing a white shirt, jeans and an apron.
He’s holding a plate of baked beans and something wrapped up in tin
foil. A pair of tongs is tucked into the apron. “I’m going to put
this on the barbecue.”

“What is it?” I
say wrapping my arm around his torso. He leans in close and kisses
me. It doesn’t matter how many times he does it, it still makes my
heart go wacky.

“Damper bread.”
He grins. “A true Australian bush meal.”

A strong gust
of wind sways the house gently. It’s on stilts, on the side of a
hill, so it happens sometimes. You get used to it.

I always
remember the Dandenong Ranges as a nice quiet place in the normal
times, so I couldn’t think of anywhere better to be now. It’s about
an hours drive from the gutted Arcadium site, and far enough away
from the city.

We have beds
and rainwater tanks and even have warm baths sometimes if we can be
bothered to boil a few pots of water. We have the barbecue too and
all these extra gas canisters to warm our food, so we’re doing
pretty well.

“Hey guys!”
Henry whispers as loud as he can. “Liss, Trouble. Look.”

Trouble pulls
the swing to a stop and they both look over. Henry has managed to
bribe a green and orange parrot-looking bird into sitting on the
railing. Liss creeps over to Henry, trying not to startle the bird,
and she drags Trouble along with her.

Trouble kneels
next to Henry and Liss sits on his knee. And they stare at this
bird with so much wonder you’d think they’ve never seen one
before.

“What are you
going to call him?” Liss says.

Henry looks
thoughtful. “I’ll call him… Roger.”

“That’s a
terrible name,” Liss giggles. “It might be a girl. Call her
Helly.”

“But what if
it’s a boy?”

“Then… call it…
Ro… He. Oh, I’ve got it. Hero!”

“Yeah, Hero. I
like that.” Henry nods. “Good birdy, birdy, Hero. Eat your
M&Ms.”

Kean just
laughs, kisses my forehead and moves onto the barbecue. “You guys
want to ask the bird if it likes damper?” He calls as he puts down
the plate.

I wander over
to see if I can help Kean, but all I seem to do is distract him
from the task at hand.

He lays out the
damper bread and pulls down the barbecue lid.

I like this
place. It’s quiet, I mean, we haven’t seen an infected person in
months and I feel safe here. It’s kind of like living in a tree
house. And there’s a stream near by so we have everything we need
to survive.

Kean steps in
behind me and curls his arms around my waist. He rests his head on
my shoulder and I snuggle into him.

“I love you,”
he says, loud enough for the others to hear.

Liss and Henry
turn around and start giggling.

“I love you,
too!” Liss squeals.

“Oh, sweetie
pie,” Henry says in a lady-like voice. “I love you.”