Breaking The Drought (19 page)

As Jenna got closer to the house she noticed the ute was parked near the kitchen veranda and not in the garage. Maybe Maggie was planning a quick getaway, and if that was the case then she'd better move herself. Jenna broke into a run. When she got near the ute she could see the driver's door was wide open. She squinted into the haze.

Oh hell
.

Maggie was slumped over the steering wheel. She raced to Maggie's side.

‘What's wrong?' she shouted.

Maggie lifted her head and Jenna saw her face was beet red and set in a grimace.

‘What is it?'

Maggie didn't answer immediately. She took large breaths and seemed to be concentrating on something Jenna couldn't see. Suddenly her face relaxed. ‘Jenna I'm so sorry. My waters have broken.'

Jenna was confused for a moment. Then it dawned on her. ‘So this means — '

‘I'm in labour, Jenna. The baby is coming.'

It wasn't until he reached the spot where he had parked his car that Luke remembered it wasn't there. Maggie had taken it. Her old station wagon wasn't the best choice to be driving in fire, especially if he found himself on the back tracks at any stage.

Damn
.

Rob was nearby, climbing into his battered Nissan Patrol. Luke yelled out to him in desperation. ‘Rob, mate, can we do a swap? Can I borrow the Patrol? Maggie's got my car.'

Rob looked confused. ‘Jump in. I'll give you a ride to the fire station.'

Luke shook his head. ‘I'm not going to the station. I've got to get back home, Maggie and Jenna went back to Tandarra over an hour ago. I've got to go see if they're okay. I need a decent vehicle.'

A shadow of concern crossed Rob's face. He threw Luke the keys. ‘I'll leave Maggie's car here, in case she comes back. Can you drop me at the station on your way?'

‘No worries.'

Rob winced as Luke reversed out at top speed and raced towards the fire station. ‘Steady on, mate. We want to get there alive.'

Luke frowned, but eased back a little on the accelerator.

‘Maggie's a sensible woman. She's probably fire proofing the property. She wouldn't do anything silly.' Rob said.

‘Yeah, I know, but I have this terrible feeling that something is wrong.'

‘At least she's not on her own.'

Luke didn't answer. Jenna would be absolutely terrified, he was sure. Whatever happened, Luke knew that Maggie would stay calm. She was a strong, capable woman, who could face just about anything. She would keep Jenna safe if it was possible, but by the look of that sky the fire was racing towards the township. He could only pray that Tandarra was left untouched.

He brought the car to a screeching halt outside the CFA station. Rob jumped out and as he was closing the door, Luke started to move off.

‘Luke, wait!' Rob shouted. ‘At least let me get an updated report inside. You'll make better time if you know which roads are closed.'

‘Yeah, I guess you've got a point. But hurry, man, hurry.' He revved the engine a little for emphasis.

When Rob returned his face was grim. ‘There's no way through. All the roads to the north of the town are closed. The crew from Curlewis have a back burn going up Old School Road. You just can't get through.'

‘Bullshit! I have to get through. No one knows that land like I do. I'll make it somehow.'

‘Bloody hell, Luke, you're mad.'

‘Rob, there are two women out there, God knows if they're even at the homestead. I have to find them. I couldn't bear it if anything happened to either one of them.'

Rob shook his head. ‘If you're determined to go then let me come with you. I'll drive and you can navigate.'

‘If you're coming, get in. I'm driving.' Luke revved the engine again.

‘Let me grab some gear. First aid stuff in case we need it.'

‘There's no time for that.'

‘For God's sake, Luke, if they're out on the road somewhere, they might be hurt. We need to take some basics.'

Rob was right. No point going out there underprepared. ‘Okay, I'll try phoning the house while you grab a few things, but we need to be quick.'

The fire station was a hive of activity. No one took any notice of Luke and Rob as they scrambled around in the supply room, grabbing rugs, bandages, water and protective clothing. Luke used the station phone as he watched Rob shove as much stuff as possible into his cricket bag.

‘No one answering?' Rob asked as Luke slammed down the phone.

He shook his head. ‘I'm getting a recorded message saying the phone is out of order. The lines must be down. We need to get out of here,' Luke said, already halfway out the door.

They sped out of town with Luke at the wheel and Rob hanging on for his life.

Jenna felt a large lump welling in her throat as she put the phone down. The line was dead.

Maggie was in the shower. Apparently hot water eased the pain of her contractions. Jenna had helped her to undress and told her not to worry. She'd phone for an ambulance and everything would be fine. Now the phone was dead.

Jenna flipped open her mobile for what seemed like the hundredth time. Nothing had changed. There was still no signal. It looked like she would have to drive Maggie into town and seek assistance there.

A loud moan from the bathroom propelled Jenna into action. She ran to the bathroom to find Maggie with her head leaning up against the shower wall, groaning in pain.

‘How are you doing?' she said.

‘Is the ambulance here?' Maggie panted.

‘Maggie, I'm sorry, the phone's not working. I can't call anyone.'

Maggie swung around and looked at her. Jenna saw the desperation in her eyes. ‘No one's coming?'

‘Don't panic. I'll just drive you into town.'

‘What good will that do? It's not like there's a medical centre.' Jenna detected a note of hysteria in her voice.

‘Surely there's a doctor in town?'

‘No.' Maggie looked up as if something had just occurred to her. ‘Jenna, I need Luke.'

‘Once we get to town I'll do everything I can to find him. But right now we need to get you some medical help.'

Maggie responded with a moan as another contraction took hold of her.

Jenna felt totally helpless. She waited until Maggie's face relaxed and then continued to question her about the best place to find help. ‘Is there a nurse in town?'

Maggie shook her head. ‘The nearest medical help is the hospital where Brooke is. The only person I can think of who might be able to help other than Luke is Agnes Fraser. She used to be a midwife years ago.'

‘Will she still be in town do you think?'

Maggie winced as she nodded. ‘Everyone will be in the community hall. It's the designated evacuation point.'

‘Right. We'll head back into town then. Do you need my help to get dressed?'

‘No, but you should turn on the TV and see if you can get an updated fire report before we go.'

Jenna nodded. ‘Just yell if you need my help.'

Jenna ran to the lounge room, switched the TV on and flicked through the channels until she found the local station. Normal programming had been replaced by news coverage of the fires. It took her a moment to absorb what she was seeing. There was aerial footage of the National Park and it was ablaze. The news bar at the bottom of the screen reported residents in Barlow had already been evacuated and that the town was now cut off.

We're going to die!

Jenna took a deep breath and tried to collect her thoughts.

Surely Luke would come looking for Maggie? Yes, of course Luke would come for them. But what if he couldn't? What if something had happened to him? She shook her head. It was pointless to think like that. Time to pull herself together and get the job done.

She had to think about Maggie. The most important thing was to keep her calm so she was able to deliver her baby safely. Jenna looked down at her hands. They were still shaking. And dirty, she realised. Not the hands of a midwife. But she was all that Maggie had right now. She would not fail her. All problems had a solution. How many times had she said these very words to her young staff? She would tackle this problem the way she tackled every challenge — one job at a time.

She concentrated on the news bulletin, trying to glean as much information as she could. It seemed most of the fire fighting efforts were concentrated around the township, which was now under direct threat. The fire was approaching Barlow from two different directions and disaster seemed imminent. The newsreader's voice was grim as she reported that many buildings had been destroyed in outlying areas and, while there was no confirmed loss of life, there were several persons unaccounted for.

With a sinking heart Jenna realised she was one such person.

Luke headed north until he could see the roadblock. As soon as the flashing lights came into sight he swung the truck to the left and headed off road. ‘What the hell are you doing?' Rob yelled as they thumped over bush and bracken.

‘There's a track up here. It loops around the back end of Tandarra. It's a bit rough, but it'll get us there.'

‘Steady on, Luke. We're not in your Land Cruiser now. This is an old truck.'

‘I guess you won't mind if she cops a bit of collateral damage then?' Luke said with a grin.

Rob just shook his head.

After five minutes of thrashing around in the bush Luke saw a clearing up ahead. ‘There it is,' he said. ‘Black Creek Track. It follows the creek that cuts across the top end of the property. We'll be right now.'

‘If we don't run into a fire front,' Rob said.

Luke looked at the thick clouds of smoke surrounding them. He knew Rob was right but it was a risk he had to take. ‘I haven't seen any spot fires yet,' he said. ‘I think we'll be okay. Didn't Cameron say the front was approaching from the north? We're headed west at the moment.'

Rob looked doubtful but he didn't reply.

The track was worse than Luke remembered. It was overgrown in parts and full of potholes. He pushed the ute as hard as he could but their progress was painfully slow.

‘I didn't even know this track existed,' Rob shouted over the road noise.

‘Dad used to bring Joe and me down here to fish in the creek when we were little,' Luke said. ‘I don't think anyone uses it much these days. Although Maggie reckons some of the young blokes bring their girlfriends out here from time to time.'

‘Hell!'

Rob's shout alerted Luke to the bright orange glow now visible through the blanket of smoke that enveloped them. The fire front would be upon them at any moment.

‘You'll have to turn around,' Rob yelled. ‘We can't get through.'

Luke knew he was right. No matter how much he wanted to get to Jenna, and to Maggie, this route was impassable. He slammed the truck into reverse and executed a three-point turn.

‘Damn!' To his horror they were confronted by more thick smoke and another front coming towards them.

‘What are we going to do?' Rob said.

‘I'll try to find a clearing to park the truck in. It's too dangerous to leave the vehicle so we'll just have to stop and take our chances,' Luke said.

‘Sounds like a plan,' Rob said but his face was grim.

Luke pushed the old truck as fast as he could while they searched for a place to stop.

‘There,' Rob yelled, pointing at a larger dirt track off to the left.

Luke swung the wheel hard and propelled the truck up the track until they hit the widest spot. He screeched to a halt and looked at Rob. ‘Grab the blankets out of the back and wind your window up.'

Rob nodded and did as Luke said. Luke checked the headlights were on and made sure all the windows and vents were closed.

‘Don't shut the engine off.' Rob said. ‘The fuel will evaporate in the heat if it's not circulating. We'll never get it started again if we switch off.'

Luke nodded his agreement. ‘Get on the floor and cover yourself with the blanket,' he yelled above the roar. ‘It's our only hope.'

Jenna found Maggie sitting on her bed. ‘We're trapped, aren't we?' she asked.

Jenna nodded. ‘I think so. The town's been evacuated. Apparently the wind change caused a back burn to get out of control. There are several fronts surrounding us.'

‘Are there any injuries?'

Jenna shook her head. ‘Not that they know of.'

‘Jenna, you are going to have to do a few things to help keep us safe.'

‘Just tell me what you need me to do.'

‘You need to go outside and hose the house down. Hose any embers you see and move anything you think might fuel the fire. There shouldn't be anything because Luke keeps the place as fireproof as possible, but check anyway.' Maggie gasped and let out a soft moan.

‘Are you sure you want me to leave you alone?'

Maggie nodded. ‘We don't have a choice. It has to be done. Besides, I've been timing the contractions. They're still five minutes apart so we have some time.'

‘If you're sure.'

‘Yes, just hurry. I'll try to fill some containers with water between contractions.'

Jenna did as Maggie said. Outside it was almost impossible to see more than a metre ahead because of the smoke. Jenna's eyes watered and her nostrils burned as she tried her best to hose down the house. Maggie was right, there was nothing obvious that needed to be moved away from the house. Luke had done a good job of keeping the area free from potential fire hazards. If only he was here, none of this would seem so bad. He would take control and tell her everything would be just fine. But he wasn't here. It was all up to her. If she and Maggie were going to survive this then she would have to put her fear on hold and make the best decisions she could. There was no other choice.