too close here.’
We go around the front. Amber makes me step back another few metres. Suddenly everything seems to go still and we look at each other warily. A moment later the upstairs windows blow out across the lawn.
The force of the explosion hurls us backwards. I sit up with blurring vision and ringing in my ears. ‘What was that?’ I murmur. Amber’s behind me, flat on her back. ‘Amber! Amber? Are you all right?’
She doesn’t respond. My heart feels as if a giant hand is squeezing it. ‘Oh no, no,
no
!’ I take her shoulders and gently shake her. ‘Amber? Amber!’
Her eyes open and the tightness around my heart slowly eases. I help her sit up, then drop down beside her and hold her warm hand.
‘It’s spreading so
fast
!’ she says. ‘I just happened to be staring out the window of the tack room when I saw something odd.’
‘What was it?’
‘Some roof tiles were fluttering over your parents’ bedroom. Then black smoke suddenly shot out, blowing a heap of them into the air.’
I peer at her. ‘An explosion?’
‘Uh-huh. That’s what it looked like.’
As I watch fire destroy my home, wondering what might or might not have started it, a wave of helplessness hits me, quickly followed by a surge of anger. ‘Where’s the fire brigade? Amber, are you sure you called them? And where are your parents? Is nobody going to help us?’
Amber pats my arm. ‘Mum and Dad will be here soon.’
She climbs to her feet and looks around. I follow and watch her. ‘What is it?’
‘I need to bring you some drinking water.’ She turns to me then and gently touches my face. ‘You’re scorched. Your face is all red and breaking out in blisters.’
‘Do you think they got out in time?’
She knows I mean my parents and her eyes drop. ‘Do you think, even if they were still sleeping when the fire broke out, they would have woken with the alarms? Maybe they ran downstairs, jumped in the car and drove straight over to your place. They wouldn’t have wasted time checking my bedroom, would they? They knew we were going riding …’ I fight back tears. ‘I couldn’t check my bedroom or the bathroom or … Amber, I missed so many spaces.’
Tears spring to her eyes.
‘Oh no, don’t! Please, Amber, don’t cry.’
She wraps her arms around me and I draw in a deep, shuddering breath. The fire brigade are taking for ever. Ilisten for sounds of a siren, or wheels of a fire truck coming, but hear only the revs of a four-wheel drive accelerate so quickly out of Teralba Road it scatters loose pebbles into the paddocks on either side. ‘At last!’
Amber raises her eyebrows.
‘Your parents are here,’ I say.
She glances at the road; seeing no sign of her parents, she looks at me quizzically. I shrug.
And then out of the blue she says softly, ‘I knew you were a fast runner, but, you can run
really
fast. Did you know that?’
Just then, the Langs’ big silver four-wheel drive roars into the driveway and swings on to the lawn, pulling up right beside us. They jump out and, drilling us with questions, race to the rear of their SUV and drag out two fire hoses that we quickly attach to outside faucets.
When they learn Mum and Dad are still unaccounted for, and how fast this fire has spread, they exchange a worried glance. I almost fall apart then, but the sound of two approaching fire trucks distracts me enough to hold on a little longer.
The fire fighters jump off before the trucks come to a complete stop. They quickly grasp the extent of the blaze, and before they have said a word to me, I can tell from their grave looks their arrival won’t alter the outcome by much.
Two firemen quickly don breathing equipment and crawl into my house on all fours, while others connect their much more powerful hoses in place of ours. Minutes pass without word. The fire fighters inside seem to take for ever before they return and speak to the captain, who comesover. ‘They found no sign of John or Heather,
We go around the front. Amber makes me step back another few metres. Suddenly everything seems to go still and we look at each other warily. A moment later the upstairs windows blow out across the lawn.
The force of the explosion hurls us backwards. I sit up with blurring vision and ringing in my ears. ‘What was that?’ I murmur. Amber’s behind me, flat on her back. ‘Amber! Amber? Are you all right?’
She doesn’t respond. My heart feels as if a giant hand is squeezing it. ‘Oh no, no,
no
!’ I take her shoulders and gently shake her. ‘Amber? Amber!’
Her eyes open and the tightness around my heart slowly eases. I help her sit up, then drop down beside her and hold her warm hand.
‘It’s spreading so
fast
!’ she says. ‘I just happened to be staring out the window of the tack room when I saw something odd.’
‘What was it?’
‘Some roof tiles were fluttering over your parents’ bedroom. Then black smoke suddenly shot out, blowing a heap of them into the air.’
I peer at her. ‘An explosion?’
‘Uh-huh. That’s what it looked like.’
As I watch fire destroy my home, wondering what might or might not have started it, a wave of helplessness hits me, quickly followed by a surge of anger. ‘Where’s the fire brigade? Amber, are you sure you called them? And where are your parents? Is nobody going to help us?’
Amber pats my arm. ‘Mum and Dad will be here soon.’
She climbs to her feet and looks around. I follow and watch her. ‘What is it?’
‘I need to bring you some drinking water.’ She turns to me then and gently touches my face. ‘You’re scorched. Your face is all red and breaking out in blisters.’
‘Do you think they got out in time?’
She knows I mean my parents and her eyes drop. ‘Do you think, even if they were still sleeping when the fire broke out, they would have woken with the alarms? Maybe they ran downstairs, jumped in the car and drove straight over to your place. They wouldn’t have wasted time checking my bedroom, would they? They knew we were going riding …’ I fight back tears. ‘I couldn’t check my bedroom or the bathroom or … Amber, I missed so many spaces.’
Tears spring to her eyes.
‘Oh no, don’t! Please, Amber, don’t cry.’
She wraps her arms around me and I draw in a deep, shuddering breath. The fire brigade are taking for ever. Ilisten for sounds of a siren, or wheels of a fire truck coming, but hear only the revs of a four-wheel drive accelerate so quickly out of Teralba Road it scatters loose pebbles into the paddocks on either side. ‘At last!’
Amber raises her eyebrows.
‘Your parents are here,’ I say.
She glances at the road; seeing no sign of her parents, she looks at me quizzically. I shrug.
And then out of the blue she says softly, ‘I knew you were a fast runner, but, you can run
really
fast. Did you know that?’
Just then, the Langs’ big silver four-wheel drive roars into the driveway and swings on to the lawn, pulling up right beside us. They jump out and, drilling us with questions, race to the rear of their SUV and drag out two fire hoses that we quickly attach to outside faucets.
When they learn Mum and Dad are still unaccounted for, and how fast this fire has spread, they exchange a worried glance. I almost fall apart then, but the sound of two approaching fire trucks distracts me enough to hold on a little longer.
The fire fighters jump off before the trucks come to a complete stop. They quickly grasp the extent of the blaze, and before they have said a word to me, I can tell from their grave looks their arrival won’t alter the outcome by much.
Two firemen quickly don breathing equipment and crawl into my house on all fours, while others connect their much more powerful hoses in place of ours. Minutes pass without word. The fire fighters inside seem to take for ever before they return and speak to the captain, who comesover. ‘They found no sign of John or Heather,
Similar Books
