Rain In My Heart by Kara Karnatzki Page B

e’ re doing our best!  Ca n’ t you see?  W e’ re trying ! ’
                  I stood up at the window again.  I could feel my arms and legs trembling, shaking from frustration.
                  ‘ Hello ?’ I called again.  ‘ Anybody out there?  Shout if you can hear us ! ’
                  Then a horrible thought occurred to me.
                  ‘ What if -’ I said, turning to face everyone. ‘ What if i t’ s Miss Nevis? What if sh e’ s been trying to get back to the school to help us ? ’
                  ‘ Or maybe i t’ s zombies ?’ said Curtis.  ‘ Or killer trees?  Or flesh-eating bog rats ? ’
                  Leon closed the window.
                  ‘ Either way ,’ he said, eyeballing the pair of us ,‘ Gre g’ s right.  We ca n’ t do anything.  W e’ re surrounded by water.  And that wind is crazy. No on e’ s coming.  If w e’ re going to get out of here, w e’ re going to have to do it ourselves . ’
                  ‘ Finally , ’ Gemma barked.  ‘ Yo u’ re seeing sense. I mean, how long are we supposed to wait for ournon-existent rescue team?  Until the roof blows off?  Until w e’ re dead of starvation?  Or until one of us turns psycho and kills all the others ? ’
    As she said this she glared at Byron. 
                  ‘ But we ca n’ t just wade into the water , ’ said Leon.  ‘ Look what happened when we did that!  We need to find another way.  You know, it would be a whole lot easier if we could get into main school building - ’
                  'Why did the caretaker have to lock the link corridordoor ? ’ moaned Curtis. ‘ I t’ s not like this crappy school needs high security.  Wh o’ d bother breaking in here ? ’
    ‘ Ca n’ t you try forcing it again ?’ said Gemma.  ‘ Using your thick head . ’
                  ‘ Ther e’ s no way,' said Leon.  'That door weighs a ton.  If you're up for it though, ther e’ s another idea I've been thinking about.  You know there's a bank of dry land - ’
    Byron coughed, started fiddling with his glasses.
                  ‘ The ridge ,’ said Gemma enthusiastically.  ‘ Where the fourth years hang out ? ’
     
                  ‘ Exactly.  In terms of distance, i t’ s not that far from the back window, a few metres maybe.  The problem is the drop in between.  We have to get over the drop, otherwise w e’ ll be plunging head first into the floodwater - and i t’ s a long way down . ’
                  ‘ So, what are you suggesting ?’ said Greg.  ‘ Tight ropes ? ’
                  ‘ Kind of . ’
                  ‘I’ m joking . ’
                  ‘I’ m not.  I reckon we could make a rope.  There's plenty of scrap fabric around.  If we can collect it together, then I'll show you how to twist and plait it to make it secure.  I t’ s an old SAS technique my brother taught me.  He's great at thatsort of thing.  Once we've got enough, then we can lash it to the other side and use it like a zip wire . ’
                 'And how are we going to do that ?’ Greg scoffed.
                  ‘ If we tie a chair to one end and lob it, hopefully i t’ ll get caught between the trees, which will act like an anchor . ’
                  ‘ You ker- razy !’ beamed Curtis.  ‘ But I likey ! ’
                  I shook my head.
    ‘ It sounds dangerous.'
    As much as I fancied Leon, I did n’ t want to go along with this plan, the way I had with the car.  I did n’ t want to end up in the water again.  Maybe I'm a bit n aï ve, but I’ m not an idiot. 
    ‘ How is a homemade rope going to carry all our weight?' I asked.  'What if it breaks ? ’
                  ‘ W e’ ve only got to get