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THE WORLD WAS BRIGHT and clean the morning after the storm blew through. Nick went out to the gardens with a cup of coffee to get some fresh air. It had been a noisy, crowded night while the storm rolled through. He needed a little time to himself to think.
Everything seemed to happen at once in his life. Jean was acting a little jealous about Anita. He’d explained that she was his brother’s wife and had never had any interest in her, but there had still been a flicker of doubt in Jean’s eyes. Seeing Anita had brought back a lot of painful memories, but sharing them with her had somehow helped. He had been in such a bad state in Zero Year when he’d left his parent’s house that he honestly hadn’t given a thought to the possibility that Anita was still alive. At least she’d come home to an empty house and tidy graves. He thought back to when they’d found Holly Hill Farm with the house full of the dead and Trey nearly mad with grief. At least Nick had saved her from an experience like that. It was going to take them both a little while to get over the reliving of that time.
The storm had been a welcome distraction. After the first panic, people had settled in with coffee or Harlan’s moonshine. Martin had opened the internal access to the storm shelters so people could mix easily. They hadn’t been expecting any more trouble since the attack on the warehouse had been thwarted so easily. He’d been glad that Jackson hadn’t shown up to second guess everything they did. But that was a question they needed to find the answer to right away. Where was Jackson?
He had finished his circuit of the garden and was back at the front steps when one of the Watch’s vans flew up the driveway. Nick reached for his radio and realized he’d left it next to his bed. The doors to the building banged open, Ruth and James with more Watchmen and infirmary assistants hurried out. An injured man was carried out of the van. Two women, bloodied but ambulatory, climbed out on their own and were immediately surrounded by medical personnel.
Clay stomped over to him. “Have you seen Wisp?”
“Not today,” Nick said.
“Jackson told people they could stay in any home they wanted.”
Nick’s heart sank. “How many?” There were plenty of houses in the neighborhood that looked fine which had been declared unfit. They couldn’t stand up to a storm like they had last night.
“Don’t know. Tornado came through a couple miles east. Took out a bunch of houses and knocked down even more. Nobody should have been living there, but they were. We’re gonna need Wisp.”
“I’ll look for him,” Nick offered.
A fresh group of Watchmen arrived, and Clay went back out with them. Now it was all search and rescue.
Nick collected a radio, told Jean where he was going and headed out. The Watch could go house to house calling to people, but only Wisp could find the ones that were too hurt to reply. Nick headed for the path to Wisp’s cottage. He’d taken a little bunker-like building on the far side of the stream behind the school. Unsurprisingly, Wisp came out of the woods when Nick approached.
“Search and rescue,” Nick said.
“It was a bad one,” Wisp said.
They got a van and headed to the disaster zone. Several blocks had been flattened. Twisted lumber, broken furniture and tree limbs made the road inaccessible. Nick parked next to the vehicles of the other rescue workers.
The Watch moved back when Wisp approached. Nick was glad to see that people knew who Wisp was, and they retreated out of respect. He followed, keeping his mind as blank as possible to stay off Wisp’s radar. The footing was unstable, shifting with every step. They moved slowly into the massive wreckage of a whole neighborhood of demolished houses. His job was mainly to make sure Wisp didn’t fall through a covered hole or twist an ankle in the debris while he searched for injured people.
“Here!”
Fifteen minutes later, under a hot sun, they found the first victims. Three badly wounded, two unconscious and one dead in a house that had been marked unsafe. Nick didn’t recognize any of the people. Newcomers that he hadn’t met yet. “Isn’t fair,” he grumbled.
Clay gave him a shrug. “They had a choice.”
“Jackson told them lies.”
“They could have asked questions. If one person tells me not to go somewhere and another person says it’s okay, I’m gonna ask at least one more person.”
Nick grunted an agreement. New people coming in didn’t know that they could trust Angus. Jackson had taken advantage of their vulnerability. It made him angry.
Ted and Nixie arrived with a few of their kids at midday bringing food and drinks. Volunteers had been filtering in all day. Some Nick recognized, and some were evacuees from the fire. They all worked together digging through the storm debris for any trapped people. He heard the explanation over and over as new people arrived, and members of the Watch told them what had happened. “This is why no one was supposed to be living in these houses.” And each time, it would make Nick angry again.
“You couldn’t have stopped them,” Wisp said. He and Nick had walked ahead to the next block of devastation and were out of earshot of the main group.
“This is his fault,” Nick snapped.
“Yes, it is. Maybe people will remember that the next time he lies to them.”
“I hope so, but I won’t count on it.” He was about to go off on the rant that had been building all day when Wisp raised his hand to stop him. Nick thought of blue sky, white clouds, the brown mud on his boots.
“Here!” Wisp yelled. He started pulling away broken lumber and random plumbing bits.
Nick waded in behind him, one-handedly tossing the smaller pieces towards the street. A foot, bloodied and twisted was the first thing they uncovered. “Black tag,” Nick called out. A pair of burly Watchmen came to pull the body free. The dead didn’t need to be handled gently.
The rest of the people had been luckier. There were injuries, but no more deaths. The third dazed, mud-covered person they pulled from the wreckage was Jackson.
“Throw him back,” jeered a Watchman.
“Make sure he gets checked out. Then put him in a cell,” Nick said.
“Can we arrest him for lying?” Clay asked.
“No. But we can for reckless endangerment resulting in the death of two people,” Nick ad libbed.
Jackson had to be carried to the van due to a leg injury. He was too disoriented to speak, which was fine for Nick. The house had been a big one, judging from the debris. An ornate oak door was split down the middle. Fragments of colored glass winked in the sunlight. “He picked a fancy one,” Nick murmured.
“An old one,” Wisp said. “I remember it. Full of antiques and stained glass windows.”
“Bastard.”
The sun was low in the sky when Wisp called an all-clear. Nick was glad to be done. His shoulder wound ached, and he was muddy to the knees. He was looking forward to a hot shower and a big meal. Volunteers were climbing into a bus. The Watch had three vans.
“Wait!” Wisp called them back. He jogged ahead to a house that was still standing. He stopped, examining the building.
When Nick joined him, the house groaned. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“It’s not safe,” Clay said as he came up with the rest of the Watch.
“Who’s in there?” Nick asked.
Wisp tipped his head as if he was thinking. “Not sure.”
The house was a single story in an old ranch style built from cement block. It was very sturdy, but the roof was sagging. “Come on out. We’re just here to help,” Nick yelled.
The roof groaned again.
“That’s gonna come down any minute,” Clay whispered.
“Don’t open any doors,” Wisp said. He walked around the side of the house watching the eaves.
Nick followed with Clay and a pair of Watchmen. The back window was broken. Wisp gestured them away from him. He closed his eyes. Nick led the men a few steps away.
A little face appeared at the window, peeked out and disappeared.
“That was a kid,” Clay whispered.
Nick waited for Wisp to join them.
“Three, maybe more if they’re unconscious. Two are in pain.” Wisp reported.
“How are we gonna get them out?” Clay asked.
“I can go in the window,” Wisp said.
Nick had seen Wisp do some amazing things. It wouldn’t surprise him if Wisp managed to get everyone out safe. “Let’s take another look.”
The window was at shoulder height on Nick. Wisp would need a leg up at the very least. “Let’s build a step here,” Nick said sending off one Watchman for help. “Can we clear this glass?” Nick asked inspecting the window frame.
“I don’t think it would compromise anything,” Wisp said.
They pulled the remaining shards from the window making the opening as wide as possible. The Watchmen returned with a barrel and a crate which worked as a step. Nick moved away. With his bad shoulder, he wasn’t much help here.
Wisp slipped in the window returning a minute later to hand out an infant. “Two wounded,” he reported.
He handed out a toddler, then a young girl, bloody and whimpering. He sent a young boy through the window. Clay helped the boy onto the crate, but he collapsed with a howl. The roof groaned, and Nick flinched waiting for it all to come down. Clay scooped the boy up. Nick saw that his leg was bloody and swollen.
Then Wisp called for help bringing an unconscious woman through. Clay grabbed her shoulders. Something fell in the house. Nick hurried over. Clay reached up to take her, Nick slid his good arm under her back and shifted her. He pulled on the woman, hoping he wasn’t hurting her more. Wisp had one leg through the window when the roof shrieked a warning.
Two Watchmen rushed forward to grab and pull. They all ended up in a pile on the ground with a whirlwind of dust flying out the window as the ceiling slammed down into the house.
“Close one,” Nick said coughing dust out of his lungs.