Chapter 18

EVERYTHING HAPPENS so quickly. After watching things move in slow motion for so long, what happens next is hard to follow. First, part of the crowd on the kingdom enters the river to join the crowd on the other riverbank, to confront the police. Police horses enter the water to cut them off, but the river is too high, and the horses have to turn back. I glance at the borders of the kingdom and see them shrinking fast! Water is only metres from the flagpole. Our garden will soon be flooded. But the very worst thing happens next. The crowd that has stepped into the river from the kingdom gets caught in the current and is being swept away.

Within minutes we go from a threatening confrontation with police to a life-threatening disaster. I hear screaming in the river. It’s horrible. The words of the CBC interviewer run through my head: “Will you take responsibility for the people?”

How can we take responsibility? How can we do anything? I look over at Charlie.

ME: “Sami! We’ve got to carry Charlie off!”

CHARLIE: “No! I’m staying!”

ME: “Charlie! You can’t swim. You’ll drown.”

CHARLIE: “I don’t care! I’m not leaving the kingdom.”

ME: “Sami. We’ve got to take him off.”

But Sami just stands and stares. He can’t believe what is happening.

ME: “Sami! Snap out of it! We’ve got to rescue Charlie!”

Obediently, Sami grabs Charlie and picks him up.

CHARLIE: “Put me down! I’m not leaving!”

He wriggles out of Sami’s arms and runs away. I turn around and see people running into the water everywhere, getting caught in the current and swept away. It is a nightmare.

And then I see a policewoman step out of the river into the kingdom. She isn’t wearing a bulletproof vest, or carrying a gun or a shield. She has taken them off to swim across the river. She’s carrying a megaphone on a cord around her neck. She runs straight to me.

OFFICER: “You’re one of the leaders, right?”

ME: “Yes.”

OFFICER: “Quick! We need to save these people. Follow me!”

I follow her to the edge of the water where half of the crowd has entered the river. The other half is standing at the edge, trying to decide whether or not to cross. On the riverbank, the police have regrouped and are quickly ripping off their bulletproof vests and helmets. They’re running along the bank and entering the river downstream where people are struggling to get ashore.

OFFICER: “Tell everyone who can swim to swim towards the police. Tell them we will help them. Hurry!”

So I do. I put my mouth to the megaphone and holler.

ME: “This is the Kingdom of No Worries. Those of you who can swim, swim to the police! They will help you. Swim to the police! They will help you!”

I say it over and over, and watch as people do it. They jump into the river and start to swim across. The police meet them halfway. The water is over their heads now. Many stay in the kingdom because they can’t swim.

OFFICER: “Tell the people here to form a group and hold hands.”

So I do. The people on the island come together and hold hands as the river rises until we can’t see the ground anymore. It covers the plants and bushes, and then they go out of sight. I try to see what is happening in the river but it is almost impossible through the rain and all the commotion. People are crying, and some are praying, but more police officers have come over to the kingdom to help. Now, we are standing up to our chests in water, and still the river is rising.

The current is so strong you can’t stand against it; you have to move around, and it keeps pushing us downstream. Sami is holding onto Charlie, and Charlie has his arms wrapped around Sami’s neck. Then police boats arrive, and they start picking up all the remaining people. They yell at us to get in. But we shake our heads. We just can’t leave. Running through my head is something my dad used to say: that a captain goes down with his ship. That’s how Sami, Charlie, and I feel. But a strong hand grabs my arm and I turn around to see my dad. He’s wearing a sympathetic look on his face. “It’s gone, Billy. It’s gone.”

I can’t tell if I’m crying or not because the rain is splashing down on my face. I look at Sami’s and Charlie’s faces. They look the same as me. “It’s gone, guys,” I say.

They just drop their heads. Then my dad takes Charlie out of Sami’s arms, and the four of us make our way, half walking, half swimming, across the river. It takes us downstream quite a ways before we reach the shore.

When we climb out and walk back up the bank, there is nothing left of the kingdom but the flagpole, its flag hanging down. It looks so defeated. We stand and stare for a long time because it is such a strong image.

Then even the flagpole starts tilting in the direction of the current. Slowly it bends to the river’s will until it is flat on top of the water. Then the river carries it away. Now, there is nothing in front of us but a river, just as it had been before, except bigger. The Kingdom of No Worries is no more.