Stephen
Killop Reservoir, 2 February 2008
The bank of the res was swarming with people. Emergency services had responded quickly and the road up to the barbecue area was filled with police cars and a couple of ambulances. Added to that, the parents had just begun to turn up. The undercurrent of noise coming from the bank was occasionally punctuated with a cry or a name being shouted.
Stephen glanced over at Henny. She was sitting on a bench with a paramedic beside her, tending the gash on her head. Her face was pale but she looked as if she was holding it together. Their eyes locked for a moment and she gave him a slight smile.
‘Do you think he’ll be okay?’
Stephen looked at Charlie standing beside him. He followed her gaze and watched as Toby McGinty was loaded into one of the ambulances.
‘He’ll be fine, thanks to you,’ Stephen replied. ‘You saved him.’
Charlie gave a shrug. ‘Anyone would have done it.’
‘Yeah, well, everyone was either too scared or didn’t have any idea how to do mouth-to-mouth. Toby is lucky that you were here.’
‘Thanks,’ she said with a small smile.
‘Anytime,’ Stephen responded, giving her a brief hug. ‘You were brilliant.’
Charlie opened her mouth to say something but cries from further down the bank drew their attention. At first Stephen couldn’t make out any words. He gave Charlie a nod before hurrying down the hill. As he came within earshot he heard someone yelling Georgie Sykes’ name. Stephen pushed through the crowd and saw Dan running along the shoreline.
‘Georgie! Have you seen Georgie?’ Dan asked as he caught hold of one of the other students. The boy shook his head and Dan ran on, stopping at another group and asking the same question. As Dan dashed blindly up the bank towards him, Stephen caught his arm.
‘Stevo! Have you seen Georgie?’
He shook his head as he held his friend. ‘No, not since the platform went down.’
‘I can’t find her anywhere, mate. I’ve looked and called and no one’s seen her,’ Dan said, his eyes wide with fear. ‘I’ve gotta find her.’
‘We’ll find her. Maybe she’s already made it to shore. Don’t worry, we’ll find her.’
Dan broke away from Stephen’s grasp. ‘She’s still out there, Stevo, I know it. We’ve got to find her. You don’t understand, I promised her that she’d be alright. Georgie!’
‘Dan, we will. Just hang on for—’
But Dan had already turned around, half running and half stumbling his way back towards the water. Stephen ran after him.
‘Dan! Dan, get back here—you’re in no shape to go out there.’
Dan didn’t acknowledge him but rather picked up his speed and started wading out into the dark water. ‘Georgie! Georgie, where are you?’
Stephen caught up and grabbed him around the waist, pulling him back. He thought that Dan would break away but all of a sudden Leon turned up and helped Stephen drag Dan out of the water. At first he resisted but by the time they had managed to get him halfway up the bank he seemed to slump between them. When they had managed to guide him towards the barbecue area and the paramedics he was still shouting Georgie’s name.
Stephen glanced up and saw Henny standing. He saw the look of disbelief on her face and tears streaming down her cheeks.
Leon and Stephen sat Dan down. He seemed to crumple on the ground as he began to cry.
‘I promised her, Stephen—I promised her that she’d be alright,’ Dan gasped as he tried to take a gulp of air, tears welling up in his eyes. ‘I promised her and I let her down.’