North Vancouver
“Hello?” I called. “Is someone there?”
“You okay?” A man called back from the other side of the tree. Jake crammed on his boots while I brushed some of the mud off my clothes.
A man swung himself over the fallen tree with the strength and agility of a gymnast. Taller than Michael, which made him well over six feet, he was just as slender. He wore jeans, hiking boots, and a crisp green T-shirt. Dark hair, twisted into dreadlocks, bulged under a bright orange baseball cap. He carried a thick backpack. He scanned us quickly and his eyes locked on Jake.
“Yeah we’re cool,” Michael said and held his position in front of Jake.
When the stranger spoke, his voice was like dark chocolate, velvety and smooth. He said to Jake, “Hi. I’m Greg Phillips. I’m a paramedic. What’s your name?”
A paramedic! He wasn’t an axe murderer or a desperate homeless person living in the park illegally. He was someone used to emergency situations. He could even whistle in the face of all this chaos. That made him the best thing that had happened in the last ten minutes.
Jake mumbled his first name only and looked at me, then at Michael, as if he wanted us to tell him what to say next. Michael nudged me and I closed ranks at Jake’s side.
Greg kept looking at Jake and I kept staring at Greg even though I knew it was bad manners. A person can go crazy if they focus on the wrong things so I decided to focus on Greg.
“You need a hand, Jake? Anything I can do?” He made it sound as if it would be a privilege to help Jake; it was like he was begging him.
“He’s fine,” Michael said impatiently. “His breathing’s okay, his pulse is fine. He’s had a rest and some water. You’re okay, aren’t you Jake?”
Jake nodded but Greg continued to give him the x-ray vision treatment. Finally he smiled. “Yeah, you seem fine.”
He acted as if we’d been waiting for him to come and fix our problems. Maybe he thought only paramedics knew what to do with a freaked-out kid. Michael frowned and I knew that he didn’t like the way Greg was trying to take over.
“I’ve got one thing that might help you.” Greg eased off his backpack and rummaged through it. Michael moved closer to me, as if Greg might be going after a weapon or something but Greg pulled out nothing more dangerous than a navy hoodie. He handed it to Jake. “Put this on. You need to keep warm after a shock like that.”
In my opinion, Jake didn’t need that hoodie. But no one asked me, as usual. Even though it was hot out Jake zipped it up and ran his hands over the front of it. When I recognized the stylized Rod of Asclepius, with a single snake wrapped around it, the universal symbol of healing and medicine, I sighed with relief. Michael raised an eyebrow but I felt better about Greg. I didn’t totally trust him yet but at least he probably was who he said he was. And he wasn’t trying to get anything from us. He was giving us stuff.
Jake stood a little taller and I had to admit it made him look smarter. He gave his first real smile since the quake. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome,” Greg said warmly and checked his watch. “We all need to get out of this forest fast. We’re damned lucky we’re not hurt. But it’s taken me this long to hike up from the side of the creek. It’s not easy getting around all these slides.” He dug in his pack and handed small water bottles to each of us, brand new ones.
Michael checked his to make sure the seal wasn’t broken. He narrowed his eyes. “Why’re you here? Why aren’t you at the bridge, helping people?”
Greg hefted his pack over his shoulder and said low and grave, “The people who were on the bridge are beyond help now.”
The few morsels of comfort I’d taken from Greg’s appearance shrivelled. I remembered the sound of screams and twisting metal, thought of what must have happened, and pushed the image away. I used to cross that bridge a hundred times a week. The only reason we didn’t take it today was because Jake was too scared.
I saw the darkness in Michael’s eyes and asked, “Do you think it’s the Big One?”
Tony’s words about The Big One echoed in my brain. It will change lives, maybe forever. People may die. Thousands maybe. Many more will be hurt.
Michael shrugged. “Could be.”
“We’ve known for years that the Big One was coming,” I said. Even as the words left my mouth, I hoped I was wrong.
It was as if Greg was reading my thoughts. “I don’t know what a Big One would be like, but what I’ve seen isn’t good.” He zipped up his pack. “From here on in, kids, it’s a matter of keeping your wits about you and surviving. I’m going to hike straight up this hill now. Do you want to follow me or do you have another plan?”
“I wanted to find my dog, Oliver,” I said. Michael glowered at me so I added, “But I guess we’re going home instead.”
I didn’t know whether Michael would want to follow this stranger. Jake looked at him too. We all had to agree.
Michael scanned the track before us and behind us. Both were blocked by huge rocks and a few fallen trees. Undergrowth choked the hill above us, the only real escape route. Forget about staying in one place until the aftershocks ended; I wanted to get home. I needed to know that Mom was okay and that Tony had made it back from the gym in one piece. There would be safety in numbers if one of us got hurt. Or if we came across anyone else who needed help. It all depended on Michael. He turned to me and I nodded slightly, just enough to say yes without being eager. I’d have to find Oliver later.
“Why not?” Michael said but it wasn’t really a question.
Greg started back up the hill. “I was trying to find my way out of here when I caught a glimpse of purple. By the way I didn’t get your names.”
Michael smoothed the hem of his purple T-shirt. He spoke first, “I’m Michael. This is my sister, Rowan and our neighbour, Jake.”
“Do you live near here?” Greg asked.
“Not far. Over on Parni Place.”
I studied the ground so my eyes didn’t give anything away. Greg was being friendly and helpful, but Michael lied. Why was he so suspicious?
“Nice to meet you all.” Greg did an easy pommel-horse leap back over the fallen tree. Michael struggled to copy him and didn’t look as good. I called Oliver a few times while Jake climbed it awkwardly. When I scrambled over, Greg offered his hand to help me down. I hesitated because no one ever thought I needed help doing anything. Being tall and athletic, people treated me as if my height made me invincible or something. I took Greg’s warm, strong hand and it felt reassuring. He was just what we needed, someone helpful, someone who had experience in trauma and emergency situations.
I fell in step behind him and he moved at a forced march pace. We clambered over the boulders and pulled our feet through the thick salal bushes that threatened to trip and bury us in the carnage of the forest. Shallow-rooted hemlocks, torn from the ground, sprawled like dead bodies down the hill. Their ghostly limbs quivered in the air.
Michael caught up with Greg and asked, “Where’d you come from?”
“I’ve been hiking through the woods for a few days. This is beautiful country, or at least it was. When the rain started this morning I hiked out and had lunch at the kiosk. After that I went down to the creek to take pictures.” Greg held back a blackberry cane as we filed along the faint path.
Michael rested uphill from him. “Why were you carrying so much water? Isn’t that a bit heavy for backpacking?”
“Are you always this curious? I should ask what you were doing in the park.”
“We were walking Row’s dog. The forest spooks her.”
Liar. Michael was talking as if I was a kid again. My anger rose and collapsed before it took flight. This wasn’t the time for that battle. Not while the world was in ruins.
“So you weren’t just partying?” Greg said.
“Hardly. Rowan and Jake are just kids.”
I started to protest but we had reached the park road. At the sight of what lay in front of us, we all fell silent. The surface had mangled and ruptured into five-foot-high peaks that looked like a small asphalt mountain range. A canyon-sized gully had opened along the entire length of the road. Every single tree on that side had fallen over. They blocked access from one side of the road to the other. Root balls leaned on the road, like large dirty bookends.
Michael put his arm around me in a tight, quick hug. He hadn’t done that for years and his hold was clumsy and odd. Before he let me go, I felt his heart trying to hammer its way out of his chest. My body went cold, as if I’d been flash-frozen by an ice storm. Jake dropped his water bottle. He opened his hands and spread them like elegant fans at his side. I linked my fingers through his, quickly, and when he squeezed back, I let go. None of us said a word. We just stood and gawked.
Michael checked his cell phone to see if there was service. He shook his head.
“Well, here’s another little challenge—but nothing we can’t manage, right?” Greg searched Jake’s face. Jake smiled at him, even looked him in the eye for a nanosecond.
“Yeah, we’ll be okay,” Michael said. I knew I would be. I’d survived having Tony as a father. I could survive anything. So what if we faced an obstacle course no matter which way we turned? We could handle it. My next thought was that Tony would be waiting for us, worried. It was never a good idea to worry Tony.
“Excellent,” Greg said. “Which way are you headed?”
“That way.” Michael jerked his head toward Ross Road.
“Well, I’m parked back there.” Greg pointed the other way. “I’d better report to the nearest ambulance depot and see where I’m needed.”
“Thanks for the water,” I said. Michael started toward home without saying a word.
Jake unzipped the hoodie but Greg put a hand on his shoulder. “Keep it, Jake. Wear it in good health and if our paths every cross again, then I’ll be sure to recognize you.”
“Thank you,” Jake said in the awestruck voice he usually saved for whenever I showed any interest in him.
I chased after Michael who had powered away. “Why were you so rude? You didn’t even thank him for the water.”
“You’re far too trusting,” he said and walked a bit faster.
“Why? What didn’t you like about him?” I checked over my shoulder to make sure that Greg couldn’t hear us. He had disappeared.
“I dunno. It was just weird the way he came out of nowhere, that’s all. And his shirt still had the fold lines. No one’s clothes look good when they’re camping.”
“He seemed alright.” Jake raced up behind us, rubbing the arms of his hoodie.
“Oliver,” I called into the broken forest. The sound of sirens screaming a few miles away drowned any hope of hearing him. Useless.
“Come on,” Michael said.
Reluctantly I turned to follow him, reassuring myself that Oliver and I had been separated once before in the forest. He found his way home that time. He could do it again. I wanted to get back. Fast.
“So are you going to keep the hoodie?” Michael asked Jake. “What’ll your mom say about that?”
“Doesn’t matter. It’s mine. I’ve thought about becoming a paramedic.” Jake spoke, barely opening his mouth. Paramedic? Two seconds ago he needed rescuing himself.
We climbed a hill of fallen trees and picked our way around the yawning cracks in the road. At last we walked out of the park and my heart somersaulted. The street looked like it had been bombed. Huge canyons had been ripped through it. The nose of a car poked out of one of the crevices. Two telephone poles were down and the rest leaned at crazy angles. One of the power lines was severed. A live wire whipped and snapped in violent patterns, crackling noisily over the sidewalk and street. Michael, Jake and I crossed to the other side of the road. People gathered in their front yards. People I had never seen in the neighbourhood before milled about, squinting as if they were half blinded. In front of a pseudo-Tudor house a swarthy man in a black T-shirt and board shorts punched numbers into his cell phone as if the force of his actions could restore service. Behind him, a woman sat on the front steps and crooned mournfully to her baby. Shattered glass covered the lawn.
Where was Mom? Was she okay?
Don’t think about that now. Focus on the situation at hand. When the immediate situation is secured and safe, see who else you can assist. So many people right there in front of us. I wondered if we should ask if anyone needed first aid but what could we offer without even a Band-Aid between us? Breathing in the smoke and dust, I listened to the anxious voices. Helplessness rushed over me.
“Rowan.” Michael touched my shoulder and I followed him. A million feelings pulled me a million directions but I refused to crumble.
Then the earth shifted.
“Drop and cover,” I barked, strong and authoritative—not an ounce of panic in my voice. I was a great actor.
The dark-shirted man hit the ground. The woman curved her body over her baby’s. Michael, Jake, and I dived for the sidewalk and covered our heads. I couldn’t stop myself from peeking out from the crook of my arm. The house in front of me shimmied in a violent voodoo jig. The last of the glass in the front windows splattered across the lawn. I covered my ears and hoped it wasn’t another big one. How long would it go on?
An explosion on the other side of the street made me lift my head again. The house by the live power line burst into flames. In front of me the woman with the baby wailed loudly. The man crawled over to her side. Somewhere a dog howled. Oliver? No. The tone was too deep. People screamed. Goosebumps ripped up and down my arms.
When the tremor ended, the sidewalk had a six-foot trench in the middle of it.
Jake took one look and erupted in loud, nervous laughter. He sat and hugged his knees to his chest. Then he threw back his head and laughed louder.
Suddenly I was laughing too. People might be dying I reminded myself. Why am I laughing? But I couldn’t stop. Jake and I laughed until we were breathless and tears ran down our faces.
Michael lay flat on his back with his eyes closed. He had bitten his bottom lip and blood dripped down his chin.