“So you found me,” she said.
“Yeah. It’s what I do.”
“Figured.”
The whistling chorus of the wind at the windows rose a few decibels. Mel ran to close the balcony door as the rain began sweeping into the lounge room.
“Looks like we’re not going anywhere for a while,” she said.
“I need to check the roof access.”
“It’s locked.”
“I’m pretty sure I’ll get it open,” he assured her. “Why don’t you use some of that bath water to clean yourself up? But don’t drink any more of it.”
He ripped a bottle from a side pouch on his jumpsuit.
“Drink this if you’re thirsty. I’ll be back in a minute, then we can talk some more.”
She looked hurt. “Clean up? Am I that bad?”
He shrugged and smiled sheepishly; she was a long way past bad, but he’d seen worse. “You’re alive,” he told her. “That’s one up on a whole lot of people.”
He found a remarkable change in her appearance by the time he returned. She had rinsed her wavy blonde hair, tied it back in a ponytail and found a cute little red T-shirt and some shorts covered in a cheerful Hawaiian hibiscus print. It made her look 10 years younger and reminded him there were still things to smile about. He nodded his approval as he strained to hear Eddie Bell on the two-way radio.
“The engineers say it’s not safe to land. They want me to use the winch.”
“Bugger the engineers,” Luckman replied angrily. “The building is secure and it’s just the two of us. You can be in and out again in 30 seconds, over.”
“…when I get there, over.”
The bad weather was breaking up the transmission.
“What’s your ETA?” Luckman asked him.
“…minutes, over.”
“Say again, over.”
“For……inutes.”
“Was that 14 or 40?” Mel pondered.
“Probably 40 – or longer. He’s not supposed to fly in a storm unless it’s life or death.”
“Um, hello?” she answered, again with the minstrel hands.
As if to underscore the point, thunder and lightning exploded deafeningly right outside the window. Mel screamed in shock.
“That hit the building,” Luckman realised. He threw open the balcony door and peered over the edge to where the building met the sea. The gale blew sheets of rain sideways and they slapped into his face like a rebuke.
This was what happened when you didn’t take the weather seriously.
Six
The swell was huge and the tide had risen sharply. More water than usual would be pounding through the building’s lower floors. He held his hands to the exterior superstructure – he could feel the impact of the waves. Lightning flashed close by again. And then he felt it; a tremor reverberated through the concrete superstructure. Their time had run out.
She grabbed his arm. “This isn’t the moment for sightseeing, Captain.” She was simply trying to drag him out of the rain but caught the look on his face. “That bad?”
He tried and failed to think of a suitable response. “Do you know how to abseil?”
She grimaced in bewildered surprise. “I do, actually.”
He could have kissed her.
“But can’t we just take the stairs?” she suggested.
“The building’s ready to collapse. We can’t wait for the chopper. We have to get out of here now. I don’t want to be in a stairwell when that happens.”
They would have a fighting chance. He began to tie his two ropes together. They should be able to make it down to a couple of floors above water level. It would have to do. He glanced at his watch. Half past four. Two hours of daylight left. Every second felt like one too many as he checked and double-checked his knots. He could feel the fear slowing his movements down.
Breathe, Stone. Relax. Keep it together.
She reappeared in a long-sleeved rash vest and a pair of Dunlop volleys.
“You’ll have to go first,” he told her.
“Why?”
“So I can keep an eye on you. You’re gonna have to walk down face first.”
Her eyes widened. “I’ve never done it that way.”
“Don’t worry, it’s easy. And it’s actually much safer. You can see exactly where your feet are landing.”
She started to say something then stopped herself and just nodded. Luckman checked the balustrade and decided he wouldn’t bet their lives on it. Instead, he fed the rope around a pillar near the kitchen. That meant they’d finish one floor higher, but it was probably the least of their worries. He pulled out a climbing harness from his rucksack and helped her into it. His spare glove was too big for her hand, but as long as she didn’t let go of the rope she’d be fine.
“Get as far down as you can, but for God’s sake don’t fall off the end of the rope. We’ll work out stage two when I’m down there with you.”
She nodded. She knew what was to come.
“I’ll be watching,” he told her. “I’ll be right behind you.”
He helped her over the balcony.
“Oh God, my feet are tingling,” she said nervously.
“Here’s your brake,” he said, handing her the rope. “You remember? Hand out to your side to stop, hard into your back to go forward again.”
She leapt into space and instantly lost control of her descent as the relentless wind swept her off balance. She slammed hard into the side of the building and started to slide wildly for a moment before remembering to brake her fall. Luckman winced.
“You OK?” he called.
She didn’t reply. She stood up and kept moving, but she had lost her glove. She must have let go of the rope. Miraculously she had grabbed hold of it again without falling but from now on the movement would be burning her hand. She started moving again, slower than he would have liked, but at least she was moving.
A stronger vibration shook the building. He wasn’t sure if it was a wave impact or a shift in the structure itself. As he considered the options, he looked away for just a moment.
When he looked back she was nowhere to be seen. For a split second he thought she’d fallen into the water. Then he saw her arm waving back up at him. She’d made it down to a balcony.
He attached himself to the rope in seconds and began to descend so quickly that he might have overshot her if she hadn’t been hanging onto the end of the rope. He swung himself around in mid-air and landed on his feet on the balcony in front of her.
She was impressed. “You’ve done this before.”
“Once or twice. How’s your hand?”
She showed him. “A bit sore. Not too bad.”
It looked terrible. And it would hurt like hell once the adrenalin rush wore off, but he said nothing. She’d find out soon enough.
“Actually it does hurt like hell,” she said.
He raised an eyebrow. “You did well.”
“So – surf’s up.” she replied.
He sighed, hoping his voice wouldn’t crack. “Yeah, it sure is.”
“We’re in luck,” she said, pointing to a stash of surfboards on the balcony floor. “Can you ride?”
He peered out at the waves peeling past about 10 metres below their feet. The swell was building, and from here the sound of its crash was mighty. “It’s been a while.”
She smiled. “So, now the master becomes the student.”
“Was that supposed to be Yoda?” he asked her. She nodded.
“It sounded more like Jar Jar Binks.”
A violent shudder shook the floor and Mel stumbled into his arms. A look of mortal terror flickered ever so quickly across her eyes before she regathered her composure and stepped nimbly toward the surfboards. She chose a longboard and handed it to him then grabbed a shorter board for herself.
“Strap the leg rope onto your ankle before you jump,” she told him. She did likewise, ripping off her tennis shoes.