Kaya Stormchild (12 page)

Kaya scanned
the sea for any sign of Rex and Spencer’s boat but it was nowhere
to be seen. The rogue wave that had tipped the men overboard had
either swept their boat far out of sight into the darkness, or sank
it beneath the sea.

Spencer
coughed and shook and gasped for breath. Martin wrapped the oilskin
blanket tightly around the shivering man.

Suddenly
Spencer lunged to the side of the boat, dragging the oilskin with
him, and peered over the side into the dark water.

“
Rex!” he
shouted hoarsely. “Rex!”

There was no
answer. The sea was still and smooth. Nothing bobbed on its
surface.

“
Where is
he?! You gotta help him -” Spencer shouted desperately. “He can’t
swim. Rex!”

Spencer began
to sob uncontrollably. Struggling to free himself from the oilskin,
he seemed to want to jump overboard. But Martin gripped him tightly
and forced him back to his seat.

“
You’re
exhausted. You’ll drown if you go back into that water! Stay put!”
Martin said in a commanding tone. Up until that moment, he had
spoken quietly, like a man not used to conversation. Now there was
such unhesitating authority in his voice that Kaya turned to look
at him in surprise.

“
I’ll turn
the boat around.” Martin said, his face set and determined. “We’ll
find him.”

Martin swung
the boat and the headlight shone on the patch of sea behind them.
Nothing. They motored in a circle, slowly, calling out now and then
and listening for any signs of life.

They searched
for many minutes. At last they found him. He was floating face down
in the water, arms outstretched, the skin of his naked back
painfully white against the dark sea.

It took the
combined strength of all three of them to haul Rex on board. They
stretched him out in the bottom of the boat, and the huge man lay
there like a mighty fish, sodden and cold and unmoving.

“
You idiot!”
wailed Spencer, shaking his fist in the other’s still, unbreathing
face. “You wouldn’t learn to swim. You should never have been in a
boat!”

Martin gave
Kaya the wheel. “You drive,” he said. “Just steer towards the
lights of Campbell Harbour. Should be easy now that the sea has
calmed down. I’ll see what I can do.”

Martin knelt
beside Rex. He placed his hands over Rex’s sternum and began to
pump. Five quick, strong thrusts, then Martin stopped and blew a
mouthful of air into Rex’s throat. Spencer watched and wept,
rocking himself back and forth all the while.

“
He’s my
brother. My only brother. He looked out for me. It was just us. Its
always been just the two of us,” he moaned between sobs.

Kaya had never
driven a boat before. She kept her eyes on the sea ahead and her
hands firmly gripped on the steering wheel. But she had no time to
feel nervous. Her thoughts were preoccupied by the discovery that
Rex and Spencer were brothers. Could it be true? They were so mean
to each other – always fighting and saying cruel things. And yet
they were family!

A memory
stirred deep within her: two figures calling to one another over
her head - the howling wind - the sharp rain on her cheeks – then
the thrust of icy water against her chest, lifting her up and over
the side into the cold, swirling darkness – the cries of those
far-off familiar voices - the thunder inside her head as she sank
down, down – then the sleek form pushing against her back, lifting
her out of the water, and the strange, warm voice that said over
and over,
“All will be well, little one. I
am here to help you. Trust me.”

Kaya gazed
across the smooth surface of the sea. Spencer was like her: the one
who survived. They both had been spared by the storm, while
everything else they knew in the world was lost.

“
Are we
nearly there, Kaya?” Martin asked, breathing hard. He rested for a
few seconds, then began to pump the inert man’s chest once
more.

Kaya shook her
head clear of the memory and scanned the horizon. She saw the
lights of town now looming close.

“
Nearly
there,” she called to him encouragingly. “Another few
minutes!”

Soon they
approached the Campbell Harbour government dock. Martin jumped up
and grabbed the wheel as they approached the dock, steering the
boat safely into an empty slot. He cut the motor. Kaya jumped out
and had both ends of the boat tied up safely in no time.

“
OK, you’ve
got to calm down and help me carry him,” Martin said firmly to
Spencer, who’s whimpering had grown nearly hysterical. “There may
still be a chance to save him.”

Hearing this,
Spencer swallowed hard and seemed to gather his courage. The two
men heaved Rex’s inert body onto the dock and began to haul him up
the ramp to the street above.

“
Kaya!” a
voice shouted from above the dock. It was Jim. He hurried down the
ramp. Kaya waved, brightening at the sight of Jim’s cheerful
smile.

“
Can I give
you folks a hand?” he asked Martin, who nodded, panting with
effort.

Jim’s eyes
widened at the sight of Rex.

“
Whoa!” he
breathed. “This guy’s in bad shape!”

Jim turned,
cupped his hands and shouted to someone standing and watching them
from the street. “You there! Call the ambulance.
Quickly!
”

Jim then bent
to slide his hands under Rex’s cold, wet belly. He, Martin and
Spencer puffed and grunted as they lugged the massive body up the
long dock to the street, and lowered it slowly to the grass at the
roadside. Jim took off his jacket and tucked it around Rex’s
half-naked body. It was only a moment before a siren sounded in the
distance.

“
I think
you’d better let the police know as well,” said Martin to Jim in an
undertone. Spencer had begun to sob and wail once more, and didn’t
hear their conversation. “These two are wanted for
assault.”

Jim bent to
take a closer look at Rex. “Yep. That’s him alright. The one that
was in my store the other day.“

He glanced
across at Spencer, then whistled softly through his teeth. “Well
I’ll be -”

The ambulance
pulled to a halt, the siren still blaring. Two paramedics leaped
down from the van and had Rex loaded onto a stretcher in
seconds.

“
Uh, you
better take this guy with you,” said Martin. “He’s his brother. And
he’s in shock.”

Spencer,
shaking violently, had to be helped into the ambulance next to Rex.
Jim watched them for a moment. Then he turned to Martin and
Kaya.

“
I’ll go and
make that phone call,” he said quietly. “What a night this must
have been for you two!” He gave Kaya’s shoulder a squeeze and then
turned and ran off towards his store.

Once the
ambulance had sped away into the night, Kaya and Martin set out
behind on foot, with Tike at their heels. It was less than a mile
up the road to the Health Clinic. Kaya thought wryly what an
unusual commotion there would be at the Clinic tonight. Campbell
Harbour was normally such a quiet little town, and here, in one
night, was a vicious assault, a stabbing, and a
drowning!

“
Do you think
Rex is dead?” asked Kaya, as they turned into the main street of
town and walked past the dark shops.

“
I’m afraid
he is,” said Martin soberly. “I kept trying to revive him, but
there was just no sign of life, no pulse at all, no matter how hard
I pumped. That thing I was doing to his chest – that’s called CPR.
Sometimes it works, but I couldn’t get a heartbeat going. There was
nothing more I could - ” Martin’s breath caught in his throat. He
swallowed then shook his head, blinking away tears.

“
At least you
tried,” said Kaya comfortingly. “If only we’d found him sooner, it
might have worked.”

“
It might
have,” said Martin softly. “I have to admit, when I first saw those
men and knew what they’d done to my son and to the old lady, I
wanted to leave them there in the water. I didn’t care if they
drowned or not. But somehow -” He gazed back down the street
towards the sea for a moment. “Somehow, you just can’t let another
creature suffer without trying to help, can you?”

“
No,” said
Kaya decidedly. “You can’t.”

They continued
in silence. It had been such an exhausting night. Kaya’s head spun
and she felt terribly tired. All that mattered now was that Josh
and the Duchess were OK. Once she knew that, she would find
somewhere to sleep. She knew she would sleep for hours and
hours.

Martin seemed
lost in thought. He frowned as they walked side by side.

“
I –“ Martin
began after a couple of minutes. He paused and shook his head. Then
he continued quietly, as if to himself, “I haven’t been there for
Josh lately.”

They continued
walking in silence.

“
I’ve been
bloody self-absorbed this whole past year,” Martin burst out
angrily. “But I’m going to quit that now. I nearly lost my son, and
he’s the most important thing I’ve got in the whole
world!”

Kaya squeezed
his hand.

They reached
the clinic and found it bustling with activity. The big medical
helicopter was just leaving, taking the Duchess to a hospital on
the Mainland, with one of the paramedics on board to accompany her.
The doctor was putting a cast on Josh’s leg

The nurse came
out and congratulated Kaya on her first aid efforts.

“
I hear you
set the bone,” she said, smiling at her. “Clever girl! You did it
perfectly. And I am also very curious about the substance you used
to bandage Mrs. Kimpton’s wound. It seems to have kept the cut from
getting infected. When we aren’t so busy around here, I’d like you
to tell me about that plant. Will you?”

Kaya nodded at
her.

“
The Duchess
– I mean Mrs. Kimpton – she’s going to be all right, isn’t she?”
Kaya asked anxiously.

“
Yes,” said
the nurse, smiling. “She is going to be quite all right. Dr. Harlow
stitched up her arm, but he wanted to send her to hospital for a
day or two for observation. She is weak from blood loss and is
suffering from shock. But she’s a strong lady for her age. She will
be back home in a few days, I am sure.”

“
And the
other man, Rex?” asked Kaya.

The nurse
shook her head. “I’m afraid it was too late for him,” she said
sadly. “Did you know him?”

“
Kind of,”
said Kaya. “Not… uh…closely. What will happen to his brother,
Spencer?”

“
Poor fellow.
When Dr. Harlow pronounced Rex dead he became hysterical and
violent. He attacked one of the paramedics. “ She sighed. “We had
to give him a sedative. And then the police arrived and arrested
him. They’ve taken him away to the station for the
night.”

Kaya and
Martin waited for half an hour until the cast on Josh’s leg was
finished. When the boy was ready to go home, Martin called the
taxi. Josh was on crutches. He grinned as he clumped down the ramp
from the clinic.

“
This is a
blast!” he cried. “The guys at school are going to be
jealous!”

“
You’ll have
to come home and stay at our place tonight, Kaya,” said Martin.
“I’ll leave George’s boat tied up at the dock for now and come and
get it tomorrow. We’ll get your canoe back from the police station
then, too, Kaya. But I think what we all need right now more than
anything else,” he said, reaching behind to tousle his son’s hair,
“is a little sleep!”

The taxi
arrived and Martin helped Josh hoist himself into the back, then
got in the front passenger seat next to the driver.

Kaya had never
ridden in a car before and she climbed into the soft padded back
seat of the taxi with wide eyes. Tike refused to get in beside her.
He stood shaking and scowling on the ground beyond the open
door.

“
C’mon Tike,”
said Kaya soothingly. “The taxi won’t hurt you. It’s just kind of
like a canoe, only for going on land. And you don’t have to
paddle!”

“
But it's
noisy,” grumbled the otter. “It growls!”

“
Well, you
can stay here in Campbell Harbour for the night then if you want
and I’ll come back and get you in the morning,” said
Kaya.

Tike
hesitated. Apparently the thought of spending the night alone in
this strange human settlement without Kaya for protection was not
appealing. With a grunt and a grimace he slithered into the space
at Kaya’s feet and curled up into a tight ball.

Kaya bent and
scratched Tike’s back comfortingly. Then she rolled down the window
and thrilled to feel the wind whip her hair as the taxi sped down
the dark country road. Cars went so fast! This must be how
grandmother feels when she’s flying at full speed, thought Kaya. So
much faster than a canoe!

Martin and
Josh lived about three miles from town, in a rustic log cabin
nestled among cedar trees at the water’s edge. After a few minutes
the taxi pulled up at the top of a gravel driveway. The cabin was
visible in the distance. A single light was on in one
window.