‘Did you get put on the naughty step?’
‘Reckon it was worth it.’ Thomas Kendrick threw a lazy grin in his colleague’s direction as he headed for the comfortable armchair in the staff quarters of the mainland rescue base.
The most recent addition to the elite team of paramedics, Felicity, shook her head. ‘I’d heard you were a bit of a cowboy even before I applied for the job here, you know. Yesterday was the first time I’d actually seen you do something so reckless, though.’
Tom shrugged. Okay, the job had been a bit wild. And, yes, he’d taken a fair risk climbing under the unsecured car wreck at the bottom of a cliff as it had teetered on rocks, far too close to the boiling surf, but it had been the only way to get the unconscious driver out.
‘You were just as keen as I was, Fizz. You would have been the one to crawl inside if I’d let you.’
‘Yeah …’ Her grin was unrepentant. ‘It was awesome, wasn’t it? And we got her out. Alive.’
They had. But Tom had known there would be repercussions. Felicity had sustained a fairly major laceration to her arm in the process and was now stitched up and in a dressing that had to be kept dry. She was off active duty for a few days. And Tom had received a warning from an exasperated base manager.
‘Look, we both know you live for the adrenaline rush, Tank. And we both know you’re the best in the business. But there are limits, okay? Start taking notice of the boundaries or I’ll have to take this further than a verbal warning. You nearly broke one of the crew. That’s not on.’
Fair enough. It hadn’t been his fault that Fizz had got injured, though. She had simply refused to do what he’d told her and stay put, off the slippery rocks, until he’d retrieved their patient. She was too young. Too eager. And not just when it came to the job. The look she was giving him now was unambiguous.
‘I’m off active duty, Tank. I’m … frustrated.’
Tom ignored the invitation in her eyes. It would be all too easy to start an affair with Felicity. The other guys on the base were probably taking bets on how long it would take this time. And they were probably getting a bit puzzled by the fact that Tom couldn’t seem to summon the interest.
Maybe the game of starting something he would only want to finish not so far down the track was finally getting old. Been there, done that. Too many times.
‘You could come and help me with a … a stocktake, maybe …’
Counting supplies in the storeroom was not what Felicity had in mind. Good grief … at work? Maybe he did push the boundaries when it came to saving lives out in the field but, dammit, he had some personal boundaries. Funny that the prospect of an illicit thrill wasn’t even enough to spark real desire, though.
He shook his head. ‘I’m going to hit the gym. Doubt if we’ll get another job before the shift’s over.’
He knew she was watching him as he left the room. He knew he could pretty much click his fingers and get her into his bed if he wanted. Was that the problem? That there was no challenge involved?
The rescue base pilot on duty, Moz, was running on the treadmill. He raised a water bottle in salute as Tom entered the small fitness centre. The paramedic standing in for Fizz was Frank and he was currently using the rowing machine.
That wasn’t the name his parents had given him, of course. It was short for Frankenstein and had been bestowed after an accident had given him an impressive facial laceration. The scar from the injury was virtually invisible, now, but the nickname had well and truly stuck.
Stripping off his overalls, Tom moved to the weight machine, wearing only a pair of shorts and a singlet. He flexed his muscles and started to warm up slowly. Keeping in shape was taking more effort these days but it was worth it. He’d earned his own nickname years ago due to his physique, along with his impressive height.
Thomas the Tank Engine. Unstoppable.
The weights on the machine rattled loudly and Tom narrowed his eyes as he watched them. The whole machine was rocking now and he wasn’t touching anything.
‘What the hell is that? An earthquake?’
‘Didn’t feel a thing.’ Moz was still pounding the treadmill at a good pace.
‘I felt it.’ Frank was looking interested rather than alarmed in any way.
An earthquake you were aware of was pretty unusual for Auckland, but not unheard of. They had minor tremors all over the country on a regular basis. If that was it, it was nothing to write home about.
Frank was already moving to his next activity. ‘Just a seismic burp,’ he said. ‘No biggie.’
‘Might be the tail end of something that was pretty big for someone else,’ Tom suggested.
Frank grinned. ‘That would make up for a quiet day, wouldn’t it?’
Moz mopped the sweat from his brown with a hand towel but didn’t slow down. ‘Dream on,’ he called.
Tom laughed. They would probably all do exactly that for the next few minutes. Good distraction from the pain of pushing yourself physically, anyway, imagining an event that could provide the kind of job they all dreamed of.
Tom took a deep breath and released it. He was feeling good now. Life was full of exciting possibilities. You just needed to be in the right place at the right time.
And keep yourself fit.
Tom added more weights and settled into his routine.
The tremor on Kaimotu Island started exactly the way the others had in the last few weeks. A sharp, unpleasant, jolting sensation.
But instead of fading away, this time the intensity built up with a speed too fast to process. It wasn’t until she was virtually thrown off balance and only stopped herself falling by catching the edge of her desk that Abby realised that something huge was happening. She watched the jar of jelly snakes float through the air and then smash into shards on the floor. The fridge door had opened and its contents were starting to spill out. The revolving filing system, filled with thousands of patient files, was rocking violently and spewing paper in all directions.
Even then, it was all happening too fast to feel any fear. Blake had been thrown off balance but was still on top of the examination couch. Any second now, though, he would be on the floor amongst the broken glass and whatever else was about to come loose. It felt like Abby was trying to move against the deck of a violently rolling ship as she lunged towards the toddler.
‘Under my desk,’ she shouted at Ruth. ‘Quick.’
She had to shout. It wasn’t just the crashing and banging of things falling around them, there was a peculiar roaring sound. As if a huge jet was trying to land on the narrow, unsealed road that led to this hilltop hospital.
Catching Blake in her arms, Abby made a dive for her desk. She felt something crunch under her knees but was oblivious to any pain. The shock of being narrowly missed by the computer monitor crashing off the desk beside her was more than enough distraction. The fridge had not only emptied its contents on the floor but now it was trying to walk through the debris, tilting ominously as it rocked from side to side.
Was the solid wood of the desktop going to be enough to protect them if the fridge fell over? Was the building going to stay upright? Vicious sounds of windows exploding and a scream from the waiting room gave Abby another surge of adrenaline, and it was then that the first shaft of pure fear sliced through her.
‘Hang on,’ she told Ruth. ‘It’s got to stop. It’ll be okay.’
Who was she trying to reassure? The terrified mother who was clutching her infant with one arm and hanging on to a leg of the desk with the other? The small boy in her own arms, who was rigid with terror?
Herself?
All