ALLUSIVE AFTERSHOCK (12 page)

“Bet you’d enjoy that,”
Courtland grunted. “Give me a minute here. I think I can get up if you give me
a hand.”

Court tucked the
picture of his parents into the pocket of his sweatshirt. Max took hold of his
uninjured right side, and I positioned my shoulder under Courtland’s burned
left arm, which he draped over my other shoulder. I glanced at the charred
flesh on his hand and then at his face. His intense green eyes stared down at me
but he quickly averted them toward the stairs.

“Let’s get this over
with before I pass out.”

We hobbled down the
stairs and inched our way to a clear spot in the cellar away from the barrels
and mess. We set Courtland down on the cold cement floor and he leaned his back
up against the wall. To the left of him on the floor lay some sheets and a
quilt similar to the ones my grandma used to make with little triangles and
squares hand-stitched together and designs in neat, even stitches. My mom had
draped the prettiest one my grandma had ever made over the foot of her bed for
added decoration. I fought back the sob caught in my throat and picked up the
quilt, unfolding and spreading it out on the floor.

“Lay on top of this—it might
give you a little cushioning.”

He nodded and positioned
himself face up on the blanket. “Thanks, Adela.”

I walked over to Max,
who had already righted the shelf and was picking things up off the floor. I
heard Courtland call out. “Is there any water?”

“I’ll get some. Max’s
mom stocked this place with a few supplies last week right after the first
earthquake.”

“I just put the water on
the shelf.” Max pointed toward the wall where the shelves now stood housing half
a dozen or so cans of soup and three gallons of water. “The water won’t last
long so use it sparingly.”

I poured some water
into a plastic cup and took it to Court.

“Thanks.” He sipped
some water and handed the cup back to me. “You drink some.”

“What?”

“You drink some. When’s
the last time you had any water?”

“Um … this morning, I
think. Thanks.” I took a sip and gave it back to him. He needed the water more
than I did. After all, I could walk over and pour some anytime I wanted, but I
liked the fact that he even considered offering me some when he was in so much
pain.

He took another sip and
pointed to a cotton sheet Max’s mom had left along with the blankets. “Do you
think you can find something to cut a couple of strips from that sheet and soak
them with water to put on my burns?”

“Shouldn’t I try and
find a first aid kit with some sort of ointment?”

“You could. We should
try to clean it first though and only use ointment if it’s an antibacterial. Otherwise,
cool water and gauze would be best. If you can’t find a kit, water and a clean sheet
will work if there is one.”

I made my way over to
the shelves and searched for a medical kit but didn’t find one. I looked over
at the sheet, still brand new in the package. I wondered if Max’s mom would
mind if I cut her brand new sheet into pieces—a silly thing to think about. Of course
she wouldn’t mind. “There’s no kit,” I said over my shoulder, “so I’ll need to
cut up the sheet.”

As I searched the
counter and the shelves, Max came up beside me and handed me his knife. “Go
ahead. Use this. I’ll find some more candles.”

I took the knife, surprised
at his offer, but glad the Max I thought I knew was still in there somewhere. I
ripped several strands of the soft white material and soaked them with water,
being careful not to waste any. Before I placed the first one over part of Court’s
leg, his hand grabbed mine and stopped me.

“Adela, be sure to lay
the strips gently over the burns and please don’t press.”

I swallowed and nodded.
I knew I should be as gentle as possible, but I didn’t blame him for wanting to
warn me. I’m certain that if it were me, any pressure put on the burns would
most likely send me to the ceiling. I didn’t want to inflict any more pain on
him. He closed his eyes and I placed several strips over the burns on his leg
the best I could. It was a little difficult with his pants in the way, but I
managed to lift them up enough to get some wet pieces of the cloth against part
of the burns. When I finished applying the strips to his hand and fingers, he
opened his eyes and whispered once again, “Thank you.”

I smiled, glad I was
able to help bring him a little relief. I grabbed the water bottle from the
shelf and refilled Courtland’s cup.

 “I’ll repeat, try not
to use so much water. It has to last.” I glanced at Max who sat against the
opposite wall hugging his knees to his chest.

I couldn’t help but
glare at him. Why was he being such a jerk? “I think he needs a little more. He’s
in a lot of pain.”

“I don’t want to die of
thirst down here because you want to baby him.”

I looked over at
Courtland; his eyes shut tight, his eyebrows close together, sure signs the guy
was in pain. He had to have heard what Max said. Maybe Max was being so mean
because he was in pain himself. Well, we all were and I decided it was time Max
put his differences with Court aside, whatever they were, because Court not
only had the emotional pain, but also the physical pain to go along with it. That,
in my opinion, trumped whatever miserable anguish Max was going through. “I’m
not babying him. He has some serious burns here. I’m not an expert, but if we
don’t treat them they might get infected.”

“Fine, just don’t use
all
the water. When you’re done playing nurse, I want you to come with me. We
should go out and search for other neighbors, maybe find some adults with first
aid training.”

“We shouldn’t leave him
alone.”

“Adela, we can’t stay
here forever and if his burns are that bad, we should try to find someone who
can help him. We will eventually need to find more water. My mom stocked this
place for a couple of days, not a lifetime. I thought you wanted to find your
brother and sister.”

Oh, he did not just
go there.
“No one said forever and I do want to find them.” I knew Max was right
about trying to locate others, but I glared at him for using my family to get
to me. Ignoring Max, I took another cup of water to Court. I didn’t like the
way Max was acting; making fun of Court in school was one thing, but this could
very well be a life-or-death situation.

I sat on the floor
beside Court and placed my hand behind his head to help him drink. He sipped a
little then indicated he’d had enough so I took my arm out from under him.

“I’ll share,” he
whispered.

“What?”

“I’ll share this cup of
water. Drink some before you end up dehydrated.”

“You’re worried about
me?”

“Of course. Why does
that surprise you?”

“I don’t know. I didn’t
think … never mind. Thanks.” Lowering my head to the cup, I closed my eyes in
an effort to hide my surprised, or rather pleased expression from Court. Wasn’t
sure why it gratified me to discover he was concerned for me. Maybe because on
some level, I knew my dad trusted Court and my dad would expect him to take
care of and protect me.

“How did you hurt your
hand?”

“Huh?”

“Your hand, it’s all
cut up.”

“Oh. I almost forgot
all about it. I tripped and cut it on some glass at my house.”

“You should clean it
and wrap a couple of strips over it so it stays clean.”

I nodded and wiped it
off the best I could with a piece of wet sheet. I cut another strip, wrapped it
around my hand, and walked over to Max.

“Could you help me tie
this?”

Max looked at my hand.
“Good job,” he said as he tied the ends of the pieces of material. “I’m sorry I
forgot about your hand. Does it hurt much?”

“No. In fact, I forgot
about it too. Court just noticed the cuts and said I should wash my hand and
wrap it.”

Max frowned. “Well,
good for him.”

I walked back over to
Court to make sure he was comfortable and he looked at me and smiled. “Your
boyfriend doesn’t like me much.”

“He’s not …” I stopped
mid-sentence, shocked at my sudden desire to keep Court from thinking Max was
my boyfriend, when up until then, that was all I’d ever wanted. Even though God
knew however much I wanted it to be true, it wasn’t. I didn’t want to discuss my
relationship with Max, especially not with Courtland Reese. “Don’t mind Max. He’s
upset about his parents.”

“What about yours?”

I shook my head. “I don’t
know. My house was destroyed but my mom wasn’t there. At least, I don’t think
she was. I’m hoping she went to the school to find my sister and brother or
went with my dad to Sacramento for the day. That’s better than thinking she hid
under the kitchen table or something and was buried under the debris. Max and I
searched all over the place, but we … she wasn’t there. I suppose that’s a good
thing.”

“Maybe, but I’m sorry.
I hope you find her.” His soft voice matched his eyes as they meet mine.

“Your dad?”

“He died in the fire.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.” I hoped
he recognized the same amount of genuine sympathy in my eyes that I saw in his.

Court nodded, keeping
his eyes on me.

“Um … listen. We … I
mean Max wants me to go with him to scout the area for more food and water,
possibly locate some other people. I still need to find my brother and sister.
Will you be okay here for a while? We shouldn’t be too long.”

Court nodded. “That’s
probably a good idea but be careful and try to get back before dark.”

I gave him a puzzled
look trying to figure out why he was so concerned about nightfall.

“It’s gonna be hard to
see when it gets dark. Without electricity there won’t be any street lights and
it’s gonna get cold.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll be
back before then.” I stood up and walked over to Max. “Let’s go.”

The pain was almost too
much to bear as I lay on the cellar’s floor, wishing I were dead. Good thing Adela
and Max left me alone. I couldn’t keep from groaning any longer and didn’t want
Adela or Max to feel sorry for me. I almost lost it a few times while Max and Adela
argued about the water. What the hell did Max think I was going to do, drink a
whole gallon of water in one sitting? The guy was a jerk and I wished to God I
knew what she saw in him.

The cold rags on my
skin helped some but they soon turned tepid and I wished I had some sort of
first aid kit or even a bottle of aspirin. Why would anybody stock a cellar for
an emergency without a first aid kit? They always come equipped with some
aspirin or ibuprofen. I could use a handful. I had to admit, it was pretty
stupid of me to stand in the middle of the smoldering fire. I glimpsed at the
picture of my parents again and decided it was worth every single moment of
agony. If I hadn’t picked up the photo, the last item I had left to remember my
mother by would have burned along with the rest of the house.

I managed to prop myself
up on my elbows and glanced around the cellar. Hmmm … plenty of wine barrels. A
glass or two of wine might help my pain. I’d have to wait for them to come back
since I couldn’t put much weight on my ankle yet.

I spotted a radio on
the shelf. Stupid Max probably didn’t even think to turn the thing on, see if
it worked. This was his family’s wine cellar. You’d think the guy would be
aware of what was down here. I leaned back and sighed.

Ahhh, stop, Court. Give
the guy a break. He was grieving for his family, just like you when you stepped
into the burning debris.

I’d always felt Max had
had everything; money, looks, and any girl he wanted. I only wished he didn’t
have Adela’s heart.

~~Adela~~

Max and I trekked
through the woods, the most direct route to the main road. The sun filtered in
through the massive redwoods creating a fairytale-like ambiance, a lovely
sylvan setting with moss-covered tree trunks and rocks. I pictured a little
hobbit cottage holed into the hillside. It didn’t look like anything was wrong.
Trees stood tall and birds sang loudly as my cheeks soaked up the warm
afternoon sun.

The temperature dropped
when we reached the road. Without the shelter of the trees, a slight breeze
filled the air that would surely turn cold tonight if it continued. I wished I
had more than just a sweater on. I had several jackets at home buried somewhere
under the pile of dust and rubble that used to be my house. I supposed someday
in the near future, I should go back and sift through the mess. I only hoped my
mom wasn’t lying dead among all the muck.

We walked for about
half a mile without seeing a single soul. My thighs were sore, especially when
we headed up hill. We had traveled so far already today and it seemed that this
journey could have waited until tomorrow. I sensed Max’s discomfort but I
handled grief differently. He needed to move and do something. He wasn’t the
type to sit and wait. Truth was I thought he just needed to be away from
Courtland for a little while.

Something jabbed into
the bottom of my foot and I stopped, picking a pebble out from inside my shoe causing
Max to turn and bark at me to hurry up.

“Max, I’m tired. Please
let’s turn back. It’s getting late and it’s going to get cold soon. I don’t
even have a jacket. Plus, I should put some fresh bandages on Court’s burns so
they don’t get infected.”

This last bit of
information seemed to irritate Max.

“Fine. We’ll turn
around right after we check on Murdock. His house is just over this hill. He’s
a good friend of my dad’s and he might be of some help to us. Come on, we’ll go
up this way—it will be faster.” He pointed to his right at the golden weeds
growing out of the hillside, a hill most likely still infested with rattlesnakes.
With little rain so far this fall, and the unusually mild weather, rattlesnakes
would be out warming themselves in the afternoon sun.