Sliver Moon Bay: The Looking by Ivana Hruba

Chris is high
on fear, adrenaline and pure energy. He splits himself into a
hundred, thousand, million rampaging men, performing feats of
courage and strength everywhere at once. But Starling has flown the
coop and left us burning in hell.
    Chris tears through the house
like a fireball, diving into Starling’s room once again. The
ceiling gives, the space explodes. Outside, I put my arms around
Lilian. She’s in her silk bra and panties. Oh, so they’ve been
busy. That, of all things, on a night like this. Poor Lilian. She’s
on the ground, unaware. She knows nothing of this great bonfire
swallowing her life. It’s a big fire; it’s lit up the sky, shamed
the Moon. He’s gone somewhere, to sulk, leaving me here alone,
remembering Chris. He’ll always be orange to me now. And I don’t
know how I’m going to tell Lilian.
    It turns out I won’t have to.
Chris staggers out, smouldering but alive. Old Drake appears, dives
into the house that is now freely collapsing around him. The man
doesn’t seem to care. He’s looking for his granddaughter. This is a
proper nightmare.
     
     

 
    19
     
     
    One elephant, two elephants,
three elephants, four elephants, five elephants, six elephants,
seven elephants, eight elephants, nine elephants, ten elephants…
Ready or not, Emily, here I come!
    Quiet. Mummy’s looking.
    Emily? Emily-darling, where are
you?
    Shhh…Mummy’s looking. Mummy’s
here.
    Ah! There you are! I see you! —
Good job hiding, sweetheart. Your turn to find Mummy now. Put your
hands over your face, now, sweetie. Remember? And count ten
elephants. Okay? Go.
    One elephant, two elephant,
three elephant, seven elephant, TEN! — Ready or not, Mummy, here I
come!
    —
    ‘Sarah. Sarah, can you hear
me?’
    I do. I hear her. I sense she’s
hovering over me so I must have fainted, again, during gym. And
when I open my eyes, the whole class will be looking at me. She’ll
be right there, close to me. Stinking. And worried. So maybe I
won’t open my eyes. Not until they’ve all gone away. I’ll just hold
my breath.
    But it’s too quiet. Nobody’s
laughing.
    ‘Sarah? You feeling okay? Can
you talk?’
    Oh, my God. Starling!
    ‘Starling?’ I croak, open my
eyes.
    Silly Bitch says nothing for a
bit. She sits close by, wedged in a plastic armchair, her massive
body spilling out of the gaps under the chair’s arms. Her hands are
clasped in her lap and she’s leaning towards me. Though she’s
pretty much blocking the daylight coming in through the window I
can see that she’s anxious and that I’m in a hospital room, lying
in bed.
    ‘Starling?’
    Silly Bitch wells up. She’s
shaking her head.
    ‘We haven’t found her yet. But
she isn’t in the house so we’re hopeful.’
    She tries to smile. To look
hopeful. But she’s not pulling it off.
    ‘Where’s my mum?’
    I’m having trouble speaking. My
throat hurts.
    ‘She’s in the room next door.
She’s okay but sedated. Your dad is out, with the firefighters,
looking for your sister.’
    Now I see the connection. Silly
Bitch is married to a fireman, Captain Josh he’s called, who comes
to school to show the fire truck to pre-schoolers. He’s a good guy
to have in charge of the rescue cause he’s also a policeman, one of
the two guarding law and order in Sliver Moon Bay.
    ‘They will find her, Sarah.
She’s not inside. The fire is out. They’ve saved most of the
house.’
    I see. The house is still
standing and Starling’s not in it. That means that she’s out
somewhere, safe from the flames.
    Silly Bitch pats my hand. She
offers me a drink. I draw some water in. My throat hurts. I’m
worried about Starling but I know she will have found a safe place
by now. She would have found herself a little nest to rest in. It
wouldn’t be too far. We’ll find her.
    ‘Drake?’ I croak to Silly
Bitch. ‘Is he okay?’
    ‘He’s not doing so well, Sarah.
He’s badly burnt. But we’re hopeful.’
    I nod, close my eyes. I see
him, in flames,