Seven Days Grace (A Grace Rose Novel Book 1) (30 page)

‘
What next?
’
Grace asked out loud.

As her eyes travelled to the heavens
,
she noticed the skies had turned black and the winds had picked up
,
swaying their carriage back and forth even more. They all held on.

‘
We
’
re in for another thunderstorm
,’
she said to Jake.
‘
Let
’
s hope they get us down before we all get drenched.
’

The Ferris wheel jerked into action and they saw people disembarking from a carriage far beneath them.

‘
Who are you?
’
Grace asked staring directly into the eyes of The Voice who appeared to have forgotten to wear his darker than dark sunglasses today.

‘
All will be revealed. However
,
I cannot put my life at risk at this point by revealing my identity or Sleen will have me killed. I
’
m serious when I say he will do anything in this quest of his for money
,
power and fame.
’

Then the Ferris wheel lurched forward and began its move to release passengers from the next carriage. It came to an abrupt stop and Grace
,
Jake and The Voice all fell on top of each other on its floor.

‘
Grace?
’
Jake asked.

‘
I think I
’
ve twisted my ankle.
’

The rain pelted down and the trio soon had hair sticking to their faces and running down their necks. Grace shivered in the cold.

Great
,
one minute I
’
m in hospital and the next I
’
m freezing on a Ferris wheel. This better be worth it.

As they stabilised themselves and stood up enough to sit back in their seats
,
they all heard a grinding noise as the carriage came loose from one of its anchors. They looked up to see it had been secured in two places – mid way along each side of the roof. One had snapped free and they hung with the cage dangling on an awkward angle. People in other carriages were screaming out for help. A crowd had gathered below to watch the catastrophe unfold.

‘
This is not going to support our combined weight
,
we
’
ll all crash to the ground
,’
The Voice said as he jimmied the door open and steadied his large body in its frame.

‘
Are you stupid?
’
Jake yelled above the noise of the screeching ride and thunderstorm.
‘
The fire brigade will be here soon
,
they
’
ll get us down.
’
He looked up at where the carriage was secured to the arm of the wheel.
‘
It doesn
’
t look loose. I think we should sit tight.
’

The Voice jumped onto the main structure of the ride. His jump caused the carriage
,
and carriages around them
,
to rock back and forth.

‘
Have you gone mad?
’
Grace screamed above the hazardous conditions. The Voice was already traversing the steel frame of the wheel and making his way towards the ground.
‘
He
’
s lucky he didn
’
t kill himself.
’

‘
Forget about him. Grace
,
I want you to sit here.
’
Jake positioned her half on the seat even though it was on a tilt.
‘
Let me take a look at your foot.
’

Grace flinched as he touched her ankle and tested whether she had any movement in it.

‘
Sorry
,’
he said.

‘
I hope the firies get here soon.
’

‘
Firies? No doubt another Aussie colloquialism.
’

‘
Firemen.
’

‘
I
’
m sure we
’
re on the top of their list.
’
He wrapped his arms around her and shielded her from the worsening weather.
‘
Don
’
t let your legs hang through the cage
,
it
’
s too dangerous.
’

‘
If ever there was a time to pray
,
I
’
d say this was it
,’
she yelled as the rain ran down her face and she held onto whatever metal frame she could find.

‘
I
’
d agree
,’
he yelled back.
‘
Know any good ones?
’

‘
Yeah
,
how about
,
‘
God
,
help us now
’
?
’

The carriage lurched again. Jake saw the secure footing slipping. While others were still stuck on the ride
,
their carriages hadn
’
t come loose and they all looked on Grace and Jake
’
s misfortune with distress.

‘
Must
’
ve worked
,
I can see flashing lights coming into the park
,’
Jake said.

The carriage was rocking back and forth in the strong winds. Jake held Grace and pulled both her legs
,
even Grace
’
s one with the sore ankle
,
into a ball. They bent their heads together and she tucked her head inside his chest. He wrapped his arms around her back and she wrapped her arms around his side as best she could. Then it snapped. Grace was too frightened to even scream as they plummeted to the ground. Everything around them happened in slow motion. The cage hit the side of the wharf and rolled into the water.

The firemen had arrived almost at the same moment they crashed into the water. Immediately
,
two of them pulled their heavy jackets off and dove into the water
,
grabbing onto the carriage as it took them all to the bottom of the harbour. The firemen secured themselves with one hand to the carriage and reached inside with the other. One firie felt a person and through silty water
,
with little visibility
,
worked out what was up and what was down. He embraced him or her around the back and lodged his hand in the underarm of the person. Then he swam to the surface.

Grace was spluttering and coughing.
‘
Thank you
,’
she said to the rescuing fireman. She spun around on the water
’
s surface.
‘
Jake
,
Jake?
’
she screamed.
‘
Where is he?
’

‘
I have to go back down and find out what
’
s happened
,
can you tread water?
’
the fireman asked her. The two treading water saw another fireman dive into the water. He took care of Grace while his colleague went under water again.

‘
Yes
,
go
,’
she said.

The firie helped Grace into a life jacket and then fastened its clips. Grace kept wiping her eyes but the rain continued to limit her vision. She looked around in circles on the surface of the water
,
waiting to see if Jake and his rescuers were anywhere in sight. Panic reared its ugly head. She knew no-one could last more than a few minutes under water and live.

After what felt like an extraordinary amount of time
,
the two firies and Jake surfaced. Jake was between the two men and they had his head back. Grace swam over to them and helped to hold him up in the water. The firie who had been helping her said he would do it.

‘
Is he alive?
’
she asked.
Oh God
,
oh God
,
oh God
,
don
’
t let him die.

‘
He has a faint pulse and a bad contusion on his head but he
’
s alive
,’
said the one who had been under the water with Jake.

The Water Police turned up and pulled Jake into the back of the boat
,
they helped Grace on board and finally the three firemen. They laid Jake down.

‘
He
’
s not breathing and he doesn
’
t have a pulse
’
one of the firies said.

Grace sat back as one of the rescuers immediately gave him mouth-to-mouth and the other one counted and performed compressions on his chest. They took it in turns. Grace waited.

After a minute one of the firies yelled out
,
‘
It
’
s not working. Where
’
s the defibrillator?
’

The boat then sped to Milson
’
s Point Jetty where an ambulance awaited them. The firemen continued to busy themselves with their resuscitation as a police officer handed one of the other firemen the defibrillator. Grace knew they wouldn
’
t move him until they had a pulse.

‘
Jake
,
don
’
t die on me
,’
Grace said to him as she closed her eyes and inhaled and exhaled deeply to feel calmer. It didn
’
t work. She was a wreck.

29

Everything was
happening at once. The paramedics jumped onto the police vessel the second it connected with the jetty. Through a two-way system
,
the police had alerted the ambulance staff there was a resuscitation being undertaken on board.

Someone passed a couple of large umbrellas onto the boat. Grace and an emergency services member opened them and held them over Jake and the rescue team. Another ambulance officer came onto the crowded vessel
,
took Grace
’
s umbrella and helped her off the boat. She stood on the jetty watching the team frantically though calmly trying to save Jake
’
s life. The paramedic asked the fireman who was attending Jake
,
questions in quick succession. At the same moment
,
the fireman wiped Jake
’
s chest
,
placed the pads on the dried area and checked the screen for its recommendation.

Grace knew in her gut it was merely a matter of minutes these men had to bring him back before brain damage occurred or the ultimate price was paid. She could not bear thinking about either.

‘
Stand back
,’
the attending firemen yelled above the rain and chaos of the moment. Everyone did and then he hit the shock buttons. Two firemen continued with chest compressions and breaths into the patient.

When seconds tick by like hours and you
’
re staring at a wet
,
limp body lying on the floor of a water police boat your mind plays tricks on you. Grace wanted to scream. She wanted to yell at the paramedics and the firemen to get on with it
,
bring him back
,
save him
,
yet she stood motionless
,
staring at the chaos that assaulted her eyes.

‘
You
’
re doing him no good by hovering. Let them do their job.
’
A paramedic said to Grace as she led her to the back of an open ambulance. She helped Grace up and finally out of the torrential rain. By this point
,
it was difficult to see the harbour water which was within fifty metres.
‘
What
’
s your name
,
lovely?
’

‘
Grace
,’
she said still shell-shocked. Then she heard
‘
s
tand back
’
and the sound of the defibrillator again.

‘
Hi Grace
,
I
’
m Amy. Let me take a look at your ankle.
’

She nodded as she shivered in the back of the ambulance.

Amy placed a foil blanket around Grace.
‘
Feel better?
’

‘
I
’
m not cold.
’

‘
Grace
,
sweetie
,
breathe with me. Slowly in
,
great
,
now slowly out. Good
,
do a few more of those with your eyes closed.
’

As she did her breathing exercises
,
she wondered whether The Voice stuck around to see what had happened or whether he decided to take off. Amidst her thoughts
,
and Amy bandaging up her ankle
,
she heard words off in the distance which silenced all other noise assailing her ears.

‘
We have a pulse.
’

Grace
’
s head fell forward.

‘
I
’
m sure he
’
ll be okay now. He
’
s with a bunch of guys who will give him the best care
,’
Amy said as she wiped under grace
’
s eyes with a tissue.

Applause broke out from a small crowd of around a dozen people who had watched the incident unfold since the carriage fell into the water. They stood with no umbrellas
,
holding hands
,
possibly praying for a miracle that the man would live. It amazed Grace what brought people together. News cameras were already there recording and interviewing. The twelve nameless people would bring a moving section to the story.

Grace jumped from the back of the ambulance and raced to Jake
,
completely forgetting about her injury. They had Jake on a stretcher
,
had ripped off the majority of his wet clothes and wrapped him in blankets and thermal foil-like coverings. He was lifted out of the boat as the paramedics continued to monitor him.

‘
Let her through
,
she was with him in the water
,’
a voice said.

‘
Jake
,
Jake?
’
she was at his side
,
stroking his forehead.
‘
Jake?
’

‘
Lady
,
he
’
s still unconscious. Please
,
everyone clear the way
,’
said one of the paramedics who helped to revive him. Their training was in automatic mode and within moments they had Jake in the back of an ambulance
,
with Grace beside him
,
and were headed to the hospital.

‘
How long is he likely to stay unconscious?
’
Grace asked the paramedic in the back of the ambulance.

‘
It
’
s impossible to tell. Once we get him to the hospital and stabilised we might have a better idea. I
’
m Brett
,’
the paramedic said.

‘
Brett
,
nice to meet you
,
I
’
m Grace.
’

‘
Your boyfriend?
’
he asked
,
nodding towards Jake.

‘
K
inda. It
’
s a long story.
’
She wanted to be polite
,
although
,
how did she explain her week to a complete stranger? She chose civilities over long-winded information.

The conversation was short as Brett was busy with Jake
’
s situation. The ambulance driver was also busy contacting the hospital on his two-way with vital statistics on the patient.

Jake was rushed into a treatment room where doctors and nurses hurried to evaluate his condition. Grace walked in right behind them. She was immediately marched out of the room by a nurse who established Grace
’
s predicament instantly.

‘
Were you in the accident at Luna Park
,
too?
’
the nurse asked.

‘
Yes
,’
Grace replied. She was shaking
,
wet hair hung over her face and quiet tears continued to trickle down her cheeks.

‘
Oh boy
,
what an ordeal you
’
ve been through. Come with me
,
darlin
’
. Let
’
s get you taken care of straight away.
’