The Survivors(110)

‘Kieran! Up here!’

The voice wasn’t coming from the caves. Kieran blinked. He wiped the water from his face and squinted up against the bright sky.

Mia.

She was edging her way down the cliff path, Audrey strapped to her chest. She rounded the jagged rock from where she could see the vanished beach clearly for the first time. Her face collapsed at the sight of him in the waves.

‘Kieran!’ A flurry of rushed steps, her voice nearly lost over the sound of the water hitting the rock. ‘I saw your note. What are you doing? Oh my God –!’ She looked ahead. ‘Where’s the rest of the path?’

‘Wait, don’t!’ The sight of her snapped him back into himself. He held up his hand as another wave nearly knocked him off his feet. He stumbled but held firm this time. ‘It’s not safe.’

‘Jesus, yes, thank you, I can see that!’ Mia shouted back, but at least she stayed where she was. Kieran started wading towards her, pushing through the sea until he heard another smack of water on rock. He stopped, fighting against the drag of the current. The black void of the cave entrance gaped wide as Mia turned to look too.

‘Has something happened?’ she called, but her voice was quieter now.

Kieran nodded. He couldn’t find the words.

‘I’ll get help.’ She was already reaching for her phone.

He shook his head. ‘It’s on its way.’

Mia hesitated, then took another couple of steps down. The noise of the sea and the cries of the birds were deafening. She stopped clear of the edge of the water.

‘Then you’ve done everything you can do, Kieran.’ Her voice cut through, firm and clear. Her feet were dry, out of reach of the waves. He could see Audrey moving against her chest. ‘You can come out of there.’

Kieran could still hear the sea thundering in and out of the tunnels. He dragged his eyes away from the caves and back to Mia.

‘Whatever’s happened here –’ Her voice was still calm. ‘– it’s done now. It’s over.’

She stretched out her hand to him.

‘I can’t come any further,’ she said. ‘You have to come to us.’

Kieran looked at her. He had loved Finn. He still missed him and wished he were here, and he guessed he always would. But as he saw Mia standing there, something he realised he’d known for a long time shone through like a beacon, small but clear and bright. Finn was gone, and he wasn’t coming back. But Kieran still had others in his life. Other people that he loved. Mia, reaching out for him, and Audrey, small but with so much ahead. Kieran thought about Verity and Brian, waiting for him at home. He thought about his friends, and couldn’t help but look one last time at the caves.

Then he turned away. He looked towards Mia and began pushing his way forward through the water to her and Audrey. He kept moving, not letting himself stop until he felt the sand give way to firm path under his feet. When he was close enough, Mia reached down and he stretched up and she helped pull him clear of the sea.

Kieran was shivering hard but she was warm as she steadied him on the path. He wasn’t sure what else to do so he put his wet arms around her and Audrey and held them both until he felt himself begin to breathe again. He wasn’t sure how long they stood there together, their heads close, Mia’s hands on his back.

Finally, he straightened. ‘Let’s go. Let’s go up.’

‘Are you sure?’ Mia looked at him. ‘Are you ready?’

‘Yeah.’ He nodded. ‘I’m ready.’

They turned towards the path, winding clear and dry ahead. Kieran didn’t look back at the lifeless caves or the angry sea or the lonely gaze of The Survivors. He reached out instead and took Mia’s hand as she held their daughter and they made their way together, up to higher ground.





Acknowledgements


This book took me to a beautiful part of Australia and my thanks go to the many people in Tasmania who were kind enough to share their stories and experiences with me.

Thank you to the staff at the Eaglehawk Dive Centre in Eaglehawk Neck for guiding me through such a fascinating experience under water, and patiently answering my many questions about diving in Tasmania.

I am grateful to Grant Blashki, Lead Clinical Advisor for Beyond Blue, for sharing his professional insights around the impact of grief as well as the research and treatments available.

Any mistakes or artistic liberties throughout the book are my own.

My sincere gratitude to the real Sue Pendlebury and George Barlin who successfully bid for the chance to name a character at the Peter Pan Committee’s Literary Lunch to raise funds for Barnardos. Thank you so much for your generous donation to this important cause and for lending your names to two of my favourite characters.

Thank you to the many people who worked so hard on this book: my editors Cate Paterson and Georgia Douglas at Pan Macmillan, Christine Kopprasch at Flatiron Books, and Clare Smith at Little, Brown; my agents Clare Forster at Curtis Brown Australia, Alice Lutyens and Kate Cooper at Curtis Brown UK, Daniel Lazar at Writers House and Jerry Kalajian at the Intellectual Property Group; and my publicists Clare Keighery at Pan Macmillan, Amelia Possanza at Flatiron Books and Grace Vincent at Little, Brown.

Thank you to my friend and former publicist Charlotte Ree from Pan Macmillan, whose promotion has rightly taken her onward and upward, but whose dedication and wisdom have been a driving force in the success of my books.