Eric Walters - The Rule of Three

“At least somebody would sponsor me,” she said.

I laughed even though I knew this wasn’t something to joke about. If this creek dried up where would we get water from? What if this situation did go on for four more days, or four weeks, or four months? I guess we could start to draw water from the pool. It was clean and chlorinated. We could drink it, which was why we shouldn’t be wasting it on the toilet. Was that why Herb didn’t want us to use that water for flushing? Because he thought it could go on that long?

Then I thought about Lori’s farm. They had water, lots of clean, fresh drinking water. I could bring out some containers, and that would be my excuse to go back.

Slowly we filled up the first five pails and then scooped out as much as we could into the sixth. That would be enough. We trudged back up the slope and along the path to our house. There were more people heading down for water. Was that what had happened to the flow? Were so many people in this neighborhood and others from upstream drawing water out of the little stream, pail by pail, that they were draining it? Was that even possible? But what else could it be?

“Wow, look at that,” Danny said.

I turned. On the horizon was a thick black cloud rising into the sky.

“That has to be some big fire,” Rachel said.

“Did it just start or didn’t we notice it?” Danny asked.

“I’m not sure.”

“Where do you think it is?”

I shook my head. “I don’t think it’s close. It looks like it’s north of Eglinton, but really it could be farther and bigger. There’s no way of knowing.”

“You could drive there,” Danny said. “You could drive us there.”

“I’m not driving us anywhere. Let’s get home.”

“Mom is coming home today, right?” Rachel asked.

“Right. And when she comes home she might even know about this fire.”

“What are you carrying?” Rachel asked.

“This would be water,” I said, holding up one of the pails.

“I meant under your shirt.”

“Nothing. C’mon, get busy.” The pistol in its holster made a bulge under my jacket. I pulled my stomach in so that the gun was less visible. I knew I should have left it hidden under my bed as long as I was in the neighborhood, but I just felt better with it on me. As uncomfortable as it was to have it, I still felt more comfortable carrying it. Herb must really be getting to me.

“It certainly looks like something,” Danny said.

“Maybe once the electricity comes back you can both have your eyes checked.”

“That’s not on the top of my list once things go back to normal,” Danny said.

“What is on that list?” I asked, moving away from the original topic. I slowed down slightly to allow them to get just a little in front of me. I didn’t want them to have another chance to look at the bulge under my jacket.

“Ice cream, a cold Coke, video games, and air-conditioning,” he said.

“Fair enough. It was hot last night, especially for late April.”

“I’m just glad this didn’t happen during the summer,” Danny said.

“You’re right—it would be a lot hotter,” I said.

“And we wouldn’t be in school.”

“You’re not in school now,” I pointed out.

“Exactly, but it’s better to be missing school.”

“I don’t like to admit it, but he has a point,” Rachel agreed. “But I like school—well, at least my friends from school.”

“You still have friends from the neighborhood,” I said.

“But I want all my friends.”

Other than Todd I hadn’t really talked to many people my own age except Lori, and I was going to see her again. I just needed a reason.

“Would it make you happy to go horseback riding again?” I asked Rachel.

Silly question. I smiled at the eager expression on her face and assured her I’d ask Mom as soon as I got a chance.

That night I was restless. After spending the whole rest of the day with the twins, trying to amuse them with endless board games, I had felt stuck inside. I lit a candle and read for a bit, but the whole time I worried that I was wasting the candle on a story that wasn’t very good, so I finally just lay in bed in the dark, listening to the complete quiet, wondering what was happening out there.

Shortly after dawn, I heard motorbikes and a go-cart drive up and park in our driveway. The police officers were back from their patrols and meeting again in our kitchen.

I came downstairs and sat quietly in the living room, pretending to read a magazine. As my mother, Herb, and the four officers talked, I was trying to listen in on the conversation, hoping to find out what had happened during the night. So far there was nothing except small talk. I figured that soon I could just sort of saunter in, take a seat, and hope my mother didn’t evict me. Until they got under way, though, it was probably safer to stay out here and hope they didn’t realize I was within earshot.

Herb appeared at the doorway. “You want a coffee?”

I looked at him and shrugged my shoulders. So much for being forgotten.

“Come on in and get it, then.”

I got up and followed him back into the kitchen.

The four policemen and my mother just nodded at me while Herb poured a cup of coffee and then gestured for me to sit at the table. I went to sit down but stopped and looked out the window behind them, where I could see smoke still rising on the horizon.

“It’s hard to tell how far away that is,” Herb said, gesturing out the window. “I don’t suppose any of your patrols went in that direction?”

“No,” Officer O’Malley said. “That’s definitely on the far side of the Credit River, well out of our patrol areas.”

“But that doesn’t mean we didn’t see a couple of things that had caught fire,” Brett added.

“More than one?” my mother asked.

“Two on our patrol,” Brett said. “Three if you include the car that was torched.”

“And another one just south of Burnham,” Howie added. “A small house fire—they were using a charcoal grill under the overhang of the deck and it caught. Luckily they were able to put it out with some handheld extinguishers.”

“At least it was an accident,” my mother said.

“Fires are going to be a problem if the weather continues to be this dry. Particularly in those town houses at the top of the neighborhood. There’s no way to call the fire department, and even if you did they have no operational trucks or running water. A fire can get out of control really fast and spread to surrounding buildings,” Herb said. “Do we have any firefighters who live in this neighborhood?”

“Yes, at least a couple,” my mother confirmed. “Isn’t your friend Greg’s father a fireman?” she asked me.

“A fire captain,” I said. “They live a couple streets over on Wheelwright.”

“That’s good to know,” Herb said. “He’d also know if there are other firefighters living right here. I was thinking it would be really helpful if we could get some firefighters to do a door-to-door and talk to people, educate them about dangers around candles, indoor fires, and the use of propane.”

“That would be helpful,” my mother agreed. “I’ve been worried about that tanker sitting up in the gas station at the top of the hill.”

“What if we were to secure the tanker?” Herb said.

“I think the checkpoint by the plaza does that to some extent. Are you suggesting moving the checkpoint farther out?” my mother asked.

“I’m suggesting the opposite—moving the tanker closer, right into the neighborhood.” Herb paused. “Actually, to be fair, it was Adam’s suggestion.”