still no water, so they were limited about what they could do. He had asked Alice to go back to Timaru with him, but she said she was doing fine, that she wanted to join the student volunteer army helping in the suburbs. Kevin packed more of the family’s belongings into the van and headed back down to Timaru.
Now, nearly three weeks later, Marjorie had cooked dinner and they ate while watching the news. Marjorie was an excellent cook and it was only the exercise Alice was getting every day as part of the student volunteer army that meant she wasn’t packing on the weight. The first few days she had been shovelling silt, but now it was deliveries, running all over town making sure people had food, water and other supplies. It was easier getting petrol now, not like the Mad Max days just after the quake.
The city had been cordoned off all the way out to the four avenues that framed the CBD, and the military was manning the cordon. What was even stranger than seeing the New Zealand military on the cordons was seeing soldiers from another country, Singapore. There were also light armoured vehicles patrolling the streets inside the cordon. Outside the cordon, helicopters patrolled the suburbs to deter looters. There were comments on Facebook saying that looters should be arrested and locked up in the Grand Chancellor, a hotel that was one of the tallest buildings in the city and thought to be in imminent danger of collapsing. Driving towards the city down Ferry Road, Alice could see the Grand Chancellor, which had slumped in one corner, like a giant that had been punched and fallen down on one knee. It was disturbing, when driving out of the city, she would see it in her rearview mirror when she checked the traffic behind her. It was like a stone angel from Doctor Who , sneaking up on her when she wasn’t looking, waiting for her to blink so it could advance towards her, catching her to drain her of all her energy. What energy? She needed more sleep.
It was Friday night now, and she had the weekend to try to catch up on her sleep and get ready for the resumption of lectures on Monday. A lot of buildings still needed to be checked, but marquees had been set up for lectures and some local businesses were letting the university use their meeting rooms. She would try to wind down a bit over the weekend, and maybe go down to Timaru on Sunday. Lindsay and Kevin were still there, and her old flatmate Ben had been in touch as well. Last year had been his final year, so there was no need for him to come back up to Christchurch and experience the whole tent city thing.
For ninety years old, Marjorie was doing well. It was the Blitz, she told Alice whenever Alice brought it up, going through something like that, you never forgot the experience, so you always knew how to make do. Most of Marjorie’s family had left the city. Those with little kids were worried about providing them some stability, and Andrew and Michelle were staying at their holiday house in Wanaka and had already enrolled their kids in a school there. They intended to stay for at least a term. Gerald and Sylvia were in Sydney, staying with Laurel, Andrew’s younger sister. Their house on the hill was a mess, the roof tiles were all askew, and the day after the quake Gerald and Andrew had strapped blue tarpaulins over it to stop too much rain from getting in. The winds had been heavy and the tarpaulin wouldn’t necessarily do a good job for long, but given the state of the place inside, Gerald said he wasn’t sure it mattered. Gerald had signed up to Facebook and had told Alice that Sylvia didn’t want to go back to Christchurch. Alice wondered how many other people were feeling that way.
Neil and Heather, Alice’s other grandparents, were all right, but their house was damaged and it didn’t seem like they would have water for a while. They had moved in with Heather’s parents, whose house had new cracks and more liquefaction in the yard, but it was liveable.
Now, nearly three weeks later, Marjorie had cooked dinner and they ate while watching the news. Marjorie was an excellent cook and it was only the exercise Alice was getting every day as part of the student volunteer army that meant she wasn’t packing on the weight. The first few days she had been shovelling silt, but now it was deliveries, running all over town making sure people had food, water and other supplies. It was easier getting petrol now, not like the Mad Max days just after the quake.
The city had been cordoned off all the way out to the four avenues that framed the CBD, and the military was manning the cordon. What was even stranger than seeing the New Zealand military on the cordons was seeing soldiers from another country, Singapore. There were also light armoured vehicles patrolling the streets inside the cordon. Outside the cordon, helicopters patrolled the suburbs to deter looters. There were comments on Facebook saying that looters should be arrested and locked up in the Grand Chancellor, a hotel that was one of the tallest buildings in the city and thought to be in imminent danger of collapsing. Driving towards the city down Ferry Road, Alice could see the Grand Chancellor, which had slumped in one corner, like a giant that had been punched and fallen down on one knee. It was disturbing, when driving out of the city, she would see it in her rearview mirror when she checked the traffic behind her. It was like a stone angel from Doctor Who , sneaking up on her when she wasn’t looking, waiting for her to blink so it could advance towards her, catching her to drain her of all her energy. What energy? She needed more sleep.
It was Friday night now, and she had the weekend to try to catch up on her sleep and get ready for the resumption of lectures on Monday. A lot of buildings still needed to be checked, but marquees had been set up for lectures and some local businesses were letting the university use their meeting rooms. She would try to wind down a bit over the weekend, and maybe go down to Timaru on Sunday. Lindsay and Kevin were still there, and her old flatmate Ben had been in touch as well. Last year had been his final year, so there was no need for him to come back up to Christchurch and experience the whole tent city thing.
For ninety years old, Marjorie was doing well. It was the Blitz, she told Alice whenever Alice brought it up, going through something like that, you never forgot the experience, so you always knew how to make do. Most of Marjorie’s family had left the city. Those with little kids were worried about providing them some stability, and Andrew and Michelle were staying at their holiday house in Wanaka and had already enrolled their kids in a school there. They intended to stay for at least a term. Gerald and Sylvia were in Sydney, staying with Laurel, Andrew’s younger sister. Their house on the hill was a mess, the roof tiles were all askew, and the day after the quake Gerald and Andrew had strapped blue tarpaulins over it to stop too much rain from getting in. The winds had been heavy and the tarpaulin wouldn’t necessarily do a good job for long, but given the state of the place inside, Gerald said he wasn’t sure it mattered. Gerald had signed up to Facebook and had told Alice that Sylvia didn’t want to go back to Christchurch. Alice wondered how many other people were feeling that way.
Neil and Heather, Alice’s other grandparents, were all right, but their house was damaged and it didn’t seem like they would have water for a while. They had moved in with Heather’s parents, whose house had new cracks and more liquefaction in the yard, but it was liveable.
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