Read Shared Skies for Free Online Page A

shepherding,
    “ Get your case, there’s a
good girl. Come on now. Everyone move, out the door to Daddy. Bring
everything, well done. No fuss, we’re all safe. Let’s go. Stay
together.”
    Outside, Gaiah shivered in the chilly dark.
The light from the train made square shapes on the rough ground and
Gaiah watched shocked passengers flit in and out of view as they
emptied out from the other carriages. The embankment was not steep
and most of the passengers were starting to climb up to the road,
pulping fruit and vegetables from the burst crates underfoot.
Traffic had stopped and headlights at various angles fractured the
dark adding to the sense of unreality. Dozens of people were
already on their mobile phones calling emergency services.
    Gaiah carried the children's bags and
followed the family as they clambered up the slippy incline. Among
the stopped traffic, was an empty bus on its way back to the depot
in Musselburgh. The driver opened his doors and shouted. “Come on,
love, sit in here in the heat.”
    Mrs. McCrea quickly ushered her brood, which
now included Gaiah, onboard. Gaiah paused as she climbed in and she
looked back over her shoulder into the night. Trees and bushes
thrown into relief looked like alien creatures swarming in the
black countryside. She was very glad to step into the welcoming
warmth and light. The driver turned the heat up full and soon
condensation ran down the windows blocking out the night and the
packed bus became a bright cocoon on the dark road.
    From her capacious bag Mrs. McCrea produced
a flask of tea and some soggy sandwiches. Gaiah didn't even think
of saying no. She bit into the squishy tomatoes mushed into
wholemeal bread; they were perfect. The over-sweet tea spread
comforting warmth throughout her body. They ate in silence but the
food helped to make her feel a bit better.
    The driver walked up and down the bus
passing on the information as he got it. “The truck driver’s dead,”
was his first announcement. Gaiah clamped her hands over her mouth
and the children began to cry. Mrs. McCrea looked daggers at him.
“There’s no need to be saying things like that in front of the
children!”
    “ Sorry Missus, but them’s
the facts.”
    In the next hour he came back with more. The
train driver was badly injured, the police and firemen were working
on clearing the wreckage and getting the traffic moving. The police
were also interviewing the hundred or so passengers to ascertain
what they had seen or heard, and whether they needed hospital
attention or wanted to continue their journey home.
    The police eventually made
their way to the bus. They had been looking out for Gaiah. The
reason for the train's delay had been broadcast at Edinburgh
station and her grandparents had already been in contact with them.
She was handed a slip of paper with the name of the hotel where her
grandparents would be waiting and the bus was cleared to go. Gaiah
stared at the names on the page, numb. How
could they possibly have anything to do with me?
    The driver offered to take the survivors to
Musselburgh where they could all get taxis to their respective
destinations. Everyone gratefully accepted his offer. Soon the bus
lumbered off into the night.
    Too much had happened
today. Gaiah wished it were over. I can’t
believe someone has just died. It’s sickening. Somewhere, some poor
family is about to have their lives ruined. This is all too crazy–first Bryant and now this
crash. The little tendrils of fear began
to reappear, chilling her skin and making her palms sweaty. Is it me? Am I making everything happen? Oh God,
I should never have left London. She began
to shiver.
    Mrs. McCrea was next to her in an instant,
covering her with her fleece-lined coat. “Here, take this dear, I
have a big cardie as well. Accidents happen all the time love, you
know. And really, we’ve been lucky, it could have been so much
worse.”
    Gaiah nodded. Mrs. McCrea was right. She
tucked the coat around her