Chapter 20
ERIN
They loaded up as much of the food from the chalet as they could the following morning before they left for the station.
Erin and Martha had spent the previous evening poring over the map and second-guessing where they would be heading for the next checkpoint.
There were so many options though that they gave it up as a bad idea, and Erin went to talk to Mika in the museum to see if he would be able to look up train prices, where to get off, and connecting bus times and fares.
She came back to Martha with a page ripped from her journal covered in information.
It was all a guess at this point but one thing was for sure, they had to get the only train out of Churchill and they’d be on it together, again.
Sam hadn’t tried to talk to her directly again, not since the train, but offered small smiles when their paths crossed. He was utterly gorgeous was Erin’s thought every time she looked at him and try as she might, it was a thought she just couldn’t shake off.
Cally handed them their fourth envelope in the race and Martha opened it.
Your fourth checkpoint is Niagara Falls
‘At least we know where that is,’ Martha said with a smile. ‘I’ve always wanted to go there.’
‘I’m not actually sure I do know where it is,’ Erin said. ‘I thought it was in America.’
‘Well, it’s right on the border.’
‘Okay, then. We’ve got this, Martha,’ Erin said and they set off down the road to the station, watching Priya and Tara in the distance.
The train was due to leave at 8.30 and it was 7.45. Unfortunately, there was plenty of time for them all to catch it. In the waiting room, Martha stretched out the map and pinpointed Niagara Falls.
‘I suggest we get off the train at Thompson just as Mika said and then get a bus to Winnipeg. From there we’ll have to see what the best and cheapest options are to get us all the way through Ontario, across the top of the Great Lakes and on to Niagara.
It’s a long old way. I’m guessing about three thousand kilometres,’ Martha said.
‘And look, by the time we reach Niagara, it’s basically only a short hop to the finish. ’
‘Hardly any distance at all,’ Erin said with a grimace. ‘A short hop, you say. God, that makes me so tired just to think about it, never mind doing it.’
Noah was filming of course, but Erin had long given up on trying to sound plucky.
She traced her finger across the huge expanse of Canada they still had to travel and took a deep breath. She wasn’t sure they were at quite the halfway point at all.
‘One stage at a time. First, the squeaky slow train to Thompson where we can enjoy another uncomfortable night,’ Martha said and laughed.
Erin hadn’t had nearly enough coffee for jokes. As soon as the others arrived and then also the train itself, they hauled their weary selves back on board and parted with $160 for the privilege.
‘When we’re settled, I want to give you control of the money and the tracker,’ Martha said. ‘You’ve done so well and I really do think you’d thrive with a little more control.’
‘Really? You think so? Thanks, Martha. That means a lot.’
Erin didn’t really mean this. She wasn’t sure she wanted any control at all.
She’d probably lose all their money and get them on the wrong bus or train.
She couldn’t even keep hold of a leaflet.
But, if Martha was keen to give her a bit of responsibility, then she should take it and try to prove her grandmother right.
For the rest of the day they watched the countryside change around them. They ate what they had taken from the chalet which was fruit, biscuits, cereals, bread and a jar of honey, which Erin spread on the bread using the end of the make-up brush she had in her washbag.
‘It’s either that, or your toothbrush,’ she said when Martha turned up her nose.
‘I think I’ll just use my finger,’ Martha said.
The skyline car was full of the other contestants but there was little conversation.
Everybody seemed jaded, or maybe it was just that they didn’t want to give away their decisions about the transport they’d planned for this leg of the race.
But they still had the night to contend with and by the time the train drew into Thompson station the following morning at eleven thirty, there was no conversation at all.
Erin wondered how they were going to cope with the overnight bus to Winnipeg.
In Thompson they bought a few provisions and treated themselves to large hot chocolates.
The tickets for the bus were going to cost them another $180, but Martha suggested they try for a lift share.
They had until the bus left at 10 p.m. to see if they could get a free ride, but if not they’d jump on the bus.
It was clear after three pointless hours of asking at the gas station if anyone was going to Winnipeg that nobody was prepared to take them.
Erin wasn’t surprised. They must look a bit of a fright after a day and a night on a train.
If she were honest, this was a bit of a low point.
She was incredibly demoralised. They’d come a long way but had so much further to go.
Martha had yet to give her the control she suggested in the form of the tracker and the cash but Erin was pleased about that. She didn’t really want it and wasn’t going to remind her grandmother.
‘I’m not feeling too good, actually,’ Martha said. ‘I’m a bit achy breaky if you know what I mean and my throat is sore.’
‘Let’s go and get you some paracetamol,’ Erin said.
‘Cally will have some,’ Noah said. ‘Do you want to see the medic?’
‘No need for that, just some painkillers will be fine, thank you.’
Noah came back with a packet of high-strength paracetamol and Martha swallowed two down with water.
‘That should do the trick,’ she said, but Erin thought she looked really peaky.
‘Let’s go and sit in the bus station,’ said Erin. ‘We’re not spending any more hours out here. It’s been a complete waste of time.’
The seats in the bus station were not all that comfortable but Martha managed to sleep for a short while with her head resting on Erin’s shoulder.
Neither of them were looking forward to the night bus but there really wasn’t an alternative.
Erin thought it was likely they’d all be on the bus together but when ten o’clock rolled around, it was just herself and Martha, and Harrison and Sam.
‘The others went with a different bus company. I saw them getting into a minibus but I checked the times and it’s no different,’ Sam told her. ‘We’ll basically be neck and neck.’
‘Do you need anything?’ Harrison asked Martha when he realised she wasn’t feeling well, but she shook her head.
‘Just to sleep until Winnipeg.’
‘Harrison is the king of sleeping on public transport,’ said Sam. ‘I really don’t know how he manages it.’
‘I remember,’ Martha said before she could stop herself.
They settled in their seats and Martha took another couple of tablets.
‘Hopefully these will knock me out.’
And then they were off for their nine-hour journey with Martha curled up as best she could. She rolled up her jumper and used it as a pillow but Erin was amazed she drifted off because the bus was a rickety old thing.
‘It’s going to be a long night,’ she said to Sam who was sitting in the seat behind her.
The driver told them he would be stopping in Grand Rapids to switch drivers and they could use the restroom facilities.
It was about a halfway stop point. Erin sank down in her seat and made a nest for herself with a coat and a cardigan.
She tried to ignore the bumping and rattling of the bus and it must have worked because she woke briefly when Martha took more tablets and not again until they were in Grand Rapids.
Half the passengers left in search of the loo, but Martha muttered she had no intention of moving and Harrison was still fast asleep and gently snoring.
‘Should you wake him?’ Erin asked Sam as they walked towards the petrol station toilets.
‘No, he’ll be fine. He’s like a camel.’
Erin laughed. She really couldn’t help herself. Sam was slowly proving he wasn’t really a bad person. She might have to accept that.
‘That’s impressive for an old man,’ she said.
They split up at the door and Erin headed into the ladies’ to join the back of the substantial queue.
She caught sight of herself in the mirror and didn’t like what she saw.
She wished she’d thought to bring her bag in and use a bit of make-up or at the very least, brush her hair.
She opted for running her fingers through the waves while she waited for her turn.
‘The lock is a bit dodgy on that one,’ said a woman who held the door open on the cubicle for Erin. ‘You might want to leave it unlocked.’
Like hell, I will, Erin thought as she thanked her. She’d seen enough TV dramas where bad things happened to people in toilets. Especially ones in the middle of nowhere like they seemed to be in now. It was a bit stiff, but she forced the bolt over and then used the loo.
She was a little worried about her grandmother.
If she wasn’t well, they would struggle on this leg of the race.
Erin was used to Martha being able to rally and that was clearly going to be tricky for her.
Hopefully the tablets and some sleep would work and they could get back on track.
They also needed to find a way to overtake the men.
It was infuriating being on the same bus, neck and neck, like they had been on the train to Churchill.
If it was like that all the way to St John’s it would come down to a sprint finish.
And they had little chance against Harrison and Sam.
They might be able to beat Priya and Tara but probably not Femi and Liz either.
The truth was that a sprint finish was probably exactly what the production company would want.
More exciting to watch that than someone with a clear lead.
Erin flushed the loo and went to pull the bolt back but it wouldn’t move. She’d pushed it over so hard it was stuck. She tugged and tugged but it just wouldn’t budge. The first flutterings of fear hit her as she pulled it so hard she thought she’d broken her finger.
‘Hello?’ she called out, but it seemed everyone else had gone.
She crouched down to see if she could fit underneath the door but the gap was just not quite wide enough. Then she looked up but it was the same at the top.
‘Hello!’
This time she shouted but the sound just echoed around the empty room. They wouldn’t leave without her, she knew that. Martha wouldn’t let that happen. But Martha was probably back asleep again. Sam? He wouldn’t let the bus go without her. They were being cordial now.
‘HELLO!’
‘Erin?’
It was Sam, thank goodness.
‘I’m stuck in the loo,’ she said and inwardly cringed at the words. ‘The bolt is wedged.’
‘Hang on,’ he said. ‘I’ll find someone who can help.’
Sam seemed to be gone for ages. In fact, it had now been forty minutes since she’d stepped down off the bus, Erin realised as she looked at her watch.
They’d all be so annoyed at the delay. No one wants to prolong an overnight bus journey.
She’d have to apologise to them all when she got back on board.
‘I’m back,’ Sam said, and his hand appeared under the door with a pair of pliers and a screwdriver. ‘Use the pliers to try and pull it across or you can just undo the whole lock with the screwdriver.’
‘Oh my God, thank you,’ she said, taking both.
She got a good hold of the metal and yanked really hard and this time it flew apart. She pulled the door open, relieved to see Sam on the other side.
‘That is so embarrassing, but I’m so pleased you came to find me. I wouldn’t want the bus to go without me.’
‘I wouldn’t have let that happen,’ he said and those words gave her such a glow. ‘Come on, we’d better get back before our names are complete mud.’
They walked back out onto the forecourt of the petrol station but the bus was no longer there.