by Sally Gould
Then I got a brilliant idea. I drew a spaceship and a bunch of aliens with three eyes. Charlie laughed and added a comet, some stars and a bunch of figures.
"We should wait for Mom and Dad," I said, "and pretend we found this rock art."
"Mom knows when we're lying. She knows us too well."
I was going to argue with him, but he was probably right. "Well, let's try to convince someone else that we've just found these pictures."
He thought about it for a second. "See if you can convince someone. And then I'll have a go."
Typical. Charlie had to make every single thing into a competition. I went out onto the track. A few people passed, but I didn't stop them. They looked real serious and were walking fast without talking. Next, an old couple came up the track. They were walking pretty slow and chatting about how magnificent the canyon was. Perfect victims, I reckoned.
I backed back so I was out of sight. Then, when they were at just the right spot, I came running out looking real excited.
"Come and have a look at this!" I waved for them to follow me. Their wrinkled faces lit up and they followed. It was easy. I could be the Pied Piper leading them over the edge of the cliff for all they knew.
We reached the wave rock and I showed them the Aboriginal rock art. "Charlie and me just found it," I said, real excited.
"How exciting," said the old woman.
"Goodness me," said the old man.
The old woman smiled at me and took a closer look. She bent her head one way and then the other, like she was some sort of expert on Aboriginal rock art. Then she looked down and picked up my red rock.
I should've chucked it away. Mega-dumb!
She laughed. Lucky it was a nice kind laugh and not a mean nasty vicious laugh. She said to the old man, "Arthur, I think we've got a couple of practical jokers here." She said to me, "You remind me of my grandson; he'd play a joke like this. When I get home, I'll tell him about your ancient Aboriginal rock art. He'll love hearing about it."
"Oh well," I said, "I tried."
They laughed, said it was nice to meet us and went back to the track.
Charlie gave me a smug look.
I chucked my red rock away and told him to do better. He went out to the trail while I waited. Five minutes later, Charlie was back with twin boys, who must've been about five years old. What? That wasn't fair. Any idiot could convince a five year old.
Charlie whispered as though his discovery was a big secret only they were allowed to share. Their eyes widened in amazement. Charlie had them hanging on to every word like he'd made the most important discovery in the history of Australia.
I wondered where their parents were. What sort of parents let their five-year-old boys disappear with a strange teenager? Any minute they might appear and think we'd kidnapped their kids. Then we'd be sent to prison. And it'd be all Charlie's fault.
Charlie got so confident he told them that the aliens gave the Aboriginal people Uluru as a gift. And after the aliens had finished in Australia, they flew off to Egypt in their spaceship and gave the Pyramids to the Egyptians.
I could tell those two boys had never heard of the Pyramids. But it didn't matter to them. They totally believed everything Charlie said.
He finished by saying, "Don't tell anyone, okay? It's our secret. I'm going to sell the story to TV and make lots of money."
The boys nodded and ran off with big smiles like they knew the biggest secret ever.
"That's not fair." I pointed my finger at Charlie. "Any idiot could fool two five-year-old kids."
"They were six. I asked them."
"That doesn't count," I said as we walked back to the track. I was so mad. Charlie always cheated.
He huffed. "You agreed we just had to convince someone. If you meant an adult, you should have said so."
I huffed. He was right as usual. Not that I'd admit it.
"You think up the next competition."
"I will." We reached the track and kept going. Some bits were flat and easy and in some bits you had to climb over rocks. I had to be very careful choosing the next competition, because Charlie was older, taller and stronger. I had to choose a game where he didn't have an advantage. We reached another flat section. They were the best parts. And in some places we could see over the whole canyon. It mightn't have been the Grand Canyon, but it was pretty amazing. There were small posts along the path, just every now and again. They were a bit weird. It was like they were there to jump over. They didn't have a sign stuck to them or anything. I was checking out one of the posts when a brilliant idea sped across the dark side of the galaxy and flashed into my head.
I collected a bunch of rocks and shoved them in my pockets. "Okay," I said to Charlie, "here's what we're going to do. The first person to hit the rock sitting on top of three different posts wins."
"Easy." Charlie grinned as if there wasn't a chance he could lose.
I placed a rock on top of the first post. We both got back a fair way and waited till there was no one nearby. Charlie threw three times and missed every time.
Then I threw and I knocked it off first time. I know - I'm smart and skillful.
Charlie muttered something about luck.
I said nothing. I'd just let him sweat.
At the next post, I went first. I hit it off on the third go. If Charlie hit it off on the first or second go, then he'd win. He had his turn and the closest he got was hitting the side of the post. He was getting real mad with himself; I could tell. Charlie hated losing more than anything.
"Well," he said, "you won that one. We're even." He gave me a real sneaky look and said, "It's my turn to choose the next competition. This one will be easy. Whoever gets closest to the edge of the canyon wins."
"Yeah, easy," I said.
3. SAVED AGAIN
We had to wait till there wasn't anyone around. Charlie said someone might think we'd made a suicide pact if they saw us standing right on the edge of the canyon and they might start screaming. We found a really good spot where we could see most of the canyon. Charlie stood on top of a rock and looked out to see that no one was coming along the track.
I called out to him, "The problem with this competition is that we can both win it. Then we'll have to think up another competition. And by that time, Mom and Dad will have caught up to us."
"Nah, one of us will win."
He was always so sure about everything. He was the biggest know-it-all in the world. He jumped down from the rock and we went over to the edge.
It was one humungous hole. Beneath me I could see a small tree trying to grow out of the side of the canyon. I wished I had wings so I could fly over the canyon and eventually drift down to the bottom. Our feet were a few centimeters from the edge when Charlie made a weird sound.
I glanced at him and realized he looked different. His face had turned grey. He was staring at the bottom of the canyon and he looked real scared. That was good for me. I'd win and I'd show the smarty-pants. I crept closer so the toes of my shoes were just over the edge. Charlie didn't move; he was still a fair way from the edge. He wasn't going to make it, I could tell. That was weird. Charlie wasn't a scaredy cat. I should've felt great, except I didn't.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Dunno." His voice came out croaky and he didn't look at me; he was still staring at the bottom of the canyon.
Suddenly, I was scared. I'd never seen Charlie like this. It was like he was frozen and couldn't move. "Let's forget this game," I said. "Let's just make sure we get to the end of the track before Mom and Dad."
His head gave a slight nod.
I went to step toward him, away from the edge, but then the ground fell out from under me. I screamed. A scary, piercing scream - like out of a horror movie. I fell, hitting the side of the canyon wall. I fell faster and faster. OH MY GOD! I WAS REALLY DEAD THIS TIME.
My feet hit something hard. Then I remembered the tree I'd seen growing out of the side of the canyon wall. My legs crashed through it. I
grabbed a branch with both hands. My legs swung out into the big empty sky and back in, hitting the canyon wall.
"MAAAX!" I heard Charlie's voice above me.
I couldn't yell back. I had to use all my strength to hang on. And I couldn't look up. My hands might slip; they were already sweaty. How long could I hang on?
I heard Charlie's voice again. "I'm getting help!"
Brilliant. By the time he'd got a rope, I'd be splattered all over the canyon floor. I had to think, but it was hard when my hands were slipping, my legs were dangling and I was sure my jeans had slipped below my undies. And they were red, so everyone would be looking at them.
If I were strong, I could lift one leg up over the branch and hoist myself up onto the branch. But I didn't think I could. And even if I could, I wasn't sure that the branch would be strong enough to hold my weight. If it wasn't, then I'd be dead for sure. But if I could hang on until help arrived, then I might be okay. But where was Charlie going to find help and a rope? I knew the answer. He wasn't.
Just then I had a cosmic insight. It was my time to die. That's why I'd ended up in that croc-filled river. But I'd lived, so I wrecked the plan. So now I was here, hanging off a branch and about to fall a million miles. I might die in the end, but I sure would fight to stay alive.
And Charlie had said it was a well-known fact that only the good die young. That must mean I was good. I tried to work out why I was so good. I thought about it for a few moments. I couldn't think of anything. But maybe that was because my hands were slipping. That made it a bit hard to concentrate.
"MAAAX!" I heard Charlie's voice again.
I wanted to look up, but I couldn't.
"Someone's going to lower me down and then you can grab on to my hands."
WHAT? That was the worst plan I'd ever heard. Where was the rope? Where was the park ranger? Where was a chopper? How could my skinny brother hold my weight? He must be desperate. FAR OUT! We could both die.
I forced myself to look up. I saw Charlie being lowered down headfirst. There were two men at the top. Surely he wouldn't reach me. But then I realized I hadn't fallen that far ... it just felt like a long way. I stared at Charlie as he got closer to me. I could see his face. He was terrified. The front of his body was covered in red dirt from sliding down the wall of the canyon. I couldn't take my eyes off him.
But still I could feel myself slipping.
"Hang on," I heard Charlie whisper in a croaky voice.
Finally, his fingertips reached my hands.
"One hand at a time," he said.
That was easy for him to say. Why would I want to let go of this nice branch and hold his hands, which were only stuck to two skinny arms? It would've been different if he were a big strong firefighter.
Still, I didn't have much choice. I let go of the branch with my left hand and held his hand. His grip was firm. I wondered if these would be the last moments of my life. How could he hold my weight?
I let go of the branch with my right hand and gripped his other hand. I felt myself drop. I screamed, but Charlie held on.
Slowly, I felt us both being raised. It seemed to take forever. Least I could see we were getting closer to the top. Charlie had to look down the whole way.
Someone grabbed my arm and pulled me up. It hurt, but I didn't complain. Charlie was safely at the top, then I felt myself sliding over the top. I heard the man who'd pulled me over let out a big groan.
Charlie and me lay on our backs. We just breathed and looked up into the clear blue sky.
"Thanks, Charlie." My voice sounded weird. "You saved me again." I couldn't believe it; he was the hero again.
4. TROUBLE
I heard Mom scream and come running toward us. I didn't get up and neither did Charlie. We had no energy to do anything. Only then did I realize we'd be in trouble. BIG TROUBLE. I guess it had been pretty dumb to stand right on the edge of a million-mile drop. My insides were still shaking, but I had to come up with a plan. A good one.
The way I saw it I had three options. Option one - deny everything. Option two - say a gust of wind blew me off the cliff. Option three - say there was a big landslide.
Charlie and me were covered in red dirt, so denying everything probably wouldn't be smart.
Could a gust of wind blow me off a cliff? Maybe. But today there was no wind, so that mightn't be the best option.
A landslide, I decided, just as Mom and Dad kneeled in between us, was the best option. And it was sort of true. Mom held our hands. Her eyes were wet. She couldn't even speak; she was so upset. I felt sorry for her.
I managed to raise myself up on my elbow. "It's okay, Mom. We're fine. I was checking out the view when the ground underneath me disappeared and I fell. I grabbed the tree and then Charlie and those guys saved me. They're real heroes."
Dad patted us both on the shoulder and got up to talk to the guys who'd helped Charlie save me. Mom began to cry.
It was the third time on this holiday that she'd almost lost me forever. I guess losing your favorite son must be the worst thing ever.
A park ranger wearing a hat and a brown uniform appeared with a black bag. He acted like he was important. First, he checked Charlie's pulse. Charlie was real white, as though he'd seen his own ghost. The ranger asked him questions and Charlie barely answered him. It was weird. Wasn't I the one who'd almost died? Why was he carrying on like this?
A crowd of people had gathered close by. I stood up because now I felt okay, except my shoulders felt like they'd almost popped out of their sockets.
A few minutes later, the ranger had finished with Charlie, who was now sitting up. He spent thirty seconds checking me out and announced that I was fine. Then he asked us what had happened. Dad, Mom and the two guys who'd helped crowded round us.
I was sure glad Charlie didn't feel like talking. I said real fast, "Charlie and me were checking out the view - it's real good from just here - I was just standing there thinking how amazing the canyon was and how if Dad had been with us he would've been carrying on about water carving out the whole canyon millions of years ago - he always does that - when the ground beneath me disappeared and I fell down and down and I thought I was going to die - but I wasn't too sad because it was a better way to die than being eaten by a croc - and then my legs hit a tree and I managed to grab onto a branch - I thought my hands were going to slip and I'd fall right down to the bottom and splatter all over the place - and the birds and snakes and spiders would eat me. And then what would go in my coffin? But then, Charlie yelled out to me and those brave men lowered him down by his ankles and Charlie took my hands and hauled me up. And everything is okay." I took a big breath.
The ranger nodded. Dad slapped Charlie on the back as if to say well done. Mom gave me one of her funny looks, which meant she wasn't sure whether to believe me. Then she said, "Max, show me where you were standing."
I swallowed. "It'll be hard to tell because of the landslide."
Mom, Dad and the ranger went over to the edge. They looked down at the tree sticking out from the side of the cliff.
The ranger turned to me and said, "You must have a guardian angel. If you'd fallen anywhere else you'd be dead."
I liked the idea of a guardian angel. I bet she had long blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes. Maybe she'd saved me from the crocs as well.
"MAAX!" said Mom. She pointed to a whole lot of footprints in the red dirt. "Do these footprints belong to you and Charlie?"
I swallowed again. Charlie and me looked at each other. We each knew what the other was thinking. The red dirt showed up the tread marks of our trainers real good. They only had to match the tread marks of our trainers to the footprints and they'd know we were standing right on the edge. But it was okay, because I had a plan.
I walked over real casual. First, I dragged my feet where Charlie's footprints were and then I walked over all my footprints and kicked at the ground - all before Mom realized what I'd done.
"What footprints?" I asked.
"Maax." She sounded angry. "So you were standing too close to the edge. How stupid can you be? You're not immortal, you know."
A second later, Dad must've realized what we'd done and he gave us one of his killer glares. That meant he'd deal with us later - in private, not in public, because if anyone saw him lose his temper they might think he wasn't fit to be a father.
The ranger shook his head. "Boys," he said, "you've got to be careful. We expect people to use their common sense. Just last week, the rescue chopper had to fly in to save a man who'd got too close to the edge and fallen - just like you. Except he wasn't so lucky. He fell onto a ledge over the other side of the canyon and he died shortly after he was picked up. Such a waste."
"Wow," said Charlie, who now sounded normal. "I've always wanted a chopper ride."
5. ULURU
The next day, Charlie spoke up from the back of the LandCruiser. "We'll see it best from a chopper."
"Yeah, I'm not climbing it," I announced. I'd almost died three times on this trip and I still wanted to be alive at the end of it.
"The Aboriginal owners prefer that people don't climb it," said Mom. "I'm happy to walk around it."
Dad hit the steering wheel with his fist.
I slid down in my seat.
"We're only doing this trip once," he said. "I've been wanting to come on this holiday for years ... and now we get to the highlight ... and you're all too lazy to climb it."
"Okay," Mom said, "we'll climb it."
He nodded. "And we'll get to the top, even if it takes us all day."
Charlie called out from the back, "We could climb it and go on a chopper ride."
"No!" Dad hit the steering wheel again. "Helicopter rides are expensive."
Charlie couldn't help himself. He said, "But this might be the only time in our whole lives we're here. We'll kick ourselves for the rest of our lives if we don't fly over it."
"Too bad."
When Dad said too bad that meant the conversation was over.
"If only I go, then it won't be expensive."