by Leo Nix
“Hey cuz, you just learning to talk all over again?” he teased weakly, tears had formed in the corners of his eyes. “I'd better bring some soap with me to wash your mouth out next time.”
Riley held back a sob as he helped Roo sit with his head leaning against the rock face. With the strength of an outback cattleman he easily carried Bongo down to the horses. When he came back he examined Roo's wrist and placed a stick along his forearm wrapping it with part of a saddle cloth. Carefully placing him on his back he carried his cousin down the dirt track to place him gently beside Bongo.
“I'm going to light a fire and put you blokes around it to warm up. Then we'll cook some food and have some hot tea, what do you think?” He chatted away all the time thinking of how to get the two away before dawn brought the rest of the Wilson's.
He sent the dogs out to patrol the gully. They thought they were going to hunt kangaroos and raced off barking. The horses were accustomed to dogs and weren't fussed, but they were sore and irritable having struggled as they tried to escape during the fire-fight.
Riley spent some time grooming and settling the horses. Then he removed their saddles and hobbled them so they could forage for food by themselves. He hurriedly made a meal and some hot tea from the stores in the saddlebags and helped his two friends eat. Like a nursemaid he laid them on their saddle cloths and settled them down in front of the fire.
“Bongo, it looks like Roo's got concussion of some sort. He's broken his wrist and lost some blood too. I'm going to grab that Rover down there and put the two of you in it. I'll take you to Katie and the kids. But we aren't out of danger. If one of those Wilson's got away they'll hunt us down, then they'll kill us.” He looked at Bongo in the firelight. Bongo nodded, Riley saw he was pale and weak.
“Sure, let's get some rest…” Bongo fell asleep mid-sentence. Riley quickly turned and headed down the track shining his torch to reveal the punctured windscreen and a dead man behind the Rover's steering wheel. He pulled the body out, it was Ferrie, one of the Wilson bully-boys who'd held Bongo while Brad and Greg bashed him senseless.
“You prick, it couldn't have happened to a more deserving bloke.” Riley growled as he dragged out another two bodies to make way for his wounded mates. He saw the weapons and ammunition inside and decided to collect as much as he could while he was there.
Riley brought the vehicle closer to the fire and then packed the boys gear in the back. One by one he carried them and placed them inside the vehicle itself. Calling for the dogs to climb in he drove out of the gully and was at his hideaway within the hour.
The old bushman's hut was well hidden among the gully's. Difficult to see unless you walked up to it. But with two four-wheel drives parked beside it there was no way they could escape detection.
With the kids asleep Katie fussed over the two wounded warriors doing what she could to ease their pain. They made up a makeshift bed on the floor for the two wounded men to sleep on, and stoked up the fire. After Katie cleaned and examined Roo's bloodied arm, she called Riley over.
“Riley, hold his arm - here,” she showed him exactly where she needed him to place his hands. Roo remained unconscious. “Now hold firmly and no matter how much he screams don't let go. I'm going to set it and then bandage it in place with these two sticks here. You need to hold tight, are you ready?”
“You're not going to pull on it are you? He'll yell the darn place down. You sure you know what you're doing?” Riley's voice was strained and he sounded exhausted.
“I've helped my dad do these sorts of things with the workers and animals. It isn't hard to do, just painful,” said Katie matter-of-factly. “If we don't straighten his arm now, he'll have a gammy arm for the rest of his life. It has to be done, Riles, it's now or never. Are you ready?” She grasped Roo's hand and got a good grip, then she pulled.
An hour before dawn Riley was up and setting traps on the approaches to the hut. He knew he couldn't hide their tracks but at least he could upset a few of the Wilson boys if they turned up unannounced. He took the Rover and hid it in one of the side gully's then continued on foot to the scene of the battle. There was enough light for him to track the last cattleman who was lying dead in the drivers seat of the second Rover. He walked around in ever widening circles checking the ground for footprints until he was satisfied no one had escaped.
Seven dead bodies would soon draw the attention of the dingo's, eagles and crows, but he didn't really care. Riley hid the second Rover in another gully then, with the help of his dogs, he walked the two horses back to the hut. He decided to leave the bodies to feed the wild animals in a deep gully only a short distance from where they died.
Riley had a plan to move further into the wilderness, where he knew of another bushman's hut he was sure no one else knew about. An old prospector's hut that was hidden a few kilometres further into the ranges and only accessible by foot. If they came at him they had only one way to go and that would be through him, his traps and now his arsenal of weapons.
The cattleman didn't know it but the Wilson's had troubles of their own. The Revelationist church leaders had called them up to help fight the Birdsville mob. It was part of their responsibility as church members, they insisted. The Wilson's weren't happy but they had no choice, it was answer the call or lose their privileges. Old man Wilson decided Riley and his cousins could wait.
“Besides,” he told his son Jack, now ranting over the loss of his two Range Rovers, “revenge is best served cold.”
Epilogue
Fat Boy sat with Sundown, Tricia, Pinkie, Lorraine and Andrew, he'd been crying. They'd been up most of the night watching over Pedro not knowing whether he would pull through or not.
Sundown spoke quietly, “Fat Boy, do you think you can get there and back in time? Tricia said he has about a week at the most. It's up to you, we'll understand if you can't do it.”
“Of course I'll bloody do it! He's the only bastard who understands who I am, the only one in my entire miserable life.” He blew his nose and rubbed the tears from his eyes. “I need Blondie, she's my disguise, can someone get her?” He looked up as more tears formed.
Tricia got up, she was soon back with Blondie. Blondie went straight to Fat Boy and put her arms around his shoulders, speaking softly to him.
“Of course we'll go, Tricia, I love that old man too. He's the best thing that's ever come into our lives. We'll leave immediately.” She stood up and put her hand on Fat Boy's shoulder. “Come on, Fat Boy, time's running out.” Turning to Sundown she said, “Can you please ask Harry and Bill to check the bike? We'll go at first light after we've had a quick breakfast and packed some water and spare fuel.” She helped a sobbing Fat Boy out of his chair.
Tricia handed Blondie a written note. On it was written the exact medications Pedro needed if he was to survive the infection now killing him. Below, in Bill's scrawling handwriting, was written a list of the parts he needed for the Cessna aircraft still waiting for its repairs.
Tricia looked at Blondie and Fat Boy. Her face was firm but beneath the surface they could see muscles twitching as she tried to hide her emotions. “I don't care how you do it, just do it.”
“You do know we might not come back?” said Fat Boy.
Tricia nodded, “Yes, Blondie told me the story. If you have to, then abort and come back. We don't want you two getting yourselves caught and executed. You're part of our family too you know.” Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears.
“You don't even know a fraction of who we are and what we've done, Tricia. We'll do this even if we have to kill to do it. Even if we die trying. It's much of a muchness to us.”
Sundown walked with them back to their room. “Don't take any chances, just get in and get back to us. Halo and Wiram are preparing to take the dual cab and set up a half-way pit-stop, that's about three hundred clicks. They'll have food, fuel and water waiting for you. They'll escort you back here with your supplies. We'll try to convince our Alice Springs Command mates to swing their AS
LAV there to discourage anyone who thinks they should follow you home.”
“We've done bad things, Sundown, but this, if we can pull it off, might make up for some of it,” said Blondie as she ushered Fat Boy into their room to snatch a few hours sleep before dawn.
THE END
Glossary of Australian Words
ASLAV – Australian Light Army Vehicle, armoured cavalry troop carrier with mounted 7.62 mm machine gun and 25 mm cannon.
Alice – Alice Springs
Billy – tin to put on the fire to boil water in, for tea making and heating water
Blimey – crikey, strewth, darn, damn
Bloke – man, male, fellow or fella
Bloody – damn or darn
Blowed – confused, no idea, can also mean exhausted (out of breath)
Boofhead – meat head or beef head
Brew – to boil water to make a cup of tea
Brumbies – wild horses
Bullcrap – bullshit, not true
Bushmaster– six-wheeled cavalry armoured personnel carrier with 7.62 mm machine gun.
Comms – communications, radio operator
Crikey – strewth, blimey, darn, damn
Dingo – Australian wild dog
Fellas – fellows, people
Flaming – bloody, damn, darn
Flinders – Flinders Ranges
Football – rugby, like gridiron without a helmet
Four wheel drive – SUV's designed for travel in the desert, all four wheels engage for better traction
Fussed – bothered, worried
G'day – good day, hello
Mate – friend, buddy
Men of high degree – fully initiated aboriginal men with elevated status in their tribe – some would have nangarri, sorcerer or `medicine men' abilities and training
Mob – mobs, a lot of, usually associated with a group of people and of kangaroos
Nangarri – aboriginal medicine man or sorcerer – see also `men of high degree'
Needy – horse
Outback – the desert country
Salt-pan – salt covered plain, flat as a saucepan, also called salt-flats because it's flat – the desert has many such salt covered plains
Stations – property or large farm in outback Australia, some larger than Texas
Strewth – damn, darn, crikey, blimey
Stuffed – exhausted
Swags – bed roll, blanket or sleeping bag wrapped in a waterproof canvas
Walkabout – aboriginals would `go bush' to get back to their roots, sometimes it involved spiritual works as well as for a vacation
Wallaby – small kind of kangaroo
Whacked – hit, smacked
Willy-willy – dust devil, mini desert tornado, whirlwind
Yabbies – fresh water crayfish
Characters - Sundown Apocalypse: Urban Guerrilla
House rats / city dwellers Adelaide city - Charlene, Heidi, Arthur, Fatima, Phil, Tony, Lucy, Annie, Abraham, Stacy
Armed Cavalry survivor group - Nulla, Glenda, Luke, Simon
1st Cavalry - Captain Ridges, Sergeant Major Frank Samuels
Sundown's Commando - Sundown, Cambra, Assassin Creed, McFly, Halo, Beamy, Pellino, Bill, Wiram, Chan, John, Donna, Pedro
Birdsville civilians - Tricia, Gail, Lorraine, Billie, Polly, Granny, Pinkie, Jenny, Harry, Lenny, Liam, Danielle, Lulu, Danni, Mel, Andrew, Wilma, Shadow
Scouts - Roo, Bongo
Bikers - Fat Boy, Blondie
Alice Springs Command, Australian Third Army - Major Thompson, Captain Lewis, Sergeant Doff
Arkaroola - Riley, Katie, Elle, Harry
Flinders Ranges - Jack Wilson, Brad, Ferrie, Greg, Joey, Laurie
Crusaders of the Revelations terrorists - General Himmler Army Alpha; Army Charlie: Captain McCarthy, Sergeant Warren, Lance-Corporal Jabba, Emma, Larry; Major Lunney (Deaths Head Commandos); Major Daniels (Stosstruppen - storm troopers)
Thank you for reading the 2nd book in my Sundown Apocalypse series. Please feel free to message me on Facebook - `LeoNixSundown' or go to my web site and subscribe to my newsletter informing you of my new publications and special deals.
All the best and don't forget to grab the others in the series.
Regards
Leo Nix - January 2017
www.leo-nix.com
Email: [email protected]
Books in the Sundown Apocalypse Series
Book One: SUNDOWN APOCALYPSE - Published, 2017
Book Two: SUNDOWN APOCALYPSE - Urban Guerrilla - Published, 2017
Book Three: SUNDOWN APOCALYPSE - Homeland Defense - Published, 2017
Book Four: SUNDOWN APOCALYPSE – Desert Strike - Published, 2017
Book Five: SUNDOWN APOCALYPSE – Special Ops - Published, 2018
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