Special Ops

by Leo Nix

  There wasn't a lot of room in the single, wire-framed bed, but Emily was small enough to squeeze right on the very edge without falling off. By curling into Murphy's arm and lying partly on his chest she was connected to him, heart-beat to heart-beat.

  After several failed relationships, betrayal, loneliness and finally pushing everyone away so she wouldn't be hurt again, Emily knew that she desperately wanted this man. Not just sexually she wanted to be with him forever. That simple realisation confused and frightened her. They had been so close to losing their lives and could still lose each other through the hardships they were yet to face, she reminded herself.

  “Em, what are you thinking? You're too quiet, you're never quiet and now you're scaring me,” whispered Murphy, pulling her on top of him hugging her to his broad chest.

  Emily lay there enjoying his manliness, his scent of sweat and beer. She breathed it in, deeply, to savour the moment before she had to answer.

  “I'm worried that we won't survive this. We've got everything against us, terrorists, deserts, starvation, thirst, getting lost. I don't know, it's just that so much can go wrong, and I'm afraid that if I love you anymore I might lose you.” She stopped, not wanting to spoil this special moment by crying.

  “Well, if it's going to be like that, then, I'm going to be brave and say it - I love you.” Murphy lifted his face to kiss through her salty tears.

  Rolling onto his side Murphy propped himself on his elbow to look at her. He could see the stars through the open window. The light they cast made her look as though she was covered in sparkles - all over her tear-streaked face.

  “Emily, you've shown me what a special woman you are. And I've fallen so damn hard in love with you. You're kind and you're gentle, you don't make a scene and you don't make demands, ever. You know what, I think you and I might have a chance. Even if all hell breaks loose and we have to run away to live in a cave together.”

  Emily laughed lightly. “Murph, I've run away from life too many times. I don't know if I can trust myself to love again, but I love you so much it hurts.” She buried her face in his shoulder.

  It seemed as though they made love all night. Each time they woke the stars were still shining outside their window signalling that there was still time for more lovemaking.

  Just as the sun was rising they were woken by Pipeline's singing and the dogs were barking the chorus.

  “Now that's clever, he's teaching the dogs to sing Motown,” said Murphy loud enough for Pipeline to hear.

  “If I didn't know better I'd say that you two spent the night singing another kind of music,” Pipeline called out in reply. This was followed by peals of laughter as he opened the door on his way to splash some water on his face and freshen up. “Come on you pair of lovers, the sun's up and there's work to do, and not that sort of work either.”

  They spoke to Maverick and Bluey before breakfast. Once the dawn checks were done Adam took the boys for a drive in his old World War 2 jeep. They came across a mob of Red Kangaroos resting in the shade under some low bushes. Adam pointed them out for the two American's to see. Before the kangaroos could move the three men had shot one each. It only took a short time to skin and prepare the animals. Adam kept some meat for himself and he helped the boys salt and pack the rest for their trip to Learmouth - the dogs had a feast.

  “Yer gonna have to cook some of that over the next day or two,” he advised. “Keep the rest salted for a few more days in that tub of salty brine then string 'em up and let them dry out. You'll have enough food for a few more weeks if you do that.”

  When they returned Becky and Emily proudly showed them the loaves of bread they'd baked. Becky had been up before dawn getting the fire prepared to make sure the oven was 'just right' for baking later that morning.

  It was hard to say goodbye, for all of them. The outback farmers belonged to Bluey's network so they could keep in touch. Pipeline said he would check in with them when he could.

  The dual-cab four-wheel drive set out after lunch loaded with bread, meat and food enough to feed an army.

  Chapter 14 – West Lyons River

  Petty Officer Second Class Murphy and his team were within shouting distance of their destination. It had taken them nearly two weeks of bush-bashing but it seemed like a single day to Emily. The time Murphy and she had together was way too short.

  Some days were spent locating suitable water sources and digging down into the sand to access the cool, refreshing water. When they came across emus or kangaroos it was an opportunity to refill their larders. They salted the meat so that they would have meat supplies for the now starving aircrew.

  Towards the end of their journey the reports from Major Samuels grew more disconcerting. The helicopter crew had run out of food and were almost out of water. Once the shallow pools of algae-covered water dried up they began to suffer the terrible symptoms of thirst. On Murphy's suggestion the aircrew found a soak. It was a damp, wet area in the dry creek bed. They dug into the moist sand and collected a cup of clean water every half hour. It simply wasn't enough to keep four men alive in the sapping heat of the Pilbara.

  To make matters worse Major Samuels was vegetarian. Once his vegetarian meal rations were gone he had to square-up and eat the meat dishes that were still available. It didn't make him sick but it did go against his morals. He was fortunate that his crew, normally rowdy and chummy about things like this, never said a word. They were afraid that if they did then Sam would stop eating and die of starvation. They had crewed together for some years and knew just how stubborn and proud their aircraft commander was.

  The SEALs kept up the pace to get to the crew as fast as possible but their limitations were almost overwhelming. Sand, lots of sand; rough patches of saltbush and spinifex that cut the tyres to shreds; countless punctures and now they were running low on the patches Adam had provided. They were frequently forced to make long detours around insurmountable barriers which slowed their progress. Some days they followed vehicle tracks but there was always the concern the terrorists would be on the lookout. At the forefront of their mind was getting Bluey's parts to the helicopter.

  The boys knew that the terrorists were primarily city-centred but the Revelationists wanted to expand into every corner of the west Australian coast. Every township, holiday park and tourist destination were being trawled for survivors. At the time of the apocalypse Western Australia was a haven for tourists and the terrorists executed every one they found.

  Bluey relayed the horror stories he had heard on the CB network from tourists set up with their own CB radio. He advised them of what they could do but, because the terrorists monitored the network he had to be careful what he said. So did the 'grey nomads' trying to create their own sanctuary.

  Emily was a city girl, she loved the city life of Perth, her hometown. In fact she loved any city where she could get a latte and croissant for breakfast. But somehow the desert was special, more so than the city, especially at dawn and dusk - at these times magic happened. She loved dawn, the magic of the world awakening to a flush of reds and pinks, building to a heat that bakes everything. At dusk the sky pulled its star-lit bed-covers up to rest and recover from the heat of the day.

  The nights weren't too cold but it was enough for the two lovers to snuggle up in each other's arms; enough to enjoy the feel of their naked bodies against each other. They made love as often as they could but once dawn came they stepped back to becoming part of the team.

  Pipeline didn't seem bothered, as long as she and Murphy shared the load he was as bright and chirpy as ever. In fact Emily noticed that he smiled a lot more, he even hinted at how happy he was for his friend, Murphy. On one occasion he even remarked that he'd only ever known one Murphy: the miserable, unhappy bastard who should have divorced his wife before they had kids. Emily was sad about the children but silently pleased he had been so miserable and that made her feel guilty – but only a little.

  The desert honeymoon ended when they saw Lance's smoke si
gnal. Murphy carefully navigated through deeply cut gorges and around dry water-holes to finally arrive at their destination to deliver the helicopter parts as promised.

  As Emily exited the vehicle cabin she could see four skinny, filthy, flight crewmen. As she got closer she could smell them too. It made her think that perhaps she didn't smell all that good either.

  “Good afternoon, gentlemen and lady. It is a pleasure and a relief to see you,” called Major Samuels from beneath the canvas where the crew were resting.

  The tall, thin man stood up and slowly, painfully, ambled across to the parked dual-cab. He gently extended his hand to the three arrivals.

  Murphy glanced at Pipeline and saw the same look of concern on his buddy's face. The aircrew looked emaciated and the major was barely able to walk.

  “Good afternoon, Major Samuels. It looks like you haven't had it all that easy either. And here we were thinking that all you fly-boys lived like princesses drinking straight bourbon, eating lobster and caviar and sleeping on goose-down mattresses.” Pipeline's eyes took in the empty water bottles and unkempt state of the crew.

  “Sir, we've brought a heap of edibles and water for you and your crew.” Murphy leaned into the rear of the cab and lifted out a jerry-can half filled with water. Pipeline held a bag of kangaroo and emu meat which they'd shot and salted only a few days earlier.

  “We're sorry we don't have any vegetables for you, sir, but we're sure you'll enjoy this,” said Murphy as he handed out the strips of jerky to Samuels and his crew.

  Emily and the two SEALs carried the rest of the supplies across to the crew's makeshift shade and began filling the crew's mugs left lying on the camp-table. The crew were thirsty and ravenous and showed it.

  “Slowly guys, you'll make yourselves sick if you drink and eat too much on an empty stomach,” offered Emily. “If you eat too fast you'll get diarrhoea. Now that would be a darn waste of good food.”

  BB asked, “Where'd you get all this water and meat from? Our puddles dried out a week ago and we haven't seen a kangaroo or emu since the day we landed here.”

  Murphy sat down after filling the billy with water and placing it on the fire.

  “We've done what our friend Adam said we should do in the desert. To find water he said we should look for the edge of a big sand dune and dig down. Or beside a big rock, or better still find a rock-ledge in a dry creek bed and dig. Even though the creeks are dry there are still places you can get water,” he said.

  “We were lucky, BB, we've got a shovel. Adam gave us a heap of survival tips and gear and that bag of tyre patches was a life saver. We've managed to find food and water all the way here. The meat was easier to find than water. We went hunting around dawn, sometimes we'd see kangaroos and emus while we drove. But it wasn't very often.” Pipeline was eating some of the jerky too, though he didn't seem to be enjoying it as much as the helicopter crew. “We've been eating this jerky for two weeks and I can tell you, I'm sick of it. I just want a nice beef burger with ketchup and mustard, now that's what we should have brought you.”

  As the sun set, they gathered around the camp-fire and the two groups shared stories of their adventures. The aircrew shared how they had caught a snake but were too afraid to eat it in case it poisoned them. That caused a few laughs. Then they told of how Major Samuels, a vegetarian, was forced to eat the remaining meat rations once his own vegetable meals ran out.

  Only BB could get away joking about vegetarians in ear-shot of Major Samuels. He never pushed it too far, though he did enjoy having fun at his major's expense. “Hey guys, when I took my vegetarian girlfriend on our first date, I gave her a bunch of flowers. She said, 'Oh, that's so nice of you.' I told her, 'Well, I didn't know what you vegetarians ate.' ”

  Pipeline, who was sometimes known for his tactfulness, saw Samuels' face redden. He quickly jumped in to support the vegetarian chopper commander. “As they say boys, if slaughterhouses had glass walls everyone would be vegetarian.”

  Samuels wasn't impressed about being the brunt of his crew's jokes. “Boys, you think it's funny, but I have a responsibility to you, my commander and to humanity to stay alive. If it means I compromise my morals and eating habits, that's what I'll do,” he said stiffly, feeling a little embarrassed.

  “Of course, major, that's why I eat chocolate and drink cognac, because it means I am at my best for my team and my country,” offered crew chief Brian 'BB' Bingley. He'd been with Samuels the longest, hand picked by the major for every posting he went on. He was the only one to ever get away with a joke with the major, but he knew he'd just reached his limit.

  Emily smiled as she watched the rest of the crew fighting to hold back their laughter.

  BB had laid his bag of electrical components beneath the helicopter. He planned to start the repairs the following morning. But by the next day the aircrew had exactly what Emily warned them about - gastric diarrhoea.

  Despite her warnings the crew ate, on and off, all evening. She tried to tell them to slow down each time they reached for another piece of jerky. As each strip of kangaroo or emu jerky was only the size of a pencil it didn't seem like they were eating very much. Even Samuels ate until he couldn't eat anymore.

  “We should have listened to you, Emily,” groaned Lance, “this is so embarrassing. Can you promise to turn your eyes somewhere else when we have to go poop in the bushes?” Lance's hands held his loose trousers as he ran off into the bushes for the third time that morning.

  “That reminds me of the South Park episode where everyone ate green apples,” laughed Pipeline, “but we can't call it the 'green-apple squirts', can we, it just doesn't sound right.”

  Emily called out, “What about 'explosive diarrhoea'?”

  “Or 'speed poopin'?” Pipeline added.

  “Well, there's always 'extreme pooping' or making 'butt-butter',” offered Murphy.

  Not to be outdone Pipeline said, “maybe they're having an 'assquake'?”

  “They say that love is the best feeling ever. But I think finding a toilet when you've got diarrhoea is better,” called Lance, who once again grabbed at his trousers as he ran off into the bushes.

  Captain 'Curly' Moe was recovering from a busy night trotting back and forth to dump a load. He wasn't in a mood for jokes.

  “Pipeline, put a sock in it, buddy. Just wait until you get a dose of bum-gravy and see how you like it.” He tentatively sat by the fire to drink some of his fresh herbal tea.

  BB was nowhere to be seen and at first Murphy and Pipeline worried that he might have gone off into the bushes in the middle of the night and got lost. They found him asleep under the helicopter frame among his tools.

  “Hey, buddy, BB, wake up,” called Murphy at the request of the major. “Did you start work down here and fall asleep or something?”

  Crew Chief 'BB' Bingley, explained that he'd fallen over coming back from the bushes during the night. There was a blanket beneath the aircraft where he had already made some repairs, he was so exhausted that he decided to just crawl in and sleep there.

  “I was too tired to get into my bed, this was closer.”

  By now Emily had a large metal pot on the fireplace and soon had the dried meat simmering in water. Feeling sorry for the crew she'd also gone out into the bush, away from their toilet, and collected some bush herbs that Becky had shown her. She hoped that adding them to the stew might make it taste better and help sooth the crew's tender stomachs.

  “I'm cooking up some stew, it might help settle your bowels. It shouldn't cause more diarrhoea either, you can drink it like soup.” She was initially a little shy of the aircrew but their discomfort and Pipeline's morning banter made her relax around them.

  “Hey, Major, have you had any news from outside yet? How are things going in Perth?” she asked. Even though Pipeline and Murphy spoke to Joey and Bluey every day she rarely heard the news of her home city.

  “Well, I did ask Bluey a few questions about other contacts but he won't tell me a damn t
hing. I guess he doesn't want us to know, why I can't fathom. He's a funny old coot that one,” replied the major.

  Pipeline said that Bluey was as 'silly as a cut snake', and proceeded to tell the crew what happened when they visited him in his cave home and how he ordered them to leave.

  “I didn't know that. I guess since Bluey runs the whole communications system no one would be brave enough to mention it over the air.” Curly chuckled softly, worried if he got up to a full belly laugh he'd be in serious trouble again.

  “Major? Pipeline and I are going to head out and find some water for you, what we have won't last another day. We'll be back for lunch. Emily? Did you want to come with us?” called Murphy pulling gear out of the dual cab to lighten its load. They knew that once the helicopter was repaired the vehicle would be left behind.

  “Nah, I'm going to stay and rest up. I'll play nurse to these boys here. Have fun.” She waved to them as they headed off to search the dry creek bed looking for a suitable place to dig for water.

  By evening the water bottles were full, the helicopter parts installed and the stew was tasty. They all had a quieter night and planned to run checks on the morrow and fly out the day after. Major Samuels decided that a few days recovery was needed just in case they had another electrical failure and ended up in the desert again. He spoke to Bluey at dusk, the crew gathered to listen.

  “Goldmine, this is Maverick, do you copy?”

  “Maverick, I copy. So what's the news with those repairs?”

  “We're running our checks tomorrow and will most probably head out in two days - we've been unwell and need some time to recover. What news do you have for us, and… is there anything from QE3? Over.”