She was aware of lots of activity in the other room, but she couldn’t take her eyes off Dexter falling asleep on her lap. She felt a wave of protectiveness. It was similar to the feeling she’d had about Puppy, but kind of different too. After all, Puppy’s life hadn’t been in danger the way Dexter’s was.
She hadn’t thought much about Puppy lately, she realised. So many things had happened. It was only — what? — not even two days since she’d arrived at her aunt’s place and already there’d been non-stop activity. Her head was still spinning.
‘He’s asleep,’ Magda said. ‘Poor little fella. Let’s hope his mother pulls through. That’s his best chance of survival.’
Ashley looked up from Dexter and through the window into the surgery to see what they were doing with his mother. Just as she did, Pete the vet stepped back from the table.
‘Oh dear,’ Brian said.
Pete turned around, pushed open the surgery door and came out, as one of his assistants gently disconnected tubes and wires and started to gather the mother koala up off the table. He shook his head. ‘I’m sorry, folks. Mum just died under anaesthetic. By the look of her arm, she had a dog bite that was septic. It’s just about impossible to save dog-attack victims if we don’t get them within a few hours.’
Ashley stared at him in shock.
‘Dexter’s turn,’ the vet said, reaching out his hands. ‘We’ve got to be quick — there are another three rescued koalas waiting to be seen.’
More than anything, Ashley wanted to grab Dexter and run away with him. She didn’t want to let him go into the surgery, where his mother had just died on the very same table. What if he died too? What if she never saw him again?
‘I want to come in,’ she said.
Pete ran his hand through his hair. ‘You’re not scrubbed up. We’re in such a rush. There isn’t time.’
Ashley felt her chin start to wobble and bit her lip. She didn’t want to burst into tears in front of them all. She felt Brian’s hand on her shoulder.
‘I can get Ashley scrubbed up,’ he said. ‘I know the drill. Ashley deserves it — she’s done everything to save these koalas. You get started with Dexter, and Ashley will be ready in a few minutes.’
Pete looked down at her for a few seconds and then came to a decision. ‘All right. Give me the joey.’
He lifted Dexter up from Ashley’s lap, waking him. Ashley had a glimpse of Dexter’s wide-open eyes and heard his anxious yip yip yip as the vet swept him away into the surgery. She had to stop herself running in after him.
Chapter 16
Ashley felt scared as Brian pushed open the door of the surgery and nodded for her to enter. She was scrubbed and disinfected, and wearing a pair of latex gloves. It had taken a while to clean her up and her heart had raced the whole time. Would Dexter be OK?
He was stretched out on his back on the operating table, fast asleep. A tube poked out of his mouth and another was taped to his arm, just as if he was a human. He looked terribly small and vulnerable.
‘You two can stand over there,’ Pete said shortly, his eyes not leaving Dexter as he rubbed a fat ultrasound wand over the joey’s belly.
Ashley and Brian backed into the corner of the room. ‘What’s the tube in his mouth for?’ she whispered.
‘Pete always uses tubes in the windpipe. Sometimes koalas stop breathing under anaesthetic for no reason,’ Brian whispered back. ‘He’s done the physical examination by the look of it. That involves feeling every part of the animal and taking blood samples. Now he’s doing an ultrasound to check there aren’t any internal injuries. If that’s all OK, then he’ll test Dexter for disease. Especially as his mother had conjunctivitis — he is probably infected too. But that’s treatable.’
Ashley nodded, not taking her eyes from the joey.
‘You OK?’ Brian asked. ‘You’re not queasy or anything?’
It hadn’t occurred to Ashley to feel queasy. In fact, she was fascinated by what Pete was doing with Dexter. He was working so quickly that it was quite hard to follow each step, but he obviously had a routine and was very good at it.
‘No apparent injuries,’ he said, hanging up the ultrasound wand. ‘Now for the swabs.’
‘He’s testing for chlamydia,’ Brian explained. ‘That’s what causes the conjunctivitis. He’ll take swabs for testing so he knows if Dexter needs treatment.’
When the swabs were done, Pete relaxed for a moment. ‘Right, folks. Given that Dexter’s mother was infected, he’ll almost certainly need antibiotics, plus he has a touch of pneumonia. He’s a bit dehydrated so I’ll run some subcutaneous fluids into him and then we’ll wake him up and you can take him to a carer.’
‘Is he going to live?’ Ashley asked.
Pete smiled at her, but she could see it was a sad kind of smile. ‘We just have to hope for the best, Ashley, but there are no guarantees. Koalas are the hardest marsupials to raise by hand and most don’t make it. But some do, and every success is worthwhile. Especially for the coastal koalas in Byron Shire. There are so few of them left. We do our best to keep them going.’
As Brian led her out of the surgery, Ashley took one last look back at Dexter. He was an orphan now, and he could die. She hadn’t been able to save his mother and he needed her help more than ever.
She followed Brian out to the waiting area and slumped down in one of the chairs. Magda put an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. It was nice of her, but Ashley wished she hadn’t. She just felt even worse.
Although Micky had told her, over and over, that lots of rescued koalas died, Ashley hadn’t really believed it. She’d been sure that if Dexter and his mother just reached the vet, they’d be fine. But although she’d done everything possible to get them there, Dexter’s mother had died anyway.
Ashley felt her lip wobbling. She wanted to burst into tears. She wanted to go home.
‘Can I borrow your mobile to call my mum?’ she asked Magda.
‘Of course, sweetie,’ Magda said, and pulled it out. ‘There you go.’
Ashley got up and went out on the verandah before she dialled. The rain was drumming on the roof, making it hard to hear. Her mother picked up on the third ring.
‘Mum, it’s me.’
‘Oh, Ash! Thank goodness! I’ve been so worried. Where are you?’
Ashley choked on her words. ‘I’m at the wildlife hospital. In Currumbin.’
‘What a relief you’re all right. I’ve been calling and calling. I finally got through to Micky a little while ago, but I couldn’t understand what she was telling me. Who are you with? What are you doing?’
‘I’m with Brian and Magda. They’re nice. But the mother koala that we rescued died.’ As she said the words, Ashley started to cry.
‘It’s OK, darling,’ her mother said. ‘Now listen to me. I’m going to get you on a flight and you’re coming straight home, OK? It all sounds much too dangerous up there. We’ll find something else for you to do for the holidays.’
Ashley felt a wave of relief. ‘Thanks, Mum.’
‘I’m going to hang up now and find a flight. I’ll call you back on this number in a few minutes, all right? And those people can take you straight to the airport. I don’t want you going back to Micky’s. It sounds like she’s as crazy as ever. I should never have sent you up there.’
Ashley could see Magda waving at her through the window and pointing to the phone. ‘I’ve got to go.’
‘I’ll call you back soon. I love you, Ash.’
‘I love you too. Bye, Mum.’
Ashley pushed open the door and went back into the waiting room. She could see the front-desk volunteer talking on the phone. She looked really stressed.
‘Sorry, Ashley, we need the phone to look up some numbers,’ Magda said. ‘We’re having trouble finding a carer for Dexter.’
Brian took the phone, flicked a few screens and started to make a call.
‘Why can’t Dexter stay here in hospital?’ Ashley asked Magda.
Ashley nodded. ‘She wants me to fly home. She’s going to call back in a few minutes with a flight.’
Magda smiled and squeezed her shoulders again. ‘Ashley, love, that probably won’t happen. The Gold Coast airport is closed. All the flights are cancelled.’
Ashley started to cry again. This was turning into the worst holiday she’d ever had. She just wanted to get out of there.
Brian’s phone rang and he answered it hopefully. ‘Yes?’ Then his face fell. ‘I’ll just get her,’ he said, and handed the phone to Ashley.
‘Ash, there aren’t any flights from the Gold Coast, but you can go to Brisbane and fly home from there,’ her mother said. ‘I’ve booked you on a flight tonight. I think it was the last seat! Do you think those people could take you up to the airport? Can you put me onto them?’
Ashley looked around the room — at the busy receptionist, and at the worried looks on the faces of Brian and Magda.
‘I’ll call you back in a minute, Mum,’ she said, and hung up. She handed the phone back to Brian and turned to stare out the window at the falling rain.
She’d thought that all she had to do was get Dexter and his mother to the vet, and then she’d have done what was needed. But it hadn’t been enough. Much as she desperately wanted to go home, Ashley knew she couldn’t just abandon the joey. She’d been the one who wanted to get him to the hospital and now he still needed her. In fact, he needed her more than ever.
She swung around. ‘Micky and I can look after Dexter.’
Brian shook his head. ‘Micky hasn’t looked after joeys for ages, and she doesn’t want to do it any more. Anyway, we can’t even get you back across the creek, let alone Dexter. He needs peace and quiet now, not more drama.’
Ashley felt a wave of determination. She wasn’t going to give up. She wasn’t going to leave Dexter alone. And she wasn’t going to fly home either.
‘Can I have the phone, please? I’m going to call Micky and talk to her.’
Magda and Brian looked at each other. ‘We don’t exactly have a lot of options,’ Magda said. ‘Give her the phone.’
Chapter 17
‘What’s happening?’ Micky demanded when she picked up the phone, not even saying hello first.
‘We’re at the hospital,’ Ashley said. ‘But the mother died. Dexter is an orphan. And Brian says he can’t find a carer to take him.’
There was a moment of silence before Micky spoke again. ‘I know what you’re thinking, Ashley, and the answer is no.’
Ashley took a deep breath and clenched her fists. Micky was stubborn — Ashley didn’t reckon she could convince her over the phone. She’d need to do something much more dramatic. It hadn’t worked when she’d tried deceiving her parents about Puppy, but this was much more urgent, and she didn’t have any other ideas.
‘Is the road still flooded?’
‘The neighbours just told me it’s down to 0.5,’ Micky said. ‘So Brian and Magda can bring you back. They won’t have any trouble getting across in their big car.’
‘Fantastic,’ Ashley said, looking at Magda and Brian. She forced herself to grin and stuck her thumb in the air. ‘That’s really great news. Thanks, Micky. We’ll see you soon.’
She hung up the phone before Micky could say anything else — or before Brian and Magda became suspicious. She gave them a bright smile, blinking away the last of her tears, and crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping that this time it would work out better.
‘Micky’s agreed to take Dexter. And the flood has gone down, so we can get across the creek in your car. She said we should come back right away.’
‘Thank goodness,’ Brian said, looking relieved. ‘Dexter really needs help, and Micky’s the best. I’m glad she’s come around.’
The receptionist smiled at them. ‘The joey will be ready to go back into his cage in a few minutes. Pete will pack up a course of antibiotics, but don’t start the injections until we let you know the swab results.’
‘Great,’ Brian said. ‘We’ll get out of your hair. You folks are doing a fantastic job, you know.’
She gave him a harried smile, then the phone rang and she picked it up. Brian disappeared through the door into the hospital and Magda waved for her to sit down.
‘So you’re not flying home — is that right? Perhaps you should call your mother back.’
Ashley took the phone and dialled again. ‘Mum? It’s me.’
‘Ash. We need to get you moving so you can make that flight. It was the last seat!’ Her mother’s voice was worried.
‘I’m not coming home. I’m going back to Micky’s to help her look after the baby koala.’
‘It sounds far too dangerous there, Ashley. I had no idea the weather would be so drastic. I want you to come home.’
‘Mum, it’s safer to stay put,’ Ashley said. ‘Brian and Magda are taking me back to Micky’s. I’ll be fine. Anyway, you already said you and Dad are both busy for all the holidays. I want to stay. Can’t you cancel it and get the money back?’
There was silence, and then her mother sighed. ‘Nothing’s quite working out the way we planned at the moment, is it?’
Her voice sounded really sad and Ashley paused. She missed her mum and wished she was there to give her a hug. But Dexter had no mum at all. He was going to be much more scared and alone than she was. He could die on his own. The worst that would probably happen to Ashley was some homesickness.
‘I really want to look after Dexter, Mum. He’s an orphan. He’s got nobody.’
‘OK, sweetie,’ her mother said. ‘I’ll cancel the flight. Take care of yourself, and don’t let Micky lead you astray, all right? She can be a bit madcap.’
It’s a bit late for that, Ashley thought. ‘Bye, Mum.’
‘Bye, Ashley. Call me tomorrow, OK?’
As Ashley hung up, Brian carried the cage back into the waiting area. Ashley and Magda both jumped up and Ashley peered through the bars. Dexter was lying down, but he blinked groggily and moved his head.
‘Let’s get moving while he’s still sleepy,’ Brian said. ‘We have to get him settled and feeding as soon as possible now if he’s going to have a chance. There’s no time to lose.’
Ashley followed him out of the hospital. Neither Brian nor Magda had thought to ring Micky and check on anything, which was a relief. She just had to trust that once they got Dexter back there, Micky would have no choice but to agree.
The world around him is moving and noisy, and the Bright makes him blink and squeeze his eyes shut. He is being moved, but it is not his mother moving him. He’s not in a tree. When he does open his eyes, he can’t make sense of what he sees.
The smells burn at his nostrils. His own fur stinks of something acrid and he can hardly bear to breathe it in. His throat hurts and his belly rumbles with hunger.
He is clinging to something, something with fur, something that feels a tiny bit like his mother. He tightens his grip and nuzzles his face into it.
But although everything is strange and new and unknown, he does know one thing. His mother is not here any more. He sniffs and sniffs, but all he can smell are the horrid burning scents that make his nose hurt. Of her, there is no trace.
He calls for her softly. Yip yip yip.
But there is no answer. He closes his eyes and tucks his head down to his chest in misery.
Chapter 18
Brian and Magda’s car hardly even bounced as they went over the potholes on the last part of Micky’s road and turned into the driveway. It had splashed through the flooded creek as though it was merely a puddle. It’s nice to be in such comfort, Ashley thought. Though it was true that a car like theirs had no personality. Not like the Argo.
The only problem was breaking the news to her aunt. Ashley had thought about how to do it all the way home, but she didn’t have a plan. She’d just have to come out with it.
She jumped out of the car as it pulled to a halt. ‘I’ll just go and find Micky.’
‘We’ll be right behind you.’ Magda smiled. ‘Brian, I’ll grab the feeding stuff and you can bring the cage.’
As they started rummaging in the car, Ashley ran to the door, kicked off her boots and shoved it open. ‘Hello?’
The air was warm so Ashley knew the fire must still be burning. But there was no sign of Micky. She flicked the light switch at the door, and the light went on. At least the power was working again.
Maybe it’s better Micky’s gone, Ashley thought. Brian knew how to look after a joey. By the time Micky got back, they’d have Dexter out of the cage and feeding. Micky was unlikely to chuck a mental with Dexter in the room.
‘Micky’s not here,’ she said to Brian and Magda as they arrived at the door with Dexter’s cage and a bag of supplies.
‘Really?’ Brian said, surprised. ‘I thought she’d be getting ready for us.’
‘Maybe she’s getting leaf,’ Ashley said.
‘That’s probably it,’ Brian replied. ‘But we can’t wait any longer to start feeding Dexter. Mags, can you mix up the formula while I get him ready?’
Magda grinned. ‘Just like the old days, eh? Sure, no problem. And I’d murder a cup of tea. Anyone else?’
‘I’ll wait till Micky’s back,’ Brian said. ‘I don’t want to miss out on her fantastic chai. But we all need to wash hands in hot water and soap. Hygiene, as you are about to discover, Ashley, is everything with koalas.’
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