by Leo Nix
Right on sunrise Nulla arrived, whistling cheerily as he walked into the camp site. Phil was boiling the billy on the camp fire as Nulla strode past not even noticing him. Phil noticed his body language was happy and carefree, it must be good news, he thought.
Nulla went straight over to Glenda, who was washing the dishes outside the vans. He picked her up around the waist and swung her around in the air.
“Love, we've met the Birdsville mob, and you know what?”
She smiled up at him as he gently settled her back on the ground. “Do I know what? No, I don't know what,” she laughed.
“We're going to make it! Those plans of ours? Of a sanctuary to raise a family? Well, we're heading towards that lovely oasis in the desert.” He picked her up again and swung her around until they were both giddy.
By now everyone had gathered around to hear the news. Phil called from the camp fire, “Well, come on Nulla, tell us all about it!”
Nulla replied, “I met two fella's who belong to the Birdsville commando, both were wounded fighting the local terrorists around here. They have a family nearby who'll be joining them, and we'll be meeting them all in…” he looked at his wrist watch, “about thirty minutes.”
Fatima stood up and clapped her hands in delight. “Nulla, pick me up and swing me around too!” she called loudly. Her aged voice wasn't quite the alto it once was but she raised it to the skies and sang one of the songs from her church choir days, “Onward Christian Soldiers”. Glenda joined Fatima and they sang it loud and strong. None of the youngsters had ever seen the insides of a church, but they loved the song and clapped in time.
They drove their vehicles along the dry creek bed, dodging boulders and huge pot holes, until they came upon Riley's truck and the crowd gathered there. Bongo waved as they approached and pointed to the dogs on the back of the truck. They were jumping up and down on their leashes in excitement.
“Hi, everyone,” said Nulla, stepping out of the four wheel drive. Bongo began the task of introducing everyone.
The two Birdsville scouts were sad to leave their horses behind. They'd become mates, but there was no way they would survive a desert trek to Birdsville. They knew the horses would soon find the wild brumby herds and live out their days in the rugged Flinders Ranges.
The men now gathered around Bongo and Roo who shared their knowledge of the route they took coming in, and the conditions of the tracks. Bongo said the vehicles shouldn't have too much trouble getting to Birdsville if they followed the tracks they'd used on the way in.
Roo and Riley were both born, bred and travelled extensively throughout the Strzelecki Desert region, they were confident that they would make it without having to resort to using the Birdsville Track from Marree.
As they stood up to stretch and sort out who sat where, the sun rose high enough over the hills to shed light on their little group. Charlene was standing alone, as she usually did. She looked up in the growing light and noticed a tall, young man standing silently off to one side. A sunbeam shone directly on his face and his lithe body was just a silhouette in shadow. He had his arm in a sling much like her own, his facial expression reminded her of a lost, little boy. Her heart constricted and leaped into her throat. For a moment she began to pant for more oxygen as she struggled for breath.
Roo stepped into the full sunlight. He loved the mornings as the sun was just rising and he could actually see the light beams reaching out to touch him. From the corner of his eye he saw what looked like an angel. Her hair burst into a golden halo as the morning sunlight kissed it into life. He stood stock-still, not sure whether this was an illusion or real. Her face was like nothing he had ever seen. Oval and pale, the eyes alive and wide, staring directly at him. Roo stood in shock, his heart beat faster, his throat tightened.
Riley glanced around at his cousin right at the moment Roo saw Charlene. Noticing his cousin's expression he looked across to where Roo was staring and he saw it too – Charlene was simply stunning.
The rugged Flinders cattleman hadn't really noticed the girls, they'd stood in the background allowing the men to talk of travel routes and track conditions. Now he saw there were two young women and one in her early thirties, much like his own wife Katie.
'Blimey, this makes things interesting,' he thought to himself.
Not wishing to break the spell he eased away from Roo and started helping the others to rearrange their gear ready for the trip.
They only had the three bikes, Arthur was still unable to ride. Roo and Bongo were both wounded as well and had lost their bikes to the Wilson's. That meant there was a spare bike, Arthur's.
“I wonder if Heidi and Lucy would like to ride Arty's bike?” Nulla looked at Heidi and Lucy, wondering out loud.
The two girls heard him, as he knew they would, and they looked up sharply.
“Nulla, are you serious? We've only been riding since we got to Arkaroola, that's just a few days practice. We might slow everyone down,” said Heidi, but he could hear the excitement in her voice. Lucy just stood there, not believing her ears.
Nulla called out, “Luke, you've got fifteen minutes to get Heidi up to speed. It'll be Lucy's turn tomorrow. You and Simon are their teachers, got it?” He turned back to his job sorting out equipment for the desert trek.
“Woohoo! Heidi, let's go have some fun!” Luke called, helping her pull the bike off the trailer, minding not to upset the chickens and rooster too much.
They spent a little more than fifteen minutes because Phil and Fatima wanted to boil the billy for a final morning cup of tea. It was an opportunity for the smokers to sit and enjoy one more cigarette and for everyone to chat and socialise.
Bongo noticed the older woman, Lucy, and his mind wandered to his own partner, no doubt long dead now. In his mind he saw her again and felt a stabbing pain in his chest. He glanced at the woman and saw someone that might help ease that pain. She was pretty, mature, and looked like she was competent and in command of herself. He thought she might be someone he could get to know better. And little Annie was a delight, playing with Elle and Harry around the cars and trailer with the dogs now off their leashes.
Just then Nulla recognised the importance of bonding, he mentally thought to thank Fatima and Phil. By the time they'd packed everything away again, Heidi could change gears smoother than before. As long as she followed Luke and Simon's tracks she was told she would be fine.
The three children got together and played while they waited for the adults to stop talking. Annie showed them the chickens and Elle introduced her to the dogs. Lucy, Charlene and Katie sat together chatting, they hit it off immediately.
Fatima watched Lucy closely noticing just how much she had changed since the two groups came together. Sure, Lucy still doted on Nulla but she stopped clinging to him only yesterday. Instead, she smiled more, she even laughed. Lucy was becoming human, she thought.
Charlene was in a quandary, her loyalties were shattered. Who should she love, this handsome new guy or her best friend, Heidi? Besides, this Roo fellow did seem odd since he never spoke, he just pointed and grunted. Yet her heart went out to him knowing he suffered like she did.
Before they climbed into their vehicles she'd gone over to Bongo and Roo sitting slightly apart and introduced herself. She saw the young man's eyes light up and it pleased her. In fact it stirred something sweet inside.
Charlene felt good about herself for doing that. Before the apocalypse she was outgoing and confident, and now that they'd met Nulla's group her old self was pushing through her pain and depression. She felt hopeful this young man may make things even brighter.
That first day they left behind the arid, rocky wilderness and entered the desert proper. Despite the rough terrain Heidi only fell off a dozen times. Action Heidi refused to leave the bike and sit in the back seat of the Toyota, no way. Her pride demanded she stay on the bike and push through the pain and frustration barrier.
By evening she'd lost a fair bit of skin from her knees and elbo
ws and she was sore all over. She had sore wrists from the front tyre jamming between the rocks and twisting out of her grasp, her shoulders ached from wrestling to keep control of the bike in the soft sand. Action Heidi may have ached badly when they made camp that night, but she glowed within knowing she'd shown everyone she could still cut it. It was Lucy's turn the next day.
Katie and Fatima took command of meals on the trek. It left everyone else to work on the vehicles to maintain them in the tough conditions. They only made fourteen kilometres that first day. There were two punctures and Nulla was bogged four times in soft sand.
It became evident that if they listened to Riley and dropped the tyre pressure even further on Nulla's Toyota and the trailer, they wouldn't become bogged anywhere near as often. Dragging the trailer was the real problem. It was loaded with food and cooking equipment, along with the chickens. There was no way Fatima would allow them to dump a single item either.
Luke specialised in finding the safest and easiest path through the scrub and patches of sand. Riley followed the bikes and directed them with a toot of his horn. He was an experienced desert driver and advised the other drivers as needed. All three vehicles had snatch-straps to pull each other out of the bogs, and they carried a set of portable recovery-mats to drive on when bogged in the soft sand.
Driving gently and carefully preserved their vehicles, and the chickens weren't too put off by the constant jogging. It slowed them down but Fatima's omelets were well worth their weight in gold. Despite everything they still had eggs every day.
Evenings in the desert are magical. There is nothing to compare it to in the mountains or on the coast. In fact, only a desert can be compared to a desert.
That night after dinner, Arthur asked Nulla what the scars on his back and chest meant. Nulla usually took his shirt off when he worked to dig out the bogged vehicles, it was a source of interest for all of them. Around the camp fire Nulla told stories of his time in the arid regions of Australia, when, as a youth he underwent his initiations into manhood.
“Them scars show I'm an initiated warrior,” he said proudly. “In aboriginal culture it's the uncle who mentors the boy into becoming a man. The first thing I learned from my uncle was to be patient. He'd take me hunting and trapping and we'd wait for hours in the sun. I'm sure he did it on purpose. Many a time he'd leave me in the bush alone, sometimes for days, while he went on tribal business.” Nulla looked up at the night sky and watched the now dead satellites coasting miles up in the atmosphere and continued.
“I'll tell you a little about my uncle to give you an idea of what sort of bloke he was. One afternoon we were preparing some turtles we'd caught in a lagoon when he suddenly stopped what he was doing.
“Uncle nodded for me to finish cleaning and to cook them while he went and lay down under a tree. After a while he came back and said that his father just died, we had to return to where our tribe were camped. I knew our elders had special powers but until then I thought they were the only one's who had it. I was a wild boy back then, I never listened to anyone except my uncle. While we headed back home I asked him how he did that. He explained that warriors were expected to dedicate time to their spiritual life, just as seriously as they did everything else.”
Nulla stopped because he could tell Luke was dying to ask him a question. “Boss, how did your uncle do that, you know, talk to his dead father.”
“He didn't actually talk to his dead father. His brother contacted him and told him by 'mind talk'. I've been planning to teach you boys how to use your mind much like I was taught, but I just haven't had time. I'm hoping we can do some of that when we get to Birdsville.” Nulla looked around and saw everyone watching him curiously.
“Roo does weird stuff too, Nulla, so does Sundown and Wirrie,” Bongo said, he looked at Roo who nodded for Bongo to continue. “Roo lets his dream body travel and watch over him when he goes to sleep. I've seen the results lots of times now. He said he learned it when he was a child.”
“From what I've seen, Bongo, there's more to life than we'll ever know or imagine, life itself is a mystery. My uncle was an initiated warrior and a man of power. I wish I'd spent more time with him before I had to leave my country.” He smiled at the young man across the fireplace and for a second thought he saw Charlene staring at Roo.
'Now what's going on here?' he thought to himself. Then it clicked, every time they stopped, Charlene and Roo would sit together, he hadn't even realised it until now.
Katie spoke up next. “My dad use to do weird things too. He said that when he lived with the villagers in the mountains of Laos, the people often told him of news from across the mountains days before it arrived in the village. They knew things before it even happened. It wasn't just one person in the village, most of the people were tuned in to these messages. My dad had a way with healing too. He could touch someone and tell what was wrong with them.” The stories continued until it was time for sleep.
Next morning they were up before dawn and on their way as soon as it was light enough to see. Lucy had a tough day but it was a little easier than Heidi had the day before. They made sure they stopped for tea several times during the day and a long siesta at lunch time when everyone slept or read a book.
Of course the three children rarely slept in the middle of the day, they were usually too excited. They loved to play chasings and explore the desert landscape with the teenagers. Sometimes Fatima, Heidi or Lucy would read a book and everyone would sit or lie around to listen as they dropped off to sleep one by one.
Despite many patches and repairs, by the end of the third week Nulla's trailer finally broke down within sight of the Birdsville Hotel. Not only was the axle broken but it was broken beyond their ability to repair it. Riley, Phil and Nulla were experts in their own right at running repairs in the desert. They knew they'd done damn well to get to the outskirts of the hotel before it died on them.
Once again Charlene found an excuse to be near Roo. The shy kangaroo shooter was smitten, as smitten as Charlene. When they could they would go off together, a little apart from the group. Soon the rest woke to the fact they'd become very close friends.
It's not that they kissed or even touched, and they didn't really talk much either. Roo was still a fledgling at learning to speak again, he had to pick up where he'd left off twenty years earlier. The two would sit and Charlene would talk while Roo nodded and listened, he stared at her in fascination. Before long Charlene took to teaching him sounds and how to use his mouth, lips and tongue to form words.
Roo wasn't shy or embarrassed either. He had decided that it was time he started communicating and so tried his best. After all, he was the commando's elite sniper and head scout, he didn't want Bongo interpreting for him forever.
Within minutes of stopping to unhook the trailer and build the camp fire for tea, they heard motor bikes approaching. Simon stood on the truck roof and called out that he saw two bikes on their way towards them. Luke was on the CB talking to Beamy and Pellino. When he heard Simon he signed off and climbed out of the cabin to meet them with the rest of the group.
Wiram and Assassin introduced themselves and told them not to worry about the trailer, they would sort that out later. They sat with the 'house rats' to share a cup of tea and catch up on the news. They then organised one of their own vehicles to pick up the trailer's contents. Fatima insisted the chickens went first.
Simon, Luke and Nulla had spoken many times with the Birdsville commando over the past year.
“Wiram,” asked Simon as they pulled into the hotel car park, “what's all the activity with the heavy machinery, are you building something?”
“We sure are,” replied Wiram. “The boys are fixing up the perimeter for security. We're expecting a heavy assault from either Mount Isa up north, or Marree down south, so we're building a trench system around the entire caravan park and hotel. We've just begun to build fortified fighting pits to put our heavy weapons in, that's what you can see through all that dust. Sund
own's even got us to dig out a lot of rooms below ground level to keep everyone cool in summer. He and Andy planned all this ages ago but we've only just started. It should make us feel safer in this flat desert country.”
By evening the two groups, Sundown's Commando and the house rats of Adelaide, were finally united in what Nulla had set out to find - a civil resistance. He may not be in command but he was now part of something he knew in his heart, was what Captain Ridges wanted.
When Roo walked into the hotel, Dog and Cat raced over nearly knocking him to the ground. Riley's three dogs though, were different. Used to doing things their own way, they soon had Dog sorted out. Within a few minutes Dog became one of the new Birdsville pack. He was delighted, in his own doggy way, to have some of his own kind to play with. Cat hissed, fluffed out his mangy hair, and stood his ground. The three new comers soon learned who the real boss was.
“Glenda?”said Nulla at dinner that night. “I wonder how my old squadron are doing these days. I left a lot of good mates back in Adelaide and I'd like to see them again.”
“Love, they're probably thinking the same of you. Maybe you could talk to Sundown and his commando, maybe they'll know. We should go and ask Pellino and Gail.” She pointed at a table nearby and waved. “Let's take our plates over and get acquainted,” she said as the sundowners shifted to make room for the two Adelaide house rats.
“Hi, we heard you had a bit of an adventure coming across the Strzelecki Desert. Maybe you could tell us a bit more about your adventures now that we can talk openly, and not in that damned mangled code we've been using on the CB,” said Pellino while spooning in a mouthful of camel stew.
“It's been tough hasn't it,” smiled Nulla, “we did it though. What I was hoping you could help me with is this: what's happening with my mob in Adelaide, the 1st Calvary? Have you heard any news?”
Pellino looked around for Wiram and yelled, “Wirrie, what was it the major said about the 1st Cav in Adelaide? Didn't he say they'd preserved their Abrams, and they still had enough ammunition to push the terrorists out of the country?”