Little Girl Lost

by Gover, Janet

  ‘I saw your car. Are you all right?’

  ‘Yes. I fell asleep. Jet lag.’ The words came out as a harsh croak.

  ‘Hang on a second. Don’t try to get up yet. You need water.’

  Scott rose to his feet and jogged back to his car. The water bottle he’d been drinking from was half empty, but there were two more on the passenger seat. He picked up both of them.

  The girl had pulled herself into a sitting position, leaning back against the car. She looked terrible. Scott tried to conceal his concern as he passed her an open bottle.

  ‘Slowly,’ he warned as she began gulping down the warm liquid. ‘Slowly!’ Scott put his hand on her arm and she lowered the bottle. ‘If you drink too fast you’ll probably throw up,’ he told her. ‘And we don’t have enough water to waste it like that.’

  The girl took a deep breath, and nodded. She leaned back and closed her eyes. Scott could see the strain on her face. He waited silently until she was ready to take a few more slow sips of water.

  ‘Do you want to try to get up?’

  She nodded.

  ‘Okay. But take it easy.’

  The girl really didn’t need the warning. She was moving very slowly, and looked quite shaky as she gathered her feet under her. Scott stood up and reached down to help her. She was a small thing – light as a feather and barely up to his chin. She swayed a little, and he kept one hand on her arm until he was certain she wasn’t going to fall down again.

  She took another smaller drink of water, and finally looked him squarely in the face.

  ‘Thank you.’ Her voice sounded much stronger.

  ‘Are you all right?’

  ‘I think so,’ she said. ‘I must have fallen asleep. It was so hot.’

  ‘You passed out,’ Scott said. ‘Dehydration and heat exhaustion will do that.’

  ‘I know that,’ the girl said. ‘I’m a nurse.’

  ‘A nurse? Then you should know better than to come out here without water.’

  ‘In my part of the world, there isn’t much chance of dying of lack of water by the side of a road.’

  As she spoke, her accent finally registered. ‘You’re English?’

  ‘I am.’

  ‘Then what the hell are you doing out here all by yourself? And without water? This isn’t England.’

  ‘I know that,’ she girl said, a touch of anger bringing a spark into her blue eyes. ‘I had water. I ran out. I wasn’t expecting this rubbish car to break down, was I?’

  ‘It’s not a rubbish car.’ Scott tried to hide his smile as the girl painfully shook the fist she’d just thumped the car with. ‘It’s just old. What happened?’

  ‘It exploded.’

  Scott raised an eyebrow. Obviously a girl given to understatement. As she sipped slowly from the bottle of water, he moved to the front of the car and checked under the bonnet.

  It didn’t take him long to figure it out.

  ‘You’ve probably put a stone through your radiator.’

  ‘I’d figured that out too.’

  Scott was pleased to see the girl had produced a hat from somewhere and was now wearing it. The brim wasn’t broad enough to give her face much protection, but it was better than nothing.

  ‘So what do I do now?’ she asked.

  ‘You’re heading to Coorah Creek?’

  ‘How did you know?’

  ‘That’s where this road goes,’ he told her. ‘After the Creek, there’s just Birdsville.’

  ‘And after that?’

  ‘The desert. You really don’t want to go there – and especially not with this.’ He patted the old Holden affectionately.

  She smiled at that, and Scott caught a glimpse of the girl behind the stranded tourist. Now that her eyes were no longer wide with distress, they were a lovely shade of blue-grey. Her face was a bit red from the sun, but she was a very pretty girl. About his own age, he thought. And as for that accent – that was just a cuteness bonanza. He couldn’t help but wonder what on earth a girl like this was doing heading for the Creek.

  ‘So?’

  Acutely aware that he had been caught staring, Scott tried to look efficient. ‘I guess I’d better get you into town.’

  ‘Can’t I call the … whatever you call the Automobile Association out here?’

  Scott smiled. ‘No, actually.’

  ‘Oh. No phone service.’

  He nodded.

  ‘Well, there must be a garage at Coorah Creek. Have they got a tow truck? You could send them back for me.’

  The words froze Scott in his tracks, his face closing down. It wasn’t the girl’s fault. She didn’t know what memories her words had just unleashed to strike him with an almost physical force. She had just turned an impulse into a stark reality. His return to Coorah Creek was no longer something in his future. It was here and now and he wasn’t really ready for it. That wasn’t a good sign. He struggled for a few seconds to regain an appearance of normality.

  ‘No truck,’ he said. ‘I’ve got a rope in my car. I’ll tow you in.’

  ‘But I don’t know …’ The girl’s voice trailed off, and Scott saw the apprehension in her eyes. You and me both, he thought.

  ‘Perhaps it would help if I introduced myself. I’m Scott Collins,’ he said. ‘And I promise you I am not an axe murderer or even a car thief.’

  That almost wiped the tension from her face. Her lips twitched in the start of a smile. ‘Hi Scott. I’m Katie Brooks.’

  She held out her hand and he took it briefly. Like Katie herself, it was small and looked far too delicate for life in the outback.

  ‘I’ll get the rope.’

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