Cockatoo

by Christopher Cummings

The group were sent to bed at 2200hrs, except for two who were on guard nearby. These were to be changed every hour on a roster and Tina was thankful she did not have to share the duty with Andrew. When her turn came she spent the first hour with Blake and the second with Petty Officer O’Leary. Neither said much to her and she felt even more miserable than before.

  It was a cold night with low cloud and occasional light showers of drizzle and Tina felt so wretched she considered saying she was sick. But then pride kicked in. ‘I got myself into this mess. I will now get myself out. And if Graham did use me then I don’t owe him anything. Anyway, I am a navy cadet and he is an army cadet and they are our opponents,’ she reasoned.

  So when they were roused by Cadet Midshipman George at 0500hrs she dragged herself out of her sleeping bag and set about preparing without complaint. Lt Cdr Hazard briefed them at 0530, handing each one a map photocopy and two small radios. They were grouped into their two teams so Tina was with Petty Officer O’Leary and Sarah and Andrew was with Cadet Midshipman George and Blake.

  Lt Cdr Hazard pointed at the map in the torchlight. “One group will go clockwise around the road and the other anticlockwise. You need to be up near the New Dam by First Light which is in about half an hour’s time. But don’t leave the road except to attack the army cadet’s camp if you find it. If you do find it radio at once and wait for the other team to join you. Be back by 0730 for breakfast. Now, off you go.”

  It was still dark except for a lantern in the HQ tent and none of the air cadets or army cadet officers was awake as the group made its way out onto the road. Mist drifted thickly through the trees and the road was just a grey blur. Blake turned on his torch but Cadet Midshipman George at once told him to turn it off. “We don’t want the army cadets to see us coming,” he explained.

  “They won’t Sir. They will still be asleep,” Blake replied, but he switched the torch off.

  Tina walked at the back of the group as they trudged up the gravel road in the dark. She felt ill and miserable and was shivering with cold even though she had her pullover and a beanie on. All she carried was a torch and a waterbottle. The map she shoved into her pocket. She really did not feel like any silly games in the cold, wet bush at that hour.

  It was only a five minute walk to the junction of the side road, just enough to make her puff a little. The side road was blocked by a fallen tree but the turn-off was obvious even in the darkness. Cadet Midshipman George pointed to it and said, “OK PO, take your group along that and when you get to the dam turn left and you should end up back here. We should meet you along the way.”

  With that he led Andrew and Blake off to the left along the good road. Petty Officer O’Leary led Sarah and Tina around the end of the fallen tree and on along the old road. It was deeply rutted and several more logs and fallen trees blocked it further along. This meant frequent detours but there was no danger of getting lost as a clear foot track wound its way along the old road. The cadets had to go slowly to avoid tripping or slipping and Tina found it both unpleasant and spooky. The dark bush was dripping from the fog and drizzle and to her it all looked hostile.

  Petty Officer O’Leary stopped after a hundred metres and said, “Six O’clock. That is when the army cadets have reveille I think. We might hear them getting up if we are quiet. You go first Tina, and if Kirk asks who we are you tell him it is you. Then you go ahead on your own and keep him busy while we radio the others.”

  “What do you mean by keep him busy?” Tina asked, feeling very hurt at the implication.

  She was right. Petty Officer O’Leary snickered and said, “Same way he kept your attention last night.”

  Tina wanted to cry- or scream at him. But all she did was bite her lip and hold back the tears. Sarah’s face was just a pale blob in the darkness so she could not tell what she was thinking and she said nothing. But Tina saw no option if she wanted to redeem herself except try her hardest to find the army cadets. “You keep your crude thoughts to yourself!” she hissed. Then she pushed past him and walked on along the track. The others followed.

  Another hundred paces along the track Tina came to a track junction. Another old road led off to the right and she halted and stood listening. But all she could hear was the splatting of drips from the leaves overhead. Otherwise it was very still. There was no breeze and the bush was silent. ‘Not even a bird,’ she thought.

  Through the trees Tina could just see a flat patch of lighter grey ahead so she kept going. “That must be the lake,” she said. The others agreed and followed her.

  It was. Another hundred and fifty paces brought them to yet another track junction, this one only a few metres from the shore of a small lake. Tina halted and looked around. The lake was about half a kilometre long and slightly less than that wide. Because there was no breeze the surface was completely still. Wisps of mist were rising from it to form a thin layer of fog above it. The fog half obscured the dark jungle on the hills surrounding the lake.

  Down to the left the straight black line of the concrete dam wall was visible through the mist. Petty Officer O’Leary pointed to it and said, “There’s the actual dam. That is the way we have to go. We should meet the others there.”

  “What about this other track?” Tina queried, pointing to the rough vehicle track which led off to the right around the shore of the lake.

  Petty Officer O’Leary just shrugged and started walking. Sarah followed him and, after a moment’s hesitation, Tina did likewise, now falling to the rear. But they had only gone about twenty paces when a faint metallic noise came from the far end of the lake to their right rear.

  “What was that?” Sarah asked.

  Tina pointed back up the other vehicle track. “Someone over there I think,” she replied. She stopped and stared across the misty water but could only see fog and dark leaves.

  Petty Officer O’Leary stopped and said, “Come on. We are supposed to go this way.”

  “We are supposed to find the army cadets,” Tina replied.

  “Then you go and look. I don’t feel like walking further than I have to,” Petty Officer O’Leary replied.

  Tina turned and started walking back towards the track junction. “Come with me Sarah.”

  But Sarah shook her head. “No. I will wait with Petty Officer O’Leary. Hurry up. It is nearly six thirty and we have to get back.”

  Tina did not want to go looking on her own but she was now determined to find the army cadets so she kept on walking. Twice she glanced back. She glimpsed Petty Officer O’Leary and Sarah, both just standing there watching. Then they were lost in the gloom and behind the bushes and tall reeds that lined the shore of the lake.

  When she reached the track junction Tina stopped and looked at the muddy ground. It was just past ‘First Light’ and the sky was lightening so she was able to see fairly clearly. She noted vehicle tracks and then an unmistakeable boot imprint which pointed along the side track. ‘Boot tracks! They might be along here,’ she thought hopefully.

  She set off at a cautious walk. By now she was feeling both excited and anxious. The gloomy silence pressed down on her and she felt quite alone. ‘That is silly,’ she told herself. ‘The others are only a hundred metres back and it is just a cadet exercise.’

  But after another hundred paces she felt even more tense. All was quite and barely a ripple disturbed the surface of the dam. ‘Not even a duck,’ Tina thought as she glanced through a gap in the reeds to study the lake. It was now shimmering with a faint silver tone as the light improved.

  Then she heard another metallic clink and the murmur of voices. These definitely came from further along the track. Tina felt a surge of excitement and hope and moved quickly in that direction, only halting at the bends to peek around them. A few times she considered going back to get the others but she decided she would take them definite information first. ‘I will at least count how many army cadets there are,’ she thought.

  By this time she was approaching the head of that arm of the lake and
the trees loomed darkly overhead. She could quite distinctly hear voices, even above the excited beating of her heart. A tremor or anxiety made her admit she was scared but then she told herself not to be silly. ‘It is only a cadet exercise,’ she reminded herself.

  She moved forward at a stealthy crouch, heading for the next bend. But before she reached it she passed a gap in the bushes and reeds on her left and that allowed her a good view out to the water. What she saw caused her to freeze in shock. Floating close under the trees only fifty metres away was a grey painted floatplane.

  ‘The smugglers!’ she thought as a wave of fear swept through her.

  She stepped back a pace to get a better look and then had no doubts. The floatplane looked ghostly in the half light and mist and was partly hidden by a camouflage net. ‘Single engine; high wing,’ she noted. By now her heart was hammering rapidly and her throat had gone dry.

  Then a squelching sound further along the track made her flinch and she looked that way. To her horror a person stepped around a muddy puddle at the bend. It was man and he saw her at once. He stopped and his mouth fell open.

  So did Tina’s. ‘Neville!’ she thought, recognizing her back neighbour.

  He obviously recognized her as well. For a moment he just stared and then he shook his head and called, “You! You little interfering bitch! Come here!”

  With that he ran towards her. For a heartbeat Tina was frozen with fear but then she turned and fled.

  CHAPTER 35

  TERROR

  For a few heartbeats Tina stood and stared in frightened disbelief. Then her mind registered that Neville was running towards her and a spasm of sheer terror flooded through her. She turned and ran.

  As she did she heard Neville call loudly; “Danny! We’ve been spotted. That girl’s here. Help me! Kostis, get that plane out of here, fast!”

  The mention of Danny sent new waves of terror coursing through Tina. She ran as fast as she could, aware that Neville had started in pursuit. Almost at once she knew she was in trouble. The track was muddy and she was unfit. A glance over her shoulder revealed that Neville had already halved the distance. It was obvious he would catch her very quickly.

  The thought flashed through Tina’s mind that only her friends could save her. She did not know what Neville might do to her when he caught her but she had seen the ranger shot and Danny’s horrible threats flooded into her mind adding to her fear. And he was there! A glance over her shoulder showed Danny’s angry face as he came running around the corner behind her.

  “Help!” Tina shrieked. “Help!”

  But the cry came out as a strangled screech and its immediate result was to send a startled white cockatoo flapping up from its perch. As it rose the bird began to squark and screech. This caused a whole flock of cockatoos to rise in alarm, their cacophony drowning out Tina’s cries. All she could do was sob in fear and keep running.

  As she ran she kept looking ahead, hoping to see her friends but all she could see was mist and bushes. Twice she nearly slipped and fell on the muddy track. Each time she regained her balance and kept running but at the cost of some hot pains in her left leg and groin.

  But it was no good. Neville was fitter and faster and she could hear his thudding and squelching footsteps getting closer every few seconds. Panic surged in Tina’s heart and she tried to push herself to run faster. She also tried to call for help but the sound came out as a shrieking gasp which set the cockatoos screeching again.

  Then he had her. She felt his hand grab at her shirt and she sobbed with terror and kept running. Just ahead of her was the track junction where she had left the others but to her dismay there was no sign of them. ‘They must be close!’ she thought. In desperation she sucked in air to scream for help. But as she did she was spun off her feet by Neville’s grasping hand.

  Tina found herself rolling in mud and grass, then in shallow water. But in the process Neville had lost his grip. Hope surged and Tina scrambled to her hands and knees and tried to get up to run. She was now to the right of the vehicle track and she found herself on the edge of the lake, in among the reeds and shallow water. But that was away from Neville so she scuttled in that direction, then tried to dodge to the left to get back to dry land.

  As she did she realised she would not make it. Neville came splashing across and grabbed at her again. She screamed as loud as she could. Neville swore and pushed and Tina fell heavily face first into the shallow water. Fear lent her strength and she raised her head and gasped more air and screamed again. As she did she heard what sounded like a whole flock of cockatoos begin screeching and she even glimpsed some of the birds flapping up from the nearby trees.

  Tina mentally cursed the birds and opened her mouth to suck in more air. As she did she heard Danny’s voice.

  “Drown the little bitch! Shut her up!” he called.

  Neville acted on that. He jumped on Tina’s back, knocking the wind out of her and driving her face under water with his hand. Now absolute terror coursed through Tina and she squirmed in desperation.

  ‘They are going to kill me! I am going to die!’ her terrified mind thought.

  Tina knew that death was very close. With her face shoved into the mud and slime she had only a minute or so of life unless she could break free. A desperate desire to live gave her strength. She heaved and wriggled with all her might in a frantic attempt to break free.

  And it worked. Neville lost his balance and rolled off her. As soon as Tina felt the weight lift off her back she rolled the other way, ignoring the pain of her water bottle pushing into her side. In desperation she got her head above water and gasped air, then rolled again and scrambled to her hands and knees. Her mind kept screaming to run as she knew that Danny was also after her. But mud and slime had got into her eyes and she could not see clearly and had no idea how close he was. But she did know that when he arrived she had no chance at all.

  So she sprang to her feet, wiping her face to clear her vision as she did. Through one mud caked eye she glimpsed Neville rising to his feet. He was only a metre or so away, just out of reach. But already his hands were clawing to grab her and he looked very angry. Tina turned- then slipped and almost stumbled. By desperately jerking away she managed to avoid his rush and fled.

  Splashing through the shallow water and reeds she ran away from him- only to see that she was now running back towards Danny. His angry face came briefly into focus before her eyes watered and closed. But it was enough to send a new spasm of terror through her and to change the direction of her flight. She fled gasping up out of the water.

  Half blinded and choking with fear and water which had gotten into her mouth she fled along the only clear path she could see. As she did she wiped at her eyes and blinked repeatedly in an attempt to clear her vision. In this she was partly successful and she saw that she was on the vehicle track. That cheered her up until she realized that she was running back into the forest instead of along beside the dam.

  ‘My friends are the other way,’ she thought, her hopes plunging. Then she shook her head and told herself to keep going. ‘This is the way we came. I can go this way back to camp,’ she reasoned. The image of the adult officers gave her hope and she pushed herself to keep running. A glance over her shoulder showed Neville splashing ashore twenty metres behind and Danny arriving at the track junction. She did not know if she could outrun the men again but she was not going to give up.

  Neville pointed and yelled at Danny: “Go back and help Kostis to get the plane away, then bring the vehicle- and your gun. I will catch her.”

  The pause gave Tina another ten paces head start and she pushed herself to keep going. By now she was feeling winded and was gasping for air but dread kept her moving. She did not even waste any more breath in trying to call for help.

  As she ran she continued to try to clear her vision and slowly she succeeded. She was able to get her right eye to water and partially clear but the left was full of grit and she could only keep blinking and hoping.
Then both eyes came open and she was able to see clearly enough to avoid the worst of the ruts that threatened to make her tumble.

  It was only after she had run another twenty or so paces that her mind became puzzled. The track did not look familiar and was sloping slightly downhill. She looked around and noted that the ground sloped up to a hill on her right. ‘That hill should be on my left,’ she reasoned. Then the horrible truth dawned on her- while clearing her eyes she had run past the track junction and had taken the wrong track.

  ‘I am running away from the camp!’ she thought with dismay.

  But Neville was again hot on her heels and she had no option but to keep running. Tina briefly considered leaving the track but the surrounding area was all forest with an undergrowth of waist high ferns and long grass. ‘I won’t be able to run through that faster than him,’ she reasoned. So she kept on.

  The track went downhill for a hundred metres to a muddy creek crossing. On the upstream side was a large muddy pond and the sight of it caused Tina another bout of terror. Images of Neville trying to drown her kept her moving.

  But then it was a long uphill slope and she quickly began to weaken. Her breath was now coming in hot gasps and the beginnings of a ‘stitch’ began to burn in her lower belly. Tina had never been a good runner and she could only curse as her large breasts were now causing her pain and balance problems as they bounced wildly. To stop that she held them with her arms. But that gave her a cruel dilemma. She needed to pump her arms to run properly so she released her breasts and accepted the painful bouncing as the lesser problem.

  The effort of breathing and the pain in her side melded into one great burning pain that caused her to consider giving up. But then fear of death overrode the pain and she pushed herself on. And Neville was catching up! The sound of his thudding boots kept getting closer and each frantic glance over Tina’s shoulder showed him catching up fast. His rasping breath began to sound close behind. Tina felt her hopes sliding down as she knew she was weakening and was near the end of her ability to run.