Ross River Fever

by Christopher Cummings

  As well she wore was a gold necklace, a woven leather belt with a sheath knife on it, a tiny black bikini bottom and sandals. That she was Sheena Andrew had no doubt. He tried not to stare and made an effort to meet her eyes but found his gaze drawn back continually to her almost naked body.

  Sheena was a slim girl of about 11 or 12. She had a lithe, tanned body and looked very fit. Her hair was black and was crowned with some sort of tiara. Black, intense eyes glittered in an angular face. The expression was a taunting smirk. Andrew could not take his eyes off her. In her right hand she carried a spear with a glittering silver head. In her left she held a jewelled dagger.

  As the group goggled in surprise Sheena gave a low whistle, three sharp notes. Rustling and movement sounded on their right and behind them. Andrew spun round to look and felt sick as people pushed or rose into view on two sides of them from out of the reeds and on the rise to their rear. All were dressed like wild Indians and all carried weapons. Eight of them he counted. A rush of real alarm, almost panic gripped Andrew.

  “Trapped!”

  CHAPTER 28

  THE CAMP IN THE SWAMP

  A wave of cold shock swept over Andrew as he looked around at the gang. Eight against six, and they were all armed and looked like they would use the weapons. He felt a sick sense of dread and now bitterly regretted bringing the girls, particularly as four of Sheena’s gang were boys.

  On the top of the slope in front of him, on either side of Sheena, were a boy and a girl. The boy was about 10 or 11 and wore only a belt, shorts and joggers. On his belt were a sheath knife and a small quiver. In his hair were a few red and green feathers. In his hand was a long blowpipe of what looked like grey plastic tubing. His face and body were streaked by ‘Red Indian’ style war paint.

  The girl looked older, perhaps 11 or 12, and was much more shapely. She had freckled skin, ginger-brown hair, grey eyes and a nice face. She also wore only shorts, sandshoes and belt and had a knife and blowpipe.

  From out of the reeds on Andrew’s right had appeared two boys. One was a tubby lad of 10 or 11 with very pale, freckled skin. Like the others he wore only shorts, joggers, belt, plus war paint. He was armed with a blowpipe and knife. The other boy was a wiry, sun-tanned lad of about the same age. He was dressed like the others but had many more streaks of red and green Red Indian ‘war paint’. He carried a blowpipe and knife and was smirking wickedly at them.

  Andrew turned and looked at the three behind them; two girls and a boy. The girl on the right instantly caught his attention. She was a golden-haired beauty with a cheeky looking smile on her pretty face. She wore only a tiny golden bikini bottom. Her bright blue eyes sparkled mischievously. Her hair was long and hung in plaits on both sides of her shoulders, almost reaching down to the nipples on her quite outstanding breasts. Andrew tried to guess her age and thought maybe 12 or 13. She was the most shapely of the lot, with a lovely curve to her hips and long, smooth thighs which showed off her golden tan to perfection.

  ‘She is even more beautiful than Letitia!’ he thought, marvelling that anyone so pretty could be part of such a gang. In spite of his fear and embarrassment he found the sight of her very arousing.

  The other girl was slim and wiry and looked younger than Sheena, about 10 or 11. She had brown hair and wore only shorts, a belt, war paint and sandals. She had a bag slung over one shoulder and held a bow and arrow in her hands. The bow was drawn taut and the arrow aimed at Carmen.

  The other boy was Sammy. He was much older, 15 or 16 Andrew guessed. He was a big lad with a dark tanned body covered with black body hair. He had a brutish look to his face, emphasized by dark brown eyes in a hawk-like face. Like the others he wore only shorts, sandshoes and belt.

  Sheena now spoke again. “Watch this,” she ordered. Then she nodded to the boy beside her. “OK Ben.”

  Ben lifted his blowpipe and aimed it at a tree about twenty paces up the gully.

  Phut!

  The dart was propelled with astonishing speed and deadly accuracy. It thudded into the tree trunk and stuck there.

  “Poisoned,” Sheena said. Then she nodded again and said: “Sammy.”

  Sammy reached behind him and, in one flowing movement, a tomahawk appeared and went whirling through the air. It thudded into an ant hill on the other side of the gully. Sammy then strode down and across the gully, his muscles rippling. Andrew saw that Letitia was staring at him with obvious interest and that made him even more annoyed.

  Sheena now addressed them again: “OK, so don’t try any tricks. Now, tell us the story.”

  Andrew acted as spokesman. He related their conflict with the gang, but had difficulty concentrating as he was continually distracted by the nakedness of the gang watching them.

  “Can’t you get dressed?” he snapped.

  “No,” Sheena replied. “This is our territory. We will dress how we like. Now tell us the story or clear off.”

  Andrew continued. Sheena listened, asking an occasional question, then studied them thoughtfully. Andrew broke into a cold sweat, not knowing if they were in real trouble or not. His emotions were seething. Not only was he very worried- even scared- but he was growing steadily more enraged at the embarrassment caused by the gang flaunting themselves. It was obvious to him that they were doing it deliberately and that it gave them a thrill to do so.

  At length Sheena spoke. “Yes, that all fits with what we have heard. OK, we will be friends. The Killer Turtles are our enemies. They have been trying to muscle into our territory and we don’t want them here, particularly as they will attract the attention of the cops. So we will help you.”

  Andrew breathed out slowly and realized his chest had been tightly constricted for some time with the tension. Sheena lowered her spear and walked down to them. She told Ben to stay up on guard and then introduced her gang. Andrew listened in a state close to shock and later the only name he could remember was Chloe, the golden-haired beauty.

  Carmen now described the trouble they had been having during the last few weeks. During this Andrew was able to collect his thoughts and to note the reactions of his own group. Anne was plainly embarrassed and did not know where to look. Carmen appeared cool and unfazed by it all. Letitia was obviously alive with interest. Mark looked stony faced and grim and Martin was red with embarrassment.

  Sheena beckoned. “Follow me. The Turtles have their secret camp on a little island in the swamp. They’ve only been there a week and we didn’t even know the island existed till we saw them going there.”

  They set off, Sheena leading. The older girl went off to their left and the youngest boy trotted ahead fifty paces as a scout. Sammy strode along beside Letitia, to Andrew’s chagrin. He followed Sheena, the others in single file behind with members of Sheena’s gang bringing up the rear.

  They crossed two more small gullies and then a larger creek before turning right. “This is the top of the big backwater,” Sheena explained. “We are now on the bit of land between the two backwaters. The camp is along here on the right.”

  After another fifty paces she signalled to stop and for silence. The golden girl, Chloe, padded on ahead to join the other scout and Sammy went off through the scrub to their left, tomahawk in hand. After a couple of minutes Chloe came trotting back, her breasts bouncing and quivering in a most erotic way. She seemed to glory in her nakedness.

  “They are there,” she whispered.

  Sheena nodded and signalled the group to follow. Now she moved slowly and cautiously, moving at a crouch from bush to bush. After another fifty paces Sheena again raised her finger to her lips and then pointed. “See that track? It leads in to a tree with a rope across through those reeds. Then there is a bridge made of planks nailed across from tree to tree. But be very careful. We went to cross it and nearly got our heads blown off by a shotgun attached to a trip wire.”

  Shotgun! Andrew’s blood went cold. ‘This is deadly!’ he thought. He said: “We had better not try it then. We will look for another way. Are you
sure they are there?”

  Chloe nodded and indicated the boy who had scouted. He put his thumb down and pointed. “I heard them talking,” he whispered.

  “Let’s move back and think about this,” Andrew said. Sheena nodded and signalled. They all turned and headed back the way they had come. When they reached the large creek which flowed into the head of the backwater she led them up it for fifty paces until they were out of sight of the trail bike crossing. The tubby boy and Sammy flitted in through the trees to join them.

  “Can you draw us a map?” Andrew asked.

  Sheena bent and sketched in the sand of the creek bed with a stick. As she described things Andrew tried to concentrate, distracted by the fact that the golden girl, Chloe, was bending over beside him. Andrew found himself getting very aroused and also deeply angry.

  The sketch showed both backwaters and the creek they were in. Sheena pointed. “About half way along is this little island in amongst the reeds. It’s got a couple of trees on it and they get there by canoe mostly. They slip their canoes in under a tree which hangs down over the water.”

  The sound of trail bikes had been getting louder for some minutes. Now it was obvious they were heading towards them. Sheena indicated they should hide so they moved behind trees and bushes. Chloe stood directly in front of Andrew. He found her incredibly attractive and had to force himself to look elsewhere.

  As they crouched there two trail bikes appeared as fleeting flashes through the trees. These roared down into the creek bed and stopped. Andrew could just make out that one was carrying two people. The other had a single rider. The pillion passenger dismounted and removed his helmet, which he handed to the rider. He was then handed a sack by the rider of the second bike. The two bike riders wore helmets and face masks but as the one who had dismounted moved into view Andrew sucked in his breath sharply.

  Jay!

  The two trail bikes remained stopped, their engines still puttering while the riders talked to Jay. Sheena rose and went from one tree to the next at a crouch. From there she bent and peered through a bush. Andrew goggled then shook his head and didn’t know where to look.

  Carmen was next to Andrew. She lowered her head and shook it in a mixture of amusement and embarrassment. When she looked up again she muttered: “Oh my God!” She turned to Anne and whispered to her: “This is obviously how this gang gets its kicks. What a mob of exhibitionists!”

  “Sorry I got you into it,” Andrew said, flaming fiercely with embarrassment.

  Carmen shrugged. “It’s OK. As long as they don’t try to do anything to us.”

  At that moment the trail bikes roared into life and raced back in the direction they had come from. Jay shouldered the sack and set off along the track towards the secret camp. Chloe flitted back through the trees and whispered to Sheena, then slipped away again to follow Jay. Ben went with her.

  Andrew glanced around. What he saw made him burn with jealousy and rage. Behind another tree was Letitia. Standing next to her was Sammy. He was whispering to her. What aggravated Andrew the most was that Letitia was answering him- and she was smiling!

  It was very obvious that Sammy wanted to get to know Letitia but when he met Andrew’s savage gaze he desisted and moved back out of sight. Andrew could never remember being so intensely aroused or enraged. Partly this was at Letitia for it was plain she had not discouraged Sammy. That hurt!

  Sheena came back to them. “Well, what are we going to do?”

  Carmen pursed her lips and pointedly ignored their nudity: “We are going to get the police. You kids had better clear out.”

  “You ain’t gunna dob us in?” cried the tubby boy.

  Carmen shook her head. “No. We won’t say anything about you. So clear out and be well out of the area when the police arrive.”

  Sheena nodded. “That would be best.”

  “Can you show us the quickest way to our bikes?” Carmen asked.

  “Sure. Where are they?” Sheena asked.

  Carmen described the place. Sheena nodded. “That’s easy. But it would be quicker if you went the other way. There is a road just through there which leads from some sort of aircraft radio beacon thing up to the main road near the water treatment works. They will have a phone. We will show you the way. Neil, go and get Chloe and Ben.”

  The tubby boy sped away to collect the two scouts. Andrew turned to Carmen. “I’m going to stay here to observe. We don’t want them to slip away again.”

  Carmen made a face but Mark agreed. “We must keep watch. In fact we have to watch the backwater too in case they slip out in their kayaks.”

  There was some debate about this but Andrew got stubborn. “You girls go and get the police. We will watch the exits from the camp.”

  Carmen frowned. “Don’t you go and do anything silly.”

  “Just get going and get the coppers,” Andrew growled. He was now in a savage mood and felt so worked up it made him very irritable.

  After settling a few details the girls set off with Sheena’s gang. Within a few minutes they were out of sight. Andrew breathed a huge sigh of relief.

  “Whew! Thank God they are gone,” he muttered.

  “What a gang!” Martin said.

  Mark scowled. “Mob of filthy little deviates,’ he hissed savagely.

  “Never mind them. Let’s work out our plan,” Andrew snapped. He knelt at the sketch map and pointed. “I reckon we need one person near where their track comes out onto this peninsula, and another back on the other side of the backwater to watch that.”

  “I’ll stay here,” Martin offered.

  “OK. I’ll go back,” Mark added.

  Andrew nodded. “Good. I’ll come with you. I want to see if I can spot the entrance to their harbour. Will you be OK here on your own Martin?”

  “Yeah. Get going,” Martin replied.

  Andrew stood up and stretched. His muscles felt very stiff and strangely weak. For a moment he was assailed by a wave of giddiness but he shook his head and ignored it. Moving at a fast walk he led the way up out of the creek and back along the track they had followed.

  As he and Mark came out into the area of gullies where they had met Sheena drizzle began to dampen them.

  “Bloody rain!” he muttered. But he was glad of it as he felt very hot and dry and it was at least cool. By the time they reached the track through the reeds the drizzle had turned into a steady downpour. That made him laugh. “Aunty Bev said not to get wet again,” he said.

  “At least it’s driven the mozzies to cover,” Mark replied.

  Five minutes later the pair stood on the end of a low point behind a screen of reeds looking across the backwater. Andrew scrutinized it carefully, then pointed. “There, where those trees come right to the edge of the water. That has to be the place.”

  “I reckon,” Mark agreed. “It’s a pity we didn’t bring our canoes.”

  “Why?”

  “I’d like to have a look at where they hide their kayaks.”

  Andrew grunted agreement. An idea then flitted across his brain but he pushed it out as too silly. However it persisted. “We could always swim,” he suggested.

  Mark made a face. “Be no fun in that slime.”

  “No,” Andrew agreed. But now he felt a fierce desire to find the gang’s camp. He shook his head and knew that his real enemy was fear. Swimming across the backwater would be a dangerous and frightening thing to do. All sorts of horrors rose in his consciousness: snakes, crocodiles, getting snared by the weeds.

  “I’ll go,” Mark offered.

  That put Andrew on a spot. It was almost a direct challenge to his courage. “Too dangerous. I’ll go,” he heard himself reply.

  “We will both go then,” Mark answered.

  Andrew knew it was extremely foolish but now he felt a burning urge to see the thing finished. He rubbed his eyes which felt hot and shook his head to clear it from the throb of a headache.

  “I wish we had brought some water,” he muttered, licking dry
lips. His mouth and tongue felt hot and parched.

  “You can always drink the rain,” Mark said with a chuckle.

  This had now increased to a real downpour. The noise of it was quite deafening. The drops splattered on the surface of the backwater in thousands.

  Andrew stood up. “Come on. Let’s use the rain to cover our movement,” he said. With sudden resolve he pushed down through the reeds and into the water. The coldness of it gave him a shock. For a moment the feel of the squishy ooze underfoot gave him pause. Then he thrust his squeamishness aside and waded out into the backwater.

  The water was only knee deep to start with but the bottom was soft mud and they sank to their waists and floundered heavily. Streams of bubbles came gushing up, enveloping them in the stench of marsh gas. Andrew lost his balance and fell forward. His head went under and he had difficulty in getting to his hands and knees as they sank into the slime.

  “Easier to swim,” he said. So he remained lying and began to haul himself forward using his hands. The water stank and tasted awful but the feel of the slime was even worse. It took an effort of will-power to keep going. The reeds and submerged logs were the worst. When he bumped into the first log a stab of panic made him freeze.

  ‘Crocodile?’ his frightened mind thought. ‘No. Don’t be silly!’ He paused to allow his frantically palpitating heart to steady. Deliberately he resumed his slow progress. The rain still deluged them, the drops splattering into his nose and eyes. A small head suddenly poked out of the water a couple of metres ahead, then abruptly vanished. Andrew felt his blood run cold and his heart rate shoot up.

  Was that a Snake? Or tortoise?

  “Tortoise, I hope!” he muttered.

  The water was getting deeper by then and he had to start swimming. He used a slow breast stroke, pushing his hands deep to feel for obstructions. As he swam he kept looking around. By then he judged they were half way across and that cheered him as he could still touch bottom when he tried. All the while his vision concentrated on the reeds and overhanging trees ahead.