by John Marsden
'How about this?' he said. 'You know how I feel about everyone sticking together. It might be nice for our feelings but it's ultimately stupid. We've got to toughen up, and fast. Just because we like being together, that's not important any more. You know what I'm saying? So, what I suggest is two of us go into Wirrawee to look for Lee and Robyn. If no one's turned up by midnight say, they make their way to Lee's place, and see if they're holed up there, injured maybe.'
'I thought you didn't believe in friendship any more,' Kevin said. 'Seems a hell of a risk to go to Lee's, if we're so worried about saving ourselves.'
Homer looked at him coldly and even Corrie rolled her eyes.
'I'm not doing it just for friendship,' Homer said. 'It's a calculated risk. Seven people are better than five, so we take a risk to try to build up our numbers to seven again.'
'And we could end up with three.'
'We could end up with none. Everything's a risk from now on Kev. We're not going to be safe anywhere, any time, until this thing is over. All we can do is to keep calculating the odds. And if it goes on long enough we'll be caught. But if we do nothing we'll get caught even sooner. The biggest risk is to take no risk. Or to take crazy risks. We've got to be somewhere between one and the other. Obviously whoever goes looking for Lee and Robyn has to be incredibly careful. But I'm sure they can work that out for themselves.'
'So what do the other three do?' Kevin asked. 'Sit back here and eat and sleep? Shame there's nothing on TV.'
'No,' said Homer. He leaned forward. 'Here's what I suggest. They load Corrie's Toyota with everything useful they can find. Then they go to Kevin's and do the same. And to my place and Ellie's if there's time. They pick up the Landrover at Kevin's and fill it too. I'm talking food, clothes, petrol, rifles, tools, everything. By dawn we want to have two vehicles fuelled up, packed to their roofs, and ready to go.'
'To go where?' Kevin asked.
'To Hell,' Homer answered.
That was Homer's genius. He combined action with thought, and he planned ahead. He sensed, I think, that inaction was our enemy. Anyone seeing us at that moment wouldn't have thought that we were in the most desperate positions of our lives. We were all sitting up excitedly, faces flushed and eyes gleaming. We had things to do, positive definite things. It suddenly seemed so obvious that if we had a future, it would be in Hell. And we began to realise that there might still be a life for us.
'We'll make lists,' Fi said. 'We need pens and paper, Corrie.'
Our lists took nearly an hour to compile. They included all kinds of things, such as where the keys to petrol tanks were kept, how to find a foot pump for car tyres, what grade oil to put in the Landrover, and which of my teddies I wanted to have—Alvin. For food we went mainly for rice, noodles, cans, plus tea, coffee, jams, Vegemite, biscuits and cheese. Kevin looked a bit depressed when he realised what a vegetarian he was about to become. But there were sure to be heaps of eggs, in kitchens and chook sheds. Clothing was just all the obvious stuff, but with an emphasis on warmth, in case the weather broke or we were in the bush for a long time—and with an emphasis on dull colours, too, that would camouflage successfully. But it was the extras that took the time. A lot of the stuff was still in the Landrover from our five days in Hell, but it would need to be checked. And we kept thinking of new things, or things that needed topping up. Soap, dishwashing brushes and liquid, shampoo, toothpaste and toothbrushes, firestarters, pens, paper, maps of the district, compasses, books to read, transistor radio—in case a station came back on the air—and batteries, torches, insect repellent, first-aid kits, razors, tampons, packs of cards, chess set, matches, candles, sun cream, binoculars, Kevin's guitar, toilet paper, alarm clock, cameras and film, family photos. Homer didn't comment on the family photos but when that encouraged other family treasures being added to the list he spoke up.
'We can't take things like that,' he said, when Corrie nominated her mother's diaries.
'Why not? They're so important to her. She's always said that if the house was burning they'd be the first things she'd save.'
'Corrie, this isn't a picnic we're going on. We've got to start thinking of ourselves as guerillas. We're already taking teddy bears and guitars. I think that's enough.'
'If we can take family photos we can take my mother's diaries,' Corrie said obstinately.
'That's exactly what'll end up happening,' Homer said. 'You'll say, "Well if the photos can go, the diaries can", and then someone else'll say, "Well if her diaries can go then my father's football trophies can go", and before we know it we'll need a couple of trailers.'
It was just one of many arguments we seemed to have that afternoon. We were tired and nervous and scared for Lee and Robyn and our families. That particular fight was resolved by Fi, who made one of those suggestions that immediately seem so obvious you wonder why it took so long for anyone to think of it.
'Why don't you pack up all the valuables in the house,' she said to Corrie. 'Your mother's jewellery and everything. Then hide them somewhere. Bury them in the vegetable garden.'
It was such a good idea that I hoped there would be time later for me to do the same thing.
Meanwhile Kevin kept trying to sneak extra things onto the list, the most important of which seemed to be condoms. As fast as he wrote them down Corrie crossed them off, till the paper had as many erasures as items. But when we came to firearms he got serious. 'We've got a couple of rifles and a shotgun. One rifle's only a .22 but the other's a .222. The shotgun's a beauty, a twelve-gauge. Plenty of ammo for the rifles, not so much for the shotgun. Unless Dad got some more while we were away, which I doubt. He was talking about it, but I don't think he was going into town except for Commem Day, when the sports store'd be shut.'
Between the rest of us we had only a .22 hornet and a .410. My father had a .303, but ammunition for it had become so expensive that I didn't think he still had any.
I was in the middle of explaining to the others where we kept our ammo. I'd already figured out I'd be one of the people going to town. Suddenly we heard a distant disturbing noise. It sounded like a plane, but louder and rougher, and it was getting closer very quickly. 'It's a helicopter,' Corrie said, looking scared. We ran for the windows. 'Get away from the bloody windows,' Homer yelled, then to me, 'We forgot to have a sentry.' He rattled out a string of orders. 'Kevin, go to the sitting room; Fi, the bathroom; Corrie, your bedroom; Ellie the sunroom. Look carefully out of the windows to see if there's anyone coming by road or across the paddocks. Report to me in the office. I'll be getting the .22.'
We did what he said. He'd chosen four rooms that together gave us a 360 degree view of the countryside. I scuttled across the floor of the sunroom like a big startled cockroach, then stood behind the curtains, wrapped myself in them and peeped out. I couldn't see the helicopter but I could hear it, loud and coarse and threatening. I scrutinised the countryside carefully but could see nothing. Then something did move into my view. It was the little corgi, Flip, waddling across the courtyard. I felt sick. They would have to see her from the air, and what would they make of that? A healthy dog wandering happily around a house that was meant to have been deserted for a week? Should I call her, I wondered, in case they haven't seen her yet? But if she responded too enthusiastically to my call it might make them even more suspicious. I made a decision, to do nothing, and at that moment the helicopter itself came swooping around to my side of the house. It was a great big ugly dark thing, like a powerful wasp, buzzing and staring and hungry to kill. I shrank back into the curtains, afraid to look into the faces of the people in the machine. I felt that they could see through the walls of the house. I squatted, then retreated along the wall of the room, around the next wall, fled through the door and down to the office, where the others were waiting.
'Well?' Homer asked.
'No soldiers,' I said, 'but Flip's out there, wandering around. They must have seen her from the helicopter.'
'That might be enough to make them suspicious,
' Homer said. 'They'd be trained to notice anything out of the ordinary.' He swore. 'We've got a lot to learn, assuming we even come out of this. How many soldiers in the chopper?'
He got various answers: 'Hard to say', 'Maybe three', 'I didn't see', 'Three or four, maybe more sitting up the back'.
'If they do land they'll probably spread out.' Homer was thinking aloud. 'A .22 won't be much use. The Toyota's still up at the shearing shed. I can't believe we've been so stupid. It'd be no use trying for that. Go back to the same rooms, and see what they're doing. And try to count the number of soldiers. But don't give them the slightest chance to see you.'
I ran back to the sunroom but the helicopter was not in sight. Its ugly angry sound seemed to fill my head though, to fill the house. It was in every room. I hurried back to the office. 'It's on the west side,' Kevin said. 'Just hovering there, not landing.'
'Look guys,' Homer said. 'If it lands I think we've only got two options. We can sneak out on the opposite side to where it's landed, and use the trees to try to get away into the bush. The bikes are no use and the Toyota's out of reach. So we'd be on foot and relying on our brains and our fitness. The second option would be to surrender.'
There was a grim and frightened silence. We had only one option really, as Homer knew.
'I don't want to be a dead hero,' I said. 'I think we'd have to take our chances and surrender.'
I agree,' Homer said quickly, as though anxious to get in before someone disagreed.
The only one likely to disagree was Kevin. The four of us looked at him. He hesitated, then swallowed and nodded: 'All right.'
'Let's go back to the sitting room,' Homer said. 'We'll see if it's still there.'
We ran down the corridor, then Kevin eased himself into the room and sidled to the window. 'Still there,' he reported. 'Not doing anything, just watching. No, wait ... it's on the move ... coming down a little...' Fi gave a cry. I glanced at her. She'd been very quiet all afternoon. She looked like she was about to pass out. I grabbed her hand, and she squeezed mine so hard I thought maybe I'd be the one to pass out. Kevin kept up his commentary. 'They're staring right at me,' he said. 'But I can't believe they could see me.'
'Don't move,' Homer said. 'It's movement that's the giveaway.'
'I know,' Kevin complained. 'What do you think, I'm going to start tap dancing?'
For another two minutes we all stood like mannequins in a shop window. The room seemed to grow darker and darker. When Kevin did speak again it was in a whisper, as though there were soldiers in the corridor.
'It's moving ... can't tell ... sideways a little, up a bit, up some more. Maybe going over the house, to have a look at the other side.'
'This'll be the big move, one way or the other,' Homer said. 'They won't hang round much longer.' Fi gripped my hand even tighter, something I wouldn't have thought possible. It was worse than carrying a lot of plastic shopping bags loaded with dog food. Kevin kept talking as though he hadn't heard Homer.
'Still going sideways ... up a bit more ... no, backing off a bit. Come on, back off beautiful. Yes, backing off now, and accelerating too. Oh yes. Make like a hockey player sweetheart; get the puck out of here. Yes! Yes! Fly away, fly away home.' He turned to us with a casual shrug. 'See! All I had to do was use my charm.' Corrie picked up the nearest object and threw it at him, as the helicopter began to sound more like a distant chain saw. The object was a little statue of Mary, which luckily for Corrie, Kevin caught. Fi burst into tears. Homer gave a shaky smile, then swung into action again.
'Let's get cracking,' he said. 'We've been lucky. We can't afford to make that many mistakes again. He herded us all into the sitting room and out the front door. 'We'll have this conference out here, where we can see the road,' he said. 'Now look, I'll tell you what I think. If there's any major holes in it, tell me. Otherwise, let's just do it, OK? We haven't got time for long debates.
'All right. Starting with the dogs. Flip and the other one, at my place, whatsitsname.'
'Millie,' I offered.
'Yes,' said Homer. 'Millie. Guys, we have to abandon them. Leave out all the dry dog food you want for them, but that's all you can do. Second, the milkers. I've had a look at yours Corrie. She's not only got mastitis, it's gone gangrenous as well. We're going to have to shoot her. It'd be too cruel to leave her here to suffer.' I glanced at Come. She was absorbing this dry-eyed. Homer continued. 'Third, the Toyota. We can't take it now. They will have seen it from the air, so if it goes missing they might notice that. The three people packing the vehicles will have to take everything they can on bikes, and ride to Kev's and pick up another four-wheel drive there, to go with the Landie.' He glanced at Kevin, to check if that were possible.
Kevin nodded. 'The Ford's still there.'
'Good. One thing I was hoping we could get from here is lots of vegetables from Corrie's mum's garden. But I don't think there'll be time, unless it's done in darkness. For now, I think we should go bush till tonight. Take the bikes and anything else that's absolutely vital, and get going, in case they send troops out from town. I'm sure they won't come out after dark, but till then there's a risk.
'Finally, about tonight.' He was talking very fast, but we weren't missing a word. 'I think Ellie and I should go into town. We need a driver to stay here, and Kevin and Ellie are our best drivers. And it wouldn't be fair to have an all girls group and an all guys group. Then if you three aim to get to Ellie's by dawn, we'll meet you there. If we're not there tomorrow, give us till midnight tomorrow night, then leave for Hell. Leave one car hidden at Ellie's and hide the other one at the top somewhere, near Tailor's Stitch, and go down to the campsite. We'll find our own way there when we can.'
As he talked, Homer had been nervously scanning the road. Now he stood. 'I'm really spooked about that helicopter. Let's get out right now, and save the looting till tonight. I'll meet you at the shearing shed. Well have to take all the bikes. We need them.'
He picked up the rifle and glanced at Corrie, raising his thick brown eyebrows. She hesitated, then murmured 'You do it'. She came with us as Homer went off alone, to the trees at the end of the house paddock, where the cow was standing restlessly. The shot came a few minutes later, as we jogged up to the shearers' quarters. Corrie wiped her eyes with her left hand. The other one was holding Kevin's hand. I patted her back, feeling inadequate. I knew how she felt. You do get attached to your milkers. I'd seen Dad shoot working dogs that were too old, kangaroos that were trapped in fences and too weak to get up, sheep that were a glut on the market. I knew Millie's days were numbered. But we'd never shot a milker.
'I hope Mum and Dad don't mind us doing these things,' Corrie sniffed.
'They'd have minded if you'd broken that statue,' I said, trying to cheer her up.
'Lucky I play first base,' Kevin said.
We got to the shearers' quarters, where Homer joined us a couple of minutes later. He was just in time. It was maybe ninety seconds after that when a black jet, fast and lethal, came in low from the west. It sounded like every dentist's drill I'd ever heard, magnified a thousand times. We watched from the little windows of a shearer's bedroom, too fascinated and afraid to move. There was something sinister about it, something diabolical. It flew with a sense of purpose, deliberate and cold-blooded. As it crossed the road it seemed to pause a little, give a slight shudder. From under each wing flew two little darts, two horrible black things that grew as they approached us. They were coming terribly fast. Corrie gave a cry that I'll never forget, like a wounded bird. One rocket hit the house, and one was all it took. The house came apart in slow motion. It seemed to hang there in the air, as though it were the kit of a house, a Lego set, about to be assembled. Then a huge orange flower began to bloom within the house. It grew very quickly, until there was no more room for it and it had to push the pieces of house out of the way, to give it room to flower. And suddenly everything exploded. Bricks, wood, galvanised iron, glass, furniture, the sharp orange petals of the flower, all eruptin
g in every direction, till the house was spread all over the paddock, hanging from trees, clinging to fences, lying on the ground. Where the house had stood was now black: no flames, just smoke rising slowly from the foundations. The noise of it rolled across the paddocks like thunder, echoing away into the hills. Bits of debris rattled on the shearers' roof like hail. I couldn't believe how long they kept falling, and after that, after the rattling of the heavy fragments was starting to fade, how long the soft snowflakes took to float down: the pieces of paper, the bits of material, the fragments of fibro, gently and peacefully scattering across the countryside.
The second rocket slammed into the hillside behind the house. I'm not sure if it was meant for the shearing sheds or not. It didn't miss us by much. It hit the hill so hard the whole range seemed to quiver; there was a pause, then the explosion, and a moment later a whole section of the hill just fell away.
The jet turned steeply and did a circuit above the river paddock, so they could watch and enjoy the show I suppose. Then it turned again and accelerated into the distance, back to its foul lair.
Corrie was on the floor, hiccupping, and thrashing around like a fish on a line. Her pupils had rolled back so far into her head that you couldn't see them any more. Nothing would calm her. We became frightened. Homer ran and got a bucket of water. We splashed some in her face. It seemed to calm her a bit. I picked up the whole bucket and tipped the water over her head. She stopped hiccupping and just sobbed, her head on her knees, her hands clasped around her ankles, water dripping off her. We dried her and hugged her, but it was hours before she calmed enough even to look at us. We just had to stay there and wait, hoping the planes would not come back, hoping they would not send soldiers in trucks. Corrie would not move, and we could not move until she did.
Chapter Ten