Don't Look Back (Warders of Earth) (9 page)

For the life of me, I couldn’t think of anything intelligent or witty to say. He was staring straight ahead, his stern profile just like his father’s. He looked harder and more worldly than any of my male friends and former school mates. He looked just like my idea of a city tough.

Or an army grunt.

“Why did you move here?” The words tumbled out of me before I could bite them back. I hadn’t really meant to speak my thoughts out loud. Not this time, anyway. Hardly breathing, I waited for his brush-off to my nosy question.

Alex grabbed a handful of leaves and crushed them in his fist. The glance he gave me was cold as frost. Almost calculating.

I shivered.

“Mum was killed in some botched hold-up at the local shop. We stuck it out for a while then Dad reckoned there was too much violence and drugs in our neighbourhood. I guess he just wanted to find some peace. While Dad was in the Army, we’ve lived in some pretty bad places around the world. I’m thinking this was the furthermost town he could find and when he spotted the garage in town was up for sale, he decided to buy it. I came along to give him a hand for a few months.”

“I’m sorry. I had no idea,” I whispered. No wonder both of them seemed so hard and distant. I couldn’t even imagine what kind of a life he had led. The things he’d seen. And lived through. It would be awful to lose one of your parents. 

At least my mother and father were alive, even if they did drive me nuts.

“My parents met at University where Dad studied genetics and physics and Mum studied biology,” I mumbled, sneaking a sideways peek at him. He turned and smiled so I kept talking. “When Dad was offered a position in England after they’d both graduated, they got married. They came back to Australia when Mum fell pregnant with me. We’ve moved around a lot, so I know what it’s like starting new schools over and over. I remember the first school I attended was in Perth. Next thing I know, Dad had a new job and we were in Brisbane. ” I grinned.

Funny though, I held little memory of my early years apart from a recurring dream of being trapped inside a white room. Although why I’d always felt the dream to be connected to my childhood and not some movie I’d seen, I couldn’t say.

“Yeah, it can be tough but you do get to see a lot of the world. Whereabouts did you live?”

I shrugged. “Capital cities mainly. A couple of times we lived for a few months in the US. The last big city we lived in was Canberra. But then Mum and Dad decided on a tree change and we moved out west.”

All those moves, never staying long in one place.

Constantly being lectured to never draw attention, to never err on the wrong side of the law.

Even a parking ticket had been the subject of an argument.

Now, for the first time, I wondered why.

Alex didn’t respond. He’d plucked a blade of grass and sucked on the end, staring straight ahead as if lost in his own thoughts.

Silence stretched out between us like a rubber band.

What would happen if it snapped?

I needed to change the subject. Desperately I searched my mind then blurted, “There’s a live band playing at the pub next week. My friends are home for a bit and we’re gonna go. Why don’t you come along with us?”
OMG! Did I just ask him out?

“Yeah, I heard it was on. Maybe I will.” He reached out and took my left hand in his turning it over to smooth his thumb across my palm. His touch spiked a flurry of goose bumps skittering up my arm.

“What’s your story, Tara? Why are you here in this town?”

My throat tightened. Should I pull my hand out of his grasp or act cool? Act as if I’m not imagining pulling him down on top of me and running my fingers all over those hard muscles.

Clearing my throat, I said, “I’m only here until I’ve finished my land care course, then I’m long gone.”

He quirked his eyebrows as his cool gaze studied me. “Really? You seem to be very close to your mother and little brother. I can’t see you up and leaving them any time soon, even if your parents do piss you off with their odd ideas.”

“You know nothing about me or my family.” I glared at him. It was okay for me to be annoyed, but that didn’t mean I was going to let anyone else cast judgement. I remembered the bomb shelter. This guy had better not spread any rumours about Mum.

“I know more than you can possibly comprehend.”

Now, what’s he talking about?

I yanked free of his hold and wiped my hand against my shorts. His gaze followed my movements. The intentness of his stare made me feel all trembly inside.

“What’s the story with your old man working as a cleaner? With his qualifications he could get a job anywhere in the world.”

Why was Alex so interested in my family? Had he heard gossip about Dad’s involvement with drugs?

“What my father does for a living is none of your business.” Anxious to be rid of him, I leaned closer and almost hurled the words in his face.

“When I make a pledge, I stick to it,” he drawled, his eyes ice cold.

Huh? This conversation is totally off the scale of weirdness.

Feminine voices floated towards us. The scowl on his face vanishing as if it’d never been there, Alex stood up as Marnie and Em sauntered around the side of the house. Their faces lit up like they’d spotted Liam Hemsworth and they both smiled.

He lifted a hand in greeting and tossed me a casual, “I’ll see you later, Tara. Dad’s staying for lunch but I’ve got some work to do at the garage.”

My friends stared after his retreating back. Their drooling over Mr
I’m-so-awesome
irritated me.

It annoyed me even more when I realised I was also staring after him. I still didn’t get it though.

Why come here? Over all the places to pick and most had a far better economy, why had his father decided on our town? Why not the coast? Close to large shopping centres, malls, tourists. I sighed at the wonderful images springing to life inside my mind, then squashed them.

Then there were Alex’s questions about my life, about my family. Why should they bother me? Everyone asked questions, especially when meeting for the first time.

Why am I analysing everything these days?

But shit yeah, the way he’d so smoothly rolled out that info on his past, it had sounded rehearsed and somehow evasive. As if he were holding something back. As if none of it was real. But why would Alex lie?

I rubbed a hand over my nape where my hairs stood as stiff and straight as a brand new toothbrush.
Come on girlfriend, get a grip
. I was not the one with the out-of-control imagination. I usually left that up to Mum.

Or Em.

I smiled as I looked at my friend. With her blue eyes and curly white-blonde hair, she always reminded me of a china doll I’d had when I was small.

True to form, Em flapped a hand in front of her face and cooed, “He is soooo hot. What was he saying to you, Tara?”

“Oh, nothing much but I did ask if he was going to hear the band.”

“Awesome.” Em fluttered her lashes and heaved another dramatic sigh.

“You’re wasting your time there, Emma,” said Marnie smoothing her long hair over her shoulder. “If you ask me, Alex has his eye on Tara.”

“Me?”
I snorted, truly astonished. Damn though if my tummy didn’t quiver at the thought. “Try Crystal and she’s welcome to him. Have you heard the latest crazy development in the Ferguson household?” I quickly changed the subject.

Em and Marnie exchanged glances, then laughed.

“Yes, your Mum told us when she greeted us at the front door. She showed us the plans. At least the bomb shelter looks big enough for all of us. Have you spoken to your Dad today?”

I shook my head. “Why do you want to know, Marnie?”

“Em and I were wondering whether there was any further update on the meteor shower. Emma told her parents and guess what?” Marnie pulled a handful of her hair in front of her face and critically examined it for split ends. “It’s seems they already knew about it. Apparently there’s been rumours flying about this town for ages. So much for secrecy.”

“How come we haven’t heard about this before?”

Em shrugged her shoulders. “Well, this is the first time I’ve been home since January. And Marnie was only here for Christmas Day before heading back to her glam life in Sydney.”

Marnie playfully swotted Em’s shoulder. “Glamorous, is not the word. I spend ten hours a day holding impossible poses for incredible lengths of time while some stupid photographer takes four million shots. I’m so stiff at the end of a photo shoot, I can barely move.”

“It has to beat uni.” Like a dog hounding a rabbit, Em turned her big eyes in my direction. “Dad didn’t even tell Mum until yesterday. He’d been told to keep it quiet for as long as possible. He’s even had a direct fax from the Prime Minister’s office telling him to keep the story under wraps.”  

I said, “Wow. That sounds serious.”

“Maybe,” murmured Em wrinkling her forehead.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, I got the impression that Dad knew something else that he was keeping from us. Something very newsworthy. He’s been so preoccupied lately.” She flicked me a quick glance as if gauging my reaction then looked down at the ground.

“What could be bigger than this?” I exclaimed, refusing to share the doubts niggling away in my mind.
I don’t want to sound like an idiot. Best if I keep my mouth shut. It’s all nothing anyway.

Em jutted her chin and turned away.

“I’ve got more news, unfortunately, Tara. Crystal’s been posting snide comments on Facebook and Twitter about your family. I’m sorry.” Marnie crouched down and enclosed my hands in hers giving them a gentle squeeze.

“Maybe we should start working on that bomb shelter straight away.” I plucked a dandelion weed from the grass. “Maybe, I can incarcerate Crystal in the walls or something.”

Em giggled, apparently over whatever was eating her.

“I have a bad feeling, Tara.” Marnie met my gaze, her brown eyes sad and serious. Her mouth drooped downwards. “I felt it first when my apartment was broken into but since then it’s grown stronger every day. I think we’re going to need something a lot bigger than a bomb shelter.”

Chapter 6 – THE CAMP

“I can’t take any more. All this doom and gloom is giving me a headache.” I jumped to my feet and brushed grass off my clothes. “Let’s go quad-bike riding.”

“Oooh, fabulous idea, Tara” Em clapped her hands. “With luck, there’ll be bikes still available for hire at Carstairs. We could go out to the creek and see if we can find a deep enough waterhole to swim in.”

“Now
that
sounds like a plan,” Marnie said as we hustled toward the house.

I trotted up the back steps, saying over my shoulder, “We could drive past those acres your Dad purchased last year, Em.”

“Why?”

“I wouldn’t mind seeing how he intends to improve it. The soil on that land is nutrient poor and would need a lot of work before he could even run cattle on it. Any idea what he intends to do with it?”

“None, Tara. I haven’t been there since he bought the land and Dad never mentions it much. I know he goes out there every so often. I guess he checks on the fencing or something.”

“Weird. Why do adults have to be so secretive?” I shook my head as I yanked open the fly-screen door.

“There’s no secret!” Em snapped. “It’s just a bit of dirt. My father doesn’t have to tell me everything he’s doing. I still don’t understand why you’re so interested.”

Surprised, I paused in the doorway and stared at Em. “Gee, Em. Take it easy. I was talking about adults in general. And I guess I was really snipping about my own parents. They’ve been acting even stranger than usual. As if they’re not telling me something I need to know. Besides, I’m curious because landcare interests me.”

“I’m sorry, Tara It’s just that I’m a bit on edge at the moment. I’m thinking of dropping one of my subjects at uni as I’m struggling with my study load. I’ll wait out here. I need to make a phone call.”

“Sure. I’ll change into a pair of jeans.” I headed off to my room with Marnie following. As soon as I shut my bedroom door however, I shared a serious look with my other friend. “Sounds like Em has some serious problems at home. Has she spoken about it to you?”

“Not really. She did say it was her study that’s bothering her. I got the feeling it’s her parents.”

I scrabbled under my bed for my boots. “Yeah, Em did mention something about that last night. It’s so hard to believe though. She’s got the perfect family, a great house, money. They go on holidays. Her parents are always flying somewhere.”

“Sometimes things are not always what they seem,” Marnie said soberly, her eyes gleaming mysteriously.

“Don’t tell me you’ve got one of your
‘bad’
feelings about that as well.” I shot her a quick smile while I exchanged my shorts for a pair of faded jeans, found some socks then pulled on my boots. “I hope it’s nothing serious. I wouldn’t like Em to have to go through a divorce like my parents. We’ve been lucky. It can get nasty sometimes. That’s it, I’m ready. I’ll ask Mum if I can borrow her car. It’s far too hot to do any serious walking.”

Marnie produced sunblock from her handbag and applied it to her face.

“Good idea, I don’t want to get sunburnt,” she murmured anxiously. “I’ll need to stop at Nonna’s and change, too.”

***

There were plenty of quad bikes available for hire at Carstairs. And it wasn’t long before we were rumbling along the dirt road which wound through the bush to the west of the town.

Adjusting my dark shades over the bridge of my nose I took a deep breath. Instantly the smells of late summer filled my nostrils.

Heat, dust and the familiar lemony scents of the Australian bush.

There was nothing like it anywhere in the world.

It reminded how much I loved it here. Even though I bitched about wanting to ditch this town and my responsibilities, I knew no matter where I went the country would always call me back home.

I relaxed on the hard leather seat, enjoying the hot wind blowing on my face. I’d kept the face shield of my helmet up for this very reason. This was better, much better than mooching about the local pool or hanging out getting wasted at the pub.

The sparse gum-trees which grew close to the road offered at least a little shade and some relief from the relentless sun as it rode high in the sky. At first, we drove slowly down the road, but it wasn’t long before we’d opened up the throttles and were racing one another, dust and pebbles flicking up from the spinning wheels of the quads. The rolling paddocks were left behind. Grevilleas, bottlebrush and tea-trees pressed close and the air was thick and heavy with the silence of the bush.

Ahead of us, the narrow road branched into two. The one to the left wound back to town, following the meandering path of the creek which due to the drought was little more than sand and rocks. The other track led deeper into bushland.

I changed down through the gears and my quad coasted to a halt. My friends drew up beside me.

“Whew! It’s hard to breathe here isn’t it?” Unsnapping the strap beneath my chin I pulled off my helmet and raked a hand through my flattened hair. Nothing quite like hat hair. I was glad no one was here to see me.

No one
meaning his hotness.

I wriggled on the seat.

“Perhaps, the bush is warning us. That there is danger here,” murmured Marnie, her gaze darting to each side of the track as she examined the dense foliage.

Em jumped, her eyes turning as big as an owls.

I laughed, not taking her seriously. “Marnie, will you stop all that physic stuff? You’re scaring Em shitless.”

“I can’t turn it off like a tap, Tara. I’m sorry, but I can’t shake this feeling crowding in on me.”

Wow. She
was
serious.

“It could be a reaction from the break-in. That would have been pretty scary to find someone had entered your home so easily.” I plonked my helmet back on and tried for a joke. “What you need is a hot guy to take your mind off your problems.”

“I don’t want or need any man in my life. Period. Are we going to sit here all day or actually do something?”

I cringed at the coldness in my friend’s voice. I tried to soothe over my foot-in-mouth moment. “Sorry, I only want to see you happy.”

“Happy? Oh let me think about this for a moment, as if a decent guy would even look sideways at me. I have a jail-bird for a father and the town drunk for a grandmother. Oh and don’t forget the final pearler...I’m a date-rape victim who off-loaded her baby to the system.” There was a world of hurt and repressed anger in her voice that cut right through to my heart.

Damn.
The last thing I wanted to do was remind her of this painful taboo subject. Marnie never spoke about what had happened that night, never mentioned her little girl and out of respect Em and I had never asked any questions. I wished there was something I could do to take away her pain.

Knowing I didn’t know the right words, I tried anyway. “Marnie, no one who knows you and cares for you, could ever blame you. You didn’t do anything wrong. You’re one of the kindest people I know!”

Marnie turned sideways, averting her face.

After eyeing my friend’s hunched shoulders for a long moment, I decided it might be better if we dropped the subject. Clearing my throat, I said, “Decision time, girlfriends. The creek or we follow this road a while longer. I say we check out the acres.”

Em tapped her hot-pink coloured nails against the gears. “That’s fine with me.”

“I’m easy,” responded Marnie, finally turning to face me.

My shoulders slumped in relief when I saw the smile on her face. Marnie appeared to be her usual calm, Madonna-type self again. Gone was the bitter expression that had, quite frankly, scared the pants off me. I set my quad in motion and turned onto the right-hand track.

Scrubby bushland hemmed in on both sides of the rut filled road.

As I approached a particularly large pothole, I slowed. Bending over, I examined the deep grooves which marked the passage of vehicles. Straightening, I yelled above the noise of the engines, “This road looks as if it gets used frequently. Does it lead to other properties, Em?”

Em shouted back. “I thought only Dad’s place was out here. Obviously I was wrong.”

We drove steadily on, moving deeper into the bush. Dappled sunlight filtered through the branches of the gum trees and tea-trees. Sweat prickled my scalp making my head itch. My top clung uncomfortably to my back and chest. I swallowed over a throat parched from the dry heat. No one spoke and when I turned round, I caught Em casting nervous glances from side to side. The sudden raucous laugh of a kookaburra startled me and my grip tightened on the throttle. The quad leapt forward with a jerk. The right wheel came down into a deep pothole, spinning the bike round as it lost traction in the dirt.

Heart pounding, I fought to keep the quad from rolling. Standing, I attempted to re-balance the bike. I rapidly worked through the gears and gently applied the brake.

Finally, the quad stopped rocking.

My legs quaking like chocolate mousse I dropped into the seat and remembered to breathe. “Shit. That was close.”

“Are you all right, Tara?” Marnie, who must have stopped her bike the moment I hit the pothole, now stood beside me and laid a hand on my shoulder.

Grateful for the show of support, I smiled. “Yeah, no worries. Thanks, Marnie.” I released my strangle-hold on the handlebars and slumped in the seat.

“Hey guys. Check this out,” Em called out.

Raising my head, I gaped at the sight a little beyond the next bend in the road. The trees had been cleared off to the left and the massive steel gate in front of us, glinted from reflected sunlight.

“That is some gate.” I gave a low whistle. After turning off the engine, I released my helmet straps and slipped off the bike. As I walked to the gate, my gaze travelled over the ground. I frowned. “Looks like a lot of traffic goes through here. See all these tyre marks?”

“The fence must be about ten feet high. Why put rolls of barbed wire on top of chain fencing this far out of town?” asked Marnie, taking off her helmet and swinging it by its strap.

In silence I stared at the heavy padlock locking the gates and effectively baring entry. The land was cleared a few metres both sides of the fence and a wide cattle grid lay under the gates as a further deterrent.

The hushed quiet of the bush pressed in on me.

We were standing out in the open. Those damn hairs on the nape of my neck stood up.

Again.

“To keep people out,” I said slowly.

“Security like this, also keeps people in,” muttered Marnie. Her brows knitted together and we exchanged glances.

“Uh huh.” I nodded.

“Let’s move off the road,” Marnie suggested.

My gaze followed her pointing finger. To our right, there was a faint trail that appeared to follow the fenceline. “We could follow that path and see where it leads. Or we could turn around and go back.”

“This can’t be the right place. We must have missed the turnoff to Dad’s property,” Em piped up.

“I didn’t see any other roads leading off this one, so this must be it, unless it’s further ahead. Maybe he’s got some project going on and doesn’t want trespassers. That could explain all this heavy duty security.” I laid out some logical reasoning in an attempt to beat back my rising paranoia. Grimacing, I realised I was thinking like Mum.
“The tyre treads could be shooters hunting roos or rabbits, possibly wild pigs. Let’s follow this path for a while and see if it leads anywhere.”

I needed to satisfy my curiosity so leaving the quads behind I led the way, ignoring Em’s muttered objections. The path wasn’t wide enough for us to walk abreast, so we walked single file. The bush was so thick my vision was limited to only a metre or so around us. At times I had to bend low to avoid overhanging branches and push my way through tangled vines. I was beginning to think we should have headed for the creek. Pausing, I lifted one foot and picked a burr off my sock and flicked it to the side.

There was nothing here.
About to suggest turning back, a glint like sunlight flaring off metal, caught my eyes.