Lost In Kakadu (29 page)

“I’m not going anywhere.” He pulled her hand to his lips and kissed her fingers. “You must be knackered.”

“I’m more hungry than tired. I haven’t eaten since our plate of grubs.”

He stretched to release the knot between his shoulder blades. “I feel like I’ve been clubbed over the head,” he groaned. “Why didn’t you eat the beans?”

“I couldn’t eat without you. We share, remember?”

He smiled as he remembered their fight over the chocolate bar on the first day of the crash; it seemed like years ago.
Maybe it was.
“How about you grab a bean can and I’ll get the fire going.”

“Actually, I may have caught us dinner.” She had a cheeky smile.

He cocked his head. “Really?”

She pointed at the tree and it took him a moment before he realised what she was looking at. “Is that a snake?”

She nodded, her eyes sparkling.

“Holy shit!” Mackenzie got to his feet and walked toward it. It was the biggest snake he’d ever seen. “It’s huge. How the hell did you get it?”

Abi was bursting with excitement as she relayed how she caught it. Mackenzie hugged her to his chest and kissed her forehead. “Wish I’d seen you, would’ve been like Xena: Warrior Princess.”

“Who?”

He feigned shock. “How could you not know her? She’s only the hottest Amazon warrior ever.”

She blushed. “So you think we can eat it?”

“I don’t see why not. It’s so big though, I think we’ll be eating snake for a week.” He laughed and she joined him but he noticed the dark circles under her eyes. Her day must have been horrible. “How about I make us some snake kebabs then?”

“Yes, please. I’m starving.”

Abi loaded the fire while Mackenzie cooked the entire snake in batches and as the sun set they feasted on their most substantial meal in weeks. But even with a full stomach and an undeniable sense of achievement, not everything was rosy. They forgot to hang their bed in another tree and had to settle for another uncomfortable night, back to back, in the dirt.

The next morning they ate another snake meal before Mackenzie declared it time to get moving. They loaded up their gear and he traipsed ahead with renewed vitality.

At Abi’s insistence, he wore socks on his hands to stop him from scratching, but as the day rolled on the itching drove him crazy. He tried to direct his anger into each step but the monotony of the never-ending bush eroded his patience. For seven days they’d travelled along the 225 degree marker on the compass, the heading Mackenzie had noted while perched high in the tree and he was beginning to doubt the cliff face even existed. Could the vision from the tree over a week ago have been the result of his desperation for something other than greenery?

Dark clouds rolled in, reducing the sinking sunset to a dull glow, yet the heat from the day remained brutal. A flash of lightning lit up the sky, followed by a sickening crack of thunder that rumbled through Mackenzie’s chest. “Fucking hell, not again,” he yelled at the heavens.

Some afternoons culminated in an impressive display of lightning and a thundering encore. A torrential but brief downpour would follow, soaking them to their skins. Their only blessing being that fresh water was in abundant supply.

Mackenzie found Abi’s newfound determination both impressive and irritating and her constant words of encouragement became an annoying babble in his ears.

He pushed through a bush and a rigid branch whipped back and sliced his cheek just below his eye. That was the clincher. He ripped the socks off his hands, tossed his pack to the ground and shot up the nearest tree, ignoring the obvious threat of rain.

“What are you doing?” Abi yelled.

Her voice was a distant noise in his head.

“Mack, talk to me!”

Fear in her voice made him respond. “I need to see where that fucking cliff is.”

Anger drove him upward, his jaw tight. Abi’s pleading was drowned out by a boom of thunder. A fat raindrop fell right between his eyes like a warning, but he continued upwards. His head told him he should be preparing their camp for the night, but he couldn’t stop. He needed to prove the cliff wasn’t a figment of his imagination.

Darkness shrouded him and then the storm cloud burst open and heavy rain thundered upon his head, stinging his upper body. He resisted the urge to look beyond the tree and focused on climbing the now slippery branches. Finally, at a point where he could climb no further, he secured his position and peered through the leaves. A flash of lightning lit up the sky … and there it was. The giant cliff face loomed before him, bold and dominant. His heart raced and his head spun.

“We’re here,” he yelled.

A dark hole in the cliff stood out like an empty eye socket and he realised it was a cave. He cheered as he tried to relay the sight before him to Abi, but he could tell she couldn’t hear him. Renewed energy flooded through him and he practically raced back down the tree. At the bottom he gathered Abi into his arms and they spun around until they fell into a laughing heap on the muddy forest floor.

They lay side by side with the soaking rain still falling onto their already drenched bodies. “There’s a large cave in the cliff. It looks perfect.”

“I can’t wait to see it.”

The clouds suddenly separated and sunlight poured over them, bringing light and warmth.

Mackenzie wasn’t ready to stop. He put his pack on and helped Abi with hers. He grabbed the trolley case by the handle, reached for Abi’s hand and dragged her forward. “Come on.”

They ploughed through the scrub, ignoring the punishment to their skin. He dropped Abi’s hand and pointed ahead when he spied the orange sandstone. In dramatic contrast to the surrounding green vegetation, it towered above them, full of hope and promise, a glorious sight.

* * *

They held hands at the cliff base, like children before God’s altar. Abi looked up the escarpment and the floating clouds above gave the illusion it was moving. She placed her hands against the rock and felt the warmth of the day emanating from it. With relief, she removed her pack and leant against the rock.

Mackenzie stepped back to look up the cliff. “There’s the cave.” He pointed above her.

She stepped out and shielded her hand against the illuminated clouds. The black hole in the cliff face was about three quarters of the way up. “I see it. It looks big.”

“That’s our bedroom for tonight.”

“Okay,” Abi said with scepticism. “How do we get up there?”

“I’m working on that.”

Mackenzie studied the rock face and then rummaged through his pack removing the rope. Months ago he’d cut long strips from two parachutes and woven them into a strong rope that had proven useful on numerous occasions. As he laid the rope out in large loops, he occasionally glanced up the cliff as if he was judging the distance from the ground to the cave.

“I’ll climb up first. Then I want you to tie the rope to the bags and I’ll pull them up.”

“Okay.”

He put his hand on her shoulder. “Then it’s your turn. Tie the rope around your waist like I showed you and I’ll help you climb up.” Abi remembered him showing her how to tie a rope months ago. His patience had been tested then and she hoped now that it wasn’t wasted.

Mackenzie must have been exhausted but his look of determination convinced her there was no point arguing. Abi glanced back at the vertical cliff and doubted whether she could do this; her upper-body strength had never been great. But with reluctance she nodded. “But shouldn’t we wait until morning? At least we can make a fire down here.”

“Good point.” He unzipped the travel case and tossed the contents out.

“What’re you doing?”

“We don’t need all this stuff up there; I’ll fill this with firewood for the morning.”

“Mack, sorry to burst your bubble, but you could get all the way up there and find you need to come straight back down.”

He reached for both her hands. His lips appeared redder and plumper when his beard was full and she focused on them as he spoke.

“Abi, don’t ask me how, but I know it’ll be perfect. Trust me.”

“I do. But don’t you think we should have a look before we go to all this trouble?”

“Nope.” His eyes twinkled with mischief.

Abi rolled her eyes at his enthusiasm. “Okay.”

“That’s my girl.”

That’s my girl.
She liked that.

Together they sorted their equipment into two piles. One would come up with them and the other would remain at the base of the cliff. Abi wrapped the items to be left behind in a parachute while Mackenzie filled the empty case with wood for a fire.

When they were ready, Mackenzie launched up the cliff, digging his hands and feet into chinks and small ledges in the stone. The rope dangled below him like Rapunzel’s hair. Abi held her breath with every step he climbed. He made it look easy, which only increased her anxiety.

He reached the cave and moments later he disappeared into the hole. She judged the distance to be about five storeys high. She heard him calling to her but couldn’t make out his words. The excitement in his voice was electric. His head appeared over the edge and he waved down at her. She returned the wave as his words reached her. “Tie the bag on.”

She secured the rope and stepped back as the bag inched in a vertical line up the cliff. They repeated the process with the next case and then it was her turn to climb. She tied the rope around her waist and mounted the first protruding rock, clinging to the sandstone with her fingers. For a fleeting moment, she remembered her once meticulous fingernails and was sickened by the fortune she’d spent on them over the years. Mackenzie tugged on the rope and she searched with her foot for the next step, gingerly pulling herself up the rock face.

Half way up, she had to stop. Her calf muscles ached and her fingers throbbed. Mackenzie’s assurances floated down to her.

“I’m okay. Just need a rest.”

“Okay, take all the time you need.”

She placed her forehead on the warm rock and closed her eyes for a moment, listening to her ragged breathing.

“You’re doing well, honey,” Mackenzie’s voice floated down to her.

Abi pushed her hand toward the next stone but before she could grasp it, her foot slipped. Vertigo overwhelmed her and she fell. The rope strangled her waist, biting into her side, and she slammed face first into the cliff. Excruciating pain exploded from her knee. An abrupt memory flashed into her mind. Another time when she’d felt incapable and Spencer had told her so too. He often told her she was useless.

She heard Mackenzie’s panicked cries above her. “Reach for the rocks, Abi.”

Spencer’s disparaging comments incited hatred within her that she hadn’t felt in a long time. She wanted to prove him wrong, prove she was worthy as a woman and with newfound determination she reached up for the nearest rock.

“That’s it, Abi. You can do it.”

Mackenzie believed in her and she welcomed his encouraging words as she continued to climb. The pain in her leg intensified and the restricted movement forced her to rely on her arms even more. She was a survivor and each painful step upwards was proof of how tenacious she was.

Her heart raced, but not with fear—with excitement. The edge of the cave was just another foot away.
Keep focus, Abi.
She felt Mackenzie’s hands under her arms. He lifted her over the precipice with ease and she fell onto his heaving chest and ran kisses along his neck.

He wrapped his arms around her. “You’re safe now, honey.”

She kissed him wildly, passionately. “I know.”

Abi crawled further into the cave, the coarse sand of the cave floor pricking at her fingers. She dragged her leg, trying to ignore the pounding in her knee. Her arms and shoulders ached and her body trembled, but she ignored it all and focused on her achievement. Beside her, Mackenzie’s breathing was ragged. She reached out for him. They lay holding hands, staring at the roof of the cave until they got their breath back. Abi noticed the indentations in the rock above her. It was like the inside of a sponge; hundreds of small pockets with smooth edges.

She turned to Mack. “I hope that was worth it.”

“Wait till you see.” His eyes twinkled with excitement.

She smiled, studying his face. A lock of his sweat-soaked hair draped over his shoulder and lay across his cheek. His dark, smiling eyes were rimmed with long, black eyelashes and his beard was full, hiding a handsome jaw line she knew was there. Squeezing his hand, she sat up. Her knee throbbed, but she avoided looking at it.

The easterly facing view of the valley below them was breathtaking; a cascading river of green as far as she could see. Blue sky met with the green horizon and Abi felt like she could see to the end of the earth.

“It’s beautiful.”

“I told you.”

But as Abi gazed out over the panorama, she realised something was missing. There were no signs of civilisation, nothing to indicate that anybody shared this earth with them. No buildings, no smoke, no planes, nothing. She scrutinised the sky. S
urely there’d be planes, somewhere.
Her emotions were torn. On one hand, she wanted to be saved; on the other, she didn’t want their utopia to end.

“Why can’t we see anything?” Mackenzie read her mind.

“I was just thinking the same thing.”

“How far off course could we have gone?”

The plane crash seemed like years ago, but the memory of that day was forever burnt into her mind. She recalled the two attempts the plane made at turning and tried to imagine the distance it travelled away from the planned route. “A long way I guess, but still, shouldn’t we see something? Maybe it’s just the wrong time of day. I bet we’ll see planes tonight.”

He smiled at her. “You’re probably right.”

She leant over to kiss him, but gasped at the pain in her knee.

“What’s wrong?”

The concern in his eyes made her want to cry. She rolled up the leg of her tattered cargo pants. “I hurt my knee when I fell.” Her knee was swollen and her kneecap was already an angry purple bruise.

“Oh, Abi.” He smoothed his hand over her leg. “This doesn’t look good.”

Abi shrugged. “Good timing, hey?”