Lost In Kakadu (30 page)

Their eyes met and then Mackenzie swept his arm toward the view. “Well, if we have to be stuck anywhere, it might as well be the penthouse.”

She loved that about him. He had an amazing ability to look on the bright side of anything. Although a childhood like Mackenzie’s would force a person to choose between pessimism and optimism. She was grateful he committed to the latter.

“Okay,” he said. “Let’s see if we can get you more comfortable, then I’ll get some things ready for the night.”

The cave was an ideal place to stay. It was as wide as two buses and the ceiling was high enough for Mackenzie to stand. Abi felt like she was sitting in the belly of a sleeping giant. The rock walls were worn smooth from centuries of wild Kakadu winds and the floor was covered in a layer of fine red gravel.

Mackenzie prepared a clothing bed against the rock wall and helped her lower herself onto the soft pile. Then he busied himself with the firewood. The unfortunate limitation of using the camera lens to make a fire was that it needed the sun. Tonight’s meal was going to be cold snake meat and bush tomato.

Charlie’s letters were nearby and she hadn’t read one for a few days. She propped her leg up and reached for them, welcoming the distraction. She was just five letters from the last one, the one he’d written by the fire at their campsite and she felt both compelled and reluctant to finish reading them. Slipping a letter from the bundle, she lifted the flap, unfolded the pale cream paper and began to read.

My dearest Holly,

It’s your father here. I have some important news you must know. My whole life has been a constant battle and I thought I’d been dealt everything God could throw at me, but it seems he hasn’t finished punishing me yet.

As the mother of my beautiful grandchildren, I thought you should know that I have been diagnosed with Myotonic Distrophy. Unfortunately it’s hereditary and I pray neither you nor the kids are punished with it. Early diagnosis will help you manage the disease. But I won’t bore you with the symptoms. Please take the time to look it up.

If you only ever read one of my letters make it this one.

I do have some exciting news though. I’m finally going on a field trip to find my Ozioxidant. The University has agreed to pay for me to spend a whole week in Kakadu. I wish I could tell you about it in person. I’ll write of my journey when I get back.

Thank you for being part of my life, for giving me the drive to carry on hoping that one day we’ll meet again.

I love you and I hope this letter makes you want to see me, before it’s too late.

I will love you forever,

Your father,

Charlie.

Abi refolded the letter and placed it in order back in the bundle. She wondered why Charlie’s wife didn’t let him be a part of Holly’s life.
What would make someone hate that much?
But then she also had barely any relationship with her daughter. Abi was saddened at how little she’d fought for Krystal’s love. Unlike how hard she fought to keep her marriage intact, as worthless as it was. Although Spencer did many cruel and calculating things that took Krystal out of her life, she hoped Krystal never found out about his affairs. There were some things a daughter shouldn’t know about her father.

Her mind drifted to the letter that changed her life forever. It was hidden in Spencer’s diary, amongst dozens of cryptic notations. The letter was from one of his mistresses, though Abi never did work out which one. Was Spencer punished for his infidelity? And if so, did he deserve to die? If she’d never found that note, she would never have come to Kakadu. Without that note she would never have met Mackenzie. She glanced over at him while he was busy unpacking their things.

“Hey Mack,” she said, “how come you never asked me what I was doing here?”

He cocked his head at her. “What?”

“It’s pretty obvious Kakadu isn’t the ideal holiday for a woman like me. Well, more specifically, the woman I was before the crash. So how come you never asked?”

He turned to her, frowning. “I don’t know, I guess I just assumed you and Spencer were enjoying a holiday together.”

“We never enjoyed anything together.”

Mackenzie returned to her side but remained quiet as he placed a couple of things on their rough plates. The meal consisted of a few figs, tomatoes, mushrooms and cold snake. She took a bite of raw mushroom, but seemed to have lost her appetite.

“So why are you here?” he said.

Abi chewed on her mushroom and as she forced it down she agonised over her answer. “I conned Spencer into it,” she finally said, and as much as she hated to admit it, it was true.

He huffed. “From what you’ve told me about Spencer, he wouldn’t be conned easily.”

“It wasn’t that hard. I went to his office early one evening. He wasn’t expecting me for at least another hour. I forced my way into his office and found him half undressed.”

“In his office?”

“He told me he was just about to shower—”

“He has a shower in his office?”

“It was a fancy office, with wood-panelled walls and a fully stocked bar. You know, an executive suite.”

Abi could tell he didn’t know. “Anyway, I just knew he was hiding someone in the bathroom. It took all my might not to throw open the door and see which one of my so-called friends he was screwing. But I couldn’t do it.”

“Why not?” His eyebrows met in the middle.

“Because without him I was nothing. I needed him.”

“Oh, Abi. You’re so much more than just Mrs …” He frowned.

“Oh my God.” She covered her mouth and laughed. “You don’t know my surname. That’s so funny.”

He chuckled with her. “Sorry but it never really came up.”

“Don’t be sorry. It’s just funny. Where I come from it was always so important to know a person’s heritage.”

“So don’t keep me in suspense. What’s your name?”

“Mulholland. Mrs Abigail Priscilla Mulholland.”

Mackenzie held his palm toward her and she shook it. “Pleased to meet you, Mrs Abigail Mulholland.”

“Abi. Please just call me Abi.”

“So Abi, did you find out who he was hiding?”

“No.”

His frown deepened. “So how did this get you to Kakadu?”

“Spencer went into the bathroom, allegedly to finish off his shower. And while he was in there I found a secret note in his diary. Spencer had invited a woman to join him on a holiday to Kakadu and the note was her acceptance.”

Mackenzie whistled. “Sprung.”

“Over the years I’d had plenty of hints of his infidelities but nothing tangible. The note was proof. It was horrible. I had no idea what to do. Eventually I realised I wasn’t going to do anything.”

“So you let him get away with it.”

“Not really. When I told him I was planning a birthday party for him, he told me he was going to Kakadu with a mate instead. So I demanded to go. You should have seen how much he squirmed after that. But I wouldn’t give up.” She sighed and lowered her eyes to the red gravel floor.

She felt sadness for Spencer. His life had been as tortured as hers. They were never meant to be together and should have divorced many years ago. He didn’t deserve to die and if she hadn’t meddled with destiny, maybe he wouldn’t have. “Now he’s dead and here I am, lost in Kakadu, all because of that note.”

“Abi, you can’t think like that. We can’t think like that. You and I had nothing to do with what happened. It was just a terrible accident and for whatever reason, we were the only survivors. Maybe it was our destiny to meet.”

Her eyes snapped up to him and she wondered if he could read her thoughts.

“Come here.” He tugged her to his chest and ran his hand over her hair. She felt like she should cry, but when no tears came, she tried to convince herself it wasn’t her fault. If anything, it was really Spencer’s infidelity that brought him to Kakadu.

Maybe it was destiny after all.

A low thumping noise, regular in pattern and unusual in sound, caught her attention and she pulled back from Mackenzie, frowning. Mackenzie’s eyes widened and he jumped to his feet.

“A helicopter!” He raced to the edge of the cave. “Here, we’re in here!” He waved his arms and leant so far over the edge Abi feared he might actually fall off the cliff.

“Can you see it?” she said as she stumbled to her feet.

“No.”

“What do we do?” Abi hobbled toward the ledge and searched left and right, seeking the source of the sound. It was getting louder by the second.

Mackenzie jumped up and down, flailing his arms. Then he tugged off his T-shirt and waved it around like a crazy man. His face was full of hope and relief, his excitement infectious.

The sound grew louder, the rotors beat with greater intensity, matching the beat of her heart. “Can you see it?”

The helicopter suddenly shot past the cave with a deafening roar and a flash of steel.

“Here, here we are!” Mackenzie screamed so loud it must have hurt his throat. But it was pointless, as the seconds ticked by the thumping noise simply faded away. “They’re gone. Fuck!”

The look of despair on his face broke Abi’s heart. She was lost for words. Was that their last chance of a rescue? She reached out for Mackenzie, wrapped her arms around his waist and he tugged her closer. His chest rose and fell with each ragged breath he took.

“I can’t believe we missed another one,” she said.

“Me neither.”

The Kakadu breezes picked up and carried on as if nothing had happened. They stood staring across the jungle until his breathing returned to normal.

“At least we saw another helicopter,” she said, but even as the words left her lips she realised how futile they were. They had only heard two helicopters in over nine months.
God knows how much longer before another one comes
.

He nodded. “This was a good sign, though. I reckon that was a guided tour. Hopefully this is one of their regular flight paths. So we’ll just need to be ready for the next one.”

Always positive. Abi had no idea how he did it. “Right,” she said. “We need a giant flag or something.” She glanced around and the colourful parachute fabric caught her eye. “What about a parachute?”

“Abi you’re a genius.”

Mackenzie helped her back to the bed and she rested on one elbow as he put a plan together. He was brilliant to watch, methodical and decisive. Before long Mackenzie had one of their parachutes secured to the edge of the cave so the rest of it could dangle outside and billow in the wind. Suddenly their cave was highly noticeable, exactly what they needed. He raised his eyebrows at her. “They can’t miss that.”

“No. They’re blind if they do.”

“I better get cracking on dinner before it’s completely dark in here.”

As Abi stared into the valley below, the sun disappeared somewhere behind the enormous cliff and the sky gradually morphed from a pale blue to an intense orange and pink, before descending into deep cobalt blue. Finally it turned as black as coal. Millions of stars littered the sky, tiny pin pricks in a velvet black cloak. The stars twinkled like she’d never seen before, laughing at her.

After their meal, Mackenzie crawled into bed beside her and they stared out into the night. A swollen moon bounced up from the horizon and shed light on the valley below them. They sat in silence for a long time. After seeing that helicopter, Abi couldn’t help but wonder if tonight was going to be their last night in Kakadu. She was actually saddened by the thought. The jungle, as brutal as it could be, now seemed like home and she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to go back to her old life, ever. Suddenly a falling star dazzled the night sky like a rescue flare.

“Did you see that?” Mackenzie exclaimed with boyish glee.

“It was brilliant.”

“Quick, close your eyes and make a wish.”

Abi closed her eyes, savouring the childish notion. Her wish came easily and when she opened her eyes, Mackenzie was staring at her. With his long dark hair falling about his shoulders and his teeth pearl-like in the moonlight he was as radiant as a Greek God.

“So, what did you wish for?” He raised his eyebrows.

“I can’t tell you or … my wish won’t come true.”

“Yes, you can.”

She looked at him indignantly. “Tell me yours first.”

He shrugged. “In light of our situation it’s not hard to guess what we wished for.”

“Mmm,” she mumbled.

He cocked his head, his eyes examining her. “I wished for another helicopter. What did you wish for?”

She hesitated. By the very definition of her wish, she had to tell the truth, but she didn’t want to sound foolish. She sighed.
I’ve got to start somewhere
. “I wished,” she paused to look at the stars. “I wished to remain true to myself, to be honest with my feelings … especially when we return to reality.”

He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear. “I guess you passed the first test then.”

She leant over and kissed him, gently at first and then he opened his lips letting her tongue explore his mouth. She ran her fingers through his long hair as he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her toward him. Her hand glided under his shirt, feeling the warmth of his back as her fingers traced his contours, discovering every muscle.

His hand cupped her breast, squeezing, caressing and then barely touching and as she arched her back he removed her clothes, revealing her nakedness beneath. She imagined everybody watching, a voyeuristic display of passion for the world to see. Welcoming his exploring fingers, she tore his shirt off and the sharp ripping sound was an addictive potion.

A soft breeze tantalised her exposed flesh and her nipples were electric as they firmed, wanting more. Mackenzie knelt before her, positioned between her legs, his eyes drinking in her body. She surrendered herself to him, body and soul, wanting him, needing him, like a flame needs a breath of air.

Her heart pounded to an exotic beat as his focus devoured her. He leant forward, the gentle touch of his lips as he planted brief, chaste kisses over her stomach made her skin tingle. His tongue circled her nipple making it swell and harden and just when she thought it couldn’t peak any more he clamped his lips over her delicate bud and sucked, sending her into sensation overload.