The Road to Winter (6 page)

When I'm done with the three of them, and I've hung the skins out for the maggots to clean, I take the carcasses back into the kitchen and put them in the fridge.

Rose is sitting at the table drying her hair with a towel.

‘Good hunting?' she asks.

‘Yep. I might make a stew with them.'

‘What else have you got that you're not telling me about?'

I can tell from her voice that she wants to make it up to me
for wearing Mum's dress without asking.

‘Fresh veggies. I've got some growing in a garden up the street. Just tomatoes, zucchini, some onions and stuff.'

‘But how?' she asks.

‘Seeds. Dad's idea again. We stocked up and now I collect the seeds when the plants die off. And there's Ray.'

‘Who's Ray?'

I tell her about meeting Ray back during the first winter.

‘I'll take you out to meet him when things quieten down a bit. After the Wilders have moved on.'

I didn't mean to tell her about the hayshed. She's on her feet with the news, pacing up and down.

‘How many?' she cries.

‘Six that I could see, but there might be more. I saw the trailbike.'

‘Ramage!' She spits his name out. ‘Did you see anyone else with them?'

‘Anyone else? Like who?'

‘Kas.'

‘I thought you'd been split up?'

She stops pacing and slumps into a chair.

‘You need to tell me what's happened, Rose. I need to know what's going on. Whether we're in more danger than I think.'

‘There's danger in just being a girl these days, worse still if you're a Siley.'

She sounds more weary than angry. She sighs.

‘When Kas and I couldn't defend the farm any longer we tried to get away. There was an old shack up at the far end of
the Pennyroyal Valley, so we headed for there. We did pretty well, living off the land mostly, but it didn't last. Ramage's men hunted us down. We tried to run, but it was useless.

‘Ramage had this big compound at his feedstore in Longley. High fences, barbed wire along the top. Big gates. Him and his men rounded up all the kids they could find in the district, boys and girls. Most were Sileys, but not all. Some were just kids whose parents had died. There were about fifteen of us. We slept in the hay, with empty chaff bags thrown over us for warmth.'

Her eyes are sharp again, cutting right through me. She swallows hard and continues.

‘Ramage hired us out to farmers. We did whatever shitty jobs they wanted done. It was dangerous, especially for the girls. I never let Kas out of my sight. She's only fifteen. I protected her as much as I could. I did some things I'm not proud of.'

She looks at the tabletop, her hair falling over her face again. I wonder if she is going to cry, and all I can think of is how Dad used to be with Mum when she was angry. He'd tell her a joke. Try to get her to smile. I don't think a joke's going to work with Rose.

‘You want a cup of tea?' I ask. It sounds all wrong, though, like I haven't been listening to her, or been taking her seriously.

But she surprises me with a laugh and says, ‘Thanks,' and the tension drains from the room.

But I haven't thought it through. ‘Shit, I haven't got any tea,' I confess, and that makes her really laugh.

‘Don't worry about it,' she says as I sit back down. Then
she seems to size me up again.

‘Five days ago,' she goes on, ‘Kas and I escaped. There was a man, Ken Butler, an old friend of Stan's and a farmer from down near Nelson. He had a big white beard and used to stay with us when the yearling sales were on. He turned up at the feedstore one day and told Ramage he needed two labourers, and that he had food and whisky to trade. He paid more for us than he should've and told Ramage he'd have us back by morning.

‘Ken took us across the road to the old hotel. He said he would help us get away from Longley, said we should travel south. There was no guarantee we'd be safe there, but the further away we got from Ramage, the better.

‘Kas and I hid in a woodshed behind the hotel until it was dark. It had been cloudy all day, but like a miracle the sky cleared and I could make out the Southern Cross and the Pointers—pointing us south.'

Rose hasn't look at me once during her story. It's like she's reading off the tabletop, her one good hand moving up and down the wood grain, a fingernail pushing into the gap where the boards are joined. She has big hands. The one that's not hidden in the bandage is scabbed all over and her nails are chipped. When she turns it over there are calluses rising up on every joint. Farm girl's hands.

I'm listening to her, but I'm still missing something. I don't know anything about Kas.

‘She's my little sister,' Rose explains. ‘She always had it tougher than me. She was born with a birthmark on her face,
a big red mark that covers one cheek and runs down onto her neck. She could have been embarrassed about it, but it just made her fierce.

‘She rode the horses. That was her thing. I was an okay rider, but she was way better. She could talk to them, make them understand her. We used to joke about her being the horse whisperer.'

There's something softer about Rose when she talks about Kas. She narrows her eyes a little, like she can see the shape of her sister but can't quite make out her features.

‘After we left Ken, we walked for three days without seeing anyone,' she continues. ‘At the end of the third day, we reached a place called Swan's Marsh.'

I nod. ‘I know it. On the other side of the main range. We used to play football there sometimes. Did you see anyone there?'

She shakes her head. ‘Not at first. We skirted around the back of town, keeping to the trees until we found a safe spot that had a view along the main street. Before I went to check things out, we agreed that, if we got separated, Kas should keep moving towards the coast, as far away from Ramage as possible.'

Rose takes a deep breath.

‘I found them out the back of an old general store—four men and a couple of kids sitting around a fire. The smell of cooking meat was driving me wild. I knew it was stupid, but I was so hungry I wasn't thinking straight. I walked out into the open and stood about ten metres from them. They all
moved at once, grabbing sticks, and one guy picked up a shovel. They circled me.

‘It was so stupid. It was never going to be right for a girl to be travelling on her own unless she was running from someone. A woman stepped out of the back door of the store and came up close to check me out. She had wild red hair and she stank. She smiled—most of her teeth were missing. She said they didn't have much, just a bit of deer they'd shot, but I was welcome to join them.

‘So they gave me some food, and I ate like a pig but I didn't care. They all just sat and watched me. Then one of them asked where I was from, and something in his voice gave me the creeps.

‘I told them I'd come from the north, that I'd avoided Longley because I'd met people on the road who said bad things about the place. It was weird when I mentioned Longley. One of the men spat into the fire and said they hadn't seen anyone on the road in months. Then he asked me if I was one of Ramage's Sileys.'

Rose looks away and I reckon she's embarrassed. I've got to admit, it sounds pretty dumb to have just walked into danger like that.

‘I got to my feet slowly, said thanks and I'd be on my way. But one of them grabbed me, one of the big guys. He tied my hands behind my back and dragged me off to a pump shed at the back of the yard. Said he'd be back for me during the night.'

I have to look away, out the kitchen window to the backyard. I don't want to hear any more. I don't want to know if she's been abused. But she squares off her shoulders again and
stares me down. I know she's going to tell me the rest, even if I don't want to hear it.

‘It was pitch black in there,' Rose continues, quieter now, ‘and the fumes were making me sick. I must've slept because I woke up when I heard the door opening. I made out a figure in the moonlight and kicked out as hard as I could. Got him in the balls, too.

‘He grabbed me by the hair and tried to drag me out of the shed, but then there's this strange sound, like metal hitting bone and the big guy falls sideways onto the pump. Then it goes quiet.'

Rose is shaking her head now, a small smile playing on her lips.

‘It was the woman. I couldn't believe it. She helped me up and cut the ropes around my wrists. She started talking fast, telling me I had to run. Ramage would find out eventually and he'd come after me with everything he had. She pushed a chunk of meat into my hands, said us girls have gotta stick together these days. Then I started running.'

The afternoon sun slants through the kitchen window, filling the room with light. Rose turns her face up to the warmth and closes her eyes.

I don't know what to make of her story, but the way she tells it makes me think it's the truth. She talks a lot with her hands, splays them on the table then rakes them back through her hair. And her eyes narrow every now and then when she tries to remember details about what's happened. I'm mesmerised just
looking at her, this other person, this
girl
, sitting across from me at the table, her skin, her eyes, her smile that disappears as soon as she lets it sneak out.

‘By the time I'd finally made my way back to where I'd left Kas it was getting light. But…' Rose falters. ‘She wasn't there. She wasn't
there
. I didn't know what to do. But I couldn't hang around. There was noise coming from down at the general store. I heard shouting. I had to get out of there—fast.

‘I was ready to move when something caught my eye at the far end of the street. Someone was moving along at the back of the buildings, staying out of sight but sticking their head out every now and then to check for danger. Someone with long black hair. It was Kas. After a couple of minutes, I saw a horse and rider breaking out across the open paddock. I would have known it was Kas even if I was a mile away, the way her body moved with the horse.

‘I'd just started to creep further up the hill when I saw half-a-dozen or so men walking in the open, coming from the north. Ramage's men. They walked straight up to the general store and banged on the door. The woman came out holding a rifle and the men backed off. There was a minute's stand off, and then we all heard the sound of the trailbike. It was coming from the north too, moving real slow and there was a big cloud of dust trailing behind it. It turned up the lane next to the general store…'

Rose looks away. She hides her face behind her hair again and a fat tear drops onto the table. She takes a deep breath and pulls her hair back from her face.

‘It was…Ramage. He was dragging something behind the
trailbike, something heavy, attached by a rope. He rode round and round the yard pulling the bundle through the dirt. Then he cut the engine and the dust settled. I heard the woman scream. I wish I had been further away. I wish I didn't know what it was. I wish I'd never seen it. But I did see it. Saw
him.
It was Ken Butler. Most of his clothes had been torn off and his body was raw with blood. But I knew it was him; I could still make out his big white beard. It was…awful.'

I don't know what to say. It's like it's too big to understand. Just yesterday all I had to think about was keeping me and Rowdy fed. But now Rose is here and she's brought trouble.

‘They all went inside the store. I so wanted to go down there and do something for Ken. Even just cut the rope, but I knew it was useless. I hoped he was dead. That he wasn't suffering anymore. And I kept thinking over and over,
If he hadn't helped us, he would've still been alive
.'

I'm doing my own thinking.
Maybe I shouldn't have taken her in; maybe she isn't worth the risk.
I'm sure she senses it.

‘I'm sorry,' she says. ‘I'm sorry I dragged you into this. I'll go.'

She's on her feet, breathing heavily and looking around the kitchen.

‘If you could just spare me some food… I'll leave your mum's dress, but there are some old shorts and a jumper in there I could wear.'

She kind of half-smiles, half-grimaces at me. She leans on the table and I can see her arms shaking when she puts her weight on them.

Again, I'm feeling like I have to make a decision too quickly.
The thought of being on my own again suddenly seems unbearable, and the words tumble out without me even thinking about them.

‘Stay. Please. We'll work something out. We'll find Kas together. All of us. You, me and Rowdy.'

I've got no idea how we'll do this, or if it's even possible, but I can see the relief in her face. All the weight seems to lift from her shoulders. She sits back down and rests her chin in her hands.

‘I'm so tired,' she says.

‘There was no sign of a horse when I saw the Wilders this morning,' I say. ‘And no sign of a girl. I don't think Kas is with them, but I can go back and check. It's probably a good idea to keep an eye on them, anyway.'

‘I'm coming too.'

I know straightaway not to argue with her.

‘Wait here.' She disappears into the bedroom. When she comes back she's got different clothes on: a pair of Mum's shorts and a grey woollen jumper that comes halfway down over them. I know it's the right thing to do—to have her wear them—but it still feels strange.

‘Too hard to run in a dress,' she says, tugging on the jumper.

‘Okay, let's go,' I say. ‘Stay close, and if we get separated listen for my whistle.'

I follow the tracks I took this morning, the long way up to the ridge, just in case. Rose follows quietly, but she's not moving as fast as she did yesterday.

Up the top we turn around and look out over the town. I should be checking for danger, but my eyes are drawn to the perfect sets lining up in the river mouth. I haven't even registered that it's offshore. It seems like weeks ago that I was out there surfing those waves. Rose has changed everything.