Undara

by Annie Seaton

  The house was quiet and in darkness, and Travis sat on the back steps.

  Alone.

  The sky was clear and pricked with millions of stars, the moon high in the sky, bathing the bush in shimmering, ethereal light.

  When he and Gavin were small boys, their mother had sat out with them on these steps when the moon was full. He could still remember her lilting voice reciting the poem about the moon and her ‘silver shoon’ as her arms held them close. It was the only memory he had of his mother ever holding him.

  What would Mum see now, Travis wondered? A shattered family. A property going to rack and ruin. Her request that he look out for his older brother, and her forethought in tying up the estate when Dad had predeceased her had been wise. She had made Travis the majority shareholder in the property because of Gavin’s instability; Gavin was entitled to a monthly cheque under the terms of the will.

  They would have gone under a long time ago if Gavin had his hands on the finances. If he’d had an equal say in how the property was managed, there would be a gold mine in operation by now. Gavin had seen it as the quick answer to their financial problems when Carroglen had first approached them two years ago. Travis had sat his older brother down and explained what it would mean if they took the offer. He’d had to work hard to get Gavin to see sense. When Travis had explained that their access to much of their land would go, Gavin had come on side.

  The payment from the research team would have to suffice for the time being. At least the university people weren’t making a visible difference to the land.

  Travis raised the beer he’d been nursing for the past half-hour. ‘Happy new year,’ he said to no one in particular.

  CHAPTER

  3

  Emlyn looked up as the thrum of a motorbike broke the silence. She tipped her head to the side and listened as she pulled off the rubber gloves she’d put on to scrub the hotplates on the stove.

  Motorbikes.

  The smell of bleach still filled the room, even though the windows were all open wide. Her eyes were gritty, but it wasn’t just the smell of the bleach that had made them sore. When she’d woken at dawn, her cheeks had been wet. She’d stood under the shower and let the lukewarm water run over her hair and face until she’d shivered. Then she’d boiled the kettle and had a cup of strong black instant coffee.

  By ten o’clock, the sky was bright, and sunlight streamed through the now clean windows. She’d called the store at Mt Surprise and finalised the order that was being delivered in a couple of days. The mess area was probably cleaner than it had ever been, and she was satisfied with the results of her morning’s work. Once she attacked the large gas cooker that ran along from the sink to the door, she’d be done in here. Her stomach rumbled as she crossed to the door. She hadn’t eaten anything since she’d left Townsville at lunchtime yesterday.

  Hard footsteps sounded on the floor leading up to the mess. She reached for her long-sleeved shirt and slipped it on over her singlet top before the screen door—with all the red dust now washed off—opened.

  For a moment, she thought the man was Travis Carlyle, but then Emlyn realised this man was shorter and broader. Same blondish hair beneath his Akubra, a friendly grin and a pair of intense blue eyes met hers before the door squeaked again and her landlord came in behind him.

  ‘We just came across to see how you were getting on,’ Travis Carlyle said as he tipped back his hat.

  Was that guilt in his voice?

  ‘I’m surprised that you offered the accommodation with the condition it was in.’ Emlyn spread her hands and gestured to the benchtops. ‘But as you can see, I’m getting along just fine. I’ll have this place shipshape soon.’

  ‘For your information, the place wasn’t offered.’ Carlyle nodded to the man beside him. ‘Dr …?’ He quirked an eyebrow and she nodded. ‘Dr Rees, this is my brother, Gavin. If I’m not around, he should be able to help you with anything you might need.’

  ‘You sure have done a … good job cleaning up … here.’ The brother held his hand out to her but didn’t quite meet her eyes.

  Emlyn took it and he shook her hand with a loose grip. He shuffled his feet and cleared his throat. When he looked up, colour stained his cheeks. ‘I hope you have a good time at our farm. Um … what are you going to do here?’

  Travis glanced down at his watch and Emlyn wished they’d let her get back to her cleaning.

  Gavin looked at her expectantly and it would have been too rude to ignore his question.

  ‘We’re here to explore the caves recently discovered on your property. I’m sure you’re aware of the interesting discoveries made over the past few years in the main Undara tubes.’

  ‘Yes, sort of,’ he said slowly. ‘But what are you looking for? And where are you going to look?’

  Emlyn’s tone was measured. ‘We are entomologists, Mr Carlyle.’

  ‘I’m Gavin,’ he said. ‘Mr Carlyle was my dad.’ He pointed to his brother. ‘And Travis’s dad, too. What’s an enta …?’ He removed his hat and she stared when he put it on her clean benchtop and left a fine layer of red dust.

  ‘Entomologist,’ Emlyn replied. ‘I study insects.’

  ‘Insects? Like bugs?’ His giggle was almost childlike. ‘What’s that got to do with our caves?’

  ‘We’re looking for new species. In the one hundred and ninety thousand years since they were formed, the lava tubes have provided a habitat for an array of insect life. Many of the caves have collapsed over at Undara, and the plants that have invaded through the holes in the tube ceiling have created whole new ecosystems.’

  ‘All we get here are snakes and bats and silverfish. Not very interesting, and you’re going to look at them? How long are you going to be here? Crazy, hey, Trav?’

  Emlyn flicked her gaze onto Travis and the look he returned was cool and assessing.

  ‘Yes, it all seems a bit of a waste of effort to me,’ he said.

  ‘It’s certainly not a waste of time. The preliminary findings from a couple of years ago are quite encouraging.’ What might be interesting to her would probably mean nothing to a couple of cattle farmers whose land was being taken over. ‘In the Undara system, many bizarre life forms have all adapted to the long and often hidden lava tunnels. White cockroaches and scutigerids are just two of the species discovered over there in recent years. Unique blind insects and colourless beetles have evolved because of the darkness in the caves.’

  ‘And you think you’re going to see them in our little caves? They’re different to Undara,’ Gavin asked. ‘There’s not a lot to see here.’

  ‘Time will tell. That’s why we’re here.’ She moved across the room and opened the screen door. ‘Now unless there was something else you wanted, I have work to do.’

  * * *

  ‘She talks like she’s up herself a bit.’ Gavin laughed as he started his bike. ‘But she’s pretty.’

  Impatience curled in Travis’s gut. ‘I didn’t notice.’

  His brother looked across at him and his lip dropped as he stopped laughing. ‘I’m going back to the house.’

  ‘We were on our way to the dam paddock. Remember, I need you to give me a hand.’

  ‘I can’t,’ Gavin called out as he shot past him. ‘I have to go back. I’m waiting for an email.’

  ‘I can’t do it by myself again.’ But Travis’s words were lost in the roar of the bike as Gavin took off and accelerated until he was out of sight.

  ‘Shit.’

  Honestly, Gavin had the attention span of one of that woman’s bugs. Sometimes, Travis wished that his brother would move to Townsville like he was always harping on about; life would be more bearable, although he’d have to hire more help on the station.

  And he’d probably have to make sure there was someone to keep an eye on Gavin if he moved away. Over the past two years, Gavin had lost any interest he’d ever had in the cattle, and Travis had had to hire Jeff Collins, one of the sons from the Mt Surprise store, to help him and B
lue with the cattle work in the last six months.

  Blue had the shits because he reckoned he didn’t need a hand, and the sullen Collins boy was already on his third warning. Blue said he’d caught him smoking a joint when he was supposed to be repairing a fence at the yards. The kid had denied it, but Blue had sworn that he’d smelled dope. And Blue reckoned the days Jeff didn’t show, he was in the pub at Mt Surprise chatting up backpackers who were here to see the lava tubes. It was a toss-up who to believe. Travis had no other option; he had to turn a blind eye because there was no one else available.

  Travis glanced back over at the donga. The sun had disappeared behind the clouds and the prefabricated buildings looked even more dilapidated in the shadowed light. For a moment he felt guilty that he hadn’t been more welcoming. Maybe he should have invited her up to the house for a cuppa or a drink or something.

  Then common sense prevailed; he didn’t want her here and her comfort, and making her feel welcome, were not his concern. Nor was it his role to entertain her. And anyway, their house was in a worse condition than the dongas. Dad had always been going to build a new flash house for Mum after the original homestead had burned down when Travis had been at boarding school. But the years had passed—and the money was never there—and thirty-two years later, he and Gavin were still living in the old fibro house that Mum had once tried to turn into a home. Compared to the old original homestead which she had moved to when she’d married Dad, the manager’s residence had been a house without character.

  Bloody hell, Mum would roll in her grave if she could see the pigsty he and Gavin lived in now. Since Alison had left last year, it had deteriorated into a mess. The thought of the university workers calling in to the house filled Travis with shame, and he vowed to have a clean-up soon.

  If he could ever find some time. Between the cattle work, trying to maintain the fences and dealing with the accounts, not to mention everyone who seemed to want a slice of his time—and his property—there was barely time left to sleep.

  He hadn’t had time for anything—or anyone—since the cattle industry had gone to shit. It was easy to understand why Alison had left and taken the children. It wasn’t just the state of the house, or the lack of money to give her a new kitchen or fix up the bathroom. He hadn’t provided the life she’d wanted. The property work had been gruelling, and some weeks he’d spent four and five nights out on the far boundaries, camping with Blue as they’d moved cattle in closer to the springs. As much as he’d hated Gavin living with them, at least it was a male in the house at night, and he’d worried less about leaving Alison and the kids alone when he and Blue were out mustering.

  They’d planned for the future before they’d got married, and hell, she should have known what it could be like. Alison had grown up on a huge spread out at Boulia. They’d met at agricultural college at Gatton, and they’d connected the first time they met. Maybe they’d been too young to know what they wanted.

  Travis stared out at the paddocks as he walked across to the bike. The first few years they’d been married, they’d worked together and things had been great. Until the drought had taken hold of the land. Until Carroglen had started sniffing around the property. Travis was adamant: the family property was not going to be given over to a gold-mining company. Alison had suddenly taken Gavin’s side and agitated for Travis to take their offer. And that was the one thing Travis wouldn’t agree to. He’d held firm, never guessing it would lead to the end of their marriage.

  It had happened so quickly. He and Alison had been working together, sharing their dreams and hopes, enjoying family life. Then only a few weeks later he’d come in from the cattle one afternoon to find she’d packed up. She’d told him she was going and taking the children with her. He’d promised to do anything to get her to stay, but Alison had been determined. Even thinking about it now, a year later, made him want to vomit.

  ‘You care for nothing as much as you care for this land. I’m sick of taking second place,’ Alison had said when they’d argued. Travis had tried to get her to understand that he had to work hard if they were to have enough money to give the kids everything they needed. The change in her viewpoint and the unfairness of her accusation had cut deep; he worked hard to provide for his family, not because he put the land over them.

  She had done her best to make him angry; some of the things she’d said to him had been unforgivable, and it had hit Travis hard. The day Alison had walked out with the kids had been the worst day of his life.

  He sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He needed a bloody haircut and he didn’t even have time to go to town. He climbed onto the bike, but before he started it, his innate sense of decency kicked in. Just because he was in a bad mood, there was no need to be the bastard that Alison had told him he was. With a grunt of disgust, he got off the bike, strode back to the donga and pushed open the door.

  Emlyn was lifting the large cast-iron grill off the gas stove and turned with a gasp as the door slammed behind him. She dropped it and the heavy grill clanged when it hit the stovetop. Her cheeks flushed pink as she pulled her long-sleeved work shirt back on, but she wasn’t quick enough. The skin on the top of her left arm from her elbow to her shoulder, and up to the base of her neck, was white and puckered, and Travis drew a breath as she turned away.

  ‘Here, give it to me. Where do you want it?’

  ‘Over in the sink, please.’

  He pulled a face as he picked up the heavy grill. Bits of dried, cooked meat and onion rings were stuck to it and the smell of bad meat pervaded the room. It almost slipped from his hands as he placed it carefully in the hot, soapy water in the sink. ‘So the electricity’s working okay, then? Water’s nice and hot,’ he commented in a friendly tone.

  ‘Yes.’ She nodded and avoided his eyes. ‘But I forgot to ask you about the water situation. Should we take care with how much we use?’ She gestured to the rainwater tank just visible through the window.

  He rolled up his sleeves. ‘Yes, with the tank water, which is piped to the kitchen and showers. There’s plenty of bore water, otherwise, but don’t use it for drinking or cooking.’

  ‘Okay. I guess I’ll have to order in some more bottled water, then.’

  ‘Have you got some here now?’

  She nodded again.

  ‘Put the jug on and we’ll sit down and go through some things. I could do with a cuppa, and it looks like you need a break, too.’

  Without a word, she did as he asked, and he picked up the piece of steel wool on the countertop and scrubbed the grill until it was clean. By the time he had the cast-iron grill back on the stove, she was pouring hot water into two cups.

  ‘I assume you want tea?’ she asked. Her tone was still distant and formal.

  ‘Yes, please.’

  ‘How do you take it?’

  ‘Black and strong, please.’ He pulled out one of the old wooden chairs and sat at the laminated table. ‘Look, I’m sorry I took off so quickly yesterday. I had cattle to move.’

  ‘I don’t expect or need your help.’ She passed him an enamel camping mug.

  By God, she was a cold fish.

  He looked at her carefully. ‘No?’

  ‘No.’

  ‘You probably need to know more about the set-up here. You wouldn’t see that as too much help?’

  She considered him over the rim of her small teacup and finally her lips lifted slightly.

  Maybe it was the beginning of a smile. Maybe it was just that the tea was hot.

  ‘No. I guess that would be useful. And thanks for the help with the grill. It was pretty gross.’

  He shrugged. ‘No problem. If there’s anything else that needs lifting, let me know and I’ll move it before I go.’

  ‘It’s all good, the grill was the worst. But thank you for offering.’ A glimmer of warmth filtered through the cold atmosphere and Travis relaxed into his chair, curiosity in his mind. She didn’t look old enough to be leading an expedition into the caves.

/>   Or strong enough.

  There was an air of fragility about her, despite her insistence that she was independent. He wondered what had caused the scars on her arm and shoulder; they looked like burn scars. But it was none of his business.

  ‘The water pressure’s not very strong. Is there a plumber anywhere around here?’

  Travis shook his head. ‘No, but we have Bluey. I’ll send him over.’

  ‘Bluey?’ She screwed up her nose, and for the first time, her features relaxed.

  ‘My stockman. He can fix pretty much anything.’ Travis wrapped his fingers around the mug. ‘Don’t take too much notice of him, though. Bluey loves to spin a yarn or two. And he’ll be in his element with someone new here to listen to him.’

  ‘Thank you. I’ll take that on board.’

  ‘So, what else do we need to discuss?’ He blew on the hot tea and then looked up with a grin as he caught her staring. ‘Sorry, bad bushie habit.’

  ‘I haven’t set up my laptop yet, but I just needed to check that the passwords are the same as you put in the agreement for us to use your satellite connection.’

  Travis frowned. ‘As far as I know they are, but Gavin’s the one who looks after that side of things. I’ll check it out with him and get back to you if it’s different. I can’t remember what I sent to the university. Do you have it handy?’

  * * *

  Emlyn stood and walked over to the bag that she’d brought into the mess with her. She opened it and pulled out the backup printed file.

  She always had a backup. Since the accident, she kept every facet of her life so structured, her counsellor had gently suggested that it was a mental-health issue, but Emlyn disagreed. It was her way of coping. And she’d coped with the counsellor in her own way, too; she hadn’t gone back again after that appointment.

  There was nothing wrong with planning and having structure. She’d always been a bit on the obsessive side, always needing to know what was going to happen, and planning her day accordingly. David had smiled each night as they went to bed when she’d made her list of what she was doing the next day. ‘Do we really need shopping lists and a calendar on the fridge?’ he’d said as he kissed her in the kitchen one night. ‘Fridges are for food and beer.’