“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 se
at 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.
“There’s something up ahead.” I forged on, pushing aside a prickly branch that caught at my clothes as I passed. I felt the sting as it tore through my jeans and pricked my leg.
“Thank heavens,” Marnie answered. “I feel like I’m starring in one of those horror movies. You know, the one where a hideous creature comes swinging out of the trees and disembowels the hikers.” She added in a falsetto voice, “Oh save me, save me!”
Em giggled.
Grinning, I climbed over a fallen tree then stopped, my hands going to my hips. Well! I was right. Something was going on here. I called back to the others who had fallen behind.
“Hurry up, you guys. You have to see this. We’ve been climbing uphill and now we have this great view into the property.”
Em and Marnie joined me.
The clearing was small and through a natural gap in the trees, looked down over the fenceline and the scrub that lay beyond. A fly buzzed drowsily around my face, and I absently flapped it away. I waved a hand. “What are those buildings for, Em?”
“How would I know?”
“There’s an awful lot of them. I count, what, five? Could be more behind them that we can’t see.” I squinted into the distance. The buildings were situated quite a pace from the perimeter fencing and were painted a dull grey-green.
“They look like military buildings to me,” Marnie said. “They’re obviously made out of corrugated iron and they’re that funny half-tunnel shape.”
“Probably bought them from the Defence Force at a fire sale,” I mused. “No doubt your Dad is using them to store stuff.”
“Like what?” Em’s voice rose. “What could he possibly be storing in there?” Her wide eyes meet mine.
“Well,” drawled Marnie. “If he’s been speaking with Tara’s Mum lately, he is probably stocking up on supplies for his own bomb shelter.”
We all laughed and the sudden tension that had formed between us disappeared.
“I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about and there’s a perfectly simple explanation,” continued Marnie. “It certainly doesn’t look as if anyone’s about either.”
“Yeah. Let’s go back and head for the creek. I need a swim.” I took another look out over the fenced area. No livestock, no sign of people, nothing.
Marnie dug her mobile phone from her jeans pocket and checked the screen. “No bars.” She waggled it. “I don’t think we’ve got time to get out to the creek and back to Carstairs. Sorry but I don’t have enough money at the moment to pay late hire fees. My rent’s due next week.”
“Okay, okay. Let’s go home.” I held my hands up in surrender.
“What a waste of a day,” grumbled Em. She swung round and marched back the way they’d come. “I told you there’s nothing to see here.”
I raised my eyebrows and indicated Em as she hurried back along the path. “Looks like Em has her cranky pants on.”
“Everyone has problems. We’re not in high school any more, Tara.”
“So?”
Marnie linked her arm through mine and said, “We no longer share our secrets. There’s some stuff in our lives that we’ll keep to ourselves and no matter how much you poke and pry, we’re not going to fess up. I bet my last dollar, you haven’t told us everything that’s going on in your life.”
Prepare.
Warder.
Did she know? No, I had to be imagining things. Still, those words pounded deep inside my head with every step I took. Marnie was right with one thing though. Barely sixteen months since we’d completed high school and already, I could feel the gulf widening between us. Problem was, both Marnie and Em were surging along their chosen life paths and I was still right back where we started.
And with little hope of moving forward.
Some days, life sucks.
***
“How’s it going, little bro?” I asked as I flung myself down on my brother’s bed. Through the window, starlight glittered as unobtainable as diamonds.
“Hey, Sis. I’m working on a project for school.” Dan ducked his head and flipped a hand toward his computer screen.
Crap. Had Mum told him yet? I chewed my lip and eyed him uncertainly.
“It’s okay, Tara. Mum’s already explained about me leaving Wallaby Creek High. I enrolled in correspondence school yesterday. The project is for my new studies.”
“Already?” I rolled my eyes. “You’ll get brain strain if you’re not careful.” I hesitated. “About the school biz, I don’t think this is a good idea and intend to keep pressing Mum.”
“Leave off, Sis. I’m cool with it. This way I don’t have to hang back waiting for the other kids to catch up. I’ll blitz my HSC in no time, then I can complete my first degree.”
“Sounds like you have it all worked out.” I stared up at the ceiling.
“Yep, sure do. Speaking of work, shouldn’t you be at the pub?”
“My shift doesn’t start for another forty-five minutes. I only scored two hours work today. Lucky me, I get to deal with drunk farmers and sex-starved truckies,” I bitched. “I need a better job. More hours or something.”
“Mum says you shouldn’t worry about it.”
“Don’t you start.” I rolled onto my side, propped my head on my hand and grinned at my brother.
He tossed a scrunched up piece of paper at my head.
I ducked and laughed.
When Dan looked back at his screen, I picked up his sketchbook and flicked through the pages. Then stopped.
My blood turned to ice in my veins and I shivered. For several minutes I stared at the page. Totally absorbed, I turned over the following five pages before waggling the book high in the air. “What’s this?”
“Just something I’ve been working on.”
I made an effort to sound normal. “Well, duh! Come on, give.”
Dan turned shining eyes in my direction. “A theoretical diagram of a space ship engine that could take us to the edge of our solar system and back. I’ve been fiddling with the idea for about a year now.” He laughed depreciatively. “It probably wouldn’t work but it’s fun.”
“It’s amazing.” And even more amazing that I could understand it. My brain didn’t tighten like it normally did when I read anything. I didn’t need to concentrate and focus on individual sections of the page. It was if my brain was hardwired to comprehend every detail depicted here. I examined the book again, absorbing the information in rapid fire sequence. How weird was this? Should I say something? “It looks pretty authentic to me.”
“Yeah?” He wiped a hand through the flop of hair hanging in his eyes and stared hard at me. He sucked in a sharp breath. “Can you understand it, Sis?” he said in an awed voice.
No flies on my little bro. I ran my finger over the diagram I was looking at. “For once in my life, yes. But what is really strange is these markings here.”
I pointed a shaking finger at the line of squiggles at the bottom of the page. To me, they formed a sentence.
One that I’d seen before.
Heard before.
And it was enough to make my knees turn to jelly. “Have you seen them before? Where did you get them?”
Don't Look Back (Warders of Earth) Page 8
