by Steph Matuku
‘I think so.’
Devin’s pale face floated below her.
‘Oh, God. You’re okay,’ Eva breathed.
She reached in and tried to pull Devin up, her efforts hindering rather than helping. Finally, Devin was out. She collapsed on the ground, coughing and wheezing.
Eva dropped to her knees and hugged her. ‘I thought you were dead.’
‘Not yet.’
Rocky hauled himself up, the torch clamped between his teeth. It dropped to the ground and switched off as he began coughing, the fresh moist air hitting his lungs like the first drag of a bad joint. He crawled over to Devin and hugged her tight. He saw Eva watching and quickly let Devin go and gave Eva a brusque hug too.
She patted his back. ‘There, there. We’re all okay, thanks to you – or Fireman Sam as you will now be known,’ she said. ‘I thought we were toast. Literally.’
‘What happened?’ Devin said weakly. ‘I was sure I put the fire out.’
Three pairs of eyes turned to the fireplace. The thought hit them all at the same time.
‘How did the fire get from there into the cave?’ Eva said, looking from one to the other, an almost accusing look on her face.
Branches lay scattered about the hole, some charred and smoking. Rocky gingerly picked them up and placed them in the circle of stones that surrounded the fireplace.
‘It wasn’t an accident,’ Devin said. ‘Someone did it.’
‘Yeah, the same someone who nicked our fish,’ Eva said, edging closer to Devin. ‘And now they’re trying to kill us. I told you. It’s Liam. It’s bloody Liam.’
‘We can’t do anything till morning,’ Rocky said. He too moved to Devin’s side as though she were the iron in the middle of two magnets. ‘If you want to sleep, I can stay awake.’
‘I’m never sleeping again,’ said Eva, wrapping her arms around her legs. The heat and excitement had given way. The cold of the earth rose up into her bones.
Together, they stayed awake until dawn.
61
Dawn was a long time coming. Jahmin sat at the base of the tree and watched as grey fingers of cold light crept through the foliage.
He’d been trying to meditate, reasoning that his overwrought brain needed respite, even if his body didn’t. Occasionally he managed to achieve a blank nothingness that was almost like sleep, but each time he couldn’t sustain it for more than a few minutes before a thought intruded of a large shadow relentlessly advancing, vibrating with a sickening pulse, causing dread and fear …
He climbed the tree to get his bearings, wondering again about that dark line intersecting the bush, before slithering down and heading off.
This time he didn’t run. He was closer now and he needed to take more care, not just blunder on. Broken branches, trampled foliage, footprints in soft earth – all would give him away.
He stepped on a branch, and it cracked loudly. A kererū took flight with an ungainly lurch, its plump body straining to make height. He forced himself to stand still, to take a virtual breather. All the care was making him clumsy, and he could have sworn he’d heard voices …
He flattened himself in the ferns just as two men dressed in black came into view. If they hadn’t been talking, he might not have noticed them until it was too late, their uniforms effectively blending into the early morning shadows. They were moving like soldiers, but they looked like surfers, dressed in sleek wetsuits with skullcaps on their heads, the only incongruity the heavy boots on their feet. Not trampers. Not DOC workers. And definitely not Search and Rescue.
‘It’s just a job,’ one was saying – an older voice, with a hint of an Australian accent. ‘As long as I get paid, I don’t care.’
The other one grunted and kicked at the dirt, scuffing up the shiny leather of his boots.
‘You’re here till noon,’ the first continued, much to Jahmin’s dismay. ‘Then RTB. That’s return to base,’ he explained.
‘I know what RTB means.’
Jahmin felt a little tickle by his ear. Carefully he turned his head. A big brown wētā was sitting right next to his face, so close that its feelers had brushed against his skin. It gazed at him with its beady black eyes and took another step forward. Jahmin’s eyes bulged and instinctively he jerked back, rustling the ferns.
The two guards immediately fell silent.
The wētā scuttled back into the undergrowth.
Jahmin froze, his mind racing. He could run, fight or play dead. Three equally shit options. Why hadn’t he planned for this? He’d just been going on instinct. He hadn’t even talked it over with the others, just ploughed ahead, wanting to get some distance between him and Rocky. He’d done what he’d always done, acted without thought for the consequences.
The men brushed against the ferns. A heavy boot came down just inches from his nose. They were going to find him …
A piping whistle sounded from beyond a little grove of nīkau palms. The younger guy let out a relieved breath as other weka called back in response, filling the bush with a chorus of sound.
‘Scared, were ya?’ A bark of laughter.
‘Yeah, terrified,’ the younger one said, but the bravado sounded forced. ‘Shouldn’t you be going now?’
‘Take care of yourself, noob,’ the older one said as he walked off. ‘There’s lots of birds around here.’
‘Ha ha.’ The boot moved, disappearing back through the ferns.
Jahmin carefully raised his head, craning his neck to get a view through the foliage, but he couldn’t see anything. He could hear the guy, though, crashing through the undergrowth, the need for stealth apparently over now that the older guard had gone.
Silence. Jahmin sat up and peeked through the fronds. The guy was taking a slash against a tree.
Slowly, bent double, Jahmin slipped out from the ferns and edged around the nīkau. He couldn’t resist firing a look over his shoulder. The guy was stepping back from the tree, zipping up his suit.
Jahmin ducked under some spiky branches and jerked backwards as his backpack snagged. He tugged at it hard and the branch snapped, the sound echoing through the quiet forest.
The guy’s head shot up, his hands frozen on his crotch, his eyes fixed on Jahmin. In that brief moment, time seemed to stretch out between them as thin as bubblegum, holding them motionless.
‘Hey!’ the guy called.
Jahmin spun and darted into the bush. The trees slid past as he ran, the pack thumping against his back. He made a right turn, hoping he was running parallel to the river, away from the ship and the guards, away from Camp Sinkhole and everyone there. And where had that old dude got to?
He could hear the young guy pounding hard behind him, his breath laboured. Whoever he was, he wasn’t very fit. Jahmin felt a surge of hope. He could easily outrun the guy, he was Zombie Man!
He pumped harder and risked another look over his shoulder. The guy had slipped further back. Jahmin grinned. He could outrun anyone! Too late he saw the ditch opening out in front of him. He tried to leap it but his balance was off, and he landed awkwardly, slamming to the ground on the other side. Panting, the young guy jumped the ditch and reached Jahmin’s side, his face rosy with excitement.
‘Well, whaddaya know,’ he said. ‘Fancy seeing you here.’
62
Shoulder to shoulder to shoulder they sat, leaning against each other’s backs, knees drawn up for warmth, as the inky black night slowly faded to grey. Devin found the shifting palette deceiving. Shadows appeared to move, advancing and then retreating as her tired eyes tried to focus.
Rocky’s arm had been linked with Devin’s for most of the night, and the warm solidity of his body next to hers made her half wish the morning would never come. She tried not to mind that Eva’s head was lolling on his other shoulder, but she couldn’t help it. It was stupid, she knew that. Eva loved Mandy and she couldn’t stand Rocky, but that wasn’t enough to stop the annoying little whisper in Devin’s head, as insistent as her heartbeat.
; She was startled from a doze by the distinct rustle of leaves under a sly foot. A shadow, more substantial than the rest, detached itself from one clump of bushes and darted to another. She squeezed Rocky’s arm.
‘What?’ he mumbled, his voice thick with sleep.
‘Over there,’ Devin pointed, her voice low. ‘There’s something.’
He squinted into the grey as Devin shakily stood, her legs cramped and aching. Rocky untangled himself from Eva, who was awake in an instant.
‘What’s going on?’
‘Shhh,’ Rocky said, and then, ‘There!’ he shouted, as the shadow broke from cover and ran.
He took off after it, his newly healed leg forgotten, ducking under branches and scrambling through bushes. As he got closer, he could see it wasn’t Liam, it was … with a flying leap, he brought it down in a tackle that would’ve made the rugby selectors proud.
Sharp teeth sank into his wrist, and he jerked his arm away with a curse.
Eva and Devin, panting, were at his side a moment later, their eyes wide.
‘Awhina?’
Awhina scrabbled back, spitting and snarling, her black hair tangled around her face, her skin streaky with ingrained dirt, her blue tunic and leggings stained and torn.
‘What’s happened to her?’ Eva asked.
Devin knelt and held a hand out to Awhina, clucking gently as if to a scared, wounded puppy.
It was a question that wasn’t worth answering. They all knew what had happened to Awhina.
‘Hurry up!’ Rocky shouted.
Awhina had lost weight, but she hadn’t lost her strength or her will to fight. It was all he could do to keep her restrained so that she didn’t hurt him or herself. As it was, he had fingernail scratches up and down his arms, and he was practically lying on top of her, keeping her still with an improvised wrestling hold.
‘Is that all of it?’ Devin called down to Eva.
A flurry of clothes came flying up from the sinkhole. Devin took a pair of sweatpants and twisted the legs together to make a rope. She suspended it down the hole and braced herself for Eva’s weight. Eva pushed up as Devin pulled. She managed to get an elbow over the lip of the hole and Devin seized her under her armpits. Finally Eva was out. They lay for a moment, panting.
‘Can you hurry up?’ hissed Rocky, twisting his face away just in time to avoid a head butt.
‘I dunno,’ Eva grinned. ‘It’s kind of funny.’
Devin yanked Eva up, more forcefully than she intended, wiping the amusement off Eva’s face.
‘All right,’ Eva grumbled. ‘Don’t pull my arm off.’
‘Sorry,’ Devin said, but she wasn’t, not really. The morning sunlight was making her head ache, and she could have happily torn Eva’s arm off and slapped her across the face with it. Eva shouldn’t be so rude to Rocky all the time. He didn’t deserve it.
She knelt next to Awhina who lashed out, her nails catching Devin’s bare legs. The sting immediately chased away her headache. Eva grabbed Awhina’s arm, and Devin was able to smile and say thank you, her previous irritation abruptly gone.
It took all three of them to get a screaming Awhina down the hole. Eva lost a chunk of hair and Devin was lucky not to have her eyes scratched out. But finally, Awhina was safely tucked away under the earth, her screams muffled. Devin unwrapped the last chocolate bar and dropped it down. Then there was silence.
‘What do we do with her?’ Eva asked. ‘We can’t hike out with her like that!’
‘First Jahmin and now her,’ Rocky said. ‘It’s like they’re conspiring to keep us here.’
‘She’ll get out eventually,’ Eva said. ‘I dragged the stepping stone to the back of the cave, but she’ll figure it out. When we go, we’ll just leave her there with a bit of food.’
‘And what if she doesn’t figure it out?’ said Devin. ‘She’ll end up like Big Bird down there. Just dry old bones. And we’ll have killed her.’
‘Jahmin’ll be back tomorrow,’ said Eva. ‘He might have some bright ideas.’
‘I miss him,’ Devin said.
Rocky frowned. The fleeting expression passed Devin by, but Eva saw it. Eva didn’t miss much.
‘Me too,’ she said innocently, and sighed. ‘He’s just so funny. And kind. And smart.’
Rocky gave a snort of derision.
‘And rich. Rolling in it,’ Eva continued, poker-faced.
‘Yeah. Pity he’s dead,’ Rocky said, slamming down the winning hand.
Eva turned her back on him. He may have won this battle, but there was always another one. She went over to their supplies, inspecting bits and pieces.
‘Yuck. It all stinks,’ she said.
She draped pieces of clothing over the bushes in the hope that the breeze would drive out the smell of wood smoke and singed nylon. She couldn’t be arsed washing all this stuff in the stream, not if they were going to leave soon.
Devin rubbed her temple absentmindedly. The dull ache had returned. Even with the dirt and tangles, Awhina was pretty. And she was smart too. Just like Rocky. They had a lot in common. Rocky was probably really upset about Awhina. He was probably just waiting for her to come right so they could be together. It wasn’t fair. Awhina had everything – looks, brains, character – and now Rocky.
Turning on Rocky, she blurted, ‘Do you like her or something?’
He looked startled. ‘Um … I don’t really know her that well. We were on the debating team together, but … yeah, nah.’
‘Me neither,’ Eva said. ‘Too up herself. Oh, and she tried to burn me alive.’
The pain in Devin’s temple was receding again. She was aghast at herself. First jealous of Eva and now Awhina?
Eva tugged at her T-shirt and sniffed at it. ‘Yuck. I’m going for a wash. You want to come?’
Devin got up and went over to the fishing spears. It was the ship again, she was sure of it. Making her jealous, making her doubt herself. But why? Whatever the reason, it was messing with her head, and she couldn’t let it. She passed a spear to Eva, thankful she had something else to focus on.
Eva groaned. ‘God, I can’t wait to get to a supermarket.’ She grabbed a lavalava to use as a towel and followed Devin into the trees.
Rocky went over to the sinkhole. There was a circle of light directly below the opening, but the rest of the cave was in darkness. He leaned cautiously over the hole, a lifetime of watching horror films reminding him of what could launch from dark places. He could hear Awhina breathing, a soft sigh echoing up through the stone.
He lay on his stomach, wriggled closer, his head practically inside the hole itself … and nearly fell in as Awhina’s voice, weary yet perfectly sane, drifted up to meet him.
‘Rocky? Is that you?’
63
‘I don’t believe it, I don’t believe it!’
The guy hauled Jahmin to his feet. He was so excited he looked like he was going to wet himself.
‘I thought all you guys were goners – we all did! And here you are.’
He let out a low whistle as he scrutinised Jahmin. For all his cherubic features, complete with pink baby pout, Jahmin at once sensed he was no angel. There was something sneaky about his eyes. He pumped Jahmin’s hand, once, twice.
‘I’m Peter. You don’t remember me, do you?’
He reached for the black bag on his back and took out a foil-wrapped bar. He offered it to Jahmin, who shook his head. Peter frowned and replaced the bar in the bag.
‘Not hungry? What have you been eating? Leaves?’
‘I caught an eel,’ Jahmin said, hoping the guy wouldn’t ask him how he did it. He hadn’t seen how Devin managed it. She could have pulled one out of a hat for all he knew.
‘No shit? You’re Kane Worthington’s kid, aren’t you?’
A jolt went though Jahmin as he heard his father’s name. ‘Joshua – Jahmin. How did you–’
‘Griff McKenzie’s my uncle,’ Peter said, adding with a mutter, ‘the bloody dickhead.’
Of cour
se. His dad’s big boss, the CEO of Seddon.
‘Your picture’s been all over the news for days,’ Peter continued. ‘And I saw you both at a party at the McMansion a couple of months back.’
A lightbulb flickered. ‘Dad wanted me to meet some people, do work experience at Seddon in the holidays. You were parking cars, weren’t you?’
Peter shrugged. ‘So?’
‘You took our car for a cruise. Dad was spewing.’
Peter held up his hands in mock surrender. ‘That Jag was mint. Would’ve been rude not to.’
He gave Jahmin an ingratiating grin that didn’t soften Jahmin one bit. He’d had a Whittaker’s Sante bar in the Jag’s glovebox that had mysteriously disappeared, presumably down the throat of the dude standing in front of him. It struck him that he’d never taste chocolate again, and his eyes narrowed, his lip curling with dislike.
Peter took out his coms device. ‘They’re going to be stoked, man. Shit, I might get a raise! Finder’s fee and all.’
Jahmin made a grab for the device. Peter fended him off in surprise. ‘What’re you doing? I’ve gotta call you in!’
‘Don’t,’ Jahmin said. He couldn’t take his eyes off the device. ‘Not yet.’
‘Why?’
‘I just …’ Jahmin’s mind was blank. ‘It’s all so sudden, you know? I’m in shock.’
Peter was sceptical. ‘Shock?’
Jahmin sank to the ground and pressed his hand to his heart, which would have been beating wildly had it been working. ‘I’ve been alone for days now, and then you show up, and it’s all just … shocking. Just give me a minute.’
Peter regarded Jahmin for a moment and replaced the device in his belt. He sat down next to Jahmin, swinging his lower legs into the ditch.
‘This is weird, huh? They said there was an earthquake about the time you fullas crashed, and it ripped up the ground. Did you feel it?’
Jahmin shook his head.
‘The ground’s unstable around here. They used to do mining back in the day, but they had to stop. Until now.’
