Gordon Under Attack (Outback Exodus)

by Millen, Dawn

  "Okay, you talked me into it, not that Gav and I will have a romantic night, we are still talking to Patsy and Steve is still there too. I don’t think we are going to get much sleep as she has a lot to tell us." I say. "I’d better check in at the hospital too and make sure that Helen is okay and doesn’t need me. I’ll catch you all tomorrow."

  I leave the warmth of the kitchen and head across the green to the hospital tent and into the lamplit area where Helen is sitting at her table, her charts are in front of her and she is writing up her surgical notes. We know that there probably will not be anyone to ever read them, but Helen is meticulous about keeping her notes even now.

  "How is it all going Helen?"

  "Not too bad Jenn. We are probably going to lose one of them tonight though. Someone is a very good shot and has done some major damage."

  "Which one mate?"

  "Came in with a red shirt on. Arrow went through his right lung and its not looking good."

  "Sorry mate, that was one of mine."

  "Oh well, you did what you had to and it sure stopped him."

  "Do you need anything?"

  "No, I’m good, get home and rest, you can do a shift tomorrow."

  "Okay, see you tomorrow then. I’ll be in around 9, I’d better spend some time with the twins first, they are at Mum’s at the moment getting spoiled."

  "I can guarantee that they will be spoiled rotten. Jazzie said she would have them while you are here tomorrow."

  "Great stuff, between her, her kids and the old folks they will be ruined in a week."

  "Go home and get some sleep woman, you don’t have that long before you are back again."

  "Okay, I’m gone, see you tomorrow."

  A brief conversation and I’m walking back across the village green and into the door of the cottage. I can smell the stew as I enter the door and see that Gavin has already pulled it across to the fire. It is starting to bubble and give off savoury smells. Gavin and Steve are still sitting at the table with Patsy. She looks calmer now and more settled.

  I pull out a chair and join the group around the table. "Thanks for putting the stew on the fire. It smells good and I’m hungry, as I am sure everyone else is. I will dish it up when my hands thaw out and then we can eat."

  Patsy smiles across at me and continues her conversation with the boys. She is telling them of the attacks that the gang had undertaken on many of the villages between Sydney and here. The sad tale continued with the rapes, beatings of the women who were captured and then she let a bombshell drop. Most of those women now lie dead, unburied in the bush. Once they were no longer useful they were killed and left for the wildlife to clean up. The shock of such barbaric behaviour rolled through me and I gasped.

  "You okay sweetheart?" Gavin asked quickly as he took in my horrified expression and my white face.

  "Not really, I just did not expect this sort of thing to happen." I say, my voice muted with sorrow.

  "This is the time when the scum rise to the top and the rest of us suffer." Patsy’s voice is bitter and I can feel the anger that crackles from her. Anger at the fate of those women and girls and anger at the fate she has suffered at the hands of the gang she was forced to become a part of.

  The story continued for most of the evening hours and we ate dinner by the light of the fire and listened to the sorrowful tale as Patsy continued to fill us in on her experiences.

  As the hour is late as Patsy’s tale stumbles to a close with today’s attack Steve stands and yawns. "We had better get you over to my place and get you safe and secure Patsy. You will have a decent bed and a safe place to sleep tonight." His big frame fills the doorway as his hand gently sits on the small of Patsy’s back and guides her down the step from the porch. Turning quickly to the right they head down the row of cottages and vanish into Steve’s tiny cottage at the end of the row.

  Chapter 9

  Morning comes and overnight winter has bitten down and chilled the earth. The ground outside is white with frost and there is a thin skin of ice on the water bucket on the porch. Quickly I crack the ice and fill the large kettle ready to hang over the fire. Sliding the heavy kettle on its hook I push on the chains with the poker and the kettle swings on the arm and is soon in the middle of the flames and heating through. While I wait for the water to heat I pull down bowls from the cupboard in the kitchen and pull the cups from the drainer. Bread is sliced and placed on the forks by the fire ready to toast and I scoop some of the water from the bucket and put it in a pot which I place over the flames to boil eggs. Breakfast preparation is done and I pour a little water from the kettle into a large bowl once it is warm enough and grabbing the home made soap and a towel wash myself in front of the fire. Shivering I quickly dry my body and dress before I wake Gavin and he also washes and dresses in front of the fire. The eggs are cooked, toast made and tea brewed in the pot on the hearth. Breakfast is over for another day and with a quick kiss on my cheek Gavin heads out to start his day.

  I tidy the house and make the bed quickly before assembling yet another stew before I head off to see the twins and start my shift at the hospital.

  The babies are fine. Cooing and laughing in the kitchen at Mums. Their adopted grandparents, Aunties and Uncles are playing with them and Jazzie arrives just after I get through the door. Her dark head swings from baby to baby and she is soon scooping them up in her arms and walking through to the lounge where she settles on the sofa for a cuddle.

  "Time you got out of here Jenn. The babies will be fine. I’ll spoil them terribly today while you work and I’m sure that Mum, Dad, James, Bert and Alice will enjoy our company."

  "No worries Jazzie, you know where to find me if you need me for anything."

  "We know, now get going and get to work Sis, you don’t want to be late. Helen has been up all night and could probably do with a break now."

  "I’m outta here, be good you two and don’t give Aunty Jazzie a hard time."

  I lean down and kiss Jacqui and James and quickly hug Jazzie before I head out of the lounge and into the kitchen to say goodbye to the family before heading to the hospital tent.

  Its cold inside the tent. Not as cold as outside due to the charcoal braziers that Raymond has made to go inside the tent. The row of cots stretches down one side of the tent, on the other is a desk for Helen or which ever of the nurses are on duty, two comfortable chairs are drawn up close so that the duty medics can rest. Two more straight backed chairs are placed either side of the door and are occupied by Ernie and Denis. They are both armed with pistols and are alert to each movement from the beds across the room. There is one empty cot there this morning. Red Shirt has died over night. The man I shot has died and I never even knew his name, in some ways this disturbs me, and in others I feel as if I am fighting in a war to keep my family safe. He attacked our home, our village and paid the ultimate price, I don’t need to know his name.

  The other cots are occupied by bandaged members of the gang. Unfamiliar faces glower back from the pillows, anger present in their eyes as they lie there helpless and unsure of their fate. They need not fear though. Their fate will be the same as other survivors of gangs who have tried to raid Gordon. They will be treated for their injuries, once healed and strong enough they will be taken by boat and dropped off in twos along the coast line. There will be long gaps left between drop off points so that it is more difficult to assemble the gang again.

  There is a bed at the end, it is set apart from the other cots and on the pillow lies a cloud of bright blonde hair. A woman is lying there, her neck swathed in bandages and her eyes filled with tears. Pain etches lines around her face and she winces when she moves. She must have been with the injured that Gavin and Steve brought back from the ambush site, as we did not find her among the ruins of the old village.

  Helen sits in one of the comfortable chairs, her feet propped on the other one. Her eyes are red with exhaustion and her head is drooping towards her chest. A weary smile crosses her face as she spots me
coming through the tent flap.

  "Morning, you are a sight for sore eyes. Its been a long night and I’m tired, double shift tired and I don’t remember being like this for a long time now."

  "It is time you headed home for bed, you look like hell. Go and get a few hours sleep. We can call you if we need you. Is there anything I need to know about this lot that is not in the notes?"

  "Yeah, the woman in the end bed, Carol, is struggling with the pain. I’ve given her the pain brew, but it is not helping much. The bullet went through the side of her neck and up through the jaw, breaking it. I’ve reset it and she is on a liquid diet. Only small amounts until we are sure that the bullet did not nick the esophagus though. So far so good. By the way ,it was one of their bullets, not ours that hit her. Not sure about what happened there at all, but she may have been hit in the cross fire. Keep her quiet for the moment as speaking is difficult with the broken jaw and the neck injury."

  "No problem, I’ll keep a close eye on her for you and I’ll give her sips of water frequently. Anything else?"

  "No, the rest are in the notes, nothing serious with the others, they are all minor wounds and we are really looking for infection, always a possibility, but I hope not. I don’t have antibiotics and most of the poultices don’t work as well."

  "Right, if that is it then you get yourself off to bed and rest up. I’ll send someone over if we need you. I don’t want to see you until at least 6 o’clock tonight."

  "Okay, I’m going. Keep at least one of the guards with you when you go near the men. They are all angry and nasty. Carol is okay, she is frightened though. Good luck with your shift and I’ll see you around six."

  Helen heaves herself to her feet and leaves the tent quietly. I pull up the notes and begin to read through. Following Helen’s neat, precise handwriting I quickly absorb all the facts about each of our patients and settle down to my shift.

  I take water over to Carol and she sips slowly for a few minutes before the pain becomes too much and she slumps back on the pillows. A groan of pain escapes her and she starts to cry silently. I adjust the bed clothes and leave her with a gentle pat on her arm and a smile.

  Walking back to the desk one of the men calls out for a drink too and Ernie stands his pistol cocked and ready as I walk across the earth floor. I pass him the water and he drinks it quickly. Eyes set on Ernie he is wary and moves slowly. The pistol in Ernie’s hand never wavers and Ernie’s dark eyes never leave his face.

  I move back to the desk and sit for a while. My mind running back through the battle yesterday and processing all that has happened in the last 24 hours. The attack unfolded in my mind yet again and my own actions and those of the people around me flash through like a movie, picture after picture. Fast and slow, constantly moving. The aftermath was worse though. Flashing back to the bodies around the Rolls Royce, the blood and the twisted faces. I experience the horror that I did not feel yesterday. The fear rolls through me and brings sweat rolling from my body. I start to shake as I sit there and bile rises to my throat. I sit in the chair and I shudder.

  "You okay Jenn." Ernie’s voice breaks the silence in the tent.

  "Not sure mate." I gulp.

  "What’s wrong?

  "Just a few flash backs to yesterday."

  "They stop after a while and you get hardened to it." A voice from the other side of the room intrudes into the conversation.

  My eyes flash across the room to the young man in the third bed. His dark head is against the pillows, a bandage is around his chest and another around the right foot that is protruding from the blankets.

  "What the hell would you know, ya bloody thug?" Ernie fires his question across the tent.

  "My sister Patsy’s old man took her into the gang and I’ve been running with this lot ever since to try and protect her the best I could. Not that I could do fucking much to help her with this mob. They are bloody brutal and women are there to be used. If you don’t then they bash you and when they found out I was Patsy’s brother they would beat her instead of me. It got much worse after her old man was killed though. Amazing what you’ll do to stop that fucking happening." Tears roll down his cheeks as he speaks.

  "Christ, that is awful. You poor bastard." Ernie says to the boy in the bed. "Sorry Jenn, the language is a bit rough. I’ll watch my tongue better mate."

  "Don’t worry about the language Ernie, its okay. I’ve heard and used it before. Being a farmer taught me to swear long and loud and nursing means you hear it often."

  "What’s your name?" I ask the young man.

  "Gary, I’m Gary Gills. I don’t know what happened to Patsy. She was with the mob that were coming up the hill on foot. I think she came up on the bush side. I hope she got away and is away from that lot too. I don’t care where she is as long as she is safe and okay." He sputters, tears close to the surface once again.

  "Patsy is safe and she is here in the village. She only got a few bruises which is why she is not here in the hospital with you. She is with Steve at the moment, but I have a suspicion that she will have been taken over to see my Mum and if I am right Mum will be spoiling her. I’ll organise for her to know you are okay and get her over here later on."

  "Thank you, I won’t be able to settle until I know she is safe and see it with my own eyes."

  "I’ll send someone to find her shortly Gary and I do know that Steve and Gavin will want to talk to you too." I say gently to Patsy’s brother.

  "Who are they?" He asks.

  "Steve and Gavin are part of the committee who run our village. They were both Police Officers before the earthquake and are now in charge of the defense of our village. They will want to know more about what your life was like with the gang you were running with." I try to reassure Gary as to the good intentions of our leadership committee.

  "You talk to the Coppers and you’re a dead man." The copper coloured head on the second bed rises and the green eyes are filled with venom.

  "Shut yer mouth ya bloody mug. He can talk to who ever he wants, this is Gordon and yer gang has no say here." Ernie jumps up and is glaring at the figure on the bed.

  "What are you going to do about it ya old bastard, we are stronger than you ."

  "Well son there are precisely four of you left of the mob that attacked us here yesterday. Your choice if that number drops to three, right here and right now. Youse had better shut yer mouth if you don’t want to find yerself pushing up daisies real soon." Ernie’s eyes are flashing and he has the pistol leveled at the man in the second bed. I watch his thumb come forward and remove the safety catch.

  "Settle down guys, this is a hospital and I’m in charge here. You can either keep quiet or I’ll have you gagged." I tell the man in the second bed.

  "You and who’s fucking army?" he asks just as Gavin enters the tent flap.

  "She needs no army as she could do it alone, but I am here and I am about to handcuff you to the bed and if she wants a gag then it will happen too." Blue eyes flashing behind his glasses Gavin advances on the bed and cuffs the man to the bed frame.

  Grabbing a bandage from the dressing trolley the man is quickly gagged and silence reigns.

  Glancing at the other two beds Gavin is quickly assured that there will be no more trouble and he turns to me and speaks softly. "How are you doing love?"

  "I’m okay, it was getting a bit hairy there for a while though. Thought I was going to have to take my pistol out to back Ernie up."

  "You are still carrying a pistol?"

  "Yep, its tucked in my undies. Bloody cold when I put it there though."

  "I bet it was, As long as you are okay. What started that tirade from him though?"

  I take Gavin over to Gary’s bed. "Gavin, I’d like you to meet Gary, he is Patsy’s brother. He would love to see his sister and then I am sure that you and Steve would love to have a chat with him." I smile down at Gary and withdraw a few steps.

  "I’ll head off to Jenn’s Mum’s and bring Patsy over to see you shortly. Sh
e did mention to Steve and I that she had a brother who was looking out for her and she was worried about you. I’m sure that it will relieve both your minds to spend a bit of time together before you talk to us." Gavin smiles at Gary before he turns back to me and we hug quickly. He then strides out of the tent flap and I watch that dark head as it bobs across the empty space towards Mum’s place.

  The shift runs quickly through the day and it seems like no time before Helen is walking back into the tent to check on our patients.

  Chapter 10

  Helen had good news for Gary and was discharging him into Steve and Patsy’s care. He was to be escorted to Steve’s home very shortly. Patsy and Steve were coming to get him and Patsy is so excited at the thought that she is going to be spending time with her brother tonight. Gavin will be going over to spend part of the evening with them and talk through the situation that they found themselves in. With careful questioning they will be able to work through what happened and if there are any more gangs affiliated with this one.

  The situation with gang attacks is getting worse and we have had frequent attacks over the past few months. Steve, Gavin and Dad are very concerned about the safety of the settlement. There are constant planning sessions and drills to ensure that we are all ready in case of attack. The information that we can glean from Patsy and Gary will be invaluable with the planning of further defense measures for the village.