I caught a glimpse of Sergeant Blake. He’d been pinned underneath the tipped truck, his leg caught beneath the tray, and as the others tried to help their injured friends or pull the truck back over, the wind from the breach screeching all around us, Blake was reaching out for something. He’d been hit by shrapnel and was bleeding from the scalp, thick red blood running down the right side of his face – but he was still stretching, trying to grab something.
The PAL codebook. It was just a few metres away from both of us, at the very edge of the hole that had been blown in the loading ramp. Caught on a jagged shard of metal, pages flapping wildly in the wind. Loose objects were being sucked past me every second, vanishing into the sky, but the codebook was still on the plane. For now.
My eyes locked with Blake’s. He couldn’t reach it, he knew he couldn’t. And nobody else had seen it. Except for me.
I staggered to my feet, unsteady and off-balance. Grabbed the edge of the truck for a moment. Took a breath and dashed towards the breach to grab the codebook.
When I was only a few feet away, when my open hand was just inches from grabbing it as I lunged dangerously close to the hole in the fuselage, it was swept away. Plucked from my grasp, fluttering into the sky.
I didn’t miss a beat. My feet pushed hard against the metal grating and I leapt out after it.
My hand closed around it just as we tumbled out of the plane, firm grip, white knuckles, the only certain thing in a sudden world of terror. I was tumbling head over heels, dropping rapidly down into the night. As abject, out-of-control terror seized my mind, as I twisted and turned crazily and the wind howled around me, I caught a final glimpse of the Globemaster far above. The little blinking lights and burning wing engine that marked its position, already hundreds of metres above me and shrinking fast, disappearing into the clouded gloom. Unreachable. Gone forever.
I was thousands of metres above the ground, alone and terrified, separated from everyone I knew, and falling fast.
I screamed.
To be continued in…
END TIMES
VOLUME V
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AUSTRALIAN ENGLISH GLOSSARY
(Author’s note – this is largely for the benefit of readers in the US, as many terms are also widely used in Britain)
ABC – Australian Broadcasting Corporation, a public broadcasting network on TV and radio, modelled on the BBC
ADF – Australian Defence Force, comprising of the Australian Army, Royal Australian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force
ambo – can refer to both an ambulance or a paramedic
aggro – aggressive behaviour
Army Reserve – Australian Army reserve units comprised of part-time soldiers, equivalent to the National Guard in the US or Territorial Army in the UK
arvo – afternoon
baggy green – dark green cap worn by members of the Australian national cricket team
bikie – member of an outlaw motorcycle gang
Blind Freddie – a hypothetical imaginary person with poor perception, i.e. “even Blind Freddie could see that”
bloke – man i.e. “guy”
bloody oath – an emphatically affirmative reply, similar to “damn straight.” A more modern variant is “fucking oath”
blower – telephone or radio, i.e. “get on the blower,” similar to “get on the horn”
bogan – white trash, equivalent to redneck in the US or chav in the UK
BOM – Bureau of Meteorology
bonnet – hood (of a car)
boot – trunk (of a car)
bottle-o – bottle shop/liquor store
Bunnings – warehouse hardware franchise, similar to Lowe’s in the US or B&Q in the UK
bush, the – generic term for the vaguely-defined forest and scrubland wilderness which is not quite the true desert of the Outback
chemist – drug store or pharmacy
Coles – one of two nationally dominant supermarkets, the other being Woolworths
Commonwealth – usually shorthand for the federal government (as opposed to state governments), not the Commonwealth of Nations
daggy – dorky or unfashionable
deadshit – deadbeat
demountable – portable building, known as a Portakabin in the UK
derro – deadbeat, derived from “derelict”
doona – duvet
Driza-Bone – trademark name for full-length waterproof riding coats, traditionally worn by farmers or stockmen
dunny - toilet
esky – portable cooler or ice box, derived from “eskimo box”
fibro – “fibrous cement sheet,” the manufacture of which is now banned for its use of asbestos, but still a common building material in pre-1980s structures in Australia; in particular, the corrugated fibro fence is a common sight in suburban Perth and regional towns
firey – firefighter
fossicking – prospecting, now used to mean “rummaging”
freezing – usually just used as a figure of speech in Australia, where in most places the temperature rarely drops below actual freezing point
fucking oath – absolutely yes; a strong affirmative response
galah – a type of cockatoo (which is a type of parrot) used as slang to mean “idiot”
gas – generally used to mean liquid petroleum gas, i.e. propane, also referred to as LPG
gum tree – eucalyptus tree
ice – slang for methamphetamine
IGA – Independent Grocers Association, national co-operative of independent supermarkets
jarrah – species of hardwood gum tree
journo – journalist
karri – species of extremely tall gum tree only found in WA
kay – unofficial shortened form of “kilometre”
Kiwi – New Zealander
latte sipper – political epithet referring to a perceived class of out-of-touch, inner-city elites, similar to “ivory tower dwellers”
LPG – liquid petroleum gas i.e. propane or simply gas
make a song and dance – excessively and unnecessarily complain about something
marron – freshwater crayfish; known as “yabbies” in the eastern states
middy – a roughly half-pint beer glass; known as a pot in Victoria and a ten-ounce in Tasmania
miles – Australia has used the metric system since the 1960s, but “miles” is still often used as a figure of speech
mozzy/mozzie – mosquito
nappy - diaper
Nurofen – trademark brand and generic term for ibuprofen
occy strap – bungee cord, derived from “octopus strap”
Panadol – trademark brand and generic term for paracetamol; the stronger version is Panadeine
petrol – gasoline; “gas” refers to LPG
pissant – worthless, contemptible
pokies – poker machines or slot machines; illegal in Western Australia but a common sight in pubs and RSLs in other states
Premier – the head of government of a state, equivalent to a Governor in the US
Prime Minister – the head of the federal government. While the Queen is technically Australia’s head of state, represented by the Governor-General (who is in any case appointed by the PM), in practice Australia is entirely independent and the Prime Minister is the nation’s leader
Red Rooster – roast chicken fast food franchise
rego – car registration and license plate number
RFDS – Royal Flying Doctor Service, a non-profit air ambulance service for remote areas
ropeable – extremely angry
RSL – Returned and Services League, a support organisation for Defence Force veterans, but also used to refer to an RSL club: a licensed venue with dining, drinking and gambling facilities which are open to the general public and a common sight in suburban Australia
SAS – Special Air Service. An
elite special forces unit, named after the British SAS
sealed road – a bitumen or asphalt road, as opposed to an unsealed road of sand, dirt or gravel; equivalent to “metalled road” or “paved road” in the UK or US
servo – service station or petrol station
SES – State Emergency Service, a volunteer organisation which assists professional agencies during and after declared disasters, natural or otherwise. Recognisable by their orange jumpsuits. Not to be confused with the SAS, an elite military unit.
she’ll be right – common expression meaning that everything will be okay
smoko – smoke break (in the workplace); falling out of practice as smoking rates decline
stickybeak – an inquisitive or prying person; also a verb meaning look, i.e. “go have a stickybeak around the place”
stockman – mounted livestock worker on Outback cattle stations, i.e. a cowboy or cattle wrangler
stroppy – cranky or argumentative
sunnies – sunglasses
suss – suspicious, as in “it looked pretty suss;” also to infer or discover, as in “go and suss it out”
Tassie - Tasmania
thongs – flip-flops, and the cause of many a humorous misunderstanding with Australians overseas
tinny – traditionally a can of beer, more commonly used now to refer to a small aluminium dinghy, usually used by recreational fishermen
tradie – tradesman, or more broadly any blue-collar worker
ugg boots – sheepskin boots traditionally considered daggy and associated with bogans; becoming popular overseas as a luxury fashion item, which Australians find hilarious
uni – university
unsealed road – a dirt, sand or gravel road, as opposed to a sealed road
ute – utility vehicle (pick-up truck)
VB – Victoria Bitter, Australia’s best-selling cheap beer
WACE – Western Australian Certificate of Education; the high school exams and scores which determine university placement in the state of Western Australia
Woolworths or ‘Woolies’ – one of two dominant national supermarkets, the other being Coles
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End Times (Book 4): Destroyer of Worlds Page 26
