Outback All-Stars

by Kristin Earhart

  “No, you weren’t,” Mari confirmed.

  As soon as the team in fifth place had left the plane, Eliza turned to her new teammates. “I know you talked about the clue when I was asleep,” she announced. “Can you at least let me read it?” Her T-shirt was rumpled and muddy, but she still sat up straight, with her school-picture posture and smile.

  Dev reached for the ancam.

  As Eliza concentrated on the screen, Mari began to fill in the rest of the team. “You were about as close as you could get, guessing the platypus,” she began, a thrill building in her voice. “The answer is a mammal that lays eggs, and there are two animals that do. But the correct answer is not the platypus, it’s the other one.”

  “The echidna,” Eliza chimed in, seeming to sit even straighter in her airplane seat. She handed the ancam back to Dev.

  “Yes, the echidna,” Mari agreed, but she said nothing more.

  “The echidna has spines. It is sometimes called the spiny anteater,” Eliza informed the team.

  “Gather up,” Jace announced when the race organizer gave him the cue. “It’s our turn.”

  The desert heat slammed into Sage as the team finally clanged down the airplane steps. They had flown from the wet rain forests of Australia’s eastern coast to the center of the continent, where the air was dry and the dirt was red.

  One lone Jeep waited for them, parked next to the runway.

  “At least this time we’ve got a ride,” said Dev.

  “It’s good you guys all got some sleep,” Jace said as he tossed his hiking pack in the Jeep. “Finding this one could take a while.” He got in and then took a long look in the rearview mirror as the team got settled in. “Eliza, you coming?”

  Everyone else had climbed into the Jeep, but Eliza was bent down next to the door, examining the vehicle’s floor. “Sure thing,” she said. “Just checking for extra passengers.”

  For some reason, Sage had thought that Eliza’s snake obsession would end when they left the rain forest, but apparently not.

  Once Eliza’s door slammed shut, Jace asked for directions.

  The original members of Team Red looked to Mari.

  “Um, I don’t know,” she answered. “The echidna lives pretty much anywhere it can find food. It eats termites and ants, which doesn’t really help us narrow in on a spot to start searching.”

  Sage gazed out at the endless expanse of flat land and low shrubs. “We can’t just wander around. This place is endless!”

  “Well, it’s still the hottest part of the day,” Eliza said. “The books say that the echidna hunts when it’s cooler. Morning and later afternoon. Some might not even come out until night. I don’t think we want to wait.”

  Sage had purposely left the seat next to her open for Eliza. She really needed her team to work together. They were in last place, and the other teams were super-speedy.

  “I got something,” Dev mumbled as he checked the team’s device. “They just sent us a starting point. I think we’re going on a hike.”

  Sage was flooded with relief. A hike would be good for the team, would give them direction. By the end of their last race in Africa, Team Red had a rhythm, and everyone played their part. Now Eliza had joined their team. Sage knew their new teammate could play a part, too. She just didn’t know what that part was yet.

  “Into the Outback!” Russell declared, and the Jeep rumbled down the open road.

  MYSTERIOUS MONOTREMES

  They lay eggs! And they are mammals! They’re amazing! They’re monotremes!

  There are only five living monotreme species. One is a platypus. The other four are echidnas.

  The platypus is such an odd creature that the scientists who first examined it thought it was some kind of trick. What would you think of a duck-billed, beaver-tailed, web-footed, egg-laying animal? You might not believe it was a mammal. But the platypus has hair. It also produces milk for its young. These are the main features that make it a mammal.

  Echidnas also have hair and produce milk. And they look a bit like more familiar animals, such as porcupines and hedgehogs. However, like the platypus, echidnas lay eggs. This means echidnas are also monotremes—mammals that lay eggs.

  When reptile eggs hatch, the babies are able to move and find food on their own. Monotreme babies are different. Much like a marsupial baby, they are only the size of a bean. They will need to drink their mother’s milk for several months before they are ready to leave the burrow to find food of their own.

  The platypus lives only in Australia. Echidnas live in Australia, but they are also found in New Guinea.

  “Where are the other teams?” Sage asked as Jace pulled up to a single Wild Life flag. The pole stood crooked in the middle of a vast and dusty landscape. “The last team should only have had a five-minute lead on us, right? Shouldn’t we be able to see them?”

  “Not necessarily,” Jace responded. “The organizers might have given them a different starting spot.” Then, anticipating the team’s complaints, he added, “Their start won’t be any closer to the next checkpoint than yours. The organizers just want each team to have its own path.”

  Sage frowned. The same thing had happened in the rain forest, and she didn’t think it was fair. It was a race! Everyone should have the same course!

  “So, where are we going? What’s our destination?” Eliza asked.

  “Check the ancam,” Jace suggested. “If you have one, it will be there.”

  “Nothing,” Dev said, strapping the device back in place. “Nada. Zip. Zilch.”

  “It’s a walkabout,” Mari said. “I read about them in one of the airport brochures. It’s when native Australians go on a journey in the wilderness.”

  Sage thought this hardly seemed like the time to wander around. “No, it’s not a walkabout!” she yelled, all the nerves in her arms and legs twitching. “It’s a race! We just don’t know where we’re going!”

  The heat blazed down on the team. Everyone seemed to study the dusty ground.

  “But we do have a clue,” Mari said. “Sure, echidnas could be anywhere, but we can still look for one. They might be hiding from the heat under rocks or in hollows.”

  “So could snakes,” Eliza pointed out.

  “They’ll be searching for insects. They’re about this high …” Mari kneeled down and held her hand several inches from the cracked ground.

  “Mari’s right,” Russell said. “We know how to do this, so let’s go.”

  Sage watched as the team headed out, searching for echidnas in the bush. She snapped on her hiking pack and followed.

  Sage had picked up that the “bush” was a term for wild country. In Australia, it was especially used for the open plains. It seemed a lot like the savanna in Africa, except for the animals. Australia didn’t have giant herds of antelopes and zebras. There also weren’t any large carnivores, like lions, cheetahs, and leopards. Here, dingos were the largest predators.

  As far as she remembered, it wasn’t totally clear how or when the wild dogs showed up in Australia. They had probably come from Asia over 3,000 years ago, and they lived in packs like wolves. Sage knew dingos were rarely a threat to humans. They were incredible hunters with exceptional hearing, but they focused on smaller prey like rabbits, lizards, and rodents. Still, Sage stayed alert.

  Eliza had her eyes out for another threat. “You know, the king brown snake is insanely venomous. It’s not highly toxic, but it carries nearly five times the venom of other snakes. It doesn’t even live in the rain forest. We’re more likely to run into it out here.” Her eyes darted from side to side as the team spread out to cover more ground.

  Sage’s concern only grew after they had spent over two hours walking around aimlessly. Finding a small mammal in an endless desert was not easy. This was a race, and yet they were slowly scouring the ground. It made no sense to Sage. At least the heat lifted when the sun started to go down.

  They were nearing a formation of large rocks. It looked like a crumbled wall, but
Sage knew it was natural. It wasn’t too high. The team could go around it, but it would be faster—if not easier—to climb.

  “Is everyone up for it?” Jace asked. “Do you have enough light?”

  Sage looked around at her teammates. No one was eager to do this—especially Eliza—but they all knew it could save valuable time, so they agreed. As they grasped for handholds, Sage could hear Eliza muttering to herself. Sage knew from Eliza’s earlier lectures that the rocks would be a prime place for snakes.

  “Do you want to follow me?” Sage asked. “If we take the same path, we’ll be less likely to disturb anything.” Eliza didn’t answer, but she scooted over so she was behind the team leader.

  When they reached the crest, Mari drew in a momentous breath. Just below them, a mob of kangaroos clustered under a group of trees.

  The sky blushed in the twilight. In the distance, they could see a giant brick-red rock rising from the flat surface of the desert. It had two names: the newer name, Ayer’s Rock, and the name given to it by the people who had lived in the area for thousands of years, Uluru.

  Sage could tell why the Aboriginal Australians, the people native to the land, considered the great mass of sandstone sacred. It seemed to rise from deep in the earth, powerful and impressive.

  “I feel like I’m really in Australia now,” Mari whispered, taking it all in. The kangaroos nibbled tall, dry grass. Several joeys peeked out from pouches. The adults leaned on their front legs, and then rocked their powerful hind legs forward as they moved from one tuft of grass to another.

  Sage allowed Mari a moment before she reminded them all that there was a race to run.

  After they skidded down the other side of the rock, Mari wanted to inspect the nooks and crannies at the bottom. “This is a perfect place for echidnas to hide,” she explained. “It would be shady during the day, and I’ll bet there are tons of insects. If I were an echidna, I’d like it here.” She got down on her hands and knees for a better view, but Jace insisted she use a torch, just in case. Most animals—even the dangerous ones—would shy away from the flames.

  Eliza didn’t think it was a good idea, until Mari found the nest. “It’s got to be an echidna burrow. I’ll bet the echidna didn’t go far,” Mari thought out loud.

  Sage had them spread out to search, but the hunt didn’t last long.

  “Oh, it’s so cute,” Eliza cooed when she spotted the spiky creature. “Dev, come quick!”

  Dev came running with his trigger finger already in position on the ancam. The five teammates crowded around as the echidna used its tough claws to dig deep in its search for termites.

  “Its face looks like a hedgehog,” Dev said.

  “Its spines look like a porcupine,” suggested Russell.

  “Its tongue is like an anteater,” said Eliza.

  “Its claws look like a badger,” offered Sage.

  “But it isn’t really related to any of those,” Mari said. “Its closest relative is the platypus, which has a bill like a duck and a tail like a beaver.”

  Once again, Sage thought about the different strengths and weaknesses of her teammates. “Whatever it takes to get the job done,” she said.

  No one had a response to that, so they stood and stared at the ancam. They needed their next clue.

  CREATURE FEATURE

  RED KANGAROO

  SCIENTIFIC NAME: Macropus rufus

  TYPE: mammal

  RANGE: dry climates in central Australia

  FOOD: grasses and leaves

  The red kangaroo is one of four species of full-size kangaroos, and it is the largest of all marsupials. It is also one of the most successful. While dingos might target young joeys or older adults, healthy red kangaroos do not have animal predators.

  A kangaroo’s hind legs are large and powerful, with long, padded feet to help propel it in its mighty hops. A large kangaroo can reach a speed of nearly forty miles per hour, with hops as long as twenty-six feet and as high as nine. Of course, hops of four to six feet make for a more relaxed pace. Fun fact: A kangaroo cannot walk! If it wants to move at a slower rate, it has to use its tail like a fifth leg. Balancing its weight on its tail and short front legs, it swings its hind legs forward in a rocking motion.

  Kangaroos have a lot of marsupial cousins in Australia and neighboring islands. Wallaroos are medium-sized and wallabies are much smaller, but all share the classic kangaroo traits. Several species of tree kangaroos exist as well. While they are shorter than their land-dwelling relatives and have longer front legs, they still have long feet, a forward-leaning posture, and, of course, a pouch!

  It seemed like they had been waiting for the clue forever. Sage held up the torch and glanced around. They had made progress, heading toward Uluru, but the monumental rock still appeared so far away. In Sage’s mind, Uluru was their obvious destination. She was certain that was where the race organizers were sending them. “Anything yet?” she asked Dev.

  “Not yet,” he replied.

  “Everyone, take a drink,” Sage prompted, trying to keep the team ready and herself busy. In the flickering torchlight, she regarded her teammates. They stood in a loose circle, not too far away from one another, but not too close.

  “Here it is,” Dev said, setting down his canteen so he could read.

  Which two animals play a role in a native creation myth about the formation of Uluru?

  A. The kangaroo and the koala

  B. The dingo and the sheep

  C. The mulga and the carpet python

  D. None of the above

  Eliza said what they were all thinking. “Multiple choice? Seriously?”

  Sage was confused. There was no prompt to get a picture. No riddle. Was it a trick? Was Bull Gordon trying to catch them off guard?

  “No way is it the dingo and the sheep,” Russell said. “Sheep didn’t even live here until people arrived from Europe. The myth would be way older than that.”

  Sage nodded. That made a lot of sense.

  “I question the kangaroo and the koala,” Dev added. “Remember what Mari said? The koala doesn’t live around here. I kind of doubt it would be in the myth.”

  “That eliminates the first two,” Sage said. “What about the third one?” When no one answered anything, Sage asked, “Do we think it’s none of the above?”

  After a moment, Eliza took a deep breath and clasped her hands. “I actually think the third one is right,” she said. “The mulga is another name for the king brown snake. I probably don’t need to say that I’ve read a lot about snakes. It’s one way I deal with how much I’m afraid of them. Anyway, I remember once reading a story about Uluru. Ancient spirits transformed into snakes and fought one another. Their battle was epic, and people say you can see marks on the side of Uluru that tell the tale.”

  Something about Eliza’s explanation seemed familiar to Sage.

  “But do you know it was the mulga and the carpet python?” Dev asked. “They could be trying to trick us.”

  “I can’t be positive,” Eliza said. “I think those are the right ones, but I’m honestly better at remembering details about fangs and venom.”

  “You are excellent at that,” Russell said.

  Sage had a good feeling about it. She thought they should go with Eliza’s answer, but it wasn’t just her decision. “So,” she began, “this is a race. We should probably submit an answer soon.”

  “Eliza knows more about snakes than anyone I’ve ever met,” Mari said matter-of-factly. “I trust her instincts.”

  “Me, too,” Russell added.

  “And me,” was Dev’s reply.

  “So we all agree,” Sage said. “Let’s do it.”

  The reply was almost immediate:

  Congratulations! Your team will move on to compete in the next leg of the race.

  “We’re in!” Mari gasped with delight. “Eliza, that was all you.”

  “Yeah, good work. You’re like a snake scholar,” said Dev.

  “I’m happy to hel
p,” Eliza said with a smile. And for once, Sage noted, it was not that staged, school-picture smile.

  “That’s it?” Russell looked puzzled. “Can they do that? Can they just message us and then leave us here in the Outback? No big race to the finish, no big feast with other teams at the end?”

  Sage understood Russell’s confusion. In the past, the race courses always ended with a big moment. But Sage wasn’t sure they needed that this time. “It doesn’t seem like a bad thing, spending time with just the team,” she suggested as she looked around at everyone. They all had red dust smeared across their faces and ground into their nails.

  “Yeah, I don’t really care about the other teams,” Russell admitted, “but I seriously need some food.”

  “I’m good with staying here,” Mari said. She tilted her head back and stared up at the stars.

  Jace had begun unpacking the contents of his pack. He set out a blanket, stacked a small batch of kindling, and produced a pile of food, with the makings of s’mores on top.

  “This doesn’t look like a well-rounded meal,” Dev pointed out.

  “Maybe not, but it’ll tide you over for now,” Jace replied. “We have to do something to celebrate your making it to the next stage.” He stood up and began to gather kindling for a fire. “Javier told me you guys were solid. He thought you had a good chance to win it all.”

  Sage smiled and sat down on the blanket. She was happy to not have to be the leader for a while. Maybe it could be nice if Eliza—or anyone else, really—wanted to step up and make decisions now and again. Sage decided that it wouldn’t be so bad if they didn’t have specific roles all the time. It turned out they all were good at lots of things. Dev was great with the ancam, but he also picked up on things that others didn’t. Russell was a natural athlete, but he was also good at motivating the team. Mari knew tons of facts, but she was also a calming force. And although Sage hadn’t realized it at first, Eliza wasn’t just a walking textbook. She had good instincts. Maybe coming together as a team meant they could rely on one another to help out when things weren’t going the way they’d planned, to share roles and responsibilities. Except when it came to snakes. Eliza would always be their snake expert. No one else wanted that job.