Paraku

by Jesse Blackadder

  Rachel felt a rush of pleasure that her father was treating her like an equal.

  ‘You’re in luck today, so can you pick us another one?’ Mike said, handing her back the binoculars.

  ‘What about that group?’ She pointed. A big mob was threading its way down to the lake. Rachel was amazed at the variety of colours — bays, chestnuts, greys of all shades, buckskins, a few palominos and occasionally an unusual colour, like one yearling who was pale apricot. The only colour she didn’t see was black.

  ‘Look at that roan,’ she said. The horse stopped and raised its head, and for a few moments it stood apart from the mob. Its coat was a sleek pale charcoal, its legs dark grey and its mane and tail were black.

  ‘Oh, beautiful,’ Mike said softly, looking through the binoculars. ‘Let’s try for her too, Rach. You can see the Arab breeding — look at that lovely neck and the compact body. She’s perfect.’

  They smiled at each other and Rachel hoped they were in for a better day. She reached for the binoculars again. Slightly apart from the big mob she saw two horses together and her heart started to thump. It was the dark bay stallion and his chestnut mare, the horses she’d seen the day before, hanging on the edge of the herd. Rachel didn’t want them to be caught. Her grip tightened on the binoculars. How could she make sure her father didn’t notice them?

  ‘Ah, here’s our blokes,’ Mike said.

  Rachel lowered the binoculars and turned around. She saw Eddie and the rangers appearing out of the trees, and to her relief, her father stood up and turned towards them.

  ‘I’ve got a good feeling about today,’ Mike said, waving at them. ‘Let’s get cracking.’

  As Rachel stood, he looked down at her. ‘You want to come in the tree again, or get down on the ground today?’

  Rachel felt taller. ‘I’ll go on the ground with the rangers and help drive the horses.’

  ‘Good,’ he grunted. ‘Today we want to try and stop them getting so worked up.’

  They greeted Eddie and the others. Aaron and Bill were both yawning and looked as tired as Rachel had felt earlier.

  ‘Had some business to look after,’ Tony said. ‘And these boys don’t like getting up so early!’

  ‘No worries,’ Mike said. ‘We’ve checked out the horses and chosen a couple. Rach knows which ones I’m after, so I’m putting her with you today. OK?’

  ‘Yeah, no worries,’ Eddie said, but Rachel thought he didn’t look thrilled about the idea.

  Mike jogged off ahead and disappeared into the scrub to find a tree — a different one from the day before in case any of the horses remembered. Rachel followed the rangers as they spread out across the plain, skirting around the horses, walking as casually as if they were just having a stroll. They began to skirt around behind the big mob that contained the roan mare.

  But Rachel’s bay stallion and his chestnut mare were on the edge of that mob, and they were heading towards the water to drink with the bigger group. Rachel found it hard to walk calmly as she tried to keep sight of them. She tried to will them to mix in with the rest of the herd so they wouldn’t be noticed.

  ‘What’s your hurry?’ Eddie said, as she drew ahead of him.

  Rachel slowed down. She could see the horses were keeping an eye on them as they drank at the edge of the lake, their ears flicking backwards and forwards. When they’d finished, they began walking back towards the grazing area as if it were their own idea to head that way.

  ‘See?’ Eddie said. ‘Let ’em take their time.’

  Rachel took a deep breath and looked around. It was a superb morning. The sun had just risen and its rays were filtering through the scrub, turning the lake a vivid blue and everything else a rich golden colour. A huge flock of brilliant green budgies swooped past them and fluttered down to land in the grass, chirruping with excitement. She couldn’t believe how much the colours changed during the day. By midday, when it was hot and still, this whole area would look bleached and dusty, but in the morning it was beautiful.

  She looked around and saw Dan wasn’t far away. He pointed his camera in her direction. She gave a shy smile and a silly wave. He wasn’t that much older than her, but she didn’t know what to say to him. He gave her a quick, embarrassed grin back and turned around to film something else. He didn’t know what to say either, she decided.

  A thud of hooves turned her attention back to the horses. The big mob had started to move faster. The front horses were trotting and a few at the back had broken into a canter. Her two special horses were speeding up too.

  Eddie waved his arm, and Rachel broke into a jog in the direction he’d pointed. If they spread out behind the horses, they could hopefully direct them to the right place. Problem was, they didn’t know yet exactly where Mike was hiding. The whole business was much harder than she’d first thought. If the horses took off in the wrong direction, there wasn’t much they could do about it.

  The roan mare pushed her way out to the front and Rachel wanted to cheer. As long as her father saw the roan first, he’d be trying to dart her rather than noticing Rachel’s two favourites, who were near the back, slightly off to one side.

  She looked around. The humans were spread out too widely to talk to each other now, and she was on the edge of the group, past Dan, who seemed to be able to jog and film at the same time. There were plenty of people to push the horses in the right direction and she decided to follow the bay and the chestnut. Perhaps she could turn them away from the grazing area and her father wouldn’t see them.

  The horses entered the scrub and soon Rachel was in the trees too. It was harder to see people or horses, and she had to watch to make sure she didn’t trip on the old branches scattered around. Up ahead she saw a flash of darkness among the white gums and even at a distance she recognised the dark bay, shadowed by his mare.

  They were heading towards the open grazing area and Rachel felt a moment of fear. She was sure if her father caught sight of them he’d want the bay — he looked so much like a racehorse. She didn’t think, but found herself running at full speed towards the two horses, waving her arms at them.

  ‘Get away!’ she yelled. ‘Go!’

  The stallion reared and neighed back at her in defiance and she groaned out loud. She swung to the left, putting herself between the two horses and the grazing area, and pushed her legs as fast as they’d go, pounding towards them.

  ‘Yah!’ she yelled, and jumped up and down with her arms in the air.

  The mare snorted and the two horses whirled around and broke into a gallop in the opposite direction. Rachel stumbled, tripping on a dead branch, and sprawled on the ground with a grunt as they disappeared into the trees.

  She lay still for a few seconds, catching her breath, and heard more hooves in the other direction. She jumped to her feet and turned around. Dan was standing about ten metres away, with the camera pointed at her. He must have filmed the whole thing.

  She looked down, feeling herself blushing, and wiped her hands on her jeans. ‘They weren’t the ones Dad wanted,’ she said defiantly.

  He lowered the camera and jerked his head in the other direction. ‘Whatever. Come on.’

  There wasn’t time to worry about what he might have filmed. She followed him through the trees until they emerged into the grazing area. She could see her father running, and a horse on the ground. She broke into a run too, leaving Dan behind, and raced in the direction of the big, still body. Her father got there first, then turned to see her coming. She saw his grin as he gave her the thumbs up.

  It was the roan mare! Rachel felt a rush of relief. She hoped she’d scared the bay enough that he’d run far away and not come back.

  ‘Oh, she’s lovely,’ Mike was saying as Rachel skidded to a halt and looked down at the sleeping mare. He opened her mouth and looked at her teeth. ‘The perfect age, Rachel! About four years old. And no foal this year.’

  He smiled up at her and she bent down and hugged him. Over his shoulder she saw the boys giving ea
ch other high fives. Dan was pointing the camera at them. She hoped desperately he wouldn’t say anything about what he’d seen.

  They caught the bloodstained mare that afternoon, and she was also the right age. Mike announced that all the horses they caught now would be taken to the yards regardless of their age, and the final decision could be made at the end when they assessed them all.

  Back at Mulan, the yards were surrounded by people who’d come out to see the brumbies. Rachel hung over the fence, watching the bloodstained mare stagger to her feet and join the other three horses. Now that there were four brumbies in the holding yard, they were less frightened, and had started to eat the hay and drink the water from the trough, though they still trotted up and down along the fence and called out to their old herds. Rachel thought that the stallion didn’t mind as much now that he had his own mob of mares. He didn’t even have to fight another horse for them. He was already bossing them around, nipping their rumps and trying to show them who was in charge.

  The best horse so far was the beautiful roan mare. Her legs were long and straight, her face had a noble shape, and her colour was … well, Rachel couldn’t figure out the right word to describe it. In some lights she looked dark charcoal, in others almost blue. In the slanting sun of the evening, there were reddish highlights in her mane and tail. She had a large head like all the brumbies, but hers was well shaped and in proportion.

  ‘Like her?’ Dan had come up nearby and was leaning over the fence looking at the mare too.

  ‘She’s my favourite,’ Rachel said.

  ‘Dunno about that,’ Dan said. ‘Reckon you like that other one better. Else why’d you scare him off?’

  ‘I just think he’s happier in the wild.’

  Dan shrugged. ‘Lots of horses die in the wild. That one’s better off getting caught.’

  A car door slammed and Rachel looked up to see her father waving. ‘I’ve got to go,’ she said, then hesitated. ‘What will you do with that video?’

  ‘Hand it in at college, I guess.’ Dan pushed himself off the railings. ‘See ya.’

  ‘Come on, Rach!’ her father called. ‘It’s getting late.’

  ‘Don’t show it to my dad,’ Rachel said to Dan’s back. But he didn’t turn around. She wasn’t even sure if he heard her.

  The mare wants to stop and graze, but the dark horse hurries her along. He is anxious. Hair-of-Fire ran at them, moving fast and waving. He felt the intensity of her focus and it frightened him. He and the mare ran, and he wants to keep running, to put the Two-Legs far behind them.

  But he is outside the territory he knows well, and he’s uneasy. He’s grown up in the mob of the chestnut stallion, and that familiarity means the old one tolerates him and his single mare.

  He can smell other horses, unfamiliar ones. A new mob means danger. A new stallion will see him as a threat, and might attack. A new stallion might steal his mare; might fight him and leave him in the dust for the Sharp-Tooths. He’s too young to fight a mature stallion and win.

  He stops and smells the night air. A strong, sharp scent drifts by. He hears sounds up ahead, groans and grunts. Beside him the mare flares her nostrils.

  It is the Never-Thirsts, looming up out of the dark with their long, loping strides. They grunt at him and the mare. Greetings, Soil-Breakers.

  The dark horse flares his nostrils. Greetings.

  The leader pauses and snuffles. Stallion behind us. His mob sleeps, but he’s awake. He can smell you.

  The dark horse nickers in thanks. The Never-Thirsts move on, padding over the sand with their flat feet, and he stares after them. Danger ahead of him with a strange stallion; danger behind him with the Two-Legs. The mare shifts beside him and looks back the way they’ve come. It is their place. It is familiar. She wants to follow the Never-Thirsts back to the grazing grounds.

  He moves in front of her and keeps her back. What to do? His skin twitches and his ears flicker while he tries to choose.

  Chapter 9

  Mike looked up at Rachel from where he was crouched at the campfire. ‘Your last day, mate. Just one more good horse, and we’re done. Fingers crossed, eh?’

  Rachel held up her crossed fingers and grinned at him. She had her own reason for hoping that they caught the last horse that day. Her time at Paruku was nearly over and she didn’t want to leave without knowing that the bay stallion was safe.

  She and her father had been camping for ten days, and had settled into a routine. They knew where everything was stowed away, and could whip up a meal and clean up afterwards in record time.

  They’d gone into the community a few times to have proper showers, but the effects didn’t last all that long. The combination of sunscreen, insect repellent and red dust meant that by the end of every day they were both caked in a greasy mixture that they rubbed off with wet wipes each evening. The clothes they wore were so dusty that Rachel was glad her mother couldn’t see them. They kept some cleaner clothes for the evenings and slept in their merino thermals, but even the sleeping bags were starting to fill with red dust.

  They’d caught nineteen horses so far. Her dad reckoned eleven were suitable for the Sheik, and Eddie would keep the other eight as stockhorses. The Sheik wanted a dozen horses all up, and Mike was confident of catching another good one. If they found the last horse today, then the hunt would be over when he took Rachel to Broome for her flight home. Her father would return to Paruku for another few weeks to work with the brumbies, getting them halter broken and used to people, before loading them into a big truck. He would travel four thousand kilometres overland with them, all the way to Armidale. Her mother would spend a couple of months starting them, as she called it, then they’d be flown to Dubai, ready to go into training in the Sheik’s stable.

  Rachel straightened up from the fire and looked across to the lake. In the first glow of dawn, the water was a band of blue against the dark land and the pink sky. She heard a horse whinny down near the lake.

  The population that lived near the campsite had become jittery from being hunted, and they were on the move. She and her father and the rangers had to go further and further to find the brumbies they were after, and it was getting more difficult to catch them. She’d got to know many of the mobs over the ten days, and could pick out individual horses. But since she chased them away from her father on the second day, the dark stallion and his chestnut mare hadn’t reappeared.

  Rachel didn’t know if she was more relieved or disappointed. She wondered which horse would be the last one caught. They’d seen several promising-looking brumbies over the past ten days, but had never been close enough to dart them.

  Did horses have long memories? Once they’d settled into their new lives, would they remember that they’d been wild? Rachel shook her head. There was no point in thinking about the horses they’d captured. They would never be wild again.

  She saw the glow of headlights in the distance; the rangers were arriving for the final day of the hunt.

  ‘Had enough to eat?’ Mike asked, gulping down the last of his coffee.

  ‘I’m done.’ Rachel rinsed her hot-chocolate cup in the water bucket and wiped it out. The sky was nearly light as the troopy pulled up and the rangers hopped out.

  ‘Cuppa?’ Mike asked.

  ‘Yeah, a quick one,’ Eddie said.

  As Mike made the tea, Rachel filled her backpack with muesli bars, apples, water and sunscreen, and slung it over her shoulder. She heard laughter and turned around. Steve, Aaron and Bill were standing in a half-circle behind Dan, looking at the screen of his video camera, their faces lit by the flickering blue light.

  ‘You gonna get that thing finished?’ Eddie said. ‘Holiday’s about over.’

  ‘Nearly done, Uncle,’ Dan said, looking up from the screen. ‘I been editing.’

  ‘Can I’ve a look?’ Mike asked.

  As he walked across to the rangers, Rachel felt a sudden sick feeling in her stomach. She tried to catch Dan’s eye, but he was using the contro
ls on the touch screen.

  ‘Check this bit,’ he said, as Mike looked over his shoulder. ‘Rachel falling over.’

  Rachel could hear the tinny soundtrack, and heard the faint sound of her yelling, ‘Get away!’ at the bay stallion. The rangers burst out laughing again — they must have been watching her trip over the dead branch — but her father didn’t laugh.

  ‘Let’s get going,’ he said, glancing at the sky. ‘It’s getting late.’

  They headed towards the lake in the soft light. Rachel avoided Dan, furious at him. She hung back behind her father too, scared of what he might say.

  They came out of the trees and crouched in the grass, scanning the plain. Rachel spotted the big mob at once. It was the one they’d seen right back at the start, led by the stallion with a pale cream coat and black mane and tail. She knew her father had decided not to go for the stallion, but wanted a younger female from the same mob, with similar colouring. She tapped his arm and pointed, and he swung the binoculars around to look.

  ‘Good girl,’ he said in a whisper.

  Rachel felt relieved — perhaps Dan’s film hadn’t shown the beautiful bay stallion, just her running and falling over. It looked like her father wasn’t going to say anything about it.

  He turned and indicated the mob to Eddie. ‘That mare out the back. What d’you reckon?’

  ‘We’ll get ’er,’ Eddie said. ‘You go get up that tree we picked yesterday. The horses don’t know it.’

  Mike slung the dart gun over his shoulder and headed back into the scrub. Rachel joined the rangers as they headed down towards the horses at the lake’s edge.

  The horses had become nervous, and as soon as the humans walked towards them, they threw up their heads and began to move.

  ‘Get over there,’ Eddie ordered the boys, pointing. ‘Rachel, you go that way. Dan, leave the camera off today, mate.’

  Everything started happening fast. The horses broke into a canter and Rachel and Dan started to run, struggling to keep up. The mob was heading the right way, and she hoped her father would be able to spot the mare. She and Dan ran at right angles to the direction in which the horses were cantering, trying to get around the other side of them. As they raced through a stand of coolibahs, Rachel saw open grassland ahead of them. The mob was galloping towards the tree where her father was hidden.