by Des Hunt
He looked up from his plate, aware that something was happening. The two girls were staring at him and giggling. ‘What’s the matter?’
Their response was to giggle some more. Mandy whispered something to Hine and the pair broke into hysterical laughter.
‘What is it?’ He was becoming annoyed. He hated it when girls acted like this. ‘Tell me!’ He could feel the pressure rising within his nose. His eyes closed as he struggled to control himself.
Molly arrived to pick up his plate. ‘Hello,’ she said. ‘What do you two find so funny?’
Hine pointed at Tyler and again they roared with laughter.
‘Stop it!’ he yelled. ‘Stop it!’ His face was now bright red and his head was shaking.
Molly looked at him anxiously. ‘It’s okay, Tyler. I see what it is.’ She moved and fiddled with the sleeve of his sweatshirt for a moment. ‘It was just this.’ She held up a cardboard price tag. ‘You forgot to take the label off when you got up this morning.’
‘His mummy’s not here to dress him,’ said Mandy.
Tyler picked up the bone, threw back the chair and ran from the room. When he reached his bunk he started thumping the mattress with his fists, over and over again. It had been such a perfect morning and now it was ruined. Why did girls always have to do that? Why did they always have to wreck everything? It happened every, every, every time.
Then he dived into his pack searching for something. A moment later he pulled out a hand-sized plastic case: it was a Game Boy. He turned it on and twiddled with the buttons, almost unaware of what game it was. Yet it had the desired effect. Slowly he became absorbed with the make-believe world. His breathing slowed and bit by bit he returned to normal. Half an hour later he was ready to face reality again. Today they were visiting the petrified forest and no girl was going to wreck that for him.
Chapter 4
It was midday before they were ready to leave. Alice messed about taking photos in and around the woolshed. Then she had to make yet another phone call—again without success.
They retraced the drive back to the main road. This time Tyler could see the lie of the land. The layers of rock he’d seen at the beach continued inland forming lines of parallel ridges with valleys between. The narrow road jumped from one valley to the next. Everywhere there were skeletons of trees. Some still had blackened trunks from the fires used to clear the bush. To Tyler it looked like photos of early New Zealand he had seen at school.
After a while he tired of the scenery and turned on his Game Boy. Immediately the power light glowed red, showing low batteries. No problem, he thought, I’ll use the car battery to charge them. The only thing was he’d have to ask Mandy to plug it in and she was sure to have something smart to say. He should have done it himself before they left.
He waited for a pause in the conversation. ‘Excuse me, Mandy. Could you plug this into the cigarette lighter?’ He held out a purple plastic device with a long transparent cable.
‘What’s this?’ asked Mandy. ‘Is it a water pistol?’
‘No it’s a power lead. Could you just plug it in, please?’
‘Why do you need it?’
‘To play a game.’
‘He’s got a Playboy,’ added Hine.
‘What?’ asked Mandy spinning around to see. ‘Tyler Matthews! What are you doing with a Playboy magazine?’
‘It’s not! It’s a Game Boy!’ shouted Tyler. ‘I just want to play a game.’
‘Aw, just a boring game. A Playboy would be much more interesting.’
‘What’s the game?’ interrupted Alice.
‘The Bones of Kilimanjaro.’
‘I could’ve guessed,’ put in Mandy. ‘More boring bones.’
‘What’s it about?’
‘Oh, you have to find an elephant’s graveyard so that you can get the ivory, which is worth a fortune. But there’s different things attacking you all the time. And there’s a curse on the bones, which you have to beat to win. It’s a really good game.’ Thankfully that stopped the questions and he started to play.
After some time Mandy said, ‘I think computer games are boring. I can’t see why boys play them all the time. It’s not like they’re real or anything.’
Alice turned and smiled. ‘Haven’t you noticed that boys are different to girls?’
Mandy ignored her. ‘I like those games they have on TV, like Survival. They’re okay.’
‘Maybe we should play a game like that,’ said Hine.
‘Yeah! That would be great,’ Mandy said, swivelling around to face the back. ‘We could play a dare game. Each of us has a turn to say a dare that the others have to do. We played that at camp this year. It was cool.’
‘What happens if somebody doesn’t do it?’
‘They lose a life. We all start with three lives.’
‘Do you have to do the dare yourself?’
‘Of course, the darer has to do it first. And if the others don’t, you gain a life.’
Hine thought for a moment. ‘What if you say a dare and don’t do it?’
‘You lose a life and the dare is cancelled. Are you going to play?’
‘Yep. I’m in. What about you, Tyler?’
Tyler paused his game. ‘I dunno. How do you decide who wins?’
Mandy replied, ‘If you lose all your lives you drop out. The winner’s the last person left.’
Tyler shook his head. He really didn’t want to play.
‘Come on, Tyler,’ said Hine. ‘It won’t work if there’s only two of us.’
‘What about Alice?’ asked Tyler hopefully.
‘Count me out,’ said Alice quickly.
The two girls looked at Tyler. ‘Oh okay. I’ll play.’
‘Good,’ said Hine.
Alice said, ‘Just be careful that your dares are sensible. Things like this can get out of hand. We don’t want anybody hurt, do we?’
‘We won’t get hurt,’ said Mandy. ‘It’s only a game. And, I get first dare because I thought of it.’
‘I’m second,’ said Hine quickly.
Tyler smiled to himself. He didn’t mind going last. It was a stupid game anyway. He returned to The Bones of Kilimanjaro—that was what he called a real game.
For lunch they pulled into a store at Niagara, named after the famous falls in North America, though these were only a metre high. While they made their purchases, the shop lady chattered about the district and what they should see. The waterfall was high on her list of must-sees; so were the dolphins in Porpoise Bay.
‘A man came in last weekend,’ she said, ‘and claimed he’d seen the dolphins, though it’s a little early in the season for them. Yet I suppose, with all this global warming and stuff, we can expect to see them for longer. That’ll be good as most of our visitors come just to see the dolphins. They’re the main attraction around here. Just follow the road to the coast. You can’t miss the bay.’
When they left the shop Tyler noticed a very dirty, black ute that was parked alongside the toilet next door. It had a roll bar with four lights mounted across the top, just like the one he’d seen in the middle of the night. He decided to take a closer look.
It was so dirty that it was impossible to read the number plates. He would have liked to have wiped them clean to get the number but figured the driver was around somewhere—it would be wise to be careful.
He walked casually past, giving the vehicle the once over. Everything was black: black paint, black cover over the back and black tinted windows. He moved closer to the side window. Along the back of the seat was a shape he felt he knew. He leant forward, cupping his eyes with his hands so he could see. Yes! He was right. It was a gun. Now he was certain: this was the vehicle that had killed the beast during the night.
‘What you looking at, boy?’
Tyler jumped. The voice had come from behind. He turned to be confronted by a tall, skinny man with a wispy beard.
‘Something there you’re interested in?’ The man’s eyes were shifting all
over the place, only resting for a brief moment on Tyler.
‘Ah, um, I was just looking at the ute. I like them and wondered what model it was.’
‘You won’t see that by looking inside.’
Another man came out of the toilet. He was a huge, powerful man. ‘What’s up?’ he grunted.
‘This kid was staring into the cab,’ said the one with shifty eyes.
‘What’s he want to do that for?’ grunted the other, turning to Tyler.
‘I just like utes,’ repeated Tyler.
‘Yeah?’ said Grunty. ‘Well you can like somebody else’s. Get out of here.’
Tyler didn’t need to be told twice. He scampered back to the car with his heart pounding. The ute snarled into life behind him and roared off in a spray of gravel. Slowly Tyler calmed. Although the encounter had been scary, it had also been useful. He now knew the vehicle was a Falcon with two occupants—one called Shifty and the other Grunty. He had no doubts he’d be able to recognise them if needed, yet he hoped he would never have to see them again.
The shop lady was right: Porpoise Bay was easy to find. It was a sweeping arc of sand protected at one end by a headland and at the other by a rocky reef. The place was deserted—four kilometres of beach and not a single person. What surprised Tyler most was the small number of houses. A beach like this up north would have row after row of beach homes. Here there were only a few places, which Alice said the locals called cribs.
Long parallel waves broke on the beach washing up large pieces of seaweed called kelp. Tyler measured the length of one at twenty-two of his strides. Some of the fronds were circular and whip-like—he impressed the girls by getting one to crack like a lion tamer.
Hine found a piece of flotsam shaped like a bird’s nest yet plainly some sort of growth from the sea. She put it on her head and danced around a bit.
‘Watch out for that crab,’ said Mandy. Hine squealed and threw the ‘hat’ to the sand. The others laughed.
‘Were you tricking me?’
‘No,’ said Mandy. ‘There’s something red in it.’ They moved closer. ‘There!’ It was a small red, heart-shaped shell, still with both halves joined together.
Tyler smiled knowingly. ‘Open it up.’
Immediately Hine became suspicious. ‘Why, what’s in it?’
‘Open it up. It won’t hurt you.’
Carefully she prised the two halves apart and looked inside. ‘Oh look. It’s beautiful. Look, Mandy.’ Mandy was equally impressed and so was Alice. Inside the shell was a glassy frame, looking very much like a jewel resting in a case.
‘I’m going to keep this,’ said Hine. She turned to Tyler. ‘How did you know it was there?’
‘It’s a brachiopod. They’re a very ancient animal. They are perfectly symmetrical and have this internal skeleton. They’re very important in palaeontology.’ He fished in his trousers. ‘Here’s a fossil one I picked up this morning.’ The grey lump had been polished by the jiggling in his pocket and now had a smooth, glossy surface. It too was beautiful in its own way.
They found the dolphins on their way back to the car, or maybe the dolphins found them. They were playing just where the waves were breaking, zooming along inside the bulge of water. Tyler had seen dolphins before, yet these ones looked different—they were so small. Alice said they were Hector’s dolphins, the smallest and rarest in the world.
After watching them for some time Mandy said, ‘I know what my first dare is.’ She paused dramatically. ‘We’re going to swim with the dolphins.’
‘It’ll be freezing,’ said Hine.
‘We don’t have togs,’ pleaded Tyler.
Alice laughed at them. ‘Go on. You’ve all got a change of clothes. And we have to wait for the tide before we go to Curio Bay.’
Ten minutes later, three very cold-looking kids crept down to the sea. They had shed their winter woollies, keeping only the bare essentials. Hine and Tyler stood back waiting for Mandy to start the dare; both secretly hoped she would chicken out.
Mandy tiptoed into the water. ‘Ow!’ she squealed. ‘It’s freezing.’
‘You made the dare,’ said Hine. ‘You’ve got to do it first.’
Mandy turned to them with a pleading look; the others just smiled. Then she took a deep breath and ran screaming into the water plunging into the nearest wave. A moment later she emerged waving her arms triumphantly.
Tyler and Hine looked at each other. ‘C’mon,’ said Hine. ‘That seems to be the best way to do it.’ Together they raced to the water yelling their heads off. Soon they had joined Mandy in the surf and the three of them crouched in the water, surprised that it wasn’t as cold as they had thought it would be.
Then something magical happened. As soon as they calmed they found themselves surrounded by dolphins. There must have been about ten of them, yet it was difficult to tell because of their quick movement in and out of the waves. To begin with, they never got close enough to touch, yet they plainly wanted to play. One, bolder than the others, swam in a circle spraying them with water from its breathing hole.
Before entering the water Alice had reminded them that the dolphins were wild animals and to treat them carefully: ‘Just stay still and enjoy.’ They did. However it was impossible to think of them as dangerous things. Their smiling faces and playful antics were so like kids having fun. There was no doubting the intelligence of the beautiful creatures.
Bit by bit they got used to the humans and approached closer. Soon the bold one was close enough to touch. It floated gently by, peering at them out of one eye. Above the eye was a scar that looked like an eyebrow, giving the creature the comical look of a clown. Mandy reached out her hand and touched it. The dolphin slowed until it was barely moving. Hine touched and then Tyler. For a moment all three were joined by the thrill of holding such a lovely animal.
Sadly, it was all over too soon. The dolphin flicked its tail and rejoined the others. That was the signal for them all to leave. One moment they were swimming around and the next they were heading out to sea. It was disappointing, yet they left behind three youngsters with memories that would last for the rest of their lives.
Chapter 5
The tide was about half out when they changed into dry clothes and drove the short distance to Curio Bay, home of the petrified forest. The bay was filled with a flat, rocky platform between a cliff and the crashing waves. At one end was a large split in the rocks where the waves rushed in, spilling onto a pebbly beach.
From the car park, wooden steps led to the rocks with a viewing platform partway down. There were signs identifying the features of the fossil forest. The fallen logs could be clearly seen, lying at different angles. The stumps were not so obvious, but a map showed where they were.
Tyler stared in wonder. This forest had been growing in Jurassic times. Probably dinosaurs had stomped through it. Who knows what caused the trees to fall. Yet Tyler could imagine a huge battle between giant dinosaurs breaking the trees and anything else that got in the way. Maybe, somewhere beneath where he stood were the remains of those animals.
It was a scene he wanted for his website. From his pocket he fished out his Game Boy. Mandy saw it and said, ‘You’re not still playing that game?’
Tyler just smiled and reached into his other pocket pulling out a flat piece with a lens. Carefully he removed a part of the Game Boy and plugged in the lens.
‘Is it a camera?’ asked Hine. Tyler nodded.
‘Hey!’ squealed Mandy. ‘You really are Inspector Gadget.’ She posed like a model against the rail. ‘I say, Gadget, how about a photo of me?’
‘No thanks, Mandy! I don’t want to break it.’ Mandy poked her tongue at him. ‘Anyway,’ he continued. ‘I don’t waste time photographing people.’
With the lens aimed at the forest he viewed the image on the screen. The others moved behind to see too. ‘It’s a bit dim,’ commented Hine.
‘I know, but you get used to it. Anyway it comes up good when you download to a computer.�
�� He took five photos, knowing he could delete any he didn’t want.
They then moved onto the rocks where Tyler took some close-ups of fallen trees. Meanwhile Alice had gone back to the top of the cliff to use her cellphone. The two girls had moved over to the split in the rock platform. Hine waved him over.
‘Have a look down there,’ she said.
The channel was deep and full of kelp waving in the surging water; it looked like a mass of sea serpents waiting around for a meal. A wave moved in and then, without warning, a powerful jet of water squirted from a hole opposite to where he stood. Instantly he was soaked.
The girls cracked up, jumping around squealing and laughing. Tyler felt his anger rise, yet he couldn’t let them see it. He rushed away across the rock platform, only to stumble on a fossil log. That caused even more hysteria.
They had done it again. He had been so looking forward to visiting this place and now it was ruined. Why did they have to do that? For a while he’d thought that Hine was different. Now he knew she was just the same as all the others.
As soon as they got back Alice asked Molly about any phone calls.
‘Sorry, dear,’ replied Molly. ‘There’s been nothing.’
Alice showed her cellphone. ‘I can’t get a signal anywhere,’ she said anxiously. ‘I’ve been trying all day. Do you know where I can try? I want to check my text messages.’
‘Who are you with?’ asked Bill.
‘TotalCom.’
‘Ah! Then that’s a bit tricky. Their coverage is pathetic around here. You can get it in one or two spots, so they tell me.’
Molly added, ‘I’ve heard the guests say it’s okay at Jacks Bay. You’ll be over there tomorrow. Can it wait until then?’
‘I s’pose it’ll have to,’ she said unhappily.
