Outback Exodus

by Dawn Millen

  “Jenn are you going to get some sleep before you start rushing around or are you going to be running here, there and everywhere for a while?” Krystal asks.

  “I think its run time for me, mate.” I reply with a grin. “No rest for the wicked you know, and somehow I think I must have been very wicked in a past life” I giggle as I say this and so does Krystal. It is an old joke between us dating back to our days when we nursed together. “I had better get going too or the day will be over before we know it.” I say as my giggles subside.

  I rinse my coffee mug in the bowl of water near the fire and head off down towards the town. There is little smoke from the rubble piles now and the dust seems to be settling. The town though is pervaded by the smells of rotting food and flesh. This summer heat is making things worse and it is time to move away to a safer place. Rats now scuttle among the ruined buildings and half staved cats and dogs chase them for food. This once thriving town will be a ghost town tomorrow when the last of the survivors leave.

  I approach the semi-trailers and speak to the gang of sweating men who are loading the supplies and equipment that we will need for the journey and to pick up our new lives. They are surrounded by boxes and piles of equipment still to be loaded. Rhys smiles across at me as I approach and stands massaging his aching back.

  “Hi Jenn, things are going well here at the moment, almost have number five loaded and number six won’t take too long as it’s bedding and clothing for everyone. There are a few other things to load up now, but we will be ready on time.” He states, wiping sweat from his face and neck with a dirty handkerchief.

  “That is great Rhys.” I reply. “You guys have worked hard to get all this done so quickly. I just hope that others are ready too.” I state.

  “From what I have seen most of us are ready now and those that aren’t should be ready by tonight. The only one I am worried about is John Evans, he is never organised on time and with the drinking and beating up Gavin I wonder if he has got things as ready as he claims.” Rhys talks quietly so that only I can hear what is being said.

  Rhys is voicing a worry that I have too and it seems that I am not alone in believing that the drinking is going to cause John to delay our departure. I smile sadly at Rhys and say quietly “I know, those are my thoughts exactly. I am not sure that John is not going to cause a huge issue tomorrow morning and probably throughout the journey too.”

  “I’ve been thinking that he is going to cause problems. I just hope we can keep him under some sort of control. Gavin has been on to me and any alcohol that is not needed has already been packed away on one of the semi-trailers so that he can’t get his hands on it. He and his mates are going to be having a dry trip. Gavin is talking about another party at the other end of the trip to use up what is left too.” Rhys states quietly.

  “That sounds like a good idea, but I am going to get him to put the brandy aside for emergency use, it may be needed for other things.” I say with a smile. I remembered that a small tot of brandy was often used years ago for shock and other minor medical things. “I had better head off and check on our problem child.” I tell Rhys quietly. Raising my voice I call out goodbye to the other men who are still working away and watch as Rhys re-joins them at the pile of goods behind the trailer.

  I head round to the yard where John Evans keeps his truck and equipment. He is there, sullen and bruised. From the look of it either Gavin got a few punches in during the fight or John has had another fight with his mates. Bruising and cuts are not an unusual thing to happen with this volatile man, many Saturday nights have been spent in the Emergency Room at the hospital being patched up from drunken fights.

  “Wadda you want?” Was the sullen greeting when I approached John.

  “Just checking that everything is ready for the trip.” I say quietly.

  “Yea, it’s all ready so now you can go and let me get some rest.” He snaps

  “Okay, I’m off.” I tell him as I turn to leave the yard.

  I head off further down the road to the tarpaulin that Gavin has set up for his office. He spots me coming down the hill and stands to put the kettle on the primus.

  “Hello girl, how are you going, did you get any sleep yet?” Gavin fires quick questions at me as I approach.

  “Hi Gavin, I am doing well and no I have not slept yet.” I answer with a smile.

  His hug is the normal huge bear hug, but I hug him back gently conscious of his broken ribs. I don’t want to hurt them any more than they already are.

  “How are the ribs and head?” I ask Gavin giving him a quick check over to make sure that nothing is any worse than it was last night. The bruising on his face has darkened during the night and one eye is almost closed, but apart from that he looks to be in much better shape than I expected.

  “The head feels like it has a team of dancers jumping around in it, and the ribs are a bit sore if I take a deep breath, the worst is the bruising though. It has stiffened up through the night and is not going to feel good for a while.” Gavin gives me a rundown on how his injuries are.

  I tell Gavin about the worries that Rhys and I have with John Evans and his mates and find that those worries are also part of Gavin’s thoughts too. We are all worried that having three trouble makers in the group is going to cause discontent and arguments. We may have to do more about it at some stage further down the track, but as he is the only electrician we have we must try to work around his problems. Gavin and I spend some time trying to put strategies into place to deal with the issues we expect and hoping that most of them won’t happen. We drink our coffee and chat away for about thirty minutes and cover a lot of the worries that we both have. Plans are made for every possible contingency we can think of and then listed in two note books, one for me and one for Gavin. We need to have the duplicates in case we end up separated at any stage. Gavin and I also organise a meet up place in case the group is separated at any stage of the trip to the coast. It is at the very top of the pass through the hills near my home town and I know the area well and tell Gavin that there is a nice valley there for us to wait for the others in the group if separation happens. I tell Gavin that the water supply is good; there is adequate space for everyone, wood for the fires and a good view all the way to the coast. It is decided that no matter what else happens this will be our final camping spot on the way to the coast and can be used as a final retreat too if things are not suitable for settlement on the coast. We both share the worry of Tsunami generated by the earthquake and the destruction of the coastal areas. This we won’t know about until we get there. We also have hopes that the coast and its population have survived intact and that we are heading to a place where things will be better and that we won’t have to rebuild from nothing.

  Conversation between Gavin and I is quick and we pick up on each other’s thought tracks very quickly and soon find that we are finishing each other’s sentences and expanding on each other’s ideas. We have always worked well together over the years and this working relationship has stood the test of the biggest disaster we have ever encountered. Neither of us could have been prepared for the scope of this earthquake and so far we have managed to keep most things running and our group of survivors intact. The conversation slows as we cover everything we can think of and then stops quietly and we sit in silence just watching the branches of the gum trees sway in the slight breeze. It’s nice to sit quietly and contemplate for a short time. Relaxing is just not going to happen during the journey and we need this quiet time to gather our thoughts and build on the strength our friendship gives us both.

  After a while I stand and turn to Gavin. “Mate, I had better get off and check up on Raymond and Paul and then head back up to the camp site as I want to go over to the hospital and talk to Helen.” I tell Gavin.

  “Okay sweetie, I will catch up with you tonight at the party. Make sure you get a couple of hours sleep in this afternoon too if you can, you are going to need it with doing night shift and driving tomorrow.” Gavin’s
bass rumble sounds so gentle as he says this and it brings a smile to my face.

  “I will get a bit of sleep Gavin, I promise.” I tell him, giving him another gentle hug before I head off across the hill to see Raymond and Paul. I turn part way down the road to see him settle again on the old lounge seat, put his feet up on the coffee table and pull his old Akubra hat down over his eyes.

  Things are going well with Raymond and Paul and they are ready to set off in the morning, so I head back up the hill to the campsite to talk to Helen.

  I find Helen in the Emergency Tent surrounded by equipment and medications as she directs the two nurses helping her today. They are packing up the equipment that will not be needed along with the medications that are not being used at this time. These boxes will be split between the ambulances and Helen’s 4 x 4, with only the largest boxes of equipment being loaded on the last semi-trailer with the bedding and clothing.

  “Hello Jenn, how are you doing?” Helen asks as I walk into the tent. “Are we all just about ready to leave yet?” she questions.

  “Things are looking good Helen, everyone is just about organised and we should be able to leave here around 10am tomorrow. We will have to set up camp around 3pm every afternoon though, so travel is going to be slow. We don’t want to push too hard with so many sick, young and elderly anyway.” I state.

  “I am so glad that you have thought of that.” Helen says, “I was so worried that we would be pushing the travel hard and that James in particular is going to find it too much. He has not got long, but wants to hang on and see us settled on the coast.” She says with a gentle smile. James has got under everyone’s skin and we all have a big soft spot for this elderly gentleman.

  “Can you see any other problems that we have not thought of yet?” I ask Helen.

  Helen reflects quietly for a while, “Not that I can think of now Jenn, but it is possible that we may have a few that we can’t plan for.” Helen says after a few seconds.

  “Gavin and I have been talking and hope we have plans for every occasion, but then again, we can’t plan for the unknown, so we may have to wing it a few times.” I tell Helen with a smile.

  “How is Gayle doing?” I ask, wondering if Gayle will be travelling with us or if we will be burying her before we leave.

  “Gayle only has a few more hours at most, she is still in the coma and her breathing has changed in the last hour or so.” Helen tells me. “I am sad not to be able to do more for her, but that infection just will not respond to the medications I have and I don’t have a lab to do the tests I need to do to find out what it is either.” Helen’s face is a picture of sorrow as she explains the situation to me.

  I hug Helen and tell her that no one could have done more under the circumstances. “Do you want me to organise a coffin for her now or do you want to wait until it is over?” I ask quietly.

  “I think we might leave it for a little while, I don’t want to upset anyone at the moment.” Helen replies. “I will let you know when we need it though. Just a thought, have you organised any coffin’s for the trip? Helen asks.

  “Yes, I have organised two for the trip and have a dozen body bags on the fire truck too. Rhys has put the coffins in number two semi-trailer, right at the

  back so that we can get to them.” I tell her.

  “Great job Jenn, it was something I just thought of. Not that I want to lose anyone on the journey, but you never know.” Helen says.

  “I know mate, I don’t want to lose anyone either, but we just don’t know what we will come across either, so we had better be prepared for anything.” I tell her.

  “It is time for me to head off and have a rest now mate; I will see you at the party tonight. Krystal and I are coming in an hour early to give the mid shift a chance to spend some time there too.” I tell Helen as I turn to go.

  “That is kind of both of you, I am sure they will appreciate it and we will all be in at six am to get everyone ready for the trip. Now go and get some rest, it’s going to be a long night and a much longer day tomorrow.” Helen hugs me goodbye and I head off across the hill towards the tents.

  Chapter 22

  The hours fly by and soon it is time to get ready for the party. A large group of men have already been down to the creek to bathe and are back getting dressed in whatever decent clothing they can find that fits. There is going to be a great difference in standards of dress throughout the party, but everyone wants to do their best. Now it is the turn of the women and small children to bathe. The creek is still fairly fast flowing and by the time the ladies get down to it most of the soap the men have used has dissipated. There are squeals and giggles as the cool water flows around us, while hair is washed and we clean the grime of the day off our bodies. There is laughter from the children too as they run about and are grabbed by their families to be washed and scrubbed. We all dress the children and then ourselves. It is then we discover what the large box Sandra has brought with her contains. As she opens it we all ooh and aah. There nestled in the box are all kinds of makeup, perfumes and deodorants. Sandra smiles at the reaction her treasure has garnered. Even here in the outback we girls do love to primp up for a party.

  Sandra told me later that she and Paul had sneaked down town alone to raid the chemist shops in the main street. There were two and neither owner had survived the first earthquake. The medications were taken to the hospital immediately and Helen had been sworn to secrecy about the rest of the treasure from the midnight raid. For so many of the women it was the perfect gift at the perfect time. There would be plenty of make up for everyone and it would be put back in the box until the next big party. Sandra also told me that there were another eight boxes loaded onto the semi-trailers with most of the contents from the chemists and supermarket beauty aisles. Sandra considered it necessary for us all to have something to look forward to and had taken Rhys into her confidence and ensured that there would be space to load her precious boxes. Space was at a premium, but those boxes were made to fit into the space that was left over and would be treasured by both the men and women of our group for a long time to come.

  Clothing and shoes were put on and we each helped the others with their make-up. Once everyone was ready we left the deep pool at the creek and headed back towards the camp site to pick up the food and supplies required for the party. Walking in a flowing silk gown felt strange after so long in jeans and singlet tops and the high heels hurt my feet in a very different way from the daily boots. It did feel special to be dressed up though and for the first time since New Year’s Day I felt like a woman. I could see the same feeling crossing the faces of the other women and a determination to make sure that we did this on a regular basis once we were settled overcame me. Social interaction for the sake of it was going to be necessary for this group to meld and bond, parties and get togethers were going to help form and strengthen those bonds.

  Krystal and I had one thing to do before we headed off to the party and we walked briskly across the grass to the hospital tents. We took the box of make up with us and deposited it with Helen so that the current shift could get ready to come across later this evening. We then asked Helen’s permission to take James down to the oval for a little while so that he could join in the fun. We had found a wheelchair in the ruins of the hospital and given it to Raymond to modify with fat tyres and bicycle wheels so that it would work as an all-terrain chair and he had fitted a seat belt for safety. Helen was happy for James to come with us and we wheeled the chair over to his tent. Leaving it outside Krystal and I entered and as promised showed off our party finery before telling James that he was coming too. Those faded blue eyes lit up with joy and he was anxious that he had nothing to wear. I quickly produced the shirt and track pants that I had left on the wheelchair, Krystal and I helped James to dress and brush his greying hair before we gently helped him into the wheelchair and pushed him out of the tent and across the grass to the party. James was excited to be out of the hospital tent, his head turned and his smi
le grew wider as he saw people that he knew. Two of his old cronies had survived and were sitting on the grandstand and his joy knew no bounds. We wheeled him over and the three elderly gentlemen proceeded to have a wonderful reunion.

  Young Thomas came over and spoke to James and his friends Rick and Gordon and was soon put into service as a drinks waiter. It made Krystal smile to see the interaction between her oldest son and the elderly. We looked around though and found that many of the teenagers were doing the same thing for the adults at the party.

  “It’s our gift to you all for taking care of us Jenn.” Thomas said quietly. “We appreciate what you are doing and want to do everything we can to help out. Thanks for the responsibility that the group scouting party have too, we will do our best to make sure that things are kept going well.” His excited voice carried to the older men who then proceeded to question him on the plans of the boys and girls who formed the scouting party.

  Krystal and I left James in the care of his old friends and Thomas. We did ask Thomas to come and fetch us if James got tired and wanted to go back to his bed and were delighted when he agreed. We made our way to the drinks tables and after getting a couple of soft drinks we walked around talking to members of the group. Some time was spent soothing the fears of people and some spent answering questions. So many questions and so few real answers, much as it hurts to say this there were many unanswered questions. We just did not know what we were going to find as we headed for the coast. We did not know if there were other bands of survivors and we did not know if there was anyone able to come to our rescue. I concluded the question and answer period with the statement.” We don’t know what is out there, we don’t know if there are others and we are not sure if we will ever be rescued. It is up to us to rescue ourselves.” As I finish I hear quiet applause behind me and turn to find both Gavin and Rhys smiling and clapping their hands.