The Bay

by Di Morrissey

  Of all the shops, Matty enjoyed spending time at The Teepee with Billy. She was fascinated by hair-styling and make-up techniques. Billy had grown used to her dropping by and politely asking if she could watch him cut and colour for a while. One day Matty was surprised when he asked how she was coping with homework, of all things.

  ‘Okay, no worries. Some assignments are easy, some are hard. That’s life.’

  ‘True enough. And this is relaxation time, a break from the grind, eh? How about making it pay as well?’

  Matty was puzzled. ‘What do you mean? Do something . . . for you?’

  ‘Yeah, like grabbing a broom, sorting out the magazines the customers thumb through, they can get grotty after a while. Maybe tidy up what passes as my office.’ He pointed over his shoulder to a screened-off corner of the shop.

  ‘You mean real work and pay, like money?’

  ‘Like money. But not much.’ He grinned at her, then at his client in the mirror. ‘Said too much now, haven’t I?’

  ‘Stop it, Billy,’ retaliated Matty with good humour. ‘That’d be great. Saturday morning only though.’

  ‘Done,’ he said. ‘We’ll sort out the details next Saturday. By the way, where’s your pal?’ He had noticed that Erica seemed to have stopped hanging out around town with Matty since her mother had gone to the Dolphin Centre.

  Matty looked uneasy and glanced at the woman wrapped in the plastic cape whose head was covered in silver foil strips. She was reading a magazine and paying no attention. ‘I don’t know where she is. She hasn’t been at school and she’s not at the house.’ Once or twice Matty had seen Erica playing her guitar alone at the beach or in the park, but she did not intrude.

  Billy stopped what he was doing. ‘That’s a worry. Has Amber heard anything? Doesn’t the school ask where she is?’

  ‘I thought she might be visiting her mum. She’s coming home soon.’

  ‘Well that’s good. Mmm, would you excuse me for a tick?’ he said to the woman in the chair. ‘Matty, why don’t you mind the phone, take any appointments if someone calls. I’ll only be two minutes.’

  He hurried down the arcade to the Beach Hut. ‘Amber, Erica seems to have gone missing. Do you think we should do something about it?’

  ‘Matty mumbled something but she seemed a bit vague when I asked,’ she replied. ‘I think they’ve had a parting of the ways. Erica’s been hanging out with those space cadets from the house.’

  ‘I hear Bonnie is due to come out of the retreat joint soon. What’s the score? A bit soon, isn’t it?’

  ‘I rang the Dolphin Centre this morning and they said someone could pick her up on Saturday. They were keen that she had some friends around to support her. The drop-off rate is pretty high if you go back into the same situation.’ Amber shrugged. ‘I offered to take Erica with me when I go to get her, so she knows that much. Maybe I should talk to Greg, Bonnie’s boyfriend, see what he knows.’

  ‘Better you than me. More your age group,’ said Billy.

  ‘Ha! I don’t have anything in common with him,’ Amber said quickly. ‘But I’ll check him out tonight on the way home.’

  The house was a mess. Takeaway food containers littered the main room and music thudded down the hallway. The hippy, Indian-inspired decor of silk cushions, mirrored Rajasthan throws, saris draped at the windows, and a brass vase with wilted flowers looked seedy and neglected. The place had not been cleaned in weeks, and the stale odour of pot and alcohol hung heavily. Amber waited as a vague young girl went to find Greg.

  He emerged from a bedroom looking sleepy and dishevelled. ‘Hey, what’s up?’

  ‘I’m a friend of Bonnie’s. We’re a bit concerned, we can’t find Erica.’

  ‘What’s it to you?’

  ‘Like I said, I’m a friend. I would have thought you’d show some concern for Erica.’ She looked pointedly around the room.

  ‘Man, don’t hassle. Erica is cool. She’ll be back when Bonnie rolls in.’

  ‘Back? Where is she?’

  ‘She’s turned into quite the music lover.’

  Amber didn’t like the smirk on Greg’s face. ‘Meaning?’

  ‘Hey, come along. There’s a doof happening, a big one. The Vibe Tribe, Goa Trance. Starts tonight. People coming from everywhere. You up for it?’ He was awake enough now to take in Amber’s beauty.

  She tried to sound nonchalant. Dance parties and especially these drug and techno music raves in secret locations were definitely not her scene. There’d been occasional stoushes with the police and council and she knew how serious the rave scene was in cities. Several teenagers had died at these all-night parties from drug overdoses and accidents. This would be a bad scene for someone as impressionable as Erica. ‘Yeah, I’ve been to a few. So where’s it happening?’

  ‘At the Rocks. Few miles in, real wild west with a gorge into it so lookouts can delay any unwanted company. There’s a big natural amphitheatre in there, sound’ll be amazing. People have been holed up in some of the caves for days. Everyone else is packed into the bowl. You gotta hike in. Wanna come with us?’

  ‘I’ll get there. Thanks for the tip.’

  ‘Any time, babe.’ He gave her a parting leer that was an invitation.

  Amber couldn’t understand how Bonnie had existed in this dreadful house with these slimy people. She drove quickly to check out the scene with Kimberley.

  ‘God, what a nightmare,’ Kimberley exclaimed after hearing the rundown. ‘What are we going to do? How do we get Erica out? I’ve never been to the Rocks, too spooky for me. Always makes me think of Hanging Rock. Do you think the police will close it down?’

  ‘I suppose so, eventually. But there are no neighbours to complain about the noise out there, and it seems like they have things well organised. The only thing we can do is go there and look for her.’

  ‘What! There’ll be thousands of drunk, doped fluoro ferals.’

  ‘I know, but have you got a better idea?’ Amber was a little shocked that Kimberley wasn’t more supportive. Her own daughter could be swept up in this scene.

  Kimberley pulled a packet of cigarettes out of the kitchen drawer. ‘Bring your coffee outside. This calls for a smoke.’

  They sat in green plastic garden chairs, Kimberley dragging on her cigarette and Amber sipping the last of her coffee. ‘I’d go with you, but frankly, I don’t think I could stand it. Mac reckons that whole Rocks area is haunted. I mean, those weird-shaped bald rocks are so prehistoric. But you can’t go on your own. Maybe she’ll be okay. I mean, I did some pretty wild things when I was fifteen.’

  ‘The drugs then weren’t like what’s around today. E-ing on Ecstasy is only part of it. There’s all kinds of speed, MDA, ketamine; I mean stuff that can blow your mind out of your body.’

  ‘How do you know all this?’

  Amber gave a small shrug. ‘A doctor friend I knew. He was treating my mother for a while.’

  ‘How is your mum?’ Kimberley trod carefully knowing Amber rarely talked about her family life.

  ‘Hanging in there. So, are you going to tell me Erica isn’t going to drop something? Do you think we should talk to Matty?’ Amber asked. ‘She might know something.’

  Matty’s eyes widened in shock as Kimberley and Amber told her about Erica. ‘A doof party? At the Rocks? That’s freaky. Who’s she with?’

  ‘Good question. We think those flaky ferals from the house. I knew I should have insisted she stay with us the whole time. I feel so responsible,’ Kimberley said.

  ‘Don’t, Mum,’ said Matty quickly. ‘Erica is different from my other friends. She needs her freedom. That’s why I hang out with her. Someone has to keep an eye on her.’

  Kimberley looked at her daughter with some pride. ‘Erica is a troubled soul. I’m glad you’re being such a good friend.’

  ‘So, Matty, what do you think? Is Erica going to get into the drugs at this doof, or is she there for the thrill of it and the music?’ Amber asked.

  ‘She’l
l try anything that’s offered. She has tried stuff before, not with me,’ she hastily added to reassure her mother. ‘But up there at a rave with those joes . . . well, you know it would be hard to resist, I reckon.’

  ‘Okay then. I’d better see if I can find her,’ said Amber with more assurance than she felt.

  ‘Can I come? Maybe I might be able to find her,’ said Matty eagerly.

  ‘No way. I hate the thought of that creepy place and I certainly don’t want you there. And Amber, I don’t think you should go alone either,’ said Kimberley.

  ‘So what are we going to do?’ said Amber. ‘For Bonnie’s sake we have to do something.’

  ‘Eddie. He’s strong, trustworthy, and I think he’ll be interested. He’s met Erica at the markets and he knows Bonnie.’ Kimberley headed inside to phone him.

  ‘Are we ready for our little adventure?’ Eddie said, grinning as Amber opened the car door.

  ‘I’ve been having one of those girlie panics of what to wear. I feel like such an interloper.’

  Eddie looked at her tight black jeans, loose black sweatshirt and her auburn curls tied back in a dark green ribbon. She looked very young, barely out of her teens. ‘Got comfy shoes on? Could be a very long night, these things don’t get going till after midnight.’

  ‘Oh, you’ve been to many?’

  ‘No, I jumped on the Net and did some research. I plan to shoot what I can, but I’ll have to rely on the natural light. Don’t want to draw attention to us with a camera light.’

  ‘So who goes to these doofs?’ Amber asked as they drove out to the highway. ‘Seeing as you’ve done some research.’

  ‘Doofs are a bit different here from the teenage raves overseas. They seem to attract a more politically aware, activist, anti-materialism crowd. They’re not a totally druggy thing. Lots come for the dancing and the music, but it’s pretty powerful music, almost a drug in itself.’

  ‘I’m amazed they can get these things together in the middle of nowhere and keep it so quiet.’

  ‘I think quiet it ain’t,’ said Eddie. ‘But we’re going to find out.’

  The road began to rise, rainforest giving way to small farms, then scrubland bordered by steep cliffs. On the peaks of the cliffs were massive granite balls balanced atop each other, so precarious it seemed a breath would dislodge them. Gradually the road narrowed and great rock formations closed in on either side. Amber found herself holding her breath as she gazed up at the weird sentinels silhouetted against the starry sky.

  They had been driving in silence for a while when Eddie pointed ahead to the glow of lights. They were passing through a rough narrow gorge, surrounded by sheer rocky cliffs; it was as if they were driving through a tunnel. Amber slipped down in her seat to peer up at the tops of the rocks. ‘There are people up there.’

  ‘Sentries. This old bomb of a car won’t seem suspicious.’

  Around a bend they were suddenly confronted by a makeshift roadblock. Half a dozen people were milling around with torches and gas lights shone at the barrier. They were collecting money and issuing instructions.

  Ahead of them a stream of cars was slowly moving into a huge field. Amber could hear and feel the muffled throb of music.

  Eddie hit the brakes and reversed. The road was too narrow to easily do a U-turn but he swung the car around, and for a moment Amber thought he was heading straight into the rocks. But he’d spotted a space between large boulders, just wide enough to park in.

  ‘This way we can get out easily if we have to. It’s going to be mayhem in there with all the cars and vans.’

  They got their backpacks, his camera bag and two blankets and walked up to the barricade where a man in a long, well-worn trenchcoat was taking the entry money. In the distance they could see hundreds of cars parked in a field and a line of others snaking into it.

  ‘Follow the ropes to the ampitheatre, to the right,’ the man said, then he turned his attention to a van jammed with people that pulled in behind them. Amber and Eddie set off to where white ropes ran from the field through the split in the rocks, and joined scores of people tramping from the parking area.

  ‘Why were some of those people at the roadblock wearing goggles?’ whispered Amber.

  ‘Night vision glasses. They probably have telescopic ones on the ridge tops . . . easy to check out people arriving.’

  Temporary power lines were looped above their heads with the occasional weak lamp hanging from them. It was darker once they reached the ropes and Eddie went ahead, glancing back at Amber. ‘There’s a bit of a climb, watch your feet in case there are small loose rocks. Do you want the torch?’

  ‘No. It’s okay, I’ll follow you.’ She was shouting but her words were ripped away by the torrent of noise that came from behind the cliff. On a rough patch of ground Eddie reached back to offer his hand which Amber grasped like a nervous child. He was ten years her senior and she felt safe with him.

  When they reached the top, Eddie and Amber both gasped in amazement. They were at the edge of a huge bowl topped with massive rocks like giant marbles. Spotlights waved eerily across the swaying, bouncing crowd in front of a stage where banks of sound equipment flashed and screamed, the sound rocketing off the ancient rock walls. Amber shuddered as she felt the sound waves hit her. The energy from the dancing crowd was equally forceful and she grabbed Eddie’s arm. ‘This is unreal.’

  ‘Worshippers before the altar of sound,’ Eddie shouted back and grinned. Putting his mouth close to her ear, he said, ‘I’m going to take a shot from up here. Whatever happens, don’t move too far from me, I’d never find you in all that.’

  ‘There’s no way we’re going to find Erica. It’s impossible!’ she shouted.

  ‘We can try.’ He pulled out the video camera and stood to one side as a laughing group pushed past in their personal cloud of dope.

  He concentrated on getting some wide shots, then grabbed Amber’s hand. ‘Let’s head towards the stage. I want to see what kind of power they have. It’s either massive generators or they’ve illegally plugged into the power grid.’

  ‘If we get separated, let’s meet at the right-hand side of the stage, if we can get there,’ Amber suggested. She could see the crowd moshing right up to the stage.

  They flung themselves into the thick of it and Amber found she was being swept along in the frenetic, excited, happy crowd. She glanced at a couple who were chanting, ‘Doof, doof, dance, dance.’ The girl swung around and bumped into her. ‘Dance your heart out.’

  ‘Great, eh?’ said Amber, and felt her body responding to the beat.

  The girl threw back her head. ‘I’m tripping, it’s grrreat!’

  The bass speakers thumped out the hard-core rhythm as the techno tribes gathered in the amphitheatre screamed, ‘Faster . . . faster . . .’

  Eddie focused his camera on the glazed, ecstatic faces lit by the roving spotlights. Amber, who’d been moving to the half beat suddenly felt breathless, as if she might spin away out of control and take off like a top.

  ‘Slow down,’ he said. ‘Don’t go with it, that’s getting over 160 beats a minute. The repetition is like a trance!’

  Amber shook herself, imagining what it must be like if you were stoned or drunk or tripping out. The sound was overwhelming, blanketing, dictating. The euphoria dissipated and she felt fearful. How easy it would be to lose control here. If Erica was in this . . . She didn’t want to think about it. But the thought brought her back to the reason they were there.

  Eddie lowered his camera. ‘Let’s get through this mob.’

  They were swept along among the seething, swaying, bouncing, jumping, head shaking, shouting mass of bodies. Amber clung to her bag and the blankets, scanning faces looking for Erica. It was too crowded for Eddie to lift the camera to his eye. People shoved between them, heads and arms swinging. In seconds Amber was pushed into the tide in the opposite direction. Eddie tried to elbow his way towards her but another group was blocking his path.

  Amb
er was scared. This was not fun. God, why was she doing this? Bonnie better get herself together and start looking out for her daughter. But Amber feared that a vulnerable, lonely girl like Erica could easily gravitate to a world where drugs made you feel good, appeared to solve problems and made you part of a group. It was a world where all that mattered was the next trip, the next hit.

  Erica curled her body tightly into a ball. She was a cat. A bear. A baby. She’d been flying. She’d immersed her whole body in the music. She’d been so happy. What was happening? Her skin felt like it was burning, thin and dry as paper. She was shivering. All the colours had gone, and now she was alone. Where was Greg? He’d taken her stash, everything. She did remember that. How was she going to get away from here? Her body was bruised, abused. She didn’t remember much about the sex. Greg had given her pills and torn her clothes. But as the waves of euphoria and then a strange drowsiness overcame her, she didn’t care about her body, the pain, the intrusion. Everything was in slow motion like it was happening to someone else and she was looking down from far above, watching the rape of a young girl in a smoky cave. Even the music below seemed far away. Maybe they’ll come back and bring more Es. Anything. She didn’t want to be here. She wanted to feel as wildly happy and wonderful as she had . . . When? How long ago? But she was feeling sick, she was going to throw up. She was so thirsty. So dry.

  At the back of the stage Amber found a small chill-out tent. Inside several people were lying on sleeping bags and camp beds, with a woman watching them, although she didn’t look like anyone medical. She ducked back out and to her relief saw Eddie, filming a young unconscious man being carried into the tent.

  ‘No sign of her?’ he asked.