by P. J. Sky
“Like, I never knew her. I’ve no memories of her. It’s like she never existed. When I was younger I used to wonder where she was. I’d ask my father, he’d say she was gone. And that’s it. So I stopped thinking about her. The city’s strange like that. You just don’t question things. You’re told how things are and that’s how they are. So I stopped asking, I stopped thinking.”
“And now?”
“And now, I don’t know. Maybe it’s better this way. I’ve no bad memories of her. Nothing to resent of her. Maybe that’s better?”
∆∆∆
The black aircraft had landed in the darkness, somewhere near the rocks where the land was flat. Max Panache stayed close to the craft while two guards scrambled over the rocks, armed with guns and equipped with halogen lamps. They were gone some time.
Max paced back and forth impatiently, his hands clasped behind his back. He chewed the bottom of his lip and every now and then he gazed into the horrifying emptiness of the wasteland. Somewhere in the darkness, some kind of wild animal howled and Max shivered. The howl sounded almost human and like it was taunting him.
Starla could be anywhere.
Finally, he glanced upwards to the cold, hard stars. Indifferently, Velle Stella stared back.
What do you care, he thought? The star that never moves, goading the world below with one unblinking eye, while we all make fools of ourselves. But it never tells. It sees all and it never tells.
The problem with stars is that they’re just too Sirius.
When the guards returned, they informed Max of the remnants of three bodies, partially eaten. None of them Starla’s. Max didn’t ask how they knew they weren’t Starla’s. The thought of partially eaten bodies was enough to turn his stomach. Evidently, food on the outside wasn’t what it was in the city.
But there were tracks, footprints leading north, towards the city.
Chapter 20
Ari awakened, on the back seat of the car, to the shrill sound of a bird cackling happily on the bonnet.
The bird was stocky, with a round, grubby body, dark brown wings and a long pointed beak. It chortled rakishly towards the sky and was joined by a second that pranced proudly back and forth along the edge of the bonnet before turning to the first and returning a cackle.
Ari grinned.
“What are they?” asked Starla.
“They’re guuguu’s. But some folks call ‘em laughin’ birds.”
“They don’t sound like they’re laughing to me.”
“They kinda do to me. Occasionally they’d visit the hut an’ folk’d call ‘em guuguu’s but then they’d say they were laughin’ birds.”
Ari climbed out of the car and stepped towards the birds. They didn’t fly away, but kept on calling to her. She slipped her hand to her ankle and drew the blade.
“No don’t,” said Starla, drawing to Ari’s side. “They seem like friends.”
“They are,” replied Ari. “Land gives ya what ya need.” The birds were their friends; they were here to help them.
“I don’t want to eat them,” said Starla.
“Sure ya do.”
“I don’t and I won’t. Ari, don’t kill them.”
Dag it.
Ari lowered the blade and looked at Starla. Starla’s wide eyes glistened and her forehead crumpled. Ari looked away and a lump bubbled up in her chest and rolled up her throat.
Starla likes the birds, thought Ari. She likes the birds like she liked the dog. Well I like the birds too, but the world gives you what you need but not always when you need it. You take what you can. You take the bird, you eat it, it returns to the earth to be reborn.
And out here it’s kill or be killed.
“Please,” said Starla.
Ari sighed. She waved the blade at the birds. “Go on then, be off with ya.”
The birds cackled and leapt into the air and flew away.
“Thank you,” said Starla.
“Yeah, whatever.”
Ari avoided Starla’s gaze and slipped the blade back in the sheath on her ankle.
Wasting two perfectly good birds, she thought. Could have had one easy. It was there for the taking, I could have just reached out and grabbed it. Why was I listening to Starla all of a sudden?
But when she’d looked in Starla’s eyes she’d felt awful.
Why did I suddenly care what this girl thought? I should have taken one of the birds, she thought.
“We gotta make progress,” said Ari. “And I’m gonna ‘ave to find us breakfast.”
∆∆∆
They followed the course of the river, out of the crater and through a narrow gap in the rocks barely wide enough to squeeze through. The walls were cold and wet and they were deafened by the sound of rushing water. On the other side, the boulders were smooth and slippery. Finally, the ravine opened up into a broad valley that rolled gently downward. Hardy green and purple grasses clung to the rocks. Ahead, away from the river, was a dense green forest. As they got closer, Starla became aware of an intense, high pitched chatter. At first it sounded like hundreds of children, all babbling at the same time.
“What is that?” she asked.
“What’s what?”
“The noise.”
“Bats. Thousands of ‘em.”
They left the riverbank and headed for the trees. All the time the chatter grew louder.
They entered a forest of tall palm trees, solid and branchless at the bottom but bursting at the top with great green leaves. Beneath the cool, dark shade of the forest canopy, the sweetly acidic stench was suffocating.
Starla’s eyes begin to water.
Above, the upper palms were heavily laden with large black shapes. She wiped away the tears with her palm. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dim light, and then she saw them moving among the palms.
“Are they dangerous?” asked Starla.
“Sometimes they’ll bite ya. Depends how hungry they are. But we’re safer here than by the river.”
“What’s by the river?”
“Crocs.”
Better the bats then, thought Starla.
She squinted up at them. From down on the ground, they didn’t look so large. With their little furry bodies and wings they wore like dinner jackets, their chatter was almost welcoming, and their party was one she might want to attend. And in that moment, Starla decided she liked it in the forest.
The deeper they went, the more beautiful Starla found everything. The great columns of palm trees formed the foundation for the lush green canopy. The effect was like some grand cathedral, sprouted up from the desert floor.
Slick with sweat, she tasted the acrid air, and her head started to spin.
Maybe I could stay here, she thought. I could build a house among the trees. I wouldn’t have to go back to the city. Maybe I should bring Max here? Or maybe not Max, maybe I should just ask Ari to stay.
She looked about, at the tree trunks and the lush evergreen above, and the deep shadows in dark corners that beckoned her to curl up and sleep among them, and she felt love for everything. What was the smell and the chatter of the bats; they were nothing compared to the beauty of this place. Here was a place she could truly call home.
A colourful butterfly landed on her arm and she stopped and inspected it. It had four vivid, aqua blue wings with black tips. It tiptoed lightly on her skin and Starla knew she'd made a friend. It was inviting her to stay and Starla wanted to accept.
Yes Mister Butterfly, I would very much like to accept your gracious invitation. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to stay here forever.
And she knew that nothing else mattered now she'd found this place.
And look, even the butterfly’s wings were blue.
Her head felt dizzy. The butterfly flew away and she sat down on the ground and closed her eyes. The world spun around her. The guano smelt rich and sweet. Then Ari was leaning over her, shaking her.
Why am I lying on the ground?
“Hey, stay with me sister.”
Ari’s eyes are very pretty, she thought. Not in a conventional way, but in an Ari way. But why are they so cold?
∆∆∆
Starla awakened to a dull pain in her head and the sound of water lapping against a riverbank. Ari leant over her and dabbed her forehead with a damp cloth. Her eyes were darting back and forth warily and drops of sweat dripped from the bristles of her shaved head.
“What happened?” asked Starla.
“Ya lost it. It’s the bat shit, it sends ya loopy. I shoulda thought.”
Ari raised the canteen to Starla’s mouth and she took a couple of gulps and spluttered.
“Ya gotta drink,” said Ari. “We can’t stay ‘ere. It’s dangerous. We gotta get back in the trees.” She glanced back at the river again.
“Okay,” said Starla. She tried to raise herself on her elbow but her head was too dizzy. Her vision blurred and her whole body seemed to vibrate. She felt Ari’s arm, steadying her.
“We gota move,” said Ari. “Waters too still, we shouldn’ be ‘ere.”
Then a huge gaped mouth, lined with a serration of jagged white teeth, emerged from the water and clamped down on Starla’s leg.
Chapter 21
Starla screamed as the huge green crocodile bit into the lower calf of her right leg. The animal grunted and stared at them through two green, slitted eyes, perched at the back of a long, thickly armoured snout.
Ari gripped Starla around her shoulders and tried to pull her back but the animal pulled them both closer to the water and Ari fell to the ground.
The animal hissed.
Ari drew back her foot and kicked as hard as she could. She struck the animals snout.
The animal twisted its grip on Starla’s leg and Starla cried out again.
Ari struck again and this time her foot met the point just above the jaw, between the animals flared nostrils. The crocodile let go just long enough for Ari to pull Starla away.
The massive creature leapt from the water.
Ari got to her feet and began dragging Starla, by her shoulders, into the trees.
The armoured monster advanced, dragging its fat belly over the narrow beach and waving its tail.
Ari heaved Starla over her shoulder. Starla wasn’t heavy; her body felt thin and bony. Ari stumbled into the trees, her knees buckling with the added weight on her shoulders.
Behind them, the crocodile hissed and grunted. It ventured just into the tree line but came no further.
Why, thought Ari, was I so stupid to return to the river?
Her heart pounded. She stumbled through the trees with an energy she didn’t realise she had. Her whole body pulsed. She tripped over vines and slipped on big green leaves. Then the ground disappeared and she was submerged in a pool of hot water.
Starla’s body rolled above her. Ari tried to push her away.
The water felt thick and heavy. Ari’s foot kicked against something hard.
Ari’s head breached the surface and she gasped for air. Steam rose from the water forming a think mist. Frantically, Ari reached out for the edge and her hands grasped a vine.
Ari dragged herself out of the hot water. On her hands and knees, she choked. Water gurgled up her throat and she thought she was going to vomit. She heard Starla’s plea.
“Help.”
Starla was clasping hold of the rocky ledge at the edge of the water.
Getting to her feet, Ari moved quickly around the pool. Leaning, she gripped Starla’s shoulder and pulled her over the ledge. Starla dragged her wounded leg behind her.
Ari wheezed. Her eyes stung and she rubbed them with her knuckle. Then she inspected Starla’s wound. A bloody half-moon crescent was carved from the top to the bottom of Starla’s left calf. The teeth had torn deep and it looked like there were chunks of flesh missing. It wept a thin, watery blood that leached into the forest floor. At least she still had her foot, for now.
Starla whimpered quietly. “Is it bad?”
∆∆∆
“We need to stop the bleedin’,” said Ari.
Starla lay on her front, right cheek to the dusty floor. Her left calf throbbed and a strange tingling ran from her knee down to her toes.
Ari undid her shirt. Under, she wore a grubby vest. Ari soaked the shirt in the warm water of the spring. “This ain’t gonna be perfect,” she said. “But we gota stop the bleedin’.”
Starla could hear Ari tearing at the shirt, pulling apart the seams. Ari wrapped part of the shirt around her calf, then she pulled it tight and Starla inhaled sharply. The fabric stung against the wound.
Ari slumped down breathless next to Starla. “Ya gotta stick with me sister. Ya gota stay awake. Think ya can walk?”
Starla wasn’t sure. Her calf throbbed angrily. Pushing herself up on her elbow, she tried to stand and a hot pain shot up her leg. “I don’t know.”
“Well, we ain’t got a choice.” Ari slipped an arm around Starla’s shoulders and lifted her. “Come on.” She heaved Starla up on her feet.
Starla wailed. A solid pain shot up her leg. Even bending the ankle hurt. She collapsed against Ari.
“We gotta do this,” said Ari.
“I can’t.” Her head spun and her vision blurred. Painful shockwaves bounced up and down her body.
“Hold on,” said Ari, placing Starla’s arm around her shoulder.
“Please, I can’t.” The pain seemed to be getting deeper, moving into her bones.
“Listen sister,” said Ari. “I dragged ya this far an’ ya ain’t quittin’ on me now. If we stay ‘ere we’re done for. The bat shit’ll make us crazy an’ if ya stay down ‘ere bleedin’ the bats’ll get ya. So before nightfall, we gotta be outta ‘ere an’ that’s that, okay.”
Chapter 22
At dusk, the sky filled with a great dark cloud of bats. They chattered and squeaked and flew as one towards the desert.
Maybe, thought Ari, the bats won’t smell the blood? They won’t come too near the fire anyway, if I can keep it going. She pushed another dry twig between the glowing embers.
Now Starla slept. Ari had made camp just outside the forest, where Starla had collapsed. In the growing darkness, she’d gathered as many leaves and other forest debris as she could and covered over Starla’s wound. Starla had barely made it, her left leg was useless and Ari had had to drag her all the way.
Why, Ari thought, was I so stupid? Where the river currents slowed, there were always crocs. I knew that. We shouldn’t have stopped there. This whole area is croc country. You’d be safe if you were at least a croc’s body length from the water. Those were the rules. I knew that. So why did I carry Starla there? This is on my head now. I let this happen. I should have warned Starla.
Ari tipped a little water onto her fingers.
And why didn’t you warn her Ari? Why’d you go putting her in danger? Because you thought you knew it all didn’t you. You thought, how dare this girl go coming into your life and saving you from the river. That’s not how its supposed to be. Well, it’s how it was wasn’t it Ari.
Ari washed Starla’s face and moistened her lips.
This is all your fault Ari. And now what you gonna do? How long till Starla can walk again?
The surrounding hills disappeared completely and night set in. Ari drew closer to the fire. All night, she added wood to the fire and checked on Starla. When dawn broke, Starla’s eyes flickered and she murmured.
“Water.”
Ari put the canteen to her lips and Starla swallowed a little and spluttered.
“Ya had me worried back there.”
Ari cleared away the debris from Starla’s leg. The fabric had dried hard to the surface of the wound.
It don’t look any better, thought Ari.
“How does it look?” asked Starla.
“It’s okay,” Ari lied. “Ya gotta rest up though.”
“I can do that.”
Starla closed her eyes and seemed to fall asleep.
Ar
i sucked at the corner of her lip.
What you gonna do now Ari? I could leave her. Just walk away and let her fend for herself.
But she’d thought this before, back in the crevice in the rocks. She hadn’t left her then and she knew she wouldn’t leave her now.
Well you gotta do something Ari. If nothing else, we need supplies.
She ventured to the riverbank and filled her canteen. The current was slow and Ari watched the dark waters warily.
If you’re gonna get me, you’re gonna get me. I probably deserve it anyway.
Ari explored a wide circle around the portion of valley she found herself in. She collected a number of bush coconuts she found growing on the branches of gumtrees. She was lucky enough to find a blue tongued lizard, sunning itself on a rock. They were dozy animals; it didn’t move when Ari approached it, and it barely seemed to flinch when she slipped her blade into its back. She also ventured back into the forest and collected some large green leaves and some dried palms.
Back at camp, Ari arranged some of the big leaves on the ground. She shook Starla awake.
“Ya can’t stay on the dirt, sister.”
Starla was slick with sweat and her skin was clammy and red; she was lying out in the hot sun.
Dag it, I shouldn’t have left her here. She’ll be burning up.
Ari shuffled Starla gently onto the leaves. She raised her canteen to Starla’s lips, and once she’d swallowed a little, Ari took her blade and split open one of the bush coconuts.
“Eat this,” she said. “Ya gotta eat.”
Starla swallowed a little and grimaced. Ari pushed more of the white flesh towards her mouth but Starla shook her head, her lips tightly shut. Then she closed her eyes again.
Ari busied herself with the dried palms. She dragged over a hunk of dead gumtree and arranged a canopy over Starla’s head and the upper part of her body.
Starla’s left leg looked really bad. Ari emptied the canteen’s remaining water over the wound. Starla didn’t stir and Ari wondered if she could feel it now. Gently, a layer at a time, she tried to peel away the fabric, but it was dried solid over the wound.
