There was a rustle before Sam’s boots lined up on the other side and she hunkered down.
Now four LED torches lit the space and Georgie didn’t need to tell them what she’d spotted. Broken twigs and flattened grass. Feasibly caused by a large animal…if it weren’t for her other discovery.
She stared at the plastic action figure, fighting the sinking feeling in her gut, telling herself this wasn’t a bad omen.
Struggling, because the Black Dragon warrior toy never left Cooper’s side.
Chapter 11
Georgie gasped as she emerged from a nightmare. It took her a while to recognise the family room at Upalong House. That she was sprawled on one of the couches. A cushion on the floor.
How could she sleep after finding Cooper’s toy – with the kids still missing? Last thing she remembered was receiving a text from Franklin. Or did she dream that?
She needed to check but couldn’t find her phone on or near the couch. She circled her gaze over the room. Someone had dimmed the spotlights but hadn’t notched down the central heating, so it was softly lit and cosy. Lunny dozed in an armchair, his neck slung backwards, snoring softly. Kat and Josh sat on the bottom tread of the spiral staircase to the mezzanine, awake, not talking or touching. Sam and Seb were missing – minding the kids probably.
Georgie spotted a mobile on the sideboard next to the giant TV. She swung off the couch, padded over the parquetry flooring and picked up the phone. It was hers. She checked her inbox and retrieved a message from Franklin sent at 2.15am.
Her lips moved as she silently read, ‘On my way up there had to stop at home & for fuel ETA 3–4am. Stay safe. F’
So she hadn’t dreamt it. She opened the next message, time-stamped 2.16am.
‘xox’
She smiled. He was getting better at messaging – he could be the teddy bear her old friend Pam Stewart had once called him. And he’d be here soon.
Her eyes widened when she heard a long beep, followed by a pause. She followed the drone of Elke’s voice to the kitchen. ‘Letting you through, Mr Franklin.’
Franklin threw his leg over the bike, prised the helmet off his head and ruffled his short, sandy hair. His hands buzzed from gripping tightly, his body stiff and jarred from the long, hard ride on his Kawasaki Ninja. What should’ve taken three hours had taken a little over four thanks to debris, poor visibility, slow zones around a number of accidents and several detours.
Now that he’d arrived at Mount Dandenong, what was he in for? Chaos and hysteria or a more controlled panic? How were his friends and daughter holding up? And the other kids? What had he missed while on the road?
A figure stepped forward on the front porch, greeting him with a lifted hand.
I guess I’m about to find out.
Georgie watched Franklin walk towards her, bandy-legged, his leathers caked with mud, and she wondered why he’d chosen the motorbike over his SS Commodore.
Her heart raced. She liked to think she was strong and independent, but that didn’t mean she operated as a standalone. She was better for the circle of family and friends in her life. Yet it scared her how much Franklin filled her thoughts, with Kat as a package deal.
His bike boots sploshed on the wet driveway as he came closer.
‘Georgie.’ His deep voice made her name sound exotic.
She returned the greeting. ‘Jack.’
At the base of the stairs, Franklin wiggled his eyebrows. ‘I’m Jack today, am I?’
Furrows on his brow and face showed the exhaustion of a full late shift followed by a gruelling ride from Ballarat, but he smiled, and yellow and green glinted in his hazel eyes.
She shrugged. He moved to the step below her, bringing them to equal height.
‘Come here.’ Georgie grabbed the lapel of his leather jacket and drew him close. Their kiss fired like a smooth scotch and for that moment, nothing else mattered.
She was a sight for gritty, overtired eyes, even with her long reddish-brown hair looking like it’d been drenched, windblown and slept on. But while they kissed, Franklin registered that Georgie’s greeting would’ve been completely different if the kids had been found.
He groaned and pulled away, seeing her face shadow.
They stepped towards the entrance, then she stopped. ‘There’s been a development.’
He frowned, unable to read her tone.
‘We found Cooper’s Black Dragon at the bottom of the garden.’
Franklin’s jaw clenched. It’d been Hanny’s after their dad left it behind when he split and she’d passed it down to Riley, then Riles to Cooper.
Coops sleeps with BD.
How did the two get separated?
Sam recognised Franklin’s voice and leapt from her chair outside the bedrooms. She met him and Georgie in the foyer, holding back a happy shout in case it woke the girls.
‘Good to see you, boss.’
‘You too, Sam.’ He managed a half-smile.
Georgie’s expression was tense too. Sam got it. It was nearly twelve hours since Hannah, Riley and Cooper were last seen – with no breakthroughs.
‘Katz is in the back room,’ Georgie said.
That earnt a genuine smile.
‘And Lunny?’
‘He’s there too.’
Sam led them through the kitchen—introducing Franklin to the housekeeper—then into the family room. In thirty seconds, Kat had raced from where she was perched on the stairs and thrown herself into her dad’s arms.
During back slaps from Lunny and handshakes with Josh, Elke provided a fresh round of coffees.
The sarge said, ‘Elke, why don’t you head back to your place for a proper rest now?’
She looked unsure, but gathered her coat and torch and left, refusing the offer of an escort.
Franklin said, ‘Georgie told me about Cooper’s toy.’
They all exchanged grim looks.
‘Still, it doesn’t amount to much on its own.’
Sam wasn’t sure she agreed.
‘Unfortunately, it’s our only lead,’ Lunny admitted, before he filled Franklin in on the latest: their searches, inquiries and plans for the morning, and that they still hadn’t reached Vanessa Savage.
At the end of his report, Sam yawned muttering, ‘Sorry.’
Then Kat stifled her own.
Franklin asked, ‘Managed any rest yet?’
Georgie bobbed her head. ‘Some of us took a kip.’ She didn’t look rested though.
‘I got enough to keep me going,’ Lunny said.
‘Well, there’s not much we can do until daylight, so everyone else go to bed. Rest as best you can.’
The sarge agreed, saying he’d keep watch, as Kat’s body drooped.
Sam gave her a hug. ‘Off we go.’
Kat glanced over her shoulder. ‘If Dad does. He rode through after work and must be stuffed.’
Franklin nodded. Sam wasn’t convinced that it was a promise, but his daughter allowed her to propel her away. She watched Kat slip into bed fully clothed except for shoes. Her eyelids fluttered before she dropped off.
When she was sliding under her own doona, Sam heard a yelp. She turned as Kat twitched and muttered.
She snuck closer. Kat was asleep but restless. It was sad to watch.
‘It’s okay.’ Sam stroked her hair.
The girl sighed and settled, except for the rapid movement behind her eyelids.
No wonder she’s having a nightmare. This camp is a nightmare.
Chapter 12
‘Six o’clock – it should be light enough to do another search soon.’ Lunny had his back to the wall of French doors in the family room.
Franklin assessed the heavy lines around his mouth and the pallor of his complexion. Then he remembered the sarge’s flare-up at Kat, blatant even over the phone. Unusual, but they were all toey.
He went back to study the map Sam had printed from the net.
Lunny added, ‘Hardly ideal conditions for a search though. It’s
arctic out there.’
Kat snapped, ‘It’s hardly ideal conditions to be lost in either.’
Franklin sent her a warning stare. ‘Kat!’
She gave Lunny a pained look, mouthing Sorry.
The sarge shook his head showing no offence taken. Then he tucked his hands under his armpits.
‘We have to accept that it’s going to be a tough day. Even with whatever troops we can rally, visibility’s poor with that low cloud cover. High winds will make searching through the treed areas hazardous. And it’s got to be close to freezing.’
Franklin rubbed his chin. It’d been hair-raising coming up the hill on the Ninja. But his instincts to choose bike over Commodore had paid off when he’d skirted fallen trees and detoured through a section of bush. He’d still be driving if he’d taken the sedan. The idea of worse conditions ahead chilled him.
‘And we have no real idea where to look for them.’ Kat’s voice strained.
He didn’t want his daughter caught up in this. But she was, and the scope of problems ahead made him feel impotent to the point where he didn’t know what to say.
Before anyone responded, the doorbell rang.
Sam opened the oversized front door to something as welcome as Franklin’s arrival a few hours earlier: a stocky man in a yellow police slicker.
‘G’day. Bernie Willy,’ he introduced himself. ‘I hear you could do with some help.’
Relief that they were no longer dealing with the situation alone and the fact that Bernie resembled her favourite uncle nearly made Sam hug him. Instead, she shook his hand. ‘I’m Sam Tesorino and you’re not joking.’
His chuckle was warm and low and made his eyes disappear into the pouches around them. He stepped into the foyer saying, ‘Need a layer to put back on later – it could snow yet,’ and peeled off his coat.
Sam took it to hang in the hall closet. ‘Please no.’
He laughed again. ‘Don’t worry, it isn’t likely. You probably get more snow up your way. We had a snow day back in June and that’s usually our quota, besides some sleet or flurries.’
Bernie looked past Sam. She followed his gaze through the double doors into the formal living room. His eyebrows hiked, she guessed at the opulence, but he didn’t comment.
Sam waved towards the rear of the house and walked beside him. She noticed his navy-blue jumper had hairs on it, from a cat, dog or both, and there were also a few very long brown strands that didn’t belong to Bernie, as what hair he had up top and on his moustache was short and in multiple shades of grey. She spotted a gold wedding band and summed him up as married to a brunette, animal-loving and easy-going.
She already liked Bernie Willy.
They covered preliminaries with the local cop over strong coffee. As caffeine drip-fed energy into Georgie, one of the French doors opened and Noah, Tom, Seb and Josh entered.
‘They’ve been awake since five.’ Josh thumbed towards the little boys. ‘But we made a deal – stay in bed another half an hour, then we’d all have showers and come help.’
Georgie swallowed a smile when he winked at Kat and the teen’s cheeks flamed, but screeching voices deflected her thoughts as the girls ran in. Nicole beelined to Noah and ran her eyes from his head to feet before hugging him hard. She’d obviously spent the night alone in the bedroom she should’ve shared with Hannah, worried about the Savages and transferring that anxiety to her little brother.
‘G’day, kids. I’m Bernie.’ The potbellied Olinda cop crouched down and the kids formed a ring around him. He smiled broadly. ‘I’m going to help Mr Lunny and the others find your missing mates.’
The kids surprised Georgie by cheering. They’d been miserable for most of the camp. It’d be a stretch to say they’d been mates of the Savage kids, but extraordinary circumstances did have a way of fast-tracking bonds.
‘We’re going to need your help.’ Bernie dropped his voice.
Tom pushed his glasses further up his nose. ‘What can we do?’
Bernie patted the boy’s head. ‘I want you all to sit down, have some brekkie and write a story about your three friends.’
‘We can do that,’ Sara said.
‘Good stuff. We’ll need everything you can think about them. From their mum and dad –’
‘They live with their mum and stepdad,’ Nicole interrupted.
‘Okay, their mum, stepdad, dad, pets, house, school, friends, what colours they like, what foods they love or hate, what they talk about online.’
Although Bernie’s tone didn’t change, his gaze sharpened when he added, ‘And their boyfriends or girlfriends.’
Hannah
A man yelled, ‘Hoy…you little shit!’
Wet, white cloud prevented Hannah from seeing him. Even worse, the fog warped sound so she couldn’t be sure which direction his voice came from.
‘Stop, you!’
She spun around, petrified. The man sounded scary angry. Her pulse banged in her ears making it even harder to work out how close he was.
‘I’ll have you!’
She froze, softening her knees, ready to sprint. Even blinded by the fog, she’d be able to outrun him. He sounded old.
‘What are you doing here?’
A second later a hand grabbed her arm. Hannah screamed.
The man shouted back, ‘Hold it!’
She tore away from his grip and bolted. He followed, yelling.
Her breaths shuddered as she ran. She was so confused she was afraid she was running in circles. Any minute now, she could bash straight into him.
She swallowed a whimper, scared he’d hear her and even more scared she wouldn’t be able to find her way back to Cooper and Riley.
Chapter 13
They dove into Bernie’s marked four-wheel drive as he grumbled, ‘Bloody rain.’
‘It’s not helping,’ Sam agreed, swiping droplets off her nose.
Her hand was still in mid-air when Lunny started chanting lyrics about a wet, dud camp called Granada. Then Bernie cackled and supplied the next line in a deep voice.
She frowned. ‘It’s no time for singing.’
The sarge stared at her. ‘You don’t know the song?’ He made it sound like a national disgrace.
She sighed and waited.
‘It’s a kid’s whinge about what turns from boring and rained-out to the camp from hell. But I think we could make up a new verse or two.’
‘Like: Camp Upalong is rocking. We lost three kids when the storm was popping.’ The local cop slapped his thigh.
Sam gave an exaggerated sigh, but laughed with them. Cop humour was off-centre…and the only way they made it through some days.
‘Don’t give up your day job to be a lyricist, Bernie,’ she joked. But her smile slipped. ‘So far, our door-to-door’s been as dud as the camp in your song.’
Upalong sat a fifth of the way along View Road coming from the Olinda end. Its neighbours were spaced apart and interspersed with National Park.
Despite their early doorknock, some occupants weren’t home…or they weren’t answering. At around 9.30am, a proportion would be at work, but none on school runs seeing as it was term break. Those they’d spoken with hadn’t seen or heard anything – unsurprising considering the stormy conditions and isolated location.
Unless Georgie and Franklin were faring better with their door-to-door, the exercise was hopeless.
Sam hadn’t intended to kill their light moment. But they all went quiet.
Hannah
Hannah shivered so hard her teeth rattled. She tried to rub her arms, but the message wouldn’t relay. Eventually, she brought her arms up and across her body, but the rubbing motion ended up being more like slaps because her hands were numb. She wanted to go to sleep.
Can’t go to sleep. Have to find Riles and Coops.
She forced her eyes open and her feet forward.
At least she hadn’t heard the man for a while. How long, she had no idea. He’d chased after her. She’d heard a thud, he’d swor
n, and yelled Stop, come back in a deep, scary voice. He sounded old but seemed to be fit because he wouldn’t give up. Even when he fell over, he came after her again. She kept running and running, and every step meant she had less idea where her bros were. But at least they were safe for as long as the man followed her.
Tears slipped from Hannah’s eyes. Between that and the blinding rain, she could hardly see, even though the fog was breaking up. It wasn’t possible for her to be any wetter or colder.
She stopped and lifted her head to get a sense of which way to go. Rain stung her eyelids, about the only part of her face with feeling.
Which way? And were her little bros still in the toilet block where she’d left them or had they tried to find her and got lost in the storm too?
I wanna go home…I want Mum.
A sob tore out, hurting her throat.
Shut up. Don’t be so lame. The man might be really close.
Hannah cried harder, but silently. Tiredness overwhelmed her again.
I have to sit down. Shut my eyes. Just for a mini.
Her knees wobbled and she almost let her legs fold. She took the deepest breath she could manage and icy air burned her teeth. The sharp pain jolted her alert.
Gotta keep going. Gotta find them.
Chapter 14
‘Oh, hell.’ The sarge gestured at his watch. ‘It’s after ten. We’d better get back.’
Sam’s stomach cramped and she noticed Bernie’s hands clench the steering wheel. Clearly, even he dreaded the imminent arrival of Vanessa Savage.
A few hours earlier, Lunny broke the news of the kids’ disappearance to their mother. Sam thought he’d handled it well, but from what she could gauge, the poor woman couldn’t speak for shock. Her partner, Duane Smith, had taken the phone, saying they were leaving immediately.
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