Page 41

Chapter Forty-One

M ackenzie stared up into a gum tree of Jurassic proportions. Its dizzying height nearly tipped him off balance. It took a couple of days of serious searching to choose this tree from the hundreds around them. Its sheer size and evenly spaced branches made it perfect for climbing.

Abi placed her hand on his shoulder. “Be careful.”

He cupped her cheek and when she pressed against his palm and closed her eyes he bent down and kissed her. She always tasted so lovely. When he pulled back, he noted her frowning.

“I’ll be okay, Abi.”

She chewed on her bottom lip and nodded.

Mackenzie gave her another brief kiss before he reached toward the first branch and hauled himself up. He clambered up the tree like an expert, gripping with his toes and following a line of tiny black ants on a mission skyward. A grey plant that hung from a branch like an old man’s beard caught his eye and touching it, he noted it would make ideal kindling.

The view from the tree opened up with each step, urging him higher. As he neared the top, the sun reached into the canopy and smothered him with its intensity. But the branches gradually became smaller and when he couldn’t climb any more, he straddled a branch, wiped his sweat-soaked hair from his eyes and massaged his aching wrists. An accumulation of powdered bird droppings was piled up on a nearby branch and looking up, he spied a tiny bird’s nest. Small pin pricks of light piercing through the nest’s tightly woven twigs indicated it was empty.

The sun was a ferocious heat directly above him and cotton wool clouds danced across the sky. Beyond the tree, the carpet of green spread out before him like a never-ending sea. A quick scan of the horizon revealed nothing of interest, just acres and acres of rugged bush. His heart sank.

There has to be something.

He began searching again, this time forcing his eyes to take in everything. Then, as if by magic, a sliver of orange appeared to his right. Bracing himself, he rose up, shielded his eyes from the sun and stared across the treetops.

A cliff cut through the landscape like an enormous sash and the rocky escarpment fell from a flat tabletop as if it’d been sliced away by a giant broadsword. Mackenzie punched the air. “Yes!”

The cliff was the highest point around making it the most obvious place to plan their way out of the jungle, but it looked a fair distance away.

It’ll probably take days to get there.

He tugged the compass from his pocket, noted the direction of the cliff then readied to climb down. As he descended, his mind was already running through what they’d need to pack for their trip. They had some serious decision making ahead of them.

Halfway down the tree, Abi’s voice rose up from the ground. “Did you see anything?”

“Yes, hang on and I’ll tell you when I’m down.” The climb down was as hard as the climb up and he was exhausted by the time he placed his feet back on the ground.

He took a moment to regain his breath before they began walking back to the crash site.

Back at the plane, he knelt beside Rodney’s grave, placed his hand on the headstone and allowed its warmth to seep into his fingers. Pangs of guilt gripped him.

Guilt at surviving the crash. Guilt over the completely inadequate grave site .

Guilt over his feelings for Abi so soon after Rodney’s death.

But was it too soon? How long was long enough?

His chest tightened as he remembered the discussion that literally saved his life. Rodney had been adamant it was his turn for the window seat.

If he hadn’t been so certain it would’ve been me lying three feet below.

Mackenzie wrestled his mind away from the thoughts. God knows how many times since the crash he’d gone over the same debate. Nothing could change what happened, but one thing he did know, was that even after everything that happened Rodney would be happy for him. Rodney would’ve wanted him to live, to move on and to love again. He was certain of that. Leaning over, he kissed the stone. “I promise I’ll come back for you.”

He turned to Charlie’s headstone just a metre away and remembered how tormented he’d been digging his grave. Mackenzie had honestly believed they’d saved him, and he couldn’t shake a nagging feeling that he’d contributed to his death. The old man had become a solid companion in such a short amount of time and Mackenzie felt his loss as hard as if Charlie had been an old friend.

“Goodbye, old man.” He tugged a loose vine from the stone. “Hey, I bet we find your secret berry. And when we do, I’ll make sure it’s named after you.”