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Chapter Forty-Three

A ll day they travelled along the imaginary line dictated by the compass needle. The silence and shadows of the jungle gave Abi an unsettled feeling. She found herself bracing for whatever they might walk up on. Finally, the light took on the sepia tone that told her the sun would soon disappear behind the trees. They needed to find a place to set up camp so they could start the fire.

Mackenzie chose a small nook beside a rock wall. It was barely big enough to fit both of them, but it had a slight overhang that offered some protection. Abi dropped her heavy pack and rubbed the stiffness from her throbbing shoulder muscles. All she wanted was rest, but they still had a lot to do before darkness fell. As she laid out some of their things, she tried not to think of the number of spiders that could be living amongst the dark recesses of the craggy rock wall.

Mackenzie grabbed his hunting gear and headed off in search of food.

“Be careful,” she called after him.

The surrounding vegetation was so dense it was impossible to see beyond five metres and as Abi scoured the area for firewood, she was careful to make note of her direction. Heading the wrong way could have her lost forever. Light filtered in through the canopy creating a mottled pattern of light and dark and with each step the shadows shifted and changed .

The air was completely still, as if it was impossible for any breeze to penetrate the tangled foliage. Every so often an animal would make a noise. Some she recognised, some she didn’t.

Not too far from the alcove she found a small dead tree that had long ago fallen over. Its exposed roots were brittle and dry and all the dirt that would have once covered them had long ago been washed away. The tree was dried out enough to make it perfect firewood and she snapped off all the branches leaving just the bare trunk.

She scanned beneath it for snake holes and was surprised to see a snail on the underside of the log. It was as large as a golf ball, and she was careful not to break the shell as she tugged against its suction on the smooth bark. Once removed, the creature disappeared into its shell and as she dropped it into the pocket of her cargo pants that once belonged to Toni, she wished she too had a safe little home to crawl into. With six more snails of varying sizes in her pockets she straddled the log and braced to lift it.

It wasn’t until she’d finished dragging the log to the rock wall, along with all the branches she’d snapped off, that Mackenzie returned with a medium sized freckled monitor dangling from his spear. The green spotted lizard was barely enough for a snack and Mackenzie’s clenched jaw showed his disappointment at the meagre catch.

“Look what I found?” Abi presented the snails to him in an old bean can.

He plucked out one of the snails and as he nodded approval, she knew he’d already be thinking of ways to prepare them.

Abi was worried about Mackenzie. He looked lost and without purpose. But she’d seen him like this before and refused to let his melancholy upset her. This was only their first night and they had no idea how many days it was going to take to walk out of this jungle. With pursed lips she did a mental summary of what needed to be done before the sun set.

“I’ll get the fire going. You set up the bed and then we can do the food together.” She put her hands on his shoulders and caught his eyes. They were dull with failure. It was heartbreaking. He’d feel better once he started cooking, but they had other things to do first. “Okay?”

He handed the snails back to her. “Okay.”

The ground was a carpet of rough rocks, both large and small, and no matter how often she adjusted her seating she couldn’t get comfortable. She tried to ignore Mackenzie’s exaggerated grunting as he secured the cargo net between three sturdy tree trunks high off the ground. When he returned to her side, she pushed to her feet and fetched the metal pan from the suitcase and the bean can full of snails.

The temperature dropped as the sun set and the fire gradually reduced down to bright orange coals. As Mackenzie sharpened a long stick with the axe, his demeanour began to change. His expression softened and he started humming his favourite tune. Cooking gave him a sense of purpose and contentment. It made him happy.

She was eternally grateful, as she would’ve died out here if it wasn’t for his hunting and creative cooking skills. When he reached for the lizard, Abi looked away. He was about to skewer it and despite the many rugged animal preparations they used out here, this was something that still made her squeamish.

“Here you go.” He handed the thick end of the stick to her. The lizard was threaded onto the other end and the stick bowed under the weight of the animal.

Abi eased onto the ground, pulled her knees to her chest and held the lizard over the fire. As the skin began to smoke and sizzle, its rank smell made her nauseous. She looked away from their dinner and fought a tide of emotions as she watched Mackenzie preparing the snails. She already missed their plush seats by the fire and their comfortable beds in the wreck.

As she turned the lizard over, she forced her longing for their old campsite from her mind. She must only look forward from now on, because no matter what happened they could never turn back.

The lizard’s skin was crusty and burned to a crisp and the meat dry and tough. With each mouthful she had to force herself to swallow. The snails on the other hand were delicious. Mackenzie had quickly pan fried them with a dash of oil and they were juicy and sweet. She easily could’ve eaten ten more.

Once the meal was over and the dishes cleaned, there was nothing else to do but try to sleep. Abi put on an extra layer of clothing and Mackenzie helped her into the cargo net. He passed up the blanket they’d made out of the parachutes, and she held it aside while he climbed in beside her. They shuffled the blanket over their bodies and lay on their backs side by side trying to spot stars through the canopy. The tension in all her muscles unravelled as she stretched out.

But it was impossible to stop their bodies from wedging together as if they were in a human cocoon. She wouldn’t be able to sleep like this and rolled onto her side with her back to Mackenzie, resting her hands beneath her cheek. “I miss my king-sized bed.”

Mackenzie’s hand curled under her arm and cupped her breast. “No, you don’t.”

She giggled. “Okay. No, I don’t.”