Page 52

Chapter Fifty-Two

M ackenzie woke with a fright and sat up. As he searched the darkness, a brilliant flash of lightning blazed across the sky followed moments later by a loud crack of thunder.

Abi sat bolt upright.

“It’s okay, babe.” He reached for her, hugging her to his side. “Just another storm.”

The lightning storms were now a nightly occurrence, as fierce as they were brief. Often no rain accompanied them, just dazzling lightning and deafening thunder. For three nights now, they’d been woken from their cave-protected sleep by nature’s brilliant display.

A flash of light lit up the sky and he looked over at their gear, packed up and ready for their dawn departure. Abigail’s knee was now healed, and he was anxious to get moving again. Leaving the safety of their cave seemed ludicrous, but they had no choice. It was obvious they’d never be rescued if they stayed here.

The storm abated as quickly as it had started, and they settled back to sleep.

He awoke to a weird gagging sound, and it took him a moment to realise Abi was vomiting over the cliff. He crawled to her and pulled her hair back from her face. “Are you okay?”

She rested back on her heels, and he looked into her eyes. “I don’t think last night’s frog meat agreed with me. I only just made it to the edge.”

“Well, it’s lucky you didn’t toss yourself right off.”

He helped her back to the bed and she drank a few mouthfuls of water.

“I feel better now.”

He glanced at the luggage, concerned they might now be delayed. They’d already been here six weeks, and without any further helicopter sightings Mackenzie was determined to get going again. Today was to be the day. He hoped Abi was still up to it. “Will you be okay?”

“I am now. Let’s go before the sun comes up.”

The eastern sky was already a faint orange glow kissing the land and soon the sun would shine its morning rays. With reluctance he tugged the parachute from the cave edge. They couldn’t afford to leave it behind, it may come in handy in the coming journey. He helped Abi wedge the last of their clothing into the rolling suitcase and hitched his backpack over his shoulder. “Ready?” He clipped the pack around his waist.

She looked around the cave one last time and nodded. “Ready.”

Mackenzie touched a new torch to the glowing embers, and it quickly sprang to life. They followed the now familiar tunnels to the opposite side of the cliff and stepped out on the lush grass as the sun cracked the horizon and glistened in the treetops.

The following days became a monotonous cycle of rugged walking on uneven and sometimes treacherous ground, hunting for food, making fires and finding a place to sleep. The nights were oppressive with humidity and brief but ferocious storms.

Mackenzie’s body ached, red lumps all over his skin itched mercilessly and the blisters on his feet had long ago burst open to leave angry red sores. But he couldn’t stop; the force driving him was relentless. They couldn’t live like this for much longer.

It was like a giant clock was ticking down on their lives.

The terrain changed from a vine riddled jungle, with enormous, century old trees, to fields of condensed shrubs with pointed leaves and masses of brittle branches.

Underbrush of robust grass sliced his exposed skin like razor blades, forcing him to wear long pants and long sleeves that made the already unbearable heat feel worse. They walked first thing in the morning and late in the afternoon, seeking shade in between to avoid the hottest part of the day.

Mackenzie lost count of how many days they’d travelled since leaving the cave. The winding river remained a constant companion on their right-hand side, but frequent sightings of crocodile tracks stopped them from venturing into the dirty water.

So far, he hadn’t seen any of the creatures that left the enormous, clawed footprints, but he often heard their lion-like roar and gnashing teeth. He was grateful for the cargo net bed that kept them high off the ground each night.

Abi flopped down onto the ground, panting with exhaustion. “I need to rest.”

He whipped off his backpack and handed her a bottle of water. Her energy levels were significantly lower than the stamina she’d displayed when they left the wreck. Each day she needed more rest stops, and her ragged breathing was a constant reminder that malnutrition might be their demise.

Their diet mainly consisted of meat, such as snails and witchetty grubs, goanna and the occasional bird—barbequed frog had been their last meal at around noon yesterday—but their fruit intake was minimal. Kakadu Plums and bush tomatoes were a rare treat.

Mackenzie had failed to spear a young goanna the night before, despite stalking it to within two metres. His spear was off target and without any real force. His strength was leaching out of him too. Starvation would be a slow and pathetic way to die after what they’d already been through.

“Are you okay?” He sidled up next to her on the grass.

“No. I’m exhausted and hungry.”

“Mmm, me too.” Surveying their surroundings, he yearned for something of substance. “Let me hook up the bed and I’ll see what I can find.”

For once she didn’t argue and with the bed secured between two trees, he set off, marking notches in the trees as he went. Staying close to the river, wary of crocodiles, he soon came across an area where the river created a small inland eddy. The murky water swirled around in slow endless loops .

As he traced around the water’s edge, he was mesmerised by the whirlpool. A rustling noise caught his attention. He crouched down, listening. He couldn’t see the creature but hoped it was a scrub turkey or something else substantial. As he braced to creep forward, a crocodile suddenly appeared at the top of a large mound of dried mud. He froze, eyes wide, not daring to breathe.

The three-metre crocodile moved with precise steps, its solid body sashaying from side to side. Its mouth was wide open, and it panted like an exhausted dog as it walked toward the river. The enormous beast glided headfirst into the water until its scaly body was completely submerged. Its muscular tail gave one final swish as the crocodile disappeared beneath the murky water. Mackenzie bolted, running at a ninety-degree angle away from the river but stealing glances over his shoulder.

At the top of the bank, he paused to look back at the crocodile’s entrance point into the river, desperately wanting his escape to have gone unnoticed. A scattering of white objects in a mound of twigs caught his eye.

It couldn’t be .

He risked a couple of steps closer, and his breath caught in his throat. Perched upon the mound, nestled within the compressed twigs and mud, lay several eggs that were about the size of goose eggs.

Crocodile eggs.

Mackenzie’s heart raced. Are we desperate enough? Hell, yes.

He made a snap decision. The crocodile could be back at any time. It was now or never. His heart thumped as he inched closer and removed the backpack from his shoulder. Without another thought, he raced in and snatched six exposed eggs, placing them one by one into the pack.

Two more eggs were just visible beneath the dirt, and he scanned the water while frantically scratching at the mound. With the two extra eggs tucked in the pack, he held the bag out in front of him and ran like a soldier with a bullseye on his back.

“Holy shit!” Yelling with excitement, he dodged branches and jumped small bushes with athletic leaps. But he needed to head back toward the river at some point or he’d never find his way back to Abi. Eventually he slowed and with the hairs on his neck standing on end, crept toward the river .

Satisfied he was alone, he quickened his pace, arrived at the water’s edge and turned to travel along the bank.

He spotted the rocks he’d shaped into an arrow, showing him the direction home, and increased his speed following his markings. When he was close to Abi he called out. “Abi ... Abi. You won’t believe it.”

Abi sat cross legged in the cargo net bed when he burst into the clearing. “I found crocodile eggs.”

“Jesus. What about the mother?”

“You should have seen her. She was enormous, about three metres long. I waited till she was in the river then I raced in and grabbed them. There were more but I only took eight. I thought I was going to have a heart attack when I ran out of there.”

“You’re crazy. Won’t she be able to track them down?”

“I don’t think so, but I reckon we should move away from here before we eat them, just in case.”

“Can you eat them?”

“Well, I didn’t nab them for juggling.”

“I’m serious. Have you ever heard of anyone eating crocodile eggs?”

“Of course,” he lied. “Come on, get down from there. I want to get out of here.”

Mackenzie helped her out of the net, and she looked into the backpack. “They look just like big chicken eggs.”

He quickly unhooked the net, rolled it into a swag, and then tied it onto his backpack. “Let’s go.”

As he led her away from the river, he was confident the compass would help him find the water again. The hot air captured within the dense shrubs smothered them like a feather quilt and sweat oozed from his pores, tickling fine hairs as it seeped down his lower back. But he pushed on, determined to put some distance between them and the crocodile.

After a while, the vegetation thinned out and he breathed a sigh of relief as they arrived at an unusual circular-shaped clearing covered in lime green grass that looked expertly groomed.

“It’s like an oasis.” Abi said just what he’d been thinking.

It was an ideal place to stop. At the edge of the clearing, they found two trees a suitable distance apart to hook up the cargo net as a makeshift shade cloth, shielding them from the ruthless sun. They lay on the warm grass and his body melted into the ground. His aching muscles relaxed and as he stretched out flat, his back bones cracked releasing pent-up tension.

Abi quietly flopped down beside him. Usually she babbled nonstop, a trait he found to be one of her most endearing. They had a similar sense of humour and appreciated each other’s jokes, making light of their daily torture. But she was growing quieter and, as each day passed, more introverted.

He placed his hand on her arm. “How are you going?”

“I’m fine. Hungry, though.”

“Good, ‘cause I’m cooking us up some croc eggs,” he said in a sing-song manner.

Abi laughed.

Her laughter lifted his spirits, and he squeezed her hand. “I’ll start a fire. You rest up.”

While gathering wood under the nearby trees, he stumbled upon a small bush with bunches of red berries hanging heavily upon its olive-green branches. He broke off a branch and briefly studied the berries, noting their firm texture. He returned to Abi with the branch.

“Hey, Abi, where’s Charlie’s journal? I found some berries.”

She removed the leather-bound book from her pack.

“Find the antioxidant.” He sniffed the leaves. They smelled a little like cloves.

“Here it is.” She folded the book open.

Mackenzie laid the branch beside the page and compared the drawings and notes with the real specimen. The leaf was unmistakable with jagged edges that narrowed to a point, like a grape leaf. As described in the journal the berries were the same blood red colour and they were the size of a blueberry.

“I think this is it.”

“Are you sure?” Abi’s eyes glowed.

“Only one way to find out.” Mackenzie shrugged. He’d volunteered as the guinea pig for so many bush specimens he wondered if his chef’s palate would ever be the same. He plucked a couple of berries off the branch, tossed them into his mouth, winked at Abi and chewed. The leathery skin popped as he bit down and a sweet cranberry taste with a nutty overtone oozed onto his tongue. It was a pleasant surprise .

“And?” Abi asked.

“Well, I’m not dead yet.”

She thumped him in the shoulder. They’d debated a long time ago about testing new foods. Despite her reluctance they agreed that Abi would wait at least half a day after Mackenzie had eaten before she ate anything new. The wait would be difficult this time though as they’d eaten nothing but meat for many days.

“What are we going to do with the eggs?” he asked, distracting her.

Her eyes lit up. “I don’t know, what do you think?”

“I think we should boil one first and see what it’s like inside.”

“I’ll help with the fire.” Abi built the fire like an expert, starting with kindling at the bottom and increasing the size of the twigs she piled on top. She ignited dried grass with the camera lens and the flames grew by the second.

Mackenzie threw a large log onto the crackling flames. He secured the water-filled bowl between two logs in the fire and assessed its stability. Bubbles soon developed at the edges.

The egg’s heavy weight seemed out of proportion with its size as he eased it into the tepid water. It bobbed up and down like a cork and he decided the longer it boiled the better. After about ten minutes, he used two sticks to fish it out, and then crushed the shell and peeled it away to reveal white flesh inside. “It looks like a normal egg.” He raised one eyebrow.

She licked her lips. “Slice it open.”

He cut into the egg and was surprised the middle looked just like a boiled chicken egg. “Holy shit, it looks okay.” Mackenzie had half expected to see a small reptile curled up inside. He picked it up and gasped at the rancid smell, like a combination of eggs and anchovies that’d been in the sun for days. “Oh God … that’s disgusting.”

“Let me smell.” Abi recoiled after a quick whiff. “Is it off?”

“I don’t think so, but it’s going to taste like shit. Bon appétit.” He opened his mouth.

“No, wait. Let’s do it together. I need to eat something and if I see you gagging, I won’t be able to eat it.”

Determination flared in her eyes as she reached for the other half.

“Ready … set … go.” The bitterness stung his tongue, and the comb ination of the rubbery texture and overpowering fish taste made his eyes water. His throat constricted.

“That’s shit.” He choked it down.

Abi’s face contorted and she held her hand over her mouth. He recalled the first time he made her eat a mushroom. She’d gagged violently and then spat it out. Eventually she had no choice but to eat them and they were now a regular part of their diet.

Mackenzie fetched a water bottle. “We’ve eaten some pretty wretched stuff out here, but that takes the cake.”

Abi nodded, still struggling to swallow.

“I think I’ll make an omelette with the rest, and we can imagine it’s combined with freshly smoked salmon.”

Abi’s eyes bulged as she finally swallowed. “Oh God, that’s disgusting.” She stuck out her tongue. White flecks were still visible. “Do you still think they’re okay?”

“Yep.” Mackenzie hoped he conveyed conviction in his voice.

They needed this food and taste wasn’t a priority when it came to survival.

That night was the first in over a week it didn’t rain, but that was the only good news.

With the dreadful food churning in his stomach, Mackenzie hoped they weren’t going to regret eating those eggs come the middle of the night.