Page 112 of Lost In Kakadu

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 layon 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.”

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