Page 14 of Lost In Kakadu

“Shit, lady! What’s wrong with you?” He glared up at her. “I’m collecting the dirt covered in petrol.”

“Oh. You startled me.”

He scooped handfuls of wet dirt into the toiletries bag and as he carried it back to the bags, he listened for a plane, or any sign he was about to be rescued.

But it was silent, too silent. Fighting a wave of frustration crawling through his veins, he reached for a black canvas bag labelled Toni Walker and smiled as he removed a lighter.

“Thank you, Toni.”

Scraps of paper were everywhere. He gathered a small pile and a collection of sticks along with a huge branch that appeared to have been broken off in the collision as its shredded end still beaded ambercoloured sap.

He sprinkled the fuel laden dirt in a circle and layered the paper, twigs, and tree branch over the top. He flicked the lighter and soon the fire was so big he had to move back.

Abigail arrived at his side and held the three-quarter full bottle toward him. “The drips have stopped.”

“Good work. We need more wood to keep this going all night. Come and help me.” He foraged in the bushes and when his arms were full, he shoved the bundle toward Abigail. She hesitated, then with a scowl, she wrapped her arms around them, scurried back to the fire and tossed them on the flames. Sparks shot into the air.

“Watch it!” Mackenzie yelled. “We don’t want sparks on the plane.”

She turned, pouting. “You do it then.”

“Christ. Do you have to be such a pain in the fucking arse?”

She jabbed a long red fingernail toward him. “Don’t use your gutter language on me.”

“You’ll be grateful for my fire when you’re freezing your arse off at four in the morning.”

Her eyes darted from the fire to the plane, then a smug expression crossed her face. “It’s too far from the plane to give us any heat.”

Damn. She’s right. “At least it’ll give us light when we need to do a piss.”

She stiffened.

Ha! She hadn’t thought of that.

She stomped away and sat on a suitcase with her arms folded across her chest.

Mackenzie continued gathering wood, and each time he glanced in her direction, she was either applying another layer of makeup or checking her phone.

The phone was a waste of time, he’d already tried.

Sunset came quickly as a grand display of gold and red that blazed through the tree canopy. Then, as if a heavy blanket had descended upon them, they were consumed by darkness.

Mackenzie dragged a large log near the fire and sitting on it, held his hands toward the flames. The heat warmed his fingers, and the twisting flames were mesmerising. He sat in silence for a long time before Abigail finally approached.

“Sorry for the way I behaved earlier. I should’ve helped with the wood.”

“It’s okay. You can help tomorrow.” He paused. “What’s your hurry for makeup anyway?”

Her eyes bulged in apparent shock. “Because I looked hideous.”

The glow from the fire cast a yellow tinge onto Abigail’s pale skin. He guessed her age at about forty-five but with no age lines he suspected she used Botox. The black smudges under her eyes were now gone and she’d smoothed her hair.

As Mackenzie poked the fire, instigating a spiral of sparks, hunger pains churned his stomach. “Hey, where’d we put that Snickers bar?”

Her eyes snapped wide, and her hand went to her mouth. “I, um … ate it.”

“You what?”

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