Page 19 of Lost In Kakadu

He glared at her.“You’ve got to be kidding. The fucking plane crashed, and you want me to be careful with your case.” He shook his head. “Help me make the hole bigger.”

“There’s no need to swear at me.” She pouted her lips.

Mackenzie pulled the metal, and it was a fierce tug of war to finally make it large enough for him to climb through.

He dropped into the narrow space and in the back corner a holeabout the size of a milk crate had been punched through the plane’s wall, giving him just enough light to see around.

The petrol fumes were suffocating, but gasping through the stench, he reached for the floral case and wrestled it through the hole. “Grab the handle. Pull!”

“I am!”

Finally, it passed through the hole and landed with a thud above him. He crawled to the next case, repeating the process. With all the cases removed it revealed a cargo net stretched across the back of the hold, shielding a jumble of cardboard boxes.

“Hey, we have baked beans.”

“What?”

“We have food.” The netting fell into a crumpled heap as he pulled it down.

A burnished brown sack was wedged into a corner, he tugged it free. “There’s flour, too.”

“Flowers?”

Mackenzie bit back a sarcastic reply. The next bag was made of thick, brown paper and white crystals flowed from the crushed corner.Sugar. He manipulated the bag upright, careful not to lose any more grains and then scooped up what had spilled out.

“What are you doing?” Abigail’s voice was distant above him.

“Collecting spilled sugar.”

“What else is in there?”

Beyond the box of baked beans was a large wooden crate. He choked back petrol infused air as he crawled toward it. Several wooden planks on the crate had shattered in the crash and he peeled one back. It screeched as the nail released its hold and popped free. He repeated the process with the next one and a metal cylinder rolled out. In the dim light its circular lid looked like a dulled headlight.

He gathered the tin and read the label.Yes!“We have coffee. I hope you like International Roast.”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

Of course you haven’t.Reaching into the crate, he removed seven more coffee tins to reveal a parcel wrapped in black plastic. The vacuum sealed black film gave him little indication of what was inside. Using the knife, he sliced across the plastic.

The smell hit him like a long-forgotten nightmare.

Although he hadn’t smoked marijuana since he was a teenager, he’d never forget its pungent smell. Resting on his haunches he absorbed the enormity of the find.

“What else is in there?” Abigail jolted him back to the present.

“You don’t want to know,” he mumbled to himself.

The plastic covered bundle was about the size of two beer cartons, and he knew from experience that if it was full of dried marijuana then it was worth a lot of money.

This changed their situation drastically.

“Are you okay?” He couldn’t decide if she was frustrated or concerned.

Hiding the drugs from Abigail was an option, however their presence affected them both, so she needed to know. But he had no intention of removing the plastic bundles until they discussed what to do with them.

“I’m coming now.” Gathering two coffee tins, he crawled to the opening and handed them through the hole. Once he’d passed all the food to Abigail, he crawled out of the stifling hole.

By the time they finished unloading the last parcel from the plane the sun was a searing hot ball above them and his hunger pains twisted as if they could smell the food.

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