Page 29 of Lost In Kakadu

She averted her eyes.

“Look, we’re just like any couple. I looked forward to Rodney coming home each night, we shared everything and enjoyed each other’s company. No different to you and Spencer.”

She looked at him blankly as if confused by his comments.

“Forget it. You’ll never understand.” He collected a backpack and tossed in the last two water bottles along with all the empty bottles, the army knife, and his underwear. “Let’s get going. We don’t know how long it’ll take to find the other half of the plane.” He swung the pack over his shoulder. “Are you coming?”

The plane’s path of destruction was easy to find but the dense vegetation made it difficult to follow. Mackenzie led the way, pushing back branches as he went. He paused at an enormous eucalyptus tree to tie a pair of his jockey shorts to a low hanging branch.

Abigail looked at him, wide eyed.

He shrugged. “In case we have trouble finding our way back.”

The stifling heat made him feel claustrophobic as they crept amongst the dense foliage. At least the shade offered some relief. The tree canopy was like intricate lace and the sun only penetrated through in narrow patches.

Mackenzie tried to ignore Abigail’s constant groaning, but it was impossible.

Almost every step she made was accompanied with a complaint of some sort. A plant with a bunch of green fruits dangling below a gnarled branch caught his eye. Pinching one of the fruits he noted its peachy consistency but resisted the urge to taste it.

He didn’t fancy getting food poisoning out here.

Instead, he marked the tree with another pair of underpants.

When Abigail caught up to him, he pushed past the bush and continued on. A few steps later he stopped at a large square can partially embedded in the damp earth. He turned it over and thick amber liquid dribbled from a crushed corner.

“Great, we have vegetable oil.” He secured it upright. “We’ll collect it on the way back.”

Up ahead a white cylinder was tangled in amongst a bush with enormous leaves and he trudged through thick bushes to get to it. “Hey Abi, we’ve got powdered milk.”

“My name is Abigail.” Her lips were knotted in a scowl

“What’s wrong with you now?”

“You’re deliberately flinging those branches at me.”

“What?” He rolled his eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“I’m not. They hurt.”

He held back a large branch and directed her ahead. “Well, you go first then.”

“I will.” She stormed past him.

Placing the tin on the ground, he marked the nearest tree and then followed behind her as she grunted with exaggerated movements through the bush. She pushed through a spindly branch, and it whipped back giving Mackenzie only a split second to avoid the side swipe.

“See?” Abigail wobbled her head.

“What?” He feigned ignorance.

A little while later he saw a bag stuck halfway up a tree. “Look at that.” The case rested on a large branch about four metres off the ground.

“How do we get it?”

“It’s too high to worry about now.” He directed her in front of him again. “Let’s keep moving.”

“No, you can go first. I’m getting tired.” Sweat dampened her temples and her fringe clung to her forehead like rats’ tails.

He swung the backpack from his shoulder. “Want a drink?”

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