Page 48 of Lost In Kakadu

His mind was thick with anxiety as he mulled over who would lay where in the grave.

He climbed from the hole and stretched flat out on the warm grass. His chest heaved as he gasped for breath and black stars darted across his eyes. Sparks spun on his eyelids in dizzying circles.

“Are you okay?” Abigail asked. “You don’t feel sick, do you?”

“I’m fine. Just exhausted. I think it’s finished.”

Abigail groaned. “Oh God.”

“What?”

“Now we have to move them.”

As he thought about what he had to do next, bile rose from his stomach and caught in his throat. A fine layer of glass surrounded his sanity. It was fragile, and one wrong move would shatter it to a million pieces. For the third time in his life, he was burying someone he loved.

He rolled away from Abigail and wondered if he would make it out of the dark reaches of hell safely this time. He felt so alone.

A kookaburra sang overhead. Its joyous laughter mocked his heartbreak. The sound reminded him of Rodney. His laughter was always louder than it needed to be, as if it was important for him to show howcarefree he was, despite his serious job as a lawyer. Mackenzie began to giggle. He rolled onto his back roaring with laughter and although Abigail stared at him open-mouthed, he couldn’t contain himself.

“What on earth could be so funny?”

“That kookaburra sounded just like Rodney, and I imagined him laughing at this ridiculous situation.” He wiped away laughter tears. “Sorry. I couldn’t help it.”

“What kookaburra?”

He pointed in the direction of the bird. “It was right there.”

But the kookaburra was nowhere to be seen. He frowned as he studied the canopy. A slight breeze tickled the sweat-dampened hairs on the back of his neck. He shivered.

“I still don’t see it.” She stared in the direction he’d pointed. “Um, maybe you’re hallucinating from those damn mushrooms.”

“It was right there.” Mackenzie scanned the tree line, but the bird didn’t materialise.

A smile curved the corners of his mouth, and he bowed his head in Rodney’s honour.

Chapter Twenty

The pounding in Charlie’s head beat to an odd rhythm and he willed it to go away. He forced his eyes open and stared at the shredded undercarriage above him. The brutal recollection of their plans before he blacked out made him panic. With a shaky hand, he touched his chest and with instant relief he felt the rough bandage.

He heard laughter and turned to see Mackenzie rolling on the ground, cackling hysterically. Charlie concluded that he must’ve consumed the last of the rum. No other scenario would arouse laughter in their current situation. His bundle of letters caught his eye and he attempted to reach for them, but intense pain unleashed a tortured scream. Seconds later Mackenzie and Abigail were at his side.

“Hey, buddy. How’re you feeling?” Mackenzie squatted beside him.

He silently nodded, wrestling with swirling nausea. “My chest doesn’t hurt as much as my head.”

“Rum will do that to you. But you’re in luck. We found some pain killers at the back of the plane. I’ll get them.” Mackenzie ducked his head as he left the makeshift bedroom.

Abigail pushed the letter bundle closer to him and Charlie rested his hand on the pile. She looked like she wanted to say something but thankfully she didn’t.

Charlie wasn’t ready to answer questions just yet. They remained in uncomfortable silence until Mackenzie returned.

“Here, take a couple of these. At least you’ll have one less pain to worry about.” Mackenzie popped out two pills and handed them over with water.

Charlie battled to suppress a cough as the warm water slid down his throat. “Thank you.” He peered into Mackenzie’s eyes and saw pity in them, as if he possessed a divine knowledge of his impending future. He looked away. Mackenzie’s sad eyes hurt more than the throbbing headache.

“Are you hungry?”

He nodded, knowing that opening his mouth would release flood gates he didn’t want to open. Mackenzie squeezed his shoulder and left his side. Abigail followed, leaving Charlie alone in his cargo net shanty.

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