Page 54 of Lost In Kakadu

As he stared into the cold ashes, he thought that maybe, like him, she needed to keep busy. “Do you want to help get the fire going?”

“Not particularly.”

Mackenzie shook his head in confusion, threw his hands in the air and walked into the bush to gather wood.

Once the fire was raging, he performed his now familiar routine of making damper. Charlie was still asleep when breakfast was ready, and he took a moment to check on him. His skin was morbidly pale, almost translucent and his brow beaded with sweat. Mackenzie recoiled at the temperature of his forehead.

“Abigail! Get the Panadol and some water.”

She arrived moments later, and Mackenzie popped two pills out of the blister pack. Once again, he was hit with a complete sense of inadequacy. A couple of painkillers barely even touched the surface of what Charlie really needed. “Help me.” He handed the tablets to her and prised the old man’s jaw open.

Abigail threw the two tablets onto his pasty tongue, followed by a mouthful of water. Charlie choked on the liquid and Mackenzie clamped his jaw shut forcing him to swallow. The old man’s bloodshot eyes sprang open, and he stared blankly at Mackenzie.

“It’s okay, buddy. Just giving you some medicine.” He wiped sweat from Charlie’s forehead. “Go back to sleep.”

Charlie closed his eyes and Mackenzie sat back on his haunches watching him for a while. A short time later, Charlie began to snore.

Back at the fire, Abigail placed her hands on her hips and spun toward him. “I thought you had a good feeling about today.”

“I do.” He gave a confident nod, hoping it masked his trepidation.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Abigail slumped beside the fire and with each fresh application of makeup she allowed her mind to drift from the present. Returning to her own world for a moment, she imagined laughing with her friends over a glass of wine and welcomed the brief deception.

It took her a moment to work out it was Thursday. She normally played tennis on a Thursday. She thought about her friends running around the court, working up a sweat. But where she sat right now, even though it was in the shade, was probably the hottest place she’d ever been.

Never again am I going to complain about the heat.

A loud crash interrupted her thoughts and she turned to the wreck in time to see one of the plane’s seats fall out the back. Curious, she headed toward it and jumped when a second seat tumbled from the cabin.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like? I’m tearing out the seats.”

“But why?”

“You’ll see.”

She shrugged and returned to the fire, sitting with her back to the plane. Mackenzie’s heavy footfalls sounded behind her and seconds laterhe arrived at her side dragging a chair behind him. He fixed the chair on its base and sat on it with his feet toward the fire. “Aah.” A smile lit up his face.

“Clever.”

He jumped up and offered her the seat. “Your throne, madam.”.

She slipped into the seat and sighed. It was absolute luxury after the case of beans. “It’s wonderful.”

He dragged another seat over to the opposite side of the fire and sat facing her. The heat wave across the fire distorted his image, and despite his now almost complete beard she couldn’t miss his look of satisfaction.

Maybe today will be good after all.

With a third seat in place, Mackenzie again disappeared into the back of the plane. After a multitude of groaning and loud popping noises, he walked toward her looping a strand of blue wire over his arm. “A clothesline.”

“Great. If we actually had water to wash the clothes.”

“Mmm, you’re right.” He paused mid stride. “I have another idea.”

Studying an area beyond the clearing he eventually seemed happy with his choice and wrapped the wire around three triangulated trees. Abigail was intrigued by his smug grin but didn’t ask.

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