Page 96 of Lost In Kakadu

Chapter Forty-Five

Mackenzie woke with a start and a sting on his foot convinced him something was wrong. The fire had long ago died, and he scanned the blackness, listening for a clue to his fear. His arm was numb from the weight of Abi’s head, and he flexed his fingers as he gradually slid it out from under her neck. She rolled onto her back but remained asleep.

Complete darkness heightened his senses, and he sat up shaking his hand to fend off the tingling sensation down his arm. He wiped his legs but snapped back when he brushed something hairy on his thigh.

Cringing as he strained to see what it was, he gingerly felt along his leg until he touched it again. He flicked at it, but it remained stuck.It’s a large hairy caterpillar.Like the ones they’d seen the other day. Pinching it between his fingers, he peeled it off and tossed it into the blackness.

Then he found another one. “Abi, wake up!”

She snapped awake. “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve got caterpillars on me.”

“What?”

“I’ve just found a couple of those hairy caterpillars on me so check your legs too.”

She jumped up and seconds later began cursing as she stomped her feet.

The creatures clung to him everywhere, his arms, his legs, his chest.

He ripped them off but each one left dozens of tiny spines in his flesh like he’d been wrestling a cactus.

“Let’s get out of here.” He grabbed Abi’s arm and led her out of their tree shelter. His outstretched hand searched the blackness for invisible obstacles. They crouched down to avoid the low hanging branches and he sensed rather than saw when they were in the open.

“Keep checking.” He brushed his backside.

“Jesus, they’re everywhere.”

When he was certain he’d removed them all, he reached for Abi and as he checked her back, the sounds of her sobbing broke his heart.

“It’s okay, honey.”

“No, it’s not. This is shit.”

“They’re just caterpillars. It could be much worse!”

“Yeah. How?”

“Um … they could be scorpions.”

“Jesus, Mack! You didn’t have to tell me that.”

Mackenzie ran his hands through her long hair, cupped her neck and then kissed her forehead. “Sorry.” He hugged her as she wept into his chest.

Their pitch-black surroundings meant it was still some time before sunrise, but it would be impossible to go back to sleep. Certain they’d ridded themselves of all the caterpillars, they reluctantly sat down in the dirt, backs together, and anxiously waited for the darkness to fade. Mackenzie began to pull the tiny spines from his skin with his fingernails and teeth. With the sheer numbers he found, it was likely to keep him entertained until morning.

He started scratching just before the sun cut a golden sash across the horizon and he didn’t stop even when he began to bleed.

“I chose the wrong night to sleep with my shirt off.” His skin was crawling with fire, and he curled into a ball on the dirt, closed his eyes and willed the nightmare to be over.

Abi sighed with relief when the birds sang to the arrival of the morning sun. She twisted from side to side to loosen her back and ran her dirtyhand over her aching neck. The water bottle was at her feet. She reached for it and sipped a small ration.

“Do you want some?” She held the bottle over to Mackenzie who was still behind her, but he didn’t move. She crawled to him, and her heart jumped to her throat.

“Mack? What’s wrong?”

His eyes were tilted to the back of his head, saliva ran from the corner of his mouth, and he twitched with spasms. “Jesus, Mack. Talk to me.” She collected his head into her lap and flinched at how hot he was. His body was beaded with sweat.

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