Three and a half years post isolation David, as always accompanied by his latest Kelpie, stood on the hillock, his favourite vantage point from the very early days. He was quietly confident. The community had pulled together far beyond his expectations. There was sufficient food, no violence, the school was operating as normal, and several people were completing university courses. So far there had been no sign of Fred, Bill, Demetriou, or Lance, all of whom held possible grudges. Two hundred hectares of the property's northern bush had been cleared and was now productive. The food store was gradually being filled, preparing for the possibility of leaner years.
The community was very active. Mark had maintained a high standard of readiness in The Academy; there were parties in the community centre at least monthly; and, the dramatic society always had one play in production and one in rehearsal. There were several pop bands and regular gymkhanas, supervised by Chloe and a very active sporting fraternity.
David, very fit for a seventy-four year old, was still active in the community, although he wondered from time to time when he should formally hand the leadership reins over to Tanya. There were also a number of the younger Bower fraternity who were capable of playing a wider role. And he still regularly visited Caroline at The Bandstand.
A boy was running up the hill to where David stood. He could see from his urgency that some new crisis needed his attention. David quietly walked down the incline; he felt ready to cope with anything, except what he was about to have to face.
'It's Caroline,' said the breathless boy. 'There's been a raid on The Bandstand. She's badly injured and Tanya has gone to help her.'
David went icy cold inside.
Some hours later a bloodstained and barely conscious Caroline was brought to the hospital, supported by Tanya and three others. 'Raid—Demetriou, Bill … another from here … dozens more. Bandstand men … dead, except one or two … escaped to bush. Women raped, taken away … buildings burnt. All stock taken. Will come here … next,' Caroline jerkily and breathlessly told her story as she was taken in for emergency treatment.
David was too traumatised to help much, so Tanya firmly took charge. 'I will take twenty Academy people, at least fifteen women to assist with the injured and traumatised women and girls. We leave in an hour. See if you can find Derain,' she said to Kim, 'I think we might need him.'
When Mark had been briefed, he declared, 'Code Red emergency, all able-bodied members of the community will be called up. A camp will be established near the eastern gate, and we will run regular patrols like we have planned.'
Tanya left him to it while she focussed on the readiness of her team. While she was apprehensive as to what she might find, Tanya was confident she'd be able to deal with it. They had trained for this. She was clear that this was no time for niceties and planned for ruthless action, eliminating any future threat.
Barely noticed by the rest of the community, busy making preparations of their own, the group clattered out of the yard. Derain had persuaded Chloe, over the years, to teach him the rudiments of riding a horse. He was still not particularly comfortable on horseback, but he could see the urgency of the situation and made up, with Tanya, the twenty-second member of the group.
Every person had had extensive military training; they were well dressed in hard wearing jodhpurs and riding boots, all had leather jackets and a bush hat. Kim, having completed her medical training, was the official doctor responsible for leading the pack horse with the requisite medical equipment. Food, horse fodder, clothes, and tents were carried by other packhorses. All had the short-barrelled, army-issue automatic rifle and a large, sharp bush knife. Axes, ropes, and saws were scattered through the group.
Tanya led the group at a cracking pace up the hill and through the gate, stopping to camp when it became too dark to see. They couldn't believe the sight that greeted them when they arrived at The Bandstand at noon on the third day after Caroline's arrival. There were bodies of men shot to pieces and just left where they had died. Many of the buildings had been burnt down and all the stock had disappeared. The vegetable garden had been trampled.
Tanya said in a business-like way, trying not to show her horror at the sight that greeted them, 'They have taken all the women, cattle, horses, and sheep, as Caroline told us.'
One of the men in the posse started a solar-powered bobcat and was in the process of digging a large hole slightly away from the houses. 'Mass grave,' he explained. 'Maybe someone should identify each person before we bury them.'
Derain had scouted ahead and returned by mid-afternoon. 'Maybe four hundred head of cattle, many sheep, and plenty horses. At least twenty-five men. Women be made to walk barefoot behind, thirty or more.'
During the day, ten Bandstand settlers emerged from the surrounding bush, both men and women.
A tearful woman recounted the horror, 'They came in the middle of the night, so we were completely unprepared. The men who resisted were just shot and some of us ran into the bush. Most of the women were raped, tied up, and marched off with the stock.'
The fifty bodies were gently placed in the mass grave after being identified. A short service was held before they were covered in earth.
'Did you see any of the raiders?' asked Tanya,
'Definitely Demetriou. And a man who was here for a few months called Rolfe. I thought I heard Bill's voice, but by then I had escaped. We had no chance. Has there been any sign of Caroline? I saw her riding away.'
'She raised the alarm, but is now in the hospital quite badly hurt,' answered Tanya.
'What do you want to do?' asked Tanya of the traumatised group. 'You can stay here, or we can offer you an escort back to The Settlement.'
'What are you going to do?' Tanya was asked.
'Catch up with that bunch of renegades and teach them a lesson they will never forget, if any of them survive. We'll bring all your women and stock back safely, I promise you,' she said fiercely.
'They already had quite a lot of stock with them. They must have raided other places before coming here.'
'Any other people?' asked Tanya frowning.
'Didn't see any, but we weren't really looking.'
'I wasn't aware of any other communities nearby,' said Tanya.
The Bandstand people decided to stay put. 'The raiders didn't find the food storage area. Thank God David insisted on us having it. We'll have to start thinking about rebuilding. How long do you think Caroline will be out of action?'
'Some weeks I expect,' answered Tanya. She looked at them in admiration. They could easily have chickened out and retired to the relative safety of The Settlement.
'Caroline will expect us to get on with things; we mostly know what to do.'
'We'll head off early. I'll send for some help for you, so expect it within the week. I don't think you'll be troubled again, but please be cautious. You should all sleep in one or two houses, and keep an armed guard on at night. It might take us a week or more to sort out the raiders and return the stock. Hopefully, we'll take them by surprise with our quick response.
Tanya asked Derain to lead the group as they started off the next morning.
'Track five day old,' he told them. But with the number of cattle, they were easy to follow. 'Stop here, one night, see all cowpats, move very slow.'
The posse moved quickly, and within two days, Derain was able to tell them, 'Cows only two, three hour ahead. I think will stop soon, maybe stay one, two day in that place. Rain, water plenty here.' He pointed up to a tree-covered mountain. 'Plenty grass as well.'
Tanya called a halt. 'Time to camp. Kim, if you could find a suitable place. Derain and six of us will go scouting. We want to mount a surprise attack. When we fully understood the situation, we'll strike. Our objective is threefold—one, rescue the women; two, kill all the raiders; and three, take all the stock back.'
'Shouldn't we take the raiders captive?' asked one.
'And then!' expostulated Tanya. 'We have nowhere to keep them, for heaven's sake! I want them all dead unless there are exceptional circumstances. You saw what they did to our friends. They showed no mercy and nor should we.'
Tanya and her group of scouts had a quick meal before following the stock's spoor.
'Maybe more than twenty-five men,' said Derain, pointing. 'I am counting forty women, see all footprint.'
Once they could hear the lowing and bleating of animals, Tanya called a halt. 'Derain, go ahead. We'll all wait here.'
Two hours later Derain returned.
'Will stop here for two, three days. People know cattle and are making sure all have water. Women told fetch firewood, but can't run away. Men have taken all clothes.'
'The bastards, just wait until I get my hands on them … ' said a female voice.
'I have plan,' Derain continued. 'These,' he waved a large bunch of deep green leaves, 'if put in boil water, maybe for tea, will make people sleep very deep. Maybe then we can take women away.'
Tanya thought for a moment, and then said, without any emotion, 'We must get these leaves into the hands of some of the women, but we don't want to frighten them or alert their captors. So three of us well known to the women will scout around and see if we can pass the leaves on. It's almost dusk, so we need to get a move on.'
Tanya ran rapidly through the bush. She caught a glimpse of an almost naked female picking up wood and approached carefully. The woman looked up, and was ready to flee, when Tanya grabbed her and firmly clamped a hand over her mouth. There was a fierce struggle.
'Natalie, it's Tanya! We're here to help you,' Tanya whispered. The struggles stopped as Natalie recognised Tanya's voice, almost collapsing into her arms. 'Look, you must be very brave. I need you to return with all this firewood as if nothing has happened. Then you must make tea for the men and put these leaves in the water. It will put them to sleep.'
Natalie looked at Tanya. 'They will rape us again tonight. You must help us before that happens.'
'How many men?'
'Maybe thirty.'
'How many of you women?'
'Forty-one.'
'There are twenty of us, so we won't be able to take them on directly. This way we'll make sure you can all escape and we can get every single one of them. There will be two other women with leaves. Try to make sure none of the other women drink any of the tea. When the men are asleep, we will be nearby. Try to escape in the direction away from the cattle and don't try to do anything to those bastards. I have a plan for them, but we need you all out of the way first.'
Natalie made a valiant effort to control her emotions. 'We'll do our best. Thank you for coming. Now we have hope.'
Tanya, well hidden, watched in the half light as Natalie brought a few more sticks towards a large fire now burning in the clearing. Other women were starting to return with bundles of firewood. The women, without being asked, were in the process of preparing a meal. She returned to the scouting group.
'We should aim to have all the women out of here and on their way home before midnight. Kim can try to treat any injured.'
'We don't have enough horses.'
'Oh yes we do,' said Tanya. 'They won't be needing any of theirs.'
'What are you planning?'
'You'll see, but none of those bastards will escape. Derain, check how many guards they have on the stock?' He disappeared.
They were now gathered within three hundred metres of the main camp. There were a number of ear-splitting shrieks over the next two hours as a number of women were raped. There was tension among the rescuers.
'Can't we just go and sort those mongrels out now,' growled one.
'Keep calm,' advised Tanya. 'The most important thing is to rescue the women, not get shot in a botched rescue attempt. Ahh, here come a few. Get them out of here quickly, two to a horse. A few more and a guide can move them out.'
Derain returned, 'Three guard, no more.'
Natalie arrived in the next group. 'Most of the bastards drank the doctored tea and are asleep. There are guards with the cattle and that animal Demetriou is still awake, he didn't drink any tea. He's shagging that little bitch Sarah, who seems to be enjoying it. She's gone over to their side, she was even ordering us around.'
'How long will it take for the rest of the women to escape?' asked Tanya.
'Twenty or thirty minutes.'
'How will we know when they're all here?'
'I can stay. Some of the others have had a hard time tonight and need treatment.'
While waiting for more of the women to arrive Tanya asked Natalie, 'Do you know where they're headed? They must have had some sort of plan?'
'They talked about a place in Barrington Tops, another three weeks herding the cattle. They were going to use us and the cattle as some sort of admission fee so they'd be welcome there.'
Tanya shook her head, 'That would be the start. Demetriou will have a plan to take the place over, I'm sure. Anyway, he won't be doing any of that if my plan works.'
The women were loaded two to a horse and sent off in groups of five or six with an escort. 'There will be a bit of a commotion here just before dawn, try to be well away from here by then,' said Tanya
'That's forty of us,' announced Natalie as she and a companion rode away with Kim as escort, 'Forget Sarah, she deserves everything coming her way.'
'That's all our horses gone, and thirteen of us left to deal with the cattle and the raiders. Derain, Tony, and I will nail the three guards. No noise! Then we make our way around the camp and gather near the water. No action! And keep out of sight until I give the word.'
The three of them crept around the camp and identified the three guards, overhearing one of them say, 'We should have been relieved an hour ago; maybe I'll see what's going on. I'm really looking forward to a piece of struggling fanny tonight,' he laughed as he walked off. Tanya saw Derain take his man down and Tanya silently ran up to her quarry, wrenched the man's head back and savagely cut his throat right to the backbone. There was no sound as Tanya dropped him like a lump of turd, muttering, 'No more anything for you chum, least of all fanny.'
Derain wiped his knife on the grass as Tony arrived.
'All okay?' asked Tanya.
Tony nodded.
The other ten arrived.
'One at a time, go and fix yourself up with a horse. Be as quiet as you can. It's possible Demetriou might still be awake as he and Sarah didn't drink tea. Fetch horses for Derain and me.'
Tanya and Derain kept watch; if they had needed to they would have taken Demetriou out.
On one occasion he called out, 'Is everything okay?'
But a female voice interrupted loudly, 'Come back to bed, I need your large cock.' They heard the sound of a female orgasm and then silence.
'Enjoy it,' said Tanya to herself, through gritted teeth, 'it's the last one you're ever going to get.'
As quietly as possible, they separated the sheep and loose horses from the bulk of the cattle and guided them to the rear of the very large collection of animals. The now apprehensive cattle were gathered close together to within two hundred metres of the sleeping camp; a screen of trees ensured they were not visible from the camp. Tanya's group, now all mounted, were strategically placed around the rear of the restless herd, helping to guide them forward. Just as the first light flickered in the East, Tanya waved. On cue, five of the group fired a full magazine from their automatic rifles into the air.
There was a bellow of sheer panic from the cattle and they took off, running as if the very devil was chasing them. Sixteen hundred hooves thundered through the trees and then right through the middle of the camp, scattering all in their wake. The remains of the fire were cast over nearby sleeping bodies, one or two of whom leapt up only to be flattened and crushed by the panicked herd. Tanya saw Demetriou jump up and race away to the edge of the camp. A naked female form tried to follow him, but Demetriou offered no help and she was caught on the horns of a furious cow and flung shrieking into the air, then crushed by the hundreds of hooves following.
Tanya galloped past the racing cattle. 'That bastard will not get away,' she yelled to no one in, intercepting Demetriou about a hundred metres from the camp. 'Demetriou!' she yelled. As he turned around to see who had called, after a moment's hesitation, she emptied the contents of her automatic rifle into his body.
The cattle thundered on. They were brought under control about two hours later by Tony and Rachel, who gradually turned the exhausted animals around and, with the help of the rest of the group, returned them to the water. The sheep had scattered, but were easily herded together again. The horses had disappeared. The Bandstand stock would probably return there, the rest would be scattered to the four winds.
Tanya looked at the wrecked camp. Every man had been trampled to death and was barely recognisable. Sarah looked like an abandoned rag doll. There was really nothing left at all. The group stood around and looked in horror and amazement at the mayhem they had generated. Two of the group were sick. The rescuers looked at Tanya with a combination of admiration and fear at her clinical execution of the ruthless plan.
'Collect everything, including what is left of the bodies, and pile them all up,' ordered Tanya unemotionally, although inside she felt some unease. 'We'll have a big bonfire; we need to leave some evidence of what happened here as a lesson to any other chancers like Demetriou and his ilk.'
'Aren't we going to give them a proper burial?'
'I'm not,' said Tanya firmly, trying to hide her emotions. 'Remember what these rats did to our friends and the sheer bastardry with which they treated those women. They'll live with that, and any consequences, for the rest of their lives. Say some prayers of your own if it would make you more comfortable. I'm just glad they've been eliminated.'
Tanya turned away and, unseen, shed a brief tear which she wiped away impatiently. Her tumultuous relationship with Demetriou was finally over. She wasn't really sure of her feelings, although she took solace that her precious Settlement was now safer.
Derain noticed. He put an affectionate arm around her when nobody else was looking, 'White Goddess did right thing, this Demetriou very bad for you, ancestor not like him.'
Tanya briefly leant against him and then gently pulled away. 'We still have to get all the stock back to their owners,' she said.
They spent the day at the camp tidying up and making certain the bonfire they'd lit was fully burnt out and extinguished. The cattle had calmed down and were ready to be herded quietly back to The Bandstand.
It took a week to return. The cattle were used to being herded for long distances, but many of the sheep died along the way.
On arrival, Kim greeted the remaining rescuers. 'I've sent half the women to hospital. I did what I could for them, but they are generally in a bad way. They lost husbands and sons and some have lost homes, as well as the trauma they suffered at the hands of the gang.'
The stock was herded into holding yards, separating the cattle and sheep.
'Many of these cattle didn't come from here,' Natalie told them. 'We brand all our cattle and about a quarter of the herd in the yard aren't. Also we mainly had merino sheep and there are other breeds in there. They must have raided at least one other place.'
'First things first, let's get this place back on its feet,' said Tanya.
'We're getting on with it, but we need Caroline for some of the bigger issues. We can't look after all this stock for one. There are far more than we had in the first place and we no longer have the manpower.'
'We'll take most of the stock to The Settlement,' said Tanya, after some thought, 'but we'll leave the milking cows here. You'll need to deal with any infected udders. We'll leave the sheep as well as they won't survive another long trek.'
'Our vet died in the raid, and could Kim stay here for a while. Some of our people are badly in need of ongoing treatment.'
'I'm okay with Kim staying,' answered Tanya. 'I'll get a vet over as soon as I can. Anything else?'
Kim nodded. 'Let The Settlement men stay too. We need muscle to start the rebuild.'
Tanya, Derain, and ten women from the rescue party took four days to drive the three hundred and fifty cattle to The Settlement.
Settlement people were slowly coming to terms with the developments over the past few weeks. Most had assumed they were perfectly safe in their isolated environment, but now realised this wasn't necessarily the case. The question was, how should they proceed from now on? The Settlement was strong and secure, but beyond their boundaries people worried what sort of bedlam reigned.
Tanya briefed the board and then the whole community on the developments at The Bandstand and how they had handled the situation. There was some disquiet among Settlement members when she described the stampede and its results.
'Couldn't you have dealt with the raiders more humanely? A simple execution would have been better. You seem to have reduced us to the level of those animals.'
Tanya was about to respond when a furious woman from The Bandstand yelled, 'My husband and son were brutally murdered by the raiders. Our house was burnt to the ground and I was repeatedly raped until Tanya came and rescued us. A different plan might have injured some of the women or even the rescuers. For Christ's sake, wake up. Those people deserved nothing but what they got and I for one applaud Tanya and the rescue party.' She started clapping and was gradually joined by the rest of the community.
'We now need to decide how we proceed,' said David. 'It's clear we can't just sit it out and hope the situation resolves itself. The board will discuss options and get back to you.'
Tanya had told the board how many of the stock weren't from The Bandstand. 'We believe the raiders attacked other places first. I think we need to find out what happened as it will influence how we act.'
'What do you suggest?'
'I'll take another party out. If we have Derain with us we'll be able to follow any trails left by the raiders, even if it is a bit old.'
'What about using the helicopter?'
'We won't be able to follow trails that way. Anyway, our fuel supplies shouldn't be overused and the helicopter is getting old. We either need spares or a new helicopter.'
David grunted, 'Okay. Plan to take another party out.'
'There is one other thing everyone should be aware of,' said Tanya. 'It's noticeable there's been extensive growth in the bush outside. Perhaps because of the heavier rainfall we've had since the flood. It may make getting about more difficult as time goes by.'
'Derain said something similar,' said David. 'We've noticed the better seasons here inside the property since the flood.'
Before the party left, David said to Tanya, 'I'm thinking of moving to The Bandstand. It may make sense for the two to be merged anyway. The people there are now in a very bad position and, anyway, we can't have more than four hundred people here.'
'Where does Chloe stand?'
'She's committed to helping Susan raise her child. I don't see much of her since I moved into Jonathan's place. She told me it would be a relief if I left. I think my relationship with Caroline is awkward for her even after all this time.'
'Who would run this place?'
'You would, with Mark as your deputy.'
Tanya's heart beat a little quicker at the last remark. While she had always known she would eventually take over from David, she was in no hurry for it to happen. In her heart of hearts, all she really wanted was for the current situation to continue. I wonder how Mark will react. She shivered involuntarily, knowing it would be difficult for him. 'I will think about it,' she responded evenly. 'What's Caroline's position?'
'She's keen, and sees no other option.'
Over the past three and a half years since her rescue, Susan had matured and, with Chloe's unwavering support, had nurtured her son.
'What are you going to call him?' asked Chloe, just after he was born. 'Mick after his father?'
Susan had shaken her head. 'I'll call him Barry, after my father. I'm sorry about what happened to Mick, but we would never have married and I don't want a daily reminder.'
With Chloe spending as much time as was needed looking after Barry, Susan was able to finish her schooling. Chloe also taught her to ride properly and she joined The Academy. By the age of nineteen, it was as if she'd spent most of her life within the community.
Susan's good looks attracted many male admirers. 'I'm not interested in any sort of boyfriend, not until I've finished my degree and contributed something to this community. I'm helping Jason and Joe with their technical stuff and I'll finish my electrical engineering degree in two or three years.' Then she added, 'Chloe, you've been like a mother to me. First the rescue and then the support you've given me. I sometimes wonder what life would have been like if I'd been rescued and then just left here as an outsider. It doesn't bear thinking about. It seems inadequate, but I thank you from the bottom of my heart and hope, someday, to reciprocate.'
Chloe looked embarrassed. 'It's pretty easy to do what I've done, just because of who you are and how you behave; it reflects well on you and your parents. Anyway, I'm doing some of it for myself. It has been my solace since the collapse and I look forward to it continuing.'
They embraced for a few minutes, with Barry holding onto them both clamouring to be included.