Kim led her troop of fifty out of The Settlement a few days prior to the execution of Donald Weatherspoon. They were mostly under thirty, except Joe, and split evenly between the sexes. Some had wished to wait until after the execution, 'To create finality,' as they described it, but most were relieved to be away from The Settlement's now oppressive and stifling atmosphere.
Riding northeast, within a few days the troop emerged from the wooded areas to join the Putty Road towards what was once the small, attractive village of Wollombi. As with all the roads, there were now rusting cars jamming it up, many with the remains of occupants still inside. The village was a morass of all sorts of vehicles scattered in every spare corner, most with bones and remnants of clothing partly covering them. There appeared to be no sign of life.
Kim said to the horrified troop, 'We'll camp here for the night.' She directed people to organise the camp. 'We need to conduct a proper search,' she said to the rest of the party. 'Go into every building. It may be that there were absolutely no survivors at all, but I'd like to be certain of that.'
They searched high and low through the museum, the looted grocery store, the pub, all the houses, and the two cafés. Most people returned after an hour or more with the same story—human remains. Some had died peacefully in bed, but others had evidently been the subject of violent and horrific deaths. There was not a scrap of food to be had anywhere, other than the occasional tomato on an overgrown plant in the chaotic gardens.
As they were all gathering in the camp, one of the troop rushed up to Kim to breathlessly announce, 'I think I've found something, please come and have a look?'
Being directed to the very outskirts of the village, Kim saw a decrepit little cottage hidden away, almost overwhelmed by creepers. With difficulty, they forced the unlocked door open. It was clear the place was occupied, although there was nobody visible. Out the back of the cottage, there was an extensive, well-maintained vegetable garden and an orchard. Beyond that there were three or four contented looking cows, a bull, and a small flock of sheep.
'Hello,' Kim yelled, 'is there anyone here?' There was a deafening silence. She tried once more, with no effect. 'They may show themselves later. I will leave them a note. If they don't want to be found that's too bad. I wonder how they survived though.'
They looked around the establishment.
'There are definitely two people living here,' said Kim, 'and a child. I wish we could find them. If they need help we can provide it.' She tried calling again, but there was no response.
Kim briefed all the guards on returning to the campsite, 'There is undoubtedly someone living here. You need to keep your eyes skinned. It's possible they might try to creep into camp out of curiosity as much as anything. If they come innocently, we need to persuade them that we mean them no harm and may even be able to help them. So, double up on the number of guards.'
In the dead of the very dark night, one of the guards, Jim, saw a faint movement on the opposite side of the camp. He quietly crept around keeping to the shadows, hoping that the other guard on duty had seen him move and would come to help if needed. Something attracted his eye among the horses and he quickly moved in that direction. There was a man trying to loosen the tethers on several horses. Jim, unseen, raced around and using his strength and considerable bulk, took the man down with a ferocious rugby tackle. The other guard was on hand, helping to subdue the large, whiskery man who silently fought both guards as if his life depended on it. Some of the untethered horses started to move away.
'Tie him up firmly,' Jim muttered, 'and I'll take him to Kim. You'd better try to catch the loose horses.'
By this time, the rest of the sleeping troop had been alerted to the fracas. The horses were all recaptured, some with difficulty, then the fire was built up and the prisoner was dragged reluctantly into the firelight.
Kim said to him kindly, 'We are on our way to Newcastle and just happened to pass this little village. We mean you no harm, and if you wish to be left alone then so be it. We could be in a position to help you though if that is what you want. We would like to understand your story. How have you survived here when most didn't?'
There was no response from the man, who continued to struggle fruitlessly against his bonds. A minute later, an unkempt woman and a pretty child of about six were brought into the gathering. Kim could see that the woman, slim, with short brown hair, would have been pretty once, but she now looked tired and careworn. The man emitted a low moan and looked about wildly.
Kim repeated to the terrified woman what she had just said to the man. 'Please, just tell us your names and what must be a remarkable story of survival. We are here to help if we can. We mean you no harm.' The child had accepted a warm drink from one of the troopers.
'I'm Mary and Joshua is my husband … ' she waved a hand vaguely in his direction. 'Amy is our child … We came to live here a few years before the flood … We were strangers in the village and mostly kept to ourselves … When all the people started to come into the village, after the flood, we managed to lock ourselves away. As you can see, the cottage is tucked out of sight. One or two people tried to … '
'Shut up Mary,' said Joshua firmly. 'These people look like the police.'
'We aren't the police,' answered Kim. 'We'll tell you who we are. Anyway there are no police anymore. And, your child, Amy would have been born after the flood. How did you cope with her birth with absolutely nobody to help you?'
'We just did. We have cattle and sheep on the property, so we have a reasonable idea of what happens when a mammal gives birth.' She smiled wanly.
'What about medical attention?'
'We just do what we can. Amy had a younger sister who died a few months ago.' A tear slipped out, which was quietly wiped away.
'Have you seen anyone around here in the last couple of years?'
'You are the first people we have seen since those ghastly weeks after the flood. We didn't move from our cottage for more than two months and then we found that all the people in the village had died. There wasn't much we could do so, as you see, we left them alone.'
'Maybe you'd like us to tell you something about ourselves,' suggested Kim.
Mary shrugged. 'If you like.'
Kim then gave a brief account of The Settlement, 'We have a hospital and a school, for example, if that is of interest.'
'We want to be left here, alone,' said Joshua gruffly.
'If that is your choice then we'll respect it,' Kim answered. 'You should understand, though, that the comparatively few people who have survived have started to move about. It may not be very safe here in future and there are no police. You may be better off joining one or other of the nearby settlements, or encouraging others to join you here.'
There was silence while breakfast was cooked and served; even Joshua participated.
'Why did you try to release our horses, by the way?' asked Kim.
Mary looked uncertainly at her husband.
'We just wanted you out of here,' muttered Joshua unconvincingly.
Kim shook her head and didn't pursue the matter.
As daylight emerged, the troop efficiently packed up the camp and was ready to move by seven thirty. Joshua had been released from his bonds.
Kim said to Mary, just prior to departure, 'We are on our way to Newcastle on another mission. I will arrange for another visit from our people within a month or so, who can help you if you need any. You need to make up your minds, but the chances of remaining here in complete isolation for much longer are remote. It may become unsafe.'
The troop made their way through Pokolbin and the famous wine-growing area of the Hunter Valley. The roads as they had now come to expect were scattered with cars going nowhere. The once pristine vines were now wildly overgrown. One winery had been burnt to the ground and others, looking forlorn and deserted, were covered in creepers. The troop noticed, as Stephanie had mentioned, that the countryside was becoming overgrown.
'There may be the occasional pocket of survivors,' Kim said to the group. 'If they show any signs of wanting to be found, for want of a better word, then we can make contact and tell them who we are. If they want to be left alone, then so be it. We can't lose sight of our mission.'
The small, rather ugly town of Cessnock was utterly deserted. In days gone by it had been a fuel stop on the northern road from Sydney to Brisbane. One of the leading members of the troop sighted what appeared to be a ten year old boy as they left the small, nearby settlement of Kurri-Kurri.
'Some of us should follow the boy at a safe distance, so as not to frighten anybody. The rest should stay here for the moment,' said Kim.
They were nervously greeted by a group of adults and a gaggle of unkempt, dirty children. The four Settlement people dismounted and gave the children gifts of food.
'We are from a place in the Blue Mountains which we call The Settlement,' offered Kim. 'We're here to help, if you need anything. Somehow you survived and continue to do so.'
'Are you from the Australian Government?' asked one of the men.
'No, we have nothing to do with Government; it doesn't exist anymore anyway.'
'How can you help then?'
'We are well established and have such things as a hospital and school. We are looking to re-open the Port of Newcastle and perhaps re-settle some of the area between the Blue Mountains and the sea.'
'What do you want from us?' asked the man suspiciously.
'Nothing specific, although if you knew a short route to Newcastle that would be helpful. Also if you know the area it might help us decide on possible settlement opportunities nearby.'
'Such as?'
'Firstly, we need a source of food if people are to settle here, then we can re-establish schools and so on.'
'There is no fuel anywhere around here.'
'We have solar-powered tractors, which partly gets around that problem. We want to know if there are any other survivors in the area and if there are any other major settlements around.'
'We've seen no other people since the flood, but … ' he hesitated and looked for support from his companions, 'there is a group of quite wild people who come down here occasionally from the North. They raided us once recently and took away one of our young girls and some cattle. We have replaced the cattle, there are plenty of them running wild around here, but we are worried about what happened to the girl. They have not been back for a while … '
'They will be back,' said one of the women firmly.
'Okay, so security is a big issue. We could leave one or two of our people here if that would be of any help. Later we might be able to do something more permanent here for you, or when we have established our base in Newcastle you could move there.'
'We are quite well-established here, so we want to stay,' the man responded. 'There are plenty of places that were abandoned during the floods, so if people wanted to move here we could show you where to go. These people came in force last time. There were about fifty of them on horseback, so leaving just a couple of people here wouldn't be much help.'
'What do you really want?'
'Central services like education and hospitals would be good. And security, of course.'
'What do these wild men call themselves?'
'Barrington. I think they are based at Barrington Tops. They had horses and guns, but aren't as well set up as you. We had no real conversation with them, they just came in, took the cattle and the girl, and left.'
'What happens, in the short term, if these people from Barrington return?'
'We have a plan, but there are only a few of us. We're hoping we'll just be left alone.'
'If six of us stayed here until something more permanent was developed, would that help?'
'Yes, six would help.' He looked around for nods of agreement from his colleagues. 'Food is not a problem, we can feed them.'
'How many of you are there?'
'Ten adults and now fifteen children.'
Kim called the rest of the troop to join them.
'We need six volunteers to stay here until something more permanent can be arranged. None of the technical people please as they're needed in Newcastle.'
Within a minute, six hands had been raised, including Jim.
'Good, we'll stay here the night and make a plan. Security is paramount.' She told them about the raid and the abduction. 'Jim will be in charge, but this will only be a temporary arrangement. I'll talk to Tanya about something more permanent.'
During the rest of the day, with the help of the leader of the group, Richard, they surveyed the area on horseback. Over the evening meal they developed a security plan.
'Jim, have you looked at all the weapons here?'
'They are mostly okay. Some of them could do with a bit of upgrading. We'll look around the houses here and see what we can find over the next few days,'
Richard smiled, 'We have always been a bit reluctant to go and raid other people's houses, for all sorts of reasons, but you people don't seem to worry.'
'No, the owners are past caring, so anything you need will just go to waste if you don't use it. That applies to everything—tractors, cars, computers, and so on.'
'We have no fuel or electricity,' said Richard.
'Solar is what we rely on. We can probably fix you up with a solar-powered tractor.'
The Kurri-Kurri group were in a very good frame of mind when Kim's troop left at dawn. They were accompanied by an eighteen year old boy as a guide, who left them to return home once they reached the outskirts of the city of Newcastle. The boy led them down a little used, overgrown path and the city gradually came into view. It looked asleep, there was no movement, nothing, as they descended carefully into the built-up area. The troop stopped now and then to take in what they were seeing and to get used to the idea that this once thriving city was indeed a ghost town.
Two weeks after their departure from The Settlement, the now forty-four strong, well-mounted, disciplined troop, riding two by two, entered the eerily deserted streets of Newcastle. Much of the city centre was under water as were all the low-lying districts north of the Hunter River. There was no visible sign of any human habitation at all. The once pristine gardens were all overwhelmingly overgrown with a mixture of once-cultivated plants and rampant weeds. Everything gave off a seedy, decayed look.
Kim stopped her troop outside a large mansion at the top of a hill, 'I would like to have a quick look in here.'
Handing over the reins of her horse, she had to break a window to unlock the front door. Everything was very tidy and orderly, although smothered in dust. There was not a scrap of food in the kitchen, the garbage had been taken out, and the electricity switched off. Upstairs she found ten clusters of bones in a series of bedrooms—six adults and four children. There was no sign of any violence. There was a note on the bedside table in the main bedroom dated six weeks after the flood had hit the Eastern Seaboard of Australia.
It read, "Should anyone find this note, we completely ran out of food, the electricity failed within hours of the city being flooded, and there is no water in the taps. We took the only option open to us."
A list of names, with their respective ages, was added at the end of the note. Kim stood for a minute with her head bowed. How many million times will this scene have been repeated in Australia and around the world, she thought. We must never let it happen again.
Looking through the house, she found several laptops and, in the garage, three luxury cars, now rusted through and sitting on flat, decayed tyres.
Having relocked the door she returned to the troop and told them what she had seen. 'We'd better find this helicopter place,' she said thoughtfully, as they rode off.
After some searching they found the warehouse Kim had visited with Tanya a few weeks earlier. She knew it was close to the northern freeway. The troop was halted within sight of the warehouse.
'When we were last here there were signs of a person living inside. We must capture him without hurting him in any way. Maybe he knows something about this place.' She briefly explained the geography of the premises. 'There is a door at the back. When I open the main warehouse door, he'll probably try to escape through the back door, so if six of you,' she pointed, 'quietly go around the back while the rest of you surround this place. We ought to be able to apprehend him without too much trouble.'
Some members of the troop were detailed to hold the horses and the rest deployed as Kim had directed. Joe then picked the lock on the warehouse door, a skill that many from The Settlement had learnt from Tanya, and, with difficulty, pushed it open sufficiently to allow entry. There was the noise of someone or something scrambling away in the far reaches of the huge building. Then a flash of light as a door opened, faint signs of a struggle, and a lot of swearing.
Joe had been warned about the door and was busy oiling the runners when the detail from the rear of the warehouse brought a large, bearded, struggling man to the front.
'What the fuck do you want, just leave me alone,' yelled the man in a strong American accent. When Kim, the rest of the troop, and the horses became visible, he calmed down and said, 'Oh, I see.'
'We will explain ourselves,' said Kim, 'and then maybe you could do us a similar courtesy.'
The man looked warily about him and then said, 'There are chairs in the office upstairs.' He pointed.
Several troop members gingerly climbed the unlit stairway while Kim explained where the troop came from and what they were doing. 'Firstly we would like to be able to re-commission these machines.' She waved in the direction of the three helicopters. 'But our ultimate objective is to create a small settlement here and re-open the port.'
'And you think you can do that?' asked the man sceptically. 'What do you know about helicopters?'
'Three of us came here a few weeks ago by helicopter.'
'Small machine. These babies are a very different kettle of fish,' said the man defensively.
'Tell us about yourself. The rest of the city is deserted so we were surprised to find anyone at all living here. All we have found, apart from you, is piles of human bones. You seem familiar with this outfit?'
A few chairs were brought and dusted off. Now seated the man started to tell his story. 'My name is Eustace Thornbury,' he smiled at the expressions of amusement on the troop's faces. 'I work here.'
Kim was about to interrupt, but Eustace held up his hand. 'When the floods destroyed the city, all the people here disappeared and have not been seen since. A few days later, a group of Aboriginal people came here with their own food and persuaded me to go with them into the mountains, where I have been until about two months ago when they returned me to this place. They talked about a White Goddess and that I was to help her and her people.'
There were glances of understanding between Kim and members of the troop.
'I had no idea what they were referring to until you and another woman appeared something like a month ago. The other woman followed me, but gave up quickly, and then you came today.' He paused. 'Can I just call my dog? He will be terrified with all these people around.' He whistled and a brown Kelpie arrived, cringing, and went to sit next to Eustace. One of the group went out and produced some stale bread and gave it to the dog, who perked up and wagged his tail.
'You say that you work here,' said Kim. 'What is your job?'
Eustace smiled. 'I'm from the helicopter company in California and my job is to maintain these babies, and a few more in other places in New South Wales, but I'm based here.'
'Good heavens,' said Kim. 'Would you be able to get these birds flying again? That's what we're here to do, initially.'
'Well, I could of course, but you can't just come in and take over. What happens when the owners return and find that I've allowed you to steal everything here?'
'If the owners haven't been here since the flood, now more than seven years ago, they are certainly dead. Have you any idea what has happened to the world since you went to live with the Aborigines?' answered Kim. 'I don't suppose you've been paid for any of the intervening years either?'
Eustace looked uncomfortable and shook his head.
'Well, you can see what's happened to Newcastle,' said Kim. 'Every coastal city in the world has suffered a similar fate. Much of the world's population died in the floods or shortly afterwards. We've made contact with a few surviving groups, but they're few and far between. We're on a mission to try and widen our contact base and, in time, to re-establish some sort of government in Australia. It'll take us a while to create a viable operation here in Newcastle, which is why we need the helicopters, to bring supplies in from our base in the Blue Mountains. Also to possibly airlift some of our vehicles out of our place.'
Eustace looked sceptical, 'How can I believe you? All that sounds pretty farfetched to me.'
'The person your Aboriginal hosts referred to as the White Goddess will be here in a few days in the helicopter you saw. At our base, we have a library of recordings from around the world and our own videos of the local environment showing many details of the catastrophe. If you wish you will be able to return with her and view these things. I hope that will be enough to convince you. Anyway, it's no more farfetched than you telling us that you have spent the last seven years in the mountains with a group of Aborigines.'
'Okay, what are you proposing to do here?' asked Eustace.
Kim explained that the group would be camped somewhere nearby in order to start the Newcastle settlement.
'There are a number of things that need attention. I think we should be able to find cattle, even if they're a bit wild to start with. We need to plant vegetables and fruit and we will then start the unpleasant job of clearing a few houses for settlement. If we have the use of helicopters with a large lifting capacity, it'll make things easier.'
'Joe is here to install solar on this building and on some of the houses,' Kim continued. 'He and his team will be able to make this place operational and then get the helicopters airborne again, under your direction, assuming you're convinced of our bonafides by then.'
'There is a generator here. I haven't looked at it since my return, but it'll light up the whole place,' said Eustace. 'No need for solar.'
'Depends how much fuel is available,' said Kim.
''Bout a year's worth, when I last looked. Same for helicopter fuel. Maybe Joe and his people could get the generator going to start with. Then I can start to clean up some of these babies before the White Witch arrives.'
'Goddess,' said Kim to an uncomprehending Eustace. 'White Goddess. I'm sure she would prefer to be called Tanya though.'
Tanya and Roger arrived in the helicopter a week later. 'The aftermath of the whole messy business took a bit longer than I expected,' she told Kim, referring to the execution. 'Hopefully, it'll have returned to normal by the time you get back home.'
Tanya found Joe and two of his assistants on their hands and knees surrounded by a jigsaw of metal pieces all covered in oil, placed on some clean sacking.
'We have stripped and reassembled the generator,' said Joe, standing up and wiping his hands on some cotton waste, 'I'm sure it'll work fine. We're just putting the engine together, so we should have light in here sometime tomorrow.'
Tanya looked around. 'Did you find that person who was living here?'
'Oh yes, Eustace, I'll introduce you,' said Kim. 'But he's gone off to see one of the houses we're cleaning up.'
'Eustace!'
Kim explained how they'd established contact with him. 'Somehow the Aboriginal group who took him in know about the White Goddess. They told him when they returned him here that he was to look after "people who will arrive on horses". However, he's still concerned his bosses will arrive at any minute and, if we have commandeered these helicopters in here, they'll think we've stolen them and that he has helped us. You'll probably have to take him back home and show him some of the recordings we have. Anyway, he still thinks of himself as the maintenance engineer on these machines, or rather his "babies". If anyone can get them airborne he can.'
With Kim, Tanya reviewed progress on all the activities towards the development of a Newcastle settlement. Kim told her what they'd found in Wollombi and Kurri-Kurri. 'I told Jim and the people I left in Kurri-Kurri that we'd relieve them in a month, but it would be ideal if you could drop in on your way back to see how they're coping.'
'Okay, we'll see if that can be fitted in,' responded Tanya.
Kim's group had also found some cattle, still very wild not having had any human contact since the flood. 'We have them corralled in a nearby paddock,' said Kim. 'Hopefully, in time, they will become quieter.' They had found a source of cattle fodder, in a nearby wholesale business. 'It seems unspoilt,' said Kim.
Other members of the group had started to clean up nearby houses. One was quite empty. They were refurbishing it with quantities of paint and disinfectant found in a large DIY warehouse.
'Because of the smell we've had to remove all the furniture, bedding, and clothing, and burn it. 'Most houses will need the same treatment, as well as a thorough airing, before we can use them.' Kim reported.
Kim told Tanya where they were recording lists of names of previous, deceased, occupants. 'We have also dug a large grave so that any bones we find can be buried there.' They were able to furnish reconditioned houses from a nearby furniture store.
Tanya admired the large area cleared for growing vegetables. 'It'll be months before we'll be able to harvest anything from here. We also need to build a fence to keep the roos out.'
'They need a solar-powered tractor,' Roger offered, 'but it will take a few trips to bring all the bits here. With one of those new choppers, we could do it in one hit.'
'What are the priorities?' asked Tanya, when she'd seen everything.
'Transport,' answered Kim. 'I think if we could find a light diesel truck somewhere nearby and try to recondition it, it'd do the trick for the time being. We have a large quantity of diesel here. Then, if we had at least one of the helicopters going it would be easy to re-supply us from The Settlement so people here could focus on development.'
'I can see Joe is going to be pulled in all sorts of directions at once if we're not careful, said Tanya. 'Where is this Eustace? If needs be I will take him back to the Blue Mountains and show him some of the videos we have.'
They found Eustace buried in the engine of The Settlement helicopter. 'Ah, the White Witch,' he said, wiping his hands on his overalls.
'Just call me Tanya,' she said laughing.
'I was having a look at this baby here,' said Eustace. 'It's been well maintained, but will need major attention in the not too distant future; the machine is old now.'
'If you could get one of those other machines going, it would be easy to let you loose on this one for a while,' said Tanya, trying to size Eustace up.
'Yeah, but do you really think you can just come in here and take these machines and use the fuel that was left here? What happens when my bosses come back from San Diego? I'll be locked up.'
'The likelihood of your bosses still being alive is remote,' said Tanya. 'And there are two chances of them ever appearing here again, Buckleys and none.'
'Buckleys?' Eustace looked at Tanya. 'I suppose that's another peculiar Australian expression.'
'Yes, it means fuck all, in your language.'
Eustace laughed uneasily.
'Look, I'll happily take you back to the mountains and show you recordings of the effects of the flood all over the world, if that is what is needed to convince you? I'm fairly sure we have a clip on what happened in San Diego and other parts of California. Eustace, we really need your help. Come hell or high water, we're going to create a settlement here in Newcastle; it would be much easier with your cooperation.'
Eustace looked at her for a moment. 'Okay, I need another couple of hours to complete what I started doing to your machine and then we can go to your precious settlement.'
'It's an hour's flight. Unexpectedly, we'll have to drop off at a place a few minutes from here and I like to land in daylight, otherwise we'll have to wait until the morning.'
Taking off mid-afternoon, Tanya flew the short distance to Kurri-Kurri. After circling twice, they landed under Jim's direction in a grassy area near where Richard and crew had made their home.
'Just popped in to see how you're getting on and to introduce ourselves to our new friends,' said Tanya as they disembarked.
'There's been no movement from the North,' reported Jim, after introducing Tanya to Richard and his crew.
'Is there anything you need?' asked Tanya.
Jim laughed, 'Everything and nothing. In terms of the immediate security situation, we're now well set up. If the people from Barrington come here they will get a very unpleasant surprise. We do need to try to rescue the girl though, and then in the long term a solar-powered tractor would be good and we could install some solar electricity here which will help the group. There's a child needing hospitalisation, if you've room for her. We have looked at most of the houses in the vicinity, so our immediate needs in terms of tools and so on are well met. Your visit alone will make a difference; the people here now have hope.'
They loaded a very sick girl and her mother into the helicopter. 'Roger will just have to sit at the very back and keep still,' said Tanya to a nervous Eustace. On the return, they had to skirt one of the local thunderstorms. Eustace's eyes nearly popped out of his head as Tanya circled The Settlement, landing a few minutes before dark. Tanya left Roger to complete all the post-flight checks while she ran to the hospital, emerging a minute later with a doctor, nurse, and gurney. When she could see that the girl was looked after she took Eustace into the village.
He was introduced to Mark, who was asked to set up a selection of videos detailing what had happened to various communities at the time of the flood, including San Diego.
'I had no idea the place was so extensive,' observed Eustace, looking around.
'It's now more than twenty years since we started developing it. David and I have driven this development. We both came to the same conclusions in 2010 about climate change and acted on them accordingly.'
'Who is David?'
'My father-in-law, Mark's father. Joe is married to Mark's sister. Kim is Joe's daughter'
'Very much a family affair,' observed Eustace.
'I've put you in a spare cottage, belonging to one of Mark's brothers. You can have dinner with us and spend as much time as you wish watching the videos in the community centre.'
'I see most of the men are clean shaven,' said Eustace during dinner, 'I ran out of blades years ago.'
'We go on raids … 'said Mark.
'Re-supply expeditions,' Tanya interrupted.
'Re-supply expeditions,' Mark continued, 'into Sydney and its surrounds. All the supermarkets and food warehouses were looted within days of the flood, but most other shops and warehouses were untouched, so we develop lists and then take the helicopter and get whatever we need. I can give you razor blades, and any amount of clothing. If we had one of those big choppers that Tanya described we could haul in more substantial items such as washing machines and dishwashers; all the ones here in the village are aging. Vehicles too. There is nobody about, so if we don't use what's available it will go to waste.'
'Why don't you take vehicles into the city? It would be much easier than using a chopper.'
'At the time of the flood we deliberately isolated the place, so people are unable to get in here. Now of course we can't get out. Also most roads are still blocked with cars where people just stopped and were unable to go any further.'
'What happened to the people?' asked a troubled Eustace.
'They died,' answered Mark. 'Tanya and others went on a few exploratory expeditions within weeks of the flood hitting Sydney and found bodies in cars and near roads. There was no food and nowhere for them to go.'
'Is this what I am going to see on those videos?'
'No, most of the pictures we have are from official sources, which we recorded as the floods hit. They all went off the air within about two weeks of the flood arriving in their locality. We do have some recordings of the aftermath of the flood in Sydney. I can show you some of those if you wish.'
After dinner, Mark escorted a silent Eustace to the community centre. 'Each video is clearly marked with the subject and date when it was recorded. We felt we needed a record of what had happened in the hope that future generations will not make the same mistakes we have,' Mark explained.
There was no sign of their visitor, so after ten o'clock Tanya announced to her children, 'I'm just popping out to see what Eustace is up to.' Mark had disappeared.
In the community hall the videos were all neatly stacked and Eustace was sitting there crying his eyes out.
'What's wrong?' asked a concerned Tanya.
Eustace looked up at her. 'I had no idea; I thought they might all still be alive.'
'Who?'
'Wife and three little kiddies. I saw the recordings of the San Diego and Los Angeles areas. I just had no idea. For years I've tried to imagine what they were all like and what they'd grown into. I imagined my homecoming. None of that can ever happen now.' Another tear escaped down his cheek.
'Here, you need a stiff drink,' said Tanya. She switched off the video player, collected all the clips and escorted Eustace back to their cottage.
Mark was strangely absent, so Tanya spent until early morning listening to all Eustace's reminiscences. When Mark crept in, Tanya looked at him curiously.
Unasked he said, 'Just checking on a few things.'
Eustace eventually went to sleep on the couch in the lounge with a blanket over him. He was woken abruptly by Tanya's two teenage sons tearing through the house at six am yelling at each other about which horse they were to ride that morning before school.
'Oh,' said Chas when he realised there was someone on the couch, 'who are you?'
'I'm Eustace; I'm here to help the White Witch steal some helicopters.'
'White Witch? You mean Mum! That's a good name, we'll call her that when she gets too uppity.' The boys tore off.
A clean shaven and neatly dressed Eustace appeared at the breakfast table just as Tanya and Mark sat down, 'Thank you for the clothes,' he said, 'I feel much better now.'
There was silence for a few minutes while they all helped themselves to quantities of scrambled egg and toast. 'Being isolated, we made ourselves self-sufficient some time before the flood. Obviously that is still the case and it's what enables us to expand our influence,' explained Tanya.
A dry-eyed Eustace said, 'Thank you for your sympathy last night. It's going to take a while for me to come to terms with what has happened. Anyway, I now understand what you're about and I'll certainly help you all I can, including making those choppers airworthy again.'
'You need to tell us what support you need,' said Tanya.
'How many pilots do you have?'
'Two, that is me and Roger and two in training. I presume you're a trained pilot and can help.'
'Yup, bit rusty of course. Showing no disrespect, but those babies in Newcastle are a bit more of a handful than your own machine. We'll need to make absolutely certain that anyone who flies them is one hundred percent competent. Anyway, for the moment I need Joe and one other to help me. It may take a month to get one of the machines refurbished and ready to take to the air.'
Roger took the passenger seats out of the helicopter and flew to Newcastle with Eustace and a large quantity of supplies. They were relieved to see the lights in the warehouse blazing as they landed. Roger continued the supply process on his own, over the next few days, while Eustace and Joe planned the refurbishment of the choppers in the warehouse. Within two weeks, the girl from Kurri-Kurri was up and about and, within another week, she and her mother were on their way back to Kurri-Kurri, with Tanya piloting the helicopter.