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The wind blew through the caravan awning, threatening to rip it from its moorings. Loukas cringed with each gust, staring at the site around him. He never trusted his own skills of setting up the caravan for their yearly holiday by the beach, and yet each time they packed up, he was glad it had held.
“Stop stressing, Loukas,” Melina said from across the plastic table. “It’ll hold. There’s nothing you can do.” She took a sip of wine from her plastic cup. Everything was plastic, durable. They wanted their stuff to be safe while they towed their caravan around. Not to mention keeping their daughter Isabel protected from breakable crockery.
“I know, Mel, but the wind is super strong today.” Loukas looked over at Isabel, who was sitting on the mat playing with a toy truck. He smiled, glad she wasn’t into girly toys.
“You say that every year. Remember the storm left over from the cyclone last year? All that happened was the marquee flap pulled away from your clamp. It’ll hold.” Melina watched the orange netting dance in the wind. When she saw the little girl across the road run away from her parents, Melina was glad to have erected the barricade to hold their daughter. Like a free-range chicken, she thought.
Loukas ate the last of his sausage, looking down at the hopeful lizard on the ground. It peered up at him, its head tilted to gain a better view. He kicked out to scare it, but the reptile didn’t even flinch. Instead, it took a few steps closer to the table, making Melina pull her feet up in fright.
“Good to see these lizard bastards haven’t changed,” Loukas muttered. Every year, the lizards had crowded around them, hoping for food. This year, Loukas and Melina were worried how they would go with Isabel toddling around.
“They’re Australian water dragons. Harmless carnivores, apparently. Rodents, small birds, that sort of thing.” Loukas held his phone out for Melina to see the images on Google.
“They still creep the hell outta me,” Melina said. Isabel squealed and ran to Loukas, her arms outstretched. He placed his phone on the table, picked her up, and sat her on his lap.
“Lizzie!” she said, pointing down at the spiky reptile. She began to sob, her chest heaving. Tears flowed down her cheeks as a loud shriek escaped her throat.
“It’s okay, Isabel. The lizard won’t get you. You’re safe, and you’re loved,” Loukas soothed, placing his face in her blonde hair, breathing in the scent of her curly locks. “You say, ‘Go away, lizard!’ and we can stomp our feet to get rid of it.” Loukas began stamping his feet, Isabel kicking out on his lap.
“Go ‘way, Lizzie!” Isabel squealed. The water dragon ran towards the permanent caravan site next to them and crawled between the wooden lattice.
“We need to do something about her fear,” Loukas said, looking at Melina over his beer can. “We can’t have her screaming at it every time it comes close to us.”
“I can’t help when they crawl over my feet,” Melina said, defensive. Her glare could have sliced the leftover sausage cooling on the portable camping grill.
“I don’t mean you, though it can’t help. What if we let her feed it?” Loukas said, trying to ease the tension. The last thing he wanted was a fight on their holiday.
“That might help her get used to the creatures, but won’t it just encourage them to keep coming back?” Melina took a sip of wine, staring at the lizard, which had just started to creep towards them again, as if the smell of sausages wafted on the strong winds, enticing it out. Isabel’s sobs had quietened to hiccups, drowned out by the creaking annex around them.
“Well, keeping them hungry hasn’t helped previously. They must be fed by other people who stay in this spot during the year,” Loukas said. He passed a small piece of sausage to Isabel, encouraging her to feed the lizard. She held her arm behind her, before throwing it forwards. The meat fell about thirty centimetres away from Loukas’ foot.
Tilting its head, the lizard eyed the meat, deciding whether it was worth the risk. Finally, it scurried forward and grabbed the meat, chewing it awkwardly in its mouth. Isabel squealed at its proximity to Loukas’ leg, tears still threatening to fall down her face.
“It’s okay, sweetie. Look, he’s thanking you for the food,” he said calmly in her ear. “Here, look! He won’t hurt you.” Loukas held out another piece of sausage for the lizard, which had just finished the first bit.
Loukas heard rustling in the grass and looked toward the lattice, keeping the meat in his hand. Two more lizards came out, their black eyes searching for food as they crept toward their friend.
“I told you the food would just encourage them,” Melina said, taking another sip of wine. “I’m going inside where they can’t come near me.” Melina stood up, picking up her glass and dirty plate. Loukas watched her go through the shaking annex into the caravan, before throwing the meat towards the two new lizards. They began fighting for the morsel, their jaws snapping at each other. Loukas noticed the winner had peeling skin along its body, and was slightly larger than the other. The smaller lizard began creeping towards where Loukas sat. Isabel began to squirm as she pivoted off her father’s leg.
“I go with Mum,” she said as she waddled quickly into the caravan. Loukas shook his head; he just wanted her to be more confident with new things. He didn’t want to raise a child who had no resilience. He broke apart the rest of the sausage and, placing it onto his palm, held it down to the lizards, which were now only a hand span away from his foot.
As if sensing danger, they tilted their heads and rushed towards the meat, taking the chunks in open jaws. Loukas felt a tinge of pain and, when he looked down, he saw blood seeping from a small cut.
“Bastard!” he said, bringing his hand up to look closely at his wound. A lizard had nipped his hand; the three reptiles munching on their meat, still watching him greedily as they chewed. Loukas drank the last of his beer, grabbed his plate and moved inside to find the first aid kit.
“Honey, where is the first aid kit?” Loukas asked as he stepped into the caravan, bending forward to avoid hitting his head on the low doorway. Melina was lying on the bed, Isabel jumping excitedly beside her.
“Why? What happened?” Melina asked, sitting up on the bed in alarm. Loukas held out his hand, showing her the blood, a goofy expression on his face. “Oh my God, you’re bleeding!”
Melina began to wriggle off the bed. Isabel continued jumping. Loukas grabbed some tissues to stem the flow of blood.
“The uh... The lizard kinda bit me when I fed it,” Loukas mumbled as Melina grabbed the first aid kit.
“Isabel, stop jumping, please!” Melina said through gritted teeth as she rummaged in the khaki bag. Finally, Melina pulled out the bottle of antiseptic cream and a sticking plaster to cover the wound. She moved over to Loukas, who was sitting at the small table, holding the tissue on his hand.
“Now, I don’t want to hear you complain about the pain. This will sting,” Melina said, laying out the items. After pouring herself another glass of wine, Melina drank deeply. “I bloody knew those lizards would be dangerous. You’re lucky it wasn’t Izzy.” Wine gone, she placed the cup on the table and picked up the antiseptic cream. She squeezed a generous amount on her husband’s wound, relishing the gasps and wincing movements he made.
As Melina placed the plaster on the wound, they heard a loud commotion outside, as if dozens of people were holding a meeting on the road.
“What’s happening?” Loukas said, standing up while Melina washed her hands. Peering out the mesh window, Loukas saw a group of people bent down, playing with the orange netting.
He turned to his wife and whispered, “They’re playing with our barricade.” Melina raised one of her eyebrows, a trick he had been unable to copy. Loukas looked back through the window, this time more carefully. Caught in one of the holes of the plastic netting was a water dragon, double the size of the others. It writhed and squirmed, unable to free its trapped body.
Loukas narrated the events for Melina. “I should probably go out and free it, I guess,” Loukas muttered, glancing sourly at his wounded palm. “Where are the scissors?”
Melina pointed to a shelf above the sink. “Just there, where you left them.” Isabel giggled as Melina grabbed her around the waist and jumped into bed, pulling her daughter onto her chest. Loukas smiled as he grabbed the scissors and stepped out through the annex into the bright sun. The wind whipped through his hair.
Some of the people had left; only a few kids on bikes remained. They stared at the lizard as if it was a zoo exhibit. Loukas moved over to the netting and squatted down. He felt the weight of many eyes focussed on his head as he reached out to grab the barricade. Whispered comments carried on the wind, blending in to make white noise in his ears. Behind them the sun was setting, surrounded by clouds that appeared to be preventing its descent, as if they were scared of the dark. The water dragon thrashed in its wild attempt to escape; its jaws opened and shut viciously.
Loukas held the scissors out, hoping to avoid cutting the reptile. He could imagine how badly that would go down with the children who watched his every move. No doubt one of them was recording on their phone, though he was too focussed on cutting the creature free to look up. He pulled his hand back as the lizard tried to bite the scissors.
With his left hand, Loukas held the netting up, hoping the lizard would drop out and be free. Its front legs were scrabbling in the grass trying to pull itself through, its elbows pulled back against the plastic. Concentrating on his aim, Loukas snipped the plastic around the lizard and it fell backwards, free from its trap. The kids on the bike, realising the excitement was over, took one last look and began to move away.
Thankful for the lack of observers, Loukas watched the lizard as it shook its body and stared back at him. It raised one foot and scratched its head, before waving the claws quickly at Loukas, who was sure it wasn’t thanking him enthusiastically. The snapping jaws were a bit of a giveaway there. Loukas stood up and moved back inside, out of the fierce wind, which had begun to grow cold.
“Well, it’s free. Bloody thing tried to eat the scissors!” Loukas said as he entered the caravan. Melina and Isabel were asleep on the bed, wrapped in a loose embrace. Smiling, he stood watching them sleep, before grabbing a beer and sitting at the table, scrolling through his phone and nibbling on macadamia nuts.
As darkness surrounded him and his empty beer cans multiplied, Loukas felt like he could join his family in sleep. After visiting the toilet block, Loukas moved Isabel to her own bed on the couch, before climbing in next to his wife.
The wind flowed through the caravan, keeping the air fresh and cool, though it was less intense than it was outside. With the annex zipped shut, they left the caravan door open, joining in with the rest of the caravan community. Everybody trusted everyone else; important if you chose to use a tent. Not to mention how loud the zip was when it was opened; even slowly, it screamed into the night. Isabel’s nightlight provided enough to see into both the caravan and the annex.
“Thank you,” Melina slurred. Loukas smiled at his wife passed out next to him. His own eyes felt heavy and, as his head hit the pillow, he felt sleep come quickly.
* * *
A STRANGE SCRATCHING sound pulled Loukas from a deep sleep. He looked around the dimly lit caravan, his breathing stopped to hear more clearly. Sitting up, Loukas saw nothing in the annex or the caravan. Outside, stillness echoed through the wind, buffeting against their site.
“What’s the matter?” Melina asked groggily.
“I thought I heard a scratching noise,” he said, still peering around the dimly lit space. “Must have just been the wind.”
He laid his head on the pillow and closed his eyes. As he began to drift back to sleep, he heard more scratching, this time louder and more consistent, getting closer. The sheets began to fall down the end of the bed. When Loukas tried to pull them back up, they felt weighted, heavy.
Loukas bolted upright and tugged harder, the scratching noise increasing. Finally he pulled the sheets back onto the bed, amazed at what was attached.
Staring at him from the end of the bed was the large lizard he had freed from the netting outside. Loukas flicked on the bedside lamp, unable to believe his eyes. When he saw the floor of the caravan, Loukas regretted his decision of more light.
On the floor were what looked like hundreds of water dragons, all scrabbling for a better position. Some of them had begun climbing up onto the couch where Isabel lay sleeping, others were crawling towards the bed, where they climbed to join the large lizard leader among the tangles of bedsheets.
The large lizard bit Loukas’ big toe, making him scream in pain.
“What’s happening?” Melina asked, more alert this time. She put her hand on her husband’s arm. “What’s wrong?”
Loukas continued screaming, kicking out frantically at the growing number of lizards. The bed was wet and, when Melina looked down, she gasped. Loukas’ toe was missing, bitten off. Blood spurted from the wound, soaking into the bed. The large reptile was gnawing on the toe, fending off other lizards trying to steal its prize.
Melina squealed as a smaller lizard tried unsuccessfully to bite off her toe. She kicked quickly, as if running on the spot for a workout. Some of the lizards were knocked off, only to be replaced by even more of the creatures.
Isabel moaned from her bed, where more lizards had climbed, crawling onto her legs and torso. Melina began to sit up, only to be thrown down by the weight of many water dragons crawling onto her, their claws digging deep into her skin, leaving bloody pockmarks. More reptiles came through the door like a tidal wave, crawling on top of other lizards to get to the fresh meat, attracted by the metallic scent of blood.
Melina could feel claws and teeth maul her skin, biting the flesh and sucking the blood. Her own shrieks drowned out the squeals of terror from her husband and daughter.
Outside, the wind raced through the air, carrying away the unheard screams from inside the caravan until they dissipated into the atmosphere.