I was instantly awake, as if I had been flicked on at the switch. I tried to call out. I tried to move. Pain pinned me down. I stared at the ceiling, at the cobwebbed rafters of the pub. I rasped my thanks.
Home, or near enough.
The air was heavy with smoke, deadening the smell of liquor and sweat. Lanterns flickered, casting shadows every which way. People were talking, arguing, a barrage of voices. I closed my eyes, let the voices wash over me.
‘Look, mate, you’d be wasting your bloody time.’
‘Don’t dare patronise me!’
‘Fuck off, Klaus. All I’m doing is telling it how it is.’
I put it together: Tobe and Old Man Veidt.
‘Don’t think I am stupid because I am old man. I know what you are trying to do.’
‘Look …’
‘Don’t bother, my mind is made up. And no need asking my wife.’
‘She can choose for herself. How about it, Mrs V?’
Typical.
‘Tobias, I am sorry, my husband, he is right,’ Old Woman Veidt said, her voice sad.
‘Your husband’s talking shit, Mrs V. He didn’t see what Bill and I saw. None of you did.’
A torrent of language cut Tobe off.
‘My uncle, he asks why this is our problem.’ The First Country captain, his voice the same rich velvet as his elder. Another torrent of language followed. ‘And why you would expect us to come with you.’
The uncle laughed.
‘I’m not expecting anything. I’m just telling you what we saw.’
‘Why would they come here?’ A new voice, bored and flat.
I tried calling out again. Nothing.
‘Why would they bother?’ Someone else. The voice was almost the same, only pitched a little lower.
‘We’re a tiny town …’
‘… in the middle of nowhere.’
It clicked: Max and Maxine. Twins. Weird.
‘They’ll come, no doubt about that. Do you think we’ll be left alone forever? Fuck, you two are as thick as they come.’
‘There’s no need …’
‘… to get nasty.’
‘Settle down, Tobe.’ Another new voice. How many people had he dragged out?
‘Piss off, Sheldon, there’s no time to fart around. The Creeps are out there somewhere, somewhere close. If you don’t believe me, go take another butcher’s at the transport.’
No one challenged him. I somehow moved my broken body, shuffled around on the couch, hoping someone would notice me, would bring me some water.
But no one did.
‘Anyway, I love this place. Why would I leave if I didn’t have to?’
‘Well, you aren’t the most reliable bloke.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Don’t play silly buggers, Tobe. You know what I mean.’
Typical Tobe and Sheldon. They were too alike, they might as well have been piss and vinegar.
‘Sheldon, you’re scared, that’s all.’
‘Is that right?’
‘Yeah, it is. You’re too scared to leave town, you’ve been here too long. I get it.’
‘Don’t you lecture me about this town! At least I’m here when people need me. Not like you, running away all the time.’
‘My comings and goings don’t seem to bother you when I’m fetching things you need. So what’s this really about? Why don’t you enlighten me? That’d be a bit of fun, don’t you reckon? Stick the boot into Tobe for a bit. Bring the wife and kids, fun for the whole family.’
‘Look.’
‘Piss off.’
‘Boys!’ Another new voice, soft steel, take-no-shit tones. Louise.
I smiled a tiny smile. I tried to call her name. I barely managed a whisper.
‘Whatever problems you two have with each other can wait. Even if Tobe’s wrong—and I don’t think he is—we should hear him out.’
Unconvinced voices, a mumble of maybes.
‘We owe him that.’
‘I don’t owe him shit.’ A gruff voice: the Kumari Kid.
‘Fine. Almost all of us owe him that. Happy?’
‘I’m all right. I could do with another drink.’
A sudden slap.
‘Boy, don’t be so rude.’ Another new voice.
Mrs Kumari, I guessed. People laughed. My tiny smile grew a little wider.
‘Ow, Mum! Fuck.’
Another slap. More laughter.
‘You watch your mouth, boy. Now, apologise to Louise.’
‘Sorry, Lou.’
‘You’re welcome … So, where was I?’
No one answered.
‘Yeah, okay, um … Look, the transport didn’t come from nowhere. That alone means we should hear Tobe out. Agreed?’
A mumbled agreement, and then silence.
‘Tobe?’
‘Right, shit, sorry … So, that’s pretty much what happened and what we saw and what I reckon.’
A group exhalation of frustration, followed by a fresh torrent of language.
‘If that’s all you have to say, then we are done.’
Silence met the First Country folk. I heard their chairs scrape the floor, the fall of their feet as they walked out the door, the bang of it slamming behind them.
And then the questions started.
‘You what?’
‘And then?’
‘Don’t tell us that …
‘… that’s all you have to say.’
‘You’re kidding, right?’
‘How many dead, do you reckon?’
Finally, an intelligent question.
‘Mate, we didn’t really have time to count. Hundreds, I guess.’
More followed.
‘Did you see any locals?’
‘How long ago, do you think?’
‘Any survivors?’
I had a question of my own: why hadn’t anyone checked on me?
‘Anything worth scavenging?’
‘Who built the wall?’
‘What do we do?’
At that question, everyone fell quiet. I heard drinks being poured, bush tobacco being lit, chairs being shuffled.
‘That’s the point, isn’t it?’
‘I don’t see why we have to do anything.’
‘Shut up, Klaus!’
A chorus, half a dozen voices. Someone laughed. The mood lightened a little.
‘Nice one … Now, you’ve all heard my plan and you’re all welcome to join me.’
No one spoke, no one moved.
‘Fine. If that’s how you feel, then fuck the lot of you.’
Louise nearly screamed. ‘Tobe! What’s the rush? Give us a chance to sleep on it, it’s almost dawn.’
Another silence.
‘Okay, fair enough. Listen up, all of you. I’ll be off at sunrise tomorrow. I like the …’ He struggled for the word. ‘… the drama of it.’
Someone groaned. I did the same. From nowhere, thirst consumed me.
‘Water?’ I rasped. It was pathetic.
‘You’ve got to travel light and make your own way here. I don’t want to waste any more fuel.’
‘Water?’ Still pathetic.
‘Bring whatever food you have, we might be on the road a long time.’
‘Water?’ A little louder.
‘I’ll be here from midnight, to start packing people in.’
‘Water?’ Louder again.
‘Don’t be late, because …’
‘Water?’
‘Fuck, what is that?’
‘Water?’
‘Bill!’
Everyone stared, shocked into silence. I waved pitifully. Tobe and Louise whooped happily as they rushed over. It would have been funny if it wasn’t so heartfelt. I smiled, took the canteen from Tobe’s hand, drank deep. Louise reached out, stroked my head, running her hands through my greasy hair.
‘You gave us a fright, mate,’ Tobe said.
I tried to answer, started coughing. Louise parked herself next to me and kept stroking my head. I smiled stupidly, deeply touched.
‘You okay?’
‘Yeah, she’s right.’
Exhausted again, I collapsed back on the couch. Everyone else had fallen into quiet conversation, giving us some space.
‘Lou, mate. Could you maybe fix us a cuppa?’ Tobe asked.
‘Lazy bastard, do it yourself.’
Tobe gave her a funny look. The penny must have dropped; she stood, smiled, blew me a kiss, walked away. I didn’t want her to go, but needs must and all that.
‘What did I miss?’ I asked.
‘What did you hear?’
‘Bit of this, bit of that.’
‘Well, we’re in the shit.’
‘And?’
‘What do you reckon? We’ve got to haul arse.’
‘Hang on …’
Tobe started to interrupt but Louise appeared, stopping him dead. She held out a battered tin cup of billy tea. I sipped at it, felt the burn in the pit of my stomach.
‘Cheers.’
‘No worries. I’ll leave you boys to it.’
There was bitterness in her voice. I mouthed a ‘sorry’ and she winked at me as she walked away.
‘Forget what you heard, mate. All that matters is that you’re okay.’
Tobe stood, addressing the rest of the townsfolk. They were still milling around, still arguing amongst themselves, still debating his plan.
‘Like I said, I’ll be here at midnight and gone at dawn. Now go home, get some sleep.’
Louise’s anger shook the walls. ‘Tobe! This is still my pub and I still give the orders! You lot—whoever wants to stay can stay, there’s plenty of room to rest up before heading home.’
The crowd began breaking apart. I caught Tobe’s eye, waved him over. He bent down, pulled me to my feet, threw his arm around me to keep me steady.
‘Let’s go.’
Louise was swamped; everyone was asking questions, demanding drinks. She blew me another kiss and smiled a wicked smile. I knew that we would have our time; that she would wait for me to come back.
‘Lead on,’ I said.
Tobe didn’t correct me this time, he just dragged me away.
He kicked the door open, helped me outside. Dawn was coming, the sky tinged purple. I took a shuddering step and almost fell over Red and Blue, who were cuddled up together on a blanket by the door.
‘Easy,’ Tobe said, grabbing my arm.
‘Cheers.’
‘I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to her.’
Blue was growling low in her throat. I crouched, held out my hand. Every muscle ached. Blue sniffed me, licked my palm, and stopped growling.
‘Sorry.’
‘No worries.’
I stood back up and took a few steps. My legs shook, threatening to buckle. I caught sight of the transport, swore to myself.
‘Guess it wasn’t a bad dream then.’
Tobe started rolling some bush tobacco. He passed it over, started rolling one for himself.
‘Got a light?’
He tossed me his Zippo.
‘What happened?’ I asked. ‘I feel like shit.’
Tobe smiled grimly. He whacked the side of the transport with his open hand. ‘These babies are armed, to stop cheeky buggers like us getting inside. A bit of a shock will send anyone packing.’
I looked him in the eye. ‘How do you know this?’
He broke my gaze, looked at his feet. ‘You learn these things, out there on the land. Anyway, forget it. You need some rest, that’ll fix you right up.’
He whacked the transport again. My exhaustion and pain forced me to drop my question.
‘You want a ride?’
I shuddered. I’d had enough of the Creeps and their toys. But there was no way I could manage the walk home.
‘Fuck it.’
Tobe laughed. I followed him to the transport, walking slowly with my head down. And then I saw something in the dirt lining the road.
‘Tobe!’
‘What?’
‘Come here, have a look.’
‘All right, all right.’
He wandered over, bent down low. Small footprints were tramped into the dirt. Tobe and I turned back to the transport. The side door hung open, the footprints leading away from it and into the darkness.
‘Shit.’
We stared at each other. I knew we were sharing the same thought—it was the girl. It was Tobe’s fault. If we had left her on the land like I had suggested, she wouldn’t have been able to follow us and hitch a sneaky ride.
‘What do you want to do?’ I asked.
Tobe scratched his chin. ‘Give me a minute.’
He walked away, back into the pub. I leaned on the transport, staring at the stars. My head swam, my legs cramped. The sky slowly lightened as I waited for the pain to pass. Eventually, I wrenched on the passenger door. Locked. I wrenched on the driver’s door, settled myself inside.
I groaned.
‘You okay?’ Tobe asked, appearing from nowhere.
‘She’s right.’
‘Well, let’s get you home then. Red and Blue will be fine with Lou.’
He didn’t mention our stowaway.
‘And what about the girl?’
‘Oh, yeah. I asked everyone to keep an eye out.’
‘Good one.’
‘Are you going to scoot over or what?’
I managed to do so. The cabin was cramped; the dashboard was a mess of dials, more complicated than it probably needed to be. Tobe’s rusted keyring hung from the ignition. I couldn’t tell whether he had hot-wired it or simply had good luck with his souvenirs.
Tobe started the engine. Its roar filled the air.
‘And away we go …’
We cruised down the broken highway, headlights shining bright in the sombre dawn glow. Wrecks and fallen trees occasionally appeared ahead; Tobe calmly steered around them. I opened my window, letting fresh air flood the cabin. The dilapidated houses passed in a blur, giving way to flat empty paddocks and rolling hills of dark bush. I tried to enjoy the ride; it had been years.
Tobe turned the steering wheel sharply and the transport fishtailed. I looked over as he got it under control and pulled onto my road.
‘Sorry about that.’
‘No worries.’
The transport shuddered on the potholed dirt road. I gritted my teeth. Tobe did the same. He stared straight ahead, eyes fixed on the world beyond.
‘Here’s the plan …’
I groaned, exhausted and pained. ‘Save it, I can guess what you’re going to say. You fancy yourself as our hero, leading the tribe in search of a new land.’
‘You just fancy yourself,’ he said.
‘Dickhead.’
Tobe smirked.
‘I’m right, aren’t I?’
Tobe didn’t reply, a look both broken and defiant on his face. We kept driving.
Our strained silence stretched on until we reached my driveway and stopped at the gate.
Tobe didn’t kill the engine. He turned to me. ‘You don’t know the half of it, Bill.’
‘Sure I do.’
‘No, you don’t.’
‘Tobe, now’s not the time.’
I swung the door open, started to heave myself out. Tobe watched me. He didn’t move, he didn’t speak. I didn’t know what else to do, so I gave in.
‘Tobe, you know that I don’t want to be here when the Creeps show up. I love this place, I can’t watch it burn. So if you’ve got a plan, well, that’s more than I’ve got. But not now, no way.’
He was almost bouncing in his chair. ‘But …’
‘I’m not interested, won’t be until after I’ve had a decent kip.’
He slumped. ‘Okay … I’ll come get you some time before midnight. That all right?’
‘No worries.’ I made it out of the transport. ‘Catch you later.’
Tobe threw me a salute and revved the engine. It roared loud enough to shake the trees. A shadowy shape—some night time animal—raced across the paddock that stretched before me. The roar of the engine built to a scream. Tobe took off in a cloud of dust. I smiled.
Another wave of exhaustion crashed through me.
I steeled myself, took a shuddering step. I somehow started walking, slowly following the driveway.