P etri watched the lights in the main building. He had been listening to voices but they had died down. He had no idea what was happening. Petri looked at his watch. It was nearly three in the morning. He was freezing, in spite of his parka. He rubbed his hands together.

The lights flickered and the generator spluttered to a stop. Silence descended on the entire area.

In the pale moonlight he saw a figure emerge from the main building and dart towards the side building. He was about to get up when he saw torchlight moving around, casting flickering shadows. He couldn’t tell who was holding the torch. He shrank back. The light disappeared from the veranda. Petri waited. After a few minutes the torchlight reappeared and Petri saw Katherine staggering towards the gates. She was carrying a heavy burden, not easily identified in the dark.

‘Are those the children, Katherine?’ he asked quietly.

‘No, just Carolyn. Here. Help me,’ she whispered. Petri took the sleeping girl. During the transfer Carolyn woke and immediately wanted to get down.

Her mother said, ‘Keep quiet. Don’t make a sound. Stay with this man and start walking quickly. We’re going to leave here but you must be very quick and very quiet.’

Petri put the child gently on the ground.

Katherine said, ‘I’m going back to get Isaac. Won’t be long.’

Carolyn, used to obedience, simply stared at Petri. ‘Do you want me to carry you? It might be quicker.’

Carolyn shook her head. She was very nervous of men.

‘Right then, let’s go. Fast as we can, eh?’ Petri hadn’t walked more than a couple of cricket pitch lengths from the gate when he heard Katherine running after him.

‘Come on, quickly. Let’s go as fast as we can,’ Katherine said breathlessly. ‘Carolyn, let the man carry you, it will be much quicker.’

Petri scooped the little girl into his arms and resumed his half jog towards where he’d hidden his vehicle. He counted off the flagging tape markers as they passed each one.

‘What happened to Karl?’ he asked.

‘Later. Let’s just get the hell out of here.’ Katherine’s words came in staccato blasts, her lungs working overtime as she maintained the steady pace along the track.

They reached the Toyota. Katherine wrapped the children in blankets. Isaac had not woken, but Carolyn was wide-eyed.

It was only the third time she had been so far from the compound in her entire life. Katherine climbed into the passenger seat, lifted Isaac on to her knee and put Carolyn’s head on her lap. She was shivering when Petri started the vehicle.

‘Don’t worry, once we get going the heater will kick in and you’ll soon warm up.’

‘I’m not shivering with cold,’ she chattered back. ‘I’m scared. We must go.’

The engine burst into life and the pleasure of hearing the distinctive reverse gear noise as they backed out of the bushes and on to the track was beyond words.

‘So, where’s Karl?’

‘He tried to rape me. I just lost it and managed to knock him out. I hit him so hard. I might have killed him.’ She started to cry. ‘He stank. He was drunk. His fingernails were so filthy.’ Of all the horrors, Katherine knew she would never forget his fingernails.

Petri glanced at her. ‘I’m sorry.’

‘I have to get away from this place, from him, from Benjamin, from this nightmare and get the children away and —’

‘Shh. Don’t talk any more. Let’s just get the hell out of here.’

With the lights on full beam they put as much distance between them and the Factory as they could.

They drove in silence for a while.

Suddenly there was a bang and the vehicle swerved sharply.

Petri fought the wheel, bringing it back on to the track and to a shuddering, bumping stop. ‘Damnation! Burst tyre.’ His put his palm to his forehead. ‘That’s my second flat!’

‘What’s that mean? What do we do?’ Katherine was already looking over her shoulder.

‘No choice. Have to repair it, if we can. Otherwise I can fix the spare. Depends on which is more damaged. Better move it. Can you hold the torch?’

* * *

Karl rolled over from his supine position on the floor. He felt groggy and his head hurt. He felt his scalp. Caked blood had matted his hair. Like a movie played in slow motion, the events of the previous night came back. He stood up shakily, rubbed his eyes and staggered out on to the veranda where stood on the edge of steps and urinated into the sand.

How good it had been telling that bitch what to do and she’d bloody well done it. Jumping, seeing those tits bounce around until he wanted more. She tried to talk him out of it, but he was the boss. No woman was going to mess him around any more. The more she suffered and cried, the more he enjoyed it. Then it struck him, the memory of how he sat waiting for her. He saw her crawling towards him, crying and defeated.

Then something went wrong. What was it? He recalled the pleasure of watching her nakedness and humiliation. He so enjoyed watching her pathetic show that it was only at the last minute he saw her hand reach out and grab the bottle he’d left close to the chair. He couldn’t believe this crawling bitch’s lightening move.

In disbelief at what she’d done he started to stagger to his feet when a second blow struck him on the temple. That was the last he remembered; that and the sound of the generator sputtering to a standstill. Darkness descended on the buildings as he simultaneously faded into unconsciousness.

‘That aint gunna ‘appen again.’ He spat in the sand. ‘I’ll keep the bitch an’ teach ‘er a lesson.’

Karl went across to Katherine’s room. He opened the door and stepped into the dark interior. ‘Wakey, wakey bitch. Ya gunna pay for that. Hittin’ me ain’t very nice now, is it?’

Silence greeted him.

He felt his way across to the bed. He leaned forward, feeling with his hands. Empty.

‘Where the fuck is ya, bitch? C’mon out. Ya can’t ‘ide from me. I’ll find ya.’ Karl went back to his room to dress. There was no hurry. The one thing he knew how to do well was hunt.

* * *

Weak, pre-dawn light made the shadowy shapes of the surrounding bush form an army of silent ghosts, waiting to engulf the group around the Toyota. Petri was working fast to repair the damaged tyre. Finally he stood and said, ‘That’s it. Fixed.’

He gave the wheel nuts one last turn then threw the jack into the tray. ‘Let’s go.’

Even as he spoke Katherine pointed down the track and cried out, ‘Look! Look!’

In the grey morning light they saw a vehicle. The array of bright lights meant it could only be Karl. There were no other possibilities.

‘Quick, get in. Hurry!’

They scrambled into the vehicle. The still-warm engine fired into life and Petri started off down the track. By now Karl was only a short distance behind.

Keeping one hand on the wheel he leaned back and took hold of his favourite toy, his loaded Lee Enfield.

‘Reckon I kin git the bastard, jist like a fuckin’ ‘roo.’

He pulled down the knob on the right of the dashboard and felt the accelerator respond under his foot. Once the hand throttle was fixed in the bottom notch it was on full and he had free movement of his body. Keeping one hand on the steering wheel, he swung the door open. The vehicle maintained a reasonably straight course, although it bucked across the uneven track surface. This was Karl’s skill, years of practice chasing fleeing dogs and kangaroos in his speeding vehicle. He half stood, hanging on to the steering while with one hand and raised his rifle over the swinging open door. He took aim at the outline of the driver’s head in the vehicle in front.

There was a bang and a cloud of dust exploded off to the right of the Toyota.

‘He’s shooting at us!’ Petri increased the speed. ‘Keep the children down.’

Katherine spread her body along the seat, covering Isaac and Carolyn.

Petri glanced in the rear-view mirror. Petri turned his full attention back to the road.

The rifle fired again.

Karl cursed, muttering to himself, ‘Gotta git closer.’ He knew he had another ten shots but he couldn’t afford to waste them. He increased speed, closing the distance between the two vehicles.