IT WAS KINKS, sprawled out on the ground, bleeding badly from numerous lacerations.
“Alice, help me get her inside,” said Zule.
Ex arrived and helped Alice pick up Kinks and carry her into the temple. She was conscious, but losing a lot of blood.
“Zule, we’ll need a tourniquet for her right arm, that’s where she losing the most blood,” said Alice. “And a needle. She’ll need stitches.”
Zule rushed off to her study while Alice and Ex laid Kinks on her back on the dining table.
“What happened, kid?” Alice asked, compassionately.
“The Rooga…” she groaned. “I think we were hunting the same rodent. It must have grabbed Madonna, it dragged her off into the bush. All we heard was a scream. Karn found tracks and went after her … I followed with Thin Lizzy. By the time Karn found them the Rooga had eaten half of her. She was dead.
“Karn went berserk and attacked the Rooga with his knife. But he underestimated its strength, it ripped his arm off at the shoulder and beat him to death with it. I tried to stop it … but…”
She was becoming hysterical.
“It’s all right … shush, calm down,” said Alice, gently. She stood the chance of bleeding out from the deep wound in her shoulder.
“I tried to stab it with my spear,” she sobbed, “But it snatched it from me and stabbed me with it. Then it came clawing at me … and … and … I’d be dead if it wasn’t for Lizzy. She crept up behind it and smacked it across the back of the head with her spear. That rocked the bastard and it let me go … gave Lizzy a chance to help me up and get me back here … she did good. But it was too late for Karn. I’m so sorry!” She passed out, exhausted.
Ex glared at Alice with hatred in his eyes. “Karn dead?”
“Yes, killed by Rooga.”
Ex bared his teeth, “Kill Rooga!”
“Wait!” Alice said holding him back from running off impetuously.
Zule arrived with an old leather belt and a darning needle. Alice slipped the belt around Kinks’ upper arm and tightened it. The bleeding slowed, then stopped.
“She’ll be all right,” said Alice, testily. He plucked a thick black hair out of Ex’s mop and used it to thread the needle and put in sutures.
“Did she speak?” asked Zule. “Was it the Rooga?”
“Sure was,” said Alice, with a snarl. “And you know what? We’re going to hunt the fucker down and kill it!”
Kinks’ injuries were far worse than Alice had first diagnosed. After she regained consciousness, they found the spear had struck a nerve in her shoulder, paralysing the fingers on her right hand. She’d be without the use of it for at least the next six months, maybe longer. Her hunting days were over for the time being. She agreed, however, that it was better than having bled to death. For preventing that, she had Alice to thank.
But Alice didn’t need any thanks. Like Ex and the others, he was riled up, ready for revenge over Karn’s death. He and the others wouldn’t be satisfied until they had slain the Rooga.
He wanted a plan that would flush the creature into a space where they could surround it. But it was difficult to convey the idea to Ex. Zule came up with the answer, and sketched a diagram on a piece of paper. Ex, Derg and Chez got it right away — it was obviously a tactic they’d used themselves. Four hunters … find an open space … fan out to flush the quarry, encircle it, and then close the ring.
“Describe this thing to me Zule,” Alice asked. “I need to picture it so I can work out how to kill it.”
“It’s taller than you, Alice, and wider,” said Zule. “It stands on two large hind legs, and has muscular arms and razor-sharp claws … It’s incredibly strong.”
“Sounds like a big buck kangaroo,” he said.
“Yes, but only because it stands on hind legs,” replied Zule. “It has no tail, and its foul ugly head is like a demon’s. There’s a long muzzle filled with pointed teeth, piercing red eyes set up high, and sharp, pointed ears.
“It’s covered in reddish-brown fur that camouflages it in the bush, and — well, it’s not difficult to tell it’s male. Despite its size, it can stalk quiet as a mouse … sometimes you might hear a guttural purr. But if you’ve heard it and lived to tell of it, you’ve been very lucky indeed — because most don’t.
“It is cunning, and it knows how to hunt … it has had to survive by catching small animals, and that means it has developed skills of slyness and stealth. The Rooga is a formidable enemy.”
Alice knew it was going to take more than a simple attack plan to ice this thing. The key rested on the weapons available to them, and they didn’t have much to choose from. Spears were okay, but what had happened to Kinks was an example of that weapon’s limitations. Swords meant having to get too close to be effective … They needed something more deadly, more accurate. Suddenly, he had answer: bow and arrows.
Zule gave Alice access to the storeroom — an old, corrugated iron shed out the back of the temple — so he could rummage through items the Vixen had scavenged over the years and stored for later use.
After a couple of hours, he’d found a Shimano carbon fibre deep-sea Ugly-Stick fishing rod with a busted tip. Attached to it was a smashed Accurate ATD-130 fishing reel. To his surprise, it still had three metres or so of two hundred pound breaking strain monofilament fishing line wound on. He’d also unearthed an old rusted toolbox containing a pair of pliers, a hammer, screwdrivers and a heap of other useful tools. Now all he needed was something he could fashion into arrows.
Stacked at the back of the shed was a random selection of timber. Underneath it all he found two lengths of three-eighth inch dowel, enough to make half a dozen arrows. Now he needed arrowheads.
He returned to where he’d found the fishing rod, and after a considerable search uncovered a fishing box. In it were a few more useful items — a paring knife, a packet of feathers for flies, binding thread and hooks for trout fishing. Something triggered a childhood memory of a visit to the museum, where he had seen a display of the weapons indigenous Australians had used for hunting. They’d used bone fragments and animal teeth to tip their spears.
A few hours later, Alice had fashioned a carbon fibre bow from the fishing rod, with a two hundred pound breaking strain bowstring and half a dozen fletched arrows with lethal, rodent tooth arrowheads. Everyone gathered near the hot spring to watch Alice test his creation.
Zule had suspended a pumpkin from the branch of a tree, and Alice stood six metres away, taking aim. The first shot missed and Ex and his barbarian mates grumbled gloomily — they were so keen to see it work. The next shot was a through-and-through, and the congregation cheered wildly.
“You don’t have many arrows,” Kinks pointed out, nursing her arm in a sling.
“I was lucky to make this many,” said Alice. “I’ll just have to make each one count. If I can get up high in a tree and we can lure the Rooga into a clearing, I might just be able to get a shot. Might not kill him, but could do some serious damage.”
They drew straws for the right to play bait for the Rooga, and Derg won. He relished the thought — he loved a physical challenge.
The hunting party set off just after noon. It was a sad departure, with all the girls worried for the safety of the guys, especially Djard, who was seriously pissed at being excluded.
With Kinks out of action, Zule had offered to join them, and when refused she suggested Thin Lizzy, who knew where Karn had met his fate. They also declined this offer, as they didn’t want to risk any more of the Vixen. Instinct would have to be their guide.
A dim memory sparked deep in Zule’s mind — she had seen men, full of bravado, behaving the same manner and saying the same things. Those men never returned from the hunt.
“It was tough leaving them behind.”
“You make light of the situation Alice. What was tough was taking on such a formidable beast.”
Alice knew En-Ki was right. “We needed to revenge Karn’s sacrifice. It was payback time.”
“You got a long way before you realized you were the ones being hunted.”
A lightning bolt flashed in his mind.
Alice had chosen to find the western wall and follow it towards the Gash. At least that route would give him vital knowledge of the topography for the other expedition he knew he would ultimately undertake. His plan was to make it to the western wall via the Museum Subway Station within three hours. After a brutal forced march, they made it with an hour to spare.
Alice studied the wreckage of the Museum Station building, trying to glean an inkling of what might have caused such a cataclysm. Declan’s diary had enlightened him to his environment, but the missing pages had robbed him of the certain knowledge of the cause of the catastrophe.
It made sense, though, that the park had been sliced like a piece of cake from its surroundings and sunk into the earth. The cross-city freeway tunnels were deep down under the streets that bordered the park, and were probably responsible for the subsidence. But what could have caused the canopy to seal over the park? It would have had to be the result of massive heat. The more he thought about it, the more troubled he became.
Instead of going down into the subway to follow the route Declan had taken, they continued to follow the western wall – they’d be more likely to encounter the Rooga that way. Alice had already determined from Kinks that it was known to be nocturnal and afraid of fire. So they’d come prepared, with bone handle torches primed with oily rag wicks.
As twilight began to fall they set up camp in a small clearing around the base of a massive Port Jackson Fig Tree, so old it would have to have been planted, in 1850, as one of the original park trees.
Their trek so far had been mostly uneventful. They’d heard no suspicious sounds, seen nothing of a worrisome nature, and were beginning to wonder if they’d done the right thing heading towards the Gash.
They decided to set up for an ambush anyway. Chez found a hiding place on the edge of the clearing. Ex crouched opposite, leaving a clear space for the Rooga to find Derg, who was sitting on one of the huge tree roots as bait. Alice climbed the tree and out onto a bough, where he perched six metres up with a clear three-hundred-degree view of the clearing. Ex covered the rest from his spot on the ground.
They waited … and they waited. And nothing happened. Eventually, at the first sign of light, Alice made a bird call that alerted the others the stakeout was over.
When he got down from the tree he found Derg sound asleep. Ex and Chez had stayed awake and on guard. They joined Alice. Ex kicked Derg’s boot to wake him. “Wake up!” he growled. Derg woke with a start and shot them a big grin. “Sorry, Derg snore.”
Alice laughed. The more time they spent together, the more he liked these strange barbarians. Derg and Chez were a welcome source of amusement. At first he’d thought Derg was the serious one, but lately his sense of humour was shining through. There was nothing dumb about any of them — on the contrary, they were all very clever. Their ability to grasp language showed that, and impressed Alice no end.
Munching some strips of smoked jerky the Vixen had packed, they headed off in the direction of the Gash … unaware that they were being followed.
The jungle was getting thicker and more difficult to penetrate. Ex was forced to hack down thick vines with his Katana so they could get through. Eventually, he struck something solid hidden in the bush, letting out a loud clang. Alice came to check. He pulled away vegetation to reveal a huge obelisk. They looked up at it. Alice had seen it plenty of times before — only it had been snapped in half, no longer over twenty metres high, perhaps now only ten.
“This is Cleopatra’s Needle,” he said, moving around to the other side of its sandstone base. He cleared away more vegetation and found what remained of a commemorative brass plaque. Even though the guys would have no idea what he was saying, he decided to read it to them anyway.
“The Hyde Park Obelisk was unveiled in 1857 by Lord Mayor George Thornton,” he started, then stopped. “Bugger!” he said. “The rest is missing.”
“Bugger!” mimicked Ex. The others two nodded in agreement.
“Ha!” said Alice, laughing. “I remember the story that in 2014 it was covered with a giant pink condom to raise awareness about HIV. Brilliant.” He turned round to face the guys, and the laugh was immediately wiped off his face. Standing only three metres behind them was a creature that defied the imagination. Well over six feet tall, with the barrel chest of a bodybuilder and matching biceps, its head was a weird cross between human and kangaroo. The whole shebang stood, covered with reddish-brown fur, on almost-human hind legs. The Rooga.
Staring at them with burning red eyes, it opened its mouth to display a huge array of long, pointed fangs, then let out a deafening wail. Alice hurried to nock an arrow. Ex, Derg and Chez swivelled and stared at it, thunderstruck. It stood there, pumped up with defiance, like a silverback gorilla exuding intimidation — daring, provoking them, confident it was safe from whatever puny retaliation they could offer. Before Alice could get off a shot, it slipped silently into the shadows and disappeared. Its stealthy appearance troubled them.
“What the stuff was that thing?” Alice questioned.
“What the stuff?” Ex mimicked, along with Derg and Chez. “Rooga?”
“Yes, had to be,” said Alice. “A lot scarier than I expected.”
He’d realised this was more than a hunt for some dumb animal. On the contrary, their adversary was arrogant, heavy-duty and, worst of all, extremely cunning. The four of them knew the tables had been turned: the hunters had become the hunted.
They needed a fresh plan. It was obvious the Rooga had been following them for God knew how long, so the ambush hadn’t worked. Ex and his mates were more adept at hunting, so Alice yielded to them.
Marking out his strategy with sticks on the ground, Ex decided they would head for the Gash, travelling out in the open as much as possible to provoke an attack. It would mean staying vigilant, walking in single file, listening for a sign. Ex planned how they would have to react in the event of an attack. On his signal they would break, Ex and Derg to the right and Alice and Chez to the left — then they would circle round and converge on it.
A little while later they set off, travelled as planned in single file, with Ex leading and Chez bringing up the rear. They followed a route with the least amount of jungle and undergrowth to deal with, which left them feeling exposed and vulnerable, even while it provided the minimum of cover for their stalker.
Ex stopped after an hour or so because the jungle ahead had thickened again. They would, once more, have to slash their way through. Alice had a gut feeling that the Rooga had been stalking them all the way. He wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but he did wonder if the Rooga was corralling them towards the dense jungle, where it could easily set an ambush. He remembered a documentary on how a lion works its prey into its preferred battle zone. He surmised that the Rooga might be doing the same. He also recalled that lions attack in a team, and wondered if that’s how the Rooga had worked when there were more of them. Now, with no partners, it had probably developed its own stalking style.
They were losing light fast, and needed to decide whether to continue or set up camp. They agreed it would be safer to camp outside the heavy jungle, to avoid playing into the Rooga’s claws. They were, after all, in its territory.
They gathered a good supply of kindling and lit a fire. Keeping a full fire was critical; they could get close to it and be assured that the Rooga, with its fear of fire, would keep its distance. They had another meal of jerky, then set four-hour sentry shifts, so they could all get some rest. Ex took the first watch. Chez was next, then Alice followed by Derg.
It was uneventful for Ex, tough to keep his eyes open, but he managed. At the end of his watch, he tagged Chez to take over.
Chez noticed Alice was still awake and said: “Chez naughty, wants bone.” Alice chuckled, saying: “You mean hungry mate. Sorry, can’t help.” He curled up, trying to get some kip. All of them were struggling, trying to sleep with one eye open. It wasn’t that they didn’t trust each other; it was the fear of being savaged while asleep.
Close the end of his watch, Chez was leaning back against the trunk of a tree, struggling to stay awake. It was so quiet, and the warmth of the fire was making him sleepy. He started getting the nods and forgot to stoke the fire. Slowly, it went out. The crack of a twig nearby jolted Chez wide awake. He clenched his sword and listened intently, but heard nothing more.
A little while later, Chez thought he heard Derg snoring. He kicked Derg’s boot to snap him out of it. But it hadn’t been Derg at all. It had been the guttural purring of the Rooga stalking its prey.
Suddenly, from behind the tree, a pair of clawed hands reached at lightning speed around the trunk and sank into his eyes, blinding him instantly. Before he could get a word out to the others the powerful, taloned hands ripped Chez’s head clean off his shoulders.