A LOUD THUMP woke Alice. It was the sound of Chez’s head hitting the ground — the Rooga had hurled it at them. It rolled to stop at Alice’s feet. He dived for his bow and arrows. Ex and Derg were on their feet in a flash. They scanned the surroundings but could see no sign of the monster, only the mark of its depravity: Chez’s headless body, propped against the tree, a fountain of blood spraying from the torn neck.
Derg was livid. He howled mournfully, like a lone wolf over a dead mate. Ex tried to console him — they needed him to keep it together. Alice poked furiously at the fire to get it going again.
With Derg settled down, they set to digging a grave to bury their friend. They didn’t want to leave the body for the killer to devour. Alice was worried the Rooga had killed, not for food, but because it was threatened. It felt like it was aiming to pick them off one at a time. Now more than ever they were intent on ridding the world of the horrible thing — but how?
As they were digging, Alice got an idea. Maybe the Rooga was killing for food, and planned to return to its prey once they’d moved on. Miming, he convinced Ex and Derg to leave Chez’s body propped up against the tree and take up positions to wait for the beast. At least that way Chez’s grisly death would amount to something.
Alice climbed a tree three metres from Chez’s body. He crawled out onto a limb, about six metres up and within good range to hit the target if — or when — it appeared near Chez. Then settled into position to wait.
Ex was holed up in a hide with an unobstructed view of the target, sword at the ready. Derg was more audacious. He was lurking behind the trunk of the tree Alice had climbed. So he would get closer without being detected, he coated his face, forearms and upper torso with a mix of ash from the campfire and some animal lard the Vixen had given them, to mask his scent.
Thin beams of light were descending through fissures in the canopy. From his vantage point in the tree, Alice could clearly see the Gash. It was obvious from up here that Hyde Park had collapsed into the cross-Sydney subterranean tunnel system. Without warning, everything around him shimmered like a mirage. He lost his balance, and almost fell out of the tree. When he looked at the ground it was spinning — vertigo? No, this was something else, something worse.
He blinked his eyes, and tried to focus on his hands. Battling to regain his composure, he threw up a horrible, bitter green liquid. He had to grip the tree to steady himself. Suddenly, he was shaken by a tumultuous thunderclap, reverberating through the cavern. As the dizziness subsided, he looked up to see an electric flash of fluorescent green lightning, that reflected through the fissures from the surface. It was followed by another enormous thunderclap that shook everything around them.
The strange thunder lightning was nothing new to Ex and Derg. Being from the surface they were used to it, and knew exactly what to expect. They took cover.
Drizzle descended through the fissures, but it was not ordinary rain. When droplets struck Alice’s exposed flesh, his hands, forearms and face, it felt like bees stinging. He quickly realised what it was and climbed out of the tree to seek cover.
Each droplet of the caustic, acid rain was more like a miniature hailstone than a raindrop. The fizzing globules travelled through the humid cavern air like tiny meteors, leaving smoky chemtrails. After fifteen minutes, the trails coalesced into a mist that hung suspended in the forest with oily tenacity, a noxious gas that forced them to cover their faces to avoid taking it into their lungs.
Now Alice understood why there were no birds and few insects inside the cavern. This deadly miasma would kill any creature that wasn’t able to avoid it.
The atomic storm eventually ceased, but without a breeze the toxic mist would hang for some time. However, as the surface was being lashed by a cyclonic gale, wafts entered the fissures in the canopy, generating a refreshing, swirling breeze that gradually began to diffuse the mist.
Alice sighed. He was glad both his giddiness and the atomic storm had passed, though his mouth still tasted like the floor of a parrot’s cage. He figured the giddiness and the green vomit were residual effects of Secta’s vaccine, and quietly cursed the mad scientist again and again.
He was about to climb back up, when he saw a flash of red moving through the bush about six metres away. It was the Rooga, and it was within range. He quickly nocked an arrow, took aim and fired. He missed.
The Rooga saw the arrow strike a tree, and immediately whipped around to face his attacker, a wicked look in its red eyes. Letting out an earthshattering shriek, it charged through the bush towards Alice.
Aware he had only one more shot before it got to him, Alice steadied his aim and fired. The arrow sank deep into the Rooga’s left shoulder, and stopped it dead in its tracks. Gripping the arrow, it snapped it off. Blood spurted from the wound: an artery had been hit. The Rooga glared at Alice, and snarled.
Because it had stopped its charge, Alice had time for another shot. Moving quickly, he nocked another arrow. Before he could fire, Ex and Derg came charging from their hiding places, wielding their swords, and unknowingly shielded the target from Alice’s aim.
As soon as the hideous creature saw them it pumped itself up, and fended off their blows with its powerful arms. Though Alice could see its strength was being sapped by loss of blood, even in its weakened state it easily held its attackers at bay with vicious swipes of its razor-sharp claws.
Screaming like a banshee, Derg rushed up close, trying to get inside the Rooga’s defence. Easily pushing his blade aside, it snapped at him viciously. Powerful jaws fastened around the sword blade, and with a jerk of its head, it easily wrenched the weapon from Derg’s grip. It was rearing back to snap at Derg’s face when Ex barged in to save the day. A perfectly placed blow from his Katana severed the Rooga’s right forearm. It let Derg go, held up its bloody stump and let out an almighty howl.
Ex seized the moment. Pushing Derg out of the way, he proceeded to hack again, this time severing the Rooga’s left arm at the wrist. He was dismembering the Rooga piece by piece, limb by limb. The grisly sight caused Alice, still queasy from his previous attack, to turn away. Ex continued attacking, a man possessed … it was death by a thousand cuts. The squealing and shrieking, the crunching of flesh and bone while the creature was slashed to pieces, was horrifying. Eventually, blood gurgling in its throat and spewing it from its mouth, the Rooga collapsed to the ground. Panting, drenched in blood, Ex stood over the Rooga, raised his sword in the air and let out a loud triumphant roar. Slashing down, he finished it, lopping off the hideous head. The battle was over … the enemy had been defeated. It had cost another life, but they had gained their revenge.
Arm in arm, the three men stood over the body, remembering their fallen friends. Ex picked up the amputated left paw as a trophy. Then they turned to the task of burying Chez.
With the Rooga dead and their duty to the dead complete, they could proceed with more confidence on mission number two: surveying the Gash and planning their next move. It took twenty minutes to find the edge of the enormous chasm. The three of them stood, staring into the abyss.
“Shit, it’s a long way down there,” said Alice.
“Shit down there,” Ex and Derg repeated, in unison.
As cheerless as they were after losing Chez, Alice still found the way the guys instinctively repeated his swear words amusing. He managed a smile.
They followed the Gash towards the western wall to find the place Zule’s grandfather Declan had described making the crossing. After battling through thick scrub for some time, they came to the massive Port Jackson Fig Tree he’d described. Part of the plank his team had used was still wedged under a huge root. It brought another smile to Alice’s face as he recalled how they’d used it all those years ago, a springboard across the four-metre gap to the other side.
Ex pointed up at the big Fig Tree. Over time, it had grown branches that jutted over the Gash. Ex held his hands together and rocked back and forth. Alice got the idea — if they could fasten a rope to the big branch leaning into the middle of the Gash, they could swing across. It was a great idea, and it would work — all they needed was ten metres of strong rope. But that would have to wait until they could search the storeroom back at the Vixen stronghold. For now, they needed to concern themselves with the task of getting back. But at least they didn’t have to worry about predators — although Alice would remain vigilant, not yet convinced that the Rooga was the last of its kind.
Taking the opportunity to explore more, the team decided to follow a different route back to the Temple. They set off, following the Gash east. The gap widened as they proceeded. By the time they reached the eastern cliff face, Alice estimated it was twelve metres across. Even though he couldn’t see them, he knew the Archibald Fountain and the entrance to the Moving Footway were not far, just on the other side of the Gash. The footway was his ultimate objective, but not right now.
Skirting along the eastern cliff face, they found nothing unusual, other than a lot of small mammals: brushtail and ringtail possums, bush rats, brown rats and water rats, grey-headed flying foxes and a few other creatures Alice couldn’t identify. An echidna-like creature the size of a small dog, but with flat brown scales similar to those on an armadillo instead of spines, scurried into a burrow. He was tempted to use his last few arrows hunting it, but chose to keep them in reserve, just in case.
When they reached the southeast corner of the park Alice found what he was looking for; the four-inch naval cannon from the German warship SMS Emden. The old gun had spent the years since 1917 facing Whitlam Square, and was now lying on its side, rusted, neglected and derelict.
Ex and Derg were impressed. Alice, in a mixture of charades and simple words, showed them that if it was loaded at one end, it would shoot a shell out of the other and explode. He was starting to enjoy this means of communication.
They turned west, and soon arrived at the Temple.
A loud, excited squeal erupted from the first couple of Vixen lookouts to see them emerging from the forest. Zule arrived quickly and stood at the top of the stairs to greet them. Her happy expression faded quickly when she realized only three had returned.
Alice led them up the stairs, backslapped all the way by elated Vixen. When he reached Zule she held out her arms, and they embraced. Djard looked on, stony-faced. Alice turned to her and caressed her cheek. That cheered her up a little.
“Chez?” she asked, looking into his eyes.
Alice slowly shook his head.
Overhearing the news, the buxom Vixen with whom Chez had been bonding let out a wail, and ran off in tears.
Ex handed the Rooga’s paw to Kinks. She held it aloft, and let out a triumphant roar. There was general jubilation. Their main predator was dead. They could finally live in peace.
Festivities went on into the night. Alice was asked to tell the story of the battle with the Rooga over and over, and each time he embellished it a little more. The three of them were heroes, and they relished the adulation.
That night, Alice retired with Zule. Kinks didn’t join them this time: it was too serious. At dawn they were lying in together in a state of bliss. Alice hadn’t felt so fulfilled for a very long time. But deep down inside he knew he would soon have to leave, to continue his search for answers. He wasn’t sure how to tell Zule, especially now. But she was one step ahead of him.
She looked him in the eyes and said simply: “You’re finding it difficult to tell me you have to leave, aren’t you?”
“I’ve no choice,” he said, gently. “I need to find out what happened. Your grandfather’s diary opened the door just enough to give me hope. But it also created more questions.”
“I knew once you saw the eastern end of the Gash you’d figure a way of crossing it.”
“It would be possible to swing across, but I need a length of rope.”
“There might be rope in the storeroom.”
“Then that’s today’s job: a search.”
They kissed. Locking eyes with him, she said solemnly: “I’m coming with you.”
“What to search for a rope?”
“No, on your expedition.”
“No way! It’s too dangerous … I—”
“Alice,” she said sternly, “You killed the enemy. We are safe now. I need to know what happened just as much as you. Our future depends on it. Do you understand that?”
“Yes, but it sounds more like an excuse for wanting to keep an eye on me,” he said, with a cheeky chuckle.
She playfully punched him on the shoulder. “You!” she accused. “I’m not about to give you up, Black Alice.”
Later, Alice emerged from his love crib, ready to search for the rope he needed. He found Ex, Derg and Kinks waiting for him. “Hey folks, let’s go search for some rope,” he said. Ex and Derg copied. “Rope.”
“Is it to cross the Gash?” Kinks asked.
“Yes,” said Alice. “D’you think there’s one that might work?”
“I think I’ve seen one,” she said, and led them to the storeroom.
Ex and Derg were impressed by all the junk. Unlike Alice, they hadn’t been there before. Ex picked up a pair of chrome handlebars and studied them.
“They’re from a chopper mate … a Harley,” Alice explained.
“Harley chopper,” Ex repeated.
Derg took a look but wasn’t as interested. He was far more attracted to a naked female mannequin.
In the far corner of the room, Kinks was foraging with one arm; the other was still in a sling. She found what she was looking for under an old tarpaulin.
“Alice, over here,” she called. “I think this is it.”
Together, they opened the big aluminium tea chest she had uncovered. Inside it was packed with what Alice quickly recognised as Declan’s belongings. On top was a framed wedding photo, faded with age. It was Declan and Lizzy outside St. Michael’s Anglican Church in Surry Hills, Sydney, with other members of the family. They were both young, maybe only twenty.
“Look at these guys,” said Alice. Mr and Mrs Declan Murphy, just married. What a stunning couple.” He handed the photo to Kinks. “Hold onto this for me,” he said. “Zule should have it.”
He dug deeper, eventually unearthing a coiled rope. “This must be the rope they used on the expedition,” he said. “It’s probably just long enough, but I’m not sure it’s in the best shape — it’s pretty old.”
“I don’t think you’ll find another,” said Kinks.
“Yeah, I guess it’ll have to do.”
On the way back to the temple, Alice thought about who should accompany him. Ex and Derg were naturally on board, and he’d already agreed to Zule coming, but what about Djard? He wanted to limit the numbers to reduce the risk.
He found Djard moping about in front of the temple and approached her. “Djard, you come with me or stay here?” he asked. She looked surprised by the question, then snapped: “Djard no stay!”
Alice could see she was distressed. He knew she didn’t like it with the Vixen. It was either the competition, or her inability to communicate with them — she was finding it too difficult to make friends. Whatever the case, he couldn’t leave her behind.
“Okay,” he said, with an understanding smile.