‘Mum,’ called Dad suddenly, his eyes snapping open. ‘Good grief … we’ve got to … let her know.’

Dawson gasped. How could I have forgotten about Mum?

‘Phone … left-hand pocket,’ said Dad. ‘Get it.’

‘There’s no reception here, remember?’ Dawson reminded him. ‘We lost it long before we got to Farina.’

‘Yes, but check it anyway.’

Dawson fished the phone out of Dad’s pocket and held it up. There was a diagonal crack from one corner of the screen to the other.

‘Blast!’ Dad spat the word out in a mixture of anger and frustration. ‘Upgraded it too … just before we left Adelaide.’

Dawson stared at the phone in his hand. There’s nothing to lose, so I may as well give it a go, he thought. He tried switching it on. Not a flicker of life. He sighed and popped it into his pocket, disappointed.

‘What about thingummy’s … satellite phone?’ asked Dad, the strain in his voice getting worse. ‘Sorry … can’t remember … name.’

‘Burt,’ said Dawson. ‘Yeah, I’ll go get it. You rest.’ He struggled up through the doorway and glanced back down at Dad. His eyes were closed. He looked weak and vulnerable. It was upsetting for Dawson to see his dad like this.

Dawson headed outside.

Burt and Gwen were telling Sam and Em all about their Land Rover, and the pop-out caravan that was attached to the back of it. They turned towards Dawson as he quickly approached. Sam didn’t look impressed, but Em stared at it in awe, as if it were a spaceship or something.

‘Excuse me,’ he said to Burt. ‘Could I please use your phone again? I really need to call my mum and let her know what’s happening.’

‘Mummy!’ cried Em.

‘Sure thing.’ Burt handed over the phone.

‘Yes, Em,’ said Dawson, ‘we’re going to ring Mummy.’ He looked back at Burt. ‘Thanks. I think talking to Mum will help Em. This is all kinda hard on her.’

Burt nodded his understanding.

Sam and Em clustered around him as Dawson entered the number. Then he crouched down and held the phone a little away from his ear so that his sisters could listen in.

Ring, ring.

They looked at each other in suspense … waiting … hoping. Then –

‘Hello. You have reached Stacey Liston-Miller. I can’t take your call right now, but if you leave a message I’ll get back to you when I can.’

Beep!

The three siblings all started talking at once until Dawson stood up and backed away, holding out his hand. As Sam and Em quietened down, he spoke into the phone.

‘Hi Mum, Dawson here. We’re in Farina and we’ve had a bit of an accident. Dad’s got a broken leg. But he’s okay. There’s an ambulance on the way that will take us to the airport, and then the flying doctors are going to get Dad to hospital in Adelaide –’

Beep!

‘Voicemail ran out,’ said Dawson, entering the number again. His fingers fumbled over the buttons, misdialling. With a grimace and a frustrated sigh, he tried again. After Mum’s message, he continued.

‘Dawson again. The plane taking Dad to Adelaide only has room for one passenger. There’s a nice couple helping us out right now, but we need to get all of us back home. Can you give us a ring on this number? The people who own the phone are named Burt and Gwen. And don’t worry, everything will be –’

Beep!

Dawson stared at the phone for a few moments before handing it back to Burt. ‘Can we try again later?’

‘Sure thing,’ answered Burt, giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

‘I’m going back to Dad,’ announced Dawson abruptly.

‘Me too,’ declared Em.

‘Ah, Em,’ said Sam, taking her hand, ‘it might be better to let Dad rest. Daws can look after him. Why don’t you stay here with me.’

‘Camping gear.’ Dad’s eyes snapped open again. ‘Didn’t finish packing it up.’

‘Don’t think about that now,’ said Dawson. ‘I’ve rung Mum, but I keep getting her voicemail. I’ve left a couple of messages, so hopefully she’ll ring back on Burt and Gwen’s phone soon.’

‘Okay. But … can’t just leave stuff out in the open,’ insisted Dad. ‘Left car unlocked. Got to … pack away … lock car.’ Dad’s voice was becoming more panicky.

‘Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it.’ Dawson nodded and stood up. ‘Keys?’

‘Right … pocket.’

Dad groaned as Dawson fished the keys from his pocket. He closed his eyes as Dawson headed out of the cellar.

Outside, Burt and Gwen were talking in low voices by their Land Rover, while Sam and Em were playing noughts and crosses in the sand. They all turned around as Dawson appeared.

Dawson looked to his older sister. ‘Sam, do you and Em want to keep Dad company while I go and pack up our stuff?’

Sam nodded. Em jumped up.

‘Do you need a hand?’ asked Burt.

Dawson shook his head.

‘You sure?’ he asked again.

‘Yes,’ snapped Dawson, immediately regretting it. ‘I’m sorry,’ he added, lowering his voice. ‘I … I didn’t mean … I just need a bit of time on my own.’

‘Then we’ll stay out here and wait for the ambulance,’ said Gwen, putting a hand on her husband’s shoulder.

‘Thanks.’ Dawson turned away, a little embarrassed, and went off at a brisk walk.

Somehow, Farina seemed a lot more desolate and lonely now as Dawson made his way along the main street. Knowing that Dad was lying injured in one of the buildings, waiting for help to arrive, made everything feel wrong. Dad was the one who should be looking after things, getting him and his sisters out of trouble, fixing everything. Not the other way round.

Entering the campground, Dawson saw that their things were mostly packed up. The tent was in its bag, the chairs and table were folded up and the camping stove was already in the car. He opened up the hatchback and started putting everything inside. The only trouble he had was with the tent, which was quite heavy. He had to drag it over to the car, stand it on its end and lean it up against the opening. Then he lifted it from the bottom and heaved it into the boot.

Dawson took one last look around to make sure he hadn’t forgotten anything. Rummaging in the back seat, he pulled out his wallet. Can’t leave this behind, he thought before stuffing it into his pocket.

Turning to leave, he saw Burt striding up the path.

‘I’ve been thinking,’ said Burt, ‘it’s not a good idea to leave the car behind. Gwen can drive our Land Rover behind the ambulance, and I can take your car. That way everything will be at Leigh Creek.’

‘Thanks,’ said Dawson then hesitated. He felt like he should say more but he was having trouble forming words. He swallowed the lump in his throat. ‘And thanks for everything else, too. You know, stopping and calling the RFDS and …’ His voice trailed away.

‘No worries,’ said Burt. ‘It’s what people in the outback do. They help each other when help is needed.’ He put his hands in his pockets and looked off into the distance. ‘Australia’s a great country. But it’s also dangerous. And when you’re out in the middle of nowhere like this, you stick together.’

Dawson nodded and handed the car keys to Burt.

‘Look,’ said Burt, ‘Gwen and I have done a lot of travelling. Overseas when we were younger but now mostly around Australia. We’ve seen people in trouble and helped when we could. We’ve got into a few scrapes ourselves.’ He smiled at his memories. ‘But things have always turned out okay. It’s important to keep a cool head. And do what needs to be done.’ He gave Dawson a reassuring look. ‘And you’ve handled things extremely well.’ Burt finished by putting his hands on his hips.

It was a gesture that reminded Dawson of Dad. He imagined that Mum and Dad would end up just like Gwen and Burt – spending their retirement travelling around. He found the thought comforting.

Dawson and Burt walked back to town in silence.

As they strode along the main street, Dawson spotted a cloud of dust in the distance.

His heart skipped a beat.