of payback was being extracted from her family. Something unmentionable had occurred out here many years ago and the spirits of those affected were seeking retribution. Why else had the 1909 diary entries ceased? Why else were people against any development out here? God, even Toby Williams had an opinion on Boxer’s Plains. It may only have been a gut feeling on her part, however it was strong.
Sarah slammed her foot on the brake, screeching to a halt as the trees closed in, obstructing any further passage. Anthony’s bike lay near an immense tree, a run of rusty wire entangled around the rear tyre. She ran to the bike. Bullet passed her in a flying leap, jumped two logs and ducked through a maze of saplings, leaving Sarah to reconcile the mangled mess of the bike and the drag marks which led further into the dense timber. She ran then, as fast as she could across the uneven ground, noticing that the thickness of the trees began to thin until suddenly there was a wreck of a partially burnt house in front of her and a fox. Bullet was snuffling the animal as if greeting an old friend. Sarah knitted her brows together, then she saw Anthony, sprawled, face down in the dirt.
‘Anthony.’ She dropped to her knees beside him, noticing that one leg was propped out at an angle. Placing her hand on the middle of his back, she half-expected to see bite marks or worse on Anthony’s neck. There was nothing. She turned him over carefully, expecting a groan. Bullet left the fox to join her, whimpering softly. ‘Anthony.’ His hands were freezing, his face blue. Congealed blood matted his forehead and hair. The worst of it was the thin line of blood and saliva that ran from his mouth on movement. ‘Jesus! Anthony, answer me!’ Gingerly Sarah put her cheek to his mouth, dreading not hearing a breath or feeling the moistness of warm air. The slightest zephyr grazed her cheek. ‘Thank God. Thank God.’ Removing her jacket, she placed it over his chest and then wedged her jumper between his head and the cold earth. ‘Watch him,’ she commanded Bullet, who immediately sat by Anthony’s side.
Sarah was back at the Landcruiser within minutes. She spun the vehicle around, reversing over the top of stringy saplings until she was away from the thickest of the trees and driving until she had line of sight to the open cultivation. She lifted the two-way radio to her mouth.
‘This is Sarah at Wangallon. Can anyone hear me?’
Silence. She revved the vehicle driving until she hit the expanse of open cultivation and hopefully a better reception. ‘This is Sarah at Wangallon. Does anyone copy?’
Static drifted over the airway.
‘This is Sarah at Wangallon. Please, can anyone hear me?’
‘Yeah gotcha, Wangallon. What’s the prob?’
‘It’s Anthony. There’s been an accident. Can you help me?’
‘Hey kiddo, it’s Toby. Where the hell are you?’
‘Boxer’s Plains. It’s bad, Toby, really bad.’ Sarah choked back tears. ‘I don’t think he’ll make it.’
‘You hang tight. We’re on our way.’
‘Anthony, can you hear me?’ Sarah lay beside him in the dirt; the cotton seat covers from the Landcruiser tucked around him for extra warmth. His breathing was ragged. Now and then there would be the slightest of movements from him: a twitch of a finger or a slight relaxation of his neck. Sarah wondered what internal injuries he’d sustained for he was still blue despite her best intentions at keeping him warm. A good fire was burning thanks to the matches she’d found on the dash of the Landcruiser and the plethora of leaf litter and branches. A branch of green belah leaves gave off a steady stream of white smoke from it. Each time the smoke lessened Sarah replaced it with another branch, hopeful it would help guide the men to their rescue. She didn’t dare risk trying to move Anthony for fear of worsening his condition and neither would she leave him to call on the two-way again. Sarah placed her head on Anthony’s shoulder and her arm across his chest. Bullet and Ferret were lying beside them.
Sarah tucked her jacket under Anthony’s chin and hugged him closer. Bullet’s head was resting on his uninjured thigh; Ferret huddled close to his mate. Although the sun’s rays ceased to penetrate the clearing, the spot where she lay with Anthony was warm with love. Sarah could feel it flowing into the man beside her, even as she willed her own