Charlie

 

 

You know, for a nerdy butterfly guy, a doctor of all butterfly things, he sure could give some orders. “I’ll need to document findings for as far as this creek runs. Photos, egg casings, caterpillars, leaf samples, and please, look for any specimen of butterfly that might already be dead.”

“It’s getting late,” Trav said, looking up at the sky. “We got about two hours of daylight left.”

I nodded. “Right, then. We’ll head north up to as far as these shrubs things are and see what we can find.”

“Butterflies aren’t nocturnal,” Lawson added. “They’ll be roosting soon.”

“Then we better get going,” Trav said.

“You guys right to set up camp? Or you need us to give you a hand?” I asked them.

“Nah, it’s fine,” Jack said with a smile, putting the lids back on the research tubs. “I’ll walk back to the cars with you guys. That way I can get our camp set up while Lawson finishes up down here.”

“I should get going back too,” Greg said. “What’s the plan of attack for tomorrow, then?”

I scrubbed my hand over my face. “If Trav and me drive as far north as this creek runs, take photos and samples, camp there tonight, then do the same on our way back south every so often in the mornin’ and Jack and Lawson do the same heading upstream, then we should cover twice the ground, right?”

“Sounds perfect,” Lawson said. “I’ll send these photographs off tonight, and hopefully by morning we should hear back.” Then he turned to Greg. “If these butterflies are determined to be the White-barred Emperor, further field study will be required. Will you have an issue with allowing researchers and ecology specialists on your property?”

“If it stops a massive pipeline runnin’ up the guts of my farm, I don’t care who has to come out here.”

Lawson nodded. “Very good. I’ve not had any personal experience with how such matters of ecological findings impact governmental infrastructure such as pipelines, though I’ve read similar cases. There will be reports, environmental studies, flora and fauna impact statements… the list is long.”

“And?” Trav asked. “What are you saying?”

“That even if the pipeline is stopped tomorrow, this won’t end quickly. These findings and reports can take years to unfold. I’d imagine you’ll be on a first-name basis with the Queensland Department of Environmental Sciences and a dozen other ecology specialists in no time.”

Greg stared at him. “But in five, ten, fifty years from now, I’ll have butterflies on my farm and not a pipeline, right?”

Lawson gave him a smile. “I’d like to hope so.”

Greg smiled. “I can live with that.”

We left Lawson to watch the butterflies while we all walked back to our vehicles. I made sure Jack had half the food Ma had given us, half the water, a radio, and a swag. He was already collectin’ firewood before we left, and I knew they were competent in the outdoors. So, we said goodbye to Greg, then Trav and I were in the Cruiser and heading north.

We followed the creek as far as we could. Those weird-lookin’ shrubs were there, but the ridge had become deeper and it’d take some climbin’ down. I was grateful we’d taken the more difficult end of the creek, though. I mighta been okay with Jack and Lawson camping out here, but I was more confident in my and Trav’s ability to handle the terrain.

I grabbed Trav’s phone for the camera and some of the specimen jars, that looked like the ones the doc made me pee in, and headed for the edge of the bank. “Be careful,” Trav said, as he pulled the swag out of the back of the Cruiser, threw it on the ground, and unrolled it.

Careful of my footing, I climbed down the rocky ledge to the creek. The water was deeper here, and as a whole, it wasn’t too unlike our lagoon. And that gave me an idea. But first, the butterflies… And there were butterflies here. Not as many, but enough. So I took a bunch of photos of them on the leaves, and because Lawson wasn’t there, I shook the branch a little to make the butterflies fly, snapping pics as they did. Then I found some old cocoon things, a caterpillar or two, and as the first-prize trophy, along the rock face, I found a dead butterfly.

Happy with my findings, I climbed back up the ledge and found Trav starting a campfire. I showed him everything I collected and put them in the back of the Cruiser. “Hey, the water looks good down there. Fancy an evenin’ swim?”

Trav looked up at me, and a slow-spreadin’ smile crept along his face. “I do believe you have bad intentions?”

I chuckled. “That would depend on your definition of bad.” He sat down on the swag, and I pounced on him, straddlin’ his hips and pushin’ him till he was lying on his back. “You know the only thing I find better than a hot and sweaty Travis?”

Trav laughed and his blue eyes shone with somethin’ that looked like a whole lotta fun. “A wet Travis?”

I kissed him hard. “Correct.”

He grabbed the back of my head and brought me in for another kiss, liftin’ his hips a little. “Or you could fuck me right now,” he murmured in that give-me-goosebumps way he did. “Skinny dip later.”

I crushed my mouth to his and settled my weight on him, my legs between his. He spread his knees wide and rolled his hips, his fingers dug into my scalp, and he bit my lip, making me moan.

But then the radio crackled to life, and I drew my lips away from Travis’, half expectin’ George’s voice to boom through the speaker, checkin’ in on us, but it wasn’t George. It was Lawson.

“Charlie! Charlie, can you hear me? It’s Jack. He’s been bitten by a snake.”

* * *

I was up and off Travis in a heartbeat. Trav threw our gear into the back of the Cruiser while I kicked dirt on the campfire, and we were on our way back literally ten seconds after Lawson’s call.

I drove faster than I’d ever driven.

Trav kept tryin’ to talk to Lawson, but it was kinda hard to hear him. All we knew was it was a bite to the hand. He’d been climbin’ along some rock face above the creek and stuck his hand on a ledge when he felt a jab on his finger. He’d fallen back in shock but saw the snake. It had a black coloured head and was kinda yellow underneath.

Oh fuck.

Trav looked at me, frowned, and reached for my hand. I took it real quick and threaded our fingers. We both knew what kind of snake that was. And it wasn’t good. Inland taipans were the world’s deadliest snake.

Jack was conscious. And Lawson couldn’t stop crying.

All I could do was squeeze Trav’s hand because I knew―I knew in my heart―that if it were Trav layin’ down bein’ snake bit, I’d be a fucking mess too.

I pressed down on the accelerator, and Travis put a call into the Station. “Ma? Get George. Get him real quick. There’s been an accident.”

* * *

It was almost completely dark when their campsite came into view. The fire was out and I knew they’d still be up the creek. So I drove down a bit further and put the Cruiser down over the ridgeline. It was a bit of a shorter drop, but we still bounced in our seats, Trav needed to hold onto the dashboard, but we made it okay. I turned the Cruiser up the creek and floored it again until we saw Lawson kneelin’ in the dirt, wavin’ at us.

Jack was layin’ in front of him, and we both raced over. I could see Lawson had correctly applied a bandage from his fingers to his armpit, and Jack was real still. I was almost scared to ask because it’d been a good forty minutes… Taipans could kill in less time than that.

Then Jack smiled. “Hey.”

I dropped to my knees beside him, relief rushin’ out with my breath. “Oh, Jesus. How’re you feeling?”

Jack blinked real slow. “My hand hurts.”

“Headache? Nausea? Dizziness?” Travis pressed.

“Nope.”

Lawson sniffled. He was holding Jack’s other hand, and I realised then that his eyes were red and he looked real pale. “He says he feels okay, but we’re in the middle of nowhere. We’re so far from help, it wouldn’t matter anyway.” His bottom lip trembled.

I put my hand on his shoulder. “I radioed for George. He’s bringin’ the chopper in now. Should be here any minute. He’ll take him to hospital.”

Tears fell down Lawson’s cheeks, and he sobbed. “Thank you.”

“Lawson,” I said gently. “It sounds like an inland taipan, and I gotta tell ya, that’s not good. But the fact he’s not dead yet is a real good sign.”

Lawson’s teary gaze shot to mine. “What?”

“If it was a bite to kill, he’d already be dead or in so much pain he’d wish he was. The fact that he’s okay tells me it was a dry bite. A warning bite. The snake was probably sleepin’. Jack still needs to get to a hospital, though, just to be sure. You did everything right. You kept him still. The bandage looks good.”

Travis put his hand on Jack’s chest. “You still feeling okay?”

Jack gave a small nod. “Yeah. More worried about Lawson.”

Lawson laughed through his tears. “Usually it’s me that needs saving.” He put Jack’s hand to his lips and kissed it, then cried some more.

“Can tell you what, though,” Jack said soothingly, looking above our heads. “I’ve never seen a night sky look anything like this.”

We all looked upwards. The Outback sky was putting on a show, that was for sure. And I guess with Jack being on his back looking up at it, it was hard not to marvel at her. She was a blanket of stars, of galaxies, that weren’t nothing short of spectacular.

“Ya know,” I said, figurin’ he was trying to placate Lawson some. “I’ve seen thousands of night skies out here, and it still amazes me every time.”

Jack smiled at Lawson, and Lawson leaned down and kissed him on the lips. “Trust you to be too busy to die because you’re looking at the sky.”

We all laughed in a relieved kinda way, and then we heard it. A far off helicopter getting closer until we saw the spotlight. “George can’t land down here. We need to get Jack back to camp without moving him too much,” I explained. “So, we’re gonna lift you into the Cruiser then drive you out, okay?”

Jack nodded, so Trav and I both lifted him up, and Lawson quickly ran to open the door. We lifted him inside and Lawson scrambled in after him. I reversed the whole way down the creek until the bank was small enough for the Cruiser to make it up. The last thing I wanted to do was roll it and see us all end up in hospital. By the time we got out, George had the chopper down, the rotors slowin’ to a stop, and he was out of the cockpit waitin’ for us.

“I can walk to the helicopter,” Jack said.

“No you won’t,” I said, puttin’ an arm around him, helping him out of the seat. “You need to keep your heart rate down.”

Trav and I carried Jack in more of a sitting-up position to the helicopter. It was kinda awkward going, but we got him there. Lawson stood back, his eyes filled with water. “I can’t go with him,” he mumbled. The helicopter was only big enough for the pilot and one passenger.

“We’ll follow you,” I told George, knowing Lawson would hear.

George started the chopper and the rotors began to spin. I grabbed Lawson, but he shook off my hand and ran over to Jack, grabbed his face, and planted a kiss on his lips. Trav raced in and grabbed Lawson’s arm, pullin’ him back so George could get the chopper off the ground. Dust swirled and bit our faces and we had to shield our eyes, then by the time the air had settled around us, so had the darkness. And that too-loud silence.

Lawson just stood there. Not knowin’ what else to say, I put my hand on his shoulder. “Come on. Let’s get packed up and go.”

Fresh tears fell down his cheeks, and he looked so utterly, horribly lost. But he nodded, and five minutes later, he had his research tubs squared away, Trav rolled up the swag, I collected the water and food, and we headed home.

I drove Lawson’s Defender, knowin’ his wits were far from with him, and Trav followed in the Cruiser.

Lawson was quiet a while, lookin’ out at the darkness. “I’m sorry I lost it back there,” he said, breakin’ the silence.

“Nah, that’s all right. If it were me, and Travis was lyin’ there like that, I’da done more than lose my shit.”

He nodded and went back to starin’ out the window, and I had to wonder if he was crying some more. He gave himself some time before he spoke again. “You know, a few years back, I almost died from cane toad poisoning. We were in the tropical rainforest of North Queensland and it was pouring rain… Anyway, he carried me on his back, in the dark, and walked me to meet an ambulance. He must have carried me for a kilometre or more, through some slippery and rugged terrain.” He swallowed hard. “He saved my life.”

“And tonight you saved his.”

The look on his face told me he didn’t believe that. He surprised me by barking out a laugh. “There is a long-running joke in our families that I’m the one who constantly needs saving. They’ll never believe me because he’s always the strong one; there’s nothing he can’t do.” He frowned, and his voice went real quiet. “I can’t even think about what would happen if…”

“I’m sure he’s okay,” I said, though I had no real idea of knowin’. “Like I said, if it was a taipan and a full-venom bite, he wouldn’t be sittin’ up in a helicopter right now.”

Lawson nodded, but it was a hollow acknowledgement. I didn’t blame him none. Because if it was Trav in Jack’s shoes right now, I wouldn’t believe what anyone told me until I saw him with my own eyes. Lawson’s mind must’ve been goin’ down the same track as mine. “Where’s George taking him?”

“Home first. He’ll need to refuel. Then to Alice Hospital.”

He nodded slowly. “I hope you don’t think it rude of me to follow him tonight. When we get back to your house, I’ll be leaving as soon as I’m packed. I don’t mean to offend your hospitality―”

“I get it, Lawson. And I’m not offended. If it were Travis… well, I wouldn’t be anywhere else either.”

He gave me a bit of a smile. “Thank you.”

I was just about to ask where this left the whole butterfly thing when the CB radio cracked to life. It was George. “Hey Charlie,” he said, his slow drawl a familiar welcome. “Everything okay?”

Instinctively, I checked my rear vision mirror to check on Trav’s headlights not too far behind us. “Yeah. All good here. You refuelling?”

“Well, I was, but our patient here says he’s well enough to stay.”

“He what?” Lawson asked.

“Lawson,” George drawled. “Thought you might want to speak some sense into him, son.”

I handed the radio mouthpiece to Lawson, and his jaw set. “Jack? Have you lost your mind?”

There was a ruffling sound, a muffled voice, then Jack’s voice came on the radio. “Lawson, I’m okay.”

“Do you have a degree in neurotoxicology that I’m unaware of?”

Jack snorted. “No.”

“Then why won’t you go to hospital?”

There was silence so long that Lawson looked at the mouthpiece like it was a phone with a screen. “Because I won’t go without you.”

Lawson let the hand holding the radio mouthpiece fall into his lap and he put his thumb and forefinger into his eyes, I realised, to stem his tears. “How long until we get back to your house?” he asked me quietly.

“Hour and a half.”

He spoke into the radio. “I’m ninety minutes away. And I’ll drive you to the hospital myself.”

“Lawson, I feel okay. My hand hurts and my arm aches, but I have no other symptoms.”

“Then you’ll have no problems in letting the good medical doctors of the local hospital assess you.”

“See you soon, Lawson.”

The radio clicked off, and Lawson smiled, clearly more relieved in hearing Jack’s voice and that he was okay. “Stubborn man.”

The drive was silent after that, which was just as well. Driving out here durin’ the day was hard enough; driving at night was a whole new world of worry. There was no road, as such, but the track to Greg’s place from mine was worn well enough that we could see it, but it took all my concentration. I kept an eye on Travis’ headlights in my rear-vision mirror, makin’ sure he wasn’t too far behind us. I radioed him to tell him what was going on and how George was grounded for a bit―and just to hear his voice―and soon enough, the homestead came into view.

George met us out front, and I had a fair guess that wherever Jack was, Ma was keeping him company. Lawson rushed inside, and I followed him. Jack was on the sofa, and sure enough, Ma was on the recliner watchin’ him like a hawk. Lawson quickly sat beside him, needin’ to touch his face. With better lighting, the bandage wrapped tight around his arm looked worse than before, and he looked pale as hell. I heard Travis pull up outside, followed by his boots on the veranda steps. That screen door openin’ had never sounded so good.

He was quick to slide his arm around my waist and plant his lips to my temple. “How’s the patient?”

I gently tapped Travis’ chest. “I’m gonna get the hospital on the phone. See what they reckon.”

He hadn’t taken his eyes off Jack. “Good idea.”

Lawson stood up and looked right at me. “I’d appreciate it very much if you could tell them to expect us in about three hours. We’re leaving.”

“Lawson―” Jack started to protest, but Lawson spun to give him a look of fire and determination. I’m pretty sure Travis used the same one on me, and there weren’t no point in arguin’ with it. Just no point at all.

Ma nodded wisely. “I’ll help you pack, dear.”

When they’d left the room, I grabbed the phone, and when I came back out, I found Trav’d sat down beside Jack. “You feelin’ okay?” he asked him.

He nodded. “Yeah. But Lawson’s right.”

I had to agree. “Yes, he is.”

Travis laughed. “One person in every couple always is.”

I chuckled at that and Jack snorted, but his smile faded away. He looked right at Travis. “Thank you for having us out here. It’s a beautiful place. Beautiful home, family.”

Trav just gave him a knowin’ smile. “I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

I got through to the hospital, so I left Trav with Jack and went back out to the Cruiser while I explained down the phone what had happened and how they were on their way into emergency now. I had those samples Lawson wanted, and when I clicked off the phone call and collected all the specimen jars, Lawson came out with the first bag.

“Where’s my car?” Lawson asked, looking completely baffled.

I almost laughed. “George’s fuellin’ it up for ya.”

He put his bag on the veranda. “Oh. I hadn’t even thought of that. You have your own fuel tanks here?”

“Have to.” I handed him the specimen jars. “Got everything you asked for. And found a dead butterfly, so I grabbed it too.”

“Thank you.” He sighed, long and loud. “I will forward everything I have onto the appropriate experts first thing. I can imagine there’ll be plenty of waiting time at the hospital.”

I nodded slowly. “I truly do appreciate you comin’ all this way. And I’m sorry it ended like this. He’ll be fine, I’m sure of it.”

George drove their rental up to the house, and I opened up the back tailgate. Lawson put the specimen jars into one of his tubs, and I grabbed their bags. By the time I’d thrown them into the back, Travis appeared at the door with Jack. “I offered to carry him,” Trav said, “but he declined.”

Jack laughed, but he was clearly tired and walkin’ like he’d rather not be upright. He held his bandaged arm out awkwardly, and he still didn’t have much colour. He made it down the steps, and Lawson got him buckled into the front passenger seat. Lawson turned to us all. “Thank you again.”

I waved him off. “Drive safe. Watch for roos.”

“And emus,” Travis added.

“And camels,” George said.

Then Ma threw in, “And road trains.”

Lawson’s eyes widened with each one, and I’m pretty sure he mumbled something about never leaving Tasmania again, got in behind the wheel, and we watched them drive away.

The four of us stood in silence on the veranda, watching the red tail lights disappear down the driveway.

“Think he’ll be all right?” Trav asked.

“Sure he will,” George said. “If he ain’t dead yet…”

We all nodded, but none of us made a move for inside.

“You boys want a cup of tea before bed?” Ma asked.

“Nah,” I answered. “How was Milly tonight? Not too much trouble?”

“She’s an angel,” Ma said. Which was true, if angels were cute as they were stubborn and could swap out their halos for horns any time they wanted.

I sighed, still lookin’ up at the stars. “The sky sure is pretty tonight.”

The four of us stood there, all lookin’ upwards. George hummed and put his arm around Ma’s shoulder. “Always is.”

Travis hung his arm around my neck and kissed the side of my head. “Always.”