rather than try and will it.
She sat back on her heels. ‘I can’t do it. I mean, I don’t even know what I’m doing.’
‘C’mon George. Don’t go wimping out on me now,’ said Nick through gritted teeth. ‘Just give the bloody thing a shove.’
‘But what if I make it worse?’
Nick laughed. ‘Trust me … that’s not possible.’
George sighed, shaking her head. Then, with a deep breath, she picked up his arm again.
This time she moved the arm more aggressively and when Nick pushed back into me it was all I could do to hold him in place. Just as George looked like she was about to give up again, we heard a dull clunk as the shoulder slipped back into the joint. Nick roared in pain and then sighed deeply.
George and I sat stunned until Matt shouted. ‘How cool was that ?’ He was back from collecting our backpack and must’ve seen the whole thing.
The deep concentration on George’s face fell away, and a huge grin appeared instead. Then, for the first time in a while, we all laughed – even Nick. And it felt as good as Christmas morning.
With Matt and me at his shoulders and George holding his feet, we managed to move Nick up the beach and into the half-shelter of an overhanging tree. I’d been hoping that once we got off the beach we’d find some decent shelter, but there was only thick bush. With each howling gust of wind, the tree above us shook, sending down a deluge of water from its branches.
‘This sucks,’ moaned Matt. ‘I’m gonna go find something better.’
I grabbed his arm as he pushed past. ‘Stick to the sand, you’ll get lost in the bush.’
‘Sure, Mum. No worries,’ he said, wrenching his arm free, heading off in the opposite way to the sand. For a few minutes I could hear him bashing around behind us, but then there was nothing, as if the bush had swallowed him whole.
I must have looked worried because George reached out her hand to me. ‘He’ll be okay, Johnno,’ she said. ‘He’s not going to do anything stupid.’
‘Unlikely,’ I groaned. ‘Everything he does is stupid.’
‘Well, Matt does have a point. This is not exactly a shelter,’ she said, as another shower of water splattered down onto Nick. Even in his semi-coma Nick screwed up his face in annoyance.
While we huddled together against the cold, half leaning over Nick in an attempt to keep the rain off him, I rummaged through the backpack. There was a torch, fire-lighters, waterproof matches, some knives and forks, one of George’s jumpers and a pair of tracksuit pants, a single bed sheet and a coil of rope. The only things to eat were a packet of dry biscuits and two chocolate bars. We scoffed the chocolate on sight, saving some for Matt.
George had a despondent look on her face as we sorted through the bag’s contents. ‘I guess the first-aid kit and water bottles were in my pack.’
‘Never mind, at least we can see what we’re doing now,’ I said, shining the torch into the bushes. I passed George her wet jumper and soggy tracksuit pants. ‘They’re a bit damp but you might as well put them on.’
She slipped the tracksuit pants over her shorts and lay her jumper over Nick. She grabbed the bed sheet and draped that over him, too. Just then, I heard footsteps and shone my torch into the gloom. Matt was standing there, breathing hard, with his face and arms covered in scratches.
‘What happened to you?’ asked George.
‘Me? Nothing,’ he said. ‘But I found us a cave. Down there through the trees … Easy as.’
Matt’s definition of easy was rarely in the same universe as mine, but a dry cave was a tempting prospect. I passed him the torch and backpack, and then slid my arms under Nick’s arms. George held his legs, and together we lifted him until his body was just clear of the sand.
We shuffled along, following the faint glow from the roaming arc of torchlight until Matt led us through a gap in the trees. Pretty soon we came to a mound of large rocks nestled at the
She sat back on her heels. ‘I can’t do it. I mean, I don’t even know what I’m doing.’
‘C’mon George. Don’t go wimping out on me now,’ said Nick through gritted teeth. ‘Just give the bloody thing a shove.’
‘But what if I make it worse?’
Nick laughed. ‘Trust me … that’s not possible.’
George sighed, shaking her head. Then, with a deep breath, she picked up his arm again.
This time she moved the arm more aggressively and when Nick pushed back into me it was all I could do to hold him in place. Just as George looked like she was about to give up again, we heard a dull clunk as the shoulder slipped back into the joint. Nick roared in pain and then sighed deeply.
George and I sat stunned until Matt shouted. ‘How cool was that ?’ He was back from collecting our backpack and must’ve seen the whole thing.
The deep concentration on George’s face fell away, and a huge grin appeared instead. Then, for the first time in a while, we all laughed – even Nick. And it felt as good as Christmas morning.
With Matt and me at his shoulders and George holding his feet, we managed to move Nick up the beach and into the half-shelter of an overhanging tree. I’d been hoping that once we got off the beach we’d find some decent shelter, but there was only thick bush. With each howling gust of wind, the tree above us shook, sending down a deluge of water from its branches.
‘This sucks,’ moaned Matt. ‘I’m gonna go find something better.’
I grabbed his arm as he pushed past. ‘Stick to the sand, you’ll get lost in the bush.’
‘Sure, Mum. No worries,’ he said, wrenching his arm free, heading off in the opposite way to the sand. For a few minutes I could hear him bashing around behind us, but then there was nothing, as if the bush had swallowed him whole.
I must have looked worried because George reached out her hand to me. ‘He’ll be okay, Johnno,’ she said. ‘He’s not going to do anything stupid.’
‘Unlikely,’ I groaned. ‘Everything he does is stupid.’
‘Well, Matt does have a point. This is not exactly a shelter,’ she said, as another shower of water splattered down onto Nick. Even in his semi-coma Nick screwed up his face in annoyance.
While we huddled together against the cold, half leaning over Nick in an attempt to keep the rain off him, I rummaged through the backpack. There was a torch, fire-lighters, waterproof matches, some knives and forks, one of George’s jumpers and a pair of tracksuit pants, a single bed sheet and a coil of rope. The only things to eat were a packet of dry biscuits and two chocolate bars. We scoffed the chocolate on sight, saving some for Matt.
George had a despondent look on her face as we sorted through the bag’s contents. ‘I guess the first-aid kit and water bottles were in my pack.’
‘Never mind, at least we can see what we’re doing now,’ I said, shining the torch into the bushes. I passed George her wet jumper and soggy tracksuit pants. ‘They’re a bit damp but you might as well put them on.’
She slipped the tracksuit pants over her shorts and lay her jumper over Nick. She grabbed the bed sheet and draped that over him, too. Just then, I heard footsteps and shone my torch into the gloom. Matt was standing there, breathing hard, with his face and arms covered in scratches.
‘What happened to you?’ asked George.
‘Me? Nothing,’ he said. ‘But I found us a cave. Down there through the trees … Easy as.’
Matt’s definition of easy was rarely in the same universe as mine, but a dry cave was a tempting prospect. I passed him the torch and backpack, and then slid my arms under Nick’s arms. George held his legs, and together we lifted him until his body was just clear of the sand.
We shuffled along, following the faint glow from the roaming arc of torchlight until Matt led us through a gap in the trees. Pretty soon we came to a mound of large rocks nestled at the
Similar Books
