The Other Side of Nowhere by Stephen Johnston Page A

base of a cliff. We followed the cliff line for a bit and then passed through a curtain of water droplets into a shallow cave.
    Propping Nick up against the rock wall, George and I slumped down next to him. I felt instantly warmer to be out of the wind and took a moment to savour the lack of rain on my face.
    ‘Bags carrying the torch next time,’ moaned George, kneading the muscles in her shoulders.
    Matt came over and sat next to us. When he noticed George’s tracksuit pants he started fossicking through the backpack for something similar.
    ‘There are no more clothes,’ I said. ‘But there’s a fire starter. See if you can find some dry wood?’
    Matt shot me his best ‘you’re an idiot’ look and stood up. ‘Yeah, sure. And maybe I’ll find some marshmallows, too,’ he muttered, heading back outside.
    George draped the sheet over Nick. But it was wet and it wasn’t going to do much good. We really needed a fire or we were all going to get hypothermia.
    To my surprise Matt reappeared ten minutes later with an armful of twigs and branches that were miraculously relatively dry. He and I got busy piling the wood into a small mound and with the help of some of the fire lighters we soon had a small fire going.
    As the flames lit up the cave walls with dancing shadows, I felt a flicker of hope inside me for the first time in many hours.
    ‘Nice work, guys!’ George cheered.
    Matt went and slumped down beside her and she gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. I watched him drop his head onto her shoulder, feeling a pang of jealousy. George gave me a soft smile and then looked at the fire.
    I turned away. Thankful for the glow from the fire to disguise the flush I felt spreading across my cheeks, I pretended to adjust the sheet over Nick.
    The fire picked up as we sat quietly, transfixed by the flames, hunched forward for warmth and each lost in our own thoughts.
    ‘I’m exhausted,’ sighed George as she lay down on her back next to Nick.
    ‘Me too,’ said Matt stifling a yawn. George put her arm out and he rested his head on it, almost melding into the crook of her neck.
    Suddenly George’s voice echoed in the little cave. ‘To think we could have been hanging out at the farm right now, and going to bed on real mattresses … Johnno Jones, you sure know how to show a girl a good time.’ She lifted her head in my direction and smiled.
    I gave a small smile back.
    Then she whispered, ‘You did good today, Johnno … you really did.’
    Did good? The ache that I’d felt earlier returned. I sure didn’t feel good . More like scared, confused and ashamed. ‘You think so?’
    ‘Yeah, I do,’ she whispered, looking at me seriously. ‘When Nick got hurt you really kept it together.’
    I gave her a slightly wider smile. If there was one person who could bring me up when I was feeling down, it was George. But right now I felt like such a loser not even she could make me feel better about myself.
    ‘Yeah, well,’ I said. ‘You’re the lifesaver, Doctor G.’
    This time there was no reply. I twisted around to look at her, but she was lying down again. I could see her hair, spilling in damp waves across her cheek, the shadows of the fire bringing out the line of freckles across her nose. Her mouth, set in a half smile, twitched at the corners as if she were talking in her sleep. I hoped it was a sweet dream. I wasn’t someone who wished for much, but I sure was thankful that she was okay. That we all were.
    I leant back with my arms behind my head, listening to the crackle of the fire and the constant plop, plop, plop of rain dripping at the mouth of the cave. It sounded like the storm was passing. I closed my eyes and filled my head with reassuring thoughts.
    Tomorrow the sun will be out and Nick’s dad will come get us. He must have been freaking out about this crazy storm and how we hadn’t called him like Nick said we would. Yeah, he’ll be out at first light tomorrow, probably with the boat police