Beginner's Luck (8 page)

I can't lie here forever
, Shelby thought. She sat up and
wiped her hand across her face, trying to rub off the
dirt. Her skin felt coarse from the billabong's murky
water. Struggling to her feet, she could feel the strain
in all the muscles across her shoulders and a sharp
twinge in her wrist. Two falls in one day couldn't have
been good for her. A dull ache pounded in the back of
her head.

'I need a bath,' she groaned.

As she walked back through the glade her wet
clothes clung to her skin, chafing her underarms and
thighs. Her saturated boots squelched and squeaked.
All around her frogs and crickets creaked and chirped.
She shivered. She had to get out of here.

Shelby thought about the rock wall at the other end
of the clearing. The vines had trailed over the side like a
rope, and there had been path on the other side. It was
worth exploring, but first she would take off Blue's tack.

At the edge of the clearing she stopped and
hunkered down. She had thought she was being quiet,
but Blue raised his head and walked towards her with
his ears pricked. She held her hand out and he sniffed
it for a long time – his nostrils dilating. 'I fell in the
water,' she told him.

She felt his warm breath on her skin and wondered
what he could detect. He licked her hand. 'Mm, eelicious,'
she whispered to him. Then it occurred to her
that he might be thirsty. She looked around the clearing
once more and then cocked her head to the side
and listened. Nothing.

'Come on. I'll get you some water.'

Shelby led him around to the back of the doll's
house where she had seen the water tank earlier. The
bucket that had been underneath it lay on its side
about a metre away. Blue had probably inspected it
while she was gone.

She set the bucket underneath the tap. When it was
half full she placed it under his nose and he slurped
the whole lot eagerly. She filled the empty bucket
again. Blue wasn't so interested this time, so she
washed her face and hands and then set it back under
the tap again.

Shelby slipped off Blue's saddle and bridle and
placed them on the ground at the side of the water
tank. She hugged Blue tightly. 'I'm going exploring
again. I'll try not to throw myself off any cliff faces
this time,' she promised.

She smelt his mane. 'You don't have to worry.
Whoever was here before – I don't think he's here
anymore.'

But what about the wet clothes?
a little voice in
her head asked. 'It was probably just dew,' she
answered aloud.
In the middle of the day?

'I'll see if the trail leads somewhere.' She stroked
his neck. 'You never know – it might lead straight into
someone's back yard. Then I can ring home and everything
will be fine.'

She was starving now – tummy grumbling, even
hurting a little bit, as though there were a set of teeth
in there. Shelby wondered what her mother had
cooked for dinner. She hoped it was lasagne. She
would even eat the salad that her mother always
served with it.

Shelby gave him one last squeeze and then headed
back to the opening of the trail they had found in the
afternoon. The gloom made it harder to see now and
she tripped over several roots and broken branches,
making her expedition much louder than she wanted
it to be. She really didn't think the person was here
anymore. She'd been in The Pocket for ages now.
Surely she would have seen some sign of him.

Unless he was hiding, waiting for the dark.

'I'm not going to think about that,' Shelby
muttered crossly. But Shelby was thinking about it
anyway, somewhere in the back of her mind.

In the sky above, a cloud floated across the moon.
She stumbled over another log and sighed. She was so
tired and hungry. She just wanted this day to be over.

Soon she was at the rock wall. Shelby tugged at the
vines that were snaking over its face. They seemed
firm enough. She started to climb. It would have been
much easier if she had been wearing sneakers instead
of her riding boots with their smooth soles. She found
they didn't slip as much if she stepped on the thick
tufts where ferns sprouted from the rock face, and the
vines helped her keep her balance when her boots
slipped.

When she reached the top she sat on the edge for a
moment, getting her breath back and winding her sore
wrist. Shelby could feel a grinding sensation inside.
She was pretty sure wrists weren't supposed to do
that. She twisted around so that she was facing the
path. There was much less undergrowth in this part of
the bush. It was possible that this area had been back-burnt
in preparation for the fire season. She could see
the narrow, pale trunks of young scribbly gums, as
bare and straight as poles.

Her eyes had adjusted to the dark, but it was still
going to be difficult to figure out what was path, and
what was just a bare part of the scrub. She could get
lost in this bush, especially since she had no idea
where she was headed, or what to expect at the other
end.

Maybe this was a bad idea? At least in the doll's
house there was shelter, water and food. Shelby
wondered whether she might not be better off hanging
around in The Pocket until the morning. She shuddered
again. Morning was hours and hours away.

Up ahead through the trees Shelby saw a light. She
frowned, straining her eyes. It disappeared. It could
have been one of those automatic sensor lights. Maybe
she was close to somebody's house? She knelt on one
knee. A moment later it was there again, but further
to the right. It had moved. It dimmed again, but this
time she could see that it didn't disappear entirely –
whoever was holding it had pointed it in a different
direction. A torch.

Shelby got to her feet and felt a tiny surge of
adrenalin in her stomach. What to do? It could be a
rescue team, but then there would be more lights, and
they would be calling her name. That's what they did
on the television.

It's the bad man. Hide!
said the little voice in her
head.

There was a shaggy tree near the edge of the rock
face with thick lower branches. She moved towards it
and started climbing. When she reached the third
branch, about two metres above the ground, she
stopped. What about Blue? He was in The Pocket by
himself. If the bad man went down there then he
would know she'd been there. He might hurt Blue.

Shelby started to climb back down again, but
stopped halfway. The torchlight was closer now –
definitely heading this way. At the moment he didn't
know she was there. She remembered how loud she
had been coming along the path. If she went down
there now he would hear her. She climbed back up the
tree again, higher than before. Shelby sat astride one
of the boughs with her back to the trunk about two
and a half metres off the ground.

The light from the torch was directed towards the
ground most of the time, but every few strides it
would flick up and around, through the trees. Shelby's
heart hammered in her chest. This was not a good
hiding place. She should have moved off the path and
laid down flat on her belly. It wasn't too late.

Shelby swung her leg back over the branch. When
she shifted her weight the branch shook and the leaves
rustled loudly. The torchlight pointed towards her. She
froze. It stayed on her for a second and then flicked
away again. There were still at least ten trees between
them. He must not have seen her. She lowered herself
onto the branch again. There was nothing she could
do now except wait and hope that he'd keep the torch
shining down as he passed her tree. It was quite close
to the rock face. With any luck that would distract
him.

He was closer again, not five trees away now.
Shelby squinted, trying to make out his shape in the
shadow. The torch wasn't very far above the ground.
Either he was very short, or he had really long arms.

Every now and then she'd get a flash of his feet as
he shone the torch on the path in front of him. It
looked like he was wearing dark boots. She could hear
them scuffing through the fallen leaves and twigs.
Gumboots?

He was closer still, almost underneath her now. He
was too short and willowy to be a man. Was it a boy?

He stopped and shone the torch over the edge of
the rock face. Shelby heard him clear his throat. It was
a high, young sound. Not a boy – a girl! She was
turning around now, about to head over the rock face.
She had tucked the torch under her chin and leaned
down to grab onto the vines. For a moment the light
shone on her face. That wasn't just any girl!

'Lindsey?' Shelby called down.

Lindsey looked up suddenly and the torch dropped
from under her chin. Shelby heard it clatter against the
rocks on the way down. Lindsey let out a sharp, loud
'Ah!'. Shelby could see Lindsey's arms windmilling,
just like hers had at the billabong, and then she disappeared.
Half a second later Shelby heard a crash, and
an 'oomph' noise as Lindsey hit the ground at the
bottom.

After that Shelby couldn't hear anything at all.

Shelby jumped down from the tree and slithered down
the rock face, her boots scrabbling as she used the vine
to lower herself to the bottom. At the foot she grabbed
the torch from where it had settled under a bush.

Lindsay was laying flat out – arms and legs
splayed.
Omigod, she's dead!

Shelby knelt on one knee and shone the torch on
Lindsey's face. There was a graze along her cheekbone.
Lindsey's eyes roved around, almost rolling in
their sockets.

Phew!
Shelby thought.
At least she's still alive.

Lindsey blinked fast, scrunching her eyes, and then
she opened them again, looking up at the sky.

''Zis this Far North Queensland?' she asked. Her
words slurred together.

'It's me, Shelby.' She shone the torch on her own
face briefly and then pointed it back towards her
friend.

Lindsey smiled. 'Hello, I'm Lindsey.'

'Yes, I know.'

'I'd like to go home now.' This time her voice was
clear, almost prim.

'You fell down and banged your head. You
probably shouldn't move . . .'

But she was too late. Lindsey sat up suddenly,
bending from the waist. Her lip curled back as she
drew air in through her teeth. She touched the back of
her head and winced.

'Are you bleeding?' Shelby asked.

Lindsey giggled. It was a horribly squeaky gurgling
sound. 'Silly! I can't see.'

'At all? Are you blind?' Shelby asked. She waved
her hand in front of Lindsey's eyes.

Lindsey started to shake her head. Then she stopped,
pressing her fingers to her temples. 'No, dummy, I can
see you, but I can't see the back of my own head.'

'Let me look,' Shelby said. She shifted around on
her knees and shone the torch on Lindsey's skull.
There were some leaves and twigs stuck in her hair,
but Shelby couldn't see a wound or any blood.

'There's nothing there. Why did you think this was
Far North Queensland?'

'Who did?' Lindsey asked.

'You. Just then you asked me if this was Far North
Queensland.'

'No I didn't. You must be thinking of someone
else,' Lindsey replied.

'Lindsey, there's no one else here.' At least she
hoped not. 'I think you have concussion. Can you
move?'

Slowly Lindsey wriggled her right arm and then
her left. 'Yep. That really hurts.' Shelby shone the light
onto her legs. Lindsey wiggled her left foot and then
she started to move the right. 'Yow!' she squeaked.
'Not good.'

'Can you move it at all?'

Lindsey tried again. She grunted. 'I don't think so.'

Shelby didn't know what to do. At Pony Club
she'd been taught to make the person lie as still as
possible until the ambulance arrived, just in case they
had hurt their neck, but there wasn't going to be an
ambulance out here.

'Lindsey, what's at the end of the path?' Shelby
asked. 'Is there a house? Does it come out at a road?'

'You wanna what now?' Lindsey touched her
temples again.

'Who lives in the doll's house?' Shelby asked.

Lindsey grinned at her, with no recognition in her
face at all. 'I don't know. Is it a joke, like a knock-knock?'

'Where were you going before you fell? To the
half-house thing?'

'To the half-house thing who?' replied Lindsey, still
grinning.

Shelby shook her head. She hoped Lindsey would
start making sense soon. It might be worth exploring
the path, but she didn't want to leave Lindsey lying
there at the bottom of the rock face all that time.
She would be more comfortable on the lounge in the
doll's house.

'I've got an idea,' she said. 'I'm going to go along
that path to get help, but I don't want to leave you
here in the dark. There's a little house a bit further
along. I think we should go there. You'll be more
comfortable.'

Lindsey nodded. 'I might just rest my eyes for a
minute.'

She started to lie back down again, grimacing.

'No, you have to stand up.'

Shelby helped Lindsey rise to her feet. Lindsey
moved tentatively, and by the time she was upright
Shelby could see a film of sweat across her face.

'You're really hurt, aren't you?' she commented.

Lindsey stood still for a minute, looking at the
ground, as if she was considering it. 'I think so.'

Shelby lifted Lindsey's arm over her shoulder and
wrapped her arm around Lindsey's waist. 'Come on
then,' she said.

They started to walk down the path. It was difficult
because she was trying to point the torch at
the ground, negotiate the uneven surface, and hold
Lindsey's weight.

The girls had not travelled very far before Shelby
heard a noise. 'What's that?' she whispered. 'Did you
hear something?'

Lindsey's head lolled forward, and she winced. 'I
need to sit down.'

Shelby's heart thumped in her chest. She heard it
again – footfalls on the path ahead of them, heading
this way. She shone the torch along the path, held her
breath, and after a moment she saw Blue's shaggy
paint face.

'Oh, you lovely boy,' Shelby said. 'You've come to
check on us. Do you want to be a rescue pony?'

Blue took a few steps forward and stretched his
neck towards Lindsey, sniffing.

'That's right. She's hurt herself,' Shelby told him.

Shelby manoeuvred Blue by the mane so that he
was alongside Lindsey. 'Now, I'll give you a boost.
You just lie across his back.'

Lindsey looked at her sceptically. 'Like a big old
sack of potatoes?'

'Yeah.'

'Have you ever actually tried to do that on a
moving horse?' Lindsey asked.

Shelby shook her head.

'I have. You don't stay on very long. I can sit on
him properly, but we just need to do it really slowly.'

It took a long time. Every time Lindsey moved she
yelped. Blue stood patiently, every now and then
turning around to look at them over his shoulder.

Eventually Lindsey said, 'I give up doing it slowly.
Let's do it quickly.'

Shelby grabbed her friend's knee and hauled her up
and over Blue's back. When she was finally on top of
him, Shelby shone the torch in Lindsey's face. It was
bright red and wet with sweat. 'Are you OK?'

Lindsey shook her head. 'I've done something in
here,' she said, carefully touching her right side. 'Take
me wherever you're going, but do it fast. I've got these
bright spots behind my eyes, there's a ringing in my
ears and I feel sort of light all over. I think I might
faint soon.'

Shelby nodded. Lindsey wasn't even crying. 'You
are so brave,' she said. 'You're the toughest person I
know.'

Lindsey spluttered and then took a deep breath.
Her eyes started to do the rolling thing again. 'Don't
make me laugh. It really hurts.'

The first step Blue took, Lindsey yelped again.

Shelby stopped. 'No good? You want to get off?'

'No,' Lindsey replied. 'Let's do it.'

'OK,' said Shelby, but she wasn't sure this was
such a great idea. 'You call out if you want me to
stop.'

She led Blue along the path. He walked very carefully,
as though he knew he was carrying delicate
cargo. Shelby rested her hand on his neck behind his
ear. 'You're a good boy.'

After about ten metres Lindsey made a muttering,
sighing sound, and Shelby turned around and held her
arms out just fast enough to stop Lindsey from sliding
off.

'Lindsey!' she called out. 'Wake up.'

Lindsey moaned, and then nodded. 'Yep, I'm fine.
I can do this. No probs.' She grabbed a handful of
Blue's mane. 'What are you waiting for?'

Shelby led Blue on again. This time Lindsey
managed to stay conscious. Every now and then
Shelby would turn and flash the torch towards her
face. It wasn't red any more – now it was a pale grey
colour, and she kept her lips tightly scrunched together
and sat very upright and stiff. She had her eyes closed
and there was a deep furrow across her forehead.
'Nearly there,' Shelby promised.

She swung the torch back to the path again. This
time she saw something odd – another light. It was
flickering and orange – not a torch but flames. She
stopped in the middle of the track. There was a fire in
the blackened pit at the back of the doll's house. She
moved the torch to and fro, and then she trained it on
the fire. Next to it were the two cushions from the
lounge, with the sleeping bag, now neatly rolled, on
top of them.

Shelby stroked Blue along the neck.

'It looks like someone's expecting us.'