Outback Exodus (11 page)

Raymond, Rhys, Thomas and several of the other men and older teenagers move to back Gavin up at this point. Most of them have had time to think about this and to discuss it and have decided that they are going to need the strong leadership and are now stepping up to confirm it to John and his
friends. The fight has gone out of the three of them now and they are standing there with sullen looks on their faces. For now the trouble is over, but I fear that it is not for long.

Krystal and Sandra have been tending to Paul and have now got him to his feet and are leading him away from the sports oval and towards the hospital tent to have his wounds dressed.

“Come on soldier.” I say to Rhys. “Time to get that nose checked out and then you can get some rest.” I say as I tug on his arm to lead him away. “Where are the children?” I ask quickly scanning the area for them.

“I left them with Sandy; he will take them home and settle them to bed. He promised to stay with them until I get back.” Rhys answers slowly.

We head up to the hospital and I decide that I may as well relieve my opposite number as it is only a short time until shift change.

Our final shift is
underway; Krystal and I have put old shirts over our finery. Our rounds start simply and quietly as most of the patients are asleep. Many of those ready for discharge have attended the party and have returned quietly and drifted off to sleep. The others are long settled and content to drift quietly along.

We check on James and find him sleeping soundly, gentle snores coming from the bed and a contented smile upon his face.

We then move quietly towards the infection tent and find that Gayle has drifted further down the road to death and her breathing has become disjointed and shallow. Her face has sunken along with her chest and she has the look of fast approaching death. We settle her quietly again, turning her body to try to keep her more comfortable and sponge her down. It is all we can do for her now. Her breathing stops and starts often during the time we are settling her and Krystal and I look at each other and we both know that death is close and her suffering will be over soon.

We bring two chairs into the tent and sit beside Gayle and watch over her as her body slowly ceases to function. Death steals quietly into the room and Gayle is gone between one breath and the next. I stand beside the bed for a second or two, waiting just in case Gayle rallies again.
After a minute or two we settle the pillows and lay Gayle flat. I quietly leave the tent and go to fetch Helen.

On our return Helen pronounces death and quietly writes it into a note book she carries with her. This is kept to ensure that we have records of everything in case at some stage in the future the authorities require the information. It is unlikely that they will, but Helen wants to be prepared.

Helen asks me to organise the coffin and to request that a grave is dug close to the site of the hospital for Gayle. I walk down the hill and ask Rhys and Raymond to bring the coffin that I have had hidden under a tarpaulin near our camp and to bring shovels to dig a grave. These big strong men are saddened by the news that Gayle has died and soon rally a couple of other men to help them bring the coffin up and dig the grave.

I return to the hospital just as they arrive and after Krystal prepares the body they gently lift Gayle into the coffin and walk away to dig her grave.

We strip the bed and wash it down as the mattress will be coming with us, then we head back to the casualty tent to make coffee. Helen is sitting there with her head in her hands, tears stream down her face as she turns to look at us. We both rush to hug her and reassure her that there was nothing anyone could have done to change what happened. We know that the words sound empty to Helen, but we also know that there was nothing anyone could have done any better or any differently for Gayle.

Rounds again commence after coffee and we troop from tent to tent checking on the patients who are there and
then quietly walking the short distance to the hospital where the grave is being dug. It is almost finished now and preparations for a simple funeral service are being made. None of us are sure of Gayle’s religious beliefs so it will be a non-denominational service. Sandra is to perform the service in her role as a celebrant and is already at the grave site. Paul is looking after the children; they will not be attending the funeral. There has been enough sadness in their short lives already this year.

Five am brings our final rounds for the night and we distribute coffee and tea to the patients who
are awake and want a hot drink, check on the medications required and now wait for the other nurses to arrive to help get everyone ready for the journey. We are working to make sure that everyone is loaded and ready to go by half past ten. At this point we are well on schedule and will have time to attend Gayle’s funeral at 7.30 am.

The funeral was a short and simple service and soon the men were filling the grave. The nurses trooped back up the hill surrounding Helen and supporting her as she mourned the loss of so many of her patients and friends. Arms around each other we arrive back at the hospital and split into pairs to work each of the tents.

The patients are ready and excited to be moved out of their beds and into the vehicles. The many walking wounded are accompanied to the buses by nurses and the stretcher cases are lifted into the ambulances. Tents are struck and soon the hospital is no more. We proceed down the hill towards the main camp site to see that all the tents are down, the fires out and a convoy of vehicles are assembled. The fire truck is the lead vehicle and the Police 4 x 4 is the final vehicle in the convoy, trucks, buses, ambulances and 4 x 4’s are interspersed throughout the long queue of vehicles.

The stragglers are
moving towards the vehicles and jumping aboard. Right at the head of the queue, however, there are four very excited teenagers astride trail bikes and they are ready to perform their duties. Their smiles say it all; excitement and an air of responsibility surround them as they check their helmets, boots and bikes. They are the ones who will pick the route for the convoy and they have to get it right.

Gavin’s voice echo’s through the bull horn in his hands. “Okay folks, time to get this show on the road, there are radios in all the cars and they have been checked by Andrew and Sandy. All are on the same channel and it is important that you don’t change them. This will be our only form of communication during the trip and I would like to be able to keep in touch with everyone.” His voice echo’s through the stillness.

Then in his best imitation of an American accent Gavin roars through the bullhorn. “Wagons Roll!”

Laughter echo’s as engines are started and the motorbike crew roar off in a cloud of dust. I put the fire engine into gear and the radio beside me crackles into life.

“Jenn, its Gavin, you and I are the only ones on this frequency; we both have two radios. This will be for information that is not for general consumption.” Gavin’s voice breaks the static and echo’s through the cabin.

“Yes I noticed that it was the emergency network and not the UHF network that was working.” I say, quickly keying the mike in my right hand as I bring the big rig around and change gears with my left hand. “I just bet that Andrew is listening too.” I giggle, knowing that Sandy also has a hand held radio for this channel.

“I am sure that he is and so is Sandy, hello you two, hope you have your ear pieces in guys.” Gavin laughs as he says this. There is no reply, but the 4 x 4 behind me flicks its lights up and down and I notice Andrew and Sandy in the vehicle.

“They are doing a listening watch Gavin.” I tell him. “It is probably a good idea
as a backup for both of us mate.”

“Too right, always good to have a backup plan.”
Gavin’s voice crackles back again. “Okay we are off at the tail now. Good luck Jenn, see you when we stop to set up camp. We should start looking for a good spot around two o’clock or so.”

“Okay mate, will ask the bike team to keep their eyes open for good water and a decent sized flat spot.” I fire back.

“Good stuff Jenn. Catch you later.” Gavin closes the conversation quickly and the long drive to the coast begins.

Smithtown slowly shrinks into the distance in the rear vision mirror. The dust cloud kicked up by the convoy cloaks the damage we are leaving behind. Ahead I see clear road and gently change the truck into top gear.
There is going to be a huge red cloud of dust to mark our passage across the flat lands and it will be seen for miles. I click the third radio in the cab to the School of the Air frequency and send out a call to anyone who is listening in. Crackles return, but I will continue to do this as we travel. Tammy and Robin were found by the radio and I hope to be able to find others this way. I switch between School of the Air and the local Emergency Channels and call again, still only crackles reply to my calls.

Every quarter hour I call out “This is Jenn from the Coast Convoy, are there any others out there who can see our dust cloud?” I call again and again. “We are sticking close to the highway from Smithtown to
Gunnedah. I will keep this channel open for fifteen minutes listening watch.”

Gavin has also switched into the channels and is listening and as my voice fades through the afternoon takes over the calls.
“This is Police Sargent Gavin Brown from Smithtown, can anyone see the dust cloud from our convoy. We are heading for the coast and have a Doctor and Nurses in our group. If anyone needs help please reply and we will come to you.” His deep, calm voice breaks the constant crackle on the airwaves. Nothing is heard.

We are constantly stopping and starting throughout the journey, sometimes to clear downed trees, sometimes to cut fences and divert through paddocks to avoid crevasses and now and again a longer detour to avoid the sand bogs thrown up during the earthquakes. We also stop near the lonely outback stations and check for signs of life there. Many of the homesteads have fallen in on themselves and the stench of death is present, no signs of living humans can be found though. Some though intact are uninhabited, their owners having fled before we arrived. The only signs of life are the animals that have been abandoned to fend for themselves.

Water is passed through vehicle windows and the request is for people to save the bottles, we will refill them at the next decent water source that we find. There will not be enough bottled water for the whole trip and we need to conserve the bottles to transport the water.

I am feeling tired now as last night’s shift catches up with me.
The sun’s glare is intense and starting to give me a headache. I glance at the clock on the dashboard and it is almost 2pm. Time to look for somewhere to set up camp for the night. We have covered a little over 30 miles today. It is a good start considering how often we stop and start, divert and check on the homesteads.

“Thomas,
its Jenn, are you listening in?” I call across the general wavelength on radio 1.

“Yeah, Jenn
, I can hear you.” The reply comes back fast from Thomas.

“Time for you to look around for a campsite for all of us mate.
Remember, not too far from the road, we must have a good water supply and plenty of room. Thanks for all your hard work today.” My voice breaks on the last as I yawn widely.

“Okay Jenn. We are on it.” Thomas says and I see the bikes zoom off at his hand signals.

Not long after there is a crackle as the airwaves are broken and Thomas proceeds to tell us he has found the perfect site.

“It’s about 500 yards from the road and scree
ned by trees. Plenty of room, a big dam with a stream running in and out. The water is clear and tastes okay.” His breaking voice zooms up and down the scale quickly as he relays the information.

“Great job Thomas.” I tell him. “Come to the road and guide us all into the spot mate.” I finish.

Very quickly there is a puff of dust off to the left and there is Thomas, a big grin showing through the face guard of his helmet and with a thumbs up and a beckoning motion we follow Thomas to our first campsite of the journey.

It is a perfect spot; a billabong with a gentle stream running in and out keeps the water fresh and clear. Trees line one side and can be used as a wind break and for fuel for the cooking fires. There is a huge amount of space for all the vehicles and tents. We can settle comfortably here for the night.

Soon the place is a hive of activity as tents are erected, fires are lit for cooking and everyone settles for a rest from the travel.

I head over to the hospital area and check on our
patients and find everyone is very good spirits. James is tired, but excited at the prospect of a night in a different place. His bed is set up near the tent flap and he is sitting in the wheelchair, strapped in and watching the activity around him. Many of the patients have been discharged into the care of friends and family, so tonight there are only ten beds to watch over. It is wonderful to see them all getting better again. Many have casts on their arms and legs, but this is not slowing them down at all. They are out there and helping as much as they can. Those with broken legs are building fires and setting pots of water on to heat for stews for dinner. Those with broken arms are gathering wood with the younger children and a lady with two broken legs is propped by a tree with three tiny babies around her, she is caring for them so that their families can assist us to set up camp. Caren is cuddled up with an elderly lady with bruises on her face, who is holding her on her hip, while she sits amid a group of small toddlers telling them a story. The child care has been organised by the former patients themselves and it is going to work beautifully.

Once the tent is erected I let the dogs have a run and take the three children with me. Robin and Tammy run ahead surrounded by the four dogs and there are happy barks and contented giggles from the children. Caren smiles happily in my arms and it is a contented period of time for me as my headache lifts and the laughter of the children soars to meet the blue of the summer sky.

It is soon time to turn around and head back to the tents. Time for me to rest for night shift and dinner should be ready. The dogs bound ahead pulled forward by the smells of cooking and Robin and Tammy race behind them giggling as they stumble over the exposed roots of the trees. On arrival I feed the hungry dogs and settle them on their chains for the night. Puppy is curled in a contented ball at my feet while I eat my dinner and keeps looking at me with big brown eyes. I can almost hear her saying “Is any of that dinner for me.” Greedy little girl that she is, everything I eat she wants to eat too.

I rinse my dish in the large bowl by the fire and head off to
lay down on my sleeping bag for the few hours’ sleep I will get tonight.