being extra cautious as thereâs a bit of weather on the way.â
Silence.
âWeâre sending up the chopper to make sure theyâre okay.â
âTheyâthey shouldâve been back with you about 2.30!â
â2.30 or 3 is what Rory said to me as they left, yes.â
âHave you ... used the two-way, or whatever it is?â
Reg heard the little girlâs voice in the background.
âItâs nothing, love,â he heard Suzie say, the sound slightly muffled. âNo, no, itâs okay. Off you go now. Put on a DVD if you want,â she said. âYes, love, Horton Hears a Who, thatâs fine.â There was a pause. âIâm back, Reg.Sorry about that.â She sounded disorientated. âSo ... have you been able to contact them?â
âIâve tried. Iâll keep trying. But theyâre not ... answering at the moment. It could be nothinâ more than a bit of interference, but weâve got things moving down here just in case.â
âOh, Reg,â she whispered.
âI know, Suzie. I know. Letâs just keep positive. You stay by the phone. Iâll call you as soon as I know anything.â
âYesâyou must. Iâll be here.â
âI know. Weâll find them. Iâll call you soon.â
30
Once heâd made the decision to leave, Spencer just wanted to get going. But he knew he should bide his time till morningââThey might come,â he said out loud. They might be sitting in that rescue helicopter right now, you never know! They might have just finished checking it for readiness to fly; the pilot might be depressing the engine starter button now; maybe the engine is firing up right now. Right now. No, you have to sit tight for a bit, Spence. Besides, itâs too late to start the walk down now. Youâre lost enough as it is, arenât you?!! If the Drifter was a car by the side of the road, would you walk away from it? No way. Thatâs what they say: stay with the vehicle.
Spencer knew that it got dark at about 6.30 at the moment, because that was when Star Wars: The Clone Wars was just finishing on TV each night, and he never missed an episode. Except for tonight, of course. Thereâd be no Clone Wars tonight.
An hour or so passed. Spencer peered into the esky bag. The ham and cheese sandwiches were still in there. He opened the plastic box they were in and the smell of lunch box sandwiches filled the cabin. He gagged and dropped them back in.
âDad.â
Silence. Spencer looked at his dadâs chest, noted the slow rise and fall of it.
âThatâs good, Dad, you rest up. Do you want some water?â He tipped a little water onto his fingertips and moistened his lips again.
Spencer sat up. He pushed his head out the door and looked around. In the distance he could hear something; a very different sound, mixed up with the rain. A very particular sound. The chopping sound of a propeller cutting through the air.
Spencer jerked his head to the sky.
A chopper! Reg? They were looking for them; they were here!
Spencerâs knees nearly caved as he scrambled out of the Drifter. He scraped the skin off his back as he went through the doorway but it barely registered. He launched himself up onto the underbelly of the plane. He steadied himself, not wanting to look away from the sound. The wind gusted sharply and threatened to blowhim right off and back into the bushes. He glimpsed something, quite far away, but it looked familiar, a bright flash of red; matching the red RESCUE heâd seen on the Bell chopper tail at Skippers airstrip. Was that really this mor ning? It seemed more like a week ago. So much had happened since heâd walked around on the tarmac, waiting for Dad and Reg to stop talking. Heâd been so keen to get up in the air, to get that flightâ this flightâhappening.
It had to be them. Spencer raised his arms and crossed them over and