‘Okay, let’s go!’ Finn broke from John’s grip and ran for the door.
John drove the Patrol like a man possessed, not slowing at all for ruts or ditches. The Patrol took a hammering, as did Finn’s injured arm. Every bump now intensified the ache from where the bullet had torn through his flesh.
Coming down the long straight road that led directly to the homestead, Finn was searching for signs — smoke, military vehicles, San’s, any sign of destruction. The homestead was now visible — it all looked in order.
The Patrol came to an abrupt halt outside the homestead, John braking so hard the wheels locked. They leapt out.
‘Jess! Jess!’ yelled John.
Finn went inside the house to search. ‘She’s not in here,’ he yelled to John, coming back outside.
‘Dear God, where the hell is she? Please don’t say they took her!’ desperation saturated John’s voice.
‘The horses. Where are the horses?’ Finn asked.
‘Around there,’ said John, gesturing to the stables, ‘I’ve been over there, though.’
Running around to the stable, Finn looked around. There were only three horses. ‘John, don’t you have four horses?’
‘Ye… Yes, yes four horses,’ he nodded frantically. ‘Think she’s gone for a ride?’ he asked, his face alight with hope.
‘Pretty sure of it. Look, let’s keep searching but I reckon that’s what she’s doing. There are no signs the Chinese have been here, nothing suspicious. I think we can assume she’s okay,’ Finn reassured John.
‘Hang on. Normally she writes up on a board in here where she’s headed and when she’ll be back,’ said John, pacing off into the stable.
A whiteboard on the wall just inside the door to the stable had a neatly written log of the day’s date, where she was going and when she would be back.
Finn turned to John, his training taking charge. ‘Okay, that settles it then. Let’s load up the Patrol with everything we can take, and I mean food, water and essentials. We need to be out of here in one hour — tops. Jess should be back in half an hour but, if she isn’t back in an hour, we head out in her direction until we find her. Then we make a beeline for the most remote area around here. I’ll need your help with that, John.’
‘Leave? No bloody way, mate,’ John said, shaking his head. ‘You take Jess and get her the hell out of here, but I’m stayin’.’
‘John, I know what the Chinese are capable of — you won’t be able to do anything to stop them. There’s no point in trying.’ Finn said forcefully.
‘Bullshit,’ John said, folding his arms, ‘there’s no way in hell I’m getting run off my property, son.’
Finn was getting frustrated. ‘John, they’ll destroy your homestead. It’s just a building, no building is worth dying for — think of Jess, please.’
John wavered. Thinking about it now, he realised that Finn was right, but he was not quite able to let his pride settle. It seemed totally foreign to flee his own property, which he had worked so hard to create.
‘Alright,’ he said, finally relenting, ‘come on then. We better get cracking.’
Half an hour later Jess rode up to the barn, smiling. Finn jogged out to meet her. Jess jumped off the horse, her smile broadening in surprise. She was glad to see Finn had come back. She’d thought that perhaps he would just leave straight from town.
Her smile was met by Finn’s scowl. ‘We have to get out of here right now,’ he said, all business. ‘Unsaddle your horse and let them all go. We’re leaving in 30 minutes.’
Jess’s smile immediately evaporated and her face twisted with confusion. ‘What’s going on? Where’s Dad? Why are we leaving?’
‘Your dad’s in the house, we’re loading up the Patrol. We’ve got to get out of here because the Chinese have been on a rampage, destroying properties around here. We’ve heard that they’re killing civilians, too.’
‘Jesus, how long do we have?’ asked Jess.
Finn started back to the house. ‘I don’t know, but we’re not taking any chances. We leave in 30.’
Jess stood stunned for a moment while it all registered, then immediately started unsaddling the horse.
Finn loaded the final boxes of food into the Patrol. They had enough to survive for a few days if necessary. They had sleeping bags, a tent, a cooker, everything they would need to get by out in the desert overnight. John had a .308 Tikka hunting rifle and a 12-gauge shotgun, which Finn packed along with extra ammo.
‘Finn!’ yelled John from the veranda. He was looking through a pair of binoculars at a dust cloud in the distance. ‘That dust cloud means someone’s coming, can’t say who though.’
Finn didn’t turn to look or question John. ‘Jesus,’ he muttered to himself before yelling, ‘We leave in 30 seconds.’
Piling into the Patrol, John drove and Finn sat beside him in the front, with Jess in the back seat holding the rifle and shotgun across her lap. John tore out the rear gate and headed towards the low range of hills to the west.
It was a three-hour drive to the top of the hills, and the whole time Finn was constantly looking back to see if they were being followed. John brought the Patrol to a standstill, which was a relief after the hours of cross-country driving. They were at the top of a range of hills and had views in every direction. The afternoon sun was setting now and the light was quickly dimming. To the west was a magnificent sunset, a brilliant orange that looked like the world to the west was on fire. To the east was another orange glow, but this was a heavier, sinister glow. John and Jess got out of the car and looked across the desert plain as they watched their home in the distance burn. John put his arm around Jess as they stood there on the rock looking down.
Finn, too, was looking towards the homestead, but he was looking for signs of the Chinese. Nothing — perhaps the Chinese didn’t notice their tyre tracks leaving the homestead, or, more likely, they couldn’t be bothered chasing after people in the desert, particularly in the dark.
Finn wanted to get moving, to find somewhere to pitch their tent and get sorted before it was completely dark. Looking at John and Jess though, he didn’t have the heart to hurry them up. They were mourning the loss of their home.
Finn turned and walked back to the Patrol, leaving them to grieve in peace. It wasn’t ideal, but Finn scoped out a spot for the tent. He would have preferred more tree cover, in case a drone or San’ was about in the morning, but there wasn’t much point in driving around the desert in the dark looking for the perfect camping spot.
The next day the sun rose to greet a perfectly clear morning. Finn woke in the back seat of the Patrol. It had been an uncomfortable night and his legs and back now ached. The others were still sleeping and there was no sound coming from the tent. Finn shut the door of the Patrol loudly, hoping it might stir them. Walking over to the rock ledge, where last night they had stood watching the burning homestead, Finn squinted in the direction of the house. It was quiet and still with no wind, only the sound of the odd bird breaking the silence — even the animals seemed to be sleeping in this morning. Looking down onto the desert floor and over to the homestead, Finn noted the layer of smoke hanging low in the sky. Taking a deep breath of the crisp, clean air, Finn noticed a distinct note of smoke, a sharp but woody smell that, if it were not due to the fact that it was these people’s ruined homestead, would have been pleasant.
Finn could now hear John and Jess talking in the tent. He sat down on the ledge, wanting to give them some privacy. Today would be a hard one, Finn knew, going back down to their ruined home — especially for John.
While Finn prepared breakfast, the other two packed up the tent and sleeping bags. When breakfast was over, they climbed back into the Patrol and headed slowly down the hill towards the homestead. They took their time now, and the journey was much more comfortable. Bar a few discussions on the best route and how to negotiate some of the trickier parts of the track, the drive was silent. Finn thought about how hard it would be to lose the house you grew up in, and with it your entire lifestyle.