‘G’day,’ he growled.
The captain humphed through her nose before turning away. ‘Load them in, boys.’
Ishra looked at us a last time. ‘Please, take care. William, Tobias, Ruby—know that you will always be in my heart.’
The captain’s faced curled with a question at the mention of Tobe’s name, but soon relaxed as Ishra thrust our transfer papers at her and snatched her attention.
‘They’re all yours,’ he said.
‘Thanks, Doc.’
The captain looked me in the eye and smiled, tucking our transfer papers into a pocket of her body armour.
‘Please, be kind,’ Ishra said to her.
‘You never know, I just might.’
SEVENTEEN
The captain and her Creeps herded us along the platform. Or they tried to, at least—Ruby wouldn’t move. The captain reached out to push her; Ruby growled in her throat. It was a wild sound, rich and full of hate.
The captain took an involuntary step back.
‘Now’s not the time,’ Tobe said gently.
Ruby didn’t acknowledge him, but she started walking. Tobe scooped up our backpacks. The Creeps relaxed their hold on their weapons; two of them peeled off to collect their stricken comrade. We let the captain shepherd us on—I limped and Tobe walked in silence, shadowing Ruby. The captain stopped us outside an empty carriage. She threw the door open. Like a mob of sheep at the steps to the slaughterhouse, we stared dumbly at this latest twist of misfortune.
‘What are you waiting for?’ the captain asked. ‘Bloody Christmas?’
Tobe and I looked at each other. The captain—seemingly oblivious to my puzzled glance—jabbed Tobe in the back. That got him moving, and he gingerly climbed aboard. I stumbled after him, almost catching my stick in a crack in the carriage floor. It was gloomy inside, the windows boarded up, the only source of light the gaps in the rough-hewn wooden walls. Everything that could be salvaged had been hauled away, leaving the carriage an empty box designed to hold as many people as could be crammed inside.
The smell of human waste and fear hung in the air.
‘Nice,’ Tobe said, dumping our packs.
‘Lots of room,’ Ruby replied. ‘You could easy have a kick in here.’
She looked at us, smiling for what felt like the first time in a long time. Kids, they’re so adaptable…
She dashed a few steps ahead and kicked an imaginary goal. Tobe and I laughed, well and hearty. Playing to the room, Ruby then fell to her knees, accepting the imaginary congratulations of an imaginary crowd.
‘This isn’t a fucking holiday,’ the captain said, scowling. ‘Sit down and shut up, we’ll be leaving any minute.’
She left us without saying another word. A single Creep stayed behind, a nuggetty little ball of muscle, his eyes coldly watchful. I turned away from him, hobbled across the carriage.
‘Sit,’ the Creep said.
With some difficulty and a fair bit of pain, I sat.
‘This is bullshit,’ Tobe complained, turning to the Creep.
The Creep rested his hand on his gun. It was obvious that Tobe was thinking about making a scene, but he finally sat down as well. Ruby quickly followed suit. The Creep said nothing more.
‘I don’t reckon these fellas have much of a sense of humour,’ Ruby said.
‘Too right,’ I said.
Tobe smiled to himself.
The train started with a grinding chug that didn’t quite catch. It slowly became more rhythmic and we began to pick up speed. The carriage started shaking; the wooden walls groaned. A deep vibration rose from beneath the floor, drilling through us.
I lay on my back, used my pack as a pillow.
‘Nice time for a nap,’ Tobe muttered.
He pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. I lifted my head, propping myself on my elbows. The Creep watched us, not bothered at all by the rough ride.
‘Ruby, you okay?’ Tobe asked.
I looked over at her. She was ignoring us and ignoring the Creep, transfixed by the presumably brand-new sensations she was feeling. She caught me staring, didn’t seem to care and suddenly leaped to her feet.
‘Ruby…’ Tobe warned.
But the Creep didn’t move. Ruby bent at the knees, slowly adjusted to the rocking of the train, held her arms out by her sides, started surfing it with ease. I lay back down. Tobe fell silent. Ruby occasionally shuffled her feet, repositioning herself to catch a rogue wave.
The train hauled itself across the parched earth, rocketing through crumbling towns, withered bush, burnt-out paddocks, and a ravaged pasture. We crossed empty rivers and yawning ravines. Cracks in the rusted metal ceiling let in slivers of blue sky, allowing us dazzling glimpses of the sun. Flickering shadows danced around us; dust drifted through the dry air. Through the gaps in the mismatched boards that sealed the windows, there were only flashes of darkness and light.
This dull monotony kept on. It lulled me, numbed me, but didn’t quite send me to sleep.
Time passed. It must have.
The low groan of the engine became a hideous scream, crashing us back to the dusty here and now. A moment later, the train slowed and the chug lost its rhythm. Tobe and I sat up; Ruby braced herself against a wall. She didn’t stop smiling, even when the carriage tilted sharply.
‘Hey, dickhead, what’s going on?’ I yelled at the Creep.
He didn’t answer, focused as he was on keeping his feet.
‘Are you bloody deaf?’
He still didn’t answer.
‘Let it go,’ Tobe said. ‘Trust me, he won’t tell you anything.’
‘Give me one good reason why I should listen to you,’ I said to Tobe, my stomped-down anger resurfacing.
He looked ready to argue, but then he shook his head. ‘Mate, come on, now’s not the time.’ He smiled sadly. ‘Please.’
My resolve crumbled, just like that. Well, maybe not just like that—we were locked in a wooden box on our way to be locked in the camp. It looked like soon enough there would be time for nothing but talk.
And for answers.
‘Did you feel that?’ Ruby asked abruptly.
I had no idea what she was talking about.
‘Quiet!’
I looked at her.
‘Listen,’ she said, lying flat, pressing her ear to the dirty floor.
I did as she said, registering that the chug had stopped its struggle. The train started to speed up; the carriage tilted again, throwing us forward.
‘And over we go,’ the Creep said, smiling coldly.
‘It’s a hill, that’s all,’ Tobe explained, bracing himself next to Ruby. ‘This fucking thing’s hauling a bit of weight, we were lucky to make it to the top. But on the flip-side, what goes up must come down.’
The train started to shoot forward, pushed along by the weight it carried. I fell, ending up on my stomach.
‘Maybe ‘hill’ was a bit of an understatement.’
I had more important things to do than indulge Tobe’s badly timed, so-called humour—the carriage shook hard, the engine screamed, we somehow picked up more speed. I gritted my teeth. Ruby’s cry of exhilarated joy floated above everything, high and bright.
I envied her, no matter our predicament.
After a long time, the carriage began to level out. A howl started; a dirty northern wind. I managed to lift my head, slowly remembering how to work with gravity.
‘You ‘right?’ Tobe asked.
I nodded, breathless and shaken. We were still moving fast, but at least the track had flattened. I looked around—something seemed different. But the answer wouldn’t come. I looked again, my face twisted with confusion. The Creep had disappeared, but I knew in my bones that it wasn’t his absence that bothered me.