Claws of the Crocodile (Fem! reader)

Chapter 3

Coach wheels thrummed along the tarmac. Darwin was far behind. The coach sped like an arrow through the heart of an ancient landscape. The road was modern, well maintained and straight.

On either side was a shoulder of bare red earth. Then the Savannah began not quite grassland, not quite drarry. On the other side of the coach, a sea of knee high shrubs and bushes stretched into the distance.

On y/n's side, it washed up to the door of the red sandstone cliffs the height of a small skyscraper. Contrary to everthing she had predicted, he was back in the Kimberley.

The rainy season, the wet, would not start anotjer couple of months. When that happened, the land would be lush, plants would burst out of the soil, and rivers and streams would surge with water.

But the last rains had fallen six months ago. The plants were tough and scrubby. The road crossed bone dry channels that looked thirsty for rain.

The land was rugged and hard baked, able to withstand months and months of dry, hot weather. The coach was air conditioned to a pleasant temperature. Outside, the air and land simmered in the thirty five degree heat.

The road was the only sign that humans had ever visited this place. It was almost like Austrailia didnt notice the people who lived in it though they had been here for over 60,000 years.

The Europeans who had named the place Australia were newcomers, turning up over the last couple of centuries. They were the ones who made their mark on the landscape, with their cities and railways and modern highways like this one.

Y/n had the feeling that if you blinked for a moment, all this could be swallowed up and the land would revert to its natural state. Stark and magnificent and uncaring.

It could be a home, but only to people prepared to treat it with respect. Y/N had brought a book to read and music to listen to, but for the time being he sat back to feast her eyes on sandstone bluffs that rose out of the Savannah like ancient castles, and landscape that was old when the dinosaurs were still around.

Al had only taken a little persuading. He had looked politely doubtful, but he hasn't said 'no'.
'Sometumes your travels take unexpected turns...'

Y/n had all her arguments ready. They were in a first world country, he had pointed out. Yes, the coach would be travelling across some of the most inhospitable terrain on earth, but the worst that could happen was that it broke down in which case the driver would be radio for help, and that would be that.

A few hours and they would be rescued: no need to go walkabout to fetch help. And at the end of the journey was Broome,  a modern town.  Y/N would be met by Brihonys mother he knew that her father was no longer living with them who was someone Al knew and trusted.

She felt guilty that she hadnt told his uncle about Jim Rockslide. Then she told herself that, if she knew Al would certainly want to come too and would then miss his award ceremony. Eventually Al had accepted that he was being overcautious.

More importantly, he had generously paid for the ticket. And here was y/n on the Greyhound, on her way to find out who This Jim Rockslide was. The only supirse so far had been the colour of the Greyhound: It wasn't grey, but bright red. That was the sort of surprise that y/n felt she coukd live with.

Y/n came awake with a start as the sound of the tyres changed. She was slouched against the window with her cap pulled over her eyes, and she pushed herself upright. The coach was pulling in to a roadside stop: a small shop and some toilets and beyond that, just miles and miles and miles of outback.

Y/n stepped down, stiff legged, from the coach. The heat hit her like a sledgehammer as she felt the air conditioned interior. The passengers spread out slowly some heading for the conveniences; some like y/n just stretching their legs.

A few seats back from y/N, a family was travelling with a small toddler. The mother headed into the shop while the father supervised the little boy tottering around the car park.

Y/n headed for the edge of the tarmacked area, and stood gazing out at the wilderness. It was like the modern would just stopped at her feet. She could take a single step forward and enter a world that hadnt changed for thousands of years.

'Hey, look roos!'

She dimley hears the comment and glanced back. Sure enough, a small group of kangaroos had emerged from the tall grass at one end of the car park. Kangaroos liked the roads that humans had built.

Water collected in the drains, which gave the animals something to drink, and encouraged thick grass for them to eat. Y/n didn't know enough about kangaroos to say what kind these were, but he knew their habits.

They had scruffy brown fur and were about his height, with sleek, pointed heads and massive thighs. Some of y/n 's fellow passengers aimed their cameras and clicked. 

The kangaroos lifted their heads from grazing and looked at the humans like they were Martians, then went back to their eating. Y/n smiled and looked away. She checked her watch.

The coach would be leaving in five minutes. She ought to use the facilities herself before she got back on board, so she started to stroll towards the building.

Suddenly she stopped in her tracks, stared, and then broke into a run. 'Hey!' He shouted. 'Hey!'

The father of the little boy was chatting to another passenger and had taken his eyes off him. The child was making a beeline straight for the smallest kangaroo, one hand held out.

Y/N knew exactly what he was thinking: cuddly animal want to stroke it.

A larger kangaroo lifted its head suspiciously. Then it hopped towards the boy, raising itself up to its full height. The child kept coming. Y/n's feet pounded on the tarmac and she  stated the shout at the top of her voice, waving her hands in the hope that it might frighten of the kangaroo off.

But the animal raised its front legs and balanced on its massive rear feet. Y/n grabbed hold of the little boy and whisked him away just as the kangaroo leaped into the air and kicked out with both rear feet.

Y/n felt the blow whistle past him, but the kangaroo missed. They little boy burst into tears as y/n carried him to a safe distance.

The kangaroo obviously felt it had made its point and went back to its grazing. The father was now sprinting towards him.

'What the...?'

'They look cute but they're dangerous.' Y/n put the boy down, and he promptly ran into his father's arms and started howling. Y/n pointed at the smaller kangaroo,  then at the one that had attacked they boy.

'Thats they Joey, the baby, and that's the mother. If you get between them, then the mother will attack. And a blow form those feet could rip a small kid right open.'

The father looked like he had been about to accuse y/n of attacking the child himself, rather then saving his life, but y/n knew he was just in shock.

'Well...' he began, and then was distracted by the voice of his wife, who wad hurrying across the car park towards them.

Y/n left it to him to explain how he had taken his eye off their child and almost got him killed.

Welcome it Australia, she thought as she headed for the toilets, were appearances can be deceiving and even the cute can kill you.