Stories of Us.

Silver Wings

Sam:

The screen door shuts noisily and I pay it little heed as I watch Terry learning to write his name. There is an intense look of concentration on his face, the tip of his tongue poking out from the right-hand corner of his mouth as he slowly draws the letters. Footsteps make their way to the lounge room doorway and stop as I lift my head and glance that way. Malcolm is standing in the doorway, his left hand braced on the frame as he looks around the room.

"Sam, that tom who used to work for Alan Cummings wants to talk to you," Malcolm says with a trace of annoyance. "He won't talk to Mitchell about whatever he has on his mind,says it has to be you."

I glance around to see whom I can get to take over with Terry. Lilly comes in from the kitchen with Wynn on one hip and I give her a silent nod, it annoys me that Lilly who is the only human here actually has more to do with my nephews than anyone other than Micah and myself.

"I'll be back in a little while guys," I say to Terry and Dacey who are seated at their small table in the lounge room. Paper and pencils litter the top of the table and two little heads – one dark, one fair – nod without looking up from the paper in front of them. I get up out of the chair I was using and head outside behind Malcolm only pausing long enough to pull on a pair of work boots.

Outside we head for the brick shed that has been converted into a kind of business office. There are two doors on the front of the shed, one opens into an office complete with a work desk, filing cabinets and chairs. The other door opens into a large open room where things can be stored or hung on the wall as needed, a second smaller room opens off the back of this room. It is divided in half by steel bars forming a cage against the back of the room.

I follow Malcolm into the large, open plan room and glance around at those who are gathered here. Micah and Steven are standing just inside the doorway and Mitchell a few steps further in. My gaze quickly moves to the other figure in the room and I feel my top lip curl with disgust.

"Andrew Dorrington," I sneer. "The coward who left his boss's sons to be murdered." The guy has the audacity to look ashamed as he meets my eyes.

"Sam, you're the older brother right," Dorrington says and his eyes flick away from mine. "I came to talk to you about your sister Rosy, she ..."

"You don't get to talk to her so that you can crawl begging to see those boys," I hiss angrily.

Surely this guy has heard the news that Rosy has vanished, she had disappeared 5 months, 1 week and 3 days ago! Even an outcast must have heard rumours. Micah and I had spent most of that first month out searching for her, Micah relentlessly combing a small area he believed she had been in. Even now Micah would suddenly vanish only to come home five, six, even seven days later exhausted and worn out both mentally and emotionally from searching without rest.

"I know that," Dorrington says very quietly. "Fact is ... I came to let you know ..." His voice trails off and he stares at the wall beside the door avoiding meeting anyone's eyes.

"Get on ..." Steven snarls and Dorrington looks his way, it is nearly a minute before he resumes talking.

"Some months back I was up on that edge of No-Mans-Land near the Border Rail tracks and Running Creek road. It was the night of the full moon and I came across this guy checking the edge of the narrow road. He was sure he'd hit someone's Angus yearling, I wanted a lift so I helped him look. He didn't want to leave the beast suffer if it was still alive. We didn't find anything but I went ba... I went back the next day ... I'd caught her scent the night before ..."

I hear Micah growl as Dorrington's voice breaks and he stops to swallow. I know the area he is talking about, it's part of the area Micah concentrated on.