It was hot, and smoky, ashes fell off the scorched trees by the gentle, weak wind. The smell of burning was strong, and you could feel the heat and the density of the smoke when you breathed. I propped up my collar, to act as a shield against the harsh air, and burrowed my head inside like a balaclava, shielding myself from the scorched elements. Red lines like rivers of lava still glowed on the black, burnt trees, and the dusk made them illuminate like neon lights in the night.
As I trudged over the fallen and rusted logs that crumbled like rust when I rested my foot on them, I observed my surroundings, and soon took my phone from out of my pants pocket. I did the usual touristy thing, to capture the awe of this now post-apocalyptic landscape. With my camera out, I panned from left, and then back to right, when something caught my eye. Squinting, and even zooming in further, I still could not make out what this odd looking object was, that didn't exactly fit in with the rest of the landscape. It was small, pump and grey...soft. It was an animal that was for sure. I looked back at the rest of my crew, who were either doing the same as me, or sitting in the truck, eating, drinking, reading or sleeping; anything to pass the time until we were needed.
I moved forward, to investigate what this grey, furry creature was, and whether or not it was okay. Despite being scared of what I might see, considering everything else around me, burnt and dead; but curiosity got the better of me. I didn't know what I would find, nor how horrific, how ghastly, ghoulish and twisted this creature would have now become. But my heart beat faster, and there was a thrill running in my veins, my legs walked briskly with excitement.
As I approached, I slowed down, acted casual by putting my hands in my pockets, and moved in closer. It was a koala.
I felt a warmth inside me as I approached the small ball of fur, and slowly reached out my hand. It looked at me, and sniffed the tips of my fingers, before burrowing its head in its fur. I wondered if I could pick it up, and so I tried. Very carefully, I stared to pet it, gently, softly and carefully; I dare not frighten this animal. With my hand now on it, it soon latched onto my arm and crawled up to my shoulder. Like a little child, I now had it on my back, nuzzling its head into my collar.
'What have you got there?' I heard the lieutenant call out behind me. Covack was in his mid to late fifties, with greying hair and a protruding beer gut from years of watching football on the couch. He came over to me with an esky of water bottles inside. As he met me, he offered the esky, and I grabbed a bottle from it, stowing it inside my large pants pocket for later. But then Covack did something that surprised me. He dropped the esky down on a relatively flat ground; the dirt and ash bellowed out from underneath it like a bomb. Covack then knelt down with a struggle of his old age and his lack of physical health. Kneeling down on one knee, he signalled me to do the same, pointing to a fallen log for me to sit on. I did so, and watched him grab a bottle of water from the esky and reach out for the koala. The koala was shy at first, burrowing itself further into my collar, and climbing further along my back, but Covack was patient, and lured the animal back onto my shoulder, and then prodded it to the log beside me. With the koala now sitting on the log, closely next to me, Covack slowly handed the open bottle of water to the Koala, and insisted for it to drink from it. The koala shyly sniffed it and investigated the plastic container, until soon lifted its head to the sky and nudging the head of the bottle to ask for water. Covack did so.
With the koala occupied, and Covack forming a bond with it, giving it water, I stepped away from the log until I was behind Covack, watching him and the Koala. The rest of the crew were at the truck, either minding their own business, or a few watching us from a far, and talking amongst themselves about what we were doing. I grabbed my phone from out of my pocket, and held it up to the koala and Covack. The Koala had jumped off the log and onto the ground closer to Covack, and was sitting up with its paw in Covack's hand for stability. I held my phone up and took a picture of the moment.
