Memories of Life

20. Darkness.

"Steady David, take your time."

"Shh, dad. I know."

The .22 riffle cracked, felling the grey kangaroo where it stood.

"Good shot mate!"

"I told you I'd get him from here!" David crowed, giving his father a triumphant look.

"Well, we wouldn't have got another chance if you'd missed."

"Like you yesterday." David smirked.

Collecting the dead animal, Robert draped it over the horse, and the pair set off for home. David had never been a keen rider, though was slowly becoming accustomed to the gentler, methodical nature of riding his mothers horse. They had become invaluable to the families daily survival. Requiring no fuel, they could travel good distance without making noise, or drawing attention. Carrying riders, along with any supplies they had found.

The fresh meat would be welcome news for the family on their return, who had spent the last three days living on tinned fruit twice a day. Six months had passed since the night of the Prime Ministers introduction of marshal law. There had been five more Prime Ministers since then, some lasting weeks, other's only days, before broadcast's of any kind fell silent.

Only weeks after Ivy had fallen ill, the power failed. With the fuel the family had stored, they kept the car full with an extra jerry can in the back for emergencies. The remainder was reserved to run a small generator, which the family used for lighting. And to scan the television, or radio for an hour every night for news of the outside world. The only broadcast left, was a repeating loop sent out by the government asking for calm, and to not resist the authorities. The final footage they had seen was online. People uploaded scenes of chaos as mobs burnt, and looted in pitiful desperation. With the graphic nature of the content only becoming more explicit towards the end. Leesa refused to watch it, as people openly displayed acts of personal, religious, and ethnic retribution before the NET too, went thankfully silent.

It had been three months since they had seen, or heard from another living sole. On that occasion, Robert had gone to fell a tree across the dirt road, leading to their drive. Only days earlier, they had seen black smoke rising from the east towards Ceena, and he felt a need to deter any potential visitors. After creating the basic roadblock, he walked the short distance to the main road, more out of curiosity than anything. And to his astonishment heard a vehicle approaching in the distance. Robert hid himself in a shallow ditch amongst long grass, not far from the roads edge, waiting for it to pass. The red sedan, which whistled with a loose fan belt, had four occupants inside as it slowly passed him by. A woman drove, with a younger child beside her in the front. In the back was an older boy, and a man slumped seemingly unconscious against the window, his head swathed in a bandage. The most chilling thing Robert observed, were the holes in the front panel of the car, which looked like bullets had made them. He waited for a long time to see if anyone followed, or if what had looked like a family returned. When telling Leesa later in private what he had seen, and remembering what Jerry had told him. It only reaffirmed their decision, to stay where they were.

On approaching the top of the range overlooking their home below. Robert and David furtively glanced down into the adjacent valley towards their neighbor's property in the distance. They barely knew the Lucas's, who had bought the property only twelve months earlier with their young daughter. It had been the first house the pair scavenged from, when their food had run low. Initially they had told themselves it was to see if their neighbors' were still alive, yet in reality it was the food they were after. Robert remembered telling David to remain outside after knocking to see if anyone was home. When no one answered he broke the door down, entering the house. A wretched stench greeted Robert that made him violently ill. When eventually recovered, he re-entered the house covering his face with his shirt drenched in water. Quickly he located the kitchen, ransacking the cupboards for any tinned or packaged food that hadn't spoilt. He sweated profusely, as flies buzzed around the room with the strong smell of decay sending them into a frenzy, making him wretch. After two trips he emptied the cupboards of any supplies, and returned outside ripping the shirt from his face, having never been so thankful for fresh air. It was then he discovered David looking through a window at the side of the house. Calmly Robert had told him to "come away". The look on his son's face said enough of what he had seen, and the pair left without saying another word.