The Pole Shift

The Dam part 3

 

Mnem didn't run, she waded to the banks of the muddy dam where the conversation was heating up. Peter was insistent he wanted to spend some time with Mnem, just to 'tell her a few stories' and 'make her laugh' but Janet was having none of it, she said:

                "Like you did with me?" There was silence and she filled it with:

                "I was fifteen, Fifteen! you don't fall in love with fifteen year olds at your age, you behave properly, look after them Peter." Her words were working, he had been severely spoken to by everyone of their group for his lovelorn behaviour.  He had been warned to choose wisely in the future, for he could not handle rejection, which led to oily darkness in the corners of his mind.

                "But I loved you, I just wanted you to know that, I would protect you. Always!"

                'You're nearly thirty you goose, you could only be an Uncle and in truth I wouldn't even want that - there's something wrong with you." Janet had made a mistake, Peter frowned deeply in the peripheral light of the torch. Mnem made to get dressed. Peter took two strides and grabbed her by the arm.

                "Not so fast!" He hissed, "Come and sit on the rock with me I want to tell you about the time I was accosted by a fucking tiger snake!"

                "What snake?" Said Mnem, not resisting the tight grip on her arm, or noticing she had dropped her gathered clothes. This seemed to confuse Peter, he had expected resistance, a fight.

                "Well It was massive to begin with, two meters! Tigers are the only snake that will actually chase you! There I was, walking through the bush to look at some, umm,  stuff when I virtually stepped on it! It reared up and looked me in the eye, if it could speak I reckon it would have said Oi you nearly stepped on me, prick! But it couldn't speak so it went for me eyes. Luckily my immense reflexes avoided the strike and I ran like buggery, but when I turned around do you know what I saw?"

                "The snake?" Said Mnem,

                "Yep, do you know the tiger snake can slither faster than a bloke can run? Fact."

                "Wow." said Mnem clueless to her situation. Peter turned to the others.

                "See! She does want to talk!" But only Janet, and her older sibling Mike stood there with pleading eyes. The other boys had headed back to the camp. Janet  said:

                "Peter, let her go, it's time to go back to the camp."

                "No! I want to tell the story about the time I befriended a wallaby." Janet was using every trick she had to bend his mind away from Mnem.

                "Lets tell everybody! Back at the fire, you know how we love your stories and guess what I am seventeen tomorrow and that's old enough, in case you hadn't noticed." She smiled sweetly and Peter's eyes lingered on her in the sepia light of the torch.

                "You're old enough now? I've always loved you, ya know?"

                "I know, and guess what? I've always had," she struggled for a word, "a nice feeling for you. Why don't we take a stroll and later we can tell your wallaby story back at the fire. Mnem can tell them to gather, can't ya Mnem?"

                "I think so!" Said Mnem, drawn into the plan as much as Peter was. Peter had gone still, he was trying to smile at Janet, he tried to say something but stuttered, instead he let Mnem's arm go and put his hand out to Janet. Michal was aghast:

                "No Janet, no...let her go with him." Janet turned to her brother with beseeching eyes:

                 "Hurry back to the camp and tell them Peter is going through one of his stories."