A Different Land by Paul Jennings

Author:Paul Jennings
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Published: 2019-07-10T16:00:00+00:00

Six

Christopher went back to his room and thought about confronting Crayfish. He needed to be careful. If he caused a big fuss Pat would turn against him for being rude. And he had to get his facts straight.

There were two things for sure. Crayfish was flirting with his mother. And he already had a wife whom he visited every Wednesday.

He had to say something. He couldn’t help himself. He ran down to the long-drop toilet where Crayfish was banging nails into the new wall.

‘I know about Peggy,’ he blurted out.

Crayfish looked at him. ‘So?’ he said.

‘So, stop flirting with my mother,’ he shouted. ‘Leave her alone. You’ve already got a wife.’

‘You don’t know what you’re talking about,’ said Crayfish. ‘Look …’

The boy wasn’t listening. He was already running across the grass towards the bungalow.

Christopher avoided Crayfish for the rest of the day. That night he tossed and turned in his bed. Crayfish was guilty as charged. But he had not owned up about Peggy. Christopher had to prove that Crayfish’s wife was still alive.

All night the rain drummed on the roof. Finally the dawn broke, dark and grey. He dressed quietly so as not to wake Anton. He quickly scribbled a note and left it on the end of his brother’s bed.

He heard a car door slam. It was Crayfish, leaving in the truck. Christopher rushed along the verandah and sprinted through the rain. The truck was shaking gently, with a whiff of smoke rising from the exhaust pipe.

Christopher ran to the passenger’s side of the truck and scrambled inside. Lonely was curled up on the floor. He looked up and wagged his tail as the boy slammed the door behind him.

‘What are you doing here?’ growled Crayfish.

‘We didn’t finish our conversation,’ said Christopher.

‘You’ve said enough already.’

‘It’s important.’

Crayfish answered slowly, giving weight to every word.

‘This is not a good time,’ he said. ‘I have to get going.’

‘Not before you’ve heard what I have to say.’

‘No,’ said Crayfish. His voice was urgent. And forceful. ‘There’s a cyclone off the coast. And we’ve had heavy rain. Really heavy rain. For a long time. And there’s going to be a king tide.’

‘So?’ said Christopher.

‘So, when those three things combine the tide rushes up the river. And meets the flooding water coming downstream. Where they meet the water rises. Quickly. There’s a big flood. Last time it happened someone drowned. I have to go and … check on things.’

‘I don’t believe you,’ said Christopher.

Crayfish reached over and opened the passenger door. He put his hand on the boy’s shoulder and pushed. Christopher was firmly ejected. He landed on his feet, just managing to stay upright.

There was a crunching of gears and the truck started to move.

Christopher felt white-hot anger flush through his head. He had to know what Crayfish was up to. Where was he going? And where was Peggy? He began to run after the vehicle. He grabbed the tailgate and was dragged along. The toes of his shoes scraped through the mud. The truck slowed momentarily and he was able to pull himself up and scramble in.

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