We Call It Monster by Lachlan Walter

Author:Lachlan Walter [Walter, Lachlan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Severed Press
Published: 2019-02-09T22:00:00+00:00

Camp Wombat: Day 788

We’ve made camp near a cliff edge overlooking the WA facility. We hit the road the day before yesterday, and only arrived a few hours ago. I’m so tired that I might just keel over, but I want to get everything down before I fall asleep. So here goes…

It started with a four-hour drive from the camp to the nearest military base, Simeon and Lyndon and I stuffed in the back of a Jeep. Simeon stared out the window the whole time. Lyndon and I made a bit of small talk, but only a bit – the noise of the engine prevented most of our attempts. After waiting around the military base for a while, we then spent six hours on a cargo plane, our only company a couple of grunts who barely spoke to us and seemed indifferent to our presence. I fell asleep at some point, because when I woke up, we were at Darwin Air Force Base. For a long time, we just sat around and did nothing while our equipment was packed, our transport was checked over and the soldiers escorting us were given their orders.

My earlier excitement at finally getting away from camp had soon become boredom. By the time we left Darwin, it had almost become desperation.

In contrast, Lyndon seemed to be enjoying every minute of it. He told me that before everything fell apart, he’d never left the ACT, and that the great outdoors wasn’t really his thing, and neither was fieldwork. He preferred to lock himself in a lab when he studied the miracle of botany – his words, not mine. He seemed determined to tell me all about himself, and disappointed when I resisted doing the same. I wasn’t rude and I didn’t brush him off, but what’s mine is mine and I didn’t feel like sharing. You know what I’m like… But still, his enthusiasm was contagious and I couldn’t help smiling as he happily droned on about some plant. I called him a nerd, teasing him a little, and he seemed to enjoy it. And then he went back to gawping at a world he’d only ever seen in pictures.

I couldn’t believe that he found our trip exciting. I looked over at Simeon. He seemed to share my boredom, judging from the frown on his face, a frown that existed even when he was asleep. He’d made little effort to talk to Lyndon and I, alternately getting lost in a tattered notebook, dozing in his chair or staring into space. I’d left him alone for the most part – even if we couldn’t get along, I hoped that we could at least work together comfortably. But when we were finally ready to leave Darwin, he looked over the three soldiers comprising our escort and straightaway refused to ride with ‘their kind.’

That was when I started to hate him.

Lyndon didn’t know where to look or what to say, and just stared at the floor. The three soldiers didn’t take Simeon’s bait.

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