Human (17 page)

I’ll track her. Whoever she is, one way or another, she’s going to tell me what she knows.

Ivy's heart plummeted. She stood on the pinnacle of a great mountain ridge, running a hundred kilometres across and dropping in sharp peaks and sprawling valleys. The midday sun beat mercilessly across a landscape so wild and untouched, it screamed prehistoric. In every direction, ancient volcanic rifts jigsawed the landscape into a blur of yellow ridges, rich emerald forest and dark barren earth. Narrow rivers snaked the jungle mass. Through the canopy below, gargantuan hardwoods broke into the sky nearly 300 feet tall supported by massive buttresses. Epiphytes clung to them like parasites - lianas, vines and strangler figs coveting the sunlight they dominated. Below, a suffocation of greenery competed for life-giving sunlight. Elongated crowns angled their leaves to best capture the sun’s rays, rotating on swollen joints to follow it greedily across the sky. Ivy knew that under the canopy more layers existed. Beneath the tree mass, ferns, orchids and fungi dominated the ground clutching the shallow nutrient surface.

Far into the distance volcanic peaks jutted the skyline in a mist of thick white cloud. A blue ocean glittered in all directions. Her legs gave way beneath her.

“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto,” Ivy breathed.

There’s no way out. No civilisation, no help.
Kyah crawled into her lap, curling close. Ivy stared ahead, unseeing. There were no tears. Simply disbelief. They were unequivocally, undeniably
lost
.

How can I possibly survive this?
Earlier, in her delirium, the concept of death had seemed a mercy; a reprieve from agonising pain. Death had offered an embrace, loving and kind. But not now. There was no kindness in
this
death, Ivy knew. How easy nature could take her; a victim to the elements and an easy target for predators. Soft, naive and inviting.

Despair tumbled out of her as dry sobs into Kyah’s soft hair.
At least I have you.
Immediately, Ivy hated herself for the thought.
Kyah doesn’t deserve to be here, lost in some god-forsaken jungle in the middle of god-knows-where. She’s as easy prey as I am.
Ivy hated the human part of her that suddenly craved comfort from the very creature that deserved this misery the least.

Surely someone will notice that I'm gone?
Old Tom would notice, thoughtful and lonely as he was. But would he report her missing? Or would her belongings collect dust, as he waited in vain for Ivy to return home as he had waited for his own son so long ago? Jayne and Liam would notice,
but would they care?
Karl Ellery would only notice when the unmarked papers began piling up.
Dad won't notice for at least a year. By then I’ll be gone. I’m already gone.

Suddenly, the possibility of letting someone else help her, save her, even just comfort her seemed appealing.
I pushed everyone away. I did this to myself.

Strangely, it was the thought of Orrin that hurt the most. She clung desperately to the loss she had only just begun to possess. Orrin had been real. He seemed so important now. His interest in
her
was so important. It was no longer just amusing or flattering – it was vital. The memory of Orrin's hand curling the hair back from her face drew an aching sob from her chest. She brought her fingers to her lips, tracing the soft kiss that had been interrupted.
I pushed him away too.

Ivy stared across her island prison. For a long while she sat tall, her eyes searching desperately for a plane on the horizon, a ship in the distance, any sign of help. She tried to rouse herself into action, but with no purpose, it quickly ebbed. Then she sank into self-pity. It was Kyah who finally forced her hand. The bonobo was hungry. She screeched and tried unsuccessfully to drag Ivy back into the forest by her arm. When her attempts were ignored, Kyah chose provocation instead. The bonobo slapped Ivy on the head grinning playfully, mouth open with lips pulled down over her teeth. Then she skittled back to the tree line and began systematically flinging rocks at Ivy's head. When a particularly sharp rock found its mark, Ivy rewarded her efforts with a scowl, then a reluctant laugh. She took Kyah’s hand.

“I’m being useless aren’t I, Ky,” Ivy sighed. “We’re here, wherever here is, and we’re alive. For now. Let’s find some food and shelter. Then we’ll figure out what to do.”

In the heart of the forest laid far out before her, a large cave mouth was nestled high on a ridge overlooking a wide river terrace. It looked dark and uninviting, but fresh water was nearby and it would be nightfall soon. Ivy tried to judge the distance but gave up. Spatial mapping was way down her list of skills.

Several more hours of walking proved fruitful, literally. Kyah found a tree dripping with giant spiky fruit that smelt almost too bad to eat. The bonobo knocked a few to the ground and Ivy grabbed one.

“Ouch!” Ivy said, dropping it just as quickly. She rolled it over looking for a better way to hold it. The heavy weight of it forced the spikes into her hands no matter how she tried to pick it up, making it impossible to open. Her stomach ached with hunger and her hands had begun shaking. Dark blotches were beginning to invade her sight and a cold, clammy feeling flooded her skin. She recognized the precursors to unconsciousness and couldn’t risk letting herself go. With unknown predators lurking in the forest, she might never get the chance to wake up. Ivy tried to pick the fruit up once again and dropped it, this time earning herself scraped arms and bruising her good foot. “Damn it!” She rung her hands and smacked the obstructive fruit with a stick. Ivy grew more furious, kicking the thing against the base of the tree in both punishment and hope it might crack open. She kicked it again, punishing her own foot further. “Aah!” Ivy fell hard on her backside, half laughing and half crying in a fit of pure frustration. “I hate you!” she yelled at the durian fruit.

Kyah dropped down from the branches beside her. The bonobo looked at her in apparent amusement, all white teeth and high pitched laughing then slapped her hand gently over Ivy’s forehead.

“Alright then smarty-pants, you do it!” Ivy growled.

Kyah picked up the durian easily and carried it to a nearby rock.

“Your hands are tougher,” Ivy muttered under her breath as Kyah perched herself beside the rock, and began smashing the fruit against the sharpest edge.

“Why the hell didn’t I think of that?” Ivy sighed. She found a sharp stone on the ground and together they dug into the tough outer skin to the spongy layer underneath. “It’s like cutting a shoe,” Ivy grumbled after a few minutes. Eventually the holes were big enough to scoop white, fibrous flesh from the inside. Kyah immediately sucked on the large elliptical seeds she dug out, holding them still to scrape the sides clean with sharp teeth. The fruit smelled pungent, like vomit or over-ripe paw-paw with the consistency of a custard apple. It made Ivy’s eyes water. Holding her breath, she ate some, expecting the worst. Miraculously, it wasn’t too bad. A questionable blur of peach, mango and coconut flavours managed to overcome the overwhelming smell. “I suppose I could live on this,” Ivy said begrudgingly. After a few minutes, her hands stopped shaking and her head cleared as they quickly emptied out the multi-chambered fruit leaving an empty shell. Ivy grinned, tipping the spiky casing upside down onto Kyah’s head. “Viking!” She laughed. Kyah threw it off, knocked Ivy backward with a playful grimace and ran to get another one.

As the sun set in a red blaze, Ivy realised how badly she had judged distance. They were probably still hours from the cave and darkness was falling fast. Giving in, she collapsed under a tree. Kyah climbed into a low lying branch, where she set about expertly making a woven nest of thick green leaves. Ivy eyed it enviously. She knew her own nightmares would throw her to the forest floor if she fell asleep so high up. The night air brought a sharp chill and Ivy shrugged further into her jacket. Her fingers curled around a note, folded neatly in the pocket. Ivy pulled it out. She couldn’t help the sting behind her eyes at finding Orrin's handwriting. She had tucked the note straight into her pocket when Orrin had given it to her, not pausing to look at what she assumed was his address for their dinner date. She was right.
7pm - 25 Beach Street, Port Melbourne.
But underneath, three more words had been scrawled.
Please trust me.
He'd completed the note with a single
O
representing his name. Ivy choked back a sob and squeezed the paper tight in her fist.
Please trust me.
She had been
so close
. But now she'd never have the chance.

The birds fell silent, their chorus taken up by insects buzzing, whirring, chirping and zitzing, each one incessant and amplified by the resonant hollows of the jungle. Light from a waning full moon broke the canopy, accenting moving shadows and menacing shapes in the dark. The rhythmic, rasping sigh of some nocturnal beast sounded frighteningly close. Ivy shivered in the cold as twigs and branches snapped unseen in the darkness.

Eventually Ivy fell into a fitful sleep, unaware that she was being watched.

Squabbling of dawn bats woke them in a shower of leaves and fruit. Kyah dropped from her nest and salvaged bits, sniffing and then shoving them into her mouth. Ivy stretched and felt the pull of stiff muscles unused to yesterday’s exertion. Ouch! She sucked air in through her teeth. The fabric of her jeans stuck to her ankle with dried blood, and Ivy gingerly pulled her makeshift bandage away. The cut was pink and raw and her flesh was swollen tight around it. Infected, damn it. Ivy relaxed backward again and felt a jab from her back pocket. She retrieved a small tube of antiseptic cream, beaming at her companion.

“We’re in luck, I forgot to put your medicine away, Ky. Pity it’s almost empty.” Kyah stiffened as Ivy smeared the remnants of the medication across the bonobo's inflamed chest and grazed head then dressed and re-wrapped her own injury. When Ivy had finished, Kyah scraped the leaf litter away from their feet. She picked up a fallen stick and snapped it easily underneath her foot then dragged it across the bare soil. Ivy anticipated the symbol Kyah drew before she’d finished it. Food. The durian they had carried with them from yesterday’s tree proved a welcome breakfast. Kyah offered Ivy the last of the fruit, holding it out with an endearing toothy smile. When Ivy declined, the bonobo ate it herself with a soft grunt of appreciation.

“Come here, beautiful,” Ivy said.

After all she had been through in the last twenty-four hours, Kyah's obvious joy at spending time with Ivy touched her heart. She pulled Kyah into a playful hug, running her fingers through the bonobo’s hair affectionately. Kyah hooted softly and reciprocated, her fingers catching in Ivy's knots.

A loud snap startled them both. Leaves and twigs cracked, underfoot. Close. Ivy stared intently into the shadows, but no animal surfaced. Invisible predators prowled her imagination and she urged herself to just breathe, fighting panic. She was suddenly exhausted of the constant danger the forest kept. Dark circles shadowed Ivy's eyes and she rubbed them with filthy fingers, prodding them into vigilance. As much as she had wanted to relax, she knew it was foolish to do so. Kyah fidgeted in echo of Ivy's stress and the woman pulled Kyah’s long fingers away from the raw scratches on her chest.

“I’m over-reacting Ky, it’s okay. Let’s just go.” Ivy was keen to reach the river, not just to quench her dry throat but for the cleanliness it offered. The sun rose crimson and gold as they set off again towards the cave.