Vanishing Point (11 page)

‘Are you Jewish?' Katherine asked, thinking that Benjamin might be relating this story to his own religious history.

Her question remained unanswered as Benjamin droned on. ‘The men realised people from one place, called Jabesh Gilead, were not there when the promise were made to God so didn't have to keep it. So they sent an army there an' killed all the men an' their wives, an' they captured the virgins to be wives for the Benjamites. But there were still not enough women so the Benjamites set up an ambush in some vineyards. When the women came out for a celebration an' dance the Benjamites captured the girls an' took them for wives. So wadda ya think of all that?' Benjamin's voice changed again and it was clear that the rehearsed story ended with the question. He turned and looked directly at her.

Katherine was nonplussed and unsure of how to answer. Her mind was still fascinated by the way in which Benjamin told the story, even to the names of the ancient biblical towns. ‘Well,' she hesitantly ventured, ‘it's a pretty bloodthirsty story. And I don't think it says much for the people who felt that they could just go killing and raping and enslaving others just because they thought that they were chosen by God. It makes all the women seem just property, not people. I mean, the story makes it seem okay to hand over a wife and a virgin daughter to be gang-raped rather than stand up to a mob.'

She wasn't sure as to what more to say. Cautiously she ventured, ‘I am not sure that the God those ancient people believed in is the same God we believe in today. I mean, do you think God would have approved of the killing, abductions and raping?'

Benjamin didn't respond. After a while he said, ‘God don't change. It's people what change. People ignore the Bible rules an' its teaching. Same God then as now.'

‘But what about the New Testament, I mean —'

‘God's law says it is right. In Deuteronomy it's written that if God delivers your enemies into ya hand, ya can take captives. An' if ya see a comely woman among the captives and like her ya can take her as a wife. God gives her ta ya an' ya can take her home. But before she can live there, she'll shave her head an' cut her nails an' take off the clothes she was taken in. Did ya know all that?'

‘No, I didn't, but that's all the ancient words of the Old Testament. The New —'

‘I had me a wife once. She didn't like livin' in the bush an' she upped an' left. Took her to Perth to buy some clothes an' stuff.

When we gets there, she jist turns round an' tells me, I ain't sticking ‘round in some godforsaken desert. So she jist walks off and never looked back. That were ‘bout five years ago. Bin on me own since then.'

‘Sorry to hear it,' responded Katherine. ‘I guess it must've been pretty hard for her on her own out in the bush and even harder for you when she left.'

‘Mmm. But if ya make a promise to God, no matter what, like ta love an' obey, in sickness an' in health, then, well, it's jist wrong to jist up an' leave.'

‘Yes, I suppose it is. Didn't you talk about where you lived and how hard it could be before you got married?'

‘Oh, yeah. I did. Guess she didn't get how hard. Mebbe she thought I had money or summit. I did get some when me folks died. Mebbe that's all what she wanted.'

The conversation waned. Katherine closed her eyes and thought of how to make contact with Alec in Ceduna. She felt pretty certain he wouldn't have found help to return to the Kombi yet, so would be happily surprised to find her in town. She'd start searching at the garages. She knew the one he liked from when they passed through on their way north: the Ceduna Roadhouse and Garage.

T
he early morning sun behind the Land Rover caused its shadow to fall forwards and the vehicle hummed steadily onward as if trying to catch itself. The road surface became harder with hard lumps of what seemed like limestone, not only making the journey noisier but also causing the vehicle to shudder with every bump.

‘What makes the sparkles on the road?' Katherine asked in an attempt to steer the conversation to a subject in which she could sensibly participate.

‘Gypsum,' was the curt answer.

She realised the conversation had ended and, in any event, the noise made it difficult to continue. So she rested her head back and closed her eyes while firmly holding on to Carolyn.

She opened her eyes as the vehicle turned right at an intersection. ‘Do you know the Ceduna Roadhouse?' she asked then realised that the turn had been on to the Eyre Highway. ‘Hey, aren't we supposed to turn left, there, towards Ceduna?'

‘Yeah, I know that roadhouse.'

‘But aren't we heading away from Ceduna now?'

‘Yeah, for a bit.'

It seemed a strange answer and Katherine felt troubled. She held Carolyn a little closer and kept her eyes open. Benjamin was frowning, his eyes cast straight ahead.

The road was now wide and covered with calcrete. Creamy, tan dust streamed out behind them as they picked up speed. The four-wheel drive travelled a straight course, apart from the occasional dodging of dust-filled potholes. When Benjamin unavoidably hit one the whole vehicle shuddered and complained as fine dust flew up all around it like a miniature explosion.

‘Darned bulldust. Time they fixed this road,' Benjamin's complained aloud. The surface of the road was formed from small, white pebbles, nodules of calcrete, that battered metal under the base and mudguards of the vehicle. It made the noise inside the Land Rover even more intense, competing with the roar of the engine.

The Land Rover kept heading west. Eventually Katherine could contain her anxiety no longer. ‘When do we head to Ceduna? We've been going west for ages.'

‘I guess ya'd better know. We ain't goin' to Ceduna.'

‘What! Not going? We must. I —'

Benjamin continued as if Katherine had not interjected. ‘I ‘ad me a vision from God in the night. Showed me he'd sent me a woman ta be me wife, like the Bible says, to be a soul mate unto me. An' I've decided ya'd make me a good wife.'

‘You can't. I mean this is —'

‘Don' worry. I'll take good care of ya an' the bubs. We're goin' home, our home.'

Katherine looked at him in shocked silence. ‘I have a home. Please, listen to me —'

‘Ya got a new home. Ya gunna be me wife, just like them Benjamites, an' I'm a Benjamin. God put ya there for me ta find. Why else was ya there, in the middle of nowhere jist like in me vision? There ya was! Ya ain't no virgin but I'll take the bubs as well, like it's me own kid, so it's okay.'

Through this Katherine had listened, mouth open and eyes wide, staring out the horror she felt. She screamed her interruption. ‘OKAY! OKAY! What do you mean, it's okay? Are you absolutely mad?' She shouted her objections. ‘I'm already married. I mean, you can't do this, just pick up someone and say they're going to be a wife for you! As if some vision from God makes it okay!'

Benjamin said nothing and just stared at the road.

Katherine forced herself to act more calmly even as the knot in her stomach tightened. ‘Listen, Alec'll be in Ceduna organising help for our Kombi. When he sees I'm not there he'll get a police search and they find us.'

Benjamin ignored her and kept driving.

‘Turn around right now and take me to Ceduna. Or back to the Kombi. Or … or just leave me here on the road and I'll hitch with a truckie. We'll forget about this nonsense —' Katherine made a grab at the steering wheel.

‘Leave off an' shut up, woman,' Benjamin shouted as he steadily pulled the wheel back to stop the vehicle from going into a skid. Once steady he wrenched her hand off. ‘Don' try that agin, woman, or it'll be the worse for ya, even if we don' crash.'

Katherine started to cry. ‘Please, please, I beg of you. Take us back.'

‘We can't go back. I've decided. No. No, not me. God decided. Like what it says in the Bible. ‘If ya see a beautiful woman an' desire to her, an' would take her for ya wife, then ya can bring her home to ya house, an' she will shave her head an' cut her nails.' The tone of his voice changed again while he quoted. His preaching voice.

Katherine was too surprised and confused at what he said to interrupt.

He continued. ‘She will take off the clothes of her captivity, remain in ya house a full month. Then ya can go to her an' be her husband an' if she pleases ya, she can be ya wife. An' I reckon I'se gunna be real pleased with ya!' He turned and smiled benevolently at her as if expecting she would be pleased.

‘But that's ancient times! You can't do that today. I am not some captive. I am already married with a husband and have a child. You can't do this. It's crazy. It's criminal. It's kidnapping. I'm not just property. Turn around right now.'

‘The Bible is the word of God. Its word is true today just as in ancient times. God's word don't change. Everyone knows that. God sent you for me because I'm a righteous man. An' I'm Benjamin. The word don't change with time. I need a wife an' I asked God send me one. An' he did jist like I asked.'

Katherine argued, begged and screamed. She tried everything but Benjamin kept driving. She cried, she pleaded for herself, for the sake of the baby, for Alec. Carolyn was clearly distressed at the behaviour of her mother and set up a sympathetic wail. She cried long and loudly, so long that eventually her sobbing ceased and her breath came in disjointed little gulps. Katherine initially ignored her in her own distress and fear as she screamed at Benjamin. Eventually her baby's distress penetrated her own so she tried to soothe her but it had little impact. She tried to use the baby's distress as a reason for Benjamin to stop and turn around but he remained immovable.

After what seemed like an age it became clear to Katherine that she was not going to change his strange belief that somehow God had chosen her to be a wife for him. Perhaps when he stopped for fuel she would be able to escape. Her mind started planning even as she soothed her unhappy baby. At last Carolyn exhausted herself and sobbed silently, catching her breath in little hiccups.

They drove on with only the clatter and noise of the road. Alongside the road were numerous truck tyres, victims of the harsh road surface. Some had been placed at the edges to mark boundaries. It was just as well because in some parts there was little to distinguish the road from the surrounding desert stretching endlessly to the horizon. Katherine held her baby protectively close to her chest. Every now and again a truck roared past on its way eastwards and Benjamin raised his finger briefly from the steering wheel in silent and time-honoured outback greeting from one travelling stranger to another. Katherine hoped that the passing driver would notice her distressed demeanour as she mouthed the word ‘help' through the windshield.

About mid-morning Benjamin pulled over into a truck rest stop that was devoid of any semi-trailers. He switched off the engine and the silence, after the noise of the road, was eerie. Katherine opened her door and, grabbing Carolyn, started to run. Benjamin took his time to leisurely exit the vehicle, pocketing the keys. By the time he did so Katherine and her bundle were halfway to the highway. Benjamin took after her and, in spite of his apparent bulk, soon caught up. Leaning forward he grabbed her by her streaming hair and quietly said, ‘Goin' somewhere, woman?'

Katherine stopped. Not so much because of the pain in her scalp but because of fear she might drop Carolyn. Angrily she screamed, ‘Let go, you bastard. Let me go!'

‘Sure.' Benjamin released his grip. Katherine rubbed her head and glared at him through eyes watering from anger and pain.

‘Jist don' go runnin' off. Come back, and ya can feed bubs, have a piss an' a drink an' I'll fill up.'

Another hope dashed. Benjamin carried extra fuel in the forty-four gallon drum on the back of the Land Rover. Defeated and crying, Katherine reluctantly climbed back into the vehicle, sat on the passenger seat with her back to the driver's side and opened her blouse to feed Carolyn. The baby seemed to be aware of the distress and suckled intermittently, looking up at Katherine's tear-stained face between sucks. After a while Benjamin leaned through the open driver's window and put a bottle of lukewarm water on the seat next to Katherine. No words passed between them and Benjamin did not look at her. He walked a short distance into the bushes, turned his back and relieved himself, making no effort to hide from Katherine. She looked down at Carolyn and wondered how this was going to all end. All she knew was that somehow she must make contact with one of the trucks that she could hear as they roared past the rest-stop, ignorant of the drama taking place.

Benjamin returned to the ute and said, ‘We're leavin' now. If ya wanna piss, go now ‘cause our next stop's at Yalata Roadhouse an' that's a coupla hours drive.'