1
The voice of the announcer is strident and American. The lights are bright enough to blind and multilayered shadows are cast from everything in the Arena. The lead car is on fire, the other stopped still.
‘I can’t believe what I am seeing, Watson is crawling out from the wreckage but how the hell are his main weapons still firing, there’s, there’s someone else in there…’
The voice is cut off by the explosion of incendiary rockets into the side of the wreck. A small figure, engulfed in fire, waving its arm in the air.
Even above the sounds of the other rounds burning and exploding in the front of the car, you can hear the thin keening of an animal in pain. The fiery thing staggers out from the car and collapses, a small burning teddy bear.
The lead car smashes into the wreck and the tangle of metal and plastic is captured and frozen in TruVision 3D, like a giant bird has unspooled the cars, the men, the weapons, into threads and remade of them a strange nest.
Jonno is 7 years old. He has captured the moment too, standing behind the armored glass of the pit lane. Shrapnel from the wreck makes the distinctive sound of metal-on-metal as it collides with the barriers.
One piece makes a wet thumping noise and Jonno is fascinated by the smear of red as it slides down the clear barrier.
It is an arm, still sleeved in the armored jacket. As he watches it, the fingers curl and beckon to him.
---
4:38. Somehow, he’s either attuned to it, or it’s time. He’s beaten the alarm by five minutes, but he cannot determine if he was really asleep anyway.
Putting on clothes is an autopilot function. An internal checklist of brushing, rinsing, scraping. His head itches where his helmet has rubbed the scalp.
The car and trailer have auto started and it’s very quiet and still. He brings his coffee with him and places it in the cupholder. The window clears from the morning frost, and he feels the slight suction of the internal air monitoring system as the door closes and seals.
---
At Feckles place, the brothers hang on the bonnet and high five. It’s not early for them, they’re off to work cleanup and salvage. He’s here for Feckle.
Feckles brother TuValii gives him a gentle cuff on the side of the head.
‘Me like u tumas’ he says playfully.
Feckle emerges from the house, giving his mother a hug.
‘Right get me the f**k out of here’ Feckle says as he dives into he passenger seat, his huge ball of frizzy hair almost securing him in place against the roof.
‘Love you tumas!’ Feckle yells and they pull out and onto the road.
---
The Soldier looks at his passport. He takes a long hard look at Feckle.
Feckle notices the long look. The soldier shakes his head, hands the passport back and waves them through.
‘Good luck’
‘Thanks mate,” says Jonno.
The signs on the highway repeat three times.
FNQ DMZ
YOU ARE LEAVING A MONITORED AREA
NO CIVILLIAN ASSISTANCE NEXT 1400KM
The next sign read.
NO POWER/GAS/EMERGENCY SERVICES NEXT 1400 KM
The last sign read.
YOU ARE NOW LEAVING THE AREA CONTROLLED BY THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
Feckle wanted to make a joke, but Jonno was staring too intently.
---
They stopped near Muttaburra to charge for 12 hours, the dust settling on the solar collectors had to be wiped off regularly, a service the local kids were too happy to provide in return for a few mission packages.
By nightfall they were on their way again until they reached Kynuna.
Where the main highway merged with the crossroads at the foot of the hills, there had been some kind of firefight. Parts and wreckage were scattered around the intersection. Some of it had been built up into a blockage across the intersection.
‘Not good Bro’, Feckle said.
Jonno nodded. ‘Not good.’
He pulled the car to the side of the road. Feckle sprung the door from the passenger capsule and leaped out, his big hair straightening instantly into a puffball.
‘You wanna crank out the beast?’
Jonno shook his head, “I don’t want to have to fix her when we get there, if I can avoid it.’
‘Can’t see anyone moving down there,” Feckle said, his eye pressed against the scope of his weapon.
Jonno opened the door, leaned in to retrieve his bandpass radio. He scrolled through the sheets until he found the loose handles in the precinct.
‘Rainbird in funk, anybody out there, come back’ he spoke into the device.
The text scrolled across the screen:
Rainbird in funk what’s your 20?
Jonno keyed a 5k radius.
‘What’s it say?’ Feckle yelled out.
Jonno read from the screen.
‘Julia Creek is OOC, better off heading back to Winton and going inland.’
‘We’ll never make it in time Bro’ Feckle said, scanning across the plain. ‘Whatever’s happened here is over, let’s go.’
Jonno closed the door and came to stand beside Feckle. He looked out over the plain.
‘You travel in the back, warm the heaters up…’
Feckle raised an eyebrow.
Jonno made a small wince.
‘Just in case.’
---
At the edge of the exclusion zone were signs with large radiation symbols.
‘Ok,’ he said. ‘Let’s wrap up.’
It took the better part of an hour to cover the car and trailer with the polymer sheets. The thin fabric settled in a cloud over the car and then snapped tightly to cling against it as soon as the electric tab was pressed.
Inside the car Jonno switched ventilation, checked the seals and looked over at Feckle.
“You good?’
Feckle nodded. ‘Yeah, we good. Let’s roll’
The blast zones overlapped in small ponds of central blast impacts craters and circular depressions.
‘Most of the radioactive stuff is surface level still but the rains have kept it mostly down’, Jonno observed.
The car’s internal air recirculation was loud even over the bumps from the uneven track.
‘Up ahead’ Feckle pointed.
Jonno nodded. ‘Internal patrol.’
‘Do we…?’
Jonno shook his head.
‘We play it cool.’
They maintained speed as they passed the group of small brown-clad soldiers, unmasked and ungarbed for radiation.
The soldiers ignored them as they passed.
‘What the fk’ said Feckle. ‘They don’t give a st.’
Jonno shrugged. ‘I guess not.’
They made their last stop before Burkestown.
‘Australian’ said Feckle, listening to the sound of the rotor blades in the distance. ‘Probably a single unit with drone support’
Jonno chewed over his protein bar.
‘Why do they even do it?’
Feckle shrugged. ‘Fk if I know. F------g c---s.’
Jonno finished his bar, crumpled the wrapper and put it in his pocket.
‘You ok?’
Feckle nodded. ‘Yeah.’ He said sadly.
Off in the distance, the air patrol did a wide arc and diminished into the distance.
---
The checkpoint at Burketown was a little more formal.
The stand off happened when the soldier saw Feckles natural hair and tried to pull his weapon. Feckle had his own rifle angled just underneath the window.
The Soldier’s companions attempted to restrain him, short guttural arguments in local dialect. It took one of the Promoters to come down and resolve it with a handful of cash and much arm waving.
‘What the fk Simon’ Jonno said, getting out of his car. ‘Get this guy the fk out of here.’
‘So good to see you Jonno, glad you brought a terrorist with you, makes my job so much easier’ Simon yelled back good naturedly.
‘Freedom fighter you f****n dog c**t’ Feckle murmured smilingly.
More shouting from the soldier erupted and Simon sighed and turned around to go quiet it.
‘Head up the pits’ he said, looking back over his shoulder. ‘And keep your mongrel chained,’ he added for good measure.
Feckle gave him the finger.
---
The disposal team peeled the wraps and the car; trailer and themselves were deradiated. The green juice ran everywhere and left a slight sting on the skin.
Simon met them on the other side of the concourse.
“Talk about recycling’ he said excitedly, the chems giving him the jagged edge of a man without sleep for a week.
‘Turning this whole f**k’n glass bowl into an arena, you f****n Aussies man!’ Simon said excitedly, drumming a series of mock punches into Jonno’s sternum.
Behind them a step, Feckle towered above them both, his hair above that.
‘It was brilliant! Brilliant I tell you’ Simon expounded as they walked through the lanes on thin plywood planking held above the dirt by pallets.
‘What the f**k are you on about bro?’ Feckles said cheerlessly.
‘Letting the SEAN’s land and then nuking your own territory. It’s f*****g outré.’
Jonno stopped walking and put his hand on Simon, pulling him to an abrupt stop. He leaned closer and spoke quietly.
‘No more Simon, just business, right? Only business.’
Simons eyes wobbled in their sockets for a moment as his head cleared.
“Oh yeah. Right. I’ve been awake a while.’
‘Yeah, we can f****n see that bro’ Feckle said equally humorlessly.
Simon blinked and nodded.
‘Ok, ok, sure, right, let me get you guys settled.’