Then they turned onto a track, and suddenly they were bumping over a rough, uneven surface with eucalyptus and pine trees pressing in on both sides. X-Ray had taken out a map. He leaned forward and tapped Sparks on the shoulder.
“Is this the right way?” he shouted.
“Sure!” Sparks shouted back without looking behind him.
“I think we’ve come too far!”
“Forget it, X-Ray. This is the right way . . .” There was a barrier ahead of them, similar to the one at Swanbourne except that it was old and rusted. There was a sign next to it.
MILITARY ZONE
Absolutely no admittance.
Trespassers will be placed under arrest and may be imprisoned.
Scooter slowed down and, without opening the door, Sparks leapt out of the jeep.
“Where are we?” Alex asked.
“You’ll see,” Scooter replied. “We come to a load of places around here. You’ll like it.”
41
“We’ve come too far,” X-Ray insisted. “We should have turned off a mile back.”
Sparks had opened the barrier—it obviously hadn’t been locked—and the jeep rolled forward. As it passed him, he leapt back into the passenger seat, and at once Scooter stepped on the accelerator and they shot forward, bumping over roots and potholes.
It had become very dark. The last of the daylight had slipped away without Alex noticing, and suddenly the trees seemed very close, threatening to block the way ahead. The surface was getting worse and worse. Alex had to cling onto the side as he was thrown around, the coolers lifting themselves into the air and hanging there before crashing down again. Leaves and branches flickered briefly, a thousand black shadows caught in the headlights, before they whipped into the windshield and disappeared behind. The track didn’t seem to be going anywhere and Alex was having to fight back a sense of unease, wishing he hadn’t come, when suddenly they burst through a clump of foliage and came to a shuddering halt with soft sand underneath the wheels. They had arrived.
Scooter turned off the engine, and at once the gentler sounds of the evening surrounded them. Alex could hear the whisper of the breeze and the rhythmic breaking of the waves. They had come to a beautiful place: a private beach that curved around in the shape of a crescent with perfect white sand next to a black-and-silver sea. There was a full moon and a fantastic cluster of stars that
S N A K E H E A D
seemed to go on forever, stretching to the very ends of the Southern Hemisphere.
“Everybody out!” Scooter shouted. He kicked the door open and tumbled out onto the beach. “X-Ray . . .
get me a Coke. Texas, it’s your turn to cook.”
“I always cook!” Texas complained.
“Why do you think we invite you?”
X-Ray turned to Alex. “You thirsty?”
Alex nodded, and X-ray threw him a can of Coke.
Meanwhile, Texas had begun to unload the jeep. Alex saw that the SAS men had brought sausages, burgers, steaks, and chops . . . enough meat to feed a small army.
But apart from a greasy, blackened steel grill, there was no sign of the promised barbecue. Scooter must have read his mind. “We’re going to build a bonfire, Alex,” he said.
“You can help collect wood.”
Sparks had taken the guitar out of the back. He rested it on his knee and strummed a few chords. The music sounded tiny, lost in the emptiness of the night.
“Okay. Here’s the plan,” Scooter said. It seemed that he was the natural leader even if all four men were the same age and rank. “Alex and I will fetch firewood. Texas can start setting things up. Sparks—you keep playing.” He took out a flashlight and threw it to Alex. “If you get lost, just listen for the music,” he said. “It’ll guide you back to the beach.”
“Right.” Alex wasn’t sure he would be able to hear the
43
guitar once he was in the woods, but Scooter seemed to know what he was doing.
“Let’s go,” Scooter said.
He also had a flashlight and flicked it on. The beam was powerful. Even with the moonlight, it leapt ahead, cutting a path through the shadows. Alex did the same.
The two of them moved away from the jeep, heading back up the track that had brought them here. The evening was warmer than Alex had expected. The breeze couldn’t penetrate the trees. Everything was very still.
“You all right?” Scooter asked.
Alex nodded.
