A burly SES volunteer with a thick, black, biker-style moustache came over and handed out maps. I was pretty sure he was the local butcher, Brian Keats, from Keats’ Meats. I’d been in there once with Mum and we’d giggled about the name. It had to be him. I had an urge to turn around and share the joke with someone.
‘I don’t believe we’ve officially met,’ he said, looking at me. ‘I’m Brian.’
‘This is my stepdaughter, Sunshine,’ Kevin said.
‘Sunny,’ I corrected.
Brian reached out and firmly shook my hand.
Shelley pointed to the map. ‘We need to walk upstream and search the creek edges for any signs of recent activity. Brian, you’d better show these guys where to start.’
‘Sure.’ Brian pushed back his orange hat and traced his thick fingers over the map, showing us where to look. The top of his index finger was missing. Yep. He was the butcher alright.
‘We’ll split into two groups of three,’ he said. ‘Kevin, Sunny and Shelley can do the right bank of the creek and Jim, Leanne and I can do the left.’
As he showed us the search area, my mind wandered, imagining Dylan in different scenarios of lostness. He could have fallen down a gully and broken his leg. He could have been calling all night.
‘So, are there any questions?’ said Brian.
Leanne broke the silence. ‘Are we … are we looking for a body?’
Brian glanced at Shelley. ‘I’ll let you take that one.’
‘Let’s hope not,’ she said. ‘The most likely thing is that Dylan’s just lost. We’ve got a chopper out looking today, but you can get a long way in two days of walking and then there are mine shafts, of course. Lots around here. Some of them unmarked.’
Leanne nodded.
‘Alright,’ Shelley said, gathering up the map. ‘Kevin and Sunny, you ready?’
I thought about it for a split second. ‘Maybe I should go with Brian,’ I said, avoiding Kevin’s eyes. ‘It’s rough along the creek. It might be better for Leanne to go with Kevin along the track.’
Leanne nodded. ‘Yes. Good idea. My knees do give me some trouble.’
Kevin was probably glaring at me, but I was looking away across the clearing to the thick rainforest beyond, wondering if there was a boy out there somewhere.
Come on, Dylan. Let’s find you, so we can all go home.
We crossed the narrow suspension bridge that allowed tourists to venture onto the other side of the creek, and then went off the beaten track. The air was still and hot and filled with the sound of rushing water. Sweat leaked its own small river down my spine and soaked the top of my jeans as Brian, Jim and I climbed over the minibus-sized boulders that lined the watercourse. Occasionally the voices of the other searchers drifted across from the other side.
‘DYYYYLAN.’
The creek answered with a loud ‘shhh’ that muffled my senses. Hush, it seemed to say. Hush now.
A good flow of water slid over the rocks but there was enough bank for us to traverse upstream without having to go into the thick rainforest that bordered each side of the creek. I walked beside Brian, watching his head scan the ground, sunglasses propped on top of his orange hat. ‘Remember, look around things, under things, behind things,’ he reminded me as we walked. ‘I’ve been on searches where we’ve been inches from a person and not seen them until it was too late. Walked right past them.’ He rubbed his moustache with his thumb and stumpy forefinger, lost in some past transgression.
‘Looking here seems a bit pointless, if you ask me,’ I said, stepping over a fallen sapling. ‘He could be anywhere by now. I mean, why look here? The rainforest goes on forever.’
‘This is near where he was last seen,’ Brian said. ‘We have to work systematically across the area.’
‘I’m not sure I’m much help anyway.’
Brian turned to me. ‘If you were lost, you’d want someone looking for you, wouldn’t you?’
I shrugged. ‘Maybe he wants to be lost. Did anyone think of that?’
‘Maybe.’ Brian walked up ahead of me to join Jim.
I could understand about wanting to be alone. Out here, with the water tumbling over ancient rocks and carving its way patiently through the gorge, you could feel like you were the only person in the world. Out here, with no-one around, you were just yourself. Out here, Dylan could be at peace for a while. But why he wanted peace, I didn’t know.
The first hour, the thought of stumbling across something – a body – kept my brain alert. But by late afternoon I was over it. We had covered only a small area west of the car park, zigzagging across the creek bed and wading through thickly forested banks.
At one point something had worked its way into my shoe and I sat down on the nearest rock. ‘Hang on a sec.’
Brian stopped and looked back. I could tell he was pretty annoyed; this wasn’t my first rest stop and I had probably held him back all afternoon. I knew what he must have thought of me, but I couldn’t help it.
‘How long before we stop?’ I said, replacing my shoe.
Brian looked at his watch. ‘Actually, you know what, it’s getting late. We’ll head back now. Fresh start tomorrow.’ He stuck two fingers into his mouth, whistled and gestured for Jim who was up ahead.
As we wove our way back along the bank, the sun was well behind the range, casting a blue shadow over the gorge. I thought of Dylan spending the night out here alone, in the dark, and felt a little guilty about my attitude.
‘Do you think he’s still alive?’ I said as Brian walked back past me. ‘I mean, how long can a person survive out here on their own?’
He stopped and turned to face me, nodding. ‘I knew you had a heart in there somewhere, Sunshine.’
‘Sunny,’ I said quietly as he walked off. ‘My name’s Sunny.’
Kevin and Leanne were
