Whakahapa, 9

(Wasn't going to stop there - honest! But that's as far as I've got typed & i've got a new game to play.)

Amos sat up and looked around. Esther was still sleeping, the candle had burnt-out and daylight was coming through the window. He looked at his watch and it was a quarter to six. There were no cows to milk, it was much too early! He lay down again and went back to sleep.

Next time he woke, he was alone in the room. Esther had gone and he didn't hear her leave. She hadn't disappeared too, had she?

No, probably not. The covers on the bed were thrown to one side and he couldn't see any sign of her clothes and boots.

He stood and opened the drapes on the window. It was still grey and overcast out there, but at least it had stopped raining. For now. Good job too, it was rough weather last night. The street of shops and businesses out there was quiet and peaceful. It all looked nice and normal except for one thing – there were no people.

Ah. Not quite no people. There was one – Esther was out there, coming back towards the hotel with her arms full of something. He put his jacket on, slid his feet into the shoes, grabbed the gun and left the room. With barely a glance along the corridor, he ran down the stairs to the front door to meet Esther there. She might have locked herself out.

He needn't have worried, the front door was propped open with a chair. Once again, he was impressed with how capable Esther was. That didn't stop her being grumpy though.

She frowned and growled as she walked in the door. “So you're awake at last! I thought you were going to sleep all day. I've got some coffee and things for breakfast. Bring some water upstairs and we'll get it started.”

“Yes, of course. Good morning to you too.”

“Yeah, yeah. It'll be better when I've had my coffee. Come on and be quick about it.”

Breakfast was good, he was hungry and he really enjoyed it. They had muffins, toasted over the gas flame and covered with strawberry jam and mock cream. Good stuff! Esther moaned that the coffee was only 'instant', but he wasn't complaining. He didn't like perked coffee, it was much too strong for him.

Breakfast over, Esther stood, stretched and said, “Right then, time to go 'shopping'. We'll stock up on food for a decent meal or two. I could do with something stronger than your sugary 'pop' to drink and we'll get some torches, lamps and other gear.

Also, take my advice and get yourself some better, hardier clothes than that silly churchy uniform that you're wearing. You need some decent boots too, those shoes might be good for ballroom dancing, but not much else.”

“Are we going to stay another night here? I'd really rather not.”

“That so? Go if you want to, but I'll be staying here for a day or two. This is as good a place as any to stop, get supplies and work out a plan. I may have to drive back to Hebron, to the airfield there, to get another microlight.”

“You're going to carry on searching then?”

“Of course. There's a lot of country I haven't covered yet.”

“Oh. And you're still going alone?”

“I am.”

“Crap!” Amos expostulated and Esther looked at him, surprised.

She grinned, and then she laughed aloud. “There's hope for you yet, My Young Friend! I'm getting a microlight and I'm flying alone, but I will come back. Before I go, we'll find somewhere suitable to establish a base camp and you can spend the time sorting that out and collecting food, fuel and supplies.”

“Including guns?”

“Yes, if that's what you want, but you'd better not go shooting at me when I come back. I'll bloody kill you if you try that.”

“I won't. I wouldn't do that to you.”

“I know you wouldn't do it on purpose, but you're a bit of a Nervous Nellie and that worries me, a little.”

“You should carry a gun too, Esther.”

“So we can shoot each other? That'd be intelligent, wouldn't it?”

“No, but you should have something to protect yourself if you have to.”

“I'll think about it. Come with me. We'll check out at the back and see if we can find any clues about what you saw last night.”

On the way down to the kitchen, Amos said, “I like the idea of a base camp, that makes good sense to have somewhere secure to work from.”

“Of course it makes sense. That's why I thought of it.” Esther tried to growl but had to grin.

There was nothing out in the backyard and no signs that anything had been there in the night. A gateway-sized gap in the wall allowed anyone, or anything, to come and go as they pleased. Amos thought that, if they were staying there permanently, which they were not, a barricade across that gap would be the first thing he'd build.

Back through the hotel, they went out to the street at the front and Amos looked anxiously to his car. He was a bit worried that the car and all his treasures in it would've been interfered with during the night.

But, it hadn't. Everything was fine there, as far as he could see. Nothing was broken, the doors hadn't been wrenched open and the tyres weren't all flat. What did he think the Abomination was going to do – bite them? He had to stop his imagination getting carried away. Things were bad enough as they were.

Esther kept him busy all day, they didn't stop once – not even to eat! They went first to the local Council Offices, and then to the police station. Breaking into a police station was a strange thing to do; it just didn't seem right. Both places were a waste of time and they learned nothing from them.

However, there was a big map, on a billboard outside the Council Offices and that was a big help. They studied it to learn where to go around the town and how to get there.

They checked out the hospital. That was a waste of time too, there was nothing there. Well, nothing except for a dead body, some old lady lying, very dead in a bed. That was gross.

Then they went shopping. Amos thoroughly enjoyed that and he suspected that Esther did too even though she wouldn't admit it. First, from a car-sales yard, they got two, almost new, 4 wheel drive utes with twin cabs and fibre-glass canopies covering the decks at the rear.

Amos couldn't see why they needed a vehicle each, he'd prefer it if they travelled together, but Esther didn't agree. She said that if one of them broke down or got stuck somewhere, the other one would be able to pull them free. He, reluctantly, agreed and, anyway, they'd be able to carry twice as much food and stuff. So that was good.

Next, they broke into a menswear clothing store. Esther was happy with the clothes she had, but she did take a good Swandri for when the weather was not so good. Amos chose and dressed in a complete new outfit, hard-wearing warm and dry weatherproof clothes, including top-quality leather boots.

They took a good stock of food and seasonings from the Supermarket, tools and supplies from a Hardware Store and from a Sports and Recreation Superstore.

Back at the hotel, they took the food and lights upstairs. Esther came back down to get more water and cooking utensils, then she went back upstairs to start on their evening meal. Amos went out to the street at the front and restowed the food and gear from the car into his new vehicle.

The car had served him well, but he wasn't sorry to leave it. The ute was much better, bigger and more powerful. He finished his chore, picked up the gun and was about to head inside but stopped when he saw something.

There was a bug, a beetle of some sort, flattened and dead on the windscreen of Esther's vehicle. It might've been the last bug left in the world and she'd killed it!

He ran upstairs to tell her so, taking a perverse delight in what she'd done. She always made him feel so incomptent, but she wasn't perfect either.

Here reaction was disappointing, she didn't care. “Huh, so I killed a bug! So? If there was one, there'll probably be more. Their eggs might be hatching and it's bad news if they are. With no spiders or birds to eat them, they'll take over the world.”

“Oh. Maybe we should kill every bug we see then.”

“Maybe we should, but it wouldn't make much difference. Have you seen how many they hatch at a time? Hundreds!”

Amos sat and watched and learned while Esther cooked a meal for them. At least she wasn't growling so much this time. She couldn't really, anything that she didn't have was her fault, not his.

He had a bright idea and he took one of the containers down to the kitchen to fill it with water. He took his gun and a torch with him. That wasn't needed, it wasn't dark yet.

When Esther was done they sat on the floor and ate - chili con carne with rice and a coleslaw on the side. There was even desert to finish with – canned fruit salad and a banana flavoured instant pudding, topped with mock cream from the can. The pudding was made with powdered milk, not fresh, but you'd never know the difference. He learnt something there and that was good to know because he liked instant puddings.

He had water on heating while they were eating and Esther made two instant coffees as soon as it boiled. (His one was later quietly tipped down the hand-basin when she wasn't looking.)

She leaned back against the wall, smiled at him over her coffee and said, “Now then, Church Boy, tell me about your love life.”

“My love life?”

“Yes. What sexual experience have you had?”

“Oh, sex! Nothing really.”

“Nothing at all?”

“No. Except for my dreams.”

“Your dreams. So you have thought about it?”

“Oh, yes! All the time. I know that I shouldn't, but I do.”

“Of course you do, “ she smiled. “You're a teenage boy, young and healthy and your body has got needs that demand to be satisfied. It's perfectly natural, no matter what they tried to tell you, and you know it.”

“Are you sure?”

“Perfectly sure. You said something about liking boys?”

“Yes, I did. I do. That's not natural is it?”

“It is so! It might not be the norm, but it's perfectly natural for some people.”

“Really?”

“Really. Are you attracted to boys in general, or is it some special person?”

“Both.”

“Both?”

“Yes. I was attracted to lots of boys, but mostly one special one.”

“And who would that be?”

“It doesn't matter now, does it? He's gone, like everyone's gone.”

“Almost everyone. We are still here. Tell me about him, what made him special?”

“Why do you want to know?”

“Because I'm a nosy old woman and I'm bored.”

“You want me to talk about my most personal stuff just because you're bored?”

“No, not at all. I was joking, kind of. I want to know because I want to know you, to understand you, if I can.”

“You'll be lucky! I don't understand me.”

“Hahaha!” Esther laughed aloud. “Okay, fair enough, but let's try. Tell me about your boy.”

“He's not my boy. I wished that he was, but he wasn't.”

“Amos!” She growled, exasperated. “You've got a real talent for avoiding the point. Who was he and what was he like?”