Chernobylite: A Fast-Paced Kidnap Action Thriller

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Born to a hard-working farmer and his loving wife in the tiny coastal town of Brooms Head in New South Wales in down-under Australia, Tommy had a joyous childhood full of fun and roughhousing with his mates in the country. Days were spent surfing, racing go-karts and playing endless games of cricket in the summer and rugby in the winter.

Tommy spent special time with his dad Charlie in those early years in the country; they were inseparable. Sharing so many traits and interests like their odd sense of humour and a love of fast cars and action movies, they were as thick as thieves. Many a day was spent at the movies or on the couch watching classic action movies with stars like Schwarzenegger, Stallone, Jackie Chan, Bruce Willis, Steven Segal and Jean Claude Van-Damme. They could never get enough of seeing bad guys getting an a*s-kicking while the hero delivered priceless one-liners.

Tommy and Charlie spent many a weekend working in the back shed on Charlie’s favourite muscle cars that he had inherited from his own father; one an American beauty and the other a home-grown favourite. Tommy particularly loved the deep blue 1965 Shelby Cobra Mark III with a massive 427 cubic inch V8 under the bonnet, while Charlie’s sentimental favourite was the bright orange, race-bred 1976 Holden Torana SLR 5000, fitted with a thumping 308 cubic inch Chevy V8. In line with the rev-head interests of the pair, they used to race go-karts together and his father had Tommy driving cars around their rural property when he was too small to even see over the steering wheel or reach the pedals. Like many of his friends in the country, Tommy became a capable driver at a young age.

All through his primary school years in the tiny schoolhouse where all the students shared the same two teachers, life was good for Tommy. The first Christmas after he finished primary school promised to be the best one yet. At 12 years of age he had been one of the kings of the school, idolized by the younger students. Tommy’s high school adventure would begin the next year, but right now he had five more weeks of holidays to enjoy; riding his bike, racing go-karts, surfing, fooling around with his mates and watching the Ashes cricket tests on TV with his dad, seeing Australia battle the old enemy, England.

The day after Christmas Day was shaping up to be a hot one. Tommy loved the heat. While the adults were comatose and whining indoors, Tommy would be out and about, revelling in the sunshine and spending his time at the beach with his surfboard. But today was different – he was heading out early with his dad.

‘Ready, Son? Let’s go see if we can shoot ourselves some dinner – rabbit stew sounds pretty damn good!’ said Charlie with a smile. ‘We’ll jump in the ute, go pick up old Fred and then we’ll take off into the bush and chase down some bunnies.’

Tommy happily jumped in the front of the ute with his dad and off they went. Tommy wasn’t really a fan of hunting; he didn’t like guns and he was an animal lover, so he didn’t like to see them get hurt. But Charlie loved it and Tommy enjoyed spending time with his dad, so took every chance he could to go with him. Plus, Tommy was a country boy, and that’s what they did in the country. Dinner was often a chicken or a young lamb from the paddock, or a cut of beef from one of the cows they had slaughtered and tossed in the freezer.

Charlie’s banged-up ute pulled into the driveway of his old mate Fred’s place. Tommy jumped in the rear tray of the ute to let Fred have the front seat as they headed off into the bush. Fred was getting on a bit; he’d retired long ago, and his health was fading. Fred’s eyesight wasn’t great, so he didn’t hold out much hope of bagging any rabbits, but he enjoyed being out and about anyway. It made him feel young again.

‘What do you think Fred, how does it look over there?’ asked Charlie, pointing to a hillside full of holes that looked like rabbit burrows.

‘She’s a beauty Charlie, I reckon that’ll do nicely,’ answered Fred, even though he couldn’t see much detail on the slope.

Charlie slid the ute to a halt with a nice sideways handbrake stop to throw Tommy around in the back, which he loved as he tumbled about laughing and giggling.

Charlie and Fred climbed out of the ute and headed over to the hillside, rifles cradled in their arms. As they walked away, Charlie called out, ‘You stay up there, Tommy, safe and out of the way.’

Tommy laid down in the tray of the ute, basking in the half sun / half shadow of the trees, daydreaming as he gazed happily up at the wispy clouds drifting by on a light breeze against the intense blue backdrop of the sky beyond. ‘Ah, life doesn’t get any better than this,’ said Tommy out loud to himself. He was happy and content in the present and looking forward with eager anticipation to the future, to see what this next stage of his life had in store.

Tommy’s daydreaming was shattered by a sharp gunshot piercing the silence as the sound split the air on its headlong passage towards him. ‘Hope they got one,’ he said to himself.

But a few seconds later, Tommy’s stomach churned, his chest constricted and his throat dried up as he heard a pained wail, full of anguish as Fred’s tired old voice yelled out, ‘Oh my God, what have I done? CHARLIE!’

Tommy was instantly out of the ute, racing madly towards the sound of Fred’s voice, who was now sobbing incoherently. Tommy flew around a tree and witnessed a scene that would burn in his brain forever as he slid to a grinding halt, kicking up a cloud of dust.

He saw Fred on his knees, convulsing with sobs, bending over the body of Tommy’s beloved father, his hero, friend and protector. A vivid crimson pool of blood was rapidly spreading over Charlie’s flannel shirt, shaking loose an involuntary gasp from Tommy. He had never seen so much blood, never seen it such a bright red before.

Everything came into sharp focus for Tommy as he took in every detail of the shocking scene; Fred’s still-smoking g*n lying on the ground, the look of utter shock and despair on Charlie’s face, and the rabbit that had escaped with its life bounding off into the distance.

Fred rolled onto his side on the ground in the foetal position, rocking himself and crying inconsolably. His poor old addled mind simply couldn’t cope with the enormity of what he had just done.

Then Charlie groaned and beckoned Tommy to come over to him – he was conscious! Tommy raced over and leant down to get close to his father’s face as he wheezed out, ‘Son, I’m not going to make it. I’m done for – the bullet got me right in the chest, now I’m struggling to breathe. Tommy, it was an accident. Fred’s eyes aren’t too good, so he missed the rabbit and got me instead. He just didn’t see me. Make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble, that he knows it was an accident and I don’t blame him.’

Tommy thought it was so like his dad to look after others, make sure they were alright, even on his deathbed. Struggling to breathe, Charlie sounded like he was slowly suffocating.

‘Son, I’m so sorry I’m not going to be around to watch you grow up into a man, and that I’ll miss all those special moments that I know are going to come. I’m so proud of you, Tommy, you’re a great lad. You’re the best thing I’ve ever done in my life and I know you’re destined for greatness. Look after your mother and be a good boy for her. It’s going to be tough, Son, but you’ve got to be strong. Be strong for yourself and for Molly.’

With tears streaming down his young cheeks, Tommy cried out ‘Dad, Dad, don’t die, please don’t die! What will I do if you’re not here anymore? I’m scared of what life will be like without you!’

‘Tommy, you’ll be okay, I know you will. You’re strong and you’ve got a good heart. Always remember that. Never lose sight of who you are and what you stand for,’ said Charlie, struggling for breath. ‘Tell your mum she made a simple country boy the happiest man on the planet. I was blessed by an angel the day she picked me at the high school dance, and I treasured every minute we spent together. Tell her I’ve loved her always, I love her now and I’ll love her forever, whatever happens and wherever she is.’

By now gasping for breath, Charlie laid his head back down on the baking earth as he prepared himself for Death’s cold embrace. ‘I love you Son,’ whispered Charlie, and then his last breath floated out of him and his head lolled to the side.

‘I love you too, Dad,’ sobbed Tommy as he laid his head on his father’s shoulder and wept.

After a time, Tommy realized that his father was right – he needed to be strong. He had to take control of the situation because they were in the middle of the bush, out of contact from everyone. He needed to get help. Tommy reached over and closed his father’s eyes forever. It was the toughest thing he’d ever had to do, a task much more difficult than a boy his age should have to face.

Tommy got an old blanket from the ute and used it to cover his father’s body, which helped to calm Fred. Soon Fred had recovered enough to stand vigil over his old friend. Tommy felt bad leaving the frail old man there, but Fred insisted that he would be okay and that it was the right thing to do. Fred couldn’t drive because of his eyes and didn’t have his wits about him enough to do what needed to be done, so it was all up to Tommy.

Devastated at what had just occurred, Tommy forlornly got in the car, dreading what he knew was coming but knowing that he was the one who had to do it. Slowly and carefully, he drove the bush tracks and country roads home, suddenly glad that his father had taught him to drive so young. As he pulled into the long driveway of their home, his mum smiled and waved from the front door of the house. Tommy died a little inside when he thought of the news that he was about to break to her.

As the ute got closer, Molly realized that there was only one person in it and then saw that it was her son, instead of her husband, who was driving. Her nerves instantly on high alert, she knew something was seriously wrong. Ashen faced, she raced over to the oncoming ute as it slowed to a stop and opened the driver’s door. ‘Tommy, what is it? Are you okay? Where’s your dad?’ she asked quietly, trying to remain calm.

Tommy took a deep breath, trying to keep himself together and said, ‘I’m sorry Mum, but there was an accident and dad got shot. He’s dead.’ And then he collapsed out of the car and into her arms. Molly reeled back from the news as if she’d been punched in the stomach. Her knees buckled and then she too collapsed in shock and they both fell to the dusty ground, sobbing in each other’s arms, sharing their grief.

When they were both spent, they slowly got up and went inside the house. Molly called the police and waited for them to arrive. Tommy had to take them to the body, or they could have been searching for hours. Tommy knew that Fred would need looking after too, so was glad that an adult could take over now. All he had to do was direct the police to the tragic scene.

As they rounded the bend and took in the sight, everyone was even more concerned when they saw Fred’s body lying down beside a figure covered by an old blanket. They quickly got out of the car and tried to wake Fred, but there was no response. He looked uninjured and his face showed no signs of pain. The doctor who had come along for the formalities had not expected a second victim, but quickly examined Fred and proclaimed his expectation that Fred had suffered a massive stroke, guessing that his mind simply couldn’t cope with the trauma and had imploded, driving a giant clot into his brain and cutting off the blood supply to that critical organ.

Fred had led a long and good life and had been very lonely ever since his darling Esme had passed away. With no children and no family left alive, Fred was the last of his line. Everyone there thought perhaps it was for the best that Fred didn’t have to live with the knowledge of what he’d done to his mate Charlie.

The two bodies were loaded into the doctor’s van and taken away to the morgue. The policeman asked Tommy a few questions about the accident, which he answered woodenly, as if in a daze. Satisfied it was just a terrible accident, the country policeman took the woman and her boy home and sadly watched them go in their front door, dazed and confused. He knew their lives would be forever scarred by what had happened that day.

Nothing would ever be the same again.