Phoenix Du Rose

Chapter Three

Chapter Three

THROUGH THE BARRICADESPhoenix awoke to the sound of scratching outside her cabin. She lay awake for a while, thinking about the effort involved with climbing from her bunk to locate the culprit. At least it stayed outside on the deck, not interested in coming inside the bunk room. She sighed, imagining the mayhem a furry intruder might induce. Getting up would involve finding her boots and an inevitable trip to the bathroom, but the sound of a twig breaking alerted her to the presence of something larger than a mouse. Her mind switched to concern for her horse and she forced herself to a sitting position. The notion of worrying about Mikaere seemed ridiculous even in her head. The black and white gelding bred from her father’s favourite mare showed no fear of anything. Logan had helped her train Mikaere herself, teaching her tricks she didn’t know existed. The result was that only he or Phoenix could catch or ride her horse. The other stable hands avoided him for what manifested as an unpredictable nature. Or demon possession.

Phoenix stretched her arms above her head and touched the low ceiling above her bunk. She knew she wouldn’t go back to sleep. Mikaere didn’t need her to check on him, but the thought of his company caused a yearning in her soul. She decided the walk to the paddock and back might help her get to sleep. Hanging from the top bunk to avoid the creaky ladder, she dropped to the ground with a dull thud. Unable to locate her ankle boots in the dark, her bare feet padded across the cabin. Carrie’s discarded hair clip made a painful pin cushion as Phoenix passed her sleeping form. She hissed in pain and resisted the urge to strangle her while she slept.

The handle squeaked as Phoenix pressed down on it and despite her best efforts; the door groaned inward. She held her breath and paused for a moment. Kylie turned over with a sleepy snort and settled onto her other side to face the wall. No one else moved. Phoenix continued to pull the door wider and slipped through the gap. Closing it behind her proved even more difficult and the volume of the creak seemed louder, reverberating off the trees surrounding the clearing. She released the handle with a sense of relief when no one challenged her.

“I’m just going to the bathroom,” she whispered to herself, practising her excuse if she should run across a leader on night duty. The thought got into her head and she realised she needed the bathroom for real. A mouse skittered from beneath a silver fern as Phoenix walked across the campground. She clutched her chest in fright and her other hand muffled her squeak of fear at the sudden movement. She paused to catch her breath and released a sigh of relief as the tiny body scampered in the other direction. Changing her trajectory from the track leading to the horses, Phoenix walked to the bathroom.

A dim night light burned in the hut, still enough to attract hundreds of flying bugs which circled the dirty bulb in a maniacal dance. Phoenix used her forearms to shield her head from the bigger moths as she ducked into a stall. The flushing of the toilet disturbed two cockroaches and a lost toad from the cubicle next to hers. Born and raised in the bush of north Waikato, Phoenix grew up with the night creatures. But she shared her English mother’s appreciation for a clean bathroom and a comfortable, bug free bed. If her father felt disappointed that the baby birthed at the top of a lonely mountain should show such distaste for its multi legged inhabitants, he never said.

Phoenix washed her hands, wrinkling her nose at the light brown tinge in the water. Exiting the bathroom, she paused on the threshold. A possum scratched around the campfire looking for scraps of marshmallow amid the remnants. It sat on its haunches in the moonlight and closed its eyes to savour a pink sugary treat.

Phoenix froze as she heard it again. The sound of twigs breaking. The noise echoed, the sharp sound alien amid the muffled blanket of the bush canopy. She worried at her thumbnail and contemplated looking for the leader on night duty. She wished she’d paid more attention earlier when Grant announced where to find them in case of an emergency.

“I could scream,” she whispered to herself. Her reason batted away the ridiculous thought as soon as it rose to the fore. She imagined the chaos she’d cause, only to identify another possum feasting on food waste. “I came here to find my independence,” she hissed. “It’s time to put my money where my mouth is.”

Phoenix pointed her reluctant feet towards the track leading to the paddock where the horses grazed when not working. The moonlight picked up sticks and sharp stones which threatened her bare soles. She’d grown up barefoot and trod the tracks as though wearing shoes, the skin hardly registering the obstacles. Halfway along the track she noticed a cigarette butt and her shoulders slumped. Readying herself for an argument rather than a battle, Phoenix picked up the butt and held it between finger and thumb. “b****y Kirwan!” she complained. She imagined her father’s disgust at the easy desecration of his beloved whenua, Phoenix padded further along the track in search of the perpetrator. The moon slipped behind a low cloud and left her relying on instinct to find her way. The occasional snap of a twig made her turn as an eerie sensation crawled up the back of her neck.

Air left her lungs in a whoosh as a hand snaked around her mouth. Her body shifted backwards at speed. She landed on her backside amid a clump of low growing ferns and the hand released her mouth. A foot dug into her thigh and a heavy leg kept her pinned to the dusty earth.

Kirwan’s eyes stared into hers, his pupils wide. He extracted himself and scrabbled around to face her. As Phoenix’s lips parted to protest, he slipped his palm back over her mouth. His other hand gripped her wrists together in her lap. “Shush!” he hissed. “Don’t let them hear you.”

Phoenix gasped and the inhale took with it the scent of nicotine. Freeing one of her hands, she pulled his fingers away from her mouth. “Who is it?” she demanded. “Are they after the horses?”