Secret Memories Read Free Page A

Three
    The sun warmed Lyndsay’s cold, weary body as she sat on a ledge outside the cave scanning the park and pondering her future. The area had been decimated by the storms. The landslide which had caused her accident hadn’t been the only one. The landscape had been rearranged, fallen trees and debris lay everywhere. Huge sections of mountain had collapsed into the river below.
    Her stomach grumbled in protest, she had eaten the last of her food earlier in the morning. With her ankle now slightly blue and three times its normal size, she couldn’t even scavenge for bush food.
    I’m gonna die. All they will find is a pile of bones. Lyndsay dropped her head into her hands and cried. She didn’t want to die out in the wilderness alone, Dylan needed her. Sure, her parents would take good care of him but it wasn’t the same. She tilted her head back and looked up at the clear blue sky. “Why isn’t somebody coming?” she screamed. “I can’t do this any longer, I need help.”
    She lay down on the ledge, too weak to fight any more. “Good Bye my sweet, innocent Dylan, goodbye Mum and Dad. I love you all so much.” As wildlife scurried around her, Lyndsay allowed darkness to sweep her away.
    ***
    Rick and Adam sat on the edge of a ledge where the walking track had once been. They perused the changed landscape as they devoured sandwiches and guzzled water. The sun was high in the sky and the conditions were steamy and hot.
    “Where do you suggest we try next?” Rick asked Adam.
    Adam sat quietly thinking for a moment. “I’m going to hope she didn’t go over the edge and I think we should begin walking in circles, crisscrossing the track.”
    “Beginning here?”
    “Yeah. If she was caught in the slide, there are lots of trees. She might have been lucky enough to grab hold of one.”
    Rick voiced his fear. “But if she hasn’t gone over in the slide, why hasn’t she turned up?”
    “Maybe she was caught on the edge of the slide and got injured,” Adam attempted to reassure him.
    “Maybe.” Rick wasn’t convinced.
    They packed all their rubbish into their backpacks and as afternoon closed in, they began a methodical search. They covered the ground for hours, the temperature began dropping and the light faded. They’d found nothing.
    “Time we called it a day,” Adam told Rick.
    “Let’s check near that ravine up ahead first.”
    “Alright but we need to make it quick. We’re a fair distance from the track and I don’t want to try and negotiate it in the dark.”
    The two men traipsed through the dense bush. Adam suddenly glimpsed something red in the dull fading light.
    “What’s that?” he asked Rick?
    “What’s what?”
    Adam rushed ahead. “Look, over there. Something red. Looks like a body.”
    The men dashed through the bush, it scratched and tore at Rick’s legs. He didn’t care. If there was a chance it was Lyndsay lying out there, he had to get to her. They stood on the edge, the ground had fallen away and left a ravine about twenty feet deep and ten feet across. Rick could see it was a female’s body on the other side, even though she was partially obscured by small bushes.
    “Lyndsay!” Rick shouted. There was no response. She lay motionless “Lyndsay!” he tried again. Nothing. “We have to find a way to get to her Adam.”
    “Do you have your mobile phone?”
    Rick pulled it from his pocket. He spun around, holding it up, then down, but there was no signal this deep into the park. “No service.”
    “Okay. Let’s think.” The men walked in circles, peering into the ravine, glancing back up the embankment, trying hard to figure a way across.
    “The only think we can do is head back up the hill, find where the ravine ends and cross through the bush.” Adam said.
    “Fine, let’s go.” Rick began following the edge of the ravine pushing thick bush out of his way as he went.
    “It’s gonna be dark soon,” Adam said with concern.
    Rick stopped and faced him.