Wally had dropped Billy off on the dirt road leading to the community and just within sight of it. Then, without saying a word, he had thrown the car into gear, swung it around and roared off back towards the main road. Billy watched him go and shielded his face with in the crook of his elbow against the cloud of dust that engulfed him. He held his breath until it settled. He then turned and walked the last few hundred metres towards the town. The sun was ferocious and he laboured under its heat.

For a great deal of the drive back to the community Wally and Billy had sat in silence. His former attacker had maintained his focus on the road and not made any attempt to instigate a conversation. Billy had thought it best just to let him be. The apologies had been made and there didn’t seem to be anything further to discuss. At one point they were forced to talk, though. Wally had slammed on the brakes without warning and sent Billy flying forward in his seatbelt. The belt had cut deep into his neck and the force of it jarring against his chest had taken the wind out of him. Billy had cursed and thrown an angry look at him. Wally had nonchalantly lifted a hand and pointed through the windscreen.

‘Emu,’ he said.

Billy peered through the dirty glass and saw the tall, awkward-looking bird loping slowly off into the scrub on the side of the road. It blended very well with its surroundings and was quite difficult to spot. Had he not known it was there he would have been oblivious to its presence.

‘They always travel in twos,’ said Wally.

Sure enough, a moment later a second emu cantered gracefully out of the bush, crossed the road in front of the car and made off after its partner.

‘They’re my totem. It’s up to me to protect them,’ said Wally.

‘Oh?’

‘Yeah, it’s my responsibility to make sure they are killed and cooked in the right way. Out here when you’re born you get given a totem.’

‘So you can’t eat emu, then?’

‘Nah, it’s not like that. I’m sorta more of a caretaker.’

‘Oh, I see.’

Billy didn’t fully understand but felt uncomfortable pressing for more information. He was still finding it difficult to talk to him because of their previous altercation. Wally focussed back on the road ahead and didn’t seem to want to elaborate anyway. He put the Cortina back in first gear and slowly accelerated. As he did so, he peered through the cars grimy side windows and made sure there was no other wildlife waiting to spring out of the scrub. Once satisfied, he settled back into his seat, planted his foot on the accelerator and returned to staring blankly through the windscreen. They listened to the roar of the badly tuned engine for the remainder of the journey.

Billy stopped and wiped his brow. He had made swift progress along the road towards the town. The sun was beating down relentlessly upon him and he had pushed on in order to get out of it as soon as possible. He inspected the sweat on the back of his hand. It had turned black from mixing with the red dust. He continued on and had reached the outskirts of the community when he heard a woman’s high-pitched yell. ‘No!’

A glint of metal in the sun caught his eye. Just off the main road was a small clearing between the dried-out gum trees. Rob’s Ford was parked in the middle of the clearing. It looked almost as if it had been abandoned. It appeared as if the car had careened off the road as it was heading into town. There were deep crevices in the bulldust on the side of the road where the tyres had slewed into the dirt. Billy felt uneasy. It looked as though the driver had lost control and just managed to avoid hitting the trees before the car had come to rest.

As he approached, Billy could see that the driver’s door was slightly ajar and the interior light was on. He could make out a pair of shadows struggling in the front seat. The car was rocking gently on its suspension. Billy cautiously approached. He recognised Rob spread out across the seat with his back to him. He appeared to be doing push-ups. Rob stopped, sat back up on his knees and seemed to be trying to force something down. Billy was standing next to the driver’s door and could now see clearly into the car’s interior. A pair of bare legs was spread around Rob’s waist. They were kicking and thrashing. Over Rob’s right shoulder Billy recognised Mabel’s face. Her teeth were gritted and she was covered in sweat. He saw an odd mixture of rage and fear in her eyes. She saw Billy and the anger took over.

‘Get off me, you arsehole!’

Billy was nailed to the spot and watched as she opened her mouth to scream. Before she could utter a sound Rob slapped his wide, right hand across her mouth and forced her head down against the seat. Billy was uncertain what to do. Clearly Mabel was not a willing party to this. For a moment he hesitated, trying to decide if he should intervene. He was torn between the affection he felt for his new-found friend and this situation. He was not really a part of their world and was confused about his role in it. So many strange and new things had happened that he doubted if he had the right to intervene. But deep down he was horrified by what was going on. One human being was attacking another. It didn’t matter where they were. This was not right.

Billy gripped the door handle and pulled. It refused to respond. This surprised him as the door was slightly open. He grimaced and cursed. The damn doors on this rust bucket! He tried again, this time using both hands and all of his strength. The door swung open with a loud squeal and Billy stumbled backwards, landing squarely on his arse. Rob spun around in surprise. Seeing Billy he opened his mouth to speak but no sound came out. He sprang from the car, surprisingly fast for such a tall man, and in one deft movement holstered his now flaccid weapon and zipped up his pants. He stood over Billy and reached out his hand, making an attempt to diffuse the situation. ‘What y’ doing down there? Hav’n a dirt bath?’

Billy was astounded by Rob’s flippancy. ‘I think I should be asking you that question.’

‘Just hav’n a bitta fun.’

‘Didn’t look like it was reciprocated.’

‘Huh?’

Billy rephrased with irritation, ‘It didn’t look like both of you we’re enjoying yourselves.’

He stood up and dusted off his jeans. Stepping around Rob and purposefully avoiding looking at him, he moved to the side of the car. Softly he called out to Mabel and inquired how she was. She didn’t respond and cowered in the far corner of the front seat, hard up against the passenger’s side door. Her chin against her chest, she looked timidly up at him from under her eyebrows. She was shaking violently. He reached into the car and gently beckoned her out. She shrank back further into her corner. He smiled at her and reached out his hand.

‘It’s ok, you’re safe now,’ he said.

She studied his eyes for a moment. Upon registering that he was genuine she let her body relax. She slid across the seat and cautiously took his hand. He helped her out of the car and together they turned to face Rob. There was a moment of silence. Nobody moved and it felt like a standoff.

Rob was simmering. Billy saw the rage boiling up in him and could see this was not going to end well. He gently coaxed Mabel behind him, using himself as a human shield. Billy felt her grasp his arm. Digging her nails into it she sneered at Rob, ‘Fuck you.’

Rob ignored her, focussed solely on Billy.

‘What do you think you’re doin’? Eh? This is none of your business. That bitch is one of ours.’

Billy grimly held his ground. Rob exploded.

‘Fuck you,’ he screamed and lunged forward with his right arm, his fist in a tight ball.

Time slowed almost to a stop for Billy. He saw the fist approaching but was riveted to the spot and felt powerless to move. Suddenly an outside force propelled him sideways. He felt his sneakers sliding across the sand but he wasn’t the driving force. Over Rob’s shoulder he could just make out a figure half blended with the trees. It was Pidgin. At first Billy was startled. He then stood mesmerised as his entire body went numb. It was as if he was paralysed and having an out of body experience. He no longer had control of his body and was an innocent and helpless bystander. He saw the fist approaching and even felt the wind it created, caressing his cheek as it flew by. Rob quickly adjusted his aim and threw another punch. Again Billy’s body slid sideways and just out of range. Rob stopped. Panting, he straightened his back. Time for Billy accelerated back up to normality. He stared down at his body. He felt power returning to his limbs. He wiggled his fingers and toes to test that they were indeed his to control again. He exhaled softly through pursed lips, took a deep breath and waited for Rob’s next move. He peered over his shoulder and into the scrub but could no longer see his silent saviour. Rob let his shoulders slump and dropped his hands. Billy composed himself and turned to Mabel. ‘C’mon, let’s go.’

Rob contemplated stopping them but looked defeated and could only manage a half-hearted, ‘C’mon, mate.’

Billy ignored him. Mabel was still shaking and obviously in pain. She could barely walk. He slung an arm around her waist and together they hobbled back to the road and towards the town. Billy could feel Rob’s piercing stare drilling a hole between his shoulderblades. He resisted the urge to look back.