The Moa Cave (11 page)

Mandy’s morning had been a disaster. It all started with the phone call to home. She had made sure she rang long before her parents left for the shop so there was time to talk. Her father had answered and he’d been pleasant enough until she asked them to come down and help with the search. Then he quickly handed the phone to her mother.

‘Mandy! What day is it?’

Mandy had no idea—she’d lost count.

‘It’s Saturday. The busiest day of the week. And you’re asking us to close the shop and come down to be with you. I don’t understand why you’re being so selfish. You know we’ve got a business to run.’

‘But the other parents are coming down.’

‘So would we, if it was you that was missing. You know that.’

‘But they’re my friends, Mum.’

‘Yes, we know. And we hope they’re all right. But I’m sure the police are doing an excellent job. We’d only get in the way.’

‘I’d just like to talk to you about it.’

‘Do you want to come home? I’m sure we could arrange for someone to bring you back.’

‘No. I must stay until they’re found. I just want to talk.’

‘I’m sure there’ll be plenty of time for that after they’re found. But if you really need to talk then give us a call tonight. Make sure it’s before seven, though. We’ve got guests coming for dinner.’

Mandy was silent.

‘Well, if there’s nothing else…then try to keep calm. I’m sure they’ll be found, all safe and well. Remember, we both love you. Bye.’

After that she stayed on her bed for ages thinking about things. When Alice and Richard returned from the airport with the families she joined them in the community room. After the introductions Hine’s auntie took her in an enormous hug. She was a big woman and her body almost swallowed Mandy whole. Then Jack—Hine’s big brother—repeated the performance. Mrs Matthews was more reserved, giving Mandy a brief peck on the cheek. Mr Matthews simply said, ‘Hello’.

Soon she was forgotten. The families were naturally more interested in the search for Hine and Tyler. They gathered around the table for a briefing from Jonno. Mandy wandered outside where the TotalCom technicians were erecting the temporary aerial. It seemed that the job was just finished and they were testing the system. One of them saw Mandy and asked, ‘Do you have a mobile phone?’

She nodded.

‘Good. Go and get it and we’ll test it for you.’

Soon Mandy was back with her phone. She gave the technician her number and a moment later her phone was ringing. They had a brief conversation even though they were standing next to each other.

After hanging up she moved to a quiet place in the old sheep yards to wait for her text messages to download. Five minutes later she decided there weren’t any so she sent off a
couple. Another wait, but still no reply—her friends must be busy doing other things.

She was about to move away when she had a thought: maybe Hine’s phone was working now. A moment later she located the number and pressed OK. Her hand was shaking as she held it to her ear, waiting for the ring tone to come. But it never did. There was a long pause and then Hine’s voice asking her to leave a message. Quickly, she disconnected. The sound of Hine’s voice was distressing enough, but the thought of leaving a message that might never be received…

After that she simply wandered off. If anybody saw her go they didn’t seem to care if she stayed or went, for nobody called after her.

At first there was no plan to her movements. Later, when she found herself by the cliffs, she decided to check the spot where she had kept out of sight when she was ‘lost’—maybe the searchers had overlooked it.

The top of the cliff was empty of people; even the goats seemed to have gone. She quickly found the spot where she had hidden from Tyler and Bill. It was a dusty shelter under a large thorny bush that could have been called a cave. At the back was a clay cliff with a rabbit hole close to the ground. The only sign that anything had been there recently were some animal tracks leading to and from the burrow. She assumed it was the rabbit.

After that she walked around with no set purpose other than to think about things, and she didn’t really want to do that. For she couldn’t help but think that something horrible had happened to Hine and Tyler and somehow she was the cause. She knew other people thought that, even her parents.

That’s when she heard the approaching plane. She moved so she could see it clearly, knowing that it must be the search plane. Yet it didn’t occur to her to get out of view until it was
too late. By then the plane had swerved towards her. It passed and then banked to make a return sweep. She tried to send a signal of ‘No’ by shaking her head and waving her arms sideways.

It didn’t work. The pilot made another sweeping turn, obviously thinking he had found Hine. Then as it swung round in a circle, the phone in her pocket rang.

It was Jonno and he wasn’t happy. ‘Where are you, Mandy?’

She told him.

‘Is there a plane flying overhead?’

‘Yes.’

‘Stay on the phone. I’ll talk to you in a moment.’

She could hear him talking to someone else. ‘It’s not the girl we’re looking for…no, no, it’s not her…it’s a stupid girl who should know better…yes…yes…okay, you need to continue with the search.’

Then he was talking to her again. ‘Right, Mandy, you’d better get yourself back here immediately. If you can’t stay out of the way then you can go home. I’m not having you jeopardise our search. You can go in one of the police cars tonight. But get back here now! Do you hear me?’

Mandy heard him.

As she watched the plane disappear she heard a gull call overhead. It sounded remarkably like a human yelling for help, and she remembered hearing a similar call while the plane had circled. That had come from below the cliff. Maybe she should investigate. Then she thought of Jonno’s orders and turned towards the track down to the beach. She’d better get back. If she stayed around here she’d only cause more trouble.

Hine was back on the rock finishing the cord for the pendant. Tyler was playing The Bones of Kilimanjaro without much success. His mind was on other things. It was useless waiting to be rescued. They had to do something or it wouldn’t happen. The plane passing by was proof of that.

Once again he thought of making smoke. At school they’d set fire to metal dishwashing pads using batteries. If only he could get hold of some fine wire. Maybe there was some in his radio. He’d pulled one to bits once and it had an iron rod with coils of wire. Perhaps they all did.

Diving into his bag he emerged with his radio and Swiss army knife. It took a while to sort out which of the thirty-three attachments was the one that would unscrew the back. Then a moment later it was off. The coil was glued to the top of the case. If he pulled it out the radio would never work again. Without hesitation he ripped into it with the saw attachment.

He unravelled the coil onto the sand. He had more than enough—about twenty metres. It must’ve been an internal aerial for the radio. Then he started thinking about aerials. Perhaps there was a better use for the coil. If he could rig it as an aerial to Hine’s phone then they might be able to get a signal.

The problem was how to attach it. The phone’s stubby aerial was covered in plastic. Yet, maybe it didn’t have to make contact. The phone aerial in his father’s car worked through the rear window without any wires touching. If he wrapped enough of the coil around the plastic he should get a better signal.

Ten minutes later they were ready to try. The wire was strung from the top of a dead flax flower down to the middle of the beach. Tyler held the wire off the wet sand.

‘Okay,’ he called to Hine. ‘Try it now.’

Hine pushed a button and stared at the screen for a while before shaking her head in disappointment. ‘Nothing.’

‘Nothing?’ repeated Tyler. He’d been so sure it would work. He thought for a moment. ‘Move around a bit.’

Still there was nothing. They tried many other arrangements, all without success.

‘Looks like plan B is needed,’ said Hine returning to the rock.

‘There is no plan B.’

‘What about your inventory? Is there anything in there that would help?’

Tyler searched through the list in his mind. They really needed to get the aerial up higher. The cliffs would be blocking the signal. They had to get above the cliffs. Then he had it. ‘The rabbit hole,’ he said. ‘If we can poke the wire through the rabbit hole, we’ll be much higher than here and it might work.’

The flax flower head would do the job. After cutting it down he stripped off the pods until he had a rod about three metres long. He hoped it would be enough.

The trip to the moa cave was slow with Tyler carefully pushing the flax rod through the narrow passages. He got there with only a few centimetres knocked off the top.

Once again he was struck by the incredible scene in the cave. Hine looked up at him. ‘You’ll be sorry to share this with others, won’t you?’

‘I want it to stay like this. It won’t be the same if it gets taken away. But that’s what they’ll do.’

‘They’ll only know if we tell them.’

‘Oh I want people to know, I just don’t want them to wreck it. The same with Ata. He should stay where he is.’

‘Maybe you’ll be able to talk them into it.’

‘We’ve got to get out of here first.’

He moved to the rabbit hole and removed the bone. With the wire firmly wrapped round the end, he threaded the flax rod into the hole. When it got to the bend he took more care, hoping the flax was flexible enough to curve round. It seemed okay so he kept pushing until his arm was fully extended into the hole.

‘Try that,’ he said.

Hine looked at the screen. ‘Yes!’ she said excitedly. ‘No, it’s gone again. Now it’s back. No.’

‘I’ll see if I can get it out further.’

‘The battery’s getting flat. I don’t think it’s going to last.’

‘Turn it off until we’re ready to try again.’

Tyler grabbed the bone and used it to push the rod further through. Now the end was almost at the bend. He wouldn’t be able to get it any further than that.

‘Okay, let’s try that.’

Hine pushed the button and waited. ‘Yes! It’s steady now.’

‘Right, turn it off and let’s work out what we’re going to say.’

They thought for a while. ‘It’ll have to be a 111 call,’ said Tyler.

‘And I want to say that we’re all right and not in danger. I’ll say that first in case the battery gives out.’

‘Then describe where we are. The best way to rescue us would be from the sea. Tell them that.’

‘Okay. What else?’

‘Once you make contact just keep talking until you say everything. It’ll all be recorded.’

‘Anything else?’

Tyler shook his head slowly. ‘I don’t think so.’

‘I’m shaking,’ said Hine.

‘Me too.’

Hine took a deep breath. ‘Here goes.’ She turned it on, pressed 111 and then OK. She held it to her ear. ‘It’s ringing,’ she said nervously. Then she nodded.

‘This is Hine Smith and Tyler Matthews. People are looking for us. We are unharmed and safe. But we are trapped in a cave at the end of Woolshed Bay. The way to get to us is from the sea. There is a hole in the rocks. Inside there is a little cove. That’s where we’ll be…Hello?…Are you there? Is anybody there?’

She looked at the screen. ‘It’s dead.’

‘How much got through?’

‘I don’t know. There was a click at one stage. That was near the end. So I think it might’ve all gone.’

‘I hope so.’

‘What if it hasn’t? Is there anything you can do about the batteries?’

Tyler thought for a while. ‘Yeah, I might be able to do something. But we’d better get back to the cove now in case they come.’

They paused for a while in the penguin cave, unsure of whether they should take all their gear out or not. In the end they left it and after saying goodbye to Hopi they returned to the beach.

It was a long wait. The sun moved across the sky to disappear behind the cliffs in the west. Yet there was one good thing about the delay: the tide was going out making it easier for a boat to enter the cove. Soon it would be low tide and the gap would be as big as it would ever be.

All the time Hine was working on the pendant, attaching it to the cord. Tyler watched, thinking about the boy who had worn it such a long time before. Finally she stood and said, ‘Okay, Ty. It’s time to put it on.’

Tyler stood nervously with his arms hanging self-consciously by his side. Hine stood in front holding the pendant high.

‘This is a very special gift, Tyler,’ she said seriously. ‘I now know that Ata wants you to wear it, so it is a gift from him. But it is also a gift from me. A thank you for looking after me and being nice to me. I want it to give you the strength to keep your anger under control. I hope you will wear it all the time and will always remember those who gave it to you.’

Then she lowered it over his head, tucked it in by his chest and pressed it against his skin. She stepped back and looked at him.

Tyler wanted to say something but his mouth wouldn’t open. He knew if he spoke, he would start to cry. Instead, he nodded his head slowly, acknowledging everything she had said. It was the most powerful thing that had happened to him in his life.

The moment would have lasted longer, and may have ended differently, if they had not each heard the noise of an approaching motor. It was from the sea. They turned towards the gap listening to the sound increase. Tyler felt
for Hine’s hand and gripped it tightly. She squeezed back pulling it into her body. Everything was going to be all right. Their phone message had got through. They were being rescued. Soon they would be free.

Mandy sat near the bookcase, away from the table where all the others were. She was due to go home tonight, as soon as the briefing had finished. She deserved to, it was her own fault—she couldn’t do anything right.

She looked around the room. Jonno was waiting for them to be seated. They all looked so tired. Maybe they felt as miserable as she did. Perhaps they were just as depressed. Everyone needed good news, yet she doubted there would be any.

‘Okay, I’d like to begin,’ he called. Slowly the conversations stopped and all eyes were on him. ‘Today at 1545, that’s just over an hour ago, 111 received an emergency call. It was on a mobile phone and was from Hine Smith.’

Mandy sat up. Had she heard that right? Hine had phoned? She must have because the room was abuzz with excited talk. Jonno waited for it to finish. ‘She told the operator that they were both unharmed and safe. She then went on to say where they were.’

Again the conversations started and again Jonno waited. ‘Unfortunately the line went dead, as if the signal had been lost.’

The looks on the faces changed from happiness to concern. Mandy felt her stomach tighten. No! That can’t be right.

‘All we got was,’ he said as he lifted a piece of paper, ‘“We are trapped in a cave at the…” That’s where the line went dead.’

Jonno gave them longer this time. Mandy glanced towards Mrs Matthews, whose eyes were full of tears. Her husband was holding her hand and also was deeply affected. Hine’s family were hugging each other, with Jack gently patting his auntie’s back. The searchers looked relieved. Their faces said they were now expecting a happy ending, but not quite yet. Mandy covered her face with her hands. Why not yet? What had cut the message? Had something else happened to them?

‘All right,’ called Jonno. ‘Let’s continue. We’ve listened to the tape several times and while Hine’s voice shows nervousness, there is no suggestion that she is being forced to speak the words.’ That shocked Mandy—she hadn’t thought of that. ‘So, we are convinced they are indeed trapped in a cave. They did just what they said they would do. Spend the night in a cave. The problem is, we don’t at the moment know where that cave might be. However,’ he said, raising his voice above those who were speaking, ‘however, we should be able to work it out. And that will be the focus of our planning for tomorrow. We’ve got experts on the way who will be able to analyse the landforms and point us in the right direction. Meanwhile, if any of you have got ideas about a possible location, please come and tell us. Every bit of information will help. So, on that happier note, thanks for your work today and I’m sure we can look forward to a better one tomorrow.’

After he’d finished Mandy went and sat on her bed. She’d already packed and was ready to go, but more than ever she wanted to stay. Maybe now that she knew what had happened she could do something to help. Perhaps she’d seen or heard something…

‘Hello, dear. How are you coping?’ It was Hine’s auntie. She sat next to Mandy causing the bed springs to sag dangerously.

‘I’m okay,’ she said.

‘Oh, I very much doubt that. Nobody’s okay at these times, and you’ve had it hardest of all.’

Mandy turned and looked at her. She saw a face that really cared; someone who would listen, without making judgement, without laying blame. And then she cried. Not the gentle cry of disappointment. This was the uncontrolled, heaving cry of torment. The cry of someone who had given up hope.

Auntie put her arm around her and pulled her into her chest. She let it happen, like it was the most natural thing in the world.

Eventually Mandy was done. Miraculously a clean hanky appeared to wipe away the last of the tears. She felt as if a giant load had been lifted, as if she had been healed of a terrible illness. She felt cleansed.

‘You’ve been blaming yourself, haven’t you?’

Mandy simply nodded.

‘That just shows you care. You’re not to blame; nobody is. I’m sure they got into this mess without your help. The thing is, they may need your help to get out of it. You’d better tell me everything that happened. All the things: the happy, the sad, the proud, the shameful. You just tell Auntie all. Then we’ll be able to work out what to do.’