The Moa Cave (6 page)

Tyler saw the others walking at the far end of the beach. He’d been in the cave much longer than planned. He’d found it difficult to drag himself back into the world of the living. He half wanted to stay—Ata would never annoy him the way the girls often did. Still, he did want to see the seals, so he started to run, hoping he would catch them before they went into the flax.

Bill saw Tyler coming and waited for him. ‘Right,’ he started when Tyler caught up. ‘Here are the rules. Don’t get too close. They might look big and clumsy, but they can move very fast when they want to. Do make lots of noise. It’s better if they know you’re coming. Then you won’t surprise them. And watch out for their muck—I don’t want you taking that stink back to the woolshed.’

They then moved a little further along the beach where Bill pointed out the tracks in the sand where seals had hauled themselves out of the water. They followed one of the tracks and soon found the animal leaning against a flax bush, sound asleep.

‘These are Hooker sea lions. They’re much bigger than the seals you’ll see lying on rocks. They don’t breed here any more. Most of them are young, immature males. Next summer, this one will stay further south on one of the islands
to breed. They were very popular with early Maori as they come ashore on beaches and are fairly easy to catch. Then around the early 1800s millions were killed for their furs and oil. Now their numbers are increasing again. Each year we’re getting a few more coming here. They’re a bit of a nuisance really as they keep breaking down my fences.’ He paused, looking thoughtfully at the kids. ‘Can you lot look after yourselves while I go and check them out? I don’t come to this part of the farm very often.’

The kids all agreed they could look after themselves. They were used to it—Alice hadn’t done any looking after since the first day.

When Bill was out of sight Tyler said, ‘Right! Here’s my dare. You have to touch this sea lion on the back.’ He smiled wickedly at them. ‘And I have to do it first.’

Tyler planned his movements carefully. He wanted an easy way out in case the animal chased him: he knew for sure it would no longer be sleeping after he had touched it.

He crept forward. As he got closer the smell of the animal reached him; it stank like nothing he’d ever smelled before.

When he was within a metre he took a couple of quick strides forward and slapped the sea lion hard in the middle of the back. Without waiting to see what the reaction was, he sprinted back to where the girls were.

The sea lion was now a growling, wild beast. It took a couple of surges towards them baring a set of very sharp teeth. Then it settled to stare at them, grunting every now and then, daring anyone to get closer.

‘That wasn’t fair,’ said Mandy. ‘How am I expected to touch it now?’

Hine said nothing, but there was a hint of a smile on her face. Tyler said, ‘Easy. Just sneak around behind it. We’ll stay here to distract it.’

Mandy snarled at him before turning and moving away. Tyler thought she had given up until he saw her sneaking behind a patch of toetoe. He had to admit she had guts: that was no friendly zoo seal sitting in front of them.

A moment later she appeared about three metres behind the animal. Slowly she moved forward and was almost within touching distance. Then somehow the sea lion sensed something was wrong. It swung its head around and saw the girl. With a huge lunge it launched itself at her. Mandy fled, scarcely escaping the slashing teeth.

Then she fell. The sea lion saw its chance and surged towards her. Tyler moved towards the animal, screaming at the top of his voice and clapping his hands. It turned and looked at him, before moving back to Mandy again. Tyler picked up a handful of sand and threw it at the sea lion’s face. It worked! The animal paused long enough for Mandy to scramble to her feet and scuttle away.

Soon it was over. The sea lion had settled and Hine and Tyler waited at a safe distance. A moment later Mandy stomped back into the clearing. All the front of her clothes and most of her face were covered with brown muck.

‘Pooh, Mandy, you stink,’ complained Hine. ‘Is that seal muck?’ Mandy simply stared angrily at her.

‘Hey Mandy,’ laughed Tyler. ‘You’re all chocolate coated now.’

She spun around and headed back to the beach.

Tyler had to rub it in. ‘Now you’re the one with only one life. And I’ve got two. How does that feel?’

She turned her head and glared at him. ‘Get lost! Both of you!’ she yelled before starting the long trek back down the beach.

Not long afterwards Bill returned. ‘What was all that yelling about?’

Hine answered, ‘We got a bit close to the sea lion and it lunged at us. Mandy fell over and we had to scare it off.’

‘Where is she now?’

‘She fell in some muck and has gone back to wash herself.’

Bill chuckled. ‘And she has to put up with that smell all the way back. Oh dear, the poor wee thing.’ He sniggered for a while longer. ‘Come on, I think she’s far enough away for us to follow without smelling it too much. Let’s hope she’s all cleaned up before we get back.’

Whether Mandy was cleaned up or not was unknown when they got back to the woolshed: she wasn’t there.

After a brief discussion it was decided that Bill and Tyler would head back to the beach while it was still light. Hine would take a look around the woolshed and the surrounding area.

They retraced their steps, yelling out her name every few metres. When they got to the beach they began looking for her footprints. After a bit of detective work they were able to work out which were hers. Instead of turning up the road she had continued along the beach towards the cliffs.

Tyler began to have horrible thoughts that she may have found his cave. If she had, then the whole thing would be wrecked. He couldn’t share it with her. He didn’t want to share it with anyone.

When they reached the stream it became clear why she had headed this way. There were lots of prints on a small sand island where she must have crouched to clean herself. A foul odour in the air supported that.

With relief, Tyler noticed that the only prints leading to
and from the cave were his own. He hoped that Bill wouldn’t decide to check them out.

The trail disappeared from there. They called her name a few times but there was nothing in return except for the roar of the sea and the calls of some distant gulls.

Bill was unsure about what to try next. He looked up the cliff face. ‘There’s a possibility she might have gone up there to get a view of the beach.’

‘Is there a track up there?’

‘Yeah, sort of. It’s a goat track really. But I think we should take a look.’

The track was not easy. They looked for traces of footprints but there was no dust or mud in which they could form. When they looked back, they hadn’t formed any prints either.

The top was a mix of brownish grass and thorny bushes that Bill said were mingimingi. He pointed them out to Tyler. ‘See the way the thorns head off at right angles to each other forming a barrier? It’s thought that these plants evolved like that to stop being eaten by moa. There are more plants like that in New Zealand than anywhere else.’

Pushing through the bushes they reached a spot where they could see all the way down the beach. The view was fantastic. Tyler realised they must be standing almost straight above the cave. He smiled to himself: the rock seemed solid enough. There was no need to worry about the cave collapsing on him.

They moved around calling her name. At one stage they thought they had a reply, but when they investigated it was just a young kid crying for its mother.

As the light faded Bill decided to go back to the woolshed. ‘For all we know she’s already back there and we’re out here freezing for nothing.’

She was not back.

Alice was woken and the adults settled into a serious discussion. Then Hine and Tyler were quizzed.

‘What exactly happened back there at the sea lions?’ asked Molly. ‘Did you upset her or anything?’

Tyler and Hine looked at each other. Tyler nodded. So Hine told them the whole story about the dare to touch the sea lion and what had happened to Mandy.

The adults were not happy. ‘That was an incredibly stupid thing to do,’ said Molly. ‘Those are wild animals. They’re not called lions for nothing. That bull would have killed her if it had got her.’

‘What happened after that?’ asked Alice. ‘Did she say anything before she left?’

Tyler told of how they had teased her before she stomped off down the beach screaming for them to get lost.

‘So she was angry?’ Hine and Tyler nodded. ‘Then maybe she’s still angry and not ready to come back.’ Everybody agreed that was a reasonable possibility.

‘Right,’ said Bill. ‘Then we wait until nine o’clock. If she’s not back then, I’ll give Jonno a call, and he can let Search and Rescue know.’

‘In the meantime,’ said Molly standing, ‘I suggest you all have a shower and then we’ll have dinner. It always helps to feel clean and have a full belly. Then we’ll be better able to cope with whatever happens later.’

Dinner was a dismal affair with everyone thinking about what might have happened, yet not willing to share their
thoughts. It was with relief that Tyler escaped to the dorm to play a game.

Yet even that didn’t work. His mind kept straying back to the events of the day. He couldn’t stop thinking that he was the cause of all the trouble. If things went wrong, they were sure to blame him. He was the one who had issued the dare and then made it impossible for the others. He’d got too involved in the stupid game. Now, if Mandy was injured or worse, the trip would be called off and he would be sent home in disgrace. He doubted he’d even get the chance to visit the cave again.

Then he started to think about Mandy and where she might be. Slowly he realised that all his concerns had been about himself. His only thought about Mandy was how annoying it was for her to go missing. Now, as he thought about it, he was surprised to find that he cared whether she was injured or not. She might be a pain, but she was a pain with attitude. If one of his Game Boy characters was like her he would have enjoyed playing the game. She had all the tricks of a great character and was just as brave.

So how come he would have liked her in a game but couldn’t stand her in real life? He pushed the thought from his mind—that was something best not to think about. Instead he picked up his Game Boy and tried once again to destroy the zombies guarding the elephants’ graveyard in the lava tunnels of Mt Kilimanjaro.

He was finally having some success when happy shouting from the lounge disturbed him. He put the Game Boy down and rushed through to the other room.

There was Mandy, being hugged by Molly and Alice at the same time. She looked only slightly less dirty than earlier. Hine looked pleased that she was back and was the next to hug her, though she did screw up her nose a little.

Tyler felt a surge of relief and wondered if he should hug her too. Fortunately he was not offered the chance. Mandy was almost carried to the chair in front of the fire while Molly ran off for a hot drink. It seemed that Mandy had a sore leg or something.

The story came out over the next few minutes. She had washed herself in the creek and then climbed the cliffs, wanting to spend some time by herself. ‘I walked along the hill for a while until I had calmed down. Then when I tried to come down I twisted my ankle. It was so painful I couldn’t walk on it.’

‘Didn’t you hear us calling?’ asked Bill.

‘Yes, and I answered lots of times. But you didn’t seem to hear.’ She paused for a while trying to control her emotions. ‘It was horrible. I kept thinking that you might never find me.’

‘How did you get back then?’

‘The swelling went down and even though it hurt so much, I knew I had to get back. Anything could happen to me out there. So I just forced myself.’

‘Let’s have a look at it,’ said Molly.

Mandy rolled up the leg to her pants with only a couple of squeals of pain. The exposed ankle may have been a little swollen but it was not all that obvious.

‘I think the best thing is a shower first and then an ice pack,’ said Molly. ‘We’ll do it at the house. I’ll go get it ready. Alice, could you fix some supper for us all? And Bill, get in a bit more firewood, please.’

Soon the three youngsters were left to themselves. Tyler wanted to say something kind to Mandy, yet couldn’t find the right words. Then he noticed her face: she was smirking. ‘What is it?’ he asked.

‘Oh, you two are so easy to beat,’ she sniggered. ‘You get sucked in every time.’

Tyler could already feel the first hint of anger. ‘What are you talking about?’

Hine nodded her head slowly. ‘It’s simple, Tyler. The “Get lost!” was a dare.’

‘I got lost,’ said Mandy, ‘and you didn’t. You two are now on one life and I’m back to two.’

‘What about the leg?’ asked Tyler, feeling the pressure in his face building.

In answer she stood and did a graceful spin on the ‘injured’ ankle, before slumping back into the chair. Hine grinned and shook her head in admiring disbelief. ‘You’re crazy, Mandy.’

‘I know,’ she replied proudly. ‘That’s what everyone says.’

Tyler’s breathing was now out of control. He twisted away so they couldn’t see his face. Then he felt the pendant in his pocket as it touched his leg. An image of Ata flashed in his mind. Strangely, he felt his anger lessen. He closed his eyes to hold the image for longer. His breathing slowed and gradually the pressure in his nose subsided. He turned back to look at Mandy sprawled back in the chair, and surprised himself by smiling. She
was
crazy—totally and absolutely. How stupid it was for him to get upset by it.

Molly returned and seeing the happy group said, ‘Ah, it’s good to see you all smiling again.’ She turned to Mandy. ‘Come on, dear. Do you think you can make it through to the house?’

‘I hope so,’ replied Mandy, doubtfully. ‘Perhaps Tyler can give me his shoulder to lean on.’

So Tyler was forced to be her support. Plus he had to tolerate the stench coming off her clothes. It was not a pleasant job, especially as Mandy was shaking with suppressed laughter beside him. Yet, when he thought about it later, he was pleased how he had controlled his anger. Maybe at last he’d found a way to beat the curse.
He went to sleep holding that thought. Yet behind it was another feeling, and that was a resolve to make sure he won the game. Tomorrow was the time to start using a little trickery of his own.