Aaron’s phone rang.

He picked up his phone and looked over at his mates.

Nathan, about to take a sip of his beer, guffawed, “It’s her ringing, mate.”

Aaron would have been pleasantly surprised if it was Mackenzie. His mates referred to her as Aaron’s sought-after but never caught girl. He had told them too much already and regretted it. He checked who the call was from, and felt guilty when he saw it was his mother.

“Hi, Mum.”

“It’s not his mum, he’s having us on,” Nathan said.

Aaron whispered to Nathan. “It is my mum.” He gave Nathan a wink and nodded to the others as he left the mess complex and headed in the direction of his accommodation.

“I’m sure all’s okay, Mum. He might have just fallen. See if Mackenzie’s parents are home and then walk the jogging route Dad usually takes.” Aaron kicked a stone off the path. What did Mum expect him to do when he was so far from home? “Make sure you take your phone in case Dad has had an accident or something, and take a torch. I know the track is well-lit, but take one anyway.”

“I’m sorry for calling you, love. I know there’s not much you can do, but I’m worried.”

Annoyed with his attitude, he searched for something else to kick. “It’s all going to be fine, Mum. Probably a twisted ankle and he’s hobbling home now. If you don’t have any luck locating him, go to the police station. They could help locate him.”

Aaron opened the door to his unit and walked in, listening.

“Mum, everything will be fine. Make sure you call me as soon as you know something.”

He placed the mobile on his bed, disturbed, went out to the balcony, and lifted his face to the breeze. Yes, he was a long way from home and did feel a little helpless, but there was nothing he could do about that. Dad’s running routine worked like clockwork. He would be fine; he could look after himself. But soldier’s intuition hinted something was wrong.

All he could do now was wait until he got the call telling him all was well. Dad would turn up, but the situation reminded him that Dad wasn’t immortal. He felt the metaphorical shoe on his foot now—his parents had to deal with the possibility of death with Aaron serving in war-torn countries. He told his parents not to worry. Dad displayed the same anxiety as Mum, which always surprised Aaron—Dad had been there, done that.

He started calculating when he would get a call. It would probably take them an hour or so to walk Dad’s running route, so Aaron decided to take a walk. He always thought of the tropical north landscape as lush green canyons with raging waterfalls, but here at the base, there were only pockets of greenery with some parts resembling the outback desert. But it was all still nature. He took a deep breath. His energy needed a top-up.

He returned. Hot and sweating after his walk, he opened the bar fridge and grabbed a bottle of water. His phone rang. He walked over and picked it up. Mum.

They hadn’t located his dad and were heading down to the police station.

<°)))><

On Sunday evening, a loud clap of thunder shook the car Lucas Fell was dozing in. He woke with a fright and heard voices, dark evil voices. But they were retreating now, getting softer. Just to be sure, he turned and looked behind him, but there was no one there. He was alone. It was stuffy, so he wound the window down a little. The sound of noisy crickets entered the vehicle while the stale smell of marijuana smoke drifted out.

Lucas didn’t know where he was. A drink bottle lay on the passenger seat, so he grabbed it, had a sip, and laid it back down on the seat. A moment later, he wondered about the cold feeling in his throat. He stared at the drink bottle. Did he just have a sip of water? Wow, what kind of state am I in? He sat for a while, then wound his window all the way down. He rested his arm on the window, and realised he was in the blue security car. Images of a big star on the front doors and roof popped into his head. Where was he? It was quiet, but slowly the sounds of birds were picked up by his senses. He looked out the window and saw the steps leading up to the house and worked out that he was at the property. 

Lucas got out of the car and stretched. He took some deep breaths—rain was in the air. It helped to clear his head. He looked at his watch and realised that he needed to get back to the lab or office or whatever they called it. There was something he had to do there, but could not quite remember what. He got back in the car. It would come to him as he drove there.

As he turned the car to drive out, he noticed the white van and that the driver’s window was open. With rain coming, the window needed closing. He pulled over and walked over to the van. A pack of cigarettes lay on the passenger seat and he wondered how his cigarettes got there. He opened the door and reached over and grabbed them. A quick glance in the back of the van told him all the hi-tech equipment was turned off. Lucas locked the van and went back to his car.

As he drove, he thought of two things: his mum and the green stuff. His mum hadn’t concealed her habit very well, and Lucas had picked the habit up. It wasn’t like he had a dad to copy. In her later years, Lucas asked her why she stopped. It was the voices in her head, she told him, and the paranoia. She said to be careful because the faulty wiring may have been passed on.

Lucas ignored her. He ignored the warning.

A sign appeared. BRISBANE TECHNOLOGY PARK 100 METRES. 

Lucas preferred the van—it had more room. The blue security car was a tight fit for his solid build. He knew his appearance as the rugged, thick-necked weightlifter type had helped him get his current job, a security officer for a hi-tech organisation that was part of the Department of Urban Movement. A menial job, but his mum said that was his own fault because he lacked drive and vision. She’d told him to watch out as he could become very, very lazy—that’s what this stuff could do to you. He wished he could get his mum out of his head sometimes. With those negative vibes came the need for a hit, but he could wait a little while. He had no choice.

Lucas turned into the technology park. Clean, modern buildings sat on both sides of the road, most with lights on even on a Sunday night. People must still be working. A few drops of rain hit the windscreen, but not enough to turn the wipers on yet. He turned into another street, with fewer buildings, older buildings, different shapes and sizes, less lighting. He reached his destination and turned into the Department of Urban Movement outpost’s car park.

A black cat sprinted in front of his car. The notion of bad luck popped into his head but he pushed it away. He steered the car towards the front of the building and was moving in that direction when something to the right of the building caught his attention. He stopped, grabbed the spotlight and scanned the area. Something lay in the shadow of a tree. This did not look good. He got out of the car and walked towards what looked like a body. It was. He leaned over it and searched for life signs. None. This person was dead.

Lucas needed a hit of that green stuff really bad. There was something familiar about all this.

<°)))><

Mackenzie had phoned late last night, saying they still hadn’t located Dad. Aaron asked for some time off work, and booked a flight to Brisbane.

Aaron always preferred window seats. He did the things you normally do on a plane: buckle up, observe people, and flick through the inflight magazine. It would be nice to be flying with someone, but that would come in time. As always, his thoughts went to Mackenzie. She had volunteered to pick him up from the airport. He looked forward to seeing her.

Aaron rested his head against the window. The vibration of the plane gently massaged his cheek. He stared out the window, houses and properties getting smaller, and his thoughts went to that Man who looks down on the world.

He often thought of God when flying. Maybe it was a fear thing, trying to make a connection in case the plane decided to fall out of the sky. Dad found God later in life, not long after Jack’s death. Aaron saw a change in his dad, a good change, although he didn’t fully understand it. Once he flew with Dad, and Dad told him God views our lives from on high, from beginning to end. He told Aaron that people forget that God knows everything about us, that there is nothing hidden. Aaron remembered thinking about the day he and Jack put their initials in the concrete down near the river. He still felt guilty about that.

He had a book to read but he couldn’t concentrate. Too much on his mind. He stared out the window, thinking of Dad again. They knew they loved each other: he was sure of that. They were not the hugging type—the firm handshake said it all. He loved Dad. His eyes were tearing up so he looked to the clouds to distract his thoughts. It worked and he soon dozed off.

A bump woke him. The clouds drifting had relaxed him but these same clouds brought the thing he hated about flying: turbulence. The seat belt indicator lit up. He tensed up and closed his eyes as the first wave of turbulence came. Why did Dad turn to God? The next wave came. He wondered what had happened to Dad. Another wave, he thought of praying but then wondered would God hear his prayers? The turbulence passed. He relaxed.

They were through the clouds now, and Aaron watched as the houses came closer. He straightened up in his seat and waited for the wheels to hit the runway. He looked forward to seeing Mackenzie. He smiled, but how he wished things could be different.

<°)))><

Mackenzie Gordon sat in her red Ford Fiesta, some distance from the domestic terminal. She was early, so had pulled over. She sat, thinking. Her fingers tapped the steering wheel in rhythm with the praise and worship music she had playing. She loved Aaron, but they were pulling in different directions. Her prayers that the stumbling block to his faith be removed had not yet been answered.

Her phone rang.

“Mackenzie?”

It was Aaron’s mum, and she was sniffling.

“Not good news, my love . . . I’ve tried Aaron’s phone but he must have it turned off. They’ve found a body way out at Eight Mile Plains.”

“Eight Mile Plains?” Mackenzie said. “That couldn’t be—”

“I think it is, love . . . I think it is.”

“I’m sorry, Jill. Shall I get Aaron to call you?”

“Please do. They’ve asked that someone from the family come and confirm that it’s Patrick. I’d like Aaron to come with me.”

Mackenzie put down the phone and asked the Lord to not let it be Aaron’s dad. She gripped the steering wheel, hard. Her chest tightened up. She tried hard not to cry, but the tears came anyway.

<°)))><

Aaron walked to the public pick-up area. The airport had undergone some refurbishments since the last time he was here, so he wasn’t quite sure which way to go. He looked at his phone and shook his head, annoyed. He’d forgotten to charge it.