Episode 9-03

“Look, would you just cheer up and enjoy yourselves?” Jarrad exclaimed, opening the driver’s door and stepping out onto the dolomite driveway. “You’ll spoil the whole week if you just mope around the entire time!”

Leonard and Daniel each emerged from the back doors of Jarrad’s car, both looking rather dejected at being separated from their partners. Exhaling loudly, Leo looked around at the serene nature enclosing their holiday house. Towering gum trees surrounded them on three sides, and the entire property sloped downwards towards a rapidly flowing creek which served as one of the block’s boundaries. The driveway snaked for about half a kilometre from the main road to the house, increasing the feel of isolation from the rest of the world.

“Man, this is a sweet place!” Bazz exclaimed, folding up his travel map and jumping enthusiastically out of the passenger door. “How’d you manage to book a fine joint like this, Jarrad?”

Jarrad shrugged. “Luck, I guess. From the sounds of it, there haven’t been too many tourists in this area lately. They seemed pretty keen to have us up here for a while.” Squeezing a button on his keyring, the car chirped as the boot popped open. “Here, give us a hand with the luggage, would you?”

Leo lifted the boot lid and looked at the contents. “You only packed slabs of beer?” he groaned in disbelief. “Where the hell are our bags?”

“I had to find the perfect balance between booze and bags,” Jarrad explained. “I think I struck the right combination. All those sleeping bags and pillows just wasted valuable slab space, anyway!”

“But… what about our clothes?” Daniel exclaimed, glaring at his friend. “And our toiletries?”

Jarrad rolled his eyes. “I’m only hearing problems, not solutions! What did I tell you two about cheering up?” Turning and walking towards the pergola at the front of the house, he tossed the keys up into the air gleefully. “I’ll open up. You guys grab two slabs each and meet me inside.”

Grinning inanely, Bryden strode up behind the irritated Leonard and Wilmo and placed an arm over each of their shoulders. “Come on, guys! This’ll be great! Growing up, I always wanted to get away with my mates to the country, get smashed and have a great time. And now I actually HAVE mates, I can finally enjoy it!”

Sighing, Daniel looked down at the six cartons of beer lying in the boot before him. “Well, I guess I can see the fun in it,” he admitted. “Maybe we’ll have a good time, after all.”

“Yeah…” Leo agreed, looking across at Daniel, then back at Bryden. “But only for your sake, Bazz.” He hoisted a slab of beer under each arm and headed towards the country homestead.

“Good enough for me!” Bryden shrugged, leaning into the boot and grabbing one of the cartons. Heaving and straining, however, he found himself unable to lift even the one slab out of the trunk. Daniel noticed his troubles and hauled the carton out for him.

“There ya go,” Wilmo smiled, grabbing another two to carry himself and leaving one in the trunk. “Jarrad left our stuff at the mansion, so the least he can do is grab his own slab of beer!”

Bazz followed Daniel into the house, entering through the back door into the kitchen. There they found Jarrad already splitting Leo’s cartons and fridging them, whilst Leo checked his mobile phone reception.

“Nothing…” Leo sighed, unable to get any signal from their location in the hills. “We’re completely cut off from everyone up here.”

“Good!” Jarrad interjected. “That way, it’s just us up here, no interruptions. And if there’s an emergency, I’m sure the Gorge tavern will let us use their phone.” He looked across at the other guys. “Trust me, after a few drinks, you guys won’t even be thinking about your ladies.”

Daniel did not look impressed. “Who said we didn’t want to think about them?”

Groaning, Jarrad slammed the fridge door, still holding a six-pack in his hand. “Look, you two are obviously brainwashed or something, but this week actually means something to me! Do you guys even realise that we have been living and working with these same chicks for almost all of our lives? It’s perfectly normal to want to get out on our own and meet new people every now and then, and these opportunities very rarely come up.”

“That’s all well and good for you, Jazz,” Leo retorted. “But not all of us need to go out and hook up with drunken hillbillies these days. Some of us are already in relationships.”

Jarrad snorted. “You and Wilmo are not in relationships! You guys have just settled for chicks that you work with. It’s just convenience, and nothing more!”

“Look, what’s so wrong with dating someone that you’re already comfortable with?” Daniel proposed. “At least it cuts out all the awkwardness as you find out what you do and don’t have in common.”

Breaking apart the cardboard six-pack, Jarrad handed a beer to each of them. “It’s just five days,” he clarified plainly. “Five days, just us guys chilling out and kicking back like we used to. At the end of that, you can both go back to your relationships, pretending like this never happened if you so choose. Just… promise me you won’t let your fun be ruined because you can’t get your minds off Kylie and Zara, okay?”

Pausing, Leonard nodded hesitantly. “All right…” he agreed.

“I guess it’s only five days, after all,” Daniel added. “It’ll be good to kick back and do nothing for a while.”

“Right!” Bryden cheered, twisting the top off of his beer, and the other three did likewise. “To sleeping in, three barbeques meals a day, and late nights at the tavern playing pool and feeding the jukebox!”

Leo, Wilmo and Jarrad all raised their beers. “Cheers!” they all responded, as their long-necks clinked together.

After they all took a drink, Jarrad looked around at the others nervously. “So… I guess we’re going to need some towels and clothes, hey?”

Episode 9-02

Bryden’s buttermilk pancakes went down a treat with the rest of the misfits. Having now eaten their fill, some sat around reading newspapers and magazines whilst the rest filled the room with the sound of their conversations.

“This Nikki Potter makes me so mad!” Anita exclaimed, ruffling her copy of the Modbury Post in annoyance. “Listen to this, ‘MiFFing In Action: Why the Freedom Fighters are Hiding From Justice’. What a joke!”

Jarrad and Wilmo halted their discussion momentarily and looked across at her. “You do realise that no one takes her column seriously, don’t you?” Daniel asked her. “Her editorials aren’t exactly going to turn the tide of public opinion against us.”

“Yeah, but what if some of the readers start looking at it through her eyes?” Anita continued. “She’s basically blaming our presence for the constant mutant attacks and infection outbreaks throughout the city.”

Sitting on the couch with Kylie, Leo turned and looked across at the dining table where the rest of them were discussing the issue. “It doesn’t matter what one person thinks of us, even if she does happen to have her voice heard in the city paper. The only opinions that matter are those of the people we protect each time we get called into action.”

Jarrad snorted noticeably. “Phht, what action? It’s been three months since Aaron left, and we haven’t taken one proactive measure to try and find him, or get the journals back, or investigate the source of the infection!” He glared across at Leo as he continued. “Instead, we’ve got Leonardo here telling us to sit tight and wait until all the pieces fall into place!”

The rest of the room fell silent for a few moments. “… Leonardo?” Bazz asked hesitantly.

“You know, like the ninja turtle?” Jarrad explained. “Leonardo always used to think he was in charge of the team, too.”

Leo glared back at Jarrad. “Like it or not, mate, Aaron chose me to step up and assume leadership in his absence. And while we don’t know exactly what the situation is, all we can really do is protect the citizens and stay on the defensive until we hear back from Tristan and Alisa. Besides, Zara and Daniel are already following up a few leads.”

“Please, call me Danatello!” Wilmo joked, but Leonard didn’t appear to appreciate his humour.

“Jarrad does have a point, though,” Zara objected, and grinned smugly. “There are eight of us here, and to me, that seems like too vast a resource to just be sitting around waiting for an emergency before we do anything.”

Chany shrugged. “Well, where are we supposed to start looking? Modbury’s such a huge city, let alone the outback and wasteland out in the country. There are a lot of places to disappear around here.”

“Well, maybe sitting around here isn’t the best course of action,” Anita chimed in, folding the newspaper and sliding it into the middle of the table. “All this time being confined here with no real purpose seems to be taking a toll on everyone, Lenny.”

Leo looked around at the rest of the freedom fighters, all nodding in agreement with Anita’s analysis. “Well then, what do you suggest we do?”

Surprisingly, it was Kylie who spoke up first. “Well, maybe some sort of holiday might be called for?” she suggested. It was only then that everyone noticed her sitting on the couch next to Leonard with her arm around his shoulder, and the feel of their curious eyes all fixated on her persuaded her to quickly slide it back around and down to her side awkwardly.

Jarrad’s eyebrows rose as he looked at the two of them, but Daniel spoke up before he could follow it any further.

“I second the idea of time off,” Wilmo agreed with Kylie. “It’s been ages since we’ve had any time to ourselves now, and I think we damn well deserve it!” He looked across at Zara, excited by the prospect of having some sort of holiday together.

“Well…” Leo contemplated, stroking his stubbled chin. “I suppose we could get away from the manor for a while. Who knows, maybe it’ll help get rid of all this ambient tension building up in everyone.”

Chantelle thought silently for a moment, before turning to Anita. “Hey, I was thinking… do you feel like coming on a road trip with me?”

“Sounds good!” Anita replied chirpily, before pausing. “Where did you have in mind?”

“Well, back when all that stuff went down with the other Chantelle,” she began. “She mentioned that I came from a town called Ferntree, and I thought it might be good for me to check out my birthplace. And while it could prove to help me find some more answers, it’s also interstate and I would appreciate the company.”

Anita looked moved by Chany’s motivations. “Honey, of course I’ll come with you!” she agreed supportively. “Just one problem, though… Road trips usually require both a car and a driver’s license, and we have neither.”

Dismayed, Chantelle sighed and looked down at the table top, before her eyes slowly crept up to meet Zara’s.

“Hang on, no way!” Daniel objected, waving his hands in disapproval. “This is our time to spend together! You can’t have her!”

Zara looked across the table at Chany and Anita, then back at Wilmo. “You know, you and I will have plenty of time to spend together when we get back…” she suggested.

“I’d ask you to come too, Daniel, but…” Chany began to explain, but trailed off.

“Don’t worry, just go,” Wilmo sighed. “Nothing wrong with you running away with my sister and girlfriend for a week, I guess.”

Jarrad leaned across and gave Daniel a hard slap on the back. “You know what that means, buddy?” he cheered. “Guys’ week! A whole week of booze, movies and games!”

Wilmo couldn’t help but let out a smile at Jarrad’s enthusiasm, and Bryden’s eyes lit up at the thought of a trip away with the guys. “When do we leave?” Bazz asked, rubbing his hands together eagerly.

Jarrad leaned back on his dining chair. “We can head up to the Gorge! It’s nice and isolated, and there’s a ton of places to stay.”

Kylie and Leonard, as the only two still undecided on the plans, shot each other a worried glance. “What do you reckon you’ll do, Leo?” Kylie prompted, hoping that he’d stay behind with her.

Leonard faked a sigh. “Well, someone really needs to stay here and keep an eye on things,” he pointed out.

“Nonsense!” Daniel rejected. “It’s a week of drinking, you can’t turn that down! Besides, there’s no reason we can’t keep up surveillance from up at the Gorge.”

Zara nodded. “And there’s still room in the car for you too, Kylie,” she offered. “I’m sure the fresh air and the travelling will make you feel a million times better!”

Jarrad smirked. “Y’know, unless there’s a reason why you two want to stay back here, together, alone…”

“Fine, whatever!” Kylie exclaimed, hauling herself up out of the soft couch.

Anita grinned cheerfully. “Road trip with the girlies! Woo!” Jumping to her feet, she turned to Chany and grabbed her hand. “Come on, we’d better start packing!”