Chapter 27

When the trucks arrived on the east side of the river, Jacky had the men stay aboard for now.

Many of them had fallen asleep out of sheer exhaustion. They woke as Jacky’s men handed out chocolate bars and Aussie rations as they would be easy for the men to consume while the trucks drove along.

Each man got a water bottle with the sweet but slightly salty, lime flavoured powder added. The men were reminded to eat slowly, and in short sessions, so they didn’t vomit.

The ex-prisoners all understood, and most found they could only eat a small amount, and they felt full. They all savoured having food in their bellies even if it was only tinned bully-beef and biscuits soaked in limeade.

Jacky asked Bluey, Travis, Joe, and Louie to get into the four trucks’ cabs. He sent them off to their camp. The staff car with Bair and his brother in it was still in the middle. The rest of the team broke camp.

They turned the second gun around, and Pete tried to out-do Russo in who had the most effective aim, as they lobbed four shells at the bridge. The last shell no sooner left the breach than the men were hooking the guns back up to the trucks.

The bridge could be heard crashing into the ravine behind them.

Not two minutes later, the trucks were winding their way leisurely back to base camp, leaving the flattened bridge behind, to the locals’ consternation and befuddlement. They did leave them the old single person footbridge that was further up the defile.

If soldiers were sent from Dili and tried to use the bridge, they would have to try and confiscate any trucks they found on this side of the river. Since few locals had a vehicle, the soldiers would be walking or riding in carts.

The team soon caught up and attached themselves to the back of their convoy.

It was a pretty jubilant camp when the trucks turned up in the morning with the prisoners.

Nat reported that the radio ran hot again. No one could understand why Japanese soldiers were blowing up bridges and isolating the east of the island from the west.

They soon got the prisoners settled in, and they had to hope their stores held. Teams were sent out to forage and check if they could move some of the prisoners to the other caves that were a mile and a half (2.4km) down the road.

One of the men they rescued was a Major, and he seemed to feel that he should take over the running of the company until the General joined them.

It was suggested that he take over the setting up of the other cave with the prisoners and those who had once been under his command if they wanted to go with him. It was bigger and had a better water source. He wasn’t terribly happy when it was Jacky who suggested this to him.

However, he didn’t know Jacky very well, and he soon found himself moving into the other caves. He did get the doctor, the staff car and Lieutenant Smith, who was originally from his company, but he didn’t get any of the trucks.

Blair had to explain to the Major that he had orders from the General to pick them up in five days. They would need all eight lorries. They could sort out who got what after the General got here.

Somehow, Nat got hold of the Ghost Ship, and they promised to bring more supplies. Nat also told the ship that they were expecting two hundred guests, and they already numbered nearly a hundred and twenty.

He told them that they would need a lot more supplies and possibly a few more medics. He did mention a possible air-drop. Hinting that the General had asked for it.

The ship passed the message on. Nat then got a call that the authorities said it would be at least twelve days for the ship, but they could get a plane to do a drop in five days.

This at least calmed Bean down, as he was worried about how they would feed the people they now had, let alone more.

To Blair’s surprise, Jacky didn’t want to go to get the General.

Jacky told Blair that the less the commander knew about him and his people, the better. He and his team would go and get the air-dropped supplies so they would need one truck left behind. They would then head to the coast to meet up with the Ghost Ship and collect the supplies from it.

It took Blair a couple of days to realise what worried Jacky the most. He and his people were not normal. Come to think of it, he wasn’t either. He hadn’t thought through the repercussions of accepting the bracelet.

Blair had not really been surprised that Brian had elected to go with the Major. He had felt a great distance between them, and he had felt very sad about it. He was at a loss about how to fix it.

One night, Blair got Jacky to go for a walk with him, and they headed to check on the trucks. Once they were well away from the others, he found a rock to sit on.

“Jacky, what do you really plan to do once the General gets here?”

Jacky smiled sadly and leant against a large rock, “Go home.”

“To Australia? Do you plan to get on the Ghost Ship when it comes?”

Jacky shook his head. “No, we are going to try to go to my home, I hope. However, the transporters don’t always take you where you think you want to go.”

Blair looked at his wrist, “You’re saying that you are not from this planet? Right?”

“Correct, my planet is called Tara, I came to Earth accidentally, and I think it was to find David. My one true love.”

Blair scowled, “You’re Kamp?”

Jacky changed his gender and then giggled at the look of shock on Blair’s face.

“No, worse. I’m a shape shifter. I am both genders and more. Unfortunately, I also carry a virus that makes other magical people change to be like me, and I have infected my team. This world is not ready for people like us.”

Blair groaned and scrubbed his face. “What if I don’t want to go?”

Jacky shrugged. “We must all make our own decisions in life. The bracelet I gave you was calling for you. They have a will of their own, and they choose who they wish to go to. It chose you, and you accepted it.”