Castaway Read Online Free PDF Page B

now, and stay brave for your dad. It’ll be all right, you’ll see. Tess and Darcy send their love, but I left them at home …’ She went on and on, a torrent of well-meant words that Sam and George heard as a kind of background blur.
    Aunty Lou dressed quite differently from her sister Sarah, who tended to favour jeans and cotton shirts, and pulled her blonde hair into a ponytail. Aunty Lou’s hair was cut short and spiky, and regularly changed colour. This time it was an odd shade of purplish-red. She was wearing a long, multicoloured patchwork skirt and a bright orange cheesecloth blouse. The jingling of dozens of silver bracelets and necklaces could be heard every time she moved, which was often. Aunty Lou never sat still for very long. Sam usually thought she looked a bit like a demented parrot, but tonight he barely noticed.
    She flung her arms around Uncle Mungo and gave him a frantic hug. ‘ Mungo! It’s been years – not since the wedding, I think. My God , aren’t we all getting old ! It’s so good to see you. It’s a pity it’s under such dreadful circumstances …’ Sam glanced sideways at George, and they both tuned out as their aunt chattered away to Uncle Mungo, who blinked at Aunty Lou asif she was the strangest thing he’d ever seen.
    They drank two more cups of chocolate before a white-coated doctor called out their names. Sam, George and Uncle Mungo followed him along a corridor to a room full of lights and stainless steel and frightening-looking equipment. Mac was in a bed, with plastic tubes coming out of him everywhere and a bulky white brace around his neck. His eyes were closed, but he didn’t look as deathly pale as he had back at the homestead. Sarah was sitting close to him, holding his hand and talking quietly to him. She looked up as they came in, and tried to smile at her sons.
    ‘Hey, guys,’ she sniffed, giving them both a hug. ‘It’s okay, he’ll be okay. He’s stable, but they want to fly him to Adelaide – they can’t do the operation here …’ She couldn’t speak any further, and the doctor standing next to them introduced himself.
    ‘I’m David Petersen. Apart from the broken arm and leg and the superficial injuries, your father has a serious fracture of his spine. He’s asleep now – we’ve given him some medication to keep him quiet and still – but I’m afraid the damage is quite bad. There’s a spinal unit in Adelaide which is much better equipped to handle this kind of injury, and his best chance is to go there as soon as possible. We’re flying him out tonight. Have you got any questions?’
    They were both silent for a moment, and then George blurted out the question Sam couldn’t ask.
    ‘He’s not going to be paralysed, is he? He’ll be able to walk again, won’t he?’ A tear rolled down George’s cheek, and Sarah pulled him to her.
    ‘Mate, it’s too early to say,’ said Dr Petersen. ‘But your dad is strong and healthy, and that’s a big plus on his side. We’ve got the best spinal surgeons in the country waiting for him, and they’ll operate as soon as they can.’
    Sarah and Mac were taken by ambulance to the airport a little while later, and afterwards Uncle Mungo drove Sam and George to the Munros’ house. Aunty Lou gave them both more life-threatening hugs, sat them down to some dinner they barely touched, and put them to bed in the spare room.
    ‘Tess and Darcy are already asleep, but you’ll see them in the morning,’ she said as she switched off the light. ‘Do try and get some sleep, poor things. Don’t worry about your dad, his angels are watching over him.’
    ‘Angels?’ said George as her footsteps faded away down the hall. ‘Is she into angels now?’
    ‘Well, it’ll make a change from all the other stuff she goes on about.’
    The two boys lay on top of their beds, too dispirited to even get undressed. Neither could voice the worriesthey had, so they just lay there in the darkness. The door opened, and two