Medical Mission Read Online Free PDF

It’s a pretty language. I used to learn it.’ She sighed, long, deep and loud. ‘Many moons ago. Allons-y! It means let’s go .’ She headed off past the candy counter to a door at the far end of the room.
    â€˜You were right,’ Josh whispered to Pete. ‘She is scary.’
    Pete nodded.
    â€˜And she talks funny,’ hissed Sally.
    â€˜Allons-y!’ bellowed Ratchet. ‘NOW!’
    Josh, Pete and Sally quickly followed.

Josh took a sip of his warm, flat lemonade. ‘Mmm,’ he said. ‘Thanks.’
    It tasted terrible and had a slight yellowish tinge to it that made him think of wee. But Ratchet had given each of them a glass and he was too scared of her to say anything bad about it.
    Josh looked around the room as he forcedhimself to take a second sip. Pete and Sally sat on either side of him on a dusty old couch, clutching their glasses and trying not to look terrified. The ‘bio box’ they were in was the projection room. It was a dilapidated brick space with peeling plaster and a flaking ceiling. There were three glassless square windows in the far wall with projectors set up in front of them, pointed at the giant screen on the other side of the grounds.
    The opposite wall was covered in framed movie posters and stills. Josh let his eyes wander over them – Fire in the Stone , Ground Zero , Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome , Salute of the Jugger , Stark , Pitch Black , Red Planet , Kangaroo Jack .
    â€˜Like me posters?’ asked Ratchet, standing over the kids, chest swelling with pride.
    The three friends nodded.
    â€˜They were all shot here,’ whispered Pete in awe.
    â€˜What?’ asked Sally, eyes widening with panic. ‘Shot?’
    â€˜No, no, not shot with a gun,’ explained Pete, as he realised that Sally had misunderstood him. ‘Shot with a camera. Those posters. All the movies were filmed around here. Either in Coober Pedy, or in the areas around it. Lots of sci-fi ’cause the desert looks like an alien landscape.’ His eyes were alight with excitement. ‘That’s why there’s a spaceship in the car park next to the opal place. It’s a leftover prop from Pitch Black .’
    â€˜I thought that was a tourist thing,’ said Sally.
    â€˜Yeeeeeesssssss,’ growled Ratchet, squinting at Pete.
    Pete sunk back into the couch and tried to hide behind his glass of lemonade.
    â€˜How do you know all that?’ asked Sally.
    Pete shrugged from behind his glass. ‘I like movies.’
    â€˜Right-oh then,’ said Ratchet, planting her bulk down on a tiny stool. ‘Details!’
    â€˜Well,’ started Josh. And he launched into the story of what had happened with his mum and new baby brother; how the RFDS had come in the night; how he had written an essay about it; and how his class was going to do some fundraising. And then he put forward his idea about using the drive-in to show a film. His mouth was bone-dry again by the time he finished.He took another swig of wee-coloured drink and immediately regretted it.
    â€˜So, you kids want me to let you use the drive-in?’ said Ratchet. ‘For free?’
    Josh nodded.
    â€˜That’s one helluva ask.’ Her voice got louder. ‘Lucky! Youse kids are lucky. Lucky that I almost died!’
    How can we be lucky that she almost died? wondered Josh. It was at this point Josh realised just how odd Ratchet’s speech was. It was a curious mix that seemed to lack consistency. Her accent was sort of American, but she used Australianisms like ‘youse’. And she sometimes smooshed her words together. But what does almost dying have to do with anything?
    â€˜Back when I was your age,’ continuedRatchet, ‘I used to go opal hunting. Fell in a hole one day. Snapped me arm. Slashed me leg on a rock.’ She straightened out her left leg and pointed. There was a faded jagged scar that ran up the inside of her leg