Gordon Under Attack (Outback Exodus) - Plot & Excerpts
Gordon Under Attack Helen had good news for Gary and was discharging him into Steve and Patsy’s care. He was to be escorted to Steve’s home very shortly. Patsy and Steve were coming to get him and Patsy is so excited at the thought that she is going to be spending time with her brother tonight. Gavin will be going over to spend part of the evening with them and talk through the situation that they found themselves in. With careful questioning they will be able to work through what happened and if there are any more gangs affiliated with this one.The situation with gang attacks is getting worse and we have had frequent attacks over the past few months. Steve, Gavin and Dad are very concerned about the safety of the settlement. There are constant planning sessions and drills to ensure that we are all ready in case of attack. The information that we can glean from Patsy and Gary will be invaluable with the planning of further defense measures for the village.Darkness slowly creeps over the village and as the sky turns to velvet black with a sprinkle of diamond stars I slowly walk across the cool grass and into the warmth of my home. Firelight dances across the floor and the glow of candles lights the area by the table. The smell of vegetable stew permeates the air and the sounds of the twins gurgling in their cradle drifts to the door and make home welcoming and warm.Gavin is standing beside the fire with a large wooden paddle in one hand and the chains from the pot over the fire caught with the poker he is holding in his other hand. He is preparing to stir the stew before it catches over the heat of the fire. There is nothing worse than burned stew smell all through the tiny cottages. He glances up as the door opens and his smile widens as he sees me framed in the doorway. "Hurry up and get inside girl, you’re letting the heat out and the cold in. Its cold enough out there tonight anyway.""I know, feels like a frost, no wind out there and the sky is as clear as a bell and the stars are out already."I walk across to the fire and put my arms around Gavin and snuggle in close for a hug. He places the poker and spoon on the hearth with a clatter and both arms wrap around me and pull me close to his chest. Looking up I see those blue/green eyes darken with passion and then the world is blotted out as his head descends and his lips gently graze mine. The kiss deepens, only to be abruptly broken as a loud wail sounds from the bedroom. One of the twins is unhappy with something. I reluctantly move away from Gavin and head for the bedroom and find that James is wailing away and Jacqui’s lips are starting to quiver too. I scoop them up and head back into the lounge room and settle in the old yellow arm chair beside the fire and proceed to feed them both. It is getting harder to do this now as they are almost too big for us all to fit into chair. "We had better eat shortly too as I have to go over to Steve’s to talk to Gary and Patsy and I don’t want to be out too late as my guard shift starts at 2 am and I would love some sleep first.""I’m hungry anyway sweetheart, so I will fill up these two and then we can eat, unless you’d rather go ahead and eat. I can have mine after the twins are quiet. That way you can get going and the sooner you get there the sooner you’ll get home again. With luck it won’t take too long for Gary to fill in anything that Patsy was not able to tell us.""I don’t expect it to take more than a couple of hours to get through everything again and to confirm any thing Steve and I are unsure of. I just hope that is all it takes. A couple of hours sleep will be very welcome. Its been a long couple of days and with prisoners to guard and organise dispersal of., none of us are getting much rest. I think I’ll eat now and get off so that I can get back sooner if you are sure you don’t mind. I’d rather eat with you, but sometimes it is just not possible.""Its fine with me really. I’d rather you got over there and back again as soon as possible. The quicker you get this done the more rest you’ll get. These two will be a little while yet, so you eat and I’ll grab mine later. Can you put it in a bowl and put it on the hearth for me. It will stay warm there and we can take the pot off the fire so it won’t burn. I’ll add some more to it after dinner and get it going again for tomorrow. I have some beef Mum gave me from the cattle that were killed in the raid and I’ll add some of that to it. We can have the stew for lunch and there will be steak for dinner tomorrow." I smile across at Gavin as his eyes light up at the thought of a steak dinner. Something rare in the village at the moment. With three of the beasts being killed in the raid there is enough steak to ensure that everyone gets some for a special dinner."That is brilliant, I’m going to spend half of tonight with my mouth watering every time that I think about dinner tomorrow night now." Gavin’s grin gets wider as he heads for the shelves and grabs the bowls down to serve the stew. Gavin leaves after eating his dinner and heads out after kissing the babies goodnight, they will be asleep before he gets home, they are already dosing off in my arms as they finish their feed. I gently pull James around and prop him on my shoulder patting his back to remove the wind as his sleepy little head nods against my neck. I do the same with Jacqui and then stand with a baby in each arm and head across the room to the bedroom and place them both in the cradle beside our bed. Tucking them in I lean over to kiss them both before I head back and pick up the bowl from the hearth and a spoon from the mantle and eat my dinner. Scraps are placed into a bowl to go to the chickens in the morning and I then clear up the area and prepare the meat and extra vegetables. Everything is then placed in the pot with more water before hanging it back on the chains and placing it over the fire. It was not long before the smell of cooking meat drifts around the cottage and gets the dogs lifting their heads to sniff the air.The kitchen area is soon clean and I sit down before the fire and catch up with my diary entries before I pick up the mending pile and start to sew buttons back on shirts and repair tears in jeans. Both Gavin and I are hard on our clothes when we are out with the patrols and it is easier to repair than to get new clothing. The sheep are almost ready for their first shearing so it will soon be time to learn to spin and weave to enable us to make cloth for more clothes.Before long the dogs are jumping up and heading for the door, their tails are wagging and I know that a friend approaches. The door opens and in walks Gavin. Red faced from the brisk walk across the village green in the icy cold air.
What do You think about Gordon Under Attack (Outback Exodus)?
