Chapter 8 Brooke
EIGHT
Brooke
Brooke’s nose knew she was in the middle of nowhere. Dirt. Fresh air. More dirt. More air. She stood beside the car at the service station. Insects swarmed two spotlights which emitted a low-level buzz, like they were so old they wheezed from the need to keep themselves aglow.
Brooke checked the time on her phone.
11:30pm.
They were still on track to get to their destination just after midnight. That wasn’t too bad really. Barely a late night.
“Far out, this is a long drive,” JJ said, stretching out her back next to Brooke.
They gazed at the horizon, the faintest outline of ranges standing off in the distance.
Brooke let her head fall back. “Wow.”
JJ leaned against the car and followed suit. “Man. You forget how bad the light pollution is back home until you come out here.”
“It’s pretty magical.”
The milky way always took Brooke’s breath away, making her feel small and everything else so big at the same time.
JJ nudged her shoulder with a smirk.
“What was that for?” Brooke asked.
“Thought South Australia was boring,” she teased.
You could look at the night sky anywhere in the world. Brooke just appreciated the stars, that was all.
“The universe isn’t in SA, Jade. It doesn’t count.” She said it with a smile.
“Ooh burn, bringing out my real name already, Bee? Touchy subject?”
JJ’s teeth were so white in this light, eyes sparkling.
Brooke shot her daggers, lips still upturned and returned to the night sky.
A soft chuckle next to her had Brooke elbowing JJ in the ribs. Playfully, of course.
“Ow, okay, truce,” JJ said, her arm flinging out to defend herself.
JJ settled back next to her, their arms now touching.
They stood like that, taking in the stars for a couple more minutes, but after JJ’s fifth yawn, Brooke offered to drive the last stretch.
“It’s only another forty minutes,” JJ said, keys clasped against her chest.
Driving while tired was no joke, and there was no way Brooke wanted JJ micro-sleeping at the wheel doing 110km.
“C’mon, gimme your keys. You look stuffed.”
“I shouldn’t have taken on that job this morning.
I’m wrecked.” JJ turned to face Brooke, still leaning against the side of the car, eyes now watering from yawning so much.
“Fine.” She slapped the keys into Brooke’s waiting hand.
“I gotta get in the car anyway, it’s freezing. Be nice to the ol’ girl, yeah?”
“I’ll drive it like it’s my own.”
Brooke adjusted the mirrors. In the driver’s seat, everything looked extra clean and shiny, like JJ had just detailed it.
Must be nice to have it all so neat and orderly.
Fancy possessions to preen over and care for.
Brooke’s parents would approve. She’d never owned a car, but she’d operated plenty of vehicles.
Motorbikes, jet skis, sail boats… though, it’d been a while since she'd driven, and on a highway doing one-ten no less. She eyed the gear stick.
“You do know how to drive manual, right?”
Brooke had successfully got her driver’s license in a manual when she was sixteen. Hadn't driven one since.
“Pfft. Yeah, ‘course.”
She stuck it in first and stalled it with one giant bunny hop. JJ was clutching the oh-shit bar and glaring. Brooke waved it off.
“Just learning the sweet spot.” Fuck. What was it Hayley had taught her? Be smooth, more revs as soon as you feel the clutch grab.
It jumped again and conked out.
Oh, come on!
JJ’s hand landed on hers over the gearstick. Brooke sucked in a breath.
“Relax,” JJ said, removing her hand. “This clutch grabs quickly. Try again.”
Brooke blew her hair out of her face and restarted the car. This time she got it into second gear successfully. She over-revved it but at least it didn't stall this time. The warmth remained from JJ’s touch.
They made it out of the petrol station and onto the new road. It was incredibly dark out here, even with high beams on. Now they were off the highway, it was eerily quiet, though she was thankful not to have any traffic to contend with at this hour while she brushed up on her stick shift.
JJ’s head was tipped back, eyes closed within ten minutes.
Brooke would do the same as a teenager whenever Hayley had driven her places, feeling completely at ease.
Though Hayley was only a couple of years older than Brooke, Hayley had felt more like a parent in those times than her own.
If their parents were working, which was more often than not, it was usually Hayley who’d pick up the slack and drop her places or cook dinner.
Those memories hadn’t surfaced in a very long time.
Two towering ghost gums came into view. No wonder they got that name; they were like giant wraiths looming over the road as the headlights hit them. Watching them fade into the rearview mirror made it look like there was mist swirling around them.
Wait. The mist wasn’t going away.
Plumes of white billowed behind them.
Brooke swept her eyes to the bonnet. Smoke escaped from the edges and whipped away from the high speed.
A lookout sign flashed before her. That’d do.
Brooke slowed and pulled onto the dirt driveway.
The car bounced over potholes, bumping left and right until it opened out onto a dusty, dry expanse—presumably the lookout’s carpark.
JJ came to, swivelling around at the disruption as Brooke cut the engine.
JJ turned to Brooke. “What’s going on? Are we there already?”
Brooke sucked in a lip and chewed. “Um, no. I’ve just pulled us off the road because of”—she pointed—“that.”
Now that the car was stationary, smoke poured out of the bonnet, swirling up towards the sky. The headlights made the scene look sinister.
“Oh. Fuck.”
“Yeah.”
JJ was out of the car before Brooke had unclipped her seat belt. Her door was wrenched open as JJ leaned inside, one hand landing on Brooke’s leg as she leaned down. What is she doing?! The bonnet popped open. Oh. Right.
JJ disappeared again, the frigid air and oddly sweet stench of the smoke making its way into the car. Brooke scrambled after her. JJ lifted the bonnet, releasing heat like an oven. Brooke felt like it almost singed her eyebrows.
They coughed, waving to clear the air and get a closer look. Brooke held up her phone with the torch on. That was going to be the best use of her time, as her knowledge of cars went as far as knowing the car was now broken. End of story.
“Coolant’s gone everywhere,” JJ said. “That explains the sweet smell. It’s steam, not smoke. It’s sprayed all over the engine. Ah shit, I see it. Here.” JJ pointed as she leaned in to inspect the damage. Even Brooke could see the very obvious crack.
“I don’t understand,” JJ said. “I keep it serviced—I’ve never had an issue.” JJ walked off, muttering to herself. “I checked everything this morning, and I even topped off the coolant.”
“We’ll sort it. It might be easy enough to fix,” Brooke said. “Do you have a tool or something?”
JJ was shaking her head. “No way. If that's blown, no amount of tools is going to fix that. Pretty sure it’s the radiator, and that’s a big crack.
I can’t tape it up or anything. I’ll—I'll… call the RAA. I can't believe this. I’ve never had an issue with the car. Never. And now tonight of all nights. This isn’t off to a great start. ”
JJ grabbed her phone, pacing back and forth.
Brooke stayed quiet, hopeful the mechanics would sort it. The steam had started to dissipate at least. She hugged her arms around herself and waited.
“Well, shit.” JJ dropped her head with a rough exhale. “No coverage.” She shook her screen at Brooke. “You?”
Brooke pulled hers out.
Empty bars stared back.
“Okay. Okay. It's fine. Umm.” JJ paced again. She clapped her hands, stopping mid-stride and whirled on Brooke. “We can walk to get help! Get back to Hawker. Or—or a place nearby. One of the stations. Yeah.”
JJ was back on her phone in an instant. “Damn it. Of course, no GPS either.”
“Here.” Brooke came up alongside her. “I’ve got offline maps on my phone. With travelling and all… it’s kind of necessary.”
She entered the directions and hesitated.
“You’re not gonna like it.”
“What?” JJ’s eyes flicked between her phone and her face.
“It's a five hour walk back to Hawker, or two hours to the closest sheep station. It's way too cold and dark to walk that far, and too dangerous.”
“Shit.” JJ stood in thought, hands on her hips. Her eyes widened. “Oh my god, this is just like Wolf Creek.”
JJ paced again in front of the car, ironically looking like a crazed psycho under the dim of the headlights.
Brooke suppressed a smile.
Time to try and calm down the control freak travel newbie.