Max Barrington's Blog

I was feeling cold, very cold. I was assuming that I had rolled over and off my swag again. Opening my eyes, I saw only blackness; the fire must have gone out, I was thinking as I reached to where I thought the top of my swag was to retrieve my jacket and boots. I could not feel them in the dark, nor could I feel my swag, I looked at my watch, but I could not make out the time.
I turned around, now thinking that I was facing away from the fire. No! There was no glow of a fire. Reaching and feeling around for my swag, boots and jacket, I now realised that they were not there where they should be, I also realised that there was no fire.
I crawled to where I thought my son, Callum, was sleeping in his swag, but I could feel nothing. Callum wasn’t there, and my swag wasn’t there, and there was no fire or the signs of a fire glow. Standing, I looked around as I pivoted in a full circle, I could see nothing but blackness. I started to walk forward, but I had no idea of the direction in which I walked when I suddenly fell over onto a tussock.
Standing, I now looked up towards the sky; it was just black, there were no stars, just darkness. I was now fully awake and was wearing only my shirt, jeans and socks. There was a slight breeze, and it felt cold, but I had no idea where I was. I was too frightened to walk anywhere in the blackness for fear of stumbling again; I was lucky it was a tussock that I had walked onto this time. I sat down beside the tussock and tried to think where I might be. What's Mine is Yours: An Australian Adventure