Printable version
A young couple, Brett and Natalie were on a camping trip in the Australian bush. In their 4WD they had driven a long way from the nearest road and had found a beautiful and quiet place in the desert. They planned to spend a month enjoying the sights and sounds of the bush and Natalie also wanted to spend some time writing. She was working on her first novel and needed some peace away from the city. They even left their mobile phones at home as they wanted no interruptions, although Brett brought his transistor radio to listen to the cricket as Australia were playing England and he was a big fan. It was the third week of their trip.
'Natalie! Come here and
listen to this.' Brett was listening to his tiny
radio, sitting outside
their tent.
Natalie looked up from where she was relaxing in the shade
of a tree
and shouted, 'I can't. I'm writing. I don't care about who's winning.'
'It's not the cricket. This is big, really big,' Brett repeated, 'Just
come here.'
Natalie looked a little angry as she walked across to find out why
Brett had disturbed
her. She stood next to him with her hands on her
hips and sweat dripping off the end of her nose. 'What is it? What's
all the fuss
about?'
'It's a weak signal,'
Brett told her, 'but listen. It sounds like the
news.'
Brett held the radio up so it was between them. It was
difficult to hear as the radio signal was so bad, but Natalie could
catch some of what was being said.
'... stay
indoors...... thousands
dead.... stay indoors.... all the cities out of control... no cure....
deadly
virus...' The sound became weaker and they lost the signal.
'Brett! What's going on?' Natalie was really worried.
'I'm not sure. It was unclear but it's something terrible, we can't go
back until it's over.' Brett started to cry and Natalie knew he must be
thinking of
their family and friends back in Adelaide.
She put her arm around him
and they sat together crying in the desert.
The next week was a terrible time for them. They really wanted to find out what was happening but were too scared to drive into the nearest town in case it was full of dead people or they caught the virus. They were almost out of food and knew they had to do something before they ran out completely. They decided to drive back to the main road and find a roadhouse. Maybe they could make a call home, maybe their families were still okay. Maybe the crisis was over. They drove in silence through the hot dry landscape, the windows open, trying to catch a breeze to cool them down in the hot sunshine. After two hours they reached the main road and turned south towards Adelaide. Thirty kilometres down the road, another car passed them, then another. Things looked normal. They reached the roadhouse and parked. Natalie stayed in the car while Brett walked into the small store and cafe.
The inside of the roadhouse was quiet, but everything looked
normal. Suddenly, a large man came out of the office and jumped
when he saw Brett.
'Sorry for making you jump, but I've been out in the
bush and heard about a big problem on the radio. But couldn't really
catch
what it was. What's going on?'
'Been out in the bush, have you? Well... what problem are you talking
about?' asked the man.
I heard about on the radio a week ago. I heard a virus was killing
everyone.'
'Mate, I have no idea what you're talking about. I don't know about any
problem, and I watch the TV news all the time.'
'Must be a mistake... Thanks,' said Brett and he turned around to go
and tell Natalie how
stupid
they had been. Suddenly, there was a gun against his head.
'And where do you think you're going?' asked the man, 'Get in the
office.... now!... move!'
Natalie was getting worried. Brett had been gone for over ten
minutes. She got out of the car and walked to the window of the
roadhouse and looked inside. She couldn't see Brett so she quietly
opened the door and with her heat beating fast, she went in.
From behind the office door, Natalie could hear some noises. It sounded
like a radio. She pressed her ear to the door and listened, "...this is
a recorded warning... the virus is spreading...
do not trust
anyone...
the virus causes death within a few hours... stay away from..."
The
door opened and a hand grabbed
her and pulled her into the room. She
screamed.
It was Brett. He was holding a gun. On the floor was a man. He was
coughing
and almost
unconscious.
'Natalie,
it's okay. I just hit him. He heard you come in. We'd better fill up
with fuel and
food and head
back into the bush. It's the only place we'll be safe.
The young couple filled their car with fuel and took as much
food as they could from the store. They jumped into
the 4WD and drove
north back into the desert. They would be safe if they could get away
from other people. Natalie looked at her boyfriend. She loved him so
much. Then she noticed he looked a little pale.
She touched his face
and his skin felt very hot. 'Brett. Are you feeling all right?' she
asked.
'Yeah... fine... why?' Brett looked at her. His eyes looked very red. A
drop of blood came out of his nose and he
started coughing. Coughing and coughing.
Adjectives
tiny:
Very small.
deadly:
Able to cause death.
stupid:
Not intelligent.
unconscious:
Sleeping but usually because a bad thing happened. For example: you hit
your head.
pale:
Light coloured.
Verbs
disturb:
Here meaning 'to stop someone doing something because you ask them a
question or make a loud noise'.
be out of sth.:
To not have something because you used it all.
run out of sth.:
To use something until it is gone. For example: milk.
jump: Here meaning 'when something
scares or surprises you, your body moves quickly without your control'.
spread:
To move across a wide area.
trust: To believe what someone says
and feel safe with them.
grab:
To take hold of something with your hand very quickly.
cough:
To make a loud noise when you breathe out quickly because your throat
or chest hurts.
fill the
tank. up:
To put fuel into the tank of a car until it is full.
head back:
To return to a place.
jump into:
To get into a car quickly.
Nouns
the bush:
The countryside of Australia.
a 4WD: four-wheel
drive. A car that you can use on roads or off roads.
an interruption: An situation in
which something is stopped for a short time. Here meaning 'something
that stops you from doing what you want to do'.
a transistor radio: A small radio
with no moving parts.
cricket:
A popular sport where players from two teams hit a hard red ball with
bats.
shade: A dark area where sunlight
does not reach, and where people sit to relax.
fuss: Nervous behaviour about
something that is not important.
a signal: Here meaning 'light waves
that carry music and sound to a radio'.
a cure: Medicine that helps to stop
a serious disease.
Adelaide:
The capital city of South Australia.
a roadhouse:
In Australia a roadhouse is a service station on a highway that sells
fuel and has a shop and cafe.
a crisis:
A situation of difficulty or danger.