Walkabout

The  airplane  crashed  in  the  middle  of  nowhere.  There  were  no  roads,  no  houses  and  no  people.  There  was  only  bush  and  rocks  as  far  as  the  eyes  could  see.  Only  two  children  survived  the  crash.  The  airplane  was  on  fire.

The  girl  pulled  her  small  brother  away  from  it.  Run,  Pete.  She  shouted.  Quick.  They  ran  through  the  bush  as  fast  as  they  could.

Then  they  started  to  climb  up  through  some  rocks  near  the  top.  They  stopped  and  looked  down  from  the  rocks.  They  watched  the  fire.  Where  are  we?  Asked  Peter.

The  girl  didn't  answer.  She  didn't  know  they  were  lost  in  the  Australian  desert.  But  she  couldn't  tell  Peter  that.  2500  km  away,  in  the  big  city  of  Adelaide.  Uncle  Keith  was  at  the  airport.

He  looked  at  his  watch.  Keith's  brother  worked  in  America.  He  lived  in  Charleston,  South  Carolina,  with  his  wife  and  two  children.  This  was  the  children's  first  visit  to  Australia.  But  their  airplane  was  late.

Uncle  Keith  waited  and  waited.  Uncle  Keith  waited  and  waited.  He  talked  to  other  families.  They  asked  about  the  plane.  But  nobody  at  the  airport  could  tell  them  anything.

Then  people  began  to  talk  about  an  accident.  About  a  plane  crash.  There  were  no  survivors.