Dinny's Ancient Guardians

The first thing I remember is my mother. My mother, bloody and beaten, dying in the dirt.

The second is the screams. The screams of those around me as they were slaughtered by the invaders. The screams of those I cared for to whom I could do nothing but watch while they were taken away from me.

The third is the fear. Fear that paralysed me as I lay there, watching my mother die. Fear that drove me to run when she had gone and all around me was death. Fear that kept me running, deeper and deeper into the outback as night fell, leaving behind my friends and my village and every other familiar thing I had ever known.

* * * * *

"She's awake."

A voice sounds from very far away. A hand touches me gently on the shoulder; another brushes the hair off my forehead, cool fingers giving my skin goosebumps even through the fever-heat of sickness. "Dinny?" That voice again, closer this time - a woman's voice, soft and warm like the sand over which it whispers, like the wind between trees, like the water that slakes a feverish thirst.

I open my eyes and see an old woman, her hair white as a storm cloud but her eyes clear and blue as a summer sky. She smiles at me through wrinkled lips that seem too large for her face and I can't help smiling back despite how hard it is to lift my head enough to do so. "Good morning," she says softly, reaching to press a cup of water against my dry lips so I can drink without having to move any more than necessary. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap," I reply hoarsely after swallowing enough water to speak more clearly. "And...and like someone hit me with a truck." Somewhere behind me I hear someone chuckle quietly, but no one else speaks up so I assume it's just a memory or something - probably not meant for me to hear anyway, since whoever it was must have been pretty close by if they're laughing quietly. I try rolling over onto my side to peer at them but another wave of dizziness crashes over me before I manage even half the roll-over; instead I fall back onto my back with a groan and hope that whatever it was doesn't think too much of being laughed at for rolling over on their back like an idiot.

"Well," the old woman says with a chuckle suddenly echoing mine; so it wasn't just another memory after all! "You've been asleep for three days now so it's understandable you're still feeling weak." She raises her hand in front of her face and wiggles all her fingers individually - something that should be easy but somehow isn't at all - before returning them to rest against her knee just in front of where she sat on the floor beside where I lay on cushions borrowed from one of our neighbours' mattresses (they left town last year). With her free hand she begins stroking through my hair again, smiling down at me with love like something out of one of those sappy movies Nanna used to show us when we were kids back before everything changed...before our village got raided by those invading bastards who only left one survivor among us because she hid herself well enough for them not to notice her when they went looking for anyone still alive after burning down our houses and slaughtering everyone else within their reach.

Not thinking about that now though! Not today - definitely not today or any day soon! Maybe never again if either of us has our way about things!

At least today's a good day - not only because I woke up this morning but also because we're one day closer to our plan than we were yesterday (I'm pretty sure we'll succeed!) After three days of sleeping off my fever (or most of it anyway) Nanna decided today was finally the day we'd get started on our plan! So here we are in this little corner store in town where everyone knows everyone else so if anyone comes along we can say that Nanna needed some medicine for her arthritis or whatever else might be going wrong with her these days - what really matters though is that she can look out the window from inside while having people think she's waiting outside for their return so no one will find out what we're about to do!

I reach out for Nanna's hand with trembling fingers which she takes gently between hers before helping me sit up straight against the cushions supporting me (she says it helps keep blood flowing properly through your body if you stay sitting up whenever possible), then leans forward to kiss my cheek tenderly before pulling back with tears shining in her eyes which she quickly wipes away when they start making their way down her wrinkled cheeks towards her chin (Nanna cries easily these days). She gives me another small smile before nodding towards where two men are talking quietly nearby; both middle-aged, both dressed in dark suits despite it being such a hot day outside - maybe they don't own any lighter clothes? Or maybe black's just easier than trying to match your clothes so you don't end up looking like an idiot? Or maybe they just always wear black because they think it makes them look more professional or something even sillier than that? Whatever their reasons may be though, Nanna thinks they make good decoys - at least until we need them for something more important! Not that Nanna would ever let anything happen to them! No sirree Bob! Those two guys are part of our team now - part of Team Dinny! And what's more: They're good guys! Two weeks ago when Nanna stumbled across them while sneaking into town late at night wanting some ice cream (which seems silly now since ice cream doesn't matter anymore) she didn't even know who they were let alone why they mattered enough for her to save them after all this time; turns out though once she started asking around she realised these two guys are part of a group called 'The Black Hand' who've been helping people throughout Western Australia fight back against those invaders ever since their village was attacked too! Sometimes they send supplies or money when people ask nicely enough (and those who aren't nice get ignored); sometimes they sneak people out of danger when no one's paying attention; sometimes they even lead attacks themselves against those invaders who are usually too scared by what The Black Hand does anyhow not even knowing why The Black Hand does what they do! But sometimes The Black Hand does things like helping groups like ours stay safe until we're strong enough to fight back too! Like helping us set up a hideout near here where there are lots of things we'll need if our plan works out right! Things like weapons! Lots and lots of weapons hidden around town under bins outside shops where no-one goes anymore because there hasn't been anyone left in town except us long enough for anyone even bothering trying finding anything anymore! Things like sleeping spaces where no-one will know we're staying right under their nose until we decide it's time to strike! Things like information about guards who might be guarding stores filled with weapons nearby ready at any moment...just waiting for us to go collect them in order make ourselves stronger while doing what needs doing so that everyone knows everyone else shouldn't have died because those invaders wanted them dead so badly they couldn't wait till after killing us all before starting their war against everyone who lives anywhere near here anymore rather than spreading themselves out across the country attacking everyone everywhere at once instead! That way everyone would be too busy fighting each other somewhere else not caring about whether or not others live or die elsewhere long enough for those invaders getting sick and tired along with everyone else who actually cares what happens to Australia as opposed to just thinking about themselves instead so eventually stopping fighting altogether wherever they are meaning peace would spread across Australia making sure no one had reason left living anywhere hoping someone else living somewhere else gets killed instead simply because people hate each other different from how others hate each other hating them instead nowhere else will anyone die ever again simply because someone hates someone different from how someone hates someone different from how someone hates...well...you get my point hopefully by now anyway? You see: Life is precious no matter who you are or what you believe or how you feel or...anything really besides life itself being important making being alive super important too! Which means people shouldn't kill each other no matter how much cooler it might seem doing whatever seems fun scarier worth watching interesting exciting sexy exciting interesting exciting adventurous exciting adventurous boring lonely exciting adventurous boring scary exciting scary boring scary exciting scary boring interesting interesting interesting interesting interesting scary interesting boring boring boring exciting boring interesting scary interesting boring boring scary frightening boring risky risky risky risky risky scary risky scary risky scary cautious boring cautious boring bored cautious cautious diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent diligent prudent prudent prudent prudent prudent prudent prudent prudent prudent prudent urgent urgent urgent urgent urgent urgent urgent urgent urgent urgent urgent urgent urgent urgent conscientious conscientious conscientious conscientious conscientious conscientious conscientious conscientious conscientious conscientious conscientious conscientious conscientious conscientious conscientious conscientious conscientious conscientious conscious conscious conscious conscious conscious conscious conscious conscious conscious conscious conscious conscious conscious conscious conscious conscious conscious conscious consciousness consciousness consciousness consciousness consciousness consciousness consciousness consciousness consciousness consciousness consciousness conscience sincerity nobility duty duty duty duty duty duty duty duty duty duty duty duty duty duty honour honour honour honour honour honour honour honour honour honour honour honour justice justice justice justice justice justice honour dishonour