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Chapter Six:

Mike slowly became aware of a constant tapping against his head. Opening his eyes, he turned towards the source of his torment. Kane was sitting at the mouth of the cave with a small pile of stones and had gotten up a steady rhythm. He would bounce the stone of Mikes head; once one stone had bounced out of sight, another one would be on its way.

"Time to wake up sleepy head!" Kane announced when he saw Mikes eyes open. "It's already late. Where're we headed today?"

"Mmph. Ya little bugger. Why'd you go and wake me up. Was having a nice dream and you had to go spoil it." Mike groaned.

"Heh. Quit your whining lazy." Kane teased back. "I've got breakfast ready too." Having said that, Kane disappeared outside and was back only a few seconds later. "Look. Caught a fresh barramundi. Can't get any better than that for brekky." Kane exclaimed excitedly.

Mike sat up, now interested in his stomach and what was in front of him. "Wow. Smells awesome, when did you get up to catch this?" he queried.

"About two hours ago. Took me an hour to catch the bugger though. I lost about six rigs because of him."

"Talk about determination. How long till it's ready?"

"I'll give it another five minutes. Just to make sure it is really good. Now stop thinking about your stomach and tell me where we're headed today."

"Oh, right." Mike was silent for a while before he decided. "I think we'll just stay here for a while. I've had enough of travelling for the time being. Plus, we could use the rest stop to decide where we should travel from here."

Kane agreed whole-heartedly with Mikes plan. "Excellent. I was hoping we could stay; I kind of liked it here. Especially now that the rain has stopped."

Mike took suddenly took note of the absence of rain. "Hey yeah it has stopped. Wow." Shaking his head, Mike felt foolish for not instantly noticing his surroundings.

"Hah. Great fighter you are. How did you think I was able to light a fire huh?" Kane teased Mike again.

"Oh lay off. If you'd let me wake up properly, I would've been able to-oh!" Mike suddenly exclaimed as Kane threw part of the fish at him.

"Breakfasts ready now!" Kane grinned cheekily at Mike and began to devour his portion of fish with gusto. Looking over at his small companion, Mike began ruminating as to how he could get revenge on his little companion over the coming days. Smiling inwardly, Mike also began devouring his breakfast.

***

Mike sighed contentedly as he finished off the last of his morning meal. Looking over, he saw that his young friend was finishing up his portion too. "Mate, that was bloody good. I nominate you chef." Mike joked.

"Haha, well alright then. If we get anything good I'll see what I can come up with."

"Dude I was only joking; you know that don't you?"

"Yeah, but I also love cooking. So, I'll do it." Kane replied. "Besides, I've tasted your cooking." Kane continued to taunt Mike. Slowly getting up, Mike made his way to the cave entrance to step outside. As he passed, he flicked the large ears of the young mouse.

"OW! Hey!" Kane scowled at Mike, who laughed back at him.

"Well that's what you get for pegging rocks at me while I sleep." Mike laughed. "Come on, let's get some exploring done." Mike set off down the cliff-face to the bushland below with Kane following closely. The going was much easier than what it had been the previous day.

Upon reaching the floor, the duo began scouring the area for would be edible berries or nuts. Sticking close together; Mike drew a dagger and began marking trees so that they would be able to find their way back to the cave. They followed the sound of running water and soon came across the river where Kane had said that he'd caught the fish that morning. Paranoid, Mike immediately started searching around for tell-tale signs of any crocodiles that could have been in the area.

"Found one!" Mike exclaimed as he knelt down to take a look at what was known as a crocodile slide.

"What is it?" Kane asked inquisitively.

"It's a sign of a croc mate. You're lucky it wasn't here. You see, this trail is left when a croc slides down the bank and into the river. All I'm going off is what I've been taught. But I am certain that old mate croc is sizeable enough to eat even me whole." Came the sombre reply. "Come on, let's head further upstream." And with that, Mike got to his feet and set off at a brisk pace.

As they walked, Mike's ears perked up and he started to sniff the air while appreciating his heightened senses. Mike could see that Kane had also become alert. "You can hear it too can't you?" he queried.

"Yeah." Kane replied. "What is that sound? It sounds like thunder."

"I could be wrong, but I am betting that it's a waterfall." Mike spoke to Kane over his shoulder. He picked up the pace and his young companion did likewise; both of them eager to reach the source of the thunderous roar that was growing louder with every step that they took. It wasn't long before they found the source.

Stepping out of the bushes and onto a rocky outcrop, the two were lost for words at what they beheld. Mike's suspicions were partially correct. There was a waterfall, however that was but part of a greater chain of waterfalls. The shape of the rocks made the water carve intricate patterns on its way down the cliff face. Birds were darting in and out of the water catching the fish that were in the swimming hole below.

"Wow! That is incredible. How can this be?" Kane was astonished at the sight before him.

"I know mate." Came the equally breathless reply from Mike. "Words cannot describe this."

As he was speaking, Mike became aware of how cool and inviting the water looked. Quickly scouting around, Mike was certain that there were wouldn't be any unfriendly creatures lurking in the depths below them. The water was constantly disrupted by the water crashing down from above and swirling around. Kane watched Mike carefully as he checked around. Coming back onto the outcrop, Mike checked to make sure the depth of the water was safe enough for the two of them. Satisfied, he placed his backpack down and cast off his shirt, army slacks and shoes. He then took a run up and leapt off the edge of the rock and into the pristine water, showering Kane with his splash.

"AH! Hey, what was that for?" Kane exclaimed indignantly.

Mike surfaced and shook water from his ears. "That was payback for everything else this morning Mate. Now get in. The water's great!" He shouted back.

Kane needed no further bidding. He cast aside his shoes, shirt and shorts and was in the water in no time. He swam up silently behind Mike dunked him, causing him to come up coughing and spluttering.

"Right! You've done it now buddy." Mike growled. Without warning, Mike grabbed Kane in a bear hug and, with great effort, hurled him further into the middle of the swimming hole. Kane screamed in laughter as he was thrown through the air. However, it was Mike who was laughing when his little pal hit the water with his mouth open. Kane surfaced with a smile on his face.

"This is great. How long can we stay here Mike?"

"As long as we want little buddy. We've got nothing but time."

With that, the two furs whiled away the time swimming and having a good time. Something that neither of them had had for a long time; something that the both of them readily welcomed. After a while, Mike and Kane had both had their fill of swimming for the day. They clambered out of the water, back onto their small rocky outcrop where they had left their clothes. Deciding to let the sun dry them, the two lay down on the rocks and were both soon fast asleep.

***

Hours had passed as Kane slowly started to wake up. "Oh man, how long were we asleep fo-oh." Kane quickly kept quiet as he saw Mike was still asleep. Deciding it would be best to let him rest, the young mouse got silently to his feet and moved off towards the bush, intent on finding some fruits or berries that the two could eat later. Looking back, Kane knew that Mike would probably not wake for quite some time.

As he moved through the bushes, Kane was wary of his surroundings; a skill picked up from watching the way Mike moved through any bushland that they trekked through. As he came into a clearing, Kane noticed that a few of the trees had berries on them like the ones he used to eat when he and his brother went to play in the bushland near his house. Memories of his brother and his past life brought a tear to Kane's eye. Shaking his head, Kane fought back the oncoming tears. He had vowed to himself that he would never again weep after that night Mike had saved him. He instead turned his attention to the task at hand.

Heading towards the berry bushes, Kane took his small backpack and started to pick out the ripe ones. He was in luck, as it turned out, the bush was in season and plenty of the small sweet fruit growing. Once his backpack was half full, he decided that it was time for variety in what he planned for their afternoon meal. Once Kane had filled his pack, he laughed inwardly. I guess this search for food turned out to be fruitful. He giggled a little at his pun; instantly regretting that he couldn't have voiced what he considered to be his best joke yet. _ Oh well, I had better head back._ With that, he strode off back in the direction of the river.

Kane managed to make his way back to where Mike was still sleeping at the waterfalls. Just as he was about to step out of the bushes, Kane sensed that something was not right. He ducked down out of sight and placed his backpack of food on the ground. He scanned the area ahead and his ears and eyes were alert for any sign of danger. Suddenly, it hit him. The only sound that could be heard was the crashing of the waterfalls. The birds had stopped chirping excitedly. If it wasn't for the sound of running water, there would have been silence.

Now eager to find the source of the silence, Kane scanned the river. Suddenly, he saw it. A small bump had appeared in the water. It slowly moved towards where Mike was sleeping upon the rocks. Kane knew what was about to come. Springing into action, Kane ran forward and grabbed Mike's pack. "NOOOO!"

The shout roused Mike. Slowly opening his eyes, he accidentally looked into the sun. Squinting, A silhouette of a mouse suddenly blocked most of it out as Kane leapt over him. Mike rolled over quickly, and to his dismay, saw Kane swing his loaded backpack around into the maw of a giant crocodile that had meant to claim him as a victim.

Kane swung the backpack directly into the gaping mouth of the monstrous reptile. He took the opportunity to jump behind it and drove his claws into its eyes. The crocodile roared in both pain and anger and started thrashing, trying to get its tormentor off of its back. Kane held on for life, knowing that if he fell, it would be certain death for him. Suddenly, a cry brought him to his senses.

Mike had leapt to his feet. Rushing to his clothing he had grabbed one of his daggers. Heading to the water's edge, he called out to Kane. "Take it now!" he cried. With all his might, Mike hurled the dagger towards his accomplice.

Kane had grabbed the dagger. He took the sheath in between his teeth and grabbed the handle. Drawing the blade, Kane was about to strike the foe in the nape of its neck. As he was about to strike, a sudden change came over him. Instead of killing the would-be attacker, Kane struck it with the butt of the dagger repeatedly and with all of his strength. Slowly, but surely the giant crocodile stopped moving.

Mike quickly jumped into the water once the croc had been knocked unconscious. He checked to make certain if it was still alive. "Wow. You are one resourceful mouse." Mike said breathlessly. "Thank you for not killing it outright" He panted.

"No problem" was the equally exhausted reply. "Just glad that you're safe" Kane grinned goofily and slid off the creatures back. "Should we drag it back to shore?" He asked.

"We can but try. Be a shame for it to drown." With that, Mike wrapped his arm around a portion of the snout and began a sidestroke back to the banks of the river. The two of them struggled with their load as they slowly made their way to dry land. Once they could stand upright Kane dropped what he was doing.

Panting, Kane announced "I think that should do it, don't you think?"

"Just a little bit further. I don't want it to drown." Mike replied. The two then managed to get the giant reptile onto relatively dry land. Mike let out a low whistle "I knew that it was a decent size. But this is ridiculous. There must be some good feeding out this way. Again, thank you for keeping it alive."

"Well, I guess it was just following its own instincts" Kane reasoned. "Besides, it is an amazing creature when it's not trying to attack you."

Mike laughed a little. He could see that Kane had a compassionate heart, and cared for creatures that humans considered inferior to them. Mike, however, held a great respect for their abilities to adapt to the wilderness and not change it to suit them like the humans had done over so long. "Well, it looks like we should get going. Come on, we need to find some dinner" Mike said.

"It's already been taken care of big man." With that, Kane ran back to the bushes where he was hiding just before the fight and retrieved his backpack.

"Nice work mate." Mike praised Kane, but also gave him a bemused look. "Why Big man?"

"Well, you're always calling me 'little buddy' or something like that, so I decided that you needed a nickname" laughed Kane.

"Well alright then" grinned Mike. "Let's get going."

The two of them, now fully dried and clothed, set off back to their cave. They followed the trees that had been marked by Mike on their way to the river. Along the way, the two of them relived the experience that they had just had. Kane chatted animatedly about how he saw the giant reptile heading straight for Mike.

"All I saw was a lump in the water and it started moving towards you. That's when I knew that you were in trouble." Kane rambled.

"Yeah mate. That was incredible what you did. By the way, you owe me a new backpack and clothes" Mike replied jokingly.

"Oh yeah? Your clothes were too old fashioned anyway" Kane shot back with a cheeky grin.

They continued to exchange insults the way back to their cave. Once there, the chatter had died down a bit; most of this was caused by Kane being exhausted after the climb up. Climbing the cliff-face to their cave was now becoming a familiar path for the two furs, as both of them were reluctant to leave this place that provided them with adequate shelter and plenty of food.

Once inside, Kane had set to work preparing the berries and other small fruits that he had gathered for lunch. As he worked, Kane was joined by the larger wolf. Working together, the two had their afternoon meal prepared in no time at all. Presenting some berries on a large flat slate, Kane gave an exaggerated bow.

"Bon Appetite!"

"Wow. Mate, you are one incredible chef" Mike smiled.

"Thanks. I guess it comes from my mum's side of the family" Kane replied.

Again, Kane fell into silence at the mention of his family. Not wanting to press the matter further, Mike began to eat. The meal was taken in silence as they both remembered their lives that had been left behind.

***

The two finished eating their small meal when Kane mentioned that it was still light out. Mike knew that the young mouse had an irrepressible urge for exploration and sent him on his way, planning to practice his kata; something that he had been neglecting for quite some time. The mouse ran off cheering excitedly.

Stopping at the cave mouth, Kane decided that he would try his luck going to the top of the cliff. Taking a hold of the rock once more, he began his ascent. His climb was arduous, but Kane managed to claim his small victory. Smiling to himself, he had reached the top and it felt great. Looking around, Kane spotted an old, now unused walking track. Setting off along the trail, he kept his ears alert for any signs of danger.

Kane had followed the trail for quite some time. As he walked, he saw out of the corner of his eye, a shape that looked out of place in bushland. Turning to make sure that he wasn't seeing things, Kane spotted an old, abandoned Ute. The mouse was overcome with curiosity, and headed towards the wreck.

Upon reaching the old rusted shell of a car, Kane decided to take a look inside this discovery. He knew that places like this were a haven for snakes, but he couldn't help himself. He climbed into the driver's seat and let his imagination take him away. Pretending that he was on the run from a gang, Kane pressed the old accelerator pedal, only to find that his feet would not reach. Shifting himself, the seat suddenly slid back and his foot hit something hidden underneath.

Jammed under the driver's seat was an old, disused guitar. Kane loved music, and had a guitar of his own. But now, he would never see it again. His find however, made him hoot with excitement and joy as he struggled to retrieve the stringed instrument. In but a short while, he had success and couldn't wait to show Mike. Kane set off back down the way he'd came, inspecting and testing the guitar as he went.

***

Mike was halfway through his final kata when he heard Kane come running back into the cave, positively beaming with excitement and holding out his new found instrument. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that, other than age, there was nothing wrong with this instrument. As Mike looked at the guitar, Kane related the story as to how he'd found this guitar. The young mouse concluded his tale and Mike smiled.

"This is awesome mate. Glad it makes you happy." Mike said and handed the guitar back. "Now, let's see if you can play as good as you cook."

Kane was too happy to oblige "You're on!" he said.

Setting up a steady beat, Kane played out a small introduction on his guitar and started to sing. Recognising the tune, Mike joined in as well.

Day after day I'm more confused Yet I look for the light through the pouring rain You know that's a game that I hate to lose And I'm feeling the strain Ain't it a shame

Give me the Beat Boys and free my soul I wanna get lost in your rock 'n roll and drift away Oh..Give me the Beat Boys and free my soul I wanna get lost in your rock 'n roll and drift away.

Beginning to think that I'm wasting time I don't understand the things I do The world outside looks so unkind I'm countin' on you To carry me through...OH...

Give me the Beat Boys and free my soul I wanna get lost in your rock 'n roll and drift away Yeah!..Give me the Beat Boys and free my soul I wanna get lost in your rock 'n roll and drift away.

When my mind is free You know a melody can move me When I'm feeling blue The guitar is coming through to soothe me...

Thanks for the joy that your giving me I want you to know I believe in your song Rythem and Rhyme and Harmony You've helped me along Making me strong....OH!...

Give me the Beat Boys and free my soul I wanna get lost in your rock 'n roll and drift away Give me the Beat Boys and free my soul I wanna get lost in your rock 'n roll and drift away OH....Give me the Beat Boys and free my soul I wanna get lost in your rock 'n roll and drift away OH...Give me the Beat Boys and free my soul I wanna get lost in your rock 'n roll and drift away Now, now, now, wont ya Wont ya take me, oh...take me

As Kane played the final notes, Mike smiled and asked if Kane knew of any other songs. His young friend smiled and struck up yet another tune. Together, they sang into the night having fun trying to remember words to songs of the past.