Curly was in the truck's driver seat watching Cpt Myer's men and volunteers move in a concerted motion guided by the Captain's hand signals. Volunteers followed vetrans. Just moments before Myers closed his pinscher movements about the hut suspected of holding the three females captured by the Dyaks. Just seconds before his intended attack, shots rang out from behind him, from Grier on the heavy machine gun Sgt.Bilko called a light weapon, and from Curly with his machine gun. Hearing the shots the two Dyak guards ran out of the hut to the screams of Sister Mildred from within. Sadly for the two guards, they ran into a killing field that Lt. Jones just managed first to splurt out "Fire!" It was that quick and soon the three bedraggled women were being helped out of the hut towards the truck Curley had started. Grier said " Captains, There's at least a dozen of them coming our way. Remember those five Singaporean businessmen that left us treking back along our crash path, where we jettisoned all the heavy cargo. I think the Dyaks have maybe three of them hostage. I only got a glimpse but they seemed to be burdened down heavily with some of those cargo bags you Captain Wentworth said to ditch. And ditch them we did which Lt Jones witnessed." Jones nods and says. "We ditched three heavy green canvas bags locked with padlocks, Sirs..". Myers half listened and had his men take hidden positions, with Curly repositioning the truck and Sgt Bilko following his Captain's orders to the men. Lt Jones was helping the three freed women onto the truck and commanding the rear actions. There was little action to the rear except for a Shaman doing a curse dance towards us as Grier saw through the binoculars. "Bugger that" said someone and the Shaman's head exploded in a red mist. "Wasn't me" said Lt. Jones with his sighted hunting rifle. "See", clicking away on his rifle, "bullet's still in its breach?"
Jessica found a damaged pen amongst the luggage in the wreckage, she also found a notebook, just want I need, she thought. She then went around all the passengers and took their names and next of kin details. She reported to the Captain with her list, then she thought about trying to salvage some of the luggage from the wreckage. Grier, shouted Jessica, could you help me with some suitcases from the wreckage.....
Just as Jones and Curly were preparing to leave the village a group of about 10 Dyak men returned and started shouting when they saw the two soldiers only to be met by a withering spray of bullets. Only one native had time to throw his spear which failed to find its mark before he too was cut down. "You animals, said Jones. This is for the terror you put three of our survivors thru and the disgusting way you mutilated the Malay rescue team". With job done,Jones and Curly jumped into the back as Grier started the beat up old army truck then pointed it in the direction of the plane...
"Certainly Jessica" said Grier who roused some passengers to help too. It gave them something to do and took their minds off the situation.
Jessica and Grier started to rummage through the suitcases, they were battered and dirty but otherwise intact. Grier had a pair of pliers and tore off the locks as Jessica went through them. It kept them busy for a while, then just as they were about to open another one the Captain shouted for everyones attention..... Ladies and gentlemen, I think you have the right to know that we could be in imminent danger.... The Captains announcement caused a stir, people were shouting and wanting to know exactly what the Captain meant.....
Like almost everyone else Grier stood and paid attention to his Captain's utterance. He shussed a few. "Look" Captain Wentworth proclaimed pointing at a seething red mass of ants coming our way. Dr Kildare looked too."Move away that way now, everyone. Carry the wounred" bellowed our Air Captain Wentworth with orders here and there to expedite our wounded from the wave of killer ants fast approaching.
Meanwhile a Dr Livingwood said that fire or petrol would thwart the Ants ... and so Captain Myers leapt into action ordering his men and all able bodied passengers to create a big team and all else to collect aviation fuel from a tap Grier had previously made. It was fast and furious stuff with Grier and Curly getting soaked in the fuel as they rapidly filled up all sorts of containers to chuck accross vegetation and ground to turn that surging red tide of Ants. Captains Wentworth and Myers, Lieutenant Jones and Sergeant Bilkco were in the thick of it directing the barriers of aviation fluid. "No Naked Flames" roared Cpt Myers after listening more to Dr Livingwood in his ear. He yelled at a Nurse nearby trying to light a cigarette to NOT! Stubbed out quick smart it was. With ant bites aplenty and petrol rashes burning into the already inflamed skins, Army Captain Myers said "Well, I think they're gone. We didn't need to ignite our fuel wall as it was enough to turn the Ant Rampage. So let's leave that petrol soaked wall of undergrowth for if we need it. It'll eventually evaporate, but not tonight." Myers went on: "Lieutenant Jones has made out a duty roster for our little Camp to get by. Please use...., and use the army shovel provided. Contact had been reestablished with Kuching Airport and now a contingent of their mobile armed forces are on their way to us. They have asked if we can clear a flat landing spot for a Rescue Helicopter to land in, for the worst injured.. Also to use flares to show our position".
As temperatures cooled in the late afternoon Co-Pilot Ben put together a work team of still fit and strong eager volunteers to clear a patch of Jungle for a helicopter to land. Kildare still had two highly critical patients, the third had just died. With few appropiate cutting tools it was a hard chore but no-one complained and Jessica led a group of women and older men dragging away felled vegetation. Co pilot Ben had picked a good level semi clearing just 200m away. The soldiers bayonets were the main tool used in chopping away vegetation, thick bushes, small trees, ... Two men in shifts per one sharp bayonet. The pace was very fast helped by a rich old Singaporean Chinese man called Nog, who owned a string of Butcher shops and keen on buying Aussie Beef. He and his son Simon were sharpening blades fast with deft skills. Nog's luggage with his Butcher tools had been spared and he dished his best knives out as needed to cut vegetation or to Dr Kildare to cut flesh. Co-Pilot Ben used his Aviation skills to find and set up an appropriate heli-pad and thanked Nog for his help in chopping out a helipad landing. Nog's wife Rose was under Dr Kildare's care with a badly broken leg. Kildare wanted her evacuated asap. Soon Nog was chopping too teaching men how to do it best. Simon, his son kept sharpening long bayonets franiically with tears in his eyes. When ahead of sharpening blades Simon, Nog's 17 year old son, joined in with a flurry of two blades, one in each hand. Like a buzz saw for ten whole minutes before taking a drink. Ben then thanked Simon, Nog's son and gave orders afresh to his "Two-To-One Blade" crew as someone jested. It stuck. Chopping, chopping, Nog with just a piece of string gave instructions about some high spots that needed digging, and some low spots. Ben knew to trust Nog, his wife was dying without the air lift. High spots went to bulk up the patche's lowspots. Compacting was helped by getting all, if possible, dancing on the landing pad. Scraped and inspected by Nog and CoPilot Ben. "Better than Heathrow" said Ben dripping in muddy sweat collapsing in a plane's ripped out seat. Dr Livingwood and two helpers kept a sharp eye on the Ants progress, and occassionally spreading more aviation fuel from make shift containers to direct the Ants away from the Survivors broken plane and encampment. Dr Kildare had volunteers rearrange the interior of the crashed plane turning it into a makeshift medical ward for the most injured. A shovel was used to pry seats off their fixtures and put outside. Captain Wentworth was finally fast asleep in his wrecked Cockpit seat, next to the piercing branch that went impaing betwern him and Ben. Harry the radio navigator had it flap past him as it crashed into the Cockpit's door. All knew Cpt Wentworth needed a sleep given his tireless efforts so far. One patient had died during the day sending Kildare and his nurses into a frenzy of activity. Then quiet. A stoic silence.
Jessica was terrified at the mention of red ants, she'd heard tales of how they could crawl over a sleeping person and eat them alive, she needed to find a safe place to sleep off the ground and away from the trees. Maybe the captain would allow them to have a fire lit all night to ward them off. So Jessica needed to collect sticks and anything that would burn, so she set off to collect anything of the kind.
With all able bodied passengers and crew chipping in the area was cleared for the make shift helipad by mid afternoon. Just then a weary Jessica approached the Captain and in an excited manner asked him if he had any plans to ward off the approaching killer red ants. He said he had asked Grier, Ben and two soldiers to find their largest population and 'burn the hell out of them'.Jessica also made it clear she felt having a fire lit all nite may deter any escaping ants. The Captain agree and permitted her request. killer ants approaching the plane.
Having had a quick snooze and a bite of food Grier agreed with the Captains to put a party together, a party led by Captain Myers to counter the attack Killer Red Ant hoard. ......'pity we don' have any flame throwers said Myers and all looked at Grier obviously deep in thought. 'Dr Kildare broke the silence, "Can you aquire oil like you did with the jet fuel?" Grier? Grier, replied, " Yes Doctor, Yes Sir, I always carry about 200L of mixed blends of oil for emergencies.", even much more if I drain the engines, "Good man, " said Cpt. Wentworth. 'Why the oil Doctor?' who explained about Greek fire, Petrol bombs, Napalm, ... Myers nodded slowly. Grier suggested ways to make sticky petrol with oil, which Kildare said to double the Oil ratio. 'Yes Doctor, will do, thank you". Myers was rightly keen to put paid to the danger of the Ant Horde now they'd started building a large nest only 150m from the Survivors' encampment and near the midst of the plane wreck. Not good, Two Foragering teams were sent out with 2 soldiers per team happy to shoot some native mammal to cook, volunteers were lent pistols, .... Many strong passenger volunteers, including some giant Rugby players were happy to acknowlege the leaderships shown by the two captains , Flight crew, Chief Steward Jessica, Lt Jones, Dr Kildare, ... Kildare insisted on a mass burial dug pit to bury the dead from the crash, and to preserve bodies for later forensic teams.One of the passengers was a Catholic Priest ???? who said some very kind words. Photos were taken with details of ID from Jessica's flight passengers' log and records made of their bagged cargo.of their ma It was up to Engineer Grier and Captain Myers to figure out a strategy to send those Ants to Oblivion. Their chosen helipad area was only 160m from the Ant Horde, and it was agreed on a pro active approach with Captain Wentworth first tabling the idea. Army Captain Myers immediately agreed saying we had to eliminate the immanent danger to both our camp and our cleared helipad. "Both vital assets". he said. "Wats an Ass-ert" whispered Curly Radio Harry on the blower had sent out our predicament to all and sundry using Sgt Bilko's radio in the tree idea. Even slung on a long cord rope on a pully Grier had thought of. It still puzzeled Grier how Bilko seemed to make such Sundries out of thin air. He was a Motor Pool Quarter Master tho, with ways and obviosly many means, (a good man to know) with a side-kick Oil Monkey 'Jimmy' who only joined up to get out of jail. Lt Jones and Cprl Jimmy kept giving each other the evil eye. Grier looked the other way at Harry waiting to cut in to say "Rescue teams on the ways Sirs, local, Darwin, some secret place in WA, Buttersworth and somewhere in the Northern territory. Tindale? ?
Forget the oil, we have crates of liquor that somehow survived the crash. Make molotov cocktails. How soon before the rescue chopper arrives as we have to have the injured ready to be put aboard as soon as it touches down. Plus having these blasted ants bearing down on us that needs to be expedited.
I cannot bring myself to waste good spirits on Ants Captain. Joking, I'm onto it Sir. Myers is about to attack the Ants with a team all covered up well for the ant bites. Harry reckons an Army chopper will arrive in a few hours from Butterworth.
Dont fret Grier I am keeping the Irish whiskey just for you.. and myself as a matter of fact as it is my favorite whiskey after JD Tennessee Honey that is. A touch of frivolity among so much tension seemed to calm the two men. Tell Myers and his team to get onto those cocktails pronto then leave. Good that Myers has sent out a scout to determine the extent of the army and if there is only the one on the march and not more.. as ants are intelligent creatures and are apt to have divisions coming from different directions. Meanwhile we will clear undergrowth from around the plane and make our own cocktails in preparation for any alternate armies.
GUYS, shouted Jessica, we can use the aerosol items from the luggage to make blow torches. Jessica knew it was dangerous but it had to be done to kill of the red ants so she got to work rummaging through the suitcases and looking for hairspray, deodorants,body sprays, anything that could be used as a makeshift blowtorch. Jessica found numerous aerosol cans and reported back to the Captain, who was pleased with her efforts. At least they could now ward off any escaping red ants themselves. The mood within the group had changed, everyone was now chipping in and doing their bit to survive, it made Jessica feel proud that she was among this even though she was terrified.....