The road was now wide and covered with calcrete. Creamy, tan dust streamed out behind them as they picked up speed. The four-wheel drive travelled a straight course, apart from the occasional dodging of dust-filled potholes. When Benjamin unavoidably hit one the whole vehicle shuddered and complained as fine dust flew up all around it like a miniature
explosion.
‘Darned bulldust. Time they fixed this road,’ Benjamin’s complained aloud. The surface of the road was formed from small, white pebbles, nodules of calcrete, that battered metal under the base and mudguards of the vehicle. It made the noise inside the Land Rover even more intense, competing with the roar of the engine.
The Land Rover kept heading west. Eventually Katherine could contain her anxiety no longer. ‘When do we head to Ceduna? We’ve been going west for ages.’
‘I guess ya’d better know. We ain’t goin’ to Ceduna.’
‘What! Not going? We must. I —’
Benjamin continued as if Katherine had not interjected. ‘I ‘ad me a vision from God in the night. Showed me he’d sent me a woman ta be me wife, like the Bible says, to be a soul mate unto me. An’ I’ve decided ya’d make me a good wife.’
‘You can’t. I mean this is —’
‘Don’ worry. I’ll take good care of ya an’ the bubs. We’re goin’ home, our home.’
Katherine looked at him in shocked silence. ‘I have a home. Please, listen to me —’
‘Ya got a new home. Ya gunna be me wife, just like them Benjamites, an’ I’m a Benjamin. God put ya there for me ta find. Why else was ya there, in the middle of nowhere jist like in me vision? There ya was! Ya ain’t no virgin but I’ll take the bubs as well, like it’s me own kid, so it’s okay.’
Through this Katherine had listened, mouth open and eyes wide, staring out the horror she felt. She screamed her interruption. ‘OKAY! OKAY! What do you mean, it’s okay? Are you absolutely mad?’ She shouted her objections. ‘I’m already married. I mean, you can’t do this, just pick up someone and say they’re going to be a wife for you! As if some vision from God makes it okay!’
Benjamin said nothing and just stared at the road.
Katherine forced herself to act more calmly even as the knot in her stomach tightened. ‘Listen, Alec’ll be in Ceduna organising help for our Kombi. When he sees I’m not there he’ll get a police search and they find us.’
Benjamin ignored her and kept driving.
‘Turn around right now and take me to Ceduna. Or back to the Kombi. Or … or just leave me here on the road and I’ll hitch with a truckie. We’ll forget about this nonsense —’ Katherine made a grab at the steering wheel.
‘Leave off an’ shut up, woman,’ Benjamin shouted as he steadily pulled the wheel back to stop the vehicle from going into a skid. Once steady he wrenched her hand off. ‘Don’ try that agin, woman, or it’ll be the worse for ya, even if we don’ crash.’
Katherine started to cry. ‘Please, please, I beg of you. Take us back.’
‘We can’t go back. I’ve decided. No. No, not me. God decided. Like what it says in the Bible. ‘If ya see a beautiful woman an’ desire to her, an’ would take her for ya wife, then ya can bring her home to ya house, an’ she will shave her head an’ cut her nails.’ The tone of his voice changed again while he quoted. His preaching voice.
Katherine was too surprised and confused at what he said to interrupt.
He continued. ‘She will take off the clothes of her captivity, remain in ya house a full month. Then ya can go to her an’ be her husband an’ if she pleases ya, she can be ya wife. An’ I reckon I’se gunna be real pleased with ya!’ He turned and smiled benevolently at her as if expecting she would be pleased.
‘But that’s ancient times! You can’t do that today. I am not some captive. I am already married with a husband and have a child. You can’t do this. It’s crazy. It’s criminal. It’s kidnapping. I’m not just property. Turn around right now.’
‘The Bible is the word of God. Its word is true today just as in ancient times. God’s word don’t change. Everyone knows that. God sent you for me because I’m a righteous man. An’ I’m Benjamin. The word don’t change with time. I need a wife an’ I asked God send me one. An’ he did jist like I asked.’
Katherine argued, begged and screamed. She tried everything but Benjamin kept driving. She cried, she pleaded for herself, for the sake of the baby, for Alec. Carolyn was clearly distressed at the behaviour of her mother and set up a sympathetic wail. She cried long and loudly, so long that eventually her sobbing ceased and her breath came in disjointed little gulps. Katherine initially ignored her in her own distress and fear as she screamed at Benjamin. Eventually her baby’s distress penetrated her own so she tried to soothe her but it had little impact. She tried to use the baby’s distress as a reason for Benjamin to stop and turn around but he remained immovable.
After what seemed like an age it became clear to Katherine that she was not going to change his strange belief that somehow God had chosen her to be a wife for him. Perhaps when he stopped for fuel she would be able to escape. Her mind started planning even as she soothed her unhappy baby. At last Carolyn exhausted herself and sobbed silently, catching her breath in little hiccups.
They drove on with only the clatter and noise of the road. Alongside the road were numerous truck tyres, victims of the harsh road surface. Some had been placed at the edges to mark boundaries. It was just as well because in some parts there was little to distinguish the road from the surrounding desert stretching endlessly to the horizon. Katherine held her baby protectively close to her chest. Every now and again a truck roared past on its way eastwards and Benjamin raised his finger briefly from the steering wheel in silent and time-honoured outback greeting from one travelling stranger to another. Katherine hoped that the passing driver would notice her distressed demeanour as she mouthed the word ‘help’ through the windshield.
About mid-morning Benjamin pulled over into a truck rest stop that was devoid of any semi-trailers. He switched off the engine and the silence, after the noise of the road, was eerie. Katherine opened her door and, grabbing Carolyn, started to run. Benjamin took his time to leisurely exit the vehicle, pocketing the keys. By the time he did so Katherine and her bundle were halfway to the highway. Benjamin took after her and, in spite of his apparent bulk, soon caught up. Leaning forward he grabbed her by her streaming hair and quietly said, ‘Goin’ somewhere, woman?’
Katherine stopped. Not so much because of the pain in her scalp but because of fear she might drop Carolyn. Angrily she screamed, ‘Let go, you bastard. Let me go!’
‘Sure.’ Benjamin released his grip. Katherine rubbed her head and glared at him through eyes watering from anger and pain.
‘Jist don’ go runnin’ off. Come back, and ya can feed bubs, have a piss an’ a drink an’ I’ll fill up.’