Vivian had left; she’d taken Willy’s hand and they were small figures in the distance walking along the dusty road on some errand. Another mum hustled her toddler towards Zac, and Ava wondered if all the mothers would bring their children to see the doctor. Zac would enjoy that and the mums would be pleased to have any concerns clarified by him.

They’d seen most of the small children and had begun preparing to leave when the roar of a motorbike made them look up. The motorbike skidded to a halt beside them and the boy riding it gasped, ‘Viv, on the road! She needs the doctor now!’ He waved his hand behind him. ‘I didn’t see him.’

‘What happened?’ Zac voice was calm but firm.

The boy gulped, his eyes wild. ‘Willy. His arm. I hit him with the bike.’ His big dark eyes pleaded with Ava to understand. ‘I didn’t see him. He ran out.’

Ava scooped up the first-aid kit they’d just packed. ‘We’ll go. I know it was an accident,’ said Ava quietly. ‘Go find Willy’s dad and ask him to come and help Viv.’

The young man looked terrified at the thought; Ava didn’t blame him. ‘Can you find an elder and they might go with you?’ The boy nodded, relief clear in his eyes, and he took off at a run, leaving his motorbike on its side in the dirt.

Ava took off at a brisk pace towards the vehicle with Zac close behind her. A couple of kilometres down the road they found Viv kneeling in the dirt clutching Willy to her chest and they pulled over next to her.

Willy lay in his mother’s arms, a red welt crossing his thigh where the bike tyres had caught him, his mouth wide as he hollered his distress and thrashed. One thin arm lay obviously damaged across his chest, and every time Willy moved it he screamed louder. Zac’s eyes met Ava’s as he nodded at it.

Zac eased Willy from his mother as they knelt beside her, careful not to move the arm, and lay the screaming child down on the ground in front of them to quickly assess him. Zac’s big hands ran gently across the child’s stomach and thighs, the latter causing a shudder from the little boy as he pulled away, but the main damage seemed to be from Willy putting out his arm to protect himself.

‘His arm needs looking at, but the rest should be fine in a few days, Vivian,’ Zac soothed her. ‘Though he needs to be taken into Alice. You can see it’s out of shape.’

Viv sobbed a croaking agreement.

‘Zac and I will bind his arm to his chest, get the RFDS to come pick him up, and they’ll set his arm when he gets there.’