Three more shots, then Leon heard him reloading. Now it was time to go. If Kurt came into the forest, he would be an easy target. But how to shift without drawing attention?

Kurt moved first and continued along the track, passing just a few metres away. On his back, Leon squinted into the falling rain, almost hysterical with relief. His hands were trembling and his chest was tight, his nerves shredded. He crawled uphill, dodging sticks and rustling through grass.

Then he slipped and fell on a branch with a sudden sharp snap. Through the tumbling rain he heard the thud of running footsteps on the track—Kurt was onto him.

A loud crash pinpointed the moment Kurt plunged into the bush. Then a volley of gunshots hit a tree trunk just downslope. The wallaby startled from its hiding place, scarpering frantically along a runway to Leon’s right, hind legs beating the ground. Kurt veered Leon’s way.

Frantic, Leon scrambled uphill, pushing through clumps of grass that raked his neck and flayed his hands. He managed to stay ahead and out of sight while Kurt cast back and forth, firing into patches of undergrowth. Each rifle crack made Leon flinch.

As Kurt progressed uphill, Leon started down again, staying low over rocks and fallen logs, nests of sticks and grass. Ahead the bush thinned; he saw an opening and drove himself towards it. He was noisy now, relying on a delay before Kurt broke after him.

Then he was out on the track. But he’d come too far! Past where he’d parked the Toyota. And Kurt was following fast.

He bolted along the trail. No one could catch him on the footy field, and he had never had more motivation than now. The only thing he couldn’t beat was a bullet.

The tall tree loomed ahead, Miki’s tree. But Kurt’s ute was parked on the track, and there was no way Leon could get the Toyota around it. He was gutted—he would have to go bush again.

Then it occurred to him to check Kurt’s car in case he’d left the keys behind. He jerked open the door. The keys were in the ignition. With racing heart, he clambered in and turned the key, and the engine roared to life. But he had no choice other than to drive towards Kurt and the gun; the Toyota and trailer were blocking the track in the other direction.

Leon shoved the ute into reverse and swung it round so he could get the hell out of there. Grinding it into first, he revved the engine, his foot slipping off the clutch. The ute jerked forward, and he crunched it into the next gear, gaining speed. He rounded a corner.