I don't think we're in Nambour anymore

A rusty old Discovery bounced along the worn out road, winding between the rolling hills and deep valleys of the hinterland. The sun began to set in the west, trees casting long shadows, light catching the plumes of dust that surrounded the vehicle.

Inside were three friends on a mission, two in the front and one in the back who was holding on for dear life as the corners became tighter as they embarked on their final descent.

In the front was a man in a hoodie, headphones in, eyes straight ahead. He was in the zone, a quiet calm, while the other occupants shouted to one another.

"Are we still in Nambour?" said the young woman in the back, balancing a laptop in one hand and a phone in the other, tracking a map.

"Yes, but we're close to the limit." Said the man driving, leaning over the steering wheel to look to the sky above.

The man in the hoodie was rocking side to side with the motions of the car, not bracing himself as they went over potholes and skid around corners.

He was the last of his bloodline and had been waiting his whole life for this moment.

Shaved head, a rounded face with a large, flat nose and piercing hazel eyes. He was lean, a lightweight boxer who didn't like to lose, and rarely did. Countless faded tattoos lined his brown skin, he wore only black and looked scary as hell.

"We're here, pull over to the right." the young woman said softly, looking to the man in black.

"Volta," the driver clapped the passenger on the shoulder, "it's time. Don't fuck it up."

Volta slid the driver a look and was out of the car in the blink of an eye, backpack slung over his shoulder, Wu-Tang blasting in his ears.

"Is he going to be alright?" the young woman watched as Volta disappeared between a strand of trees.

The driver laughed.

"A black man walks into the forest at night to find the enchanted water he heard about from a woman who visited him in a vision," he shook his head, "I can't really see how it could go wrong."

They slid down low in their seats, eyes fixed on the gap where Volta disappeared, waiting.

The last of the sunlight filtered down through the canopy above, birds saying their final words for the day.

Volta took his headphones out and shoved them into his pocket, picking up speed as the path inclined before him.

Kookaburras laughed overhead.

Volta stopped and looked around.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

They didn't answer.

Volta moved like he was walking into a boxing ring as he thought about the task at hand.

It was just water, he just had to get some water from a cave.

It was simple, right?

A sharp cliff face loomed ahead, shining brightly in the darkness as it reflected the last of the setting sun. A small opening sat dead center to the path, Volta didn't think twice as he strode inside, not needing to wait for his eyes to adjust to the pitch black.

It was cold, damp and musty. Water had been sitting stagnant for months between rainfall.

A soft light came from further ahead, just around the corner.

Volta froze.

There shouldn't be anyone else in here.

He shrugged, putting his headphones back in, changing the track to A Tribe Called Quest.

He rounded the corner.

A man was standing looking away at the edge of the light.

Volta delivered a single hit to his neck with an open hand.

The man crumpled to the ground.

Volta shook off the white man vibes as he picked up the pace.

Another man in a suit was up ahead.

He pulled something out from his pocket as he raced towards Volta.

Another open-handed hit to the side of the head, wack!

With a punch to the sternum, thump!

The man fell to the ground, revealing a figure half in shadow behind him.

Bent over the small pool of water in the middle of the cave, bottles clinking, barely visible in the low light.

Volta slid his hood off, taking his headphones out.

"Oi," his voice boomed in the small space, "hands off, it's mine."

He continued shaking his hand off as he watched the shadowy figure.

It was hurting more than usual.

The shadowy figure continued to bottle the last of the water.

"Hey!" Volta took a step forwards.

Pain seared through his entire body, coming from his skull and radiating downwards.

He tried to scream as he was brought to his knees in agony, face torn, tears streaming uncontrollably.

The shadowy figure had his hand outstretched towards Volta as if he were controlling the air.

"Wh-what?" Volta stammered.

He crawled forward on hands and knees to the shadowy figure.

"How is this happening?" he whispered, looking up into the darkness, searching for a face.

The light caught the whites of his eyes as the man peered down at Volta in shock, a surgical mask covering his nose and mouth.

His deep blue eyes grew wider as he came to his knees, grabbing Volta's face with both hands.

The pressure in Volta's head grew until he could not control it any longer.

He let out a guttural scream as the world faded from view.

Questions that were running through his mind suddenly grew distant as he attempted to hold onto reality.

Panic slipped through his fingers as he fell deep into his subconscious.

Back in the Discovery the young woman looked at the time on her phone.

It had been nearly half an hour, twice as long as it should've taken to retrieve the water.

"Should we be worried now?" she whispered.

The driver glanced at her in the rearview mirror, scratching the stubble on his chin.

"It wouldn't hurt to get out and have a look…"

They jumped out simultaneously, shooting nervous grins, not wanting to admit they were petrified.

Volta was never late.

The young woman shone the light on her phone in the direction Volta went.

"How many snakes do you think are in there?" she grimaced.

They edged towards the path, the flashlight bouncing off something reflective buried under debris on the side of the road.

The man nudged the debris off with his shoe.

"Hey, bring the light over here," he motioned, "what does this sign say?"

The young woman shone the light over the rusty green council sign.

They took a sharp breath in, standing dead still.

Welcome to Nambour! Pop. 9528

The young woman shone the light up ahead to the path, back to the sign, then to the other side of the road where an identical sign stood.

Thank you for visiting Nambour! Come again soon!

"I don't think we're in Nambour anymore." the man said through clenched teeth, terror flashing in his eyes.

The young woman gave a nervous laugh.

"I mean, what are the chances of someone else being there right now… right?" they looked at one another for a beat.

"Shit!"

They ran to the footpath, blindly stumbling through the forest, trying not to think about snakes underfoot.

The whump-whump-whump of a helicopter boomed above, the pair stopping to stare open-mouthed as it took off from the cliff top.

"Oh my god," the girl started to cry, "oh my god I killed Volta."

A firm hand clamped down on her shoulder.

She screamed.

She swung her phone light around the illuminate the haggard face of Volta.

"Not yet, but nearly." he gave a meek smile.

He looked at his friends and paused.

Blood trickled from his mouth as he turned pale.

"Is there any chance," he gasped as he sunk to his knees, "that we are not in Nambour anymore?"

He chuckled to himself, cut off by the gurgling of blood filling his throat and running from his nose.

"Well," he whispered to his friends standing in shock, "don't just stand there."

The friends each took an arm and dragged Volta back to the car as his eyes rolled around, unable to focus as the blood ran down his neck.

"I'm so sorry," the young woman sobbed as they propped Volta up in the back seat, "I can't believe I did that, we have to get you to a hospital."

The driver held his hand up.

"Just give it a few minutes," he said, turning the car over.

"What?" the young woman looked at him in bewilderment.

"We're back in Nambour city limits," he shot her a look, "you'll see."

Volta's eyes stopped rolling, his breathing returning to normal as he looked out the window of the car.

"Drive," he said hoarsely.

They began to wind back up the hill as the young woman stared at Volta in disbelief.

The blood had stopped flowing; colour had returned to his face.

The only remnant of the incident before was the dried blood matted to his skin.

"What happened?" asked the driver.

"Someone beat me to it." Volta rubbed his temples.

The friends grew quiet.

"It was my last chance." he looked out the window at the darkened countryside flying by.

"I don't get it," the young woman glanced at Volta, "why do you need it? Your powers are fine without it, all of ours work just fine."

Volta stared at her, eyes empty.

"It's the only way he can find his people," the driver said softly, "if his family are out there, the water will trigger their powers and he will be able to find them."

"Oh," the young woman nodded, "and that's why you have me around, right? So I can find them? Why didn't you just tell me before?"

Volta looked down.

"He didn't know if he could trust you, this was a test."

The young woman's face fell.

Volta shot her a look that said 'and you failed, big time'.

A single tear ran down her face.

"I'm so sorry," her lip trembled, "when I located the cave on a map it said it was still Nambour, I swear."

Volta looked away again.

They drove in silence for another twenty minutes, each friend deep in thought.

"We're back." said the driver pulling into the driveway of the homestead.

He jumped out first, running up the front stairs to open up the house.

"Wait," the young woman stopped Volta from leaving, "there's something else."

Volta leaned back in his seat, looking at her through hooded lids, waiting.

"Ah, well," she rubbed the back of her neck, "there might be another way."

Volta blinked, nostrils flared.

"Ah," she looked down, "well, ah, there's a chance… a really, really small chance," she held up her fingers just a centimeter apart, "that--"

Volta grabbed her fingers, eyes narrowing.

She gulped.

"There's another way," she squeaked, "but you're not going to like it."

Volta lowered his head and grinned.

"Let me guess," he said softly, "it involves white people."

The young woman clenched her teeth, flashing white against her mocha coloured skin, nodding her head.

Volta nodded his head, looking out at the homestead with lights blazing.

"Well, fuck." he breathed.