Ezekiel's head turned as he heard rustling and thumping coming from just off the trail signalling yet another mob of kangaroos or wallabies ahead. All the animals he had seen or heard today had been acting strangely. Usually the kangaroos at the national park were relaxed enough around people, that you could get within several metres before they started to react to somebody's presence, used to all the people that visited Wilsons Promontory National Park for a chance to see the Australian wildlife in their natural habitat.
He had come late october and was planning to spend a week camping before work started to get crazy leading up to Christmas. The weather was usually just starting to warm up without it being too hot outside yet or without it being packed with tourists and other campers like the summer months were. He had checked the weather in the weeks leading up to his camping trip and despite some cloud cover the weather should be good. Ezekiel was using this time to unwind and destress to help him get through the Christmas rush.
Despite the near perfect conditions for his trip he still felt uneasy about his trip since he had got up that morning. He had woken with a splitting headache which he had hoped would go away after taking some medicine and drinking plenty of water. It had helped but only marginally.
Even the drive out had set him on edge. The animals he drove past were acting strangely, the livestock he drove past were either running around in the paddocks or huddled together in the corners with heads held high reacting to the noise of his car as if expecting danger rather than the normal slow, uncaring attitude they seemed to have while eating grass. He also saw more kangaroos hopping near the road which he usually wouldn’t have seen till he arrived at the park, despite knowing they could be found in the area; they were most often seen around dusk or dawn. Not the late morning when he was driving. Even the birds were reacting to the slightest noise, quickly taking flight into the air when they heard the sound of his car.
It was starting to make him nervous thinking of all the documentaries he had seen that talked about how animals often reacted first to earthquakes or volcanic eruptions before people did. Ezekiel wasn’t too concerned about earthquakes or eruptions due to the few volcanoes that were in Australia being dormant or extinct. Australia was also near any tectonic plates making earthquakes uncommon and weak when they did occur. While he had experienced several tremors in his life, they usually rattled the windows for a couple of seconds and that was about all that happened.
Ezekiel considered whether a storm might be blowing in. It was unlikely with him keeping an eye on the weather forecast leading up to this trip but was still a slim possibility. Once he got to the top of Mount Oberon he would hopefully be able to get some reception to confirm the weather report. If it was going to storm he would rather wait it out at the carpark near the store and ranger station than be stuck halfway to his campsite hungry, wet and cold in a sudden change of weather. He was here to relax and enjoy himself and his time away from people, not spend it shivering and wet in a hastily constructed tent.
He was just approaching the top of Mount Oberon when a single wallaby came jumping out of the bushes startling him. It almost felt like the animal had been waiting for him to get close before jumping out but it was just acting as all the other animals he had seen today had been, hiding or running.
Reaching the top he took off his heavy backpack and hat, placing them on the ground grateful for the break before continuing the hike. It was a relief to take off the backpack, he was reasonably fit, going to the gym several times a week but the backpack with all his camping supplies would still be relatively heavy no matter how fit he was and he had just walked up the mountain which while not the steepest or largest mountain still added to the burden of carrying the pack.
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After running his hands through his short red hair, he shielded his blue eyes from the sun that had just peaked out from behind some cloud cover. He took a moment to look out and enjoy the view of the National Park that was the most southern point of mainland Australia, and the ocean that disappeared over the horizon.
Wishing the lingering headache would disappear already, Ezekiel took out his phone. Checking that he definitely had reception, he looked up the weather report which still showed the same as the days leading up to his camping trip, cloudy for a few days before clearing.
Before putting his phone away Ezekiel considered whether he should take a picture of the view or not. It wasn’t his first time nor would it be his last time at this spot and he nearly always considered the same thing. He was never quite able to capture the view as it truly was on a camera or his phone and trying to get the perfect shot took away from his experience of it. Not that there weren’t amazing photos taken by talented people out there but he was not one of those people. He had always tried to imprint the views and the important moments of his life in his memory.
Ezekiel sat enjoying the view for several minutes feeling like his problems with work were disappearing as he looked out and took in the moment, just wishing his headache had cleared. Picking up his pack, he set off down Mount Oberon towards his campsite. He still had a couple hours to go before reaching it and he wanted to be able to relax sooner rather than later, especially after carrying his pack all that way and setting up his tent.
He had barely started walking down the path when all the birds in the surrounding bushland created an almost deafening amount of noise and took flight. Massive flocks of a wide variety of birds creating chaos in the air. Soon after, he heard animals rustling and moving in the surrounding bushland. While none seemed to be moving towards him at the moment he was sure he would still have them cross his path sooner or later with the way the day had been going.
The feeling of tension came flooding back after the sudden noise and flight of the birds. Despite his logical mind assuring him there was no immediate danger he still felt the need to get out of there as quickly as possible. He had always been observant and good with animals, quick to pick up on their behaviour and reactions. Seeing the way the animals had been acting all day had been setting him on edge. Now seeing them all react, close to the same time, was enough of a warning for him. If animals were acting strangely it was usually a good sign to get out of the area before whatever was going to happen, happened.
He had been heading back for a few minutes when he heard a rumble, like distant thunder which slowly got louder building into a deafening roar till it felt like his eardrums would burst. Suddenly the noise cut off, making him wonder if his eardrums had burst due to the sudden lack of noise, but then realised he could still hear the birds screeching high in the sky.
A few seconds passed before he saw trees in the distance begin to move as if caught in a mighty gust of wind. Ezekiel started sprinting down the path, if the weather was going to be this extreme and unpredictable, then he didn’t want to be caught out in the open or in the middle of the forest. He wanted to be either inside a building or his car.
The wind hit him just after he started to run down the path. He didn’t feel like he was getting blown back by the wind, but when it hit, he felt as if all his strength had been taken away, his body just couldn’t move forward despite how much he willed it too. It was like he had hit the wall when exercising at the gym despite his mind being willing, his body couldn’t go further. It was with shock that he felt an overwhelming rush of energy flood through his body as he felt both exhausted and more alive than he ever had in his life. With this contradictory feeling running through his mind and body, he collapsed backward into unconsciousness.
