The Ghost of Benanee

"Why?"

"You'll see. I guarantee you'll like it." Daz rummaged in the back of her car and came back with a bottle of Tequila and a salt shaker. "Hoist your top up and close your eyes. Don't worry, there's no one around."

"I dunno Daz. Public nudity is more Jo's thing than mine." Vicky frowned and quickly looked around. Not seeing anyone, she relented. "Ok, but whatever you plan, do it quick."

Daryl grinned and lightly kissed her forehead. When she was sure Vicky's eyes were shut, she gently rubbed one of her friend's pretty rose pink inverted nipples. As expected, the nipple didn't rise, but her areola puckered up, making the inversion more prominent. "Stay still and don't open your eyes," she ordered.

Vicky squirmed as she felt something being sprinkled on her body, then squeaked when a cold dribble of liquid hit her skin. Daryl's tongue quickly licked around whatever had been sprinkled, then her eyes flew open when Daz's lips surrounded her nipple and sucked hard. She looked into her friend's eyes and smiled. "Oh, that's nice. Jo's really corrupted us, you know?"

Daryl winked and explored the hollow with her tongue. She applied as much suction as she could and grunted happily when she felt Vicky's teat rise to her. After a minute, Daz let go and watched the nub slowly sink back. "There you go. We just need to do more nipple shots on you." She kissed the other boob and said, "Didn't want that one to feel left out. I'll do her tomorrow when there's definitely no one around."

"Sounds good to me." Vicky pulled her top down and sat back in her chair to finish her dinner. "You know, two years ago if someone had said I'd have a couple of women sucking my boobs and tickling my fancy, I'd have laughed and laughed and laughed."

"True," Daz said, sitting in her own chair. "My vag has never had so much fun since I met you guys. Lesbian games wasn't ever on my list of things to do."

"Same. Anyway, what's the plan for tomorrow? You've been a bit vague on that."

"I want to start at the end of the line at Lette and work up along the old railway formation towards here. I'd like to explore each station site, but I have to look at the old pump station site at Dry Lake. There looks to be an old concrete structure there that should be interesting." Daz chewed on a sausage, then took a sip of her beer. "Try and find the station and in-ground tank sites, photograph the area with the drone, and see if we can find any artefacts from the construction crews or settlers."

"Early start, I guess?"

Daryl nodded. "Fraid so. I'd like to be gone by seven. There's a lot of area to cover."

===

Riverina Recorder 26 Jan 1929

'Benanee'

The Poet may rave o'er his love's flowing tresses,

Her lily-white hand, or her beaming blue eye

The maiden may sigh for her lover's caresses

At the close of the day, when the gloaming is nigh.

The miser may gloat o'er his close hoarded treasure,

As he fondles the moneybags piled on his knee

But for me, all I ask is a moment of leisure

To sing of the beauties of blue Benanee.

I have watched on the crags as the first streak of dawning

Was fainting the peaks in its ruddiest hue;

I have roamed the wild mountains as mists of the morning

Have hidden the sweet smiling valley from view.

I have sailed 'neath the tropical night starry splendour,

Out to mystical regions beyond the dark sea

Still, there's no spot on earth can such feelings engender

As my shack by the waters of wide Benanee

There is everything here that a man may desire,

And like 'Khayam,' there's shelter beneath the green bough.

There are fields to be cleared, there are forests to fire,

But there's wealth for the fellow who'll follow the plow

And if kindly Dame Fortune will send us a season,

With the plenteous rains that we're hoping to see ;

And abundance of grain, then I know of no reason

To regret having settled beside Benanee:

ALF L'HOTELLIER,

Lake Benanee, 1928

===

(Riverina Recorder 13 Jul 1929 - Benanee News

Approximately 4000 acres are under crop at Benanee settlement. The early sown crops are well up but an early downpour of rain Is urgently required to ensure a good germination and to freshen up the crops now above ground.)

The sun beat down relentlessly. Vicky was glad it was still technically spring. The forecast was sunny with a top of 27C, but without a hint of a breeze it was oppressively hot. She tried to find some shade, but the stunted mallee scrub wasn't tall or dense enough to provide any help. Daryl looked like she was having fun, though. They'd driven to the end of the proposed railway at Lette where the irrigation construction team had constructed a clay lined in-ground water tank nearly one hundred years ago. It was clearly visible on the aerial imagery, and Daz figured it should be close to the station site.

"Who on earth thought this was a good area to farm?" Vicky yelled to Daryl. "It's so dry. I haven't heard one bird or even seen an insect. Not that I'm complaining about that."

Daz looked up from photographing a small timber railway culvert and grinned. "Don't talk too soon. Bugs will probably come out at night. Yeah, Victoria opened up similar country to this, so New South thought this area would boom. I think the settlers were just unlucky with the timing of everything." She pointed to the stubble covered paddock behind them. "It looks like these farmers are now doing ok."

Vicky decided to forgo the minimal shade and have a closer look at the paddock. "So this is wheat? Nice to know where my bread comes from." She picked up a fist sized rock and held it up. "Any idea why just this area has all this white rock?"

"White rock? Limestone?"

"I don't know. It's a rock."

Daz hurried over and looked at the proffered stone. She then turned her attention to the paddock shimmering in the heat haze and said, "Congrats Vicky, I'd say you found the remains of the station site. I read the railway used imported limestone to build the platforms, and this looks like it."

"Huh. Well, there you go. So why is it spread everywhere?"

"My guess is the farmer decided to plough it in, and over the years it's been spread around." Daryl kissed Vicky's cheek. "Thanks for exposing yourself to the redhead's mortal enemy and finding this. I never thought to look over here. The coordinates were back towards the tank. Come on, let's head back to the car for a cold drink and I'll program the drone to fly this area. I don't think we'll find much else."

===

(Riverina Recorder 2 Nov 1929 - District Crops

The newly-settled wheat country in the Balranald and Lake Benanee districts is experiencing another unfortunate season. Following the failure of last year the newly arrived settlers are having an anxious time.)

"Glad I've got a Subie. A normal car would struggle, and a larger four wheel drive wouldn't be able to dodge these trees," Daz commented as she carefully picked her way along the barely visible railway formation.

"Glad you know where you're going. I'm lost."

Daryl chuckled and pointed to her phone stuck to the windscreen. "If I didn't have that blue line to follow, I'd be screwed. I'm hoping there's more stuff at Mylatchie. It really is in the middle of nowhere, so it's well away from the casual visitor."

"And that's where we're camping tonight?"

"Yep. Have a quick look around, then set up the tent, light a fire, and settle back. If it stays clear, it'll get cold."

"Really? I would have thought that it would stay fairly warm."

"Nope. But it's a good cold. Snuggly cold."

"Nice. I like a good snuggle."

===

(Riverina Recorder 19 Apr 1930

A special train travelled to Koorakee siding on the Benanee settlement on Thursday of last week. This is the first time a train has carried goods across the river at Robinvale.)

"Now this is a lot more promising," said Daryl as she scanned the remains of the station tank. "Fencing, some old pipework, bits of timber, and I'm sure we drove over the remains of a channel."

"You know, it's actually pretty sad. All this work, basically for nothing." Vicky got out of the car and peered north. "Looks like a concrete wall over there."

"I think you're right," Daryl said, "Nice. I'll grab the tape and my notebook, and let's go have a look. Might as well make a start."

Daryl picked up her backpack of gear and the two walked around the raised embankment of the tank.

"So what was the idea of these things?" asked Vicky.

"From what I read, each station site had one of these tanks built for communal use until the settlers built their own on their property. Problem was, the channels were cut through some pretty shitty sandy soil and the water from the pumps didn't always make it this far."

"Oh. So what did they do?"

Daryl shrugged. "Not really sure. I read a report saying the railways were trucking water to Lette, but... Hey, a beer bottle!"

Daryl slid down the shallow embankment to where a lone brown bottle lay on the ground. She knelt down and took a couple of photos. "Looks old. Real old. Maybe the crew who dug this out had their camp nearby."

"Anything else around it?"

"Can't see anything." She stood up and looked towards the scrub. "Vick, do you mind measuring that wall, while I have a look around here?"

"Sure, no worries Daz." Vicky took the tape measure and notebook and wandered over to the concrete wall. She didn't really know what she was looking at, but it was obviously important. Concrete needed water, and that wasn't something nearby. She started sketching the wall, then adding measurements like Daz had shown her. Her friend's enthusiasm had started to rub off on her, but in a different way. Daryl was naturally interested in the engineering aspects of the area, but she wondered about the lives of the settlers and why they abandoned the fledgling settlement.

Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Daryl appearing out of the scrub. "Hey Daz, I think I've finished with this one, but I can see other walls. You find anything interesting?"

"Yeah, heaps of things. This was definitely a worker's campsite. I'm going to lay out those laminated numbers so we can pick up the sites with the drone tomorrow."

Vicky's head snapped towards the voice. "What? Where are you?"

"Here. Behind you. Why?"

"Oh... I thought you were..." Vicky squinted and looked towards the setting sun. "Over there? Huh. I was sure I saw you come out of the trees."

"Nope. I've been poking around here. Might have been a roo?" Daryl said and walked over to where Vicky was pointing.

Vicky shook her head. "No, I don't think so. It looked like a woman about your height, and definitely had a white tank top on, like yours."

"Really? I didn't hear a car or anything." Daryl turned and yelled, "HELLO! ANYONE ELSE HERE?"

Absolute silence replied.

"Weird. I'll send up the drone and have a look around. It's not that I doubt you saw something, but..."

"You think I imagined it. Maybe I got a bit too much sun, I don't know. I probably just dreamt that I saw something."

Daryl wrapped her arms around Vicky and hugged. "You saw something. No doubt. I was going to say I want to make sure we're alone. I'd be ok if someone wandered up and said hello, but sneaking around... Well, that's just unfriendly."

She went back to her Subaru and unpacked the drone. Vicky was pretty level headed, so Daz was sure she had seen someone, or something. That made her nervous, but no one would be out here without a car. A quick aerial view would hopefully spot anyone lurking in the scrub or their vehicle.

Vicky followed her back and sat in the car. The more she thought about it, the less convinced she was. The image had lasted less than a second and was at the edge of her peripheral view. It had to have been a trick of the eye, or a random swirl of dust.

"Fuck, come on drone, behave yourself."

Vicky got out and squinted towards the hum. "What's wrong?"

"Oh, this bloody thing decided to glitch. It stopped moving and jerked around for a bit, but it seems to be behaving itself now." Daryl pushed a button on the controller and the whirring got louder as the machine returned to her feet. "Can't see anything out there, Vick, so I don't know. Are you okay staying here, or would you prefer heading back to town?"

"Nah, stay here. I guess I'm just hot and tired, so my imagination decided to play a trick on me."

"Well, ok. It's getting late. Let's find a good spot and get set up. I'm hungry and a bit thirsty."

"Same. As my uncle says every Christmas, I'm as dry as a dead dingo's donger."

"What a cute saying in front of the kids."

===

(Riverina Recorder 16 Aug 1930

BENANEE SETTLERS BATTLING WITH PROLONGED ADVERSITY

SUBSIST MAINLY ON KANGAROO FLESH)

"Thanks for your help with this, Vick. I really appreciate it."

The two had set up camp and cooked dinner over a fire. Once things had been tidied up, they moved their chairs closer to the flames. As Daryl had predicted, the clear night brought a rapid decrease in temperature. The heat the fire put out was nice, but just the look of the coals was warming.

"Not a problem. I'm having fun, believe it or not. Although," Vicky said with a shiver, "I should've bought a hoodie. I didn't think it would be so cold."

"Yeah, sorry. Forgot to mention that." Daryl held her arms open. "Come on, cuddle up."

Vicky dropped into her friend's lap and draped her arms around Daz's neck. "Thanks. You're warm."

"Lot of meat on me to keep the heat in."

"Mmm."

The two stared at the fire. Even that was quiet. The dry mallee gum burnt with a fierce intensity and had settled to a pile of bright coals. Vicky rested her head on Daryl's shoulder and closed her eyes. She realised she'd definitely had a touch too much sun. Thirsty, tired, and light-headedness were all things she knew from experience that came from mild sunstroke. A touch of hallucination was a natural fit.

Darryl smiled as her friend wriggled in her lap to get more comfortable. She had always been slightly jealous of the 'cool' girls at school, who slipped in and out of friendships easily. They were always laughing and hugging, which didn't come naturally to her. Until she met Vick and Jo. Josephine, in particular, had a way of lowering people's inhibitions. After they first met, it hadn't taken long or with too many drinks, before her undies were off, her bits pulled wide, and Jo had given her a full blown orgasm from a partner for the first time.

She sighed contentedly at the memory. That was the first of many fun nights. Jo had absolutely no inhibitions. She didn't care who she fucked, as long as they were sexy. Daryl had said that should have left her out, but Jo just laughed and chewed on her earlobe. "Everyone has their own idea of what's sexy. You, my lovely Amazon, are sexy to me, even if you don't think so."

Vicky felt her friend's chest rise and fall under her cheek. She hadn't been sure what to make of the two odd classmates she'd been paired with in their first week of uni. It didn't take long to realise Daz had a sense of humour as dry as the Mallee they were camping in, and Jo was... just so cool with her 'don't give a shit what anyone thinks' attitude. Neither was the sort of person she would normally have hung out with, but they had become great friends, with benefits she had never expected. It was strange, in a way. Jo was quite open about her attitude to sex and refused to label herself. Vicky could understand that. Having a female threesome while lusting over Tom Hiddleston on TV made her own head hurt. 'Just great friends' seemed the most appropriate label. She really couldn't see that she'd ever be in a permanent relationship with another woman.

"I'm glad we met," Vicky murmured. "Uni would have been a lot less interesting."

Daryl kissed her forehead. "Yeah, me too." She put a hand under Vicky's bum, and the other around her waist. "You're a squirmy little thing, you know. Do you want to go to bed or stay up a little longer?"

"Sorry, I'm comfy now. No, I'm happy here, just watching the fire and the stars. I can't believe that sky."

"Yeah, it's pretty special. Ok, we'll stay here until the fire starts to die out."

They went back to watching the coals slowly burn down. The country had remained quiet and mercifully bug free. There was the occasional distant bird call but not much else disturbed the night. The thought that someone else was nearby had gone with the appearance of the stars. Vicky yawned and closed her eyes. It had to have been a trick of the setting sun. Nobody in their right mind would be wandering around here, and to be at this place right now when they had turned up? Crazy odds.

Vicky rubbed her cheek against Daryl's chest and sighed. She'd always wanted a big sister, and her friend went above and beyond what she had hoped for. A confidante, a friend, a protector and something unexpected, a very un-sisterly fun time partner. Daryl's arm had curled around her torso and her hand lightly cupped her bare breast. It was one of the things that made the whole relationship of the trio special. Snuggling without expectations. Based on previous experience, a guy would probably be mauling her tits and wanting her on her back by now. A hand started lightly stroking her hair, with a soft, gentle, almost hesitant touch. Vicky smiled and said, "This is nice Daz, but I think we'd better go to bed. You're making me drop off."

"No worries. I have to admit, I was nodding off too."

Vicky slid off and turned, holding out her hands. Daryl grabbed them and laughed as Vicky leaned back to help her up. "Thanks Vick. I'd better find a tree first." She threw her shorts and undies into the tent and picked up a roll of toilet paper from the back of the car. "What about you?"

Vicky shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

Daz walked to a spot well away from their camp and squatted. "You're going to have to go sooner or later, you know," she said, and patted herself dry.

"I know, but to be honest, I'm feeling dehydrated. There's nothing in the tank." She tossed her clothes into the tent and stretched. "This is great though, wandering around naked."

Daz tossed the damp paper in the fire and patted her friend's bum. "It is. Tomorrow, I think I'll leave the bra and undies off. Let things get some air."

"That's a good idea." Vicky crawled into the tent and lay on the airbed. "Less washing."

"Yeah. Less washing was top of my thoughts too." Daryl chuckled and tossed her tank top into the tent, then removed her bra. "Oh, that's better," she sighed as she lifted her boobs. "I hate wearing that thing."

"I know you do." Vicky tapped the bed. "You think yours are too big, I don't like the look of mine, Jo hates her pointy nipples. I guess we're doomed by our boobies."

Daryl settled down beside her. "I guess. But I do like yours."

Vicky slid her hand under Daryl's breast and lifted it. "Well, I like yours, but I can understand why you think they're a pain. There's a lot of weight there."

"Yup. A couple of kilos each. I weighed them using a bucket of water."

"You're kidding."

"Nope. Just a hint, don't use cold water."

Vicky giggled and kissed her friend's nipple. "Noted, but I don't need to figure out how small mine are."

Daryl returned the kiss and rolled on her side so Vicky could back up to her. Daz draped her arm over Vick's waist and pulled her close. "Night sunshine."