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  Ever swatted at the group of flies that had been buzzing around his ears all day. The wide-rimmed hat with corks dangling from it seemed to do little to deter them from chatting with him.

  “You alright there, mate?” Reuben’s crossed arms were belied by his jovial expression as Ever tried to karate chop one of the flies.

  “It’s his first time here in the Outback,” Zoe said with a grin.

  “I couldn’t tell.” Reuben quipped. “Come on over, Ever.”

  Ever gave up his crusade against the flies, trying to ignore their victorious snickering.

  “So today, you guys are going to meet Krakatoa.”

  “Wait,” Zoe said, raising an eyebrow. “The Krakatoa?”

  “Mmm-hmm,” Reuben nodded, shuffling up a laminated, A4 photo of an absolute monster of a reptile to the top of the pile. “The legend himself.” He planted his arms on the table, lowering his voice in reverence. “Krakatoa is the largest salt-water croc we’ve currently got here in Northern Queensland.”

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  He shuffled in a new photo to the top. “He comes in at just over five meters and 800 kilos, which is like 15 feet long and…” he counted his fingers, sticking his tongue out in concentration, “a shit ton of pounds.”

  “OK,” Zoe said, leaning back. “So what’s wrong with this scaly fella?”

  “Well,” Reuben shuffled in a new photo, “late last year, Kraka’s girlfriend, Sheila, passed away. She wasn’t that old or anything, just… didn’t wake up one day. Bless her soul.” The wildlife conservationist took off his hat and held it to his chest while Ever and Zoe passed a knowing look between them.

  “We’ve been trying to introduce a new girl to him, just to help him move on. But he hasn’t been, shall we say… very receptive.”

  “He hasn’t hurt the new girl croc, has he?” Zoe asked.

  “Nah, nothing like that.” Reuben shook his head, the corks dangling from the strings off his hat swaying in unison. “Just tends to sulk at the bottom of his swamp.”

  “How can we help?” Ever asked.

  “I’m glad you piped up, my friend!” Reuben said, pointing at him. “I saw the way you spoke with Blueblood last time I was down. You reckon you might be able to talk some sense to the big, scaly bastard, man to man?”

  “Ummm, I guess I can tr–”

  “Great!” Reuben said, clapping Ever on the shoulder, making him stumble slightly. “No pressure though. Main job is for you to distract him while I steal your missus for a bit,” he winked at Zoe here, who shot him back a withering look, “and let her run an exam on the lad.”

  “Is it… just going to be the three of us? Against a five meter croc?” Zoe asked. To Ever, she sounded more excited than scared by the prospect.

  “Nah, nah,” he waved dismissively. “I’ve got my team of six with me. We’ve also got Kraka under heavy sedation. He shouldn’t wake up for a while yet. Even if he did, his movements will be sluggish.”

  “That sounds reassuring,” Zoe said.

  “Nah yeah,” Reuben said, hands on hips. “She’ll be right.”