Survival (18 page)

'You did? How?'

'I spend a month every year as a volunteer, working in refugee camps or in Third-World countries. Plastic surgery is not just about face-lifts, you know. I can help with burns, for instance, or injuries from land mines. A few years ago I was working in Africa. There had been another ethnic "cleansing" and I was working with children who had been scarred by machetes. That is where I met your parents.'

'They were - in Africa?'

'Yes. I admired what they did after they sold the company. They were very brave.'

'Were they?' said Amber.

'Yes. In their fight, they stood up against powerful business cartels and corrupt governments - that was brave.'

'Their fight?' said Amber, struggling to understand.

'They fought for all the little people. Exposing child labour in sweat shops, fighting for human rights. They knew they were putting themselves into danger. I was so sorry to hear of their deaths. Tell me, Amber, have they tracked down the people who did it?'

Amber's eyes grew big and a hand went up to her mouth as she stared at Philippe. 'I don't understand,' she whispered.

'Ah,' he said. 'You did not know. I am sorry.'

A rifle shot broke the silence, sending an explosion of birds winging out of the forest. Alex leapt to his feet as another shot rang out, then a third. He ran out into the open and stared down the side of the mountain towards the cove. He could just see the top of a wooden mast poking above the rainforest fringe. The pirates' ship had sailed into the cove and dropped anchor while they lazed under a tree as though they had all the time in the world.

'They're back!' he yelled, racing to pick up his rucksack. And I think they just executed your three guards. Come on! We need to move fast!'

TWENTY-SEVEN

They scrambled to their feet and set off round the shoulder of the mountain.

'Hurry,' panted Amber. 'Once we're round the other side, we'll be out of sight. We'll be safe.'

'We should have set a watch,' gasped Paulo.

'I know,' said Alex. He was getting very tired now and making basic mistakes. As he sweated and panted up the steepening slope he felt uneasy. He was sure there was something else he had forgotten - another basic mistake he had made - but his weary brain could not grasp what it was.

He was still trying to figure out what was bothering him when they came out on the southern side of the mountain and stumbled to a halt at the top of the rock outcrop. They dumped the stretcher onto the slope and rubbed their aching shoulders. Hex opened his eyes and looked around him.

'Are we still here?' he said weakly, gazing up at Alex.

Alex grinned down at Hex, forgetting the worrying niggle in the back of his mind. 'You've been further than you think,' he said. 'You've been out of it for a good few hours. We're heading back to the camp now.'

'There and back again,' said Hex, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep once more.

'Alex, cut this bunk blanket into strips,' instructed Li. 'We're going to be abseiling down and people will need protection against friction burns.'

Alex set to work with his knife, while Li pulled their two ropes from the rucksack. She worked quickly, doubling each rope and then anchoring them to the same boulder she had used earlier in the day. In a very short time, the two abseiling ropes were ready.

'Who's abseiled before?' asked Li. Paulo, Alex, Amber and Philippe all raised their hands.

'Philippe, do you feel strong enough for this?'

Philippe nodded confidently. Li studied him. He was tall with a good physique and stood with a straight back, despite the bruising. 'OK,' she decided. 'You and Paulo are going down first.' Li grabbed the two rucksacks and emptied them. 'You'll be carrying Robert and Emilie in these. Strap them on back to front, so the kids are facing you and there's nothing on your backs for the rope to get tangled in.'

Alex hurried over with the blanket strips and Paulo and Philippe wrapped them around their hands and thighs, to serve as protective padding against the friction of the rope. They strapped on the rucksacks and Emilie and Robert were loaded into them, Robert with Philippe and Emilie with Paulo.

'Look after her,' pleaded Philippe as they each grabbed a doubled rope and stepped backwards over the cliff.

Once Philippe and Paulo were down, Li and Alex rigged up a cradle and lowered Hex down on the stretcher. Amber and Beatrice went next, with Amber encouraging and advising a sobbing Beatrice every step of the way. Finally, only Li and Alex were left at the top.

'You go,' said Li. 'I'm going to untie the ropes afterwards so they can't follow us down.' She nodded over her shoulder in the direction of the cove.

'I shouldn't worry about the pirates too much,' said Alex. 'We're out of sight now. Even if they find our trail, it'll take them hours to follow it.'

'Best to be safe,' insisted Li. 'I can throw the ropes down, then free-climb. Easy-peasy.'

Alex grinned at Li, then grabbed the rope and disappeared over the edge. As soon as he reached the bottom, Li loosened the knots at the top and threw the ropes over, followed by her boots.

Alex and Paulo stuffed the ropes and boots into the rucksacks, then stood back to watch Li's descent. She moved easily, feeling for remembered hand and footholds from her earlier climb, but descending was always a slower process. She was less than a third of the way down when shouts and running footsteps came from the mountain slope above her head.

Li flinched and nearly fell. She gripped the rock with her strong fingers and flattened herself against the cliff. Alex stared up in horror as five men appeared at the top of the outcrop. How had they managed to follow so quickly? With a sickening rush, he suddenly realized what had been bothering him. He should have destroyed each of his trail-markers as he passed them. Instead, he had left every single one intact. The pirates had simply followed the arrows.

One of the men barked an order as Li continued her descent. The men unslung their rifles from their backs.

'Run!' yelled Alex, flattening himself against the base of the cliff. 'Down the slope! Into the forest! Now!'

Beatrice dumped Robert onto the stretcher with Hex, then she and Amber grabbed the head end of the stretcher and Philippe grabbed the back. Together they raced for the cover of the trees, Emilie running along beside them. Alex stayed where he was. He was not going to leave Li now. It was his mistake which had got her into this trouble.

'I told you to run!' he yelled as Paulo slammed into the cliff base beside him.

'I am not leaving her either,' scowled Paulo.

They both covered their heads as a shower of stones rattled down the face of the cliff. Twisting their necks, they looked up. Li was halfway down now, descending with dangerous speed. Above her, the men cocked their rifles and aimed them downwards. The leader shouted again, repeating the same words three times. Li guessed he was ordering her to stop, but she kept going. The leader shouted again and the men fired.

Li brought up a hand to cover her head as bullets ricocheted from the cliff face all around her. She cried out and nearly fell as needle-sharp splinters of rock speared into her cheek.

The leader shouted again and the bullets stopped. Li forced herself away from the protection of the cliff and carried on descending, her face bleeding and her head ringing. She was only a metre or so further down when the shots rang out again. Li flattened herself against the cliff. Again, none of the bullets hit her. The angle of the cliff was too steep for the men to have a good chance of finding their target. But Li was still in great danger. Her head was reeling and she was finding it harder and harder to make her shaking toes and fingers grip the rock.

She started to descend again, then she heard the men reloading above her head. Her courage failed her and she flattened herself against the cliff. Tears flowed down her face and she felt her fingers weakening. Just as she was about to give up, she heard Paulo's voice coming from directly below her.

'Li! Listen to me. Alex and I are right underneath you.'

'I thought you'd all gone!' she cried. 'I thought I was alone!'

'As if we would,' said Paulo, his voice full of affection. Li smiled through her tears.

'We have a blanket ready to catch you,' said Paulo. 'Just let yourself fall backwards. Do you hear me? You are already two-thirds of the way down. It is not far.'

Li hesitated. It was against all her instincts to let herself fall back into space, but the men had finished reloading above her and the leader was barking orders once more.

'Li. Trust us,' called Paulo.

Li closed her eyes, made herself go limp and tumbled away from the cliff, arms outstretched.

TWENTY-EIGHT

She landed squarely in the middle of the blanket. The shouting of the leader became more frantic as Paulo and Alex picked Li up under the arms and ran with her down the mountain slope. Li could only hold her bare feet out of harm's way as they raced towards the shelter of the forest, bullets thudding into the ground and pinging off rocks all around them.

Amber stood just inside the sheltering trees, waving frantically to show them the way to the game trail. They raced towards her and she stepped back as their impetus carried them helter-skelter into the forest. Alex stumbled in the sudden dimness and the three of them fell full-length into the soft leaves that covered the game trail as the bullets tailed off behind them.

'Here,' gasped Amber, dropping Li's boots at her feet. Li yanked them on and the four of them hurried to join the others further up the trail.

On they went, hiking through the rainforest with dogged determination. No-one knew how long it would take for the pirates to catch up with them. If they were carrying rope, they might be on the trail again very quickly and it would be an easy matter for them to follow this game trail all the way to the beach, even if Alex destroyed all his markers. As he marched, Alex tried to figure out what to do next. He thought about hiding in the forest, but then dismissed that idea. If the pirates found them, they would not be able to run again. He thought of leaving Hex and the children somewhere, but one look at Beatrice's panicked face told him she would not tolerate that. There was a hiding-place behind the rockfall in the cave, but there was only one way in or out. It could equally easily become a trap. He stumbled on, his tired brain going around in circles. One thought kept coming back to him again and again. If the pirates tracked them all the way to the lagoon, there would be nowhere else to run.

They had passed the waterfall and were on the game trail heading to the beach when the pirates reappeared. Amber heard a shout from behind them and her heart sank. She turned and saw the five men, running towards them along the track in single file.

'They're here!' she cried.

Desperately, the exhausted group tried to pick up their feet and run but all they could manage was a tired shuffle.

'They're gaining on us,' whimpered Amber, glancing behind again. As she did so, her foot caught on a tree root and she fell, dropping her corner of the stretcher. She hit the ground hard and all the wind was knocked out of her. Thrown off-balance, the others dropped the stretcher. One of the poles snapped in two and Hex slid off onto the forest floor, groaning with pain as his injured leg folded beneath him.

Behind them, the leader of the pirates smiled and held up his hand, ordering his men to slow to a walk. He slipped his rifle from his shoulder and his men followed suit. His smile grew broader as he sauntered towards them.

Alex picked up the broken stretcher and threw it into the undergrowth. He and Paulo each took one of Hex's arms and draped them around their shoulders. Then they pulled him to his feet while Li helped Amber up. They moved on, with Alex, Hex and Paulo at the back, but it was hopeless. The men were gaining with every step.

Alex and Paulo seemed to reach the same decision at the same instant. They shared a look then, gently, started to lower Hex to the ground.

'Don't you dare,' grated Hex, lifting his head to look at Alex. 'I want to be standing.'

Alex nodded and the three of them turned to face their hunters. Silently Li and Amber stopped too and retraced their steps until they were shoulder to shoulder with the boys. Philippe looked back and saw what was happening. Quickly, he ordered Beatrice and the children to carry on, but he turned back and stood at the rear of the group, watching the killers approach with a look of quiet determination on his face. If they were planning to kill his children, they would have to get past him first.

The leader was close enough for Alex to see the gold tooth in the middle of his smile when the undergrowth erupted on each side of the game trail. Two komodo dragons burst from the bushes and slammed three of the pirates to the ground. One of the men managed to roll out of the way, but the dragons pounced on the other two, raking razor-sharp claws across their bellies. It all happened so fast that their leader was still smiling as his men were attacked behind him.

One of the men on the ground gave a high, agonized scream as the komodo dipped its snout into his belly. The other fallen man twitched silently as the second huge lizard tore the flesh from his arm. The pirate leader turned, brought his rifle up to his shoulder, then lowered it again and stepped back, out of the way of the komodos' swinging tails. The two remaining men stared at the carnage for a few, shocked seconds, then ran back the way they had come, ignoring their leader's shouted orders.

Alex was as shocked as anyone by the gruesome sight in front of him, but a cold, determined part of his brain was also looking out for his own survival. That part of him understood that, suddenly, the odds were a lot better. However, the pirate leader still had his rifle and they had nothing but a knife.

'Come on,' hissed Alex, a plan forming in his mind. 'We have to make it to the beach!' They turned and hobbled away from the ambush site. Behind them, the leader of the pirates checked that his rifle was loaded before slowly following.

The sun was low in the sky by the time they stumbled out onto the beach. Alex gazed around him, checking that everything was as he had left it. Quickly, they helped Hex over to one of the camp beds and eased him down, then they picked up the camp bed and carried it behind the shelter of the signal fire.

Alex gathered Beatrice and the children around the camp bed. 'Stay here with Hex,' he ordered, before running out onto the beach again to join the others. They grabbed another camp bed and piled it high with the rocks Alex had used to make the signal arrow. Then Li and Amber carried the rocks behind the signal fire, while Paulo and Hex picked up one of the bamboo benches and a lemonade can filled with coconut oil. Quickly, they hurried to join the others.

When the pirate leader stepped out onto the beach, it was silent and apparently empty. He scanned the stretch of sand, then smiled and headed towards the large signal fire, imagining his victims cowering behind it. These people had been nothing but trouble and he was looking forward to ending their lives.

'He's coming!' hissed Amber.

'OK. Get back under cover,' ordered Alex. He leaned forward and set his flint to the tinder in the base of the fire. It caught with the third spark and slowly the flames began to spread. Alex lined up five spears of split bamboo from the bench, dipped the end of each one into the can of coconut oil, then thrust it into the growing fire. When the end of each spear was well alight, he handed them out to Amber, Paulo, Li and Philippe one by one, keeping the last one for himself.

'Ready?' he asked.

They all picked up a rock from the pile, tightened their grip on their spears and nodded.

'Remember,' said Paulo. 'We must be fast and loud. Surprise is our best weapon - and he cannot shoot us all at once.'

'Very encouraging, Paulo,' said Li and he grinned at her fondly.

'OK,' said Amber. 'Here we go!'

The pirate leader came to a shocked halt as five screaming people suddenly shot out from behind the signal fire and raced towards him, waving flaming spears. One rock flew past his head, then another clipped his shoulder. He raised his rifle and tried to get one of the people in his sights, but they started to zigzag across the sand as they ran. He took a step back. A third rock caught him full on the elbow and there was a dull crack as the bone split. The leader yelled and his rifle fell to the ground as his arm dropped uselessly to his side.

The pirate turned and ran back up the beach. Suddenly he was not the hunter any more. He was the prey. Behind him, Alex let out a roar and flung his bamboo spear. The leader stumbled as it caught him in the ankle, but he managed to right himself and carry on.

Alex was in the lead and gaining fast when something whizzed past his head. An instant later he heard the rifle shot. His head jerked up and his heart clenched as he saw the two remaining pirates stepping out onto the beach with their rifles raised. He slowed, and the others slowed behind him. They came to a stop on the darkening beach.

It took the pirate leader a moment to realize that his men had returned. He carried on running for a few more steps before he spotted them. Then he stopped too and turned to face Alex and the others. Alex groaned. This was it. They were out in the open, lit up by a blazing signal fire and there was nowhere else to run. He bowed his head as the three pirates strolled towards him. Suddenly, there was no fight left in him. He could hear his heart beating very loudly as he waited to die. The beating grew louder and louder until it seemed to fill the sky.

The three pirates stopped too, cocking their heads and looking about them. Alex raised his eyes and watched as the sky beyond the headland began to fill with a bright, white light. The beating grew even louder and the trees above the beach began to bend and dance. They were all staring at the dancing trees when three air-sea rescue helicopters cleared the headland and swung in low over the beach. Their powerful searchlights raked the sand and the pirates dropped their weapons and ran for the cover of the forest.

Alex sat down heavily in the sand as the rotors blat-blatted overhead. Amber landed on her backside next to him and threw her arms around his neck. She was laughing and shouting something but he could not hear a word. A few metres away, Li and Paulo were jumping and dancing in the searchlights, waving madly as the helicopters dipped their noses and spread out along the beach, looking for a place to land away from the signal fire.

Alex sat on, gazing at the helicopters as they settled in a neat row, whipping up a storm of sand with their rotor blades. A line of uniformed men jumped from the belly of one as soon as its runners touched down. They ran at a crouch through the sandstorm and disappeared into the jungle after the pirates. There was movement and noise all around him. Amber, Li and Paulo raced to carry Hex out from behind the signal fire. Beatrice, Emilie and Robert ran to join Philippe and the family stood in a tight huddle, hugging one another as though they would never let go.

Alex blinked, then slowly turned his head back to the helicopters as their whirring blades slowed into silence. He watched as the door on the side of the nearest helicopter swung back. A tall black man stepped from the helicopter, followed by a tiny, blonde-haired woman.

'That's my uncle!' yelled Amber and she went running towards the tall black man. Alex let his gaze follow Amber, then he focused on the tiny woman who was hurrying up the beach towards him. His eyes widened as he recognized Heather, their Watch-leader. He struggled to his feet and stood there, swaying slightly as Heather came to a stop.