by Chris Ryan
Amber spotted another mark on the ground, like a large skid mark. She pointed it out silently to Alex, who nodded. It was his own mark, left the first time round. Optimism surged inside him. This was going to work.
Ahead, Pirroni stopped. Alex, Amber and Hex froze. With their camouflage the wood was thick enough to shield them if they remained entirely still.
The helicopter circled round again, lower. Air currents disturbed some of the burned leaf litter as it passed above them. It was looking for something.
Amber saw a curiously shaped twig tumbling towards her in the down draught of the helicopter. She caught it and held it out to Alex on the palm of her hand.
Alex stared at it. It was charred, and shaped like a letter N. He signalled to Amber and Hex to stay behind. The twig in his hand was the marker he had left on Pirroni’s booby trap. Urgently, he gave another hand signal to his friends: Don’t move, stay totally still. Amber and Hex froze, their training coming into effect instantly at Alex’s signal.
At that moment there was a sudden bang like a gunshot. The three friends threw themselves down. The ground heaved into the sky. Red dust, black ashes and other detritus came raining down. Then there was silence.
Very carefully, Alex looked up.
Hex lifted his head. He hissed. ‘What—?’ and stopped, his eyes fixed ahead.
‘Oh my God,’ said Amber softly.
Pirroni was on the ground, face down. Both legs had disappeared in a mess of blood and bone. They twitched, sending out bright spurts. His mouth made a gurgling sound and blew red bubbles. There was no faking this time. He had stepped onto his own booby trap. His battered body let out a sound like a sigh and then was still.
Alex stood up and approached him. No expression crossed his face as he bent down and drew his knife with its sheath from Pirroni’s waistband.
Then he turned his back on the body.
‘We’ve finished?’ said Amber, looking up at him.
Alex nodded and sat down beside her.
‘Helicopters will be here soon,’ said Hex.
25
ULURU
A week later, Alex sat beside his father in the shadow of Avers Rock, the vast monolith that formed the most famous landmark of the outback. A 4x4 stood next to them, hired in Alice Springs for the trip.
Ayers Rock was a majestic sight - hundreds of metres tall and several kilometres long, stranded in the middle of empty desert. The sun was going down and the orange rock, made of arkosic sandstone, was turning crimson. Alex decided he preferred the Aboriginal name, Uluru. It conjured up all the sacred sites that lay nearby, where the spirits of ancestral beings were seen in rock formations, forests and even the red sand. Alex could relate to that. A week after his ordeal had finished, he was constantly reminded of it in the shape of a tree or the marks in a sandhill.
Alex, Hex and Amber had been found easily by the SAS squad. Paulo and Li had contacted Sergeant Powell from the farm and, with the help of Tommy, identified the position of the mine workings. When the soldiers had arrived there, they had simply followed the trail left by Amber, Hex and Alex and found the little group waiting, the ravaged body of the terrorist lying nearby.
For two days Alpha Force had stayed in their hotel, resting, recuperating and getting their strength back after their debriefing. Then, their work over, Amber and Hex had set off to go diving in the Great Barrier Reef, while Paulo had taken Li back to his ranch to continue her riding lessons. The professionals still had some tidying up to do, however; Interpol had gone to US Penitentiary Beaumont to see the man who was serving several life sentences under Pirroni’s name. They had needed to show him photographs of Pirroni’s remains before he had finally confessed that the two had swapped places after Pirroni had arranged for his family to be taken hostage. Alex hoped that the man and his family would now be reunited.
The TV company had enjoyed massive publicity as a result of the siege, and recruited six more celebrity contestants to live in the camp and play the games. The original six went back to their families and disappeared from the public eye. Alex was told that Holly had been whisked away to an exclusive health farm before soldiers, police counsellors and the press could get to her. He had thought that was the last he would hear of her, but the day they were leaving the hotel a postcard had arrived.
He got it out again now. It was a promotional card for a tour by McKenzie Ferrian, Holly’s father. On the back, Holly had written: ‘Dad’s next album’s out soon: look for the song by me.’
For himself, after a few days of twenty-first-century comforts Alex had been itching to be where he felt most at home: in the middle of nowhere with a survival kit and a tent. When his dad had turned up on leave and suggested seeing the sights of Australia, it couldn’t have been more perfect.
Now, Alex looked at his father’s face. He recognized his own grey eyes and blond hair, the expression inscrutable. Not for the first time on that trip, Alex wondered if his dad had just come from a mission. Quite often after he returned on leave, he would be a very quiet presence in the house, as if he was surfacing from an ocean of experiences he could never speak of. Alex had learned to respect that silence.
Uluru turned pink, red and purple. Finally the light faded, to leave only the stars in the clear desert night.
Alex’s dad spoke. ‘I’ve seen worse sunsets.’
‘You’ve probably seen a lot more than me, old man,’ Alex replied.
‘Ah, the youth of today. N o respect. What would the army have done with you?’
Alex smiled grimly. ‘Yeah. Right.’
Alex’s father was silent for a moment, as though choosing his next words very carefully. ‘There are many people who don’t fit in with the regular army. But the army isn’t everything. Some of the problems in the world today need quite different solutions.’
He paused to see how his words were being received. Alex was silent, his mouth a tight line.
His dad carried on. ‘Soldiering has changed. Wars are not just about armies any more. They’re about small battles that ordinary people don’t even know about. We need different kinds of soldiers to fight those battles. There are people on the lookout for those kinds of soldiers, Alex. They’re never wasted.’
Alex was very still. From time to time, he blinked – his only movement.
His father had one last thing to say: ‘What you have to do now is keep going, keep studying, keep learning. I know you’ve wanted this for a long time, and I know how disappointed you are.’ He paused. ‘But believe me, it’s not the end.’
Alex looked at the stars. To the west was the faintly glowing zodiacal light, and in the south the two ghostly patches of the Magellanic Clouds. Orion was rising in the east, upside down. He nodded slowly as his mind chewed over and digested his father’s words and all the things he had seen and done over the past week.
Then a thought occurred to him that had him grinning broadly. ‘Dad? If you light the fire, I’ve got this great idea for dinner . . .’
CHRIS RYAN’S TOP SAS TACTICS ON ESCAPE AND EVASION
Every living thing leaves some kind of trail or sign, such as footprints. If you’re trying to be found, you leave very noticeable signs deliberately. For instance, when Li left the plane, she did as much as possible to make sure it could be seen from the air, and she indicated clearly to would-be rescuers which way she was going.
But even without these, an experienced tracker could follow your every move. If you don’t want to be found, you have to cover these marks, leave as few as possible, or throw your pursuers off your trail. During the first Gulf War I needed all my skills to escape through 300km of enemy desert. More recently I put all my skills to the test again evading an elite tracking team in BBC TV’s Hunting Chris Ryan.
SO HOW DO YOU DISAPPEAR?
The first thing to do is to get as far away from your pursuers as possible before they know you’ve gone. But once you are being followed, take great care. If you smash through the undergrowth, you may make great prog
ress but you will be leaving clues left, right and centre. Also, you will be unable to hear if anyone is barging along after you!
If you’ve crashed in a plane or truck, the normal survival rule is to stay with it. But if you’re on the run it will betray your position. Get away, taking any supplies you can. The less time you have to spend looking for food and water, the more time you can spend escaping.
SCENT
If your pursuers have tracker dogs, all is not lost. It’s not the dog you’re trying to beat, but the handler. You want to make the handler give up. They will probably find your trail easily, so make it confusing. Do a ninety-degree turn for no reason. Although it will be crystal clear to the dog what you’ve done, the handler will be baffled. If he/she starts getting annoyed, the dog will stop performing for him/her.
Most of us know that a river or stream will mask scent, but your pursuers will look for where you got in and out. To keep them guessing, get out a couple of times and leave a false trail before doubling back on your tracks.
The handler will not be nearly as fit as the dog, so try to exhaust him. When we were evading tracker dogs in the SAS we used to run fast for as long as possible, to tire the handler out. We chose arduous terrain such as marshes and bogs. We’d freak him out by leading them through thickets that might cut the dog’s eyes, and over broken glass. Better still, we’d lead them into a snare. This wastes time while they get free, and makes them very cautious about following further. If you can lay a snare you might leave explosives for them later.
Even without tracker dogs, some smells can give you away in certain environments. In remote areas such as the jungle or the outback, toiletries such as after-shave lotion, scented soap or even toothpaste are very noticeable. They will tell a pursuer someone is there. People don’t notice each other’s body odour in those conditions - trust me, you can go without deodorant for a few days!
TURNING INVISIBLE
The human eye is very good at picking up movement. Avoid roads, where you may be spotted without even realizing it, and terrain that leaves obvious tracks, such as snow. Keep to the side of open ground, even if it means making a detour. It’s easier to vanish in a wood than in an open plain.
If you come to a natural bottleneck, such as a gateway, beware of traps. A skilled chase team will anticipate places you cannot avoid and try to catch you out. Travel at night if at all possible.
Your silhouette is a give-away. Keep off ridges and away from backgrounds that may show you up. Camouflage your profile using vegetation and smear your face with mud or berry juice. Do a thorough job - don’t forget that behind your ears and the back of your neck show up just as much as the rest of you. If you’re dark-skinned like Amber, you may still need some camouflage to cut down the natural shine of the skin. The more you blend in, the harder you are to see.
Your footprints are an obvious sign for pursuers. Logos on soles etc may make it very easy to narrow down which prints are yours. But other details also make an individual print easier to identify - worn or unworn heels, the distribution of weight and so on. Try walking in mud to see how distinctive your own prints are. If you limp like Pirroni it makes your tracks very easy to recognize! The key point here is to try to leave as few prints as possible, although sometimes it is unavoidable - unless you have the power to levitate! If you have time, erase your prints; during Hunting Chris Ryan in Botswana I used a branch to wipe away prints I had left in sandy ground.
Trackers will also look for disturbed soil or vegetation. These signs are as obvious to a pursuer as a footprint. When most vegetation is stepped on, dragged or cut, the lighter underside of the leaves shows up. Not only can your pursuers tell you’ve been there, they can tell which way you were going. If you come to terrain like this, you may want to double back and choose a different route. On the other hand, you may decide it’s an excellent opportunity to lay a false trail! Remember, though, that that will take extra time.
Be careful moving near thorny plants. There are lots in the jungle and you might leave tell-tale scraps of clothing behind. Worse still, you might get truly stuck. When I was in the Australian rainforest with the SAS, the bane of our lives was a charming plant known as the lawyer vine or wait-a-while. If you got caught on it, the worst thing you could do was struggle because you’d tear your uniform to shreds - and probably cut yourself badly. One of your mates had to pull each barb out, one by one. But we used to leave it in the paths of anyone who was pursuing us. It’s nature’s own barbed wire.
Of course, it goes without saying that litter is also a dead give-away. If you have to discard rubbish or equipment, bury it - and disguise the hole.
SOUND
If your pursuer can’t see you, they will certainly be listening out for you. You can’t help making some sounds as you move, but you can mask them by staying close to something else that is noisy, such as a stream. Otherwise, try to move smoothly and carefully, keeping an eye open for obstacles before you meet them so that your noiseless progress isn’t suddenly ruined when you tumble spectacularly over a hidden log.
Even if you’re being as quiet as you can, wildlife may give you away. Animals may stampede and birds may take off in a squawking flock. Alternatively, all the sounds around you may suddenly cease - which will be rather noticeable in a noisy environment such as a jungle. Some birds and animals have distinctive warning cries, which experienced trackers may know. Of course experienced trackers will also know that these signs may be caused by a predator and are not necessarily a person on the run. But someone who’s looking for you will use any clues they can.
GOING INTO HIDING
You may need to find shelter to rest or hole up until darkness. Concealment is the name of the game. If you’re constructing a shelter, make sure it doesn’t stand out or have a silhouette that doesn’t blend in with the surroundings. Although it may be tempting to use old buildings, don’t. Even if they are very run-down, it’s the first place your pursuers will look. Thick, impenetrable vegetation makes the best cover, but be careful not to disturb it getting in or out.
You can also reduce the chances of being found by hiding somewhere truly off-putting. When I was making Hunting Chris Ryan in the Honduran jungle I hid from the hunter force in a pit of sewage. They didn’t want to spend much time searching for me in there! (It will also help confuse any tracker dogs, too. But don’t try to venture through a built-up area afterwards or someone is bound to notice you!)
Don’t just go straight to your chosen hidey-hole and stop. Walk past it and come back in a loop so you can see if people are following. Also make sure you have at least two escape routes in case you’re ambushed when you’re in there.
Don’t stay for more than 24 hours in one hide. When you’re holed up, sleep or plan your next move. Visiting wildlife might be useful for your next meal. When I was on a mission in Botswana, the bushmen showed us all sorts of grubs and beetles we could eat. Avoid caterpillars and centipedes, but insects and worms are a rich source of protein - although they may not look too appetizing. Remove the wings and carapace of insects, and starve any worms or snails for a day before you eat them, in case they have eaten something that doesn’t agree with you. Grubs from wood-boring plants, such as the witchetty grub, are also very nutritious, although they look disgusting. These delicacies can all be eaten raw or cooked - but be sure that if you light a fire it isn’t going to give you away – or set your hide ablaze!
If you plan to be in an area for a few days, you could set up some snares and traps to catch bigger wildlife and fish. If using traps, place them out of sight on land and under water in rivers. Remember that if one of your pursuers finds your traps, they will know you are nearby. Don’t forget to dismantle your traps when you move on.
WATER
Water is absolutely essential to survival - far more so than food. If you have to choose between spending time on catching food or finding water, go for the water. In hot climates such as the rainforest and the desert, you are sweating all the time and
must replace the water. If you don’t, you will start to experience a range of uncomfortable symptoms, such as nausea, sleepiness, disorientation and headache and will die within days. Sometimes very dehydrated people don’t feel thirsty, so you can’t rely on your sense of thirst to tell you it’s time to find water. So drink all the time.
Take care when gathering water from natural sources such as streams. The ground on the banks is often soft and before you know it you will be leaving nice, deep prints. Stand on logs and rocks if possible.
Always boil water before drinking it - you will lose more fluid through an attack of the runs than you take in through drinking!
Alpha Force were lucky enough to be with an Aboriginal who knew how to find water-bearing roots. There are several plants in outback Australia that yield drinkable water, but unless you have been shown how to find them you may spend a lot of time and energy looking for them.
It is also possible to get water from animals. Alpha Force are shown how the Cyclorana platycephala frog carries a bladder of water. To drink it, put the frog’s mouth to yours and squeeze gently. But as with the plants, you have to know what’s what. Some frogs have poisonous skin and if you go kissing any old one you might get a nasty surprise.
If you really have to, you can get water from the eyeballs and stomachs of herbivores such as cattle and camels. If you wring out the stomach contents you should find quite a lot of liquid. You have to be pretty desperate, and it tastes disgusting, but a survival situation is no time to be squeamish. Only use animals that are freshly killed, though - you might catch something nasty from a rather old corpse.
Be safe!
Random House Children’s Books and Chris Ryan would like to make it clear that these tips are for use in a serious situation only, where your life may be at risk. We cannot accept any liability for inappropriate usage in normal conditions.