‘We have to go and see if we can find any of them,’ I said as if it needed no further discussion.
‘B ... b ... but they’re all ... dead,’ said Jack looking from side to side as if hoping for support from someone.
‘You are joking?’ Lisa looked at me as though I must be stupid.
‘Go looking for Zach?’ whispered Ryan. ‘Never.’
I wasn’t entirely thinking of Zach. I realised that we now had a direction, a way to follow. The hunting ground over the river had always unsettled me but now we could follow the route Zach had taken. It might not lead anywhere but it was somewhere to go. If we found Zach ... well then that would be a different thing.
‘So we abandon them?’ Jenna asked. ‘You’re all still hoping someone’s searching for us, aren’t you?’
No one answered.
‘So we have to find out if any of them are still alive.’
I knew Jenna had convinced most of the rest of them, but I still heard grumbling comments, whispered in the cave. The decision had been made although I knew I’d have to lead any expedition. So they would all soon just blame me. I sighed and I saw Jenna smile.
‘Set me up then.’ I grinned back at her.
‘Absolutely. Crazy idea. Knew you’d like a challenge.’
Expedition
-10-
Going after Zach took on a different meaning as everyone talked about it. It became bigger, with thoughts of how it might lead to our rescue. No one talked of anything else except the expedition and who would go.
I’d made the suggestion so it was obvious to everyone else that I would be leading it, even if I had other ideas. But I didn’t really have any ideas at all. I had worries instead. It seemed tied up with Miss Tregarthur and this promise, which we had no chance of keeping because we couldn’t find anyone to save. And why had I now decided to go after the one person who I would have been quite happy to see dead?
Had I set myself up to lead or was it Jenna who’d decided I was the best person to be the leader? More likely I wasn’t leader of anything and it was Jenna and she was using me.
It had been raining hard for several scratches – we’d given up calling them by days of the week and went by Ivy’s scratches on the cave wall. No one remembered when she started and we didn’t know which day it was. Jenna had worked out a sort of rota for doing stuff so the scratches got names, chuckern was the day we did most of the hunting – chuckern scratch, wood scratch made sure we had a pile of burning stuff and so on. Ivy had suggested we should have a burial scratch which would have been awful because it might be needed. As it turned out we hadn’t got enough names and Jenna said we needed a rest day.
‘Like a Sunday was meant to be,’ she’d said, although no one I knew did much resting on a Sunday. Jenna wanted to call it Sunday, but Ivy’s burial name was used by most of us.
After my Zach chasing suggestion, and yes my resolution had been repeatedly broken – not to make suggestions – it rained through chuckern, wood, and fruit. But when the sun broke through on burial I was standing outside the cave and up came Jenna, giving me a hug because we’d seriously become an item since that kiss.
‘You still going?’
And the way she said it confirmed who was really in charge. Because what she meant was: get on with it, so it didn’t need an answer.
‘Who are you taking with you?’
Now that had worried me, and I knew that Jenna was going to tell me who I should take, but a little mischief crept in. ‘I thought just me and Mary.’
Jenna whacked me on the arm. She was almost going to storm off, but I held her back and eventually she broke into a smile.
‘Over my dead body,’ she said.
‘Well you’ve picked the right day,’ and that got me another vaguely friendly poke.
There was silence then. I was getting used to her ways. Jenna had started this conversation. She was now waiting to see who I’d thought of taking with me. Then she’d decide whether she was going to make changes.
‘I might go on my own. It would be less trouble,’ I said and we wandered slowly towards the forest.
‘Then, when you don’t come back, what do we do?’ Jenna replied.
‘Eh?’
‘Suppose Ryan’s beast thing gets you, how would we know?’ Jenna sounded suddenly angry. ‘We wouldn’t know what had happened. After a while someone else would follow you and they’d get eaten by the thing. Then someone else – we’d all get killed off.’
‘What difference does it make if someone comes with me?’
Jenna put her hand on my shoulder. ‘At least one person might get back – like Ryan did.’
‘To tell you I’d been eaten?’
‘I’d want to know.’
‘So I’d better take a fast runner? Someone to get away quick and come and tell you?’
‘No – take someone slow. Then the beast gets them first,’ Jenna grinned, her anger draining away.
‘You want to come then? You’re slow enough.’
Jenna punched me again and she laughed. I’d stopped laughing at her punches. This open air life had done great things for her fitness and her figure.
Our walk had taken us towards the two graves. There were fresh flowers. Sara had found some real flowers and used burial day to put new ones on Other-Sara’s grave. Lisa did the same for Trog.
‘There’s room for more graves,’ I said.
‘That’s the sort of thing Ivy would say, except she’d say there was room for all of us.’
‘Perhaps she would be right, but you’d have to dig a spare grave so the last person could just fall in.’
‘Come on, let’s go before you turn into Ivy. I think the rest are waiting to hear your plans.’ Jenna turned back.
She was right. The rest stood by the cave entrance, watching. We ran back as the rain started again and everyone sat around the fire. Decisions to be made.
‘I’ll go,’ Jack said trying his best to sound courageous, but hiding his face by bending and poking the ashes.
‘Me too,’ Matt said puffing out his chest.
I hoped Jenna would help but she just looked at me. But who did I feel should come? How many?
‘Maybe we should all go,’ said Mary.
‘Look what happened last time we all went for a walk.’ I tried to laugh, but I had no idea what might be out there. What would happen if we met Ryan’s beast? Taking everyone would be too difficult. I’d sort of decided that three would be the right number, or was that what Jenna had said?
Matt was the strongest person although he might not be the quickest. But they’d need someone here if more Trogs arrived, or something worse. They’d need Matt. And Jack? His leg still gave him trouble from time to time even though he tried to hide it.
‘Thanks,’ I spoke in a tone that I barely recognised as my own. ‘I ... we ... can’t go until the rain stops and we’ll need to take food and anything useful. Any ideas?’ I was playing for time and hoping for inspiration.
No one said anything. I suppose they needed to know who would go, the uncertainty made them too anxious to come up with ideas. So I carried on.
‘Matt, I think it would be best if you stayed. You’re the strongest and you’re needed here.’
‘I could do with Jack being here ... helping ... he’s got lots of new ideas ... especially a new idea for a water supply ... and ...’ Mary was finding reasons for keeping Jack.
‘Mary, I agree!’ I interrupted her before the list got longer. Jack didn’t look too upset, but there were more blushes.
‘So who is going with you?’ Jenna glared at me. ‘Who’s left?’
‘Might as well be me,’ Sam said. ‘When there’s something awful to do you always pick on me, so I might as well volunteer.’ He walked across the cave
and sat next to me.
Sam always did seem to get the worst jobs. But with Zach gone, he wasn’t bullied into doing them. Sam might not have realised it, but our diet and daily hunting had changed him. The plump round faced boy had become taller, leaner, and very much stronger. I liked the idea of Sam coming with me.
Without another word, Ivy moved over and sat next to Sam.
‘Ivy?’ I looked at her.
‘What?’
‘You’re coming?’
‘Looks like it.’ The firm lines on Ivy’s face showed her determination.
I’d seen Ivy hunting with Sam and I knew she was fast and strong, if a little odd and more than a little miserable. I was happy with these two and Jenna looked as though this had gone to plan – her plan.
‘Who’s going to do the hunting here?’ asked Stevie who had joined Ivy and Sam on many occasions, but didn’t look as though he couldn’t hunt on his own.
‘We think we’ve got the bow and arrows right now. We want to try them out for hunting.’ Mary beamed and poked Jack.
From behind him, Jack lifted out their newest bow. Jack and Mary might be good at inventing things but the bow didn’t really look much good, we tried it out – it wasn’t. Still, it seemed to stop us talking about going after Zach. And it was definitely better not to talk about the sniffer, as Ryan’s beast became called.
‘So that’s it?’ Jenna said. ‘Just the three of you?’
‘It’s what you wanted, isn’t it?’
‘Me?’ Jenna smiled and I knew I was right. I wondered whether she’d spoken to Sam and Ivy before they volunteered.
Jenna carried on making plans, arranging things for us to take. ‘Smoked meat, some cooked chuckerns, some of the biscuits, and there are a couple of water bottles left that might be Ok.’
We’d been using Jack and Mary’s pots for water. They’d made one large bowl that we filled. It saved going to the river every day – although we really needed more than one water scratch.
Several more scratches passed. I was hesitating.
‘What are you waiting for?’ Jenna asked one evening. Which I think again meant get on with it. ‘You want a sign or something?’ She poked me in the ribs to get a response.
I flinched. Jenna’s pokes were even worse than her punches. ‘I’m just not sure this is worth doing.’
‘Probably right, but it’s too late now,’ Jenna said with a tight lipped face.
‘Something might happen here. Something in the tunnel. We might miss it.’
‘Ok, then don’t go. We’ll just eat all the stuff I’ve got ready.’
Jenna knew how to make it happen. ‘Suppose it has to be done then.’ I stood and turned to face the cave entrance.
Jenna stared at me.
‘What?’
‘Are you the same Alvin I went to school with?’
‘Are you the same Jenna?’ I said before turning and saying in a loud voice: ‘Tomorrow we go – that alright Ivy? Sam?’ They both gave a slow nod.
The next morning, at the first sign of light, everyone gathered at the waterfall to watch us leave. We took backpacks, or the remains of them half repaired with patches of deer skin. They were loaded up with things Jenna had collected.
Jack handed over his latest bow and some arrows. ‘Just in case you meet the sniffer,’ he said. He was a lot more confident than I was about his invention.
I told Matt to block the path after we left. Ryan had broken through and we needed to make a much better barrier.
‘Something that we can move when we need to get out,’ Jack suggested.
‘Like a portcullis,’ said Stevie. ‘You know, like that thing they have in castles to stop people getting in.’
I could see Jack’s mind working on Stevie’s idea. It might take time. I held up a whistle I’d found at the back of the cave, it had fallen from one of the packs. ‘We’ll blow the whistle and you can help us across – when we get back.’ I wanted the rest to believe that we would return.
Ivy still muttered, ‘If we get back.’ Loud enough for everyone to hear.
Jenna stepped forward. There were hugs and kisses and tears.
I crossed the ledge and slid down a creeper onto the grassy plain. Sam and Ivy joined me. The rest watched as we started to disappear into the longer grass. I looked back and waved with many thoughts churning in my head. Would we ever return? Would we discover a way home? Would we find out what had happened to Zach and the others? Did we really want to find Zach anyway?
Tiger Cave
-11-
Leaving the waterfall, we crossed the grassy plain where we’d hunted deer, the journey easy and familiar at first. Soon it became harder and slower, with hollows and deep holes making it impossible to take a straight line towards the forest. I’d talked to Ryan, trying to get a clear idea of the route he’d taken with Zach. Ryan still seemed terrified when he talked about it. I didn’t think he would ever recover completely.
With every step we could see more detail of the mountains in the distance. Dark jagged peaks formed a black barrier against the sky. Smoke drifted from the top of one massive summit.
‘That looks like the volcano they headed for at first.’ I pointed ahead. ‘Ryan said head for the volcano.’
‘I expect it’s about to blow up,’ suggested Ivy.
I smiled, there was almost something reassuring about Ivy’s miserable remarks.
The sun was high in the sky by the time we reached the fringe of the forest. Huge trees topped with leafy canopies let through an eerie green light. Beneath the trees, bushes thick with vicious thorns covered the ground. I searched for the trail that Ryan had followed. We found it.
‘Wonder what made this track?’ Sam said looking at the well worn route.
‘I expect we’ll find out soon,’ replied Ivy as we followed the trail, the only possible way into the forest.
We walked on in silence. Much later, rounding a bend, we came to a grassy clearing. It looked peaceful and the sun shone. A small stream ran across the trail and we stopped to drink and eat some of the fruit in our packs. Ivy and Sam persuaded me to try the smoked meat.
‘Mm ... mm,’ was the best comment I could make with my teeth gummed together.
We didn’t stop long. It was awfully quiet and we kept looking at the trail.
‘I think those are footprints?’ Ivy said looking at the softer ground by the stream.
‘Could be,’ I shrugged.
‘Let’s get out of this clearing,’ said Sam.
‘You mean the sniffer’s waterhole,’ Ivy suggested.
I looked at Sam and rolled my eyes at Ivy’s comment. But we went on, slightly faster. The trail turned from the stream and appeared to run towards the mountains.
As the day became hotter, the air under the trees grew stale and sickly. The ground started to rise in a slow steady climb, but the trees were tall and too close together to see very far.
‘What’s that?’ Sam stopped and listened.
We’d been hearing bird calls all the time. Now there was humming coming from ahead. It was getting louder. Nothing like the birds. Much louder.
Ivy was standing in front and saw it first. ‘Run,’ she cried, and stumbled off the track into the thick forest.
I’d heard of hornets but never seen one, and definitely never seen a swarm of thousands which were buzzing towards us. I followed Ivy. Sam was a bit slower. He screamed; his back covered in vicious looking yellow insects. I pulled him into a bush. The main swarm had passed. Ivy and I bashed the insects away from him and they took off to follow the rest. Sam’s back was covered in stings. He was still screaming.
‘We need to get him back to the stream,’ Ivy said trying to get Sam to stand. He was in too much pain so we had to carry him.
Back at the clearing Ivy set to bathing the stings. She seemed to know as much as Mary. Ivy often collected plants, not just for putting in our stews, but some she tried out on the frequent bruises and cuts that we all got. Some worked, some did nothing.
‘Alvin,’ she said and I could see the worry in her face. Sam wasn’t looking good. ‘Alvin you carry on with this, I need to see if I can find something to put on the stings.’
Ivy disappeared into the bushes leaving me dabbing at Sam’s back. He wasn’t saying anything and seemed almost unconscious from the shock.
I hoped she’d be back soon but it seemed ages before she returned carrying a huge bundle of leaves. Soaking them in the stream she bashed them to a paste before heaping the sticky green mess on to Sam’s back. He yelled. I left her to do it and wandered off. It wasn’t late but I didn’t think we’d be able to go far with Sam. We might even have to go back. Even so we needed to find somewhere to spend the night and I didn’t think either the sniffer waterhole or the track were safe.
Peering through the trees I could see the ground sloped upwards. There wasn’t a trail but it looked as though we might be able to get higher up. I went on a bit further. Now I could see I was on a hill. I couldn’t see the top but the trees gave way to crags and grass. I went back down.
Sam seemed to be asleep, breathing more easily. The red wheals on his back still looked angry and swollen but maybe a little better. Ivy was still pounding up more leaves.
‘Better?’ I asked her.
‘I doubt it,’ she replied and I guess I shouldn’t have expected anything positive from her.
‘We’ll have to move out of here before night.’ I knelt down beside her. ‘I think we can get up there.’ And I pointed to the hill which was just about visible through the trees. ‘I suppose we’ll have to carry him.’
I must have disturbed Sam and his eyes opened, his face still twisted in pain. ‘I’m Ok,’ he stuttered, obviously not Ok at all.
Tregarthur's Promise Page 10