Journey to Freedom

by Colin Dann

  Back to the Zoo

  One quick call to the carriers’ men and one to the vet got the immediate tasks organised. Joel turned his attention to the badger. He re-entered the cave, ducking down to a squat as he waited for his eyes to accustom themselves to the deeper blackness farther inside. He had no torch. His only hope was to attempt to drive the badger towards the entrance and catch him in the mesh of the net. The air in the cave was foul. Joel wrinkled his nose and noticed the debris of Lorna’s prey littering the cave floor. He listened for sounds of the badger’s movements, but there was silence. Joel knew he had little chance of success if he couldn’t ascertain exactly where the badger was skulking. Even then the odds were stacked in the animal’s favour. He couldn’t be darted as Lorna had been. The dose was much too powerful for so small an animal. So Joel was relying entirely on the net to disable a beast that was noted for its tenacity. Moreover the badger’s claws and teeth were capable of inflicting serious wounds.

  Joel picked up a piece of bone and threw it into the dark depths. It rattled along the dry floor and was followed by a scraping noise. He remembered he had matches in his pocket. He lit one and held it at arm’s length as it sputtered. A small section of the cave was illuminated. Joel inched forward and lit another match. The cave, he soon found, narrowed sharply farther inside. The badger hadn’t passed him, so he knew it must be at the back of the cave and was now boxed in.

  Ratel kept still. He had reached the limit of the cave and was pressed against its wall where the stream began to run underground. The piece of bone had skipped towards him and he had shifted just a little. His claws had scratched the rocky floor. He knew he was in a trap. He had sacrificed himself to get Lorna to safety. He remembered how the animals in Lingmere Zoo had been dealt with; how they had disappeared. Now a human was coming to grab him. But the badger liked the forest and wanted to stay in it. He wasn’t going to go quietly. The man came on. One after another, flames briefly lit the cave. The fumes from them made the badger sneeze. The next flame showed the man to be very close. Ratel bared his teeth.

  Joel got the net ready. He had one trick up his sleeve. He knew he could dazzle the animal momentarily if he held one match almost in his eyes. He struck the match, saw the badger and lunged forward, almost singeing the black and white fur. Then he threw the net and wrapped it close just as the animal recovered from the shock of the flame and began to kick. The badger had strong legs. Joel exerted all his strength. He felt the badger’s claws trying to rip but dodged away. A piece of rope whipped round the netting and drawn tight put paid to the badger’s struggles. Now the animal used its scent gland. In the confined space its strength was magnified. Joel backed hastily away, leaving the trussed badger where he was.

  Emerging into the open air Joel drew several lungsful of fresh air into his body. He sat down, feeling strangely woozy. It was a while before he ventured back into the cave, and even then the musky smell permeated every corner. Joel held his breath and crawled forward again, feeling his way. He grabbed his live parcel and twisted round, desperate for clean air. Lugging the badger behind him, he dived for the cave opening. It wasn’t until he was once more in the daylight that Joel could see what a truly splendid piece of wrapping he had done.

  The badger’s eyes glared at him with a glitter of rage. Joel chuckled. ‘You’ve been humiliated, haven’t you? All for the best in the long run. If only you knew where you are going!’ He caught him up and set off. ‘Now let’s go and join the others.’

  The men carrying Lorna had made good progress. Once on a proper path they had got into a steady rhythm and were marching along keeping their eyes peeled for the trailer that was to bring their relief. Joel came up with them, proudly showing off his trophy.

  ‘Mmm. Quite a successful day,’ Martin said. He was perspiring profusely as were all the men.

  ‘I’ll take a turn,’ Joel offered. ‘Anyone ready to do a swap?’

  ‘It’ll disturb our rhythm,’ Martin replied. ‘We’ll keep going.’

  A little later the trailer was spotted and the men brightened visibly. They called to those trundling it along the uneven path to speed up a bit. Soon afterwards Lorna and Ratel were lying side by side on the trailer. The men rubbed their strained arms and shoulders and mopped their faces. From then on their pace accelerated.

  The lioness and the badger left the forest together. They would never see it again. The trailer was hitched to the Land-Rover and the animals headed for the ghost zoo that was Lingmere. Ratel saw no sign of life in Lorna. He wondered why she had been killed while he had been left alive. He was reminded that it was a foolish beast that tried to understand a human’s motives.

  Lingmere Zoo was unchanged in appearance, except for the absence of all the animals. The enclosures hadn’t yet been dismantled. While Lorna was rushed into the lab for treatment by the waiting vet, Ratel found himself back in his old cage. His bindings were carefully removed. He dashed at once to a hiding-place, growling his resentment.

  ‘What do they want with me? Why am I to be kept here again?’ he groaned over and over. He had got used to his freedom and the horribly swift change back to incarceration was more than he could bear. ‘I’m alone here now. All the others have gone. Why are humans so cruel?’

  Lorna’s paw was soon dealt with. The thorn was removed, the wound drained of poison, cleaned and sterilised. She was bandaged and left in her old enclosure to recover.

  ‘There shouldn’t be any more infection,’ said the vet. ‘We’ll need to keep an eye on her for a day or so, but she should be ready to travel in forty-eight hours.’

  Joel got ready to fly back to Kamenza. News of Ellen was much the same. No one gave her much of a chance. Joel tried to picture the two lionesses together again in the refuge. How different they would look: one strong and healthy and bold, the other a thin, listless shadow of her twin. Was there time for Ellen to recover? The newspaper was preparing for a heartrending story. Whether Ellen survived or succumbed, either way the paper would have the attention of the nation.

  *

  Lorna woke and glanced around groggily. For a while she couldn’t get her bearings. So many strange and frightening things had happened in the last day. But eventually she realised where she was. She staggered to her feet, swaying unsteadily, and stared at her bandaged foot. The foot was tender but no longer sent a stab of sharp pain through her body. She remembered the cave and the hours she had spent lying on her side. Somehow the easing of pain and her return to her old quarters were connected. Lorna’s head swung round slowly. She was familiarising herself again with the enclosure’s features. There was something wrong with the place. Lorna blinked and tried hard to think what it was. In her muzzy state it was a while before she realised what was missing. Then she gave a little cry of distress. Ellen wasn’t there. For the first time she was alone in her old home. Now there was no forest, no prey, no hunting prowess to distract her. Just as when she had first hidden herself in the forest, Lorna roared aloud her sense of isolation. She roared for Ellen who seemed lost to her for ever.

  Her roars were answered not by other roars, but by the surprised and excited chirrups of the honey badger. ‘Lion! Lion! It’s me – Ratel. You’re back again,’ he chattered. ‘I thought you were dead. Can you see me? I’m at the front of the cage as I used to be. Come and talk!’

  Lorna limped across and pressed her head against the fence. Across the pathway the honey badger was trotting up and down excitedly in his own cage. Lorna recalled how the humans had come to her lair in the wake of the badger’s arrival.

  ‘You tricked me, Ratel,’ she accused him. ‘Why did you lead the men to me?’ She sounded forlorn and hurt.

  ‘To rescue you. You would never have left your lair again. Your freedom is gone – like mine – but you’re alive. I’m so relieved. I thought at first that the men had killed you. I couldn’t understand why only I was allowed to survive. Are you still in pain?’

  ‘A little. Ratel, I wish you had left me to peri
sh in my den.’

  ‘How could I? We’re friends, aren’t we?’

  ‘Yes, we’re friends. But what sort of life will this be after our adventures in the forest?’

  ‘Well – as it always was, I suppose. Safe. Boring. And tame.’

  ‘It’s not as it always was,’ Lorna contradicted. ‘It can never be that so long as my sister is missing.’

  ‘No. I’d forgotten,’ the badger said softly. He heard a rattle along the path. ‘Oh-oh, look. We’re going to be fed.’ He disappeared from sight as the food trolley approached. Lorna was given extra rations to build her up. The badger received some odd cuts off the same carcass. The lioness limped to the food and was soon absorbed. There was very little that could deter her from eating.

  How different the situation was with her sister! Ellen languished in her pen in Kamenza. She was at a very low ebb. People there thought she had simply given up and was waiting to die. Annie spent every spare moment with her and Ellen did seem to respond to her kindness. She would creep forward and put her head close to the fence to listen to Annie’s voice. But that was all. The girl had no more success persuading Ellen to look at her food than anyone else. They had tried everything to make her eat. She was now so weak that even feeding by hand had been attempted; Ellen had refused all sustenance except milk. It was the only thing that was keeping her alive and, because she didn’t reject it, Simon Obagwe was able to help her by adding vitamins and other dietary essentials to the liquid. But Ellen had almost no real strength. Her flesh hung loose, her coat was patchy and her eyes were dull and uninterested. She showed no curiosity and no change of mood, only listlessness.

  When news of Lorna’s recapture reached Kamenza, there was some optimism in the refuge. The staff made renewed efforts to persuade Ellen to eat; they were afraid that she might die before Lorna could be brought out. Annie urged the weakling to drink extra milk and Ellen did accept an additional pailful. Now everyone went around with crossed fingers, willing the lioness to stay alive for just a few more days. They all hoped the sight of her sister would work a transformation in her, but they also feared that, by the time of Lorna’s arrival, Ellen would be too weak to ever make a proper recovery.

  Upesi the cheetah had observed the lioness’s decline day by day. It was a complete mystery to her. She was impatient and scornful of Ellen’s illness. She watched the supplies of meat delivered to the lioness’s pen and she watched the dried-up, fly-covered, untasted food taken out again. The absurdity of it really aggravated her. It was pointless and ridiculous.

  ‘Give it to me,’ she would snarl at the humans as they tried with such regularity to tempt the obstinate Ellen. ‘Give it to me. I’ll eat it. That’s what you want, isn’t it? For it to be eaten? Why waste it on her? You know she’s going to refuse it. Give it to me!’ But she knew they never would and it made her mad.

  The men ignored her snarls. They thought she was bad-tempered. Even Ellen protested.

  ‘Can’t you be quieter?’ the lioness complained feebly. ‘Always growling at me. I only ask for some peace, nothing more.’

  ‘All right,’ said Upesi. ‘I’ll stop talking altogether. I can see you take no interest in anything. I waste my breath on you; that’s quite clear. Huh! It’s like talking to a tree.’ She continued pacing around her enclosure until it was too hot to do more than seek out a shady spot and go to sleep.

  Ellen was grateful for the times when Upesi slept and there was almost no noise of any kind except for the buzzing of insects or a lazy cry from one man to another as they made their rounds. Then Ellen would daydream. She would imagine she and her sister were lying side by side under the trees, happy in each other’s company, knowing they would be undisturbed. The peace and contentment of such a scene would soon lull her to sleep. And while Ellen slept, Lorna’s paw was healing and the hour drawing near for Joel to escort her to Kamenza.

  Airlift

  Arrangements for transporting Lorna were completed. The truck to carry her to the airport stood ready. The honey badger was already crated after a long struggle to catch him inside his cage. Lorna had to be sedated and the men were not going to make the same mistake with her twice. Joel had suggested they should wait until she was asleep, to avoid complications. Approaching the lioness was doubly difficult now. Although she knew her old keeper and recognised her name, Lorna had reverted almost entirely to the wild creature she was. Luckily, the weather was hot and humid which made her drowsy. It was left to Joel to sedate her.

  When she was quiet he crept inside the enclosure. Lorna lay on her side. Her sore paw had healed beautifully and scarcely troubled her. This time the darting was easy because Joel was able to get close. As soon as the needle had gone in, he leapt away for the gate because Lorna was on her feet the moment she felt the dart. She complained angrily as Joel dashed through the exit. A few minutes later she was comatose.

  In the next quarter of an hour Lorna was crated and she and the badger were packed inside the truck alongside each other. They set off for the airport at once, Joel travelling in the cab of the vehicle.

  ‘I hope the rest of the journey goes as smoothly,’ he said to the driver. ‘Time is the critical factor now.’

  In Kamenza Simon Obagwe and his staff were counting the hours to evening when Joel and Lorna were due to arrive. It was a momentous day all round, for a little earlier Upesi the cheetah had been released on to the plains. For days now her supply of raw meat had been reduced – triggering her impatience with Ellen – and she had been killing small mammals brought to her pen for her to hunt, until the wardens judged her ready to make her way in the wild. Outside her pen, however, everything was strange, and Upesi had not yet emerged from the shelter of some long grass. Ellen hadn’t noticed the cheetah’s absence. These days Ellen was almost always asleep.

  In the gloom of the lorry’s interior, the badger moved nervously around his crate. He could smell the lioness close by and, just as before, wondered at her silence. But he knew this time that she wasn’t dead. He understood now that the humans could make an animal quiet and still any time they chose. He waited anxiously for Lorna to recover. He didn’t like being confined in this cramped way and he was frightened by the vehicle’s noise and movement. What on earth were the humans planning to do with them this time? They had hardly got used to their old quarters again before they were roughly removed. Ratel thought he had been treated quite brutally. He had put up strong resistance and had evaded the men for as long as he could. But there had seemed to be an army of them this time and in the end they were too many for him. Struggle as he would, they overpowered him with real force and locked him away in this tiny container. He felt as though he could hardly breathe. He stared at the dark shape of the lioness slumped in a corner of her much larger crate. He thought he could hear her murmuring to herself, but she was only drawing deep breaths as she laboured back to consciousness.

  ‘I wish you’d talk,’ the honey badger muttered. ‘I’m feeling panicky here on my own. Why are the humans bothering with me?’

  The lorry droned on. The badger tried to sleep.

  Lorna awoke on the aircraft. The transfer from truck to plane had gone smoothly. Joel was delighted and, as they sat on the tarmac awaiting clearance, Lorna’s first drowsy growls could be heard.

  ‘I’m here,’ said Ratel. ‘Still here and still your friend. But badly scared and really glad I’ve got you for company at last.’

  ‘Ah. I’m glad too,’ Lorna mumbled. ‘I’m so tired. What’s the matter with me? Why am I in this thing? Where’s the—’

  ‘We’ve been imprisoned by the humans,’ the badger quickly broke in. ‘Only they know why. We’re at their mercy. But I don’t think they mean us any harm. The usual man is with us.’

  ‘The one who talks to us? He’s no threat. But I shall escape again as soon as I can and go back to the forest.’

  ‘I don’t even know where that is any more,’ the badger told her. ‘We’ve been bumped around and whisked about so much that I
’ve forgotten how to get there. We must be patient and wait for the right moment, lion. Freedom once won mustn’t be lost again.’ His final remark was drowned by the aircraft’s engines bursting into life. They were on the move again.

  The animals were fed and watered during the flight. Their cramped conditions made them miserable and fractious. As the sedative wore off Lorna began to blame the badger.

  ‘This is your doing,’ she snarled weakly. ‘If it wasn’t for you I wouldn’t be stuck in this box, aching in every limb.’

  The badger was hurt. ‘Maybe you would and maybe you wouldn’t,’ he said. ‘Maybe you’d have starved to death. The humans would have found you anyway eventually, dead or alive.’

  ‘Better in my den than in this horrible place,’ Lorna sighed.

  The honey badger bristled. ‘Let me remind you of something, lion. I didn’t have to help you. I sacrificed my own freedom too when I entered your den. There was no way out again. The humans saw to that.’

  ‘More fool you, then.’

  ‘Yes. I was foolish,’ said Ratel, ‘to expect any gratitude from you.’

  Lorna put her head on her paws. She remembered what the pain in her foot had been like. Now it hardly troubled her. It was difficult for her to apologise. She didn’t want to be beholden to a far smaller creature than herself. ‘I suppose, Ratel, we ought to stop squabbling,’ she murmured. That was as far as she could go.

  ‘Of course we should,’ the honey badger agreed readily. ‘We’re in this together and we should take comfort from that.’

  ‘All right,’ said Lorna.

  It was evening when the plane touched down in Africa. There was quite a crowd to greet the newcomers. Lorna’s arrival was the cause of excitement locally; news had spread of the ailing lioness in Kamenza who was about to be saved by her long-lost sister. The honey badger was less of a celebrity.