by Bear Grylls
He needed a change of tack.
‘By the way, we were supposed to check on the herd’s location.’
‘Well, when you get back—’
‘We were supposed to do it earlier and forgot because we were, um, looking for Mum and Dad. And you know Anil – he’ll be disappointed with Diya if he thinks she’s put birdwatching before the elephants.’ He knew his sister would be more sympathetic if Diya was in trouble rather than him.
‘All you have to do is check the monitors and let us know where they are, so if he asks us when we get back . . .’ He glanced at Hathi, who was taking the opportunity to throw some dust over his back to cool off, and suddenly felt inspired. ‘I mean, we wouldn’t want anything to happen to the herd just because we forgot to check them, would we?’
He knew it was the perfect reasoning. Despite her attitude, he knew Anula was an animal lover.
‘Hold on, then,’ she said with reluctance. He heard her leave the cabin and walk across the camp. There were a few clicks as she turned the monitors on. Then she finally spoke up. ‘I see them. They look fine to me.’
‘And the map . . . ?’
‘Oh yeah . . .’
‘What?’
‘They’ve changed direction.’
Mak could hear the clicking of the mouse. His sister might be a number of things, but she was far more competent on the computer than he was. He tried to imagine the map in his mind’s eye.
‘OK, they’ve turned twenty-three degrees south. It looks like they’re avoiding some nasty hills. But . . .’
Mak nervously paced as Anula lapsed into silence. He was about to check they were still connected when she spoke again.
‘It looks like they’re heading straight for a village.’
Mak frowned. ‘A village?’ He pictured the map in his head and knew exactly where that was. It was a small settlement, populated by local farmers.
‘That’s good, then . . . ?’ Anula queried.
Mak saw a horrified look on Diya’s face. He covered the phone as Diya whispered to him.
‘They are heading towards the village? That’s awful news!’
‘Why?’ Then as an afterthought he spoke into the phone. ‘Hold on, sis.’ He pressed the mute button.
‘I’ve been to the village with my father. The farmers hate the elephants. They think the animals threaten their crops. And we also think that the loggers have been taking them out using the roads they’ve been carving through the jungle.’ She paused. ‘It means the elephants are targeted by both loggers and villagers. If the herd goes there, they’ll be in big trouble.’
She looked sadly at Hathi, who was oblivious to the seriousness of their conversation.
‘My father has tried to work with the villagers to build fences to keep the elephants away. We’ve had some success, but they always said they would kill the elephants if they came back to the village. And they mean it.’
‘The entire herd is heading in their direction!’ Mak said with concern.
Diya nodded sadly. ‘The farmers will shoot them.’
CHAPTER NINETEEN
After quickly hanging up the sat phone, Mak and Diya agreed to press on as far as they could. They needed to put as much distance as possible between them and Buldeo before the light failed. It was one thing being pursued by the bad guys, but now they also had to rush to stop the herd from running into a deadly trap.
The track ahead sloped back down as they crossed a limestone ridge, and from somewhere ahead they could hear the sound of running water.
‘I don’t think it’s the same river as before,’ said Mak, remembering the map’s network of smaller tributaries that weaved through the jungle. ‘And I don’t think we should get too close to it now that it’s getting darker.’
They stopped to bed down for the night and felt an intense thirst overwhelm them after marching so hard in the intense humidity without much rest. They’d been sweating heavily with every step, almost all day. Before entering the thickest part of the jungle, they’d used the last of Diya’s water, and now dehydration was catching up with them.
Mak knew they could go without food for days, but water was essential. They looked at Hathi, who was quite content drinking murky water from a muddy pool.
‘The water purifier was in the pack.’ Mak sighed.
Diya held up her finger towards the sound of rushing water. ‘What about that?’
Mak pulled a face. ‘The light’s fading, so we wouldn’t be able to judge if it is safe from any crocs, never mind drinkable.’
‘So we die of thirst in the rainforest?’
Mak waved his fingers like a magician. ‘I can make water appear out of nowhere!’
Diya looked expectantly at his empty hands. ‘That was a terrible trick.’
Laughing, Mak shook his head. ‘The moisture from fruits will help for now. We’ll survive.’ He winked and headed deeper into the forest.
After a few minutes of foraging, he returned with armfuls of papaya fruit.
‘Now let’s tuck in.’
They ate the fruits in pleasant silence, throwing a few to Hathi, who ate them whole. They looked longingly at the bag of rice that Diya had kept the sat phone stowed in, but Mak insisted they didn’t light a fire in case it alerted Buldeo to their location.
The lack of fire soon brought problems of its own as the fog they’d seen earlier finally caught up with them, laying wispy tendrils down between the trees and causing the temperature to drop until they were both soon shivering.
Mak stood and paced around in an effort to warm himself up. ‘We should make sure we don’t get any unwelcome visitors tonight.’ With his penknife, he cut more vines from the trees. ‘I’m going to set up a perimeter!’ He yanked a vine down from a tree. ‘An early warning in case Buldeo and his goons decide to pay us a visit during the night.’
The thought of that frightened Diya. She nodded. ‘Good idea.’
Since encountering poachers last time he was in the jungle, Mak had read up about the snares and traps they used. He had no intention of constructing anything that would hurt an innocent animal, but something noisy that would alert them to unwelcome snoopers would be ideal.
Mak wound the vine round their camp, at shin height, going from tree to tree in a large circle.
The vine acted as a basic tripwire across every approach to their camp. Mak then unscrewed the metal mug from his water bottle and filled it with small stones. He placed it at arm’s reach up in a tree, balanced in the crook of a branch. Then he attached a small bit of vine from the cup to the main tripwire.
If anyone triggered the tripwire, it would pull the metal mug full of stones off the branch and come clattering down on to the rock floor below, making one hell of a noise.
Perfect, thought Mak.
Turning his attention to their camp, he selected a spot among the roots of a tree. He checked that there were no burrows from any animals that might want to bite them during the night, and then swept the area for nasty insects or snakes.
Breaking off some branches, he covered the area with armfuls of broad leaves to form a basic mattress, which would also give them some warmth. Then he used more leaves and branches to create a basic overhead cover for them. It was simple, but would help them to stay dry.
Standing back, he looked at his temporary camp.
He turned to Diya. ‘The best way to stay warm is, um, for us to share body warmth,’ he said awkwardly.
Diya said, ‘OK, then. I’m tired already.’
She settled down in the basic shelter and, after a few moments, Mak joined her.
He looked up at their rooftop of branches and gently turned his back to Diya.
‘Try to sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day. For us and for Hathi.’ He paused. ‘And well done today. It is nice being together on this mission. We are a good team, eh?’
‘Yes. A good team. Sleep well, jungle boy!’
He felt her turn and press against his back as well, and immediately he felt war
mer.
Mak thought he’d stay awake the whole night, but swiftly found sleep embracing him. He was so tired, it felt as if he was sinking into the ground . . .
CHAPTER TWENTY
Mak jerked awake suddenly. The feeling of sinking had been so intense that he’d dreamed he was wading through quicksand – but now he was instantly alert, his senses sharp.
What had woken him? Had a tripwire been triggered?
He heard Diya’s steady rhythmic breathing behind him, the gentle grumbling from Hathi and the river, which sounded louder in the dead of night. Nothing was amiss, yet something had disturbed him.
Gently pushing aside the branches of their makeshift roof, and taking care not to wake Diya, Mak clambered outside. The mist spiralled through the trees, and the reflecting moonlight gave the impression that the ground was glowing.
He headed straight for Hathi, who was peering into the darkness, ears cocked for any sound. The elephant ran his trunk across Mak as he gently patted the animal and spoke in a low voice.
‘What’s the matter, Hathi? Is someone out there?’
He doubted Buldeo would have caught up with them in the dark, especially with most of their equipment at the bottom of the river, and he suspected a leopard or tiger would alarm Hathi, whereas the elephant seemed more curious than frightened.
Then the loggers’ tales of killer crocodiles and enormous snakes came to mind, and Mak wished Diya hadn’t mentioned them. Although he’d survived the jungle before, it was still easy to believe that something unknown lurked out there, waiting to be discovered.
Mak edged further into the trees, mindful not to trigger his own traps. Then he stopped in his tracks as he heard a great crashing of branches. The mist swirled and a giant loomed into view. Mak’s heart pounded, his legs twitched ready to run, but his instincts kept him rooted to the spot.
It looked like a buffalo, but much larger, standing almost twice as tall as Mak. Huge horns curved from an unusually high ridge on the animal’s head. Its powerfully built body was covered in black fur, while its legs looked as if it was wearing white socks.
It flared its ears, each as big as Mak’s hand, as it studied him.
Mak had no doubt he could be trampled to death by this huge creature.
Six more animals appeared, but they were more interested in eating than they were in Mak. He flinched when Diya suddenly appeared behind him, whispering softly.
‘Cool, eh? They are gaur. The largest cattle in the world.’ She stood next to him, gazing at the animals in wonder as they spread out around them. The bull snorted, then resumed eating as it judged the children were no threat. ‘There are not that many of them left. We’re lucky to see them here.’
They watched the gaur spread out through the mist, communicating with occasional dull grunts and barely making a sound as they rummaged through the undergrowth. The mist gave the scene such a dreamlike quality that Mak had to pinch himself to check he was still awake. The huge beasts eventually disappeared into the darkness, leaving Mak and Diya breathless with wonder.
‘That was awesome!’ said Mak.
Diya nodded. ‘Good job your tripwires warned us of the danger,’ she said sarcastically, nudging Mak in the arm and returning to their bivouac. Mak followed before wondering why the gaur hadn’t tripped a single wire.
He was so wrapped up in his thoughts that he didn’t notice his foot snagging the very vine he’d been thinking about. It yanked the smaller vine attached to the metal mug, and with a big clang it fell to the ground, scattering the stones across the rocks.
Mak’s heart leaped, and then it jumped again as several birds that had been sleeping in the tree took to the air, squawking noisily.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
By dawn, the mist had left every leaf in the forest dripping with dew, which Mak and Diya licked eagerly.
Mak smiled to himself – they were beginning to live like the animals of the jungle: surviving moment to moment, and using what nature provided.
Breakfast was formed of wild fungi and the few berries they found that Hathi hadn’t yet eaten. Diya was particularly skilled at identifying the poisonous ones – plucking a berry or a mushroom out of Mak’s fingers just as he was about to eat it.
The sun warmed the forest, and Mak, with a spring in his step, led the party towards the sound of roaring water. After a few hundred metres, their trail led straight to the top of a gorge where white water frothed fifteen metres below.
‘Lucky we didn’t stumble this way in the dark,’ Mak said, looking down.
The pathway wound along the gorge and rapidly descended to the waterline. They took care as Hathi was clearly agitated by the height, and the last thing they needed was for the elephant to panic.
They were soon on a broad rocky shore that stretched away from the gorge. Here the water was no longer frothing and white, but it flowed quickly and disappeared round a bend where the dense jungle hung over the banks of the river.
Hathi trumpeted with delight and waded knee-deep into the water, splashing himself, then squirting water at the children.
‘Cut it out!’ said Mak, laughing hard.
Diya wasn’t so amused. She was looking downstream. ‘That terrain is going to slow us down,’ she said.
Mak pointed directly across the river where the flat shore continued.
‘We need to cross this river at some point, Diya.’ He pointed. ‘The village lies that way. I’m sure of it.’
‘But how are we going to cross this? It’s way too wide to make any form of bridge.’ Diya kicked a piece of driftwood at her feet. ‘Perhaps we could build a raft?’
Mak gave her a worried look. ‘Last time I built a raft, I ended up nearly drowning. Trust me, it’s not as easy as it looks. And building one to take the weight of an elephant . . .’ He trailed off as he glanced upstream.
Diya followed his gaze and gripped his shoulder in alarm.
‘Mak!’
In the distance, they could see three figures at the very top of the gorge. They were too far away for them to make out any details, but in Mak’s mind there was no doubt that it was Buldeo, Lalu and Girish.
The pair watched as the three figures hurried across the horizon, and were then lost from view behind the rocks.
‘Do you think they saw us?’ Diya asked in a low voice.
‘Two kids and an elephant on a beach?’ said Mak drily. ‘I think it’s likely. Even if they didn’t, they’ll be down here in less than an hour. My booby trap obviously didn’t slow them down enough.’
They looked back at the river. It was an enormous obstacle. Diya started to walk downstream. ‘We don’t have time to waste. Hathi! Come on, boy. We need to move now!’
The elephant replied with a trumpeting sound, but made no effort to leave the water.
‘Hathi! Come on!’ She gestured towards the trees ahead.
The elephant stepped a little further into the river. The water was now tickling his underbelly.
Mak waded into the water with his arms extended to try to usher Hathi in the right direction. ‘Come on, buddy. We have to move now.’ Hathi responded by spraying him with water. Mak sputtered, swiping the water away from his face. ‘We don’t have time to play games!’
Seeing Mak’s problem, Diya waded in to help, holding her arms out to coax the elephant back to land. She clicked her tongue and whistled in a soothing manner.
‘Come on, Hathi! Don’t be a pain!’
Hathi stepped further into the river.
Mak lunged for him, accidentally urging him even further forward. With a groan of frustration, he got round the front of the little elephant and tried pushing him back towards the riverbank.
He might as well have been shoving a mountain, but then with a final bellow Hathi surged forward into the river again. He moved so suddenly that Mak fell face first into the water. He coughed and spluttered as he felt his legs sweep from under him and he bobbed along in the surprisingly strong current.
‘Hathi!’
He’d expected Hathi to flounder in the water, but was astonished to see the little elephant was paddling effortlessly, his trunk held high out of the water like a snorkel. And he looked like he was having the time of his life!
Diya dived forward to catch up with them and watched with Mak as the elephant splashed further into the river. They both circled Hathi, watching in wonder.
‘I can’t believe he’s swimming!’ Mak yelled before a wave splashed over his head. He spat out a mouthful of water, then looked around. The surface was becoming choppy as they rounded the river bend.
Then, without warning, they all gained speed. Spinning round, they saw the water ahead was frothing angrily. The current, intensified, was now hurtling them along towards another sharp bend.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
A vicious current snapped at Mak’s leg and he felt himself yanked downwards. His arms crawled through the water as he fought to the surface. The one rule enforced in his mind was ‘Don’t panic!’
This wasn’t the first time he’d been swept away in a river, and he knew it was easy to get disorientated underwater, but he kept his head and followed the path of bubbles upwards.
He caught a flash of Hathi’s legs powerfully treading water, before he surfaced close to the elephant. The animal was trumpeting in alarm, but with his trunk held high, he was in no immediate danger of drowning.
Diya, however, was in deep trouble.
He saw her just metres away, spinning out of control in the water’s fierce rip. It was pointless to call out to her. Instead Mak summoned all his energy and swam towards her in a powerful front crawl. He could feel the current pulling at him, but remained resolutely on course.
Reaching Diya, he swept his hand around her, clutching at the back of her collar. She thrashed wildly, trying to stop herself from being pulled under, unaware that Mak was holding her. He was now at risk of being punched in the face by her as she struggled. Knocking him out now would probably see them both dead.
Gripping her collar tightly, Mak kicked against the water as hard as he could, holding her at arm’s length to avoid a flailing fist. The sudden yank and change of direction forced Diya on to her back and she stopped writhing when she realized she was being helped. As soon as she stopped struggling, her body naturally floated, making Mak’s job a little easier . . .