Lia's files 2_Heading down south

by Kathrin Kilambya

  “Mate, cool it, will you.” Rob held Josh’s angry gaze. “We need to get four to six more cars, right? So, it’s six people who will go. It was either me and Winter or you and Lia. And I decided it for us. Winter and I will accompany Paul and Idris’s men. You are needed here. Right?”

  For a moment Josh looked like he would contest Rob’s decision. But then he relented. “Ah, well, you’re probably right. But I don’t really like that high-handed way of yours. You can’t decide such things just on your own.”

  “But I did. And it’s settled. Let’s get going.” Rob was unusually curt and Winter glanced uneasily from Rob to Josh. Alice saved the moment. She came over to us and jumped into Winter’s arms. “You are going? With Rob and Paul? Come back soon and be safe. I love you.” With this she wrapped her arms around Winter’s neck and kissed her cheek.

  Winter looked stunned, but very pleased. She hugged Alice close for a moment and whispered, “Love you too, little tiger.”

  Then she handed her to Josh and quickly walked toward the entrance of the cave to join Paul. Rob followed her and we all accompanied them to the car.

  “Shouldn’t we discuss some kind of a contingency plan? Just in case?” I asked Josh in a low voice.

  “Like what? I don’t think there’s much we can decide or anticipate. Let’s just hope for the best and be prepared to leave quickly once they’re back.” Josh sounded only halfway convinced of his own words.

  Well, maybe he was right.

  Yuki shot me an unhappy glance, too. “I don’t like this, Lia. I see why it is necessary, but I don’t like it. Not above half.”

  Nin gave her a reassuring smile. “I think they will be alright. Tsegaye told me in detail where they are going and that in that village there were several cars last time he was there, which was just about three weeks ago. He is very confident that they will be back with the cars in no time. And he knows this area in and out. So, let’s be confident, shall we?”

  We all had to smile at this.

  Meanwhile, the others had gotten in the car and were ready to leave. We stood and watched until the car disappeared around a bend.

  It felt so weird. Here we were, standing somewhere in Eastern Sudan with three of our friends disappearing in the distance. We were left without a car but with equipment that would last us for weeks. Heck! They simply had to come back, and soon.

  “Are you alright?” Josh asked in a concerned voice. “You look so preoccupied.”

  “Probably because I feel like curling up and crying.” I tried to joke. But it didn’t work well, a little sob escaped and I silently cursed myself for being such a sissy.

  Alice!

  Alice needed me now, didn’t she? I must pull myself together for her sake.

  Where was she by the way?

  Glancing around for her, I couldn’t see her. It was still dark, but our eyes had adjusted to the darkness and it would be dawn in just another half an hour. I couldn’t see that far, but I could make out the group of adults and children walking back to the cave. We, Nin and Yuki, Josh and me, were the last ones to still be out here by the road. But where was Alice?

  “Do any of you know where Alice went?” I asked rather frantically.

  “Don’t worry,” Nin answered. “She’s over there with Safia and Nulu. We’re going to have a hard time pulling that trio apart. They stick together like glue. And whisper and giggle. You could think that they understand each-other perfectly well. It’s amazing.”

  He pointed further ahead of us and sure enough, Alice was over there, walking with Safia and Nulu toward the caves, too. I heaved a sigh of relief and Josh chuckled.

  “Children will always be children.” Yuki said in reply to Nin’s words.

  “Okay, let’s get going then. Shall we? We still have quite some packing to do today.” Feeling a bit silly and mostly just very embarrassed for my inner emotional turmoil, I started at a brisk pace toward the cave.

  Josh followed me close on my heels and, after a few strides, said in a tender voice. “You don’t need to worry, Lia. They are going to be all right. We’re all going to be all right.”

  I shot him an impatient glance. Maybe he didn’t see it in the dim light. How could he treat me like an idiot? He couldn’t know that we’d be alright. That was just conjecture and wishful thinking on his part. I was about to utter something crotchety, when I saw his face. He looked so tense and worried! I reached out and whispered. “Sorry Josh for being an idiot. You’re right, we’ll be okay. We simply have to. It’s just, well, it’s an incredible situation, isn’t it? And I can hardly bear the pressure of it all. At least you are here with me.”

  We embraced and stood close for a moment. Each savouring the strength and warmth of the other, of being together.

  “You know, I really hate this. We keep saying that we should all stay together, that we are better off as a group. And yet we’re constantly being pulled apart.” Josh muttered exasperatedly.

  Nin had heard this and scolded us. “Honestly, you two shouldn’t take such a grim view on things. The way Tsegaye explained me, there’s really not going to be any problem at all. They’ll organize these cars in no time and then we can get going. You’ll just see.”

  I heaved an exasperated sigh at this, even Yuki rolled her eyes at that much misplaced over-optimism, and then we hurried on toward the cave. Better to go and do something useful than to keep discussing in circles.

  Inside the cave, Tigist and her ladies were busy packing up everything. They went about this in a brisk, organized manner, as if they’d been moving camp many times before and everyone knew exactly what to do. The men prepared and packed the weapons and the heavier containers.

  We, too, made sure that our bags and boxes were packed and ready to be carried out and into the cars, as soon as the others would come back.

  It didn’t take us long and then we all of us left the cave and went outside to wait for our friends’ return. The sun had risen now and it was hot already. Rows upon rows of clouds were billowing across the sky, from East to West, but high up, they weren’t rain clouds yet. The rain season would start soon, but not yet for some weeks. Everything looked so peaceful and calm. Birds were singing in the trees and bushes nearby.

  Idris told us to stay near the cave entrance; only Degu and a boy ventured further down toward the road to have a look. We gave Degu a pair of binoculars. Everybody else settled on stones and dead branches near the cave, preferably in the shade for the heat was getting intense. The men carried guns, Yuki and I had our binoculars with us, so did Josh and Nin.

  At first, Alice remained close to me and Yuki, but when the other children signalled for her to join them she quickly went over to them. The children had settled for a sandy place under a big tree between where we, that is Nin, Yuki, Josh and I, and Idris, Tigist, Senayit and Belachew sat. They quietly played some game that involved pebbles being thrown in a certain way. Apart from quiet giggles and some whispered conversation, they didn’t talk, rather, they used sign language to communicate; much to the amusement of them all. The rest of us sat in silence, we were all tense and everyone watched our surroundings carefully. Once or twice, Tigist hissed to the children, probably to make less noise, because every time they quietened down for a while, before they took up their whispering and giggling again.

  We couldn’t see far. Not even down to the road. Apart from the singing of the birds, and humming of insects and cicadas, no other sounds could be discerned. Suddenly Nin pointed over to some rocks maybe thirty metres away. Just rock hyraxes. Several of them. It was fun to watch them, though. That they were out and about meant that they felt relatively safe, and therefore, that no-one was nearby.

  Then some birds hopped close, obviously in search of something to eat. They flew onto a low bush near us and eyed us with keen interest. This, too, was a good sign. For, they wouldn’t have come this close and behaved this relaxed, had there been other humans milling around.

  “Look, they are starlings of some kind
.” I said in a low voice. “Not like the superb starling of Kenya, but definitely a kind of starling.” The birds had bright yellow eyes, iridescent green wings and a radiant blue front and legs. They looked so beautiful.

  “It feels like home. Almost.” Josh whispered and I looked up to him to see how he’d meant this. He sat behind me on a rock and I had nestled below him on a smaller stone. It was cosy and he had wrapped his arms around me. Nin and Yuki sat much in the same way, just next to us. Now, Josh smiled down on me.

  “Doesn’t it?”

  “Yes, it definitely does. At home in Kenya, I mean at Uncle Phil’s place, there are always superb starlings around. These here, well, they really are kind of a sign of home.” Nin answered.

  “If we head out today, do you think we might get near Lake Tana by evening?” Yuki wanted to know.

  “If Goytom will really come with us, why not. He could show us the way. At least, I hope he will.”

  “Isn’t that just wishful thinking? What about the Nemesis who were around here some few days ago?” I intercepted, not willing to join into their enthusiasm.

  “We’ll see. Maybe when Paul, Winter and all the others will come back, they’ll be able to tell us more.” Josh blew a kiss onto my hair.

  We grew silent once more.

  It was easier to bare the waiting while being silent than to keep talking in circles and without really knowing how things would turn out to be.

  It was around nine o’clock when Yuki said that she was thirsty and a bit peckish. She suggested that we fetch some fruit from the boxes we’d stolen from the Nemesis. Nin got up with her and they walked over to Tigist. Yuki talked in a low voice with Tigist and came back to us, while Nin and Tigist disappeared toward where we’d stored the boxes we’d unloaded from our remaining car. They were gone maybe ten minutes and when they came back up the path, they carried each two bags full of something. Apples, banana and the remaining strawberries. Plus some water. Tigist distributed the food and Nin brought us some of it. It felt good and was refreshing. The children got their share, too, and were especially keen on the strawberries.

  It was soon quarter to ten. Another fifteen minutes to go until we could reasonably expect the return of Rob, Winter, Paul, Tsegaye, Goytom and Mekonnen. I felt so tight and tense that my hands were shaking.

  “Easy, love. They’ll come. Don’t worry.” Josh whispered while holding me tight to himself. “Easy. It’s going to be okay.” He hummed those words, like a mantra, over and over again.

  Then it was ten o’clock.

  We waited. Everybody, except for the children, looking tight and worried.

  Quarter past ten. Still nothing.

  The minutes crawled past in snail-like slowness. It was utterly unbearable.

  Half past ten. Still nothing.

  We strained our ears and eyes to hear or see something. Anything.

  Then, a noise!

  Not from a car, but an airplane!

  A small one, flying not too high above from all one could hear. And approaching fast!

  We all leapt to our feet and frantically ran for cover. Some of us ran back to the cave. I ran to grab Alice. Together with Josh, Nin and Yuki we sought shelter underneath the tree the children had been playing. Looking around I saw that everyone had found some sort of cover.

  Only just in time.

  An airplane now flew into view. It came from the general direction of where we’d come from yesterday. It flew low, seemingly along the road, as if searching for something. When it was just over us, it flew a circle! And then another one! My blood felt like freezing, I was so shocked.

  The Nemesis!

  All I could think was that these must be Nemesis! That they had found us!

  Just then Nin who had grabbed Yuki’s binoculars and trained them on the airplane exclaimed.

  “Gosh! It’s Serag and Abdella! Heck, they made it! Look, they are waving at us.”

  With this, he stepped from underneath the cover of the tree and waved his arms. The plane flew another circle and now we could all see that the two figures in the airplane were frantically waving their arms. Just as we all stepped out from underneath the tree to have a better look, the plane completed its third circle and headed eastward, following the road, quickly disappearing behind the nearby hills and mountains.

  “I’ll be damned! Did you see this? Heck, it’s incredible, but they really managed to get a plane! Who would have thought that?” Nin was beaming all over his face.

  “Did you see that?” Yuki shouted over to Tigist and Idris. “Those were Serag and Abdella!” She repeated what she’d said in Arabic. Idris and Belachew started to talk animatedly and suddenly Degu appeared. He, too, was very excited and he shouted. “Serag and Abdella! Did you see?” Then he continued in Arabic and gesticulated a lot while addressing Idris.

  “They must have found a smaller airplane in that little town where we left the plane.” Josh mused. “When we searched for cars, we saw a little airport at the western edge of that town. I’m flabbergasted that they really managed to get a plane, leave alone get it up in the air.”

  “Do you think they flew this direction first to give us some breathing space?” I asked.

  All three of them, looked at me, as if I had spoken Chinese.

  I explained. “I mean, if they are heading for that Nemesis base near Gondar and drop some Pathogen there, that should give us the perfect time slot to travel into Ethiopia and south toward Lake Tana, shouldn’t it? Coz, from what I saw on the maps, we will have to pass quite close to Gondar; to get to the road around Lake Tana and down south toward Addis Ababa. We will have to follow the main road from here almost to Gondar to get to that junction.”

  Josh looked at me in exasperation, a smile on his face, but also a look of wonder. “How the heck did you get to that conclusion so quickly? You really have an over-suspicious and warped mind, do you?”

  “But that warped mind is churning away for us.” Yuki smiled, looking at me as if I were her personal performing monkey and had just pulled off a really good trick. “She’s like that, Josh. You had better get used to it. She’ll always think ahead, and not just two or three steps, but miles ahead.”

  “And you might be right, sis.” Nin mused meanwhile, a small smile lingering on his lips. He looked satisfied and happy. “If you are, then we really have been given a huge gift. Let’s ask Idris what he thinks about this.”

  We all trooped over to Idris and his group and Yuki started to talk, gesticulating a lot. Idris looked flabbergasted at first, but Brhane chuckled and nodded at what Yuki told them and shot me an approving look. When she was done talking, he gestured to the sky and the direction into which the plane had disappeared and talked at length. Eventually, Yuki translated for us.

  “Brhane said, you are very clever, Lia. He agrees with you and told Idris that Serag and Abdella had proven themselves to be honourable men. Because, instead of just thinking about their urge for revenge, they had obviously considered our options, too. Apparently, Idris and his people had discussed earlier how they might manage to travel up toward Ethiopia. They would like to go near Bahir Dar at the southern edge of Lake Tana. That’s where Brhane’ family originally came from and he is convinced that there they could build up a new existence, what with there being enough water and fertile ground. However, until now they were afraid to budge, especially once they learnt about that Nemesis base near Gondar. It’s supposedly a bit to the north of Gondar. So far, it has been too dangerous to consider moving that direction. Now, with Serag and Abdella flying there and, hopefully, destroying or at least seriously damaging that Nemesis base. Brhane told Idris that they would all travel with us. All the way to Bahir Dar. He is very excited, as you can see.”

  “Wow, these sure are developments.” Josh wondered. “But …”

  He couldn’t finish his sentence, because cars roared around a bend and were approaching fast!

  Who?

  Once again, everybody ran for cover. This time, the men gest
ured for the children and women to retreat toward the cave, while they positioned themselves behind rocks and trees, effectively building a line between us and the road.

  We needn’t have worried. The cars screeched to a halt and we heard doors being opened and closed. Just a few seconds later, Paul ran up the path and came into view.

  Finally! They were back!

  “Folks, everything is alright! But we have to hurry.” Paul shouted as he approached us. He looked excited and shocked.

  What had happened?

  Behind him, Winter, Rob, Tsegaye and Mekonnen appeared. All of them in a great hurry.

  By now, Paul had reached us and he impatiently motioned for Yuki to translate for him.

  “We got the cars. So far so good. But we had a close shave with a small Nemesis patrol. Down in that little village, not the first village, but the second we passed through. We had parked the car to go check for vehicles Mekonnen said should be there. Just as we came around a corner of a house, did this patrol come around the corner of the house on the other side of the road. Thankfully, they were as surprised to meet us, as we were to meet them. For a split second we were all at deadlock, staring at each other. It was like that thing with the round-about in Cardiff all over again. Only this time it was for real and fighting ensued right away. We were lucky, only Goytom was hurt, thankfully just a shallow wound to his arm. But we got the others, four in total, straight away. One of them, an elder man didn’t put up much of a fight. He wasn’t dead when we went to check. He was dying, though. Mekonnen recognized him. Apparently he is, or rather was, from a neighbouring village. Mekonnen said he was a bit of an outcast, because he always picked fights with anybody he could and was also know to beat up women. Mekonnen was shocked to see him and wanted to leave, letting him die there as he lay. But the man called out to him and so Mekonnen went and knelt down at his side. It was bizarre to the utmost. Tsegaye told us that the man actually thanked Mekonnen for killing him, for ending the miserable life he had led ever since he’d joined the Nemesis. He apologized for all the suffering he, they, had caused and begged Mekonnen to pray for his soul. Mekonnen wasn’t really friendly with him, very reluctant, even disgusted, but when the man reached out his hand, he took it. It seemed to comfort the man. He sighed, closed his eyes and wouldn’t open them anymore, all the while talking in an urgent whisper.