As he stood facing the darkness with a mixture of emotions — extreme fear laced with anger and frustration — tears began to well up in his eyes.
It was not only like being a fish out of water, but like a fish out of water sizzling in a frying pan on a hot stove.
Then all of a sudden from behind his back he heard something move. Not wanting to turn around for fear of seeing what it might be, his heartbeat returned to the near explosion point again.
But he did force himself to turn, albeit slowly and being careful not to make a sound. As his stare finally fixed on the entrance to the cave, his worst nightmare suddenly became apparent.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
As Graham slowly approached the water, he watched the lions intently. They seemed to be relaxed and were not overly interested in the elephants, but, more importantly, they didn’t seem interested in him, either. But the mere fact that he was only meters away from a pride of lions, and without a moat or a fence between him and them, was hair-raisingly scary.
The last time he’d been this close to lions was at Colchester Zoo, where they have a large male lion along with a few females. He recalled the male staring him right in the eyes, only a short distance away, and all that was between the two of them was a few millimetres of glass. He remembered his sense of vulnerability, despite the separation. He also recalled the beautiful honey colour of the lion’s eyes, which had a deep, menacing look about them, as if he were ready to pounce.
Graham’s overwhelming urge to get to the water was stronger than his fear. He could now understand how animals felt, seemingly always very nervous before they did anything. His eyes were fixed on the lions, watching to see if they flinched, to see if they showed any interest in what he was doing, but they seemed to be very relaxed and were lying in the sun mostly with their eyes closed.
As he got closer to the water, he heard the distinctive sound of Zebra, which only reminded him that, along with these native African animals, he, too, fit the category of lions’ prey. Distracted for a moment by the elephants’ exuberance, he suddenly noticed that one of the lions had got up from its slumber and was looking straight at him. He froze to the spot, hoping that by standing still the lion would not show any real interest in him. Instead, another of the lions got up and began to walk towards the waterhole.
As he watched it approach the water, he was suddenly aware of a warm sensation running down his legs. His bladder had given way, releasing all the urine it had been storing. He looked down for a second to see the yellow-coloured fluid curl down his legs and onto his feet, pooling on the dry African ground. Without realising it, his body was dumping unnecessary waste in preparation for fight or flight. He had never been so scared as he was right now, being faced with a pride of lions, with one staring at him and another walking in his direction. It completely overloaded his senses.
There were other things going on inside his body, which were doing so on auto-pilot. He could only feel the changes that were happening to him, which were completely outside of his control. In addition to his bladder release, he could feel his heart pounding inside his chest. There was a raw feeling to the emotions he was experiencing. Something deep within his psyche seemed to be building. Never had he felt so terrified, and he was not sure what to do next.
Looking at the elephants, they didn’t seem to be too concerned about the lions, but then they were so much larger than him, and, as far as he knew, lions didn’t attack adult elephants.
The first lion to stand up also started to make its way to the waterhole from its slightly higher vantage point, and, if possible, his heartbeat jumped even higher. As they made their way closer to the water, they were then closer to where he was lying. However, there was at least a reasonably large expanse of muddy water between him and these two large cats, and he wasn’t too sure as to whether lions liked to swim. What also concerned him was that there was still the rest of the pride lying on the bank and basking in the sun. At any point they could join their two companions at the water’s edge.
The first lion to reach the water seemed to stare across at him as it knelt down to drink from the brown pool. The large cat had an enormous tongue that lapped at the water, as it looked ahead at him, whilst he remained as still as he could. The second lion joined the first and also started to drink from the muddy water.
Graham stared at the two lions, not knowing what to do next. He found himself having a surreal moment — perhaps he was in some kind of nightmare dream and would wake up soon in his own bedroom. But no, everything was too real for that.
As he watched, motionless and waiting for what to do next feeling helpless, the lions stopped drinking and stood up. Much to his relief, they walked back to the rest of the pride. This gave him the chance he needed to get a drink, too.
As he got closer to the edge of the water, where the hard ground had turned into a dark, black-brown mud, he could feel its coolness with his feet. He then stepped closer and the mud became softer, until he could feel the squelchy sludge squeeze between his toes.
Now right at the water’s edge, he slowly crouched to drink. He leaned down and cupped his hands together to gather some water to put in his mouth. He brought the brown liquid to his lips, as it was quickly escaping between his fingers, and took his first small mouthful of what was the foulest-tasting fluid he’d ever ingested. Before he reached down again, he glanced around to make sure he was not being stalked and looked up at the lions again.
The second mouthful was no better than the first, but as he put more and more of the filthy-tasting water in his mouth, it did begin to quench his huge thirst.
As he kept drinking, he found himself stopping at almost every swallow to glance around for danger. This reminded him of watching birds in his garden, as they approached any bread or seed that had been thrown out for them.
Not wanting to drink more than he had to, he swallowed a last mouthful of the foul liquid and slowly got to his feet. As he began to turn and walk away, he saw a huge rhinoceros approaching from the way he’d come. He froze to the spot, not wanting to be noticed by this enormous creature.
The rhinoceros was panting and snorting and walking with aggressiveness, as if to say to the other animals, ‘I know I am big and strong. Don’t mess with me.’ The huge animal headed towards the waterhole and in the direction of Graham. His heart jumped to his mouth again, as he watched in terror, not knowing which way to turn or what to do. He could also still hear the elephants making lots of noise behind him, seemingly without a care in the world.
He slowly moved away from where he stood in the mud, and, with each step, the clay-like matter squeezed up between his toes. The rhinoceros continued its confident stroll towards Graham and the water behind him. The creature snorted and raised its head in defiance, as a warning to him to move away. It was clear where the rhinoceros was heading, and there was no way that it was going to change its path, so Graham knew it was his place to continue to move away instead.
Sidling to his left to leave room at the waterhole for this armour-plated monster to drink, his heart was pounding hard. As he studied the creature, he could see towering above its head a huge horn that curved forward with a sharp, pointed end.
He knew this natural weapon could quite easily stab him through, and he was very aware that rhinos are cantankerous animals that are not to be trifled with. The only time he’d been this close to a rhino before was at the zoo, but then there were some very large steel railings protecting him from the creatures, whereas this time there was nothing at all.
‘This must be a male rhino,’ he concluded, as he watched the huge animal getting closer and closer and saw its enormous size.
As he continued to edge further away and out of the rhino’s path, he glanced over at the mound behind him where the pride of lions was still lying. He was glad to see that they were still resting, so they didn’t add any further danger to his situation right now. His glance was only very quick, because he was keen to keep his eyes firmly fixed on the a
pproaching rhino, which was now only a few metres away.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
As David stared out the cave’s entrance, his eyes focused on a large male lion standing right in front of the cave. The huge beast appeared to be gazing straight at him with its wide-set, amber-coloured eyes. The stare was so powerful and so intense, that it sent a shiver through his whole body. The fear this stare evoked in him was so potent and so deep that it brought trembling from unfathomable depths within.
Being careful to not make a sound, he slowly retreated farther back into the cave. Whilst doing so, he kept his eyes firmly on the huge feline, which appeared to be still looking right at him.
He was aware that lions are well-adapted to hunting at night, as their eyes are several times better than a human’s for seeing in the dark, so he was worried that this lion would be able to see him despite the darkness.
He continued to walk backwards into the dark, whilst carefully groping the floor with his bare feet. He hoped that the cave roof was high enough so he wouldn’t hit his head.
He studied the huge, maned animal, which had an enormous protruding mouth and a large, dry nose. Its eyes had a look of sheer menace in a head that seemed almost too large for its slender body, as it paced across the mouth of the cave, planting its huge paws carefully on the ground with each step. The lion then stepped closer and walked into the mouth of the cave. His heart pounding, David retreated still further on the uneven surface, trying not to make a sound.
Then he stopped as he saw a second lion — a lioness — appear behind the male. Taking another step back, he hit his head on the roof of the cave, a blow that caused him to let out a shriek.
He was aware of the lions’ acute sense of hearing, and knew they would have heard his sound for certain. So even if they’d not yet seen him or smelt him for that matter, they would now know he was there. He regretted making the noise, and he ducked down to avoid making the same mistake again.
He rubbed his head with his right hand, whilst using his left hand to touch the ground. By now he was on his knees, crawling along the cave floor and away from the big, threatening cats.
His head throbbed; as the pain grew, he swore under his breath.
The lions seemed to hesitate now, only having entered a short way into the cave. Both creatures stood watching intently, as if uncertain what it was they could see, whilst contemplating their next move.
David was being careful not to make any more noise and was still hoping that, although they seemed to be looking straight at him, it was too dark for them to actually see into the cave.
The distance between David and the lions was only a matter of a few metres — a distance that these huge creatures could cover within seconds. Knowing this, and also knowing that the lions could probably see him and smell him, David’s heart was pounding so hard that it almost shook his whole body. He was completely at a loss as to what to do.
The male lion took another step inside the cave, which brought him even closer to where David was crouched on the floor, whilst at the same time continuing to smell the air, trying to pick up the scent of its next meal.
David edged back further still, desperately trying not to make a sound.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
The flight to Mfuwe had been extremely bumpy, and Konner was relieved when the Jetstream aircraft touched down on the runway with a loud thud. Jowidah had filled him in on the trip and that they’d be met by his colleague at the airport, who would take them both to Lechwe lodge.
The lady in blue then spoke to the passengers, whilst the plane was taxiing to a stop: ‘Welcome to Mfuwe. Please stay seated until the aircraft has come to a complete stop. Thank you for choosing Proflight Zambia. I hope we will see you again soon.’
The runway at this airport seemed to be even more uneven than the one at Lusaka, as the pilot taxied the plane to a standstill near to the terminal. As soon as the plane stopped and the seat-belt signs were extinguished, all the passengers were on their feet, gathering their belongings and queueing up to leave.
Konner stood up, grabbed his hand luggage from the overhead locker and stood in line in front of Jowidah, waiting for the doors to be opened. Before long, both he and Jowidah had got off the plane and had gone through the terminal. They both met his colleague and walked with him to his waiting Land Rover. His vehicle had seen better days, as it was dented with few panels unscathed. It turned out that his colleague was of Dutch origin and his name was Bram.
Bram was a tall gentleman, around 1.95 metres in height. He was built like a body builder with large arm muscles and a big chest. When he introduced himself to Konner, he shook his hand and nearly broke it. He took Konner’s luggage from Jowidah and proceeded to load it into the back of the vehicle.
‘The journey to the lodge will take nearly three hours, but once we get off the main roads and onto the bush tracks, you’ll begin to see plenty of game,’ Bram explained. ‘We need to get going, though, as it’s better to get the driving done whilst it’s still light.’
‘You get in the front, Mr Hurley,’ Jowidah offered, ‘you’ll get a much better view of the animals there.’
With this instruction, Konner went to the front of the vehicle, pulled on the door, which creaked as it opened, and climbed in. Even though the windows in the Land Rover were open, it smelled of dirt. The inside of the vehicle looked like it hadn’t been cleaned since it had left the showroom many years before. In the centre of the vehicle was a rack, which housed a rifle. The difference between the inside of the Land Rover and the rifle was like they were owned by two different people. The spanking-clean rifle looked like it had just been taken off the shelf in a gun shop, and Konner recognised it as a Winchester Model 70 Rifle.
Konner knew this rifle was a .458 calibre, which was etched on the side of the gun before the words ‘Win. Magnum,’ and it was capable of stopping any large animal in its tracks. This included an elephant if shot in the right place.
The classic walnut stock had been kept in impeccable condition, and the red butt pad was a giveaway to him that this was the Super Grade African rifle. Konner knew the Model 70 bolt-action rifle was widely considered to be the finest bolt action rifle ever produced in the United States. He knew also that it had achieved legendary status among shooters and collectors, and had been nicknamed ‘The Rifleman's Rifle.’
Within moments Bram was in the driver’s seat, with Jowidah in the rear, and they were on the road heading out of Mfuwe. The roads were tarmac-covered to begin with, but this soon changed to gravel, which was in terrible condition. Before long Bram had turned off what was a bad road onto what was a single track road, which led to the entrance to the South Luangwa National Park. The entrance was marked by two large black-and-white gates and a large yellow sign saying Welcome to South Luangwa National Park. To the right of the gates, and a larger but faded sign, was the park rules and fees sign.
As Bram approached the gates, the road at this point was wide enough for two vehicles, but the gate on this side of the road was closed. A man dressed in a green army-like outfit came out from a green cabin to the left of the road and approached the vehicle.
Bram and the guard on the gate exchanged words, and it was clear that they knew each other from the friendly conversation they had. The park guard then waved them on and through the gate, but Bram had to drive onto the other side of the road to get around the gate that was on his side of the road.
Immediately on the other side of the gate was the Luangwa River, and just before the bridge was a green and yellow sign. This sign emphasised one of the main park rules, which was Animals have right of way. As they crossed the river over the bridge, Konner looked down and could see the tell-tale backs of hippos wallowing in the river below, but there were also a couple of hippos lying on the sandy bank.
The road soon turned back into a rough track and the Land Rover came into its own over the terrain. Bram drove with purpose along the bumpy roads, but did try to avoid the larger holes in the track, alt
hough despite this Konner was bounced around in his seat.
They had been driving in the park for around an hour when they came across a huge bull elephant standing in the middle of the track. The grey creature was side-on, but with its head and tusks pointing towards the oncoming vehicle. Bram slowed down and then pulled the vehicle to a complete stop around 30 feet from the animal.
‘He’s huge,’ Konner commented to Bram.
‘Yes, and we need to be careful, as he may charge if he feels threatened by us,’ Bram replied.
‘So how are we going to get past him?’ Konner questioned.
‘He’ll move, eventually; we just have to be patient,’ Bram replied, and as he was in the midst of saying this, the elephant turned its head and moved away into the bush.
‘It’s probably good that he’s on his own, as he doesn’t have a family to protect,’ he said. ‘If he did, we would have had to keep way back to avoid a charge.’
Once the creature had disappeared, Bram put the Land Rover back into gear and proceeded along the track. Along the way, they saw many other animals, but none as impressive as the elephant. They eventually arrived at the lodge, which was right on the edge of the Luangwa River.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Druker’s office door opened and in walked Scott. ‘Hey, Druk,’ he said. ‘Confirmation that we’ve sent out the first two experiments. We took Lane out first and put him in the cave in zone two, as we agreed this morning, and we also put Smith in zone two, but several miles away in a small, wooded area.’
Scott was a tall, dark-haired young man in his late twenties. He had a tanned face from being out in the African sun for the most part of each day. However, as a kid he’d obviously suffered badly from acne, as the surface of his face was severely pitted from the scars it had left. He was fit and muscular, working out most days in Druker’s gym. He was wearing khaki clothes and a baseball hat, which he’d got from the Bahamas when he was out deep-sea fishing there a few years back with his parents.
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