by Chris Ryan
He didn't know how long he was out. It couldn't have been more than a few seconds, because next thing he knew, Angelo was dragging him to the surface. The Italian boy had his arms wrapped around Ben's torso and was grunting with exertion as their heads broke through the water. Ben coughed and spluttered — half the marsh seemed to explode from his lungs — and he only had a brief moment to see Danny standing on the upturned hull of the boat, desperately trying to right it, before they went under again.
After the noise of the wind, it was peculiarly silent underwater. Peaceful almost. As soon as they emerged again, however, the howling filled their ears. Ben was still dizzy from the bump on his head. It was disorientating. The thought of the alligators, though, soon brought him back to reality.
'It's OK,' he spluttered to Angelo. 'I can swim.'
'You sure?'
'Only one way to find out.' He struggled out of Angelo's grasp and started treading water.
Danny was about ten metres away from them. He was standing on the edge of the boat now and as Ben watched he saw the older man use his weight slowly to right the boat. It creaked upright as Danny scrambled aboard; Ben and Angelo started swimming with all their strength towards it. Ben's chest burned from the exhaustion, and it seemed to take an age before Danny's strong grasp was pulling first him and then Angelo back up onto the boat. His Italian friend fell to the floor, lying on his back and gasping for much-needed air. Ben wanted to do the same, but he couldn't. Not yet.
'The canopy!' he shouted to Danny. 'We should rip it down, stop it filling with air.'
Danny nodded and together they started clawing at the fabric. It was tough, though, and difficult to tear. Only when Ben remembered he had a set of keys in his soaking wet jeans did he manage to stab a hole in the fabric. Once that was done, it was much easier to bring down the canopy.
It made an instant difference. The boat still rocked precariously with the force of the water, but at least the canopy wasn't now acting as an out-of-control sail. When Ben, sore and soaking, took the helm, it was by no means easy. But at least it wasn't as difficult as before, and they started making better headway through the howling winds towards the plane.
As they approached the aircraft from the water, they could see that it was still burning and smouldering, as was the grass surrounding it. There was no way they could have passed it by land. The alligators became fewer and fewer, though, the nearer they got to the plane, and it was easy to tell why. Even from the water, and even in the high winds, Ben could feel the heat of the burning aircraft against his skin. It was uncomfortably hot. He manoeuvred the boat away from land and passed the aeroplane at quite some distance.
All of them, he noticed, were staring at the burning plane rather than concentrating on the rocking of the boat in the high winds. It didn't take a rocket scientist to work out that they were all considering what might have been if Ben hadn't landed that thing.
As they passed the plane, Ben snapped himself out of it. He squinted his eyes and looked towards land, trying to see if there was any sign of the other passengers — or of any gators taking refuge from the rough waters.
'Looks like the other passengers are on the move,' Ben shouted.
Danny and Angelo followed his gaze. 'We should get to land,' Danny replied. 'I don't like being on this boat any longer than we have to. Can you get closer? See if there are any alligators?'
Ben nodded and turned the boat towards the shore.
To their relief, it seemed clear. As they approached the wide marsh road, there was no sign of anything much. Danny reclaimed his shotgun and ammo from under the seat and they jumped awkwardly out of the boat and onto dry land. It felt good for Ben to have his feet on solid ground.
They were silent for a minute as the howling gales blustered around them.
'We need to keep an eye out,' Ben said finally. 'Those gators came out of nowhere, remember.'
The other two nodded seriously as Ben looked east, away from the plane.
He shrugged. 'Other than that,' he said, 'I guess the best we can do is keep moving. Let's see if we can catch up with the others. Come on — let's go.'
Chapter Eleven
The three of them started running down the road. When that became too difficult, they slowed to a fast walk. They were too out of breath to do much talking, and the screaming winds didn't help things.
Surely the weather couldn't get any worse than this. Ben had to keep his eyes half shut to protect them against the flying spray and the other bits of minuscule debris that were flying around. It made the going even trickier.
With every step he took, Ben's half-closed eyes were darting around looking for alligators. The very thought of them sent a shiver down his spine, and he didn't know what on earth they would do if they came across another horde of the beasts. He was vaguely aware of Danny loading the shotgun as he walked alongside him; but a couple of rounds from the gun wouldn't make much difference if the reptiles started swarming like they had done on the other side of the plane.
More than once, he tripped. They all did. It was impossible to stay standing against some of the gusts that were blowing now. Overhead the sky was growing darker, though it was impossible to tell whether that was because night was falling or because the sun was covered with thick, fast-moving clouds. Ben looked at his watch, but it had been damaged by the water and was as good as useless.
They had been travelling for half an hour, maybe more, when Ben stopped.
He cocked his head and listened.
There was a strange noise in the air.
'Hold on!' he shouted at the others.
They stopped. 'What is it?'
'Did you hear that?'
Angelo looked confused. 'Hear what?'
'A kind of… howling.'
His Italian friend blinked at him, then looked up into the air. 'What are you talking about, Ben? We're in the middle of a hurricane. Of course I can hear howling.'
But Ben shook his head. 'No,' he said. 'Not that. Something else—'
He stopped short. There it was again. A long, highpitched wail.
The three of them looked at each other worriedly. There was no doubting that what they had just heard wasn't the wind. It was something quite different.
'We need to keep going,' Danny said tensely. 'Whatever it is, there's no point just standing here.'
Ben found himself wishing they hadn't left the boat. One look out onto the marshland, however, told him that it would be just as dangerous out there as anywhere else. Besides, the chances of the boat still being by the road where they left it were almost zero. Danny was right. They just had to carry on.
It continued to grow darker. Ben found himself shivering. Half of that was because of the wet clothes blown cold against his skin; but half of it was something else. He was scared, obviously. Scared of the hurricane, scared of what might happen when they finally hooked up with the other passengers. But the howling had sent a chill all the way through him. He didn't know what had made the sound, and he didn't want to find out.
Just as that thought went through his head, Danny spoke.
'What's that?' he asked. His voice was taut. Tense.
They stopped, and Ben peered into the distance.
It was about thirty metres away and from this distance it didn't look much bigger than a dog. It wasn't a dog, though — Ben could tell that from its outline. Its ears were pointed and its body was lean and sleek. Ben thought back to the poster he had seen in the wardens' station, and he thought he knew what the animal was.
Before he could say anything, however, Danny was moving. He crouched down flat on the ground and pointed his shotgun in the direction of the animal in front of them. The butt of the weapon was firmly pressed into his shoulder: Ben could tell he was going to shoot any minute.
'No!' he roared. He kicked the barrel of the gun just as Danny fired it. The noise of the shot cracked through the air, but the round discharged itself harmlessly over the marshland.
'What are
you doing?' Danny demanded angrily.
'You can't shoot it,' Ben shouted back. 'I think it's a Florida panther. They're incredibly rare.'
'A panther?' Angelo demanded. 'Aren't they also incredibly dangerous.'
Ben didn't answer. He looked in the direction of the animal. To his relief, he saw it running in the opposite direction.
'Look.' He pointed. 'It's running away. The noise of the gun must have scared it.' He turned to Danny, who had scrambled to his feet. 'Keep that thing loaded,' he said. 'We might need to scare it off again.'
Danny nodded, but didn't say anything. Ben could tell he was annoyed by what he'd just done, but there was nothing for it. He wasn't going to stand by and let one of these rare animals be killed. Not as long as there was another option. With a deep breath he started moving again and prayed that that was the last they'd seen of the endangered animal.
They were feeling pretty endangered themselves, now. Endangered and terrified. It was getting more and more difficult to walk because of the increasing wind, and now they had panthers to worry about as well as the alligators. It didn't take too long before Danny called them to a halt again.
'Look!' he called. 'Up ahead.'
There were two of them this time, standing on either side of the road like statues at the entrance to a grand house. Despite the high winds, they were perfectly still. The trio stopped and there was a moment of awesome tension as the humans and animals stared at each other.
And then they pounced.
The panthers moved astonishingly quickly. Ben had seen greyhounds racing before, and he was reminded of that.
'Danny!' he warned, but he needn't have. The older man had the shotgun raised. He fired a round into the air. In an instant the Florida panthers screeched to a halt and scampered the opposite way down the road and out of sight.
'How many of them do you think there are?' Angelo asked.
Ben shrugged. 'Dunno,' he said. 'Maybe that's it. Maybe not.'
He turned to Danny, who was already reloading the gun. 'They're going to get used to the sound of the gun, you know, Ben,' the older man said.
Ben didn't reply. There wasn't much to say.
He had his heart in his throat as they carried on down the road. Every time the wind howled — and that was often — Ben felt himself straining his ears to see if it was just the wind, or if it was the noise of the big cats ahead. As the minutes passed, he decided that the creatures' calls were definitely becoming more frequent; and although it was difficult to tell one from the other, he also decided that there were several different panthers yowling.
It didn't take long for his eyes to confirm what his ears suspected.
From the gloom ahead, an outline of a pack of panthers appeared. At a glance, Ben couldn't tell how many there were, and he wasn't going to start counting. He found himself rooted to the spot, waiting for the moment that they pounced, as they surely would.
It came soon enough.
The pack moved as one. As they did, Danny stepped in front of Ben and Angelo. 'Stay behind me,' he ordered.
'No problem,' Angelo muttered.
The two of them let Danny take the lead.
He let them get close this time — close enough for Ben to have a good look at them. Under different circumstances he knew he would be marvelling at what beautiful creatures they were. The animals were sleek and lean, and their strong muscles rippled under their light brown fur. Their faces were well defined and full of expression: the only problem was that Ben didn't like the expression they were making. They were snarling, and he could see their long, knife-sharp teeth.
'Danny!' he called worriedly. The gun hadn't been fired yet. 'They're getting too close!'
BANG! The shotgun fired. And then a second time. Just as before, the panthers stopped mid-run and started scurrying back. They didn't disappear this time, however. Instead they stopped to regroup much closer to the petrified trio.
Ben squinted his eyes once more. 'What's that?' he shouted. Beyond the animals, almost out of sight but not quite, he thought he saw another building. 'Can you see it? Is it another wardens' station up ahead?'
'I think it is,' Angelo replied breathlessly. 'But how can we get there? We've got to go through the panthers.'
Ben's mind was racing, and it was difficult for him to get his thoughts straight. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. 'We're going to have to keep moving forward,' he said finally. 'Get as close as we can and then fire a couple of shots. It'll make them move back and we should be able to keep gaining ground.' He turned to Danny. 'What do you think?'
Danny's brow furrowed. 'I think we don't have much choice,' he said grimly. He looked ahead to the panthers. 'Stay behind me,' he instructed before turning to Ben. 'Listen, Ben,' he said. 'I know they're rare and everything, but if they get too close, I'm not going to have any choice but to try and take them out.'
Ben's lips thinned, but he knew the older man was right. He nodded his head in reluctant agreement. 'All right,' he said. 'Let's go.'
They moved slowly. Warily. At first the panthers kept their distance, but as time passed they seemed to become bolder. Ben watched nervously as they regrouped, and it wasn't long before the animals started edging towards them. They moved slowly at first, creeping, as though they were stalking their prey — which in a way, Ben thought to himself glumly, they were.
And then, all as one, as though someone had just started a firing pistol, they upped their pace.
'Keep going!' Danny shouted. The three of them continued their steady walk — or as steady as was possible in the howling gale. Danny had his gun pointed just above the panthers, but for the moment he didn't shoot.
'Danny!' Ben urged. 'Now would be a good time—'
Danny shook his head. 'The closer they are, the louder it'll sound to them.'
He held his nerve.
Ben felt his stomach tying up into knots. They were playing a dangerous game. The animals were so close — he could see their sharp teeth.
Suddenly Danny fired the gun. Two rounds cracked in the air and, as before, the panthers screeched to a halt and then scampered back.
'Run!' Danny shouted. 'While they're scared.'
The three of them raced as fast as they could towards the wardens' station. They made surprisingly good time and were only twenty metres away when the panthers started to charge them again.
'I need to reload!' Danny shouted. He broke the shotgun and the spent cartridges flew out. Quickly he fumbled in his rucksack for some new rounds.
'Hurry up, Danny!' Angelo shouted. 'Hurry up!' The panthers were powering towards them. To Ben's horror, Danny dropped one of the cartridges on the ground. He bent down to pick it up, but by that time the animals were nearly on them. Ben could hear their snarling over the sound of the wind. It was a low, greedy growl.
It was sheer instinct that made him run, and Angelo did the same. He could hear the patter of the panthers' feet just behind him and any moment he expected them to leap on his back and sink their teeth into his flesh.
And only then did he hear the gun. Another two rounds — and not before time.
Behind him there was a whimper and then the sound of the animals retreating. Ben stopped and looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, the panthers had given up the chase. But for how long, he couldn't tell.
'Get to the wardens' station! Now!' Danny roared.
Ben and Angelo didn't need telling twice. Adrenaline surging through their bodies, they sprinted towards the building. As they approached, though, the panthers charged again. The gunshot hadn't sent them running nearly as far, and they seemed emboldened now. They sensed blood.
Ben had never run so fast in his life. His muscles burned as he desperately tried to propel himself towards the building. Danny, being taller, got there first. He crashed the door open and held it for them as Ben and Angelo burst through it. The moment they were safely in, he slammed it shut. As soon as the door was closed, the noise of the hurricane softened slightly; but they could
hear the animals, growling and scratching around the outside. If they dared to step out of the building, they'd be panther food.
The three of them were silent for a good couple of minutes. Angelo lay flat on the ground, his breath coming in short, sharp gasps. Ben was breathing heavily too, his face flushed and his legs like jelly. He was bent double, his hands on his knees, as he tried to regain his energy; Danny was in a similar position.
It was Ben who recuperated first. 'Close shave,' he muttered.
The others didn't respond.
Ben looked around. The wardens' station was very similar to the one they had been in previously — the same layout, and similar posters on the wall. As before there was a picture of a Florida panther — Ben couldn't quite bring himself to look at it this time, or read the words on the poster which no doubt said how rare it was, and how lucky he'd be to see one. Just now, Ben would have been perfectly happy never to see another of those animals as long as he lived.
The windows, he saw with relief, had not been blown in. Not yet, at least. He peered out of one of them. The panthers had not congregated here — they were too busy lurking by the main door. From here, the storm looked even more ferocious than when they were actually out in it. As he watched, it started to rain again, heavy, powerful rain that seemed to sheet down from different directions. Before long, he could barely see the turbulent marsh waters on either side of the road. The raindrops thundered on the roof of the building, almost — but not quite — drowning out the sound of the wind.
Ben was briefly transfixed by the awesome sight of the storm. And then, peeping round the back of the building, he saw something.
His face lit up.
'Danny!' he called. 'Angelo!'
The two of them turned to look at him. 'What?' Angelo asked, his face full of exhaustion.