103. The insane leader

The search party is standing on a hill scrutinizing the woods that stretch over the length of the horizon. They have advanced over an open plain that eventually climbed up to an escarpment on top of a small mountain that descends steeply down on the other side and ends up in a piece of earth full of cracks and gorges that now lies in front of them. Cracks formed deep gorges where superfluous flows of rainwater formed flourishing dense woods that almost succeeded in hiding the cracks which like veins spread under the green foliage. This unwelcome reality stares them in the face and slowly takes over their emotions. The reality of the impossible task to find the two lost children in this maze.

Recce intently scans the horizon through his telescope before he lowers his rifle and shakes his head despondently: “No, oh hell, we took no direction indicators. That blind gorge where we turned back when we heard Tanya and the guys’ shots was the perfect place. They must be somewhere in that area and now I wish we noted that position before we turned back, but we didn’t know we would have lost someone.”

Worried and despondently Tania and Lesley glimpse guiltily at Jack and Spyker just turns his back on the scene and slowly shakes his head: “We have only up to the end of next week to find them and let’s be honest, it is impossible even in a lifetime.”

Nico adds: “We will have to trust our combined instincts. I have a plan. Maybe it is going to seem a bit stupid but it is all I have. All of you turn around like Spyker and look back. I am going to tap each one of your’s intuition.”

Questioningly they eye him. “Come, turn around!” They all turn.

Nico takes Tania's shoulder: “You are the first one. Turn back again. The rest look in front of you and don’t peep back but listen to what I ask her. You will all get a chance.”

Nico positions himself right behind her. “Where on the horizon do you think is the road blockade? Think carefully about the direction and the distance we had travelled. How fast and how long we had travelled from the blockade up to the farmhouse and from there we walked back. At what angle and how far? Try to give an informed guess as well as possible where the road blockade is.”

Tania stands still and for quite a while thinks carefully before she scans the horizon and then points with her forefinger. “It is a wild guess, but I will say there.” Looking along her arm Nico precisely notes the point.

“Now. Think how far it is from here and try to point to the log house where we overnighted.” Nico also notes this point.

One by one Nico takes them through this exercise but he takes Recce and Spyker further. They must also guess where the blind gorge is and eventually he is satisfied.

“You are all more or less in this vicinity and Recce and Spyker’s gorge here”

Nico takes out his compass and shows them with his forefinger. “Let me show you now where I reckon after I’ve considered all your guesses. Somewhere there.”

He looks at his compass. Sixty degrees northwest. “How many branches can you count up to the point where Recce and Spyker guess the blind gorge is? Come, help me count.”

They all stare and try to count and eventually, Lesley capitulated: “No, oh hell, it is impossible! I even think there are more hidden gorges that we can’t see from here. This is a waste of time.”

The rest also gives up except Jack who angrily looks at them. He is furious and although no one says anything their body language screams out loudly. This is mission impossible. There is no way in which they will be able to find the children in this maze. Suddenly Jack shoots ahead down the decline towards the nearest woods.

Nico shouts after him: “Wait, Jack! Jack stop! Wait there, Jack!”

To no avail. Jack only walks faster and Nico realizes he must follow. He sprints and tries to get to Jack from behind with Francois and Michael following him.

Recce, Spyker, Tania, and Lesley frown at one another before Recce swears: “Fuck, we should have made another plan to go back into that blind gorge and tried from there. I’m sure I would have sniffed them out from there if they are still alive. Now, this fucker is losing his wits, shit!”

Spyker is even more agitated: “Fuck, I have a good mind and leave the bastards here. We can say they left us behind and vanished into the gorges. Fuck the mission! Fuck the Saviors’ shits also! This is insane! What if the bushes are swarming with cannibals over there?”

Tania adds: “We have the prof and his daughter. Are they not the most important to the Saviors? I agree with Spyker.”

Lesley concurs: “Yes, fuck them! Let them all become entrapped and divulged by the monsters in the gorges. I think this was a waste of time from the beginning. I don’t understand why Joss believed that mad Michael’s story that the children are still alive and are joined by the helicopter’s survivors. We have the keys. Let’s leave them and go back.”

Recce shoots suddenly ahead without a word down the decline to catch up with the four in front. Spyker lustily swears to heaven but then follows before Lesley and Tania also follow as if they had no complaints.

Eventually, they all follow on one another’s heels but they must put in effort to keep up because Jack walks as if the devil chases him just looking in front of him. No one dares to moan. To hell with the rest of you!

They advance towards the woods through a patch of grass and fynbos with increasing density as they progress. Jack follows the first footpath into the woods. They suddenly are engulfed in a forest of high blue gums that steals the sun. Shade encloses them as they penetrate deeper into the woods. Now they hear a strange screaming coming from afar somewhere from behind the trees and bushes. What animal could this be? It is a repugnant screaming that becomes louder and deeper into the woods as if one or other beast heard them coming and now call the rest of the horde. It seems as if their presence is announced here.

Jack’s followers become quite agitated by the sounds that swell to a crescendo all around them but they are in such a hurry to keep up with Jack’s frantic pace that they don’t have time to scrutinize their vicinity to find out what the cause of these noises is. The footpath now becomes a steep decline on its way to the first gorge.

The footpath vanishes in an incline and Jack quickly gets down on his haunches with his fist in the air. Nico and Francois follow him but Michael land on top of Francois who helps him into a sitting position. Jack points with his forefinger to something hidden behind the dense bushes where the footpath finally bends before a very steep decline. Nico searches for the object pointed out by Jack and then all become aware of an unnatural, eerie silence that has descended on the forest. The beastly sounds are gone now as if it never happened.

Eventually, Nico sees the object Jack pointed at and wonders how Jack could have spotted it so easily. A piece of ragged clothing has been hidden deeper in the bushes in front of them. Nico freezes when the material suddenly moves slightly but then hangs dead still.

Jack looks back and gestures with his hands. They are surrounded and they must advance into the gorge deeper down. He takes off his leather belt that keeps his sword and curved Arabic knives behind his back. The curve is ideal to cut into the heart behind the ribs. From somewhere a well-known warmth engulfs him and a scorching fire rush through the crown of his head with the weird energy that he had to hide from Kadin for years. It possesses his whole being and radiates out of every cell of his body and he is ready. He lowers the glass shield to safeguard him against the monsters’ blood he is going to spill now.

He gets his gun ready and hangs it over his shoulder and takes out his two pistols and cocks them silently. He is thankful he succeeded in drawing all of them into this situation before they become too suspicious and now there is no turning back. Only forward.

Jack suspected that there would be monsters hiding in the woods and the terrible noises confirmed his suspicion immediately. He will fight his way open to the gorge that entrapped Kadin and Billy and when he has found them he will fight his way back as well, come what may. Whether he will succeed or being overwhelmed; nothing will block path.

Somehow the monsters discovered their direction and organized themselves waiting to attack them before they can get down and vanish into the gorges. Something tells Jack the gorges have somehow safe hiding places but it is also a jail and the monsters know this. Jack suspects there are more survivors in these gorges because it is the only way to survive. Maybe some of the survivors had to come out of the gorges to get supplies and so the monsters learned there is prey in the woods that moves to and fro sometimes. That is the only explanation he can find for why the woods are swarming with man-eaters and soon he will see whether his theory is correct.