74. The Blind Ravine
There is heavy weather somewhere in a distance. Lightning flashes and thunder sounds regularly and it seems as if it is approaching them because it starts drizzling that makes everything wet and slippery. Eldrich grinds his teeth. The pain is unbearable. He peeps at his skewed boot on the other side as he hangs over Jonathan’s shoulders. Then he peeps forward and sees how this strong man carries him sheep-like all along a footpath. Behind them follows Captain Haasbroek with Donavan covering their backs. He carried Eldrich first and is now gaining strength for his next shift. They must keep moving because they know for sure the mercenaries are hunting them.
The drizzle changes into a strong downpour like buckets of water falling from the sky. In his soul, Eldrich is thankful because he is getting hope that the rain will wipe out their footprints for a while. That will hinder the hunters because it will take some time to find the footprints again.
They are descending along a decline to a ravine below. Lower and lower they are moving, wet to the bone, but Eldrich savors the beautiful flora as they are moving into the narrow valley in between the hills. Fantastic different colour shades of lush green ferns and other shrubs resemble a beautiful botanical garden that someone designed and planted here but he knows nature itself was the creator.
Eldrich listens to the water down below and around the next bend, they come upon the stream that tumbles down in between the steep declines on either side. They are now in a canyon with steep hill-declines on both sides. Suddenly the rain stops.
Donovan calls from behind: “Wait, this is a good place to change.”
Jonathan stops and waits for Donovan to take Eldrich quickly over his shoulders. Jonathan unhooks Donavan’s water bottle and quickly fills it in the stream and coming back gives it to him. Donovan eagerly drinks half of his bottle and Jonathan takes it and fills it again and puts it in his webbing.
Hannes, in the meantime, got down on his hunches and bends over the shallow streamlet and scoops with his bare hands and drinks where Jonathan joins him and they have their fill of water. Then Jonathan finally fills his bottle and put it in his webbing.
Hannes rises and looks at Jonathan, “The rain has stopped and we will leave tracks behind but what if we follow the stream and keep in the water as far as possible? Then we will leave no tracks and our spoors have been washed away for quite a distance now. We will see what lies ahead but I know that our tracks will only show again when we leave the streamlet. I suggest you take the lead and we follow in your tracks. Donavan must follow in your footsteps so as not to slip with Eldrich on his back. I will follow at the back, okay?”
Jonathan smiles: “This was my plan exactly, Captain.” He looks at Donavan who nods.
Steadily they start and keep in the stream. At places, the round stones are full of moss and slippery but they are doing well. The water is strong and deep at places but then they move to the right or left of the stream in the shallow water. Suddenly the greenery opens up and they stand at an opening. White boulders cover the stream with streamlets that cascade through between them. The stream widens and becomes quite shallow and they can walk easily. They all stop amazed when their surroundings become overwhelming.
They’re standing in front of a big pool with vertical cliffs on both sides. It is breathtakingly beautiful. The only way to advance is to go through this deep pool of water. It lies at the foot of the cliffs and you can’t see further than the bend ahead but it looks as if the pool leads to another ravine between the cliffs on the other side. To find out what lies ahead you must swim through the pool.
Jonathan turns quickly to Donavan and helps him to get Eldrich down cautiously in the shallow stream of water. They quickly get out their backpacks and pull out their survival bags and put their backpacks inside the survival bags. Donavan looks at Hannes.
“We are going to swim across, Captain. The air in these bags will function as our boats. We just have to kick. You take a grip on me and Donavan takes Eldrich and there we go. We must just get Eldrich deep enough so that he can float. Can you swim, Eldrich?”
Eldrich nods. One soldier takes him carefully by his legs minding his broken ankle and the other takes him by the shoulders and carry him into the pool until hip height and leave him there to float. “Are you okay?” Eldrich nods.
They return, take their survival bags, and go deeper into the water. Each uses his survival bag to float. Donavan tells Hannes. “Take me by the hips and just kick, Captain.”
Jonathan passes Eldrich who grips him by the hips and there they go.
They float deeper and near the blind corner. They stare up at the vertical cliffs on both sides and hope fill their minds.
Hannes is thinking that there is no way in which those mercenaries are going to sniff them out here. They must go back to their hide-out and can’t waste too much time here and what danger does this group pose for them, anyway? The helicopter had crashed and can’t divulge their position.
No, they will give up their hunting and decide it was a waste of time.
Hannes whispers his thoughts. “I think we are safe boys!”
Donovan answers from the front. “I agree, Captain, but we will have to find a suitable place soon where we can camp and attend to Eldrich’s ankle. I hope we find a cave ahead. This is our first priority before dark. We will overnight there and at first light, Jonathan and I will reconnoitre just in case they are still hunting us. We will have to check the entrances to our hide-out and also identify the best sharpshooter spots. It must make an attack by them impossible and a waste of time to even try. No, I think we have reached the best place.”
Jonathan warns urgently. “Stop kicking and lie dead still! Don’t make any movements! Look …”
They all look and freeze. A very long, green snake emerges from a crack in the cliff and sails down to the water. He then sails onto the water and is coming directly to them.
Hannes whispers panic-stricken: “What is that thing? A boomslang or a green mamba?”
Jonathan chastises him: “Captain, just shut up and don’t make any movement. He will pass us or even swim over us. Just be dead still. The slightest movement like talking or moving might frighten him.”
Hannes is not convinced. The water is cold and they are warm-blooded and that thing sees warmth, what if he detects their body heat in the water when he is near them? He has, however, no choice. He listens and lies dead still while the snake swims all the closer.
When he is near them, he looks inquisitively at the obstruction in front of him, and changing his direction slightly aims to pass in front of them but the stream pushes them forward automatically and they all wish the snake swims fast enough to avoid them blocking his path.
The thing passes right in front of Donavan’s face. He looks at the long, winding, green body that glides past him on the water and he marvels at the ease with which he swims to the opposite cliff where he disappears in a crack in the cliff face.