“Fine,” she snapped at him.
“Fine,” he replied, waving his hand toward the vehicle for them to get inside without bothering to open the door for them.
They rode in silence the rest of the way to the small airstrip, only speaking to one another during the trek, when absolutely necessary.
Once they had arrived at the hotel, their guide pulled up to the curb and very curtly dismissed them, telling them he would return for them in the morning. No one even bothered to respond as they exited the vehicle.
The foursome took all of their bags into their rooms and emptied them out on the bed, studying the things they had brought. Since they were on their own for the rest of the evening, they decided to meet downstairs at the front desk to ask if there was a local guide available for them to talk to. The man there directed them to a small building down the street.
“Can I help you?” a pleasant, younger, local man asked as they stepped inside. Kara was glad that he spoke English, as the few Hindi words she had learned would do little more than get her to the nearest bathroom or restaurant.
“I certainly hope so. We need the proper clothes for a safari. I’m afraid that what we brought with us isn’t quite right, and we can’t afford to be ill-fitted on the trip.”
“Ah, you’ve come to the right place!” he told her, turning to call to someone in the back room behind him. A woman–who she assumed might be his wife–stepped out and looked at him impatiently. He spoke to her in their native tongue, leaving Kara unable to understand a word between them. The woman nodded and smiled, holding out her hand toward them and guiding them toward the door. Kara looked at the man, confused by what was happening.
“Where is she taking us?” she asked.
“There is a shop down the street. She will take you there and make sure you get what you need. Her English is not as good as mine, but she knows some words,” he said.
“And she understands what we will need for the safari?”
“Yes. Do you also need a guide for your trip?”
“No. I already have one, unfortunately.”
“Who is it?” he asked, seeming a little puzzled by her response.
“I don’t remember his name. A local from Eye of the Tiger,” she told him.
“Yes, they are excellent guides. Why is it unfortunate?” he asked.
“He’s not very friendly…or polite, for that matter,” she replied.
“That’s being kind,” Barb added. “He’s downright rude and abrasive.”
“Really? I’m surprised. They are usually a very kind and helpful group,” the man told them, seeming genuinely perplexed by the rude behavior she claimed.
“I find that hard to believe,” Josh told him before nodding for everyone to follow the woman out the door. He added, “Anyway, thank you for loaning us your wife to help us. We really appreciate it.”
As they made their way down the street, it struck Kara just how far out of her element she truly was. Why had she decided to do this? Now, she was stuck here to do this, and she would see it through, but that didn’t mean she was going to like it at all. More than anything, she felt bad that she had dragged everyone else along with her.
Kara looked around at the shop they entered. At first, she thought it was a mistake. It looked more like some sort of massive flea market than a place that would sell outdoor clothing. The woman began picking up items and handing some to each of them. Looking around, Kara realized it was a surplus store. The items here were previously worn, and thus, worn in. It made perfect sense. She wasn’t thrilled about wearing used clothes and wondered if they had been laundered properly, but it was less of a concern than proving their guide right by getting chafed or looking like something out of a magazine ad for Dick’s Sporting Goods.
With several bags in hand, they thanked the woman and paid her a fee as if she were a personal shopper. The woman nodded and smiled, heading back to her husband’s shop, while they returned to the hotel. She was pleased to find that everything seemed to fit perfectly. The woman had been spot-on with selecting sizes. Hopefully, this would please their ruthless guide.
Chapter Three
“Good morning,” he said curtly as they met him in the lobby of the hotel the following morning.
“Good morning,” Kara replied, the others quietly scowling at him instead of greeting him. He still seemed to be feeling a big smug as he took in their clothes and said nothing.
She was wearing just some moisturizer and a ponytail to compliment her well-worn gear, with only the necessities the woman had recommended in a large, soft backpack that she had to admit was much more comfortable on her back than the smaller, stiffer one she had previously purchased for the trip. She would take his lack of commentary as a win for them on this particular issue. Apparently, he was only capable of criticism, but not praise. It didn’t really surprise her at all.
“Well, let’s get going then. We’ve a long day ahead of us,” he told them.
“Where are we going?”
“Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve,” he told her.
“A reserve? That doesn’t sound like much of a wildlife excursion,” she told him.
“Trust me. It’s a national park, our largest here in India.”
“If you say so. I’m ready to go,” she replied coolly. He wasn’t the only one capable of being snide.
“Let’s get going then, novices,” he shot back.
Kara ignored the snarky tone and the hint at insult as they all climbed into the van. They began their journey toward the park. She was surprised when they stopped at the park entrance to get some sort of permits and were joined by armed park rangers for the next segment of their trip.
“What is going on?” she asked.
“We aren’t allowed to go down the river without them,” he told her.
“River? What are we doing on the river? Do tigers swim there?” she asked, baffled.
“As a matter of fact, they sometimes do. It’s the best way to see tigers roaming in the wild, as well as other animals, and it gets us closer to our destination without having to go the whole way on foot. I would think you’d find sitting on a boat preferable to getting sweaty on foot.”
“But we will be getting out of the water at some point and on the actual land with the tigers?”
“Yes, we will be, your grace.”
Kara noted that both of the park rangers were trying not to laugh as they looked away to hide the fact that they were amused by the exchange. Great, now not only did they have the uppity guide to deal with, they had two local park rangers that seemed to be as disrespectful as he was. This trip was getting longer by the second, and she was getting angrier along with it.
Just when she thought she might hit the roof with annoyance, Khalib motioned for her to look at a large, open pool of water ahead of the boat. Kara followed the direction of his finger as he pointed and was surprised at what she saw there. She called out to the others to come look.
“Gangetic river dolphins. They swim freely in these waters, along with the turtles you see over there on the bank,” he said.
“They are incredible,” she breathed, lost in the vision of animals she had never seen in person before. The group stood marveling at the incredible creatures as they continued their journey down the river.
There was silence as they continued to watch them frolic in the water, passing very closely by the boat as they moved through the water and past them. She almost felt like she could reach out and touch one of them as they seemed to chatter happily along themselves as she had often heard dolphins do, but this was the first time she had ever witnessed it firsthand.
Chapter Four
The day seemed to pass quickly as they made their way through the mangroves and deeper into the park. It was a bit unnerving that this portion of the trip required armed park rangers, but she supposed it was just a precaution rather than due to any real danger. Surely, being in a boat in a river was enough protection against the wild animals that roamed
the large forest that surrounded them.
“Miss Sheaver, come look at this,” Khalib called out to her, pointing toward the edge of the water on the left side of the boat.
“What is it?” she asked, but he only waved her over, pointing toward the water again.
Kara looked to where he was pointing and caught her breath. It looked almost prehistoric as it sat halfway in the water and halfway on the bank of the wetlands they were approaching. She caught her breath as it suddenly turned, his long tail whipping about as it slid fully into sight on the edge of the water.
“Saltwater crocodile. The ones here are some of the largest you will find in the world,” he told her.
“It’s incredible.”
“Yes, it is. Incredible and deadly. Don’t fall out of the boat,” he said dryly.
“I’ll try not to,” she replied, rolling her eyes at him. “Come look at this!” she called out to Thomas and the others, who were already moving a little closer to see what it was that she was looking at.
Her gaze returned to the crocodile, watching as it slid into the water and swam off, her heart rate speeding up a bit as he headed directly toward the boat. She was relieved when he suddenly turned and headed downstream.
“Intimidating, huh?” Khalib said, seeming to note her discomfort.
“A bit. I suppose I best get used to seeing animals that view us as prey, where we are going,” she said.
“They mostly view other animals as prey. Humans are usually not bothered unless they make a nuisance of themselves or fail to keep a healthy distance,” he said.
“We fully intend to do just that,” she replied.
He nodded, seeming a bit less abrasive than he had been earlier. She had to wonder what had changed. Even on the way here, he had been abrupt, but now that they were underway, he seemed to have developed a more hospitable attitude.
“Ready for some lunch? We have some sandwiches packed for today. After that, I’m afraid it’s all dried goods, condiments, and water until tomorrow, so enjoy the fresh food while you can,” he said.
“Fantastic,” she replied, swatting at an insect that landed on her arm.
“Here. You’ll need this, too. It’s warming up, and those will be swarming soon,” he said, tossing her a small cylinder with roll-on insect repellent.
Kara began coating herself with it while he pulled open a small cooler, fishing out bags and containers with sandwiches, chips, and bottles of water and handing them out to them and to the park rangers. She handed the repellent to Thomas, who used it and passed it on before they began eating. It was quite a feat to consume the sandwiches while keeping the insects at bay, but everyone seemed to manage it just fine as the sun bore down heavily on the water that surrounded them.
A short time later, they pulled up to an embankment, and the rangers tied the boat off, helping them get their gear off before stepping back onto the vessel. Kara watched as they began pulling up anchor, now feeling a bit of alarm at being out in the wild. Obviously, she, Thomas, and Josh could shift if there was any real danger, but Barb would be defenseless, and shifting could open up a whole different set of problems for them.
“Ready?” Khalib asked, as if to punctuate her thoughts with confirmation.
“Absolutely,” she replied as confidently as she could manage, though she felt anything but that. The two couples secured their gear as instructed and waited for further instruction.
“Let’s go, then. We don’t have much daylight left before we will need to take shelter for the night. I want to get across this plain and into an area less populated with wildlife,” he told them.
“Where are the rangers going? To refuel? How will they know where to find us?” Kara asked.
“The rangers? They aren’t coming with us. Their job is just to get us down the river. They’ll pick us up a bit farther along the river in two days to take us through some of the narrow riverbeds, and then we’ll be on foot again for the rest of the trip.”
“So, we are staying out here in the open? With the animals?” she said, somewhat losing the cool she had tried so hard to maintain.
He sighed loudly and looked at her with a huge frown on his face, dropping his bag by his feet and taking off back down toward the shore below them. His voice rang out loudly as he called to the rangers, already well out of sight from where the two couples still stood above him.
“Hey, come back. I don’t think the princess and her royal subjects are going to be able to make the trip!” he yelled in their direction.
“I didn’t say that!” she protested loudly behind him.
“Then stop your whining and let’s get a move on. I don’t have time to coddle you. You either want to do this, or you don’t. Either way is fine with me. I’ve already been paid to babysit you.”
“We don’t need a fucking babysitter!” she barked at him, snatching up her bag and stalking off toward the trees in a huff, the others in tow behind her.
“That’s better, but you might want to go the right damned way, Cinderella,” he said in a snarky tone.
“I’m going to beat the shit out of him,” Thomas growled, turning back toward the sound of their young guide’s voice.
“No,” she told him, looking back and forth at the angry faces of the two brothers and then toward Barb, who was looking at the ground in an effort to steer clear of the situation. “Let’s just do this.”
Kara turned to see that Khalib had begun walking in the opposite direction and followed him with an angry scowl on her face. She was completely frazzled within the first mile of their journey, every noise putting her on edge as she wondered what lurked in the tall weeds, just beyond the path they were treading. To top it off, she could all but feel the heat rising off of Thomas, who was still seething with anger.
“Stop,” Khalib said out of the blue. “Come here. All of you. Stand very still and look right over there.”
They did as they were told. Kara’s heart pounded loudly in her chest as she observed her first actual tigers in the wild. Prior to this, the closest she had been to one was at the zoo, secured behind large panels of Plexiglas that protected her from the beast just beyond.
“Oh, wow. They are beautiful,” she whispered, afraid to speak much louder than just a breath.
“They are, and they are lethal. Just keep watching. See the female standing to one side that looks as if she is on alert?” he said.
“Yes,” Kara replied, pulling Thomas closer to get a better look as Josh and Barb leaned in with rapt attention.
“Keep your eye on her,” he said.
Kara did, continuing to watch as her ears pricked upward. The big cat seemed to be listening to something only she could see. A moment later, something came barreling through the grass, and she was immediately on it. As a violent battle ensued, Kara was able to make out the creature now fighting for its life. It was a large, wild boar. The sounds they made were vile, the feline’s growls coupled with the boar’s squeals of pain. It took her only seconds to have it pinned down and motionless. Kara had to look away as she began to feed on it, several cubs bounding over to share in her victory.
“That was incredible to watch,” Kara said, her heart racing wildly in her chest, though she had no desire to look back again. The others continued to watch, fascinated by the events that were unfolding before them.
“From a distance, yes. You don’t want one coming for you, and this area is filled with them. Stay close and stay quiet. They are used to humans traveling through here and don’t usually bother them unless they feel threatened, but we don’t take any chances. Tigers are much like humans, with different personalities and levels of aggression. You’ll be safe with me. Just don’t wander away.”
“I don’t see that happening,” she said, still watching as the tigers surrounded their prey and enjoyed their meal.
“All right, we’re losing daylight. Let’s go.”
Their trek through the area around the riverbed led them through a dense grove of trees to an
area that was obviously well used for bedding down for the night. There was evidence of previous fires in a pit to one side and simple chicken-wire type fencing wrapped around the surrounding trees. It wouldn’t be enough to stop an attack if one was going to happen, but it was a deterrent and protected them somewhat on three sides. The fourth was open.
“Is this safe?” she asked.
“No. It’s not safe. If you wanted safe, you should have stayed at the hotel.”
“I didn’t expect it to be perfectly tame, but I wasn’t aware we would be sleeping out here in a tent!” she said.
Khalib laughed a little and nodded toward a large building that almost blended into the wild just beyond where they stood. He pulled a set of keys from his pocket and dangled them in front of her.
“I was just yanking your chain, princess. There is a jeep in that building that is shared by those of us that are registered guides with the rangers. I never intended to sleep out here in the open, though you can see that some people do. I just needed to get us here well before dark. We’re going to take the jeep down to a juncture near the river. It is much less populated with wildlife, and there is a small ranger station with a wooden shelter for us to use.”
“You are such a jerk!” she exclaimed, glaring at him.
“I know. I love it,” he laughed. “Come on.”
Thomas looked at Kara blankly, silently expressing his disdain for the man that was their guide. Relative or not, he had already solidified his place firmly on the Higgins brothers’ shit list. Though he had seemed to lighten up a bit, his attitude still left a lot to be desired.
They made their way to the shed and tossed their gear into the jeep. Khalib checked out its fluids to make sure they had been topped off, and then they pulled out, heading further down the river. Khalib flipped a switch that blasted bright lights all over the area around them, and Kara marveled at all of the animals that bounded back and forth around the vehicle as it moved along in the near darkness. They were about three miles south of where they had picked it up when there was a sudden lurch in the jeep, and it stopped, going completely dead.
Journey to India (Exiled Dragons Book 7) Page 2
