The Real

by Masha du Toit

  Elke hissed with frustration. “We don’t have time for this! We’ve got to get down to the Cathedral ahead of Missy and her gang. We’ve got to see who this guy is who showed up last night. We can’t go chasing after these kids now. They know this place so well, they’ll go miles while we’re still picking our way through the undergrowth.”

  “You can send Meisje after them.”

  Elke hesitated, then nodded. “That’s true. Meisje.” She looked down at the gardag. “Find Noor and Ndlela and stay with them. Keep them safe.”

  Meisje gave a bark and loped off into the bushes. Her dyed-dark fur soon made her hard to see in the dim light.

  “Sun will be up soon.” Diesel looked up at the brightening sky. “We better get going. What’s your plan?”

  “I want to see this boss guy.” Elke dug through her bag, finding items and putting them in her pockets, or clipping them to her belt. The binoculars, a pair of handcuffs, and an extra knife. “We probably can’t stop them from getting to the Cathedral, but if I’m right and he’s the guy behind it all, we simply have to know who he is. Problem is, I have no idea what route Noor told them to take to the Cathedral. There’s more than one entrance.”

  “Which is the easiest route to explain?”

  Elke blew out a breath. “Good point. At a guess, she’d probably have told them about the way in through Crosshatch’s place, but there’s no guarantee of that.” She tapped the knuckles of her fist against her mouth, frustrated at her own indecision.

  “Who’s Crosshatch?” said Diesel, shouldering her pack.

  “Old guy. Lives beyond the river mouth.” Elke grimaced in exasperation. “We might as well start there. Got to warn him what’s going on. Maybe he can help us.”

  ¤¤¤

  Xun lay in the long grass, ears pricked, eyes focused on the small figure pushing its way through the bushes. The old gardag had caught the girl’s scent on the early morning breeze.

  Xun and her sons had long abandoned their original lair. No sense in staying there, where so many humans had seen them, but they’d not left the Muara. The hunting was good here. The rats were plump and Xun had even managed to pull down a small antelope. Apart from the two men who seemed to be trying to track them, no humans had bothered them.

  It was easy enough to stay out of the way of the men. They clearly had not the slightest skill in hunting and were only a danger when her sons were incautious enough to let themselves be seen.

  The humans that camped near the freeway were another matter. Easy food, it was true. For the first few days they’d been able to steal chickens, unwatched food bags, and raid the garbage cans, but now those humans were growing careful and Xun knew it was dangerous to push their luck. Better stay away, at least for a while.

  But this girl, now, wandering about all by herself, calling out Xun’s name. What did she want? Seeing her limping along made Xun feel uneasy. Such a small creature, so helpless and alone.

  She remembered Isabeau’s voice, the touch of her hands as she caressed her.

  A glance told Xun that her sons had spotted Isabeau too. They had fed recently, which meant they were sleepy and too lazy to do more than lie and watch. Xun had claimed that girl as her own and attacking her would be a challenge to her authority. Still, she kept an eye on them.

  Isabeau leaned on her crutch and looked about uncertainly.

  A movement farther down the beach caught Xun’s attention. She rose to see better, her enhanced vision picking out the traces of body heat in the chill morning landscape. Two glowing shapes moving slowly but steadily closer.

  The men, rifles slung across their shoulders.

  The hunters were back.

  ¤¤¤

  The circus looked dark and asleep as Elke and Diesel crossed the stepping stones at the river mouth. Elke made sure to check. Still, that might just mean that they’re being careful.

  The run down to the river had left them both out of breath. The Muara was not an easy place for anyone in a hurry. Diesel had a scratch on her forehead where a thorny branch caught her and their feet were wet from an attempted shortcut over a boggy patch.

  One thing about the heavy going, it meant that Diesel had stopped nagging at Elke about what she planned to do. She was sure Elke was simply winging it.

  She’s not far from right, though. I’m pretty much making this up as I go along. But Elke did have a plan, although it was a web of guesswork held together with hope. She couldn’t tell Diesel, not yet. It’s not my secret to share.

  “How far still to go?” said Diesel, pausing to catch her breath.

  “About ten minutes’ walk,” said Elke. “The going’s a bit easier from here on. You okay?”

  Diesel nodded, took a breath, blew it out. “Okay, then. Let’s go.”

  Crosshatch was clearly awake by the time they reached his yard. Smoke scented the air and a lit solar lamp swung from the awning. The pigs grunted a greeting and Diesel nearly tripped over a hen, sending it cackling across the yard. The noise brought Crosshatch from where he’d been mucking out a pig stall.

  “Hey! Who’s there!” He held a pitchfork in a way that made Diesel take a step back.

  “Crosshatch.” Elke held out a hand. “It’s me. Listen. Something’s happened. We need to talk.”

  ¤¤¤

  “You sure she’s tracking Isabeau?” Noor grabbed at Ndlela for balance as they slid down a sandy slope.

  “Just look at her.” Ndlela didn’t take his eyes off Meisje. Her nose was down, her ears pricked, her tail a confident curve over her back. “She’s following Issy alright.”

  Robby was at Meisje’s heels, diligently sniffing too. Ndlela couldn’t help wondering whether he was on Isabeau’s trail or just copying Meisje.

  “I hope you’re right.” Noor wiped her hair out of her face. “I’ve been thinking, Ndlela. You should both come with me to Kaapstadt today. I don’t want you guys staying here with all this stuff going on.”

  Ndlela opened his mouth to answer, then stumbled to a stop, eyes wide.

  Three hulking canine shapes emerged from the shrubbery and blocked their way. Xun and her sons.

  Meisje stood, head high, Robby at her side. For a breathless moment the gardags faced one another. Then Xun took a step forward and lowered her head to sniff at Meisje’s muzzle.

  Ndlela held his breath as the two gardags, one enormous, the other lithe and light, circled one another, sniffing.

  Then first Meisje, then all three the other gardags’ heads went up, ears pricked.

  It was Isabeau.

  She was screaming.

  ¤¤¤

  “...told them about all those hardflasks in the Cathedral. So they might be coming here.”

  Crosshatch blinked at Elke and Diesel.

  “They are coming here? Those circus people?” He spoke calmly, without any sense of urgency.

  Elke fought down her frustration. Nothing would be gained by snapping at him. “We don’t know what route Noor told them to take but they might be coming here.”

  The old man leaned on his pitchfork and looked down at his boots, nodding. “Hm. There is one thing.” With sudden resolution he dug the pitchfork into the sandy ground. “We can collapse part of the tunnel leading there easily enough. That will leave only the far entrance.”

  “Will that take long?” Elke felt a rush of hope almost equal to her anxiety.

  “Not long. I can show you how to do it on this end. I’ll go through and do the tunnel at the far end. Not sure if it will keep them out, though. Not once they know where it is. After all it’s just sand. Anyone can dig that out.”

  Elke’s heart fell once more. “That’s true.”

  Crosshatch swung around, a listening look on his face. “Someone’s coming.”

  Elke heard it too, the growl of approaching engines. Crosshatch turned and strode towards the entrance to the underground route.

  “Crosshatch! Wait.” Elke followed him. “You have to stay.”

  The old man
didn’t even hesitate. Already he was partway into the tunnel.

  “You have to be here,” Elke insisted. “You’ve got to see them and hear what they say. It has to be you.”

  At this, Crosshatch turned to face her. His hooded eyes were dark, his face an impassive mask.

  “Elke!” Diesel was already out of sight, hiding behind a flap of woven plastic that hung against the wall of Crosshatch’s house. The engine sound was loud now. They’d be here any moment.

  Elke dashed to join Diesel, who shifted aside to make room for her. The piece of plastic was just wide enough for her and Diesel to hide behind, but anyone looking directly at it would see them soon enough.

  Would Crosshatch stay? She strained to hear, but the engine noise blanked out all other sounds. Elke tried to see through a gap in the plastic, but it was no good.

  The engine noise cut out, first one then another. Two sand bikes, then. Elke had closed her eyes as if that would help her to hear better.

  Footsteps crunched in sand. A woman spoke. “This is the place. We’re meeting the guys here.”

  Missy. Even after all these years there was no mistaking that voice. And who else?

  “We need to talk about those men you hired. Buffel and Mamba.” Elke did not recognise the speaker. It was a woman with the accent of the Strangeworld in her vowels. Elke heard Diesel’s sharp intake of breath and wondered at her reaction.

  “I don’t approve of the way they’ve been handling this situation,” said the same voice.

  Elke slid sideways as slowly as she could, moving closer to the edge of the plastic.

  “I’m not in charge of them,” said Missy. “You know that. They don’t take orders from me. Anyway, they agreed to meet us here at sunup.”

  Elke’s heart hammered. It was hard to breathe. They would have guns, for sure. If Moraes was correct, they’d have no qualms about shooting her on sight. Still, she had to see them. She peered past the edge of the plastic.

  “I guess we should wait for them,” said the strangeworlder.

  Elke could see her now. A big woman, wide-shouldered, with sandy hair. It took Elke a moment to recognise her. It took another moment to believe her eyes.

  That’s Diesel’s mom. Frau-eid Jinan Meer. Elke leaned back against the wall, sucking in a quiet breath, letting it out through clenched teeth. What the hell? The boss behind it all is Diesel’s mother?

  She looked again. The two women were not alone. Behind them stood Skyler Moraes, her unwashed hair stringing across her face, her hands bound behind her back. She looked exhausted. Why has Missy brought her along? She must be worried that Moraes will try to escape, or that I’ll try and rescue her, if she leaves her alone back at the circus.

  Elke’s heart gave a thud as Moraes looked directly at her. For a breathless moment they stared at one another, then Moraes looked away.

  “What is this place, anyway?” Jinan Meer scanned the yard, frowning.

  Then the early morning hush was shattered by the crack of a gunshot.

  ¤¤¤

  Ndlela and Noor ran after the gardags, pushing through the bushes into a sandy clearing. Mamba and Buffel swung around at the sound of their approach and Isabeau screamed again—Mamba had her by the hair.

  Buffel brought his rifle up just as Meisje leaped and sent him lurching backwards. A bullet buzzed past Ndlela’s ear so close he could feel the wind of it. Mamba wrapped an arm around Isabeau’s face, choking off her voice.

  “Stay away!” He stared at Xun, who was moving purposefully towards him. “Call off your dog! Call it off!”

  Buffel was struggling under Meisje. The two wolfdogs closed in, shouldering Meisje aside.

  “Stay away!” Mamba took another step back, but Xun never faltered even as Buffel screamed and gurgled under her sons’ combined attention. He swung his rifle, holding it one-handed while he crushed Isabeau against his side.

  “One move and the girlie gets it—” He fired two shots in rapid succession before he finished speaking. He was too close to miss, but both shots clanged harmlessly against the gardag’s armour.

  Xun shook her head as if bothered by a fly.

  Mamba hefted the rifle for another shot. Then Robby was on him, had him by the sleeve, by the arm, climbed up his body to his throat. The man staggered back, wide eyed, trying to fend off the enraged dog, trying to bring the rifle up, firing a last and useless shot up into the sky.

  Xun’s enormous armoured body gathered and launched itself with an unstoppable momentum. Her jaws closed on Mamba’s gun-hand and he went down. Then she dragged him into the bushes, still by his rifle hand, leaving Isabeau crumpled in the sand.

  “Issy. Issy.” Noor’s voice was barely audible. Ndlela’s ears still rang from the gunshots. He ran to where Isabeau lay. Noor cradled Isabeau’s head in her hands. “Issy. Are you okay?”

  Isabeau blinked and groaned, one hand on her throat. Then Robby was there, crying and whining in a sort of ecstasy, worming his way in between the sisters. He licked their faces and whacked them with his tail. Noor reared back, but Isabeau wrapped her arms around the dog, laughing and crying. “Did you see him? Did you see what he did? He saved me from that man. Brave boy, Robby. Brave boy!”

  Ndlela looked over to where Buffel lay. From where he crouched he could only see the man’s feet, one of them still in its flip-flop, the other bare. The two wolfdogs stood over him, panting a little, one of them licking blood from its muzzle.

  A rustle in the bushes brought him round to see Xun emerge, also, as far as he could see, unhurt.

  Ndlela stood up, brushing the sand from himself, his breath still coming fast and hard, his heart gradually slowing.

  ¤¤¤

  Elke’s heart stalled at the distant gunfire. Isabeau. Meisje. Or were they hunting Xun?

  “What’s that shooting?” Jinan Meer sounded aggrieved. “Is it your men, Missy? What are they shooting at?”

  Then, to Elke’s horror, Diesel stepped out from her hiding place. “Jinan.” Her voice was soft but all three women whipped around to look at her.

  “Shoshana!” Jinan stared at her daughter.

  Well. Here goes. Elke gritted her teeth and moved to Diesel’s side. Jinan’s eyes flicked to her then back to Diesel. “What are you doing here?”

  Missy stepped forward, hatred naked on her face, a gun in her hand.

  Everything slowed, each detail stood out with clear precision. The quick intake of Diesel’s breath. The rasp of sand as Moraes launched herself forward. The gun jerked and Diesel crumpled. All the little birds in the yard flew up in fright at the gunshot, scattering away into the early morning sky.

  Missy screamed in frustration, pushed Moraes away and levelled her weapon at Elke again.

  “Stop!” Jinan’s voice rang with outrage.

  Elke ignored the sounds of the struggle. All her attention was on Diesel, whose hair and face were already dark with blood.

  Oh no, no no— Elke touched her friend gently, hands trembling with shock. She was only peripherally aware of the angry voices as Jinan and Missy shouted at one another, a grunt, feet scuffing in the sand.

  Head wounds always bleed a lot. Elke felt through Diesel’s hair, found sticky wetness there. Is she breathing? She put her fingers, slippery with blood, on Diesel’s neck, feeling for the pulse in the carotid artery. I think— I think there is?

  The sudden silence made Elke look up to see Jinan and Missy staring at one another, Moraes a step or so behind them, blood on her face.

  “You shot my daughter.” Jinan’s voice was cold. She’d got hold of Missy’s gun and was holding it in both hands, pointed at the ground.

  “I was aiming for the other one.” Missy’s lips were pulled back from her teeth in her rage. She jerked her head at Moraes. “This piece of shit made me miss.”

  A fumbling touch on her arm drew Elke’s attention. Diesel was groaning and trying to sit up. “Easy, now.” Elke eased Diesel gently back. “You need to stay still. You’ve been shot. Hold still.
Let me see.” She ran her fingers carefully through the bloody hair but found only a shallow scalp wound. She felt weak with relief, hardly believing the evidence of her senses.

  She drew a deep breath and let it out. “Good. It only nicked you.”

  “You sure?” Diesel’s eyes were screwed up in pain. “Feels like I got my head blown right off.”

  Footsteps crunched. Jinan knelt down next to them, bringing with her a breath of perfume.

  Mother and daughter looked at one another. Elke could see their kinship, but also their difference. Jinan had the same broad, blunt face, but her eyes were cold and dispassionate even as she studied her wounded daughter.

  A shadow fell over them and Crosshatch spoke. “There’s a first aid kit in my workshop.” He touched Elke’s shoulder. “You’ll see it on the wall just inside the door.”

  Jinan looked up at Crosshatch. “How old is your kit?” And before he could answer, “Missy, get the med-kit from my bike. You.” She didn’t even look at Elke. “Get some clean water and cloths.”

  “The water’s just inside the door,” Crosshatch said to Elke. “Over there,” he pointed. “You’ll find some clean cloths there too.”

  Elke hurried to follow his instructions. Crosshatch’s house was more like a workshop than a home, a jumble of tools and equipment. When her eyes adjusted to the dim interior, Elke spotted the huge filter jar, and below it a bottle for the water. She found a drawer full of dishcloths that would do for rags.

  Back out in the yard, she had eyes only for Diesel. “Is she alright?” She handed the water and cloths to Crosshatch. Diesel looked terrible. Her face was pale, her overalls drenched in blood.

  “We’ll see.”

  “Can you hurry up with that med-kit?” Jinan called over her shoulder. Missy was still busy with the bike’s baggage compartment. Beyond the bike stood Moraes. When she caught Elke’s eye, Moraes took a slow step backward, glanced at Missy, then back at Elke.

  She’s going to make a break for it. Elke felt suddenly sick. And if Missy notices, she’ll press that remote control button for the leash and Moraes will die.

  “Here.” Missy strode across the yard and dumped the first-aid kit on the ground next to Jinan.