The professor realised that Fraser was weighing him down – something was not right. He tugged at his shoulder but he didn’t move. The professor swam down to look at his face but it was too dark. He placed a hand over his mouth and felt bubbles coming out, a sure sign that he was breathing but that he was unconscious, unable to hold his breath. The professor assumed that the force of the landing had knocked him out cold, so he grabbed hold of his shoulders and kicked for all he was worth towards the surface. The more he kicked and struggled the heavier Fraser became, and the heavier Fraser became the harder it was to drag him to the air.
The professor flailed his legs and arms but to no avail. He felt himself being dragged under by the dead weight of the man he was clinging on to. Above him Joe and Lisa had realised something was up when the professor and Fraser hadn’t surfaced. They ducked under the water but again could see nothing. Lisa dived under the water frantically searching with her arms in the darkness. It was so cold she could no longer feel her fingers. She knew that none of them could last long in the water; they had to get out on to dry land and warm themselves.
Eventually, her hands caught hold of her uncle’s jacket collar and she kicked for all she was worth. Gradually, with Joe’s help, she managed to pull both the professor and the unconscious Fraser to the surface, where they trod water for a while, breathless and scared. Joe held Fraser’s chin above the surface.
Lisa looked concerned. ‘How is he?’ she asked, nodding towards Fraser.
The professor swam over. ‘He’s still breathing. Better take him to the shore where we can have a look. It might only be concussion.’
Lisa, the professor and Joe, carrying Fraser, swam to the shore where they lay for a while in the early morning sun. Joe looked at the ocean just in time to see the wings of his plane disappearing below the surface.
‘There she goes,’ he said.
‘This island looks too small to be Mindanao. What if we’re miles away?’ Lisa asked but no one answered; they just watched the bubbles breaking the surface of the ocean that, every now and then, brought forth a fresh piece of debris and deposited it on the beach. The sun was only just above the horizon but it spread a warm glow on to the faces of Joe, Lisa, Fraser and the professor and seemed to give life to their bodies which were wet and cold.
Lisa held Fraser’s head in her arms and, as if coming back from the dead, he opened his eyes and stared at her thinking that she was, perhaps, an angel. Suddenly he started fighting for his life. The last image he had in his mind was of the plane under water, he struggled with the waves, gasping for breath, not wanting to let them win, to drown him. Lisa held his head and whispered in his ear, ‘Easy, easy, you’re safe now. We are on the beach.’
Fraser became calm. Lisa felt his body relax under her grip as his eyes and his mind became adjusted to the situation.
‘You nearly pulled us all under there,’ Joe said. ‘I thought we had all had it for a moment.’
Fraser sat up. ‘Is she gone?’ he said, nodding to the ocean.
‘Yes, just now,’ Lisa explained.
Fraser’s head fell back onto her arm and he gave a sign that seemed to speak for them all. Slowly, the professor adjusted the collar of his shirt.
‘The sun will be fully up soon; we should be getting along.’
‘Where would we go to?’ Lisa asked.
‘To find the gold,’ he said.
‘But where? We needed the plane. The plan was to spot the area by plane. Now that’s gone.’
‘We can walk. This island’s not so big. We’ll find it, I am sure.’
Joe laughed. ‘You are mighty optimistic all of a sudden.’
The professor smiled at him. ‘We are here, aren’t we? I think that is reason to be optimistic enough.’
About a hundred yards away from the beach, in the shadow of the trees something moved. It was barely noticeable against the dark background of the dense undergrowth of the jungle but, in the early morning sun, the glint of metal shone. It was raised to the horizontal and aimed at those on the beach with a military precision, but no sooner had it locked on to its target than it was lowered again. Now was not the time, it seemed to think, later would be better.
‘We need food and provisions, uncle, and how the hell are we going to get off this island? Who knows we’re here? No one.’
The professor tried to calm her but the words were hard to find. Tears formed in Lisa’s eyes as the shock of the crash and the thought of the island brought home how isolated they were. Joe shifted on the sand and sat next her. He placed a hand on her shoulder. ‘We’ll make it,’ he said tenderly. ‘We’ll make it.’
And Lisa dried her eyes. ‘Now you’re sounding optimistic,’ she said with a sob. Joe leaned over and kissed Lisa on the cheek, drying one of her tears with his lips. ‘Have I ever let you down yet?’ Joe asked, and Lisa laughed.
‘Once or twice.’
The professor got to his feet. The sun had partly dried his clothes and they hung off his body in a sandy misshapen lump, making him look more comical than usual. He brushed himself down and fumbled in his pocket. He pulled out the map, enclosed in a bag.
‘Good, good,’ he said. ‘Still intact. This, after all, is why we came here. Now, where do you think we should start?’
Fraser raised his head from Lisa’s lap. ‘We should try to find a base. Are there people on this island?’
The professor scratched his head. ‘Yes, yes, there may be inhabitants here, small villages, I don’t doubt they have a radio. I’m afraid the modern world stretches everywhere these days. I guess the problem is finding them.’
‘So you think we could radio for a plane?’ Joe asked.
‘Possibly, possibly, if they have one, if we find them . . . if it works and if there’s anyone on the other end.’
‘Hmm, that’s a lot of possibilities, prof.’
‘Yes, but a lot of possibilities is better than one “not at all”.’
‘Did you get that out of a cracker?’ Joe asked.
The professor looked at him. ‘Possibly,’ he said, and started to walk along the shoreline.
‘Wait, uncle,’ Lisa shouted after him.
‘Well, come on, come on.’
In the undergrowth someone observed them stand and leave. They watched the younger ones go towards the sea and retrieve anything they thought might be useful from the wreckage of the plane that had washed up, then hurry after the older one. They noticed the skin and the eyes and the hair of the two who looked Japanese and they thought that one spoke with an American accent; even this far away it was noticeable and made the hatred and bile rise up in the throat and cause it to burn and sting. A bead of sweat ran down a forehead and was brushed off with an alert arm which was thin but strong. It was hot in the jungle, humid, but they were used to it, they had made it their home, ever since the great general had conferred upon them the sanctity of its boundaries, ever since the Imperial Emperor himself had decreed that it must be protected from whoever tried to take it from them.
They had cooked and eaten and slept and lived and been wounded and cured in the jungle. They had treated it with respect and it had reciprocated with kindness; for almost sixty years it had fed and clothed them, given them water and a place to sleep. They had been given the mandate to protect the jungle and that is what they had done and would do until word came from the Emperor himself. As Lisa and the others disappeared behind the bend in the bay, the figure stepped out from the shadows and stood, in the full glare of the early morning sun, in the uniform of the Imperial Japanese army. Over his shoulder a rifle was slung and in his breast pocket orders from the great General Yamashita who would one day come back and relieve him.
Chapter Eleven
The professor was having a hard time navigating the rocks; every other one he slipped on or caught his foot so that he lurched forward; he cursed and puffed his way through the rock pools that led to the open clearing of the jungle, the place that would begin their journey. Fraser had s
haken most of the salt water from his ears and walked along in the sunlight studying the horizon for any sign of a plane or a boat. Joe lagged behind, puffing and wheezing, resting on the rocks as he took a few faltering steps forward. ‘Look,’ he said, sweating profusely. ‘Can we stop a moment, I mean, I’m not meant for walking this far.’
‘We’ve only gone a few hundred yards,’ Lisa said with a laugh.
‘Boy, I could do with a drink,’ Joe said.
‘There must be a stream around here somewhere we can drink from,’ the professor answered.
‘Unless it’s a whiskey stream I’m not interested,’ Joe said, and bent down to scoop up some of the water from a rock pool and splashed it on his face.
Lisa was beginning to like this island and the thought that there might be a radio on it somewhere that could get them off it pleased her even more. She craned her neck and heard all kinds of different sounds she had not heard before, sounds that she assumed were animals rather than spirits.
‘What did Anderson say about the aswang again, uncle?’
‘He said they were best left alone.’
‘What do you know of them, professor?’ Fraser asked.
‘The locals of these islands believe in them fiercely. It’s rumoured they live in the villages and can change shape to look just like you or me. Some are good, some are – well, most Filipinos think of them as a type of vampire that will stop at nothing to get you, if they so desire. They could be watching us right now.’
Fraser suddenly felt cold. He drew his damp coat about his shoulders and gazed into the jungle. It looked dark and mysterious. He didn’t know quite what he was doing here anyway and the last thing he wanted was to hear about the spirits that were after him. Ever since they had started on this walk he had had the strange feeling that he was being stared at. Every time he looked around to see who it was he saw nothing but, somehow, he knew that in the jungle eyes were on him.
He whistled a little but his lips were so dry he could make no noise. Behind him the professor had stopped. ‘Ah,’ he said. ‘I see fascinating strata here, untouched, undisturbed for millions of years. I’m sure I could dig up some seashells to prove that these islands were born from the sea. To a geologist it is a blank book waiting to be written.’
‘Can we keep moving, uncle? We want to find a camp before we go any further really.’
‘How come you know all this stuff about open air living, you a girl guide or something?’ Joe asked.
Lisa turned. ‘Yes, actually I was, but really it’s just common sense, something that may pass you by,’ she said with a giggle. Joe knelt down in a pool and felt the cool water seep into the legs of his trousers.
Miles away, in the capital, Manila, Kono and Tanaka were making the last arrangements for their flight. They checked their luggage and made sure that the tracking device was still working. The red light flashed a constant pulse and a tiny beep was emitted from a speaker. Tanaka handed over a wad of dollars to the guard at the airport and whispered in his ear; this was going to be an easy trip, he had decided. Once they were on the island, the usual rules did not apply. There were no police who would come sniffing round, no university authorities getting in the way, and all he had to do was follow the professor to the gold and pluck it out of his hands. In a way this was almost better than stealing the map. If he had done that he would have had to find the tunnels, dig them out, pay for local workers to carry the gold to the plane and fly it home. Now all he had to do was find them, follow them and steal from them. The airport guard waved him through the terminus where he climbed aboard a pontoon plane. Beside him, Kono squeezed his bulky frame into the spare seat. ‘Do you have to sit so close?’ Tanaka said. ‘I’ll shove over a bit,’ Kono replied, moving his sizeable buttocks a fraction of an inch to the left. Tanaka pushed him so that he was flush up against the window. ‘Just stay there, will you, you fool.’
‘Sorry, boss.’
‘Just keep to your own side. Ah, why couldn’t I have got a decent right hand man?’
‘Sorry, boss.’
‘Just stay there.’
Tanaka did up his seat belt and tapped the pilot on the shoulder.
* * *
‘There it is!’ Lisa said. ‘There’s the exact spot where we should build our temporary camp.’ She raced through the last few pools of water to the clearing by the edge of the jungle and threw herself on the ground. ‘It’s got overhanging trees, not too shady though. It’s big enough, clear enough. There are no ants. This is feeling like home already.’ Joe wearily made his way to where she lay. ‘You sure have an imagination,’ he said, and slumped down on the ground. The professor and Fraser joined them.
‘Yes, yes, I think you are right, Lisa. I think this will make a perfect camp site, if only for tonight,’ the professor said.
‘Shall I make a start finding materials?’ Lisa said, and made her way into the undergrowth.
‘I’ll help,’ said Fraser and ran behind her, kicking at her heels. Joe and the professor stared out over the ocean.
‘You really think we’ll find anything, professor?’
‘Sure,’ the professor answered. ‘What, though, I don’t know.’
‘What d’you mean?’
‘Well, these are mysterious islands, Joe. I have been reading about nothing else lately, thinking about nothing else. They have overtaken my thoughts. There are physical things in the tunnels, actual dangers: gas, cave-ins, disease, rats – and then there are the things we don’t know about or can’t explain.’
‘Aswang?’
‘Yes, aswang, but also others. Has it not occurred to you that none of this was an accident?’
‘What you mean?’
‘Getting the map, finding you, finding the way here, the plane crashing. Has it not occurred to you that it could all be part of their plan?’
‘Who are they, professor?’ The professor looked about nervously. ‘Them,’ he said, and nodded into the jungle. ‘The spirits in there. The things in our dreams, Joe, the things that brought us here.’ Joe was silent for a while. The waves lapped slowly up on the beach and caused a ripple of sound to pass through the air. ‘Perhaps you’re right, professor. We’re here for the same reasons, you and me.’
Joe put his hands behind his head and lay back in the sand, staring up at the sky. There were wisps of white cloud floating over him which seemed to take forever to pass. He closed his eyes and felt the sun on his face and for the first time in years felt free and at peace. Here, on this island, there was no one who wanted him dead, no one who wanted to skin him alive and, more importantly, no bars that would take his money and leave him feeling like death. He crossed his legs.
‘You know,’ he said. ‘I could get used to this.’ He stared along the line of the shore and sighed. Suddenly his eye was caught by something glinting. ‘What was that?’
The professor snapped out of his doze and looked around. ‘What? What’s happening?’
‘I saw something,’ Joe said. ‘Glinting, over there.’ He pointed to a dense patch of foliage that lay on the outskirts of the jungle. ‘I swear it was metal.’
‘Probably a rockpool, Joe, they take on quite a metallic sheen if the sun hits them in the right spot.’
‘It was no rockpool. I swear it was metal or glass – real shiny, you know?’
Joe got to his feet. He strained his eyes towards the thicket but could see nothing. He sat back down again. ‘Jeez, just as I was getting a little relaxed I make myself all jumpy again.’
‘You want to forget about things for a while, Joe, take it easy.’
Joe sighed. ‘I have been running ever since I was born, professor. It’s a little hard to stop now.’
Behind them, Lisa and Fraser returned with armfuls of green vegetation. ‘How’s this?’ Lisa said smiling. ‘I think we could make a whole apartment block out of this.’ She dumped the leaves on the sand. ‘And these huge leaves to wrap ourselves in to sleep.’
Ordering everyone else about, Lisa
set to making the shelter; she and Fraser cleared a space where the sand met the damp earth of the jungle floor and the professor and Joe began to make the frame of the shelter out of branches and fronds that had fallen or could be easily pulled free.
By the time they had finished it was nearing evening. The sat in their shelter examining the inside for leaks.
‘There are a million holes in this thing,’ Fraser said as he pushed his finger through the leaves.
‘It will do for tonight,’ Lisa said. ‘Tomorrow we’ll be off.’
‘I’ve heard it gets freezing cold, here,’ Fraser said. ‘I hope we don’t freeze to death, after all this.’
The Mystery of Yamashita's Map Page 14
