Python Adventure

by Anthony McGowan

  And then he heard a scream, back at the river. Tutting and grumbling, he ran back. That stupid fat Texan, Laramie, had somehow fallen in the river. The big African was reaching out, trying to pull him in, but the Texan couldn’t haul his bulk out of the water. And there, coming at them like torpedoes, were three crocs.

  Kaggs made a quick calculation. It was better to lose one more customer rather than two. He stepped towards Amunda Banda, as if he were going to help him pull the Texan in. Then he simply brought his arm up, breaking the grip that the chief had on Laramie’s collar.

  ‘Leave it, chief,’ he said, and dragged him away. Behind them the screams of the Texan lasted only as long as it took for the crocs to take him under.

  ‘You’re a bad man, Mr Kaggs,’ said Banda, giving Kaggs a long, intense stare, his face unreadable.

  ‘Takes one to know one,’ replied Kaggs, a grim smile on his face.

  Just at that moment one of the Indian scouts bent down to study the ground. He shouted something in Hindi and pointed towards the west, signalling that he’d found a bootprint pointing in that direction.

  ‘Well, what are we waiting for?’ Kaggs yelled to the hunters. ‘Let’s ride.’

  Frazer was right. The strip of woodland that lined the river curved away before it reached the wall and carried on until it joined with the jungle at the heart of the hunting estate. It had obviously been designed to provide a corridor for the jungle animals to go down to the river, without having to cross the plain.

  It wasn’t much of a plan – following the trees back to the temple – but it was better than nothing, and the cousins ran on with renewed energy. It gave them both a certain grim satisfaction that the hunters – who had expected to find them as sitting ducks in the temple – were being led a merry dance.

  But there was something that niggled at both of them, just below the level of consciousness. This strip of woodland was eerily quiet. That sense of life all around them – even though much of it had been heard rather than seen – was lacking here. Once or twice, Amazon thought she saw something from the corner of her eye. A movement perhaps or a splash of deeper darkness against the dappled shadows. But when she looked again it would just be the breeze passing across the leaves, or sunlight playing through the undergrowth.

  And then Amazon thought that the pup was becoming restless. It wriggled and yelped, and seemed to want … something.

  ‘Are you thirsty, little guy?’ she said to him. And putting it into words made her realize how thirsty she was. ‘We need some water,’ she said to Frazer.

  ‘I don’t want to go back to the river …’ he replied. ‘It’ll mean we fall right into their hands. Next stream we come to.’

  It wasn’t long before they found a meagre trickle of water making its way across the forest floor. Amazon knelt and cupped her hand to it, and tried to offer the water to the baby dhole. But the little animal wriggled and yelped even more, until Amazon could barely hold it. And then she noticed that Frazer was looking not at her and the dhole, but into the trees, and his face was etched with lines of worry. He put his hand to his pocket and took out the pocketknife, and flicked open the biggest blade. It was almost comically small.

  ‘What is it, Fraze?’ she asked. ‘The hunters?’

  ‘Not the hunters,’ he said, without looking at her. ‘The hunter. The ultimate hunter.’

  ‘The tiger? It’s back?’

  ‘No, not a tiger. It’s a black panther. A big one. And when a leopard – which is what the panther is – turns rogue, there’s nothing to touch it for killing ability.’

  And then Amazon, following his eyes, saw it too. Somehow the earlier encounter with the tiger had left her unafraid. But that was because her mother and father were there, and her father had a gun. But now they were just two children alone.

  With a pocketknife.

  The big male panther was ten metres away. He’d been stalking them as they ran through the woodland. Now he knew that he’d been seen and so he was reappraising his options.

  ‘Hold my hand,’ said Frazer. ‘We’ve got to make sure we stay close together. It’ll probably try to separate us …’

  Amazon stood up and took Frazer’s outstretched hand, still holding the squirming pup in the other.

  ‘Now, slowly, back off.’

  They edged away. As they did so, the panther stepped forward, keeping the same distance between them. His ears were twisted so that the backs were facing them, showing a paler spot on the black background, and his tail moved rigidly from side to side. Both Frazer and Amazon knew exactly what this meant: the panther was about to attack.

  ‘Trees … climb …’ hissed Amazon, her fear at the stalking panther stripping her of all eloquence.

  ‘No. Leopards are as happy as monkeys in trees,’ Frazer whispered back. ‘There’s only one thing for it. We have to prove to it that we’re not prey. We have to show it who’s boss.’

  ‘And how the h-heck do we do that?’

  ‘We charge it, screaming and yelling at the tops of our voices.’

  ‘Will it work?’

  Frazer looked at his cousin. The old smile was playing at the corners of his mouth.

  ‘Let’s find out. On three. One … two …’

  But, before Frazer reached three, they heard a sound behind them. It was a combination of barking, yickering, snarling and a bizarre sort of whistle. At the same moment the panther’s body language was transformed. His ears were now flat against his skull, and his face wore what could only be described as a grimace. He was showing his teeth, but it almost seemed to be a submissive grin, rather than an aggressive snarl.

  Most importantly, it was the panther now that was backing away.

  ‘What the …?’ said Frazer, looking behind him. And there he saw something at the same time beautiful and mesmerizing and frightening. Flowing like water, leaping, bounding, scampering, came a pack of dholes. He tried to count them, but got lost somewhere around ten – it was almost impossible to keep track of them, so quickly did they move.

  Just before they reached them, the pack split into two. Half flowed on towards the panther, which was clearly highly alarmed. The dholes were fearless, diving straight into the attack. They snapped and nipped at the great black cat, more than three times the weight of any individual dhole. The panther responded by trying to swipe them with his razor-sharp claws. But the dholes were just so nimble and, each time that destruction seemed imminent, they would dive back, or dip under, or jump over the blow.

  It was an amazing spectacle, intense and exciting, but Amazon and Frazer were not able to enjoy it. The other half of the dhole pack – six of the wild dogs, each the size of a Labrador, but with more fox-like features – gathered in a semi-circle round the two children. It was a very different sort of approach to the one that they used with the panther. Rather than the quicksilver, darting attacks, they were almost motionless, but were staring intently at Frazer and Amazon, teeth bared, tongues lolling.

  ‘It’s the puppy,’ said Frazer, suddenly understanding what this was all about. ‘The whole pack can’t have been destroyed. These were probably out hunting when the rest of them were shot. Put the pup down and let’s get away …’

  Very slowly, Amazon put the young dhole down on the ground. Immediately it hurled itself towards one of the adults, yelping out its joy. It leapt up and licked the face of what Amazon knew must be its mother. She smiled in joyous relief – this had vindicated all her efforts in keeping the little creature alive.

  The mother picked up the baby in her mouth, with great tenderness, and slipped away into the woods.

  Both Amazon and Frazer expected the dholes still facing them to either follow the mother or to join in with the harrying of the panther – which had itself retreated out of sight, although they could still hear that the attack was in full swing. But they didn’t. The snarling, threatening look of the dogs had not gone away with the recovery of the pup. They pressed forward a little more, making the children edge back
wards again.

  ‘What are they doing, Fraze? They’ve got what they want, haven’t they?’

  ‘I don’t know, Zonnie – I’ve never heard of dhole attacking people before. But maybe they think we had something to do with the annihilation of the others, back at the den. Or maybe … maybe they’re just … hungry.’

  That was a truly horrifying thought. Frazer had heard all about how dholes killed their prey. Lacking the killer bite of a big cat, or even a larger member of the dog family, like the wolf, they tended to take their kills apart piece by piece.

  Again he scanned the area. He saw through the trees behind them some kind of structure – obviously man-made, but more than that he couldn’t say. He hadn’t realized that they’d already got back as far as the temple complex, but he couldn’t think what else it might be.

  ‘Zonnie, there’s one of the temple buildings about two hundred metres behind us. If we can climb on top of it, we might stand a chance … You ready to run?’

  Amazon nodded, unable to take her eyes off the dholes.

  ‘If you trip or fall, or if they somehow get you on the ground, you have to fight your way up. Understand?’

  Again she nodded. She knew what it would mean to fall beneath the teeth of the compact killers.

  ‘But I won’t leave you, don’t worry. OK, where did I get up to before on my counting?’

  ‘Three.’

  ‘GO!’

  And the children spun and raced away, terror giving their feet wings.

  Instantly they heard the yickering and whistling and the pattering of light feet after them.

  Amazon made it fifty metres before she felt the first nip. The dhole bit her just behind the knee. Its sharp teeth tore through the tough fabric of her combat trousers as if it were tissue paper. It was lucky that the teeth didn’t sink into her flesh, but merely scraped across her skin. For a second she nearly lost her footing, as the terror at being harried threatened to overwhelm her, but she managed to stay upright and hurtle on towards the building before them. It was enough to give her another burst of adrenalin, and she shot ahead of Frazer. And, as she did, she saw, through an obscuring screen of trees, what they were heading towards.

  It didn’t look much like a temple.

  Still she dared not slow down. She looked back over her shoulder. Poor Frazer, his foot draped now in the last ragged bits of torn sock, was slowing down. Three dhole were running close to him, snapping at his legs. They couldn’t go on much longer. They had to –

  And then Amazon felt an almighty crunch and the world went black.

  Frazer, running just behind Amazon, saw it happen. She had run smack into an armed guard, sending them both reeling to the ground. The guard had been smoking a cigarette and listening to an iPod. That was why he had missed the approaching racket.

  Behind him was the building that Frazer had at first mistaken for a temple ruin. But this was no ruin: it was a long, low concrete block. There was a steel door left ajar – obviously the guard had just emerged from this.

  The wild dogs were still all around them, snapping and snarling.

  Frazer barely paused as he pulled Amazon up by the arm. Then in the same movement he swooped again to grab the AK-47 the guard had dropped. The guard looked at them, dazed and perplexed, and then at the dogs, his eyes suddenly wide with terror. Amazon and Frazer raced quickly to the open door, passed through and slammed it shut before the guard reached it. They heard his agonized slapping at the hard metal, and then the shouts, diminishing as he fled through the forest.

  ‘Should we have …?’ wondered Amazon aloud, thinking of the danger the guard was in.

  ‘It’s life and death here, Zonnie,’ replied Frazer. ‘And remember we’re the good guys.’

  ‘What is this place?’ Amazon asked, looking around.

  They were in a grey utility room full of junk – buckets and ladders and empty boxes. A single bare bulb dangled from a wire in the ceiling. There was another door at the back of the room.

  ‘Dunno,’ replied Frazer. ‘But I say we go explore.’ He was still holding the AK-47.

  ‘Do you know how to use that thing?’ Amazon asked, wondering what might lie ahead of them.

  ‘Nope. And it doesn’t matter. I don’t plan on shooting anyone. But it might come in handy, if we have to do any … persuading. Come on.’

  He opened the second door carefully and stuck his nose through. Beyond it was a passageway, as characterless and functional as a corridor in a hospital, or a morgue.

  ‘I’ve got a funny feeling about this,’ said Amazon. ‘I don’t … I don’t like it.’

  ‘Well, I didn’t much like it out there with the tigers, wild dogs and murderous hunters. We may be able to find somewhere to hide in here. Or maybe even a phone. It all looks kind of modern, so they must have telecoms …’

  They crept along the corridor, lit with a flickering fluorescent light that gave them both a sickly pallor. Frazer now felt that same sense of veiled dread as Amazon. And then they both stopped dead in their tracks, frozen by a sound that echoed along the corridor, but yet seemed to come from all around them. It was a long, low moan, somehow both human and bestial. Instinctively the cousins drew close together. Frazer clutched the gun, his finger reaching for the trigger.

  ‘What was that?’ asked Amazon, although she was really speaking to herself.

  Frazer just shook his head. ‘Do you want to go back?’ he added a moment later.

  Amazon thought for a second and then said, ‘No,’ decisively. ‘You’re right. Back there, we’re doomed. This way there’s at least some hope.’

  They passed through another door, and found themselves in a slightly lighter corridor. It was newly painted and the lights at least weren’t flickering.

  ‘I’ve a feeling we came in the back door,’ said Frazer. ‘That’s why it was all shabby. Whatever this place is, the business end is up ahead somewhere.’

  They came to a third door. This one was very different. It was made of shining steel, with a small window cut in it. Frazer signalled for Amazon to crouch down.

  ‘I have no idea what this place is for, but my guess is that this is where the action is …’

  ‘I think I know,’ said Amazon. ‘Drexler said something about his research. That was why he got involved in all this.’

  ‘Research? What kind of research? I mean, he had all the facilities he needed back at TRACKS. Why would he have to keep it all secret? Why don’t you have a sneaky peak through the window and see what you can see?’

  Amazon slowly stood up so she could look through the little round window. There was a spacious room beyond, with a number of wooden lab benches. In one corner there was a large stainless-steel drum, with a heavy lid, locked shut with clamps. In another corner was a white plastic device the size of a washing machine, with a clear glass lid. Laptops were open on the benches, and there was a large microscope and other bits of technical equipment that Amazon thought she half recognized from the science block back at school or from TV documentaries.

  There were two people inside the lab, both dressed in white coats. One had his back to Amazon, but she could see the other quite well – he was an Indian with thick spectacles and a thin moustache. As Amazon looked on, weirdly fascinated, he moved over to the steel drum. He put on a pair of surgical gloves and opened a lid, which released a fog of cold air. Then, using a pair of tongs, he lifted out a metal tube. He carried this back to a bench, unscrewed the top and, again using the tongs, removed a test tube.

  At that moment the other scientist in the room turned round. Chance had it that he faced directly towards the door. Amazon realized that he could see her, and their eyes met for a moment. He raised an eyebrow quizzically. And then Dr Drexler started to move towards a large red button on the wall.

  There was no time for Amazon to explain to Frazer what she was doing. She had maybe three seconds to reach Drexler before he set off the alarm. She pulled open the door, knocking Frazer – who’d been
crouched behind it – sprawling backwards. Then she tore across the hard floor of the lab and hurled herself at Drexler’s outstretched arm.

  She reached it just before his jabbing finger hit the button.

  All she had done, however, was to delay the inevitable. She tried to cling to his arm, but, ultimately, he was a grown man and she was still just a thirteen-year-old girl. He shook her free.

  The other scientist had also recovered from his initial astonishment and was moving towards her. Once again, Dr Drexler prepared to press the alarm.

  ‘Touch that and you lose your hand.’

  Frazer was pointing the AK-47 at Drexler’s arm.

  Drexler, whose face had been utterly emotionless as he grappled with Amazon, suddenly smiled. It was a wooden, false sort of a smile, but a smile nevertheless.

  ‘My dear boy,’ he said, ‘we both know that you couldn’t hit my hand if you had a dozen shots.’

  ‘I reckon you’re right, Doc,’ replied Frazer, wearing a smile that, in contrast to Drexler’s, was most definitely genuine. ‘I’m just as likely to accidentally shoot you in the head as the hand …’

  Drexler’s false smile vanished and he edged away from the button.

  ‘I really am delighted to see you two young people,’ he said, his voice struggling to remain calm and even.

  ‘Can it, Drexler,’ replied Frazer. ‘Don’t even pretend that you didn’t know what this was all about. You knew that we were toast.’ Then he turned to Amazon. ‘Zonnie, use the phone to call the police – you dial 100 in India. Drexler – you move and I’m going to shoot you in the legs – and, as we’ve already established that I’m a terrible shot, I just can’t say what I might hit.’

  Drexler was still playing it cool. ‘I’m afraid,’ he said, his voice mild, ‘that there’s no contact at all with the outside world from this facility – that phone only connects to the main lodge. And all internet traffic is routed through there, too. There’s no way to get a message in or out. Mr Kaggs is somewhat … paranoid.’