by Paul Moxham
“Just go and do as I say!” Captain Williamson reloaded his pistol and began aiming once more at the Golden Dragons.
“Come on, let’s go before we’re surrounded!” Christo yelled.
Max sighed as he realized he had no choice. They had to flee and they had to flee now. “Come on children, we need to go.”
The four children, led by Christo, with Max taking the rear, disappeared into the woods, leaving Captain Williamson and his remaining soldiers to fight the Golden Dragons.
They hurried as fast as they could. Once they heard rustling from the undergrowth and the children wondered if one of the soldiers was going to appear, but it was only some startled rabbits. After a very brief rest, Max walked over to them. “I’m sure the Golden Dragons will come after us. They’re not going to let us go this easily, and it wouldn’t surprise me if they get dogs to smell out our scent, which means we can’t outrun them. Therefore, our only chance of escape is to reach water before the dogs in order to lose them. So let’s head towards the nearest river and hope that, when we get there, we can cross it.”
Sarah looked worried. “What if we can’t?”
“Let’s hope we can,” Max replied. “That’s all we can do, hope for the best and maybe things will work out in our favour.”
The group continued walking. Luckily, the wood wasn’t too thick and so, while it did take a bit of time to manoeuvre their way through, it wasn’t too long before they reached the river. However, when they got there, all the children’s faces dropped.
It wasn’t a nice, quiet, shallow river which they could easily cross. It was, in fact, quite the opposite. It looked fairly deep and was fast flowing.
“We can’t cross this,” Amy groaned. “It’s impossible.”
Max didn’t say anything for a moment as he walked up to the bank and studied the water. “It does look pretty fast and deep, but it might be okay. Besides, we don’t have any choice.”
“What about a bridge?” Will asked. “Surely there must be one around here somewhere.”
“Yes, there is.” Max took a moment to pull out the map again and study it. “According to this, there are two bridges close by.”
“Why don’t we walk towards those?” Sarah suggested. “That way, we’d be sure to get across.”
“I’m sure the Golden Dragons would be guarding those,” Max replied. “But if you really don’t like the look of the water, I suppose we could…” He paused and frowned. “You hear that?”
Amy shook her head. “No.”
Suddenly, the barking of a dog reached everyone’s ears.
Joe frowned as he turned towards the woods. “That dog sounded quite close.”
Max nodded. “Yes, which means we need to move now. So it’s either cross this river or go back to Eagles Nest as prisoners for who knows how long. Which one do you want?”
“Cross the river!” all the children yelled in unison.
“I’ll go first.” Max reached into the rucksack and pulled out a length of rope. “This should help us to cross the river.” He spent a few seconds trying to gauge which was the best place to cross before he tied one end of the rope around an old tree stump. Once he had done so, he tugged at it to make sure it didn’t budge. It didn’t. “I’ll walk across and tie the other end of the rope to a tree. Once that’s done, you can hold onto the rope for support while you walk across the river.”
The children watched anxiously as Max stepped down into the water. They all breathed a sigh of relief as it only reached the man’s chest.
“Good,” Will said. “It should only reach my neck.”
“But my head since I’m shorter than you,” Sarah piped up.
“You’ll be fine,” Amy said, hugging her little sister. “I’ll be right behind you. This is nothing compared to what you’ve done in the past. Remember last summer when you had to climb out of the porthole and up the side of the ship?”
Sarah nodded as she watched Max make his way across the river. “Yes, that was scary.”
“Yes, but this is way easier,” Amy said. “Just believe in yourself. If you believe in yourself, you can do anything. Trust me, I know you can do it.”
“I suppose so,” Sarah muttered as Max reached the other side and attempted to find a tree that he could tie the rope around.
Unfortunately, it looked to the children as though there was no suitable place within reach as the rope wasn’t as long as Max had thought it was. A few moments later, Max called out. “I’ll have to hang onto the rope. Start crossing one at a time!”
“I’ll go first,” Will offered, walking towards the water. If it hadn’t been for the rope, it would have made the traversing a lot tougher. But since he was clinging onto the rope, and since there were enough rocks on the bottom of the river to get a firm foothold, it wasn’t long before he was safely across.
Then Joe made his way across. Just like Will, he didn’t encounter any trouble.
Amy turned to Sarah. “Your turn now.”
“I want to see you go first,” Sarah replied.
“Well, okay.” Amy followed Joe’s lead and, as she wasn’t as tall as Joe, it was a bit more difficult as the water reached higher than it had with the boys. But since Max, now accompanied by Will and Joe, were holding the rope firm at the other end, she was able to get across without any trouble.
Now there was just Christo and Sarah left on the other side. Sarah looked at the river in trepidation. Even though she had seen the others cross, she was still frightened. “I can’t do it! It’s too deep.”
“I know you can!” Amy yelled out.
Suddenly, the barking, which had stopped for a while, resumed and sounded closer than ever.
Christo knelt down beside Sarah. “I don’t want to pressure you, but we need to move now. If you want, I could try carrying you.”
“No, I’ll try doing it myself.” Taking a big breath, Sarah clutched the rope with both hands and stepped into the river. As she tried to find her footing, the water kept on rising and she was worried it would reach her face before she did so. But luckily, this proved not to be the case as her feet made contact with the rocks just as the water reached her neck. Breathing a sigh of relief, she slowly began to move forward, putting one arm over another as she clutched tightly at the rope.
All seemed to be going well, but then disaster struck as she lost her footing. She tried her best to hang onto the rope, but couldn’t. As she clung on desperately to the rope, Amy looked at Max. “What are we going to do?”
“We can’t do anything.” Max yelled out to Sarah. “Keep on moving towards me!”
“I can’t!” Sarah shouted.
Christo looked into the woods as the barking increased in volume. Then, a moment later, a dog appeared. As the animal spotted Christo, it growled savagely and headed towards him. Christo had no other option but to grab the rope and leap into the water. The dog came to a standstill at the edge of the bank and barked furiously.
As Christo reached Sarah, he yelled out to her. “Grab onto my back!”
“I can’t!” Sarah yelled. “I’m too scared!”
“Then put one arm over another and keep on moving forward!” Christo shouted.
“I can’t do that either!” Sarah replied.
“You have to do something!” Christo yelled.
Sarah attempted to move but, in doing so, she lost her grip and disappeared into the rushing water.
Chapter 21: Mountain Trek
Immediately, Christo let go of the rope and swam after Sarah.
Max then let go of his side of the rope as he and the other children ran alongside the river to see if they could help Sarah who was flailing her arms about in desperation as she tried her best not to sink below the foaming water.
The current was fairly strong at this part of the river and it didn’t take long for Sarah to be swept quite a far distance. However, Christo was a strong swimmer and managed to catch up with her as the river rounded a bend. He caught sight of an overhanging bra
nch and managed to grab hold of it with his free hand.
But he couldn’t hold on for long since the current was too strong. Luckily, the others soon appeared and Max was able to drag Sarah out of the water.
“Are you alright?” Amy asked her younger sister.
Sarah breathed heavily for a few moments but then the colour began to come back to her cheeks and she began to relax. “I’m okay now. I was just scared. I thought I was going to drown.”
Christo put his arms around her and hugged her tight. “I wasn’t going to let anything happen to you.”
Suddenly, Max yelled out. “We need to get moving.”
As everyone looked up and saw three soldiers dressed in the black uniform of the Golden Dragons standing on the other side of the river, Christo nodded. “Let’s get going before they find some way to get across.”
As the group climbed up the riverbank, a gunshot broke the silence.
Max whipped his head towards the soldiers and saw that one of the men had his rifle up in the air. The man called out in English. “Stop!”
“Quick, into the woods!” Max yelled.
Everyone raced as fast as they could as another gunshot rang out. No one knew if the men were shooting at them or into they air, but they weren’t taking any chances.
They didn’t stop until they reached the shelter of the trees. Will breathed a sigh of relief. “That was too close.”
“We’re not out of the woods yet,” Max pointed out. “I’m sure those soldiers will contact their superior and tell them where we are. So, until we’re across the border, we’re not safe.”
“How far away is the border?” Joe asked.
Max reached into his rucksack and pulled out the map. “Some distance. But, by crossing that river, we’ve bought ourselves time. There’s a chance one of the soldiers might make his way across the river, but for those who don’t, they’ll head for one of those two bridges I mentioned earlier.”
“So what’s the plan now?” Amy asked.
“Head up this mountain,” Max replied. “Captain Williamson told me earlier that, if something were to happen to the plane, to head to the top of this mountain. There’s a bridge that separates Zakova from Sukova. Once we’re across that, we’re safe.”
“How long do you think it will take?” Joe asked.
“I don’t know,” Max admitted. “It depends on how fast we travel, so let’s get moving.”
Even though the children were worn out from all the walking they had done in the last few hours, they continued on. To stop for even ten minutes could be costly and so if they wanted to get home safely, they had to continue on.
It was hard going at first as the hillside was thickly forested, but then Max spotted a dirt trail. “The shepherds used to take this trail up and down the mountain in order to feed the sheep,” Max stated. “At least, that’s what Captain Williamson told me.”
Christo nodded. “That would be correct. I mean, I don’t know anything about this specific mountain, but that is what happens in Monrovia.”
“If everyone knows about this mountain pass, wouldn’t the Golden Dragons also know about it? And therefore, wouldn’t they send men up it?” Will asked.
“Yes, they probably will, but we should have enough time…” Max suddenly paused as he heard a noise in the sky. He reached into his rucksack and pulled out a pair of binoculars and peered through them. A moment later, he called out. “It’s a plane! Quick, hide among the trees.”
Luckily, it didn’t take long to find a good hiding spot since the children we’re already in the woods. As the plane flew over them without adjusting its flight pattern, Joe breathed a sigh of relief. “Good thing we weren’t in a clearing.”
Max nodded, a grim look on his face. “Yes. I just wonder how many men they’ve got searching for us. I hadn’t expected to see an aeroplane, but that shows that the Golden Dragons are doing everything in their power to find us, which means we need to get out of Zakova sooner rather than later.”
The group continued walking. Unfortunately, as the trail became steeper, they had to slow down and, after walking up the trail for a number of hours, they were still nowhere near the bridge.
“How much further?” Amy asked.
“A while yet,” Max replied. “I hadn’t anticipated being this slow, but I suppose it’s to be expected since your legs are a lot shorter than mine.” He looked at his watch. “It’s going to be getting dark soon so I don’t think we’ll reach the bridge today.”
“But I don’t want to stay another night in this horrible country,” Sarah moaned.
“Okay, well, let’s see where we are in half an hour,” Max replied.
Half an hour later, dark clouds appeared and it began to rain. As the trail began to get slippery, the group were forced to move even slower than before.
Max paused. “There’s no way now we can reach the bridge before nightfall so let’s find a place to camp for the night before it gets too dark and then we’ll set off at first light tomorrow.”
“How much longer do you think it will take to get to the bridge?” Joe asked.
“Roughly an hour and a half,” Max replied.
“Why don’t we keep walking and reach the bridge tonight?” Amy said. “I know it’s raining, but it’s not dark yet.”
“Well, we only have one torch and I don’t know how long that will last for,” Max replied. “So, since I’m not certain where the bridge is, there’s a good chance we could miss it. Consequently, I think it’s best if we get some sleep and then, as soon as dawn breaks, we’ll get moving.”
“But where are we going to find somewhere that’s nice and warm?” Amy asked, glancing around. “Everything is wet and damp due to the rain.”
“Well, I imagine there would be a cave or two around here.” Max turned to Christo. “What do you think?”
Christo nodded. “Yes, these mountains should have caves, so if we search, we might be able to find one.”
~
Ten minutes later, they came across a cave and, as Sarah spotted a pile of dry wood in the back of the cave, she pleaded with Max to light a fire.
As Max realised how cold the little girl was, and that her clothes were still damp from falling in the water, he agreed to do so, even though he realised there was an element of risk involved.
As the wood crackled and the flames began to sparkle in the darkness, Max reached into his rucksack and pulled out two bars of chocolate. “I’ve been saving these for a while, so now’s probably the best time to eat them.”
“A chocolate bar?” Joe’s mouth watered. “You didn’t tell us you had any food. I’m starving!”
“Here, you lot can split the two bars between you,” Max said. “I’m happy to wait until morning.”
“Me too,” Christo said.
Joe took the bars from Max. “Thanks.”
The children sat down in the cave and ate slowly, savouring the creamy, squares of chocolate. While the bars weren’t very big, since they hadn’t eaten anything for almost twenty four hours, they were better than nothing.
After a while, the children lay down to rest while Max and Christo took turns watching for any sign of trouble.
Chapter 22: Almost There
Joe had no idea how long he had been sleeping, but he was suddenly thrust awake as Will roughly shook him. “We have to move now!”
Joe stood up and glanced around. “What’s happening?” As he saw everyone except Max, he frowned. “Where’s Max?”
“Max thinks the Golden Dragons are nearby and so he went out to investigate,” Will stated. “He told Christo to wake us up in case we have to move quickly.”
Joe walked towards the front of the cave and peered out. All he saw was darkness. “What time is it?”
“I’m not sure. I think it’s after midnight,” Will replied. “I was in the middle of a lovely dream when…” He paused as a figure emerged from the shadows and hurried towards the cave. It was Max.
“Are there soldiers n
earby?” Joe asked.
“Yes,” Max replied. “They must have smelt the smoke from our fire.”
As soon as everyone was ready, the group left the cave. They walked in single file, stopping whenever Max ordered them to do so. The atmosphere was very tense and several times they heard noises to the left and to the right of them. Not knowing if the sounds were made by animals or the soldiers didn’t help matters. They also had no idea how many Golden Dragons were searching for them.
Suddenly, out of the darkness a soldier emerged. As he caught sight of the group, his hand went to his mouth and he whistled before yelling out. “They’re here!”
Max punched the man in the jaw and, as he collapsed to the ground, he glanced at the others. “Run for your lives!”
Max turned on his torch and ran through the wood. As the children followed him, the area to the left and right of them lit up as the Golden Dragons turned on their own torches and yelled out to one another.
Joe didn’t know how they did it, whether it was pure luck or because it was the middle of the night and hard to see anyone, but whatever the case, they managed to escape from the area without encountering another soldier.
Once they were far enough away, they paused for a brief rest. Max looked at his watch. “It should be light in an hour or so, so we’ll continue on and, hopefully, the torch will last for as long as we need it. I have no idea how many soldiers were back there, but we were very lucky to escape. But once they find that soldier and he tells them the direction in which we were heading, they’ll soon catch up to us.”
“Hadn’t we better change direction then?” Christo questioned.
“Well, we can, but not too much,” Max replied. “We’ve always been heading in the direction of the bridge, so if we change the direction too much we’ll miss it. And if we don’t reach the bridge before the Golden Dragons, we may as well surrender. By the time daylight comes, this mountain will be swarming with Golden Dragons.”
The group resumed walking. Just over half an hour later as light began to penetrate the wood, Max smiled, the first time in many hours. “I think we’re almost there.”
