Page 47

TWENTY-FIVE

A wild boar shuffled into view, its head down, snuffling through the dirt. Michael hissed and the animal turned tail and threaded itself back through the trees.

Steph was aware that she could hear her heart beating. She wondered whether the others could hear it too. They seemed not to. They didn’t say anything.

“What are your thoughts?” Davey asked.

“Well, there are a few possibilities and options,” Michael replied.

The whispering of the pair seemed to calm Steph a little as she controlled her breathing. If they were happy to whisper, they must have felt they were not within earshot of anything to concern themselves about. That was her thinking anyway.

Michael continued to scan the area through his night-vision scope. “Either the lion has not yet found a target – this seems unlikely, it might have moved on and found something else – we know the boar are about, it was never tracking the bison at all, or we are just in the wrong position and it is out there but can’t see it. Even so, I would have expected it to have attacked by now – the bison are there for the taking. Some at least.”

“And options?”

“We stay here and wait for it to make a move it might never make, we radio Kelvin to get an update and risk giving away our position or we spook the bison in the hope it forces him out of cover.”

In the moment Davey took to consider the options and give his opinion, a thought surfaced in Steph’s head. She looked back in the general direction she thought they had left Daniel and the buggies.

“Spooking them might draw attention to us,” Daveywhispered. “He has already started to see us as an easy meal. Not sure I’d trust the bugger knowing our whereabouts in the dark.”

“Not a filling meal though,” Michael exhaled. “Otherwise he wouldn’t be here.”

“In fairness, he didn’t manage to get as much of Fergus in his mouth. Bit of a messy eater what with smearing him all over the floor.”

“So… radio Kelvin?”

“I think it might be safer.”

Steph turned to see Michael lowering his rifle whilst reaching to his side. Then all plans changed.

A distant scream carved its way through the night sky, from across the field. All three heads whipped around. Steph’s stomach knotted. The bison ran. There was silence for a moment save for the heavy thudding of hooves. Then another scream, higher, more desperate.

“Radio Daniel!” Davey said, not bothering to whisper.

“Daniel?” Michael said. Nothing. “Daniel! Pick up, you jackass!”

Still nothing.

“Damn it!” Davey grunted, rising from his crouch.

There was no need for debate; the three started making their way across the heath-strewn field in the direction of the electric buggies. As they ran, the radio kicked in.

“What’s going on?”

It was Kelvin.

“Have you heard from Daniel?” Michael panted, stumbling over some unseen pothole.

“Not for the last five minutes,” Kelvin’s voice responded. “He said he had lost contact with you just like I had. Is he all right? Also, listen, you need to…”

Whatever it was they needed to do, they never heard. Steph was appreciative that Michael had at least had the decency toswitch the radio off and focus on what was important.

They neared the buggies. Sweat trickled down Steph’s back as she ran. Her breath burned as it flowed back out through her throat.

A hand stopped her running. She wouldn’t have seen it if it were not for the night-vision goggles she had begun to bring up periodically to her face as she anticipated the buggies. It had been Davey who had put his hand across – yet again – but it was not only him who had decided to suddenly cut the urgency.

“What are you doing?” Steph hissed. She could see they were still a couple of hundred yards away from the vehicles. Where the cave lion was, she could not tell.