It’s an hour later, and the camp has quietened down as everyone has found a space to sleep, that I feel it. Eyes on me, as if I was being stalked. Looking back towards the fire, I see Josie adding another log to the fire, and it lights up the surrounding area. Not wanting the flames to mess with my vision, I turn my back to it and continue my walk around the edges of the camp.
The hairs on the back of my neck rise as that feeling of being watched continues until I have no choice but to wake Shadrack. I’m flagging, and when I catch myself nodding off for the second time, I know that I’m done. My head’s thumping like it has its own bongo player taking up residence.
Waking Shadrack up, I walk a little distance away from the fire, checking on a sleeping Josie as I walk past to wait for him closer to the broken-down vehicle.
I’d have felt better if we could have used it, but with the open back and no windscreen, it wouldn’t have offered much protection.
Shadrack walks over to me, and I hand him the belt full of ammo and the rifle, saying, “There’s something out there; I’ve felt it stalking me for a couple of hours, but it hasn’t made itself known, so I don’t know what it is.”
Shadrack sighs, running a tired hand over his face, “I was afraid of that; I’d hoped with us moving the offal away it would draw it away. I’m not sure either, but I have a feeling it’s a big cat—leopard or lion. I couldn’t tell from the claw marks on the buffalo. And I think it’s wounded, and that’s the worst kind of dangerous. We’ll keep the fire burning and hopefully that will keep it away.”
“Let me get some headache meds, and I’ll come back and help you,” I told him.
Shaking his head, he says, “No rest for a bit. I’ll wake you in an hour or so unless I need you before that.”
Hesitating, I search his gaze. “Are you sure?”
Laughing softly, he replies ruefully, “No, not really, but I also know that you’re swaying on your feet and look ready to pass out.”
“Shit,” I mutter when I realise he’s right.
“Go rest, man,” he says, shouldering his rifle. Taking my handgun from my lower back, I ask his recruit, “Do you know how to use a handgun?”
“I do,” he nods in agreement.
My gaze wanders to Shadrack, who nods. “He knows,” he informs me.
“Here,” I hand the gun to him. “It won’t help much and will probably only piss whatever it is off more, but at least it will slow it down.”
“Thanks,” he replies, checking the handgun over, and I can tell right away that he knows what he’s doing. Feeling better, I leave them to go and take some medication for my head before joining Josie, but not before slipping her handgun from behind her back and wrapping my hand around it. I listen, but all I can hear is the crackling of the fire, the slight breeze rustling the leaves on the trees, the constant noise of cicadas, and in the distance, a hyena is calling.
Eventually, I have no choice but to let exhaustion take me as the day catches up with me.
I’m woken what feels like moments later to blood-curdling screams and shots fired.
CHAPTER 8
JOSIE
It has been the best birthday I’ve ever had, and Skinny always does something amazing. But he’s blown today’s birthday out of the ballpark.
I’ve loved every single moment of it, from the dust and dirt that was kicked up, to the excitement of watching the animals being herded into the back of the trucks, then checking and tagging some of them so that we could ensure the health of the herd. Never in a million years did I ever think I’d be part of a game capture, and I was beyond excited to have wildlife on our property to look after.
There had been wildlife many years before we’d taken over, but poachers had been an issue, and eventually, there was very little wildlife left on the property. We hoped to change that. Conservation and preservation were always at the forefront of my mind, as it was for Falcon. I’d lucked out having him as a mentor and helping me navigate this world. Added to that, my new vet, Chase, knew a lot about conservation in this part of the world. I felt comfortable with the fact that we’d be able to look after the animals on our property.
It had been an exhausting but exhilarating day,I mused, as we watched the last truck leave us carrying the last of the load we’d be taking today. There would be other captures, but I wouldn’t be able to join them, at least not until I had this baby.
I’m brought out of my thoughts by the men discussing what was going to happen to get us home. Jaq had been going to fly us, but in the last run, her chopper started to play up, and she didn’t feel that it was safe to have anyone in the chopper with her, never mind flying us home and then having to fly home herself.
I was in agreement that it wasn’t safe. Shadrack, the man from Games and Wildlife who’d brought his new recruits for training, was offering to take us home, even if it was slightly out of his way.
I didn’t care how we got home, just that we got home because I wanted to check on all the animals we’d transported today and work with Chase to ensure the data was properly recorded. Not that I doubted it would be, because Chase was just as anal as I was about that, but I wanted to be on hand to check it, anyway.
Skinny and I shared a look. I knew he’d be able to read me, and I was right because he immediately agreed to Shadrack’s offer. If we’d known what was going to happen, we’d have made a different choice, but then we might not have been on hand to help, and that could have ended up being disastrous.
It wasn’t until we were driving and I learned how long it would take us to get to the main road that I realised how deep in the bush we’d been. Flying with Jaq had skewed my sense of distance. Shadrack expertly pointed out different animals, and I enjoyed listening to him, but the long day exhausted me, and I soon nodded off. I was vaguely aware of Skinny pulling me to his chest, then I was completely out, only to be woken to breaking glass, curses, and cries of pain as something ran right into us.
As I shake off sleep, my heart pounds with fright, adrenaline surging through me. My first thought is for Skinny, who’d wrapped himself around me to protect me as much as he could. Shadrack frantically asks us if we’re okay; when we reply that weare, he bails hurriedly out of the vehicle to check on his guys, who had been sitting on the benches in the back of an open vehicle. Even though we hadn’t been going fast, I imagine that with him braking so suddenly, some of them might have been hurt.
