For a moment, it was as much as I could do just to crawl out and lie on the stone floor, savouring the sweet night air. But as my strength returned, I pulled a dry blanket from the emergency rations box and patted the excess moisture from my tunic. The task force had left little behind save for a small cracked mirror, a handful of nuts, and a portion of dried fruit wrapped in large elephant-ear leaves, another newcomer to our warmer climate. I pocketed the mirror, and tossed a couple of the sweet hazelnuts into my mouth.
With fresh life seeping through my veins, I forced my gaze out towards the rushing water separating our cave from the rest of the thick forest. The stepping stones were only visible twice a day, and by the look of the swirling rapids, I hadn’t got lucky.
Carefully withdrawing the small mirror, I shone it in the direction of the submerged stones. I could just make out the slimy jade surface of the first flat surface beneath the white torrents. Every instinct told me it was madness, that the river was at its most dangerous, and yet I knew from experience there was no other passing place for several miles. The task force had to have passed this way.
I pocketed the mirror again abruptly. I’d used these stones countless times, and I could jump them blindfolded so long as I got the rhythm right. Not allowing myself to dwell any longer, I leapt onto the first foothold. My feet were immediately submerged in about two feet of the surging water, and as I staggered under the sudden, violent pressure, instinct took over. Gripping my leather-clad toes into the rough rock, I pushed off and leapt. My feet barely had time to graze the top of each submerged stone before I was springing to the next, every jump knocking me further off-centre and towards the foaming black.
Then finally, just as my legs threatened to buckle with the sheer velocity of water, I landed in the soft, quiet grass of the forest bank. I shuddered with relief, but there was no time to rest.
Throwing a swift glance around, I set off at a quiet sprint towards the south perimeter of the forest, where the intrusion had been detected. It wasn’t long before the trees beckoned above ground, and the forest was flying by. This was my natural place, running through the branches, knowing instinctively which branch to trust, where to swing and which to avoid.
As the surrounding area became less familiar, I slowed my pace. The outside forest was different to home – not only was it much denser, there were yellow eyes everywhere, watching too. I ran to the end of a willow branch and tensed, sensing the forest’s sudden heaviness, its expectation. Just before a terrified scream split the night air. Fear spidered through my veins as I scanned the shadowy, still trees. It was human; I was sure of that.
I took my route further up again, the only sound the scratching of my leather-clad feet against the rough bark of the branches. And then it came again.
I pressed myself into the knotted trunk of an old banyan tree, my heart thumping like a young rabbit’s, and peered through its fortress of branches. While my eyes were well used to the night, this part of the forest was full of interwoven, aerial roots.
That was when I saw them. Standing in a small clearing just off to my left. There was a figure sprawling face down on the forest floor, and a slighter figure standing in front of him holding his hands out, palms forward in submission. I inhaled sharply. I knew every contour of the face silhouetted in the pale moonlight as well as my own. Eli.
I craned my neck to try to see what was holding his attention, and was amazed to spy a small monkey creature standing no more than two feet off the ground, its back arched aggressively. I frowned. I’d seen Eli calm many wild animals, even fighting boars, it was unusual for any animal to be resistant to his charms. The night air resonated with an unfamiliar sound.
‘Hhgggrrrrrr!’
Its tone was low and aggressive, like a warning from a rattlesnake sizing up fresh prey. A shiver rushed down my spine, like the white water of the river. I knew most of the sounds of the forest, and this one was new to me.
I watched as Eli shook his head, before pointing slowly around at the trees and bushes. He indicated he was going to crouch down, one of his cardinal rules when communicating with an animal: getting on its level. The creature only pushed itself up further on the balls of its tiny feet, and glowered with hostility. Fear flooded my body as I felt for my catapult. It was the first time I’d ever seen my brother in need of backup where an animal was concerned.
Carefully, I selected a rounded stone from my leather pouch, and placed it in the worn leather strip of my small wooden catapult. Although I wasn’t much use with a knife or axe, I had a pretty decent aim with my slingshot. Eli’s signing grew more rapid and warier, as the creature maintained its offensive body language. It didn’t look good. I took careful aim at its chest, one step closer to Eli and I’d wind it long enough for my brother to run.
Then there was a second anguished scream, and another figure collapsed onto the clearing floor next to the first. I recognized him instantly as Sean – one of the task force leaders – and my stomach fell through to my leather-clad feet. My hands grew clammy as I watched, and my breathing sounded hollow and jagged.
Eli instinctively turned to help, and at that moment the monkey creature sank back on its haunches, preparing to attack. Without hesitation, I pulled my catapult back to full tension and let the small stone fly. My aim was true, hitting the small creature mid-leap and square on the chest. It was a blow that should have winded a much larger animal, but it only knocked the monkey off course. It landed on all fours, and spun to hiss malevolently in my direction as I took refuge behind the tree’s thick trunk.
The forest fell eerily silent as I counted slowly to five. It was usually a fail-proof measure, but when I looked around, it was still staring in my direction, its sinister rattle slowly getting louder. I could see the creature more clearly now, and felt a chill creep down my spine. It had the basic features of a squirrel monkey with its thick black and white coat, an animal we’d caught and eaten many times.
But it was its face that magnetized me. It was different, humanized somehow, and making a noise I’d never heard any mammal make, while its small head was completely hairless save for a thin black Mohican marked through with a white stripe.
Without warning, the rattling intensified and the creature bared its teeth in my direction. And suddenly I knew it wasn’t alone. Although he couldn’t know it was his sister in the trees, Eli began gesticulating frantically in my direction. His signing was clear enough for anyone to understand.
With adrenaline saturating my veins, I started jumping, instinct driving me back in the direction from which I’d come. I wasn’t sure I could outrun the creatures, but I could enlist some unsuspecting support. I sprang deftly from tree to tree, running along thick branches and using smaller ones to spring into the next. In my haste, I caught and tore my tunic sleeve. A small trickle of blood ran down my bare arm, but there was no time to stop and investigate. The rattling was gaining.
I flew back towards the dense bushes that had shaken with throaty growling, and only paused over the top, to look down through a small break in the trees. I caught my breath when I finally saw them, at least fifteen of the rattling monkeys pursuing me on the ground. Their leader stopped, with perfect timing, to look up from the opposite side of the clearing. It drew its thin lips back in a sinister smile, exposing a mouthful of razor-sharp teeth, and I felt the warmth drain from my blood. This was no ordinary squirrel monkey.
Without hesitating it dived forward again, encouraging the rest of the pack onwards and directly through the middle of the thick bushes below me. The bushes to which I’d led them. There was a moment’s silence while the forest waited, then a deafening roar split the air in two. The bushes parted with a violent rush, and a furious tigress leapt into the open, her stripes barely visible.
I held my breath as she staggered under the ferocity of the monkeys’ attack, roaring with anguish as they sank their vicious teeth into her vibrant fur repeatedly. She retaliated using her powerful limbs to buck and roll, catching those close enough in her unforgiving jaws; but although the creatures seemed bloodied and dazed when thrown to the floor, few stayed down.
I