Survival

TWENTY-SEVEN

They scrambled to their feet and set off round the shoulder of the mountain.

'Hurry,' panted Amber. 'Once we're round the other side, we'll be out of sight. We'll be safe.'

'We should have set a watch,' gasped Paulo.

'I know,' said Alex. He was getting very tired now and making basic mistakes. As he sweated and panted up the steepening slope he felt uneasy. He was sure there was something else he had forgotten – another basic mistake he had made – but his weary brain could not grasp what it was.

He was still trying to figure out what was bothering him when they came out on the southern side of the mountain and stumbled to a halt at the top of the rock outcrop. They dumped the stretcher onto the slope and rubbed their aching shoulders. Hex opened his eyes and looked around him.

'Are we still here?' he said weakly, gazing up at Alex.

Alex grinned down at Hex, forgetting the worrying niggle in the back of his mind. 'You've been further than you think,' he said. 'You've been out of it for a good few hours. We're heading back to the camp now.'

'There and back again,' said Hex, closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep once more.

'Alex, cut this bunk blanket into strips,' instructed Li. 'We're going to be abseiling down and people will need protection against friction burns.'

Alex set to work with his knife, while Li pulled their two ropes from the rucksack. She worked quickly, doubling each rope and then anchoring them to the same boulder she had used earlier in the day. In a very short time, the two abseiling ropes were ready.

'Who's abseiled before?' asked Li. Paulo, Alex, Amber and Philippe all raised their hands.

'Philippe, do you feel strong enough for this?'

Philippe nodded confidently. Li studied him. He was tall with a good physique and stood with a straight back, despite the bruising. 'OK,' she decided. 'You and Paulo are going down first.' Li grabbed the two rucksacks and emptied them. 'You'll be carrying Robert and Emilie in these. Strap them on back to front, so the kids are facing you and there's nothing on your backs for the rope to get tangled in.'

Alex hurried over with the blanket strips and Paulo and Philippe wrapped them around their hands and thighs, to serve as protective padding against the friction of the rope. They strapped on the rucksacks and Emilie and Robert were loaded into them, Robert with Philippe and Emilie with Paulo.

'Look after her,' pleaded Philippe as they each grabbed a doubled rope and stepped backwards over the cliff.

Once Philippe and Paulo were down, Li and Alex rigged up a cradle and lowered Hex down on the stretcher. Amber and Beatrice went next, with Amber encouraging and advising a sobbing Beatrice every step of the way. Finally, only Li and Alex were left at the top.

'You go,' said Li. 'I'm going to untie the ropes afterwards so they can't follow us down.' She nodded over her shoulder in the direction of the cove.

'I shouldn't worry about the pirates too much,' said Alex. 'We're out of sight now. Even if they find our trail, it'll take them hours to follow it.'

'Best to be safe,' insisted Li. 'I can throw the ropes down, then free-climb. Easy-peasy.'

Alex grinned at Li, then grabbed the rope and disappeared over the edge. As soon as he reached the bottom, Li loosened the knots at the top and threw the ropes over, followed by her boots.

Alex and Paulo stuffed the ropes and boots into the rucksacks, then stood back to watch Li's descent. She moved easily, feeling for remembered hand and footholds from her earlier climb, but descending was always a slower process. She was less than a third of the way down when shouts and running footsteps came from the mountain slope above her head.

Li flinched and nearly fell. She gripped the rock with her strong fingers and flattened herself against the cliff. Alex stared up in horror as five men appeared at the top of the outcrop. How had they managed to follow so quickly? With a sickening rush, he suddenly realized what had been bothering him. He should have destroyed each of his trail-markers as he passed them. Instead, he had left every single one intact. The pirates had simply followed the arrows.

One of the men barked an order as Li continued her descent. The men unslung their rifles from their backs.

'Run!' yelled Alex, flattening himself against the base of the cliff. 'Down the slope! Into the forest! Now!'

Beatrice dumped Robert onto the stretcher with Hex, then she and Amber grabbed the head end of the stretcher and Philippe grabbed the back. Together they raced for the cover of the trees, Emilie running along beside them. Alex stayed where he was. He was not going to leave Li now. It was his mistake which had got her into this trouble.

'I told you to run!' he yelled as Paulo slammed into the cliff base beside him.

'I am not leaving her either,' scowled Paulo.

They both covered their heads as a shower of stones rattled down the face of the cliff. Twisting their necks, they looked up. Li was halfway down now, descending with dangerous speed. Above her, the men cocked their rifles and aimed them downwards. The leader shouted again, repeating the same words three times. Li guessed he was ordering her to stop, but she kept going. The leader shouted again and the men fired.

Li brought up a hand to cover her head as bullets ricocheted from the cliff face all around her. She cried out and nearly fell as needle-sharp splinters of rock speared into her cheek.

The leader shouted again and the bullets stopped. Li forced herself away from the protection of the cliff and carried on descending, her face bleeding and her head ringing. She was only a metre or so further down when the shots rang out again. Li flattened herself against the cliff. Again, none of the bullets hit her. The angle of the cliff was too steep for the men to have a good chance of finding their target. But Li was still in great danger. Her head was reeling and she was finding it harder and harder to make her shaking toes and fingers grip the rock.

She started to descend again, then she heard the men reloading above her head. Her courage failed her and she flattened herself against the cliff. Tears flowed down her face and she felt her fingers weakening. Just as she was about to give up, she heard Paulo's voice coming from directly below her.

'Li! Listen to me. Alex and I are right underneath you.'

'I thought you'd all gone!' she cried. 'I thought I was alone!'

'As if we would,' said Paulo, his voice full of affection. Li smiled through her tears.

'We have a blanket ready to catch you,' said Paulo. 'Just let yourself fall backwards. Do you hear me? You are already two-thirds of the way down. It is not far.'

Li hesitated. It was against all her instincts to let herself fall back into space, but the men had finished reloading above her and the leader was barking orders once more.

'Li. Trust us,' called Paulo.

Li closed her eyes, made herself go limp and tumbled away from the cliff, arms outstretched.