The Rabbit Hunter

102

The storm is right above them, and the wind is gusting hard, driving the rain into their eyes.

When they reach the place the flare went off, Rex finds his son. He’s sitting huddled against a tree-trunk with DJ. Their green hunting outfits are drenched and rain is dripping down their faces.

‘Sammy?’ Rex cries, running over to him. ‘What happened? You just disappeared, and I—’

‘OK, listen,’ DJ says, standing up. Water is dripping from his blond beard onto his jacket, and his pale blue eyes are bloodshot. ‘There’s been an accident. Kent is dead. He fell into the canyon...’

‘What the fuck...?’ James yells through the driving rain.

‘He’s dead,’ DJ shouts. ‘There’s nothing we can do.’

The rain changes direction on the gusting wind. Their clothes whip and flap around them.

‘What happened?’ Rex gasps.

‘The edge is kind of overgrown,’ DJ says. ‘He couldn’t see the drop. Maybe he didn’t know where he was on the map.’

‘Sammy?’ Rex asks. ‘You just vanished...’

His son looks at him, then turns his face away.

‘He fell,’ Sammy says weakly.

‘Did you see?’

‘He’s lying down there,’ Sammy says, pointing.

Rex and James walk cautiously towards the edge to look. The rain runs down their necks, over their backs and down into their trousers.

‘Be careful!’ DJ urges behind them.

It is hard to tell where the ground stops in the heavy rain. They slowly approach the edge and see the deep ravine open up. The wind tugs at James and he stumbles a couple of paces before regaining his balance.

Rex moves forward tentatively, making sure he has firm ground beneath his boots, and holds onto the tangled bushes as he leans out over the edge.

At first he can’t see anything. He squints and brushes the rain from his face. His eyes scan the trees, rocks, upturned roots, bushes. And then he sees Kent. His body is lying some forty-five metres below, towards the edge of the drop.

‘He’s moving,’ James exclaims beside him. ‘I’ll climb down, there must be a way.’

Rex pulls out his binoculars, but has to let go of the bush to be able to see. He moves sideways along the precipice and raises the binoculars to his eyes.

The sheer edge of the cliff is still blocking his view. He moves closer, leans out and manages to see the green-dressed figure. Suddenly the ground moves beneath his feet. Rex grabs hold of some branches and throws himself backward as a clump of moss and compacted earth breaks off from the edge and tumbles into the ravine.

‘God,’ he mumbles.

A shiver of mortal dread runs through his body, and his heart is pounding as he raises the binoculars again, leans out and adjusts the focus. In spite of the water trickling down the lenses he can see the body clearly now.

The blood from where he must have hit the rocks is being washed away by the rain.

Kent is wedged into a gap in the rocks. His neck must have snapped because he’s facing the wrong way, and one leg is sticking up at an impossible angle.

There’s no doubt that he’s dead.

‘We need to get an emergency helicopter here!’ James shouts, his narrow eyes dark with panic.

‘He’s dead,’ Rex says, lowering the binoculars.

‘I’m climbing down,’ James insists.

‘It’s too dangerous,’ DJ calls behind them.

‘Shit,’ James whimpers, and sinks to the ground close to the cliff-edge.

Lawrence arrives at last, out of breath. His glasses are wet and he must have caught himself on something, because his thigh is bleeding through the fabric of his trousers. His thick grey beard is full of pine needles and twigs.

‘What’s going on?’ he pants, wiping the water from his eyes.

‘Kent fell in the ravine,’ James replies.

‘Is it serious?’

‘He’s dead,’ DJ says.

‘We don’t know that,’ James exclaims angrily.

‘There’s no way he could have survived the fall,’ DJ tells Lawrence, pointing towards the drop.

‘He’s dead,’ Rex confirms.

‘Shut up!’ James screams hysterically.

‘Listen to me,’ DJ says, raising his voice. ‘Let’s go back to the hotel and call the police.’

Lawrence moves away, shaking his head, and sits down on a rock with his rifle on his lap, staring into space. James is standing completely still, his lips white with rage and shock.

‘I knew it,’ he says quietly to himself.

‘There’s nothing we can do for him now,’ DJ says. ‘We need a phone...’

Rex goes over and squats down in front of his son, and eventually catches his eye.

‘We’re going back to the hotel,’ he says softly.

‘Yes, please,’ Sammy replies.

DJ tries to reason with the other two men, but they won’t listen to him.

‘I know it feels awful leaving him down there,’ he says. ‘But we need to get the police out here as soon as possible.’

Rex helps Sammy to his feet. DJ indicates a direction away from the cliff-edge and they start walking.

‘Come on,’ DJ calls. ‘We don’t want any more accidents.’

The other two men look at him, then slowly start to move. The group walks along the side of the mountain, heading gradually into the valley towards the hotel.

‘This is fucking sick,’ James says.

The rain is still falling hard, and their clothes hang heavy on their bodies.

‘Can’t we just go home?’ Sammy says.

‘I’m so sorry you got dragged into this,’ Rex says, then turns towards the others.

He looks at the three men through the rain. Puddles are forming in every depression and hollow, and the ground looks like it’s bubbling. The rocks have acquired a ghostly halo from the rain bouncing off them.

‘Take care not to slip,’ he reminds Sammy.

‘I saw him fall,’ his son whispers. ‘I was heading towards them from the side... it was before the rain. It all happened so fucking fast... I don’t get it...’

‘We shouldn’t have come on the hunt,’ Rex says, anxiety and regret gathering in his throat. ‘I always think I have to do all these things, but I’m not a hunter, and I could have said that from the beginning.’

‘You’re too kind to do that,’ Sammy says tiredly.

‘We could have waited back at the hotel instead,’ Rex goes on, holding a branch out of the way. ‘Got the food ready, sat and talked, like you wanted.’

‘Mum told me I wasn’t planned. The opposite, really...’

‘Listen,’ Rex says. ‘I was incredibly immature when she and I met. I’d never even thought about having children. It felt like I’d only just started living.’

‘Did you want Mum to have an abortion?’ his son asks.

‘Sammy, everything changed the moment I saw you, when it really sank in that I had a son.’

‘Mum’s always tried to tell me that you care about me, but it’s been hard to find any evidence.’

‘I always said I’d be there for you when it really mattered, but I haven’t been,’ Rex says, swallowing hard. ‘I haven’t been there for you.’

He trails off when he feels his voice starting to crack. He tries to catch his breath and calm down.

‘I want your mum to take that job in Freetown, and I want you to move in with me, properly... the way it should be,’ he eventually says.

‘I can manage on my own,’ Sammy retorts.

Rex stops and tries to make eye contact with his son.

‘Sammy,’ he says. ‘You know I really like having you live with me, right? You must have noticed, some of the best moments of my life have been when we’ve been cooking together, playing the guitar...’

‘Dad, you don’t have to,’ Sammy says.

‘But I love you,’ Rex goes on in a thick voice. ‘You’re my son. I’m so proud of you, and you’re the only thing that really matters to me at all.’