With a final glance back at the forbidding darkness behind them, and an almost complete certainty that those things were still somewhere back there watching them from a distance, they hurried forward into the light.
Up ahead the river frothed and tumbled like some endlessly enraged beast. On the far side, he could see their bridge, dangling like a crane’s arm above the water. He was relieved to see it was raised; the four they’d left behind had maintained a wary caution.
Liam stood on the bank and cupped his hands. ‘Hello-o-o-o-o!’
The others gathered beside him. They’d lost three of their number, Ranjit, Franklyn and, earlier this morning, Kelly. All of them had heard his cry, and it had hastened their efforts down into the jungle valley, knowing those things were somewhere behind. And they’d grouped together more cautiously, realizing now the creatures were looking for stragglers.
Being bunched together seemed to have paid off. There’d been no sign of them throughout the morning, midday and now into the afternoon. Not even when they’d cleared the bare peak. Liam had looked back quickly in the hope of catching their pursuers unawares. But he saw nothing.
Now they were back. Job was done.
Liam craned his neck to look into the thin veil of jungle on the far side of the river. He could see some slivers of light through the dark tree trunks, the clearing beyond. But no sign of anyone coming their way to lower the bridge yet.
‘Try again,’ said Laura.
‘H-E-L–L-O-O-O-O-O!’
Liam’s voice echoed above the roar of the river, and startled a flock of miniature pterodactyls from a nearby tree. They waited with growing anticipation for a few minutes.
‘They’d have heard that surely?’ said Whitmore.
Edward stood on tiptoes to get a look through the jungle opposite. ‘Unless they’re all sleeping.’
‘There’ll be hell to pay if they are,’ muttered Liam. He cupped his hands again. ‘WE’RE BACK!’
Still nothing.
‘Maybe they gone huntin’?’ said Juan.
‘I gave instructions that someone always has to keep an eye on the windmill,’ replied Liam irritably.
Laura nodded at the bridge. ‘Someone would have to stay behind anyway, to lift that for them and lower it.’
He nodded. ‘True.’
‘So someone must be home.’
‘This is not good,’ he muttered under his breath.
Becks had been examining the fast-flowing water. ‘I am able to cross this,’ she said.
‘The current’s too strong,’ said Liam.
‘I do not need to swim across all of it, Liam.’ She pointed along the bank on which they were standing. Fifty yards down, it rose to a moss-covered hump that was well on its way to being undercut by the river. ‘Information: I calculate I will be able to jump across between thirty and forty per cent of the river’s width from that point.’
He looked at her. ‘And you know how to swim?’
‘Affirmative. I also know how to walk, run, jump… talk.’
He cocked a sideways glance at her. Was that actually sarcasm? Was that another example of Becks’s emerging sense of humour? She returned a smile.
‘Oh, you’re so funny, Becks.’
‘I am developing several files on humour traits.’ She nodded towards the mossy hump, changing subject. ‘I will not be long,’ she said, turning to walk down the bank towards it.
‘Where’s she going?’ asked Whitmore, unhappy to see their robot bodyguard leaving them alone.
‘She’s going to do her superhero thing,’ said Liam.
They watched in silence as she examined the river for a moment then turned to regard the height of the hump. After a few seconds she walked away from the river’s edge and came to a halt just as she was about to enter the shadowy fringe of the jungle. She turned round and without a second’s hesitation broke into a sprint towards the river.
Whitmore’s eyes rounded. ‘She’s gonna jump it?’
She bounded up the side of the hump and launched herself out across the river. Subconsciously everyone gasped and rose on their tiptoes as she gracefully sailed a dozen yards out over the water, her arms pinwheeling to give her extra momentum. Then she arced down into the water, disappearing beneath the stampeding white horses of the river.
For a long half a minute Liam couldn’t see her anywhere, then, finally, he spotted a dark head bobbing among the churning swirls of suds, gone again, back again, then as the river rode over a bed of large boulders and became a chicane of lethal-looking rapids, it curved round and she was lost from sight.
‘She gonna make it?’ asked Juan.
Liam nodded. ‘I’d put money on it.’
Whitmore nodded with admiration. ‘What I wouldn’t give to have her on my school’s athletics team. We’d win every cup going.’
They waited an interminable ten minutes before they spotted her again, jogging up the riverbank on the far side. She reached their jury-rigged bridge, carefully untied the counterweight of bundled logs and then, taking on the weight of the main trunk, muscles in her arms bulging from the effort, she slowly lowered it, the vine ropes creaking and groaning under the strain.
Above the busy rumble of the river, they heard the crack of one of the vines snapping.
‘It’s gonna go!’ shouted Liam.
It looked like Becks had heard that too. She began to pay out the rope more quickly. But another vine snapped under the increased burden, twanging up to the overhanging branch like a rubber band.
‘Stand back!’ barked Liam to the others. ‘It’s gonna drop!’
And it did. The other vines snapped in quick succession and the tree trunk swung down from its forty-five degree angle and clattered heavily on the boulders on their side. Everyone heard the crack, loud as a gunshot. Halfway along the trunk, jagged splinters of wood protruded from the side, and their bridge sagged down in the middle almost into the water.
‘Oh, great!’ shouted Laura.
‘Lemmesee… it may be OK,’ said Juan. Before anyone could stop him he’d stepped up on to the boulders and then carefully on to the end of the log. He inched his way a few yards along it. It bowed a little further, now dipping into the water itself midway along, but it seemed to be holding.
Juan dropped to his hands and knees, then straddled it, bum-shuffling his way across. At the midway point, he gingerly eased his way over the jagged fracture, water catching his dangling legs and threatening to pull him off. But he got over, and a minute later jumped off on the far side.
Liam nodded. ‘All right, then. It seems like it’ll hold for us. Let’s go.’
Whitmore ushered Edward to cross first, then had Laura, Akira and Jasmine line up to go next. Meanwhile Liam turned round. ‘Have your spears ready.’ He nodded at the dark jungle behind Howard and Whitmore. ‘They may still be out there.’
Waiting until it’s just the one of us left? Then what?
He didn’t care to think about that.
Whitmore went after Jasmine, panting with exertion and fear as he inched his way across, the fractured trunk wobbling and creaking with each movement he made. Finally, he made it to the far side and beckoned for whoever was coming next.
‘Leonard, you go.’
The dark-haired boy eyed Liam. ‘You sure?’
‘Uh-huh,’ replied Liam, his eyes remaining on the dark jungle. ‘Just be quick, will you?’ he added, flashing him a quick nervous smile.
Howard nodded, and then was on the trunk and shuffling. Liam waited until the student was nearly halfway across before taking one wary step on to the end of the log. He could feel the vibration of Howard’s movements.
If they’re gonna come for me… it’s gonna be right now.
