The Sacred Vault

head, then lowered it almost down to the ground. Judging the distance.

Preparing its attack.

‘Go behind the tree so it can’t get straight to you,’ he told her. ‘Then start climbing.’

‘What about you?’

‘I’ll be up there like a fucking rocket, don’t you worry!’ They reached the saman. Nina ducked below a branch and circled it. ‘Okay, get ready . . .’

The tiger slowly drew back on its powerful legs, ready to leap. It clearly knew that its prey had seen it . . . and was utterly unconcerned, thinking they posed no threat - and had no chance of escape.

‘Climb!’ Eddie hissed.

Nina pulled herself up, kicking off the forked trunk as she scrambled higher. Eyes fixed on the tiger, Eddie grabbed the overhanging branch and started to climb.

The animal drew back its lips to reveal a pair of three-inch-long fangs. It pounced—

And skidded to a stop, its head snapping round. The drone had moved closer for a better view - and the tiger heard the whine of its engines. A sound associated with pain, capture. It reared back and roared. The drone hurriedly retreated, but by then Eddie and Nina were both over ten feet up the tree and desperately climbing higher.

Eddie saw the tiger glare at them. ‘Can tigers climb trees?’

The answer came a moment later as it jumped on to the fork and scrabbled after Nina, claws ripping into the bark.

‘Fuck off, Tigger!’ Eddie yelled, kicking at it. He hurriedly pulled back his leg as the tiger swatted at him, slashing a chunk from his boot’s sole. It growled and clambered across to the other side of the fork after him.

The bough Nina was climbing shook as the animal jumped off it. A smaller branch she was using as a handhold snapped; she swung, clutching at the broken stub with a stifled shriek. Half hanging off the swaying limb as it bent under her weight, she saw the branch of another tree not far away. She moved further along the bough, reaching out. ‘Eddie! Over here! The tiger’ll be too heavy to get across!’

‘So will I!’ Eddie shouted back. He weighed almost seventy pounds more than her, and if the tiger followed him the branch would break under the combined strain.

‘You’ve got to, it’s gonna catch you!’ She edged closer to the new branch. The drone moved in like an eager voyeur.

Eddie looked down. Nina was right - the tiger was making frighteningly fast progress, claws ripping into the trunk just behind him. He clamped both hands round a branch above and pulled himself up as the tiger swiped again, barely missing his feet. Dangling, he swung along the bough like a monkey - then let go.

Nina got a firm hold on the other tree and hauled herself across just as the branch she had left thrashed violently, Eddie landing on it in an explosion of loose leaves. The drone was caught in the swirling cloud of green and brown, its soft whine abruptly becoming a harsh buzz as leaves were sucked into its rotors and hacked to shreds. The aircraft lurched, briefly losing lift before recovering.

The sight gave Nina an idea, but she was in no position to act upon it. Instead she kept moving along her branch. Behind her, Eddie clung sloth-like to the other branch’s underside.

The tiger shifted position, preparing to jump at him.

‘Come on!’ Nina shouted as she reached the trunk. Eddie pulled himself along, stripping more leaves where his thighs were wrapped round the branch.

The tiger leapt—

Eddie opened his legs, swung down - and used the momentum to throw himself at the other tree, grabbing Nina’s branch with one hand.

The tiger landed on the spot where he had been, the bough thrashing again - this time with a sharp crack of wood as it partially split away from the trunk. Suddenly fearful, the animal gripped the branch tightly as it tipped downwards, ending up swaying almost fifteen feet above the ground.

Eddie dropped to a lower fork as Nina descended. The tiger was trying to crawl backwards along the branch, afraid of the fall, but its sheer size restricted its movements. ‘It’s stuck!’ he cried, jumping down to the ground. ‘Leg it!’

Nina landed beside him - and pulled him behind the tree as the drone fired a second shot. It was thrown backwards by the recoil, but this time Khoil was prepared, and recovered more quickly.

By then, Nina and Eddie were running again. The ground became wet, their feet kicking up splashes as they skirted a marshy area near the central lake. ‘That way to the bunker,’ said Eddie, pointing.

Nina looked back. The tiger was not pursuing them, either still stuck in the tree or frightened away by the gunshot - but the drone was swooping after them like a tiny jet fighter. ‘How many shots in your gun?’

‘Five left.’

Perhaps there was something to be said for the Wildey after all; a normal gun would have had more ammo and less recoil. ‘I’ve got an idea how to bring down the drone, but we’ll have to split up.’

‘That’s about the worst thing we could do.’

‘If we don’t, we’ll get shot!’ The Wildey boomed again, the Magnum bullet blasting a hole right through the trunk of a small tree just ahead of Eddie, splinters making him flinch. ‘Split up!’ Nina shouted.

‘I’m not leaving you on your own!’

‘I won’t be far - just get it to follow you under a low branch!’ Eddie realised what her plan was. She peeled away; he kept going, looking back at the drone to make sure it was still following him. Fronds whipped at his face as he jumped through a clump of bushes.

The drone rose to clear them. Another thunderous gunshot seared past his head and slammed into the soggy ground. He had lost sight of Nina, but could hear her crunching through the undergrowth on a parallel course.

Another large saman tree bowed down ahead, branches drooping. ‘Nina!’ he shouted, hoping she would take it as a signal. The drone was still coming, a carbon fibre wasp with a lethal sting. Three lethal stings, only four of the seven bullets fired. It descended to clear the outermost foliage, fixing Eddie in its sights—

Nina leapt up and grabbed the overhanging branch, pulling it down on to the machine.

This time, more than mere leaves were sucked into the rotors. Branches crunched into the ducts, the whirling blades slashing against them - and jamming.

The drone spun out of control as one of its three rotor pods failed entirely with a horrible chainsaw rasp. The Wildey fired again, but the bullet flew harmlessly into the surrounding vegetation. Nina released the branch and dived at the gyrating aircraft, slamming it to the ground. She pulled the firing lever out from the Wildey’s trigger guard a moment before it clicked.

Eddie ran to her and lifted the drone to release his gun, then looked into the camera. ‘See you soon,’ he promised the observers with a menacing smile, before cracking the Wildey’s butt against the lens.

‘How many bullets are left?’ Nina asked.

He checked. ‘Two.’

‘Will that be enough?’

‘If it’s not, we’ll be tiger crap by tomorrow. Now, where’s that bunker?’ They set off at a jog, and soon re- emerged into sunlight, finding the lake to their left. Tall reeds rose from the water, giving them some concealment. ‘Okay, this way,’ said Eddie, leading her along the bank. He hopped over a mudhole. ‘Watch out for that.’

‘Watch out for that!’ Nina said in alarm. Eddie spun, seeing another tiger emerge from the lake and splash through the reeds towards them. He aimed the Wildey at it - then lowered the barrel slightly and fired. The combination of the gunshot and the explosion of mud and spray in front of the animal’s face prompted it to turn tail into the trees.

‘You didn’t shoot it?’ said Nina, surprised.

‘Enough people want us dead already without adding the World Wildlife Fund to the list,’ he said, keeping the gun raised until he was sure the animal had gone. Nina jumped the hole, and they continued along the bank. ‘Should be off to the right somewhere.’

‘Yeah - there’s a path.’ Nina bent low under a branch and followed the faint trail through the trees before holding up a hand. ‘I can see the bunker - and a camera pole.’ There was no way to reach the low concrete structure without being spotted.

‘We’ll have to move fast,’ Eddie said, hefting the Wildey. ‘You ready?’