Chris Ryan - Survival

'Now, all we have to do is go back in there and rig the thing up,' said Hex, staring into the dark forest.

Over a meal of bananas, figs and coconut milk, everyone agreed that it was not fair to expect Li to brave the game trail again. She was left on Watch Duty next to the signal fire. The other four each grabbed the towing handle of a loaded sledge.

'Ready?' asked Paulo.

'Not really,' admitted Hex, staring into the undergrowth.

'Just one more time,' said Paulo. 'Then we shall have our water brought to us.'

'If it works,' said Amber.

'It will work,' said Paulo, calmly.

'OK,' said Alex, taking a deep breath. 'Let's get it over with.'

They started construction at the beach-end of the trail. Paulo set up a system where two people scouted to the front and the rear and the other two worked on a section of aqueduct. Paulo was right; it was easy to find supporting vines or branches for the bamboo gutters in the dense vegetation of the rainforest and they moved quickly along, slotting the split stems into place and tying them with vines where necessary. They worked feverishly and silently, jumping every time a twig snapped. Every few minutes they would stop and listen, but the rainforest engine hummed along quietly.

'It must be too early for them,' whispered Alex. 'Don't lizards need to warm up in the sun before they can-'

'Shhh…' hissed Amber. 'It's moving.' She pointed her stick at a bush just ahead and they all froze in place. The bush was quivering. The leaves shook as something moved under the branches.

'Oh no,' breathed Hex, feeling a cold sweat break out on his forehead.

'Back off,' murmured Alex, gripping his stick. 'If it comes for us, get up into a tree.'

Slowly, hardly daring to breathe, they backed away from the bush. Paulo brought his heel down on a dry twig and it broke with a loud crack in the silence. The leaves of the bush began to shake more violently and Alex lost his nerve.

'Climb!' he yelled.

They all jumped for a branch but Amber misjudged. She missed and fell screaming to the ground. The bush exploded like a firework as a whole flock of parrots flew out and squawked away into the canopy.

'Well, you did say they hid in bushes,' muttered Amber defensively, as the other three dropped back onto the trail. 'And that bush was moving-'

'You were right to warn us,' said Paulo. 'And do not let that stop you from warning us again. Next time it might be a komodo.'

They forced themselves onwards, moving deeper into the shadows of the rainforest. The sledges became progressively easier to pull as the load lightened and, sooner than anyone had dared to hope, they reached the pool.

Paulo knocked a supporting line of cleft sticks into the open ground which rose to the edge of the pool, and they slotted the last two sections of bamboo into place. Paulo adjusted the position of the final piece of guttering so that it was under the lip of the pool where the overspill water ran down into the rainforest. Then he stood back.

For a few seconds, nothing happened, then a tiny stream of crystal clear water diverted from the overspill and trickled along the guttering. Paulo ran along beside the trickle, watching as it picked up speed and volume, flowing down the bamboo guttering all the way into the forest.

'We did it!' he yelled, running back to the other three. 'It is flowing!'

They danced in a clumsy, sweaty, exhausted circle, then stumbled to a halt and stood there, grinning at one another.

'Tell you what,' said Amber, turning her head to sniff at Paulo's armpit. 'You should get in touch with the military. They could use you as a biological weapon.'

'Bathtime!' yelled Paulo, picking Amber up and running into the pool with her. Alex and Hex dived in too and they splashed and swam in the cool water, washing away all the sweat and tension of the morning.

'Time to go,' said Alex, a few minutes later, turning to wade out of the pool. 'We can check the aqueduct as we walk back,' he said, looking back over his shoulder. 'Sort out any breaks or leaks…'

Alex came to a halt as he saw the looks of horror on Amber and Paulo's faces. They were staring past him to the place where the game trail came out of the forest. He turned and felt his mouth go dry with fear. A komodo dragon, even bigger than the first one, was coming out of the forest towards them.

Alex froze in place. He could have kicked himself for making such a basic mistake. It was so stupid, letting down his guard like that, even for a few minutes. He looked for his stick and spotted it lying next to the sledges on the bank. They had no way of defending themselves. He stayed absolutely still as the huge lizard ambled slowly up to the edge of the pool and dipped its scaly head to drink. Alex saw that the beast's belly was so distended it was dragging along the ground. The komodo had eaten recently, and eaten well. Perhaps, if they stayed very still and did not pose any kind of threat, it would leave them alone.

The dragon lifted its head and gazed across the pool to Alex. He felt a terrible urge to run as the flat, reptilian eyes fixed on him, but he forced himself to stay still. The beast lost interest and turned away, lumbering towards the flat rock outside the cave on the other side of the pool. Alex guessed that it was heading for its favourite sunning spot to sleep off the meal. He felt the tension lessen slightly in his shoulders. There was a good chance of simply walking away from this as long as they did nothing to anger the sleepy lizard. Slowly, he turned his head to whisper instructions to the others and his heart clenched in shock.

Amber and Paulo were there, in the pool behind him – but Hex had disappeared.

Hex stood in the cave beside the pool, waiting for his eyes to adjust to the gloom. The object he had seen poking from the bottom of the rock fall earlier that morning was still on his mind. It raised a question. It posed a puzzle. And if there was one thing Hex could not leave alone, it was a puzzle.

He had left the pool quietly, to avoid a confrontation, but now Alex and the others were forgotten as the rock fall came into focus. Hex's eyes were sharp and hungry as he moved forward, preparing to solve the puzzle. The object was still there, poking out of the rubble, and Hex levered it loose. He studied it for a moment, then slipped it into his pocket. Carefully he grasped the rock that had wedged the object and eased it away from the rock fall. A few small pebbles and some sandy earth showered into the gap, but the fall held. Hex swept the pebbles away and nodded with satisfaction at what was revealed. He stood back and examined the rock fall, choosing the best place to start. He picked a spot at shoulder height, on the far right-hand edge of the fall. Slowly, carefully, he began to clear a way through.

Soon there was a hole big enough for him to squeeze through. Hex boosted himself up onto the rock fall, sending stones and pebbles showering down, and eased himself into the gap. His head poked through into the stale, dry air beyond and he hung, suspended in the darkness, trying to see what lay behind the rock fall. It was too dark and Hex swore with frustration, then a slow smile spread across his face as he remembered that Alex always carried his survival tin with him. One match. That was all he needed. Surely Alex would let him have one match? Hex clambered back down the rock fall and hurried out of the cave.

'Hey, Alex!' he called, squinting in the bright sunshine. 'I need a-'

Hex came to a stop as the huge komodo reared up on its hind legs with a hissing roar. For a split second he stood frozen as it towered over him, then he turned and ran back into the cave. The ground shook as the komodo slammed back down onto its forelegs and charged into the cave after Hex.