Mackenzie Ford - The Clouds Beneath the Sun

She led the way to the Land Rovers.

“Don’t forget the game lights,” shouted Jack to no one in particular.

He took the second Land Rover and made sure a game light was in the back. He drove down into the gorge and up the other side, turned right, along the northern edge, driving as fast as he dared. After about twenty minutes he turned right again and sank down back into the gorge and up the other side, on the southern bank.

“Kees said that chert is a hard rock and that it probably supported only grassy vegetation rather than lush trees, but is sometimes found in riverbeds.”

“So we keep to the open spaces rather than the thickets and forests, that’s worth knowing. And we look out for dried riverbeds.” Jack pointed to a socket near the transmission. “If you plug the game light in there, you can use it to shine to the left and right of the vehicle. It’s far more flexible than the headlights.”

Natalie did what he said.

The game light, she found, was not only more flexible than the headlights, but far more powerful.

“Keep an eye out for animals,” said Jack. “You’ll notice their eyes first—their eyes reflect the light, like cats’ eyes on a road. If Kees has been attacked by a predator, then those eyes may be the first sign we have that we’ve found him, or his remains.”

“Bit ghoulish, aren’t you?”

“It’s nighttime in the bush, Natalie. You know full well that most of the animals we see during daytime are resting in the heat, and they come alive at night. Kees is in even more danger in the dark than he was during the day. During the day, his chief enemy was the sun. If he was searching less-covered areas, less covered with trees, I mean, he was at risk of sunstroke. If that’s what happened, I don’t think he will survive the night. I’m sorry, but that’s the reality.”

They drove on in silence, Natalie playing the game light in all directions. They saw impala, a lynx, countless baboons, wildebeest, foxes. At one point they saw four lionesses and Jack brought the Land Rover to a halt. “I’m going to approach them slowly. Wind up your window. Look for blood, signs of human remains.”

Natalie looked at him. “You really think—?”

“Yes, it’s possible. Of course, it’s possible. That’s why we are out here, now, looking for him.”

But they could see no signs of blood near the lions, nor any other suspicious remains, and they pressed on.

At midnight they heard Eleanor’s voice over the walkie-talkie.

“Anyone seen any predators?”

“No,” said Daniel’s voice.

“Lion,” said Jack. “Four lionesses, by Kilkoris Stones, but no blood, nothing.”

“I’m with some elephants now,” said Eleanor. “Near Sekenani, but they’re not moving.” She was silent for a moment. “Let’s give it another hour.”

When Eleanor came back on the walkie-talkie after another hour, however, there was no better news. “We need a change of plan. Daniel, you have the best eyes, so you and Christopher can continue looking. Jack, assuming Daniel doesn’t find him during the hours of darkness, you need to take off at dawn, so you and Natalie should get some sleep. I’ll turn in too, so I can raise the alarm at dawn and get some of our neighbors to lend us the use of their planes. We must pull out all the stops at dawn. Is everyone clear?”

“Understood,” said Jack.

“We’ll keep at it,” said Christopher.

“If you find him, radio in, whatever the time. Clear?”

“Clear.”

Jack turned the Land Rover and headed for home. “Keep looking,” he said to Natalie. “You never know.”

As they drove, he said, “If we have to go looking for Kees tomorrow—by plane, I mean—if Christopher and Daniel don’t find him tonight, are you okay about that?”

“What do you mean? Why shouldn’t I be?”

“The hairy landing the other day. It didn’t put you off?”

She thought. “I can’t say it’s up there with Brahms’s German Requiem as one of life’s must-have experiences, but… well, I don’t have much flying experience but you seem … you seem … I’m not put off.”

He nodded and changed gear, to negotiate ruts in the track. “And when I dared to kiss you the other night, during our other nocturnal adventure, did that put you off?”

She didn’t say anything.

“If you don’t answer, I’m going to stop the Land Rover and let you walk the rest of the way home.”

“That puts me off.”

She grinned and let another silence elapse, and so did he.

“How long can someone survive in the bush?”

He swung the wheel over, to avoid a rock. “Well, obviously it depends on whether he meets any predators, whether he has the sense to keep in the shade, whether he knows which plants are edible, so he can take on water.” Jack took some chocolate from the breast pocket of his shirt and handed it to Natalie. “Four days, I’d say.”

Natalie stripped the silver foil from the chocolate, broke off two squares, and handed them back across to Jack.

He held her hand in his, moved her fingers to his mouth, took the chocolate, and brushed his lips across the back of her hand. Then he let go.

It took them almost another hour to reach the camp, so that it was two o’clock before Jack reversed the Land Rover under the acacia trees where it was normally parked. Someone had kept the campfire going, the hurricane lamps were still burning in the refectory tent, and they could see three or four thermos flasks on the table, alongside a tea towel draped over something. Naiva was in bed but she had left them coffee and chicken sandwiches. They had gone without dinner.

There was no sign of Jonas either. He must have gone to bed.

“Do you have an alarm?” said Jack, as they stood, munching sandwiches and washing them down with hot coffee.

“Of course.”

He nodded. “Let’s meet at the Land Rovers at five. It gets light around five-thirty but Naiva will be up, with breakfast, and we need to get the plane ready. We take off at six, once we can see clearly.”

When Natalie reached her tent, she realized she was exhausted, and she felt as though she was covered in dust. Part of her would have loved a shower but there was no Mgina at this hour, and certainly no water. The other half of her was longing to collapse on the bed, but she forced herself to clean her teeth and, after she had got undressed, she brushed her hair for a few minutes.

She set the alarm; five o’clock was now just two and a half hours away.

She lay back and thought of Kees. How terrified he must be, right now, if he was still alive. She had listened to the theater of the night so often from the safety of her tent in the camp, but to be out there, amid the screams and skirmishes, the sudden rush of hooves, the roar of lions, the sudden, menacing silences … if the sun hadn’t driven Kees mad, nighttime surely would.

She turned on her side. She realized she was still hungry. The sandwiches had simply stimulated her appetite. The camp kitchen was closed but there were the remains of Jack’s bar of chocolate which she had left in the Land Rover. Should she get them?

Jack. Once again he had gently touched her but made no attempt to press himself further. He was letting her get used to him, showing her how he felt but leaving her breathing space.

She liked that. He was willing to wait.

Like Dominic had been.

Jack slumped into a chair next to Natalie and they both stared at the flames of the campfire.

“What can you see in the embers, Dr. Nelson?”

It was three nights later. Despite daylong searches, by plane and Land Rover, Kees had not been found. This evening, at dusk, the search had been called off.