Stephen Leather - The Hunting

‘We’re not leaving anyone behind,’ said Sid.

‘The rate we’re going, it’s going to be two days, maybe three, before we get to the house. And that’s three days without food or water. What state are we going to be in by the time we get to the house?’

‘It’ll be two days, max,’ said Raj. ‘And if we push on, we can still make it by tonight.’

Jaffar pointed at Mo. ‘Look at the state of him. He’s struggling.’

‘If it was you, bruv, would you want us to leave you?’ asked Sid.

‘For the greater good,’ said Jaffar with a shrug.

‘Bollocks,’ sneered Sid. ‘You’d be begging us to take you with us and you know it.’

‘Jaffar, if you want to head off on your own, no one’s stopping you,’ said Raj.

‘I haven’t got a gun,’ said Jaffar.

‘Well you’re not having mine,’ said Sid.

Jaffar looked at Raj, who shook his head. ‘Don’t even think about it.’

‘Look, I’m not saying I want to go off on my own,’ said Jaffar. ‘I just thought we’d be quicker if just the three of us went. If you want to stay together, that’s cool.’

‘Three of us?’ said Sid. ‘So you want to leave Erol behind as well?’

‘Like I said before, survival of the fittest, innit?’

Raj stared at him for several seconds. Jaffar clearly only cared about himself and that meant he wouldn’t be an asset if they found themselves in a dangerous situation. Survival in combat was all about teamwork – you fought as a team and if you were lucky you survived as a team. But if the team fell apart and it was every man for himself, survival was that much harder. ‘You need to decide now what it is you want,’ said Raj. ‘No one is holding you here against your will. If you want to go it alone, now’s the time to go.’

Jaffar put up his hands. ‘I’m cool,’ he said. ‘I won’t mention it again.’

Raj nodded. ‘We can rest for five minutes.’ He pointed at the crest of a hill. ‘Once we reach the top there we’ll start heading down so that’ll be easier. I’ll support Mo this time.’ He looked around. They could go without food for several days but it would lift their spirits if they could find something – anything – to eat. He walked to the edge of the clearing and peered into the undergrowth.

Sid joined him. ‘You looking for something?’

‘Berries,’ said Raj. He walked through the undergrowth, scanning left and right.

Sid followed him. ‘What sort of berries?’

‘The sort we can eat.’ Raj grinned as he spotted a cluster of bushes. ‘There you go.’ He walked over. The bushes were dotted with purple berries. He plucked one and popped it into his mouth. He bit into it and the sweetness exploded.

‘Blueberries?’ said Sid.

‘Huckleberries,’ said Raj. ‘Bears love them.’

‘You think there are bears in these woods?’

‘If this is the States, then yes. Wolves, too. And coyotes.’ He began pulling away berries and popping them into his mouth. Sid followed his example. The berries were small but they were sugar rich and tasted good. Twenty or so made a decent mouthful, and after five minutes of frantic picking, Sid grinned. ‘Not bad,’ he said.

‘They’re good to eat but the sugar rush will be temporary,’ said Raj. ‘We need protein but we haven’t got time to go hunting. And if we did we’d need a fire to cook whatever we kill.’ He picked another handful of berries and threw them into his mouth. ‘We should take some back for the others.’

They ripped some large leaves off a plant growing at the base of a redwood tree and used them as a makeshift basket. Sid held it while Raj picked several handfuls of berries, then they took them back to the clearing. ‘We come bearing gifts,’ said Sid.

Jaffar hurried over. ‘What are they?’

‘Huckleberries,’ said Sid.

‘They’re safe to eat, right?’

‘Raj and I have tucked in and we’re okay,’ said Sid. He held out his hands and Jaffar scooped some out and ate them greedily. He reached for a second helping but Sid moved them out of reach. ‘Share and share alike,’ he said. He went over to Mo and Erol and gave them both berries.

Jaffar followed him and took what was left. ‘Can we get more?’ he asked.

‘We need to go,’ said Raj. ‘We can look for more next time we get a break.’ He bent down and helped Mo up. ‘You good to go?’

Mo put his left arm around Raj’s shoulder. ‘Okay,’ he said.

Raj pulled his knife from its scabbard and checked the compass. ‘Right, we need to change direction and start heading south,’ he said. He pointed ahead. ‘That way, okay Sid?’

‘No problem,’ said Sid. He headed off. Raj moved forward but he realised within a few steps that helping Mo was throwing out his pacing. He stopped and called Sid over. ‘Take these,’ he said, handing him the nine stones. ‘Use them to keep track of how far we’ve gone. Count off a hundred and thirty-five steps – that should be about a hundred metres – and transfer one stone to your pocket. Once you have transferred nine, the final hundred metres takes you to one kilometre. Got it?’

Sid grinned. ‘It ain’t rocket science, bruv,’ he said, taking the stones.

Sid took the lead, followed by Jaffar. Erol brought up the rear.

‘I’m sorry about this,’ said Mo.

‘Don’t worry about it,’ said Raj.

‘I heard what Jaffar said. If it was up to him …’

‘Yeah, well it isn’t,’ said Raj. ‘And I’m not leaving you behind.’

Mo yelped in pain as he stepped on a rock that twisted his ankle. All his weight fell against Raj and they staggered to the side before they regained their balance. Raj realised he had been optimistic about reaching the house before nightfall.

CHAPTER 37

Sal hit the belt buckle against the rock and gritted his teeth in frustration. It was his tenth attempt and so far he hadn’t even managed to get a spark.

‘You’re wasting your time,’ said Abdullah. He was sitting with his back against a tree.

Sal glared at him. ‘Do you have a better idea?’

‘I don’t have any fucking ideas. I’m just saying, you’re wasting your time.’

Sal sat back on his heels. He didn’t like Abdullah’s attitude, but the guy was right. He hadn’t managed to produce a spark and even if he did the pile of leaves he was using as tinder was damp. He cursed and tossed the belt to Abdullah. ‘Let’s go,’ he said.

‘Why not try the radio again?’

‘Because we’re no further on than the last time we spoke to that ranger,’ said Sal. ‘What are we gonna say? We tried to light a fire but couldn’t? Then he’ll ask us where we are and we have the same fucking conversation we had last time. We need to find some sort of landmark.’

‘We could try shouting,’ said Abdullah.

‘What?’

‘He didn’t know where we were because we were using the radio. He wanted you to shoot a gun but we don’t have a gun. But we could try shouting.’ He waved away Sal’s look of contempt. ‘You asked if I had a better idea, and that’s what I’ve got.’

Sal exhaled. Maybe it was better than nothing. ‘Okay, let’s try. What do we shout?’

‘“Help” is always a good start.’

‘Okay,’ said Sal. He took a deep breath and then bellowed ‘Help!’ at the top of his voice. Abdullah joined in. The two men screamed in unison for the best part of thirty seconds, then they stopped and listened. There was only silence. Even the birds had gone quiet.

Abdullah opened his mouth to start shouting again but Sal put a hand on his shoulder. ‘There’s no point, bruv.’

Abdullah nodded grimly. ‘Yeah, you’re right.’

‘Let’s head down the hill, see if we can find a stream or something. The ranger said there’d be water. If we can find a stream maybe we can find a lake, then we’ll radio him.’