The morning light found
them exhausted and reluctant to wake up. They all had aches and pains and found
it hard to move about. There was no more manna either so things were looking
pretty bleak. Worst of all, Righteous, was in a bad way. His breathing was
ragged and he found it hard to keep his balance once he was up. The crippled
Ahram fared little better, hooting in pain at the slightest movement he made,
but before they had even finished yawning the Ahram were on the move, urging
them on.
“How is he supposed to
walk like that? He’s going to die,” said Rose.
As if in answer, the
Ahram waved at the mountain ahead of them and indicated that they should move.
“C’mon,” said Dutch.
There’s nothing for it but to follow them and help Righteous as best we can.”
But after a few
tentative steps, Righteous became steadier on his feet and amazingly began to
keep with the others. This was just as well because no-one was really strong
enough to support him.
In the beginning they
made good progress, happy that they were all still alive, but soon their energy
began to flag again. On and on they marched, heads down and dispirited, they
watched the miles pass by beneath their feet, hardly aware that they were
walking…one foot automatically coming down in front of the other. They had long
since ceased to notice where they were. The sun was already beginning to heat
up the stone to oven temperature, the shale and sharp flints burning the soles
of their feet. The Ahram seemed oblivious to the heat though, but the humans
were dripping with sweat as it leached the last little bit of moisture from
their parched bodies. Rose too, like Sweet Mary, had come to the end of her
endurance and would have cried continuously had she enough moisture left in her
for tears. The only thing that kept her going was Angelo. Had it not been for
him she would have given up a long time ago.
When the Lead Ahram
finally hooted, the exhausted humans stopped walking and their eyes began to
come back into focus.
“Are we there?” asked
Sweet Mary in a daze. “Are we there?”
One by one they lifted
their eyes, expecting to see the end of their journey; the end of their pain.
What they saw was a sheer cliff-face hundreds of metres high ahead of them.
“I ain’t climbing that,”
said Rose, trying to make light of the horror that confronted them. “Not with
my hips.”
“They must have a plan,”
said Angelo. “There’s no way anyone could climb that.” But all future
conversation was cut short as they were urged onwards again by the curt coughs
of the Ahram. Picking their way through the rubble and scree at the foot of the
cliff they finally came to an opening in the cliff wall.
A cave is something that
not everyone will experience in their lifetime. It is dark and other-worldly. The
gloomy closeness after being out in the open air can be intensely
claustrophobic. On the other hand, it may feel like a cosy hide-away from the
rough elements outside. A contradiction of opposites, it is a place that is either
welcoming or dreadful. It is simultaneously a safe harbour and a dangerous trap.
In mythology it has rightly been assigned the place of a transition point
between this world and the next. It is a womb or a tomb, something to be born
from or something to be buried in.
As they staggered into
the cave Rose became painfully aware of these conflicting attributes. Indeed
she was out of the hot sun and the cool air enveloped her like a balm, but this
trip was so full of good news bad news that she didn’t feel as thankful as she
normally would and kept a sharp eye out for the bad news which she thought
would come in the form of the humans being a tasty breakfast morsel or else a
sacrifice for some Ahram ritual.
Once inside, the Ahram
swords glowed brightly enough for them to get an idea of where they were. The
cave was nothing more than a large crack in the rock face, with pebbles and
flints on the floor. Immediately the Ahram began digging in the ground at the
rear of the cave, unearthing a large cloth-bound bundle that turned out to be a
hidden cache of manna. The Ahram started handing around handfuls of the stuff
and everyone sat down with a thankful sigh and ate until they couldn’t eat anymore,
fairly stuffing it into their mouths.
The Ahram, not quite as
ravenous as the humans, began pulping a large amount of it into paste by
grinding it on a flat piece of rock. They worked deftly with their nimble
fingers, taking great care not to spill any. When they had enough they spread
it upon the wounds of Righteous and the crippled Ahram. Righteous hardly
flinched when the paste was applied, but the little Ahram didn’t take it so
well, hooting in agony at each application. His hoot was different to the
others. It sounded like he had sinus problems, or a cold, because it came out
in a nasal sounding ‘Noot.’
“Poor fellow,” said Angelo. “He can’t even
hoot properly. Maybe it’s because of the pain. But at least we can give him a
name now. I vote we call him Noot.”
“Be that I find it hard not to look at these strange animals without a
shudder. Art thou perhaps erring in not leaving them to die? They would be hard
pressed to survive anywhere. Look to them there – ugly creatures. Tiny,
inadequate mouths, thin spindly legs useful only in that they are easy prey and
can’t run away. Hands and arms like bludgeons; most unsuitable and
unattractive. And what if they harbour some disease or plot of ill within their
bowels?”
“Truly, at first they were novel in the finding, but now they surely
be just danger in the making. Thou sayest right, and yet I sense they are
strangely necessary. Times are in uncertain flux – all information is valuable,
all events portentous. These things are not for throwing away…and who knows,
they may have their uses.”
“Certainly the big one has proved such in saving Crouch. That is his
fortune – to be given a thankfulness. Look how he fawns over that foolish
animal. Brave, like a brute, but foolish.”
“Perhaps we shall let him keep it as a pet. It is, after all, the
strongest of the bunch though he be as black as a demon. I will instruct Crouch
to observe the creatures with a most careful scrutiny and report to us. Let it
be known to him that he is responsible for their welfare and their continued
captivity. If anything happens to them he will be brought up before the council.”
“But we must also keep other guard
on them. That they could arouse the forest to such anger does not bode well.
There is more to them than meets the eye….though there is plenty of them that
meets the ear.”
“Indeed, I do so wish for their silence. They jabber like tree-rats. One
is almost of the impression that they communicate, which of course is absurd in
such primitive beasts.”
“Indeed, but that is so with all non egg-bearers.”
The manna turned out to
be a miracle cure. Within hours it had eased the pain and stopped most of the
bleeding on the two unfortunates. The humans began to be a trifle more chirpy
at this wonderful new development; things weren’t so bad after all. Even Sweet
Mary was smiling and chatting with the others, although the tension between her
and Dutch still made things uncomfortable. Though they pretended nothing was
wrong, they continued to avoid eye contact with one another.
Throughout the day everyone
dozed and rested in the cool cave, waking occasionally to eat some more manna
and retire again. The Ahram seemed in no hurry now that they were safe from the
ice and the swamp and had plenty of food. Once again they had set their swords
up in a circle against the walls of the cave to provide light and heat.
The night fell outside
and the cave grew dark and dusky. On all settled the evening like a blanket of
bliss. Nary a dream was out and about, and certainly no nightmares had the
strength to roam abroad and trouble the band of travellers, not while the
anaesthetic qualities of the manna were doing their healing work.
The next morning was
full of lumps and bumps and stiff and sore joints. It took ages for the humans
to get their muscles working again. Righteous and Noot however had turned a
corner and looked well on the way to mending. Noot had become very attached to
Righteous since he had saved his life. Almost like a pet, he was always
hovering around the blind man in the hope of being of assistance.
“I think you’ve got a
friend for life now, Righteous,” said Angelo. “And I think they owe us one,
which is going to come in handy. You saved one of theirs…that must be worth
something. But it depends on how much store they set by a life.”
“And he has saved me…in
a manner of speaking. We seem to have formed a rather strange bond, and it
seems I am somehow able to read his emotions and thoughts – to a certain degree
- and these give me a vague sense of my surroundings. He is like a beacon
transmitting information to me as we go. I don’t feel so…blind anymore, or so
useless. It grieved me more than I can say when I lost the voices.”
“That’s my fault
really,” said Angelo, “for taking you away from your home in the first place.”
“Yeah, and it’s my fault
for getting us all into this mess,” mumbled Dutch under her breath.
“Yes,” added Rose very
emphatically. “And it’s all your faults for keeping my son safe at home, and
for bringing Angelo and me together and giving me a new lease on life,” she
said, smiling at Angelo and laying her head against his arm. “So thank you.”
“Well,” interjected
Sweet Mary. “This hasn’t been the best trip ever, but I’m glad I met all of
you. I’ve never had so many friends.” Then she added in an undertone. “I really
could do with a bath though. I’m feeling very uncomfortable.” She looked
pleadingly at Rose when she said this.
“I know,” said Rose.
“But I’m sure we’ll find some water sooner or later.”
An imperious hoot from
the leader let them know that it was time to move on. With a few moans and
groans they set off again, this time down a tunnel at the rear of the cave,
going deeper into the mountains. This tunnel was so narrow they had to walk in
single file, three Ahram lighting the way in front with their swords and two
bringing up the rear. For a long while they walked in silence, Dutch in front
of the group of humans and Sweet Mary hobbling along at the rear. Righteous,
although not fully recovered, could sense her distress, and without her
permission he swept her up into his arms and carried her quite easily.
“You shouldn’t be too
hard on Dutch,” boomed Righteous’ voice in Sweet Mary’s ear. Even at a whisper
he could be deafening. “She loves you very much even if she doesn’t show it
much. She carries a big burden.”
“I know.”
“And I think she depends
on you more than you know. She’s feeling pretty down since you stopped talking
to her.”
They walked on in
silence while Sweet Mary thought this over.
“In other words you gotta
stop sulking girl,” said Righteous in a thick Rasta accent.
“I’m not sulking,” protested
Sweet Mary and stuck out her lower lip petulantly.
“But you’re making it
clear you’re not happy, and that’s not good. We gotta stick together.”
“I suppose,” she pouted,
hating the thought of having to apologise. With thoughts about Dutch going
round and round in her head, along with the gentle swaying motion of Righteous’
body as he walked, Sweet Mary dozed off and fell into a deep sleep.
WHAT AWAITS OUR INTREPID TAVELLERS DOWN IN THESE CAVES? BE SURE TO FIND OUT NEXT WEEK.
