Chapter 108 The First Overnight Spot
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Michael nods, "Stumps. We will have to get one or two. Two of us can then bring our gear over. The rest swim through and then we will take turns to carry it along."
The usually quiet Francois gestures to the cliffs on either side of them. "Look, that line indicates the high water mark when storm water comes down when heavy rains fall higher up. We will get trees or branches washed down somewhere and must just look out for the ideal stump."
Michael nods, "It shouldn't be too heavy but still big enough to carry the weight of our stuff safely over the pools. For safety we should camp above the high water line."
Spyker shakes his head frowning, "What if we are prowled upon just around the corner where the pool ends?"
Jack speaks as he jumps back into the water: "Well, we have rested long enough. We'd better get our arses moving and see what options open ahead. The farther we go, the better our chances to make wise decisions before it gets dark."
Nico concurs: "Jack is right. Remember that rubbish is allergic to sunlight and I am sure we are going to get patches in the gorges where it is open and the blistering sun keeps them away but maybe they would come during the night after prey in these parts. So, the farther we go, the better are our chances. We must find a place to camp before sunset where the pools are deep enough and the cliffs high enough to keep us safe."
Recce also concurs and glides into the water. "We are now wasting our time here. Let's move on. I just hope we can keep our heads above the water through the rest of the pool, or else we will have to keep in or breaths and walk along the bottom from boulder to boulder high enough to get fresh air."
Tania yells at the guys in front while she slides in. "Let Nico show us the way. He brought us safely up to here!"
Scarcely has she uttered the words or Nico's head, in front of all, vanish under the water and they wait for him to surface again. Seconds pass but he doesn't appear and Lesley worriedly wonders: "Where is he?"
Jack ducks underwater. After a while he surfaces. "It is too deep further on. Nico is walking on the bottom and I suppose he is looking for a boulder high enough to get his head out of the water for fresh air. Luckily the water is clear and you can see well."
Lesley is worried. "Fuck, what if he doesn't find a rock and doesn't get air? He will drown."
Francois tries to placate her. "Nico told me once that he rides those giant waves during special holidays. They practice over long distances with heavy rocks to walk on the bottom of the sea. The problem is not if he can do it but if the rest of us can follow his example."
As he speaks, Nico's head rises far ahead while his lungs greedily swallow fresh air. He now stands shoulder high out of the water on a rock. He turns and informs them. "It is quite a distance. You will have to inhale deeply and notice carefully where I stand now. Big rocks are scarce and it is deep here. Don't miss this rock or you are going to struggle to get to the next big one and you don't want to drown, don't you? Okay, I am moving to the next one. You must follow one by one."
He again vanishes and Jack just after that. Again they wait anxiously until Jack rises where Nico has been and just after that Nico surfaces further on.
Jack smiles at the rest's anxious and worried faces. "It isn't difficult. Just come straight in this direction and don't lose your way."
Michael suddenly screams from behind. "Sorry, I'm not one for water. I won't succeed."
Jack frowns. "What do you mean? Can't you swim?"
"A little, but not well and I can't swim underwater. My head must be above the water."
Tania thinks loudly: "Oh, fuck ..."
Michael, however, has a plan. "I'm going to get rid of all my heavy stuff and swim over."
Recce supports him. "Okay, my mate, strip and give it to Spyker and me. We will carry it. Get in and swim in the meantime and tell us how it is at the other side."
Michael eventually swims in his underpants while the rest moves from rock to rock one by one walking carefully. Eventually, the pool becomes shallow enough to stand upright with their shoulders above the water and they carefully walk together along the long turn of the pool. Michael hasn't yet announced his landing and they all wonder what awaits them.
Eventually, they round the corner and see Michael flat on his stomach watching the bushes in front of him intently. Recce and Spyker drop his gear in the shallow water next to him.
Spyker asks: "Why are you so silent? We wondered whether you have been devoured."
Michael whispers, keeping his eyes on the bushes, while he anxiously starts to pick up his things and getting dressed. "I don't trust those bushes. I was afraid to scream. What if monsters rushed out and attacked me? Remember we heard screams in front only a while ago."
Nico shrugs his shoulders. "It's true, but those noises could have come from the woods above. I don't think there are monsters here. They would have attacked already. Look, the cliffs overall are high and steep."
Tania isn't so sure. "Maybe they have a place in front where they could come down and are now hiding and waiting for us afraid we will go back safely into the pool."
Lesley concurs: "What you say, make sense."
Jack gives his opinion: "Well, get yourselves ready, there is only one way and that is forward and if we encounter monsters, we simply fight our way through. Somewhere in front we will have to find a suitable place before dark, if this is not exactly the place. Nico's words are true. The gorge is narrow and the inclines steep and high."
With Michael, eventually, ready to go, they start moving in amongst the bushes, Jack leading. They move forward over round stones through a somewhat bushy area and go across a shallow pool which ends against a vertical rock face with a round, deep pool under a small waterfall.
Jack stops and studies the area. "Ladies and gentlemen, this place is safe. The inclines are steep all the way from the previous pool up to this one and I have watched carefully. There is no footpath into the woods. We will be monster free here. I suggest we overnight here and start tomorrow morning at first light."
Spyker concurs. "Good idea! Let's indulge in food and drinks so that we are strong tomorrow morning."
Recce cautions them. "Refreshments are good and well but we must use it sparingly. Soon our provisions will meet their end."
Lesley can't wait. "Come, let's get out of these fucking wet clothes and become dry for a change …"
Tania is already undressing and shamelessly stands in her wet transparent underclothes that exhibit everything. The rest follow her example.
Recce has something else on his mind. "You can relax in the meanwhile. I'm going to catch snakes. This seems to me like snake country. Especially, tree snakes. I suppose it is the easiest meat around."
Lesley winces: "Ugh, no man, sis …"
Recce grins at her. "You are going to beg me for a nice piece of snake. Time will tell."
Tania doesn't agree. "Before that time we must be gone out of this hell."
Michael gestures. "Look, we can wrap our things over those flat rocks away from the bushes. The sun is hot over there …"
They all, except Recce, advance to the rocks and drape their wet things over it. Nico looks up at Tania in front of him with her stomach muscles almost in his face. "You are built marvellously, sergeant. You have muscles of which most men could only dream. Excellent definition."
She smiles at him. "For an old bloke you are also not too bad. Handsome."
Lesley hugs Tania around her shoulders from behind and jokingly looks at Nico. "Let her be. She's mine."
Nico winks. "Oh, is that how the wind blows?"
Tania smiles, turns around to Lesley and kiss her full on the mouth. "We are playmates since our schooldays and went through distressing times in this men's world, believe me."
Spyker joins Michael, "It seems to me we will have to ascend those rocks at the waterfall. I hope you can handle it or do you also have a fear of heights?"
Michael frowns and looks at the waterfall. It seems incredibly high and dangerous. "I'd rather not think about it now."
Spyker comforts him. "Don't worry. I have a rope and will show you how to work it. I will climb up first and secure it well so that you can use it to climb up."
Relieved Michael smiles. "Thank you and also thanks that you and Recce carried my things."
Spyker taps him on the shoulder. "No problem, pal. Relax now for a while and then we are going to practice here in the pool."
"Practice ..?"
"I'm going to teach you to swim because I have the idea it will be very important."
"I don't know ..."
"It's fucking easy, man. The secret lies in breathing, I'll show you. Let me tell you, before the end of the day you will swim like a fish underwater and also on the surface. I really don't know how you manage to paddle-paddle with your head above water all the time. You must be utterly exhausted by the time you reach the bank."
"Yes, I really am a bad swimmer."
"After our practice you will be looking forward to your next swim. Just give me a chance to show you, okay?"
"Okay."
"And do me a hell of a favour and try to dream tonight of this mad hatter's children. I really am looking for a reason that we are not stranded here in vain!"
