Hunted (3 page)

Alex turned away in disgust. 'He's still asleep.'

It was the sound of laughing that woke Paulo. He looked around at his friends. His innocent face seemed to be waiting to be told what the joke was and they howled all the more.

Paulo realized. 'Ah,' he said, dismounting from the bike. 'My turn for an unplanned nap?' He pulled the bike clear of the trees, gave it a quick check for damage and pushed it back to the track.

The others followed, pushing their bikes back up through the trees. Hex started to chuckle again and put his hand over his mouth to stop himself. Alex saw and it set him off.

Li wiped a tear from her eye and composed herself. 'Let's go,' she said and picked up her bike.

Amber heard them before she saw them. It was a kind of monotonous chanting. Her four friends were singing. She wasn't quite sure what they were singing, as no tune was discernible, but they were pedalling in time to it. Li's long black hair, braided into a neat plait, swung with the beat like a conductor's baton. Amber filmed them for a few minutes with the team camcorder as they turned the corner. They will be so appalled when they see themselves later, she thought with relish. But for now they were too tired to be embarrassed.

Alex got off his bike and left it where it dropped. He walked around slowly, trying to loosen up after the long hours in the saddle. 'I feel like I've been welded into the shape of a cyclist and I'll never come undone,' he groaned. John Middleton picked up the bike and wheeled it away while Alex walked slowly over to Amber, flexing his legs extravagantly.

She poured him a steaming cup of coffee from a flask. 'You look like a stork, walking like that,' she said.

Alex was watching Paulo, who laid his bike down carefully and sat stiffly on the ground.

'I don't know how Paulo can sit down,' said Alex. 'My backside's on fire.'

Amber searched his face for signs of fatigue. 'You look awake, anyway,' she said.

'With pain like this I certainly am,' replied Alex.

'Just keep walking around,' said John Middleton, coming back for Paulo's bike.

Amber hobbled over to Paulo and poured him coffee.
'Gracias,'
he said, and gave her a big smile. He looked remarkably relaxed and laid-back, thought Amber, but then he always managed to look like that. How did he do it?

Li and Hex had sat down to undo their shoes, one-handed, each nursing a coffee cup. They were moving very slowly, so tired that drinking coffee and untying trainers at the same time was almost too much to cope with.

Amber grabbed the medical kit and got to work. 'Show me your blisters,' she said briskly. She kneeled in front of Hex and inspected his bare feet. He already had a large, raw blister from running and now it looked worse. Amber tipped antiseptic onto a ball of cotton wool and dabbed it on. Hex jumped as though he'd had an electric shock.

Amber grinned sadistically. 'You still awake?'

Hex nodded sleepily. 'Yes, thanks.'

'So what have I missed?' said Amber.

'Er . . .' Hex tried to remember but it was too much trouble. 'I'll tell you later.'

While Amber inspected Li's blisters, John Middleton handed round hiking boots and abseiling helmets, and restocked their backpacks with snacks. Within minutes, Team Alpha Force were back on their feet and marching away.

'God, I feel like an ancient parent,' said Amber as she watched them leave.

* * *

'So how's everyone doing?' said Li.

'You've just asked us that!' exclaimed Hex.

'Sorry,' mumbled Li. The exhaustion had crept up on her and now she felt more tired than she could ever remember. She was barely even aware of putting one foot in front of the other.

Paulo came up behind her and took hold of the shoulder straps of her pack. 'Let me take this for a while and I'll do the monitoring now.'

Li gratefully unfastened the belt of her pack and let Paulo carry it - part of good teamwork was not just giving help, but knowing when to accept it. Then it was back to concentrating on one foot in front of the other.

Alex saw how tired she was. 'Hold onto my pack for a while,' he said. Li nodded and hooked her hand into a loop on the side of the rucksack. That felt a bit easier; like being towed. That was the challenge of these races, she told herself. You hit an absolute low, but if you kept fed and hydrated it would pass. In an hour she might feel fine.

They walked up a steep hill, passing another team, who were sitting in a row along the path having a furious argument about where to go next. But Team Alpha Force were sure of where the abseiling point was and carried on up.

The sun was beginning to set and the land dropped away on one side to give a spectacular view. Grasslands stretched as far as the eye could see. Oxbow lakes glittered in the golden sunlight. A river snaked through the parched land, and beyond it, the wildlife of Africa was laid out in a panorama. Vast herds of wildebeest, springbok, buffalo and zebra moved like ants across the plain. The four friends walked in awestruck silence.

Even Li emerged from her cocoon of half-sleep as they climbed. 'Wow,' she said quietly, letting Alex pull her along.

'This must be the abseil point,' said Hex. Lines of rope were attached to rings driven into a wall of rock and snaked over the edge. 'Who's going first?'

'I'll go last,' said Li. 'You guys get down.'

The next Li knew, voices were shouting her name. She came to with a start. She must have sat down and zoned out, although she didn't remember it. Now she understood how Paulo had dozed on the bike. She hadn't even realized she was falling asleep.

She went close to the edge and peered over. Hex, Paulo and Alex were standing at the bottom, waving; Alex was holding up the harness. They had already made their descent. Li nodded and picked up the rope at her end. As she hoisted up the harness she sized up the rock face. It was long and straight; no sharp projections or hazards, just a fabulous sense of sky and sandy rock. Li was feeling better already.

She pulled the harness over the edge and clambered in.

Down below, Paulo, Hex and Alex watched her fasten the harness and pull on the rope to test it.

'Now we'll see how it's meant to be done,' grinned Hex. Any moment her slight figure would skip lightly down the cliff.

'Bet we look like three baby elephants compared with Li,' agreed Alex.

But Li stayed up at the top, not moving.

Paulo grinned. 'Do you think she's fallen asleep? She's hit a tired patch.'

'That beats you for weird sleeping places,' said Hex. 'Li,' he called out, 'are you still with us?'

Li turned to look down at them.

'She looks awake,' said Alex.

Paulo frowned. 'Something's wrong,' he said to himself under his breath. He called out, 'Li, are you OK?'

They watched as she glanced down and gave a thumbs-up sign, then turned back to what she was doing. But still she did not move. The harness showed up bright purple against her slim-fitting black cycle shorts and T-shirt and they could see by the way it hung that she had not yet committed her weight to it. She stood looking intently at her hands holding onto the rope.

Paulo's spine tingled. Something was very wrong. 'I think she's frozen up there,' he said. He shook his head; had he really said that? Was he dreaming?

Hex and Alex both looked at him in astonishment.

'Never,' said Alex vehemently.

'Not Li,' added Hex. 'She'll be on her way in a minute.'

But she wasn't. She remained standing at the edge of the cliff, looking down at her two hands on the rope.

'She has definitely frozen,' said Paulo again.

'I'm feeling quite strong at the moment,' said Hex. 'I could go back and help her . . .' His voice trailed off as he saw the expressions on the faces of his two friends. 'Wouldn't go down well, would it?'

'Probably not,' said Alex. He stared up at Li, willing her to move.

Another team had arrived at the top. Suddenly, Li stepped backwards. The harness took her weight. It was the fastest abseil Alex had ever seen. Li hurried down the cliff face as though the hounds of hell were after her. What had happened to the poised, confident climber who had danced down cliff faces in Argentina all day long?

She landed at the base of the cliff and stepped out of the harness. The moment she let it go it was whisked back up to the top, brushing a hail of pebbles and sand down the rock face.

'Li, are you OK?' said Paulo. 'What happened up there?'

Li's face was grim. 'I'm tired, that's all. Next checkpoint is this way, isn't it?' She set off at a determined march.

Paulo, Alex and Hex glanced at each other. Li looked angry with herself. They had to jog to keep up with her.

Paulo tried to lighten the mood. 'What embarrassing things we do when we're tired, eh? It'll be Hex and Alex's turn next.'