Slave Of Destiny (10 page)

The four of them
fought through the thick mangroves, following the stream as it meandered to the
north-east and around the side of the first mountain. They startled the
occasional group of wild goats and several varieties of birds scattered out of
their way, but the peaceful sounds of the forest echoed around them as they
continued their trek. They were caught in a sudden downpour and took shelter
under an overhanging rock. The rain splashed all around them and they kept
reasonably dry until it began to bucket down.

“Is it ever going
to stop?” Connie complained.

“Storms come and go
fairly quickly, so I daresay it will stop soon”
Vijendra admitted as they stood there looking forlorn.

Monkeys screeched all around them as they fought for the best
and tastiest fruit and blossom.

Ten minutes later the rain stopped, just as quickly as it
started.

“We’ll keep moving” he urged.

The terrain was becoming more and more rugged, but the group
followed the map and eased towards the north, around the side of the mountain.

`“How far is it to the ‘X’ on the map?” Michael asked.

“The total distance appears to be about 22 miles and we’ve
only travelled about four of them. I explained to George, before I left, that
we’ll probably be away for 2 days or possibly 3” he admitted. “So we need to
keep moving.”

They rounded the mountain, trekked down the gradual slope on
the other side and came across a mud flat.

“We’ll have to go around” our leader announced.

The four of them trudged around the edge of the swampy mud
and found a dry stream on the other side, leading up a gently sloped valley.

“There’s several villages marked on the map, so we’ll try and
avoid them” he said.

The four of them crested the rise and gazed down on the
valley below. The entire floor and some of the sides were under cultivation and
the crops looked like they were rice and other grains; too large an area for
them to walk around.

“We’ll have to go along the edge of the paddy fields” he
said, pointing out the best direction. “That looks like a path through them.”

According to the compass, they were heading in the general direction
of 150 degrees and the early afternoon sun was hot and the weather, humid.
There were a few local people attending to their crops, but they didn’t pay the
four of them any heed as they walked by. Everyone could see the volcano in the
distance and Michael hoped the team would make it there by nightfall.

* * *

“This
appears to be an extinct volcano and we should be able to see a crater when we
reach the summit. It’s marked down as Kelimutu volcano and it is capped by
three crater lakes. We’ll be approaching the middle lake from the west”
Vijendra mentioned as they wearily trudged behind him.

The
Three
crater lakes were located on the eastern summit of Keli Mutu and each of the
lakes had a distinctive physical structure.

“If my memory
serves me well, Tiwu Ata Polo is called the ‘enchanted lake’, lies on the
southeastern side of the volcanic peak. Tiwu Nua Muri Koohi Fah is called the
‘lake of young men and maidens’ and it is adjacent to first lake and is the
deepest lake.
Tiwu Ata Mbupu is the ‘lake of elders’
and it is the western-most lake. It is structurally different from the other
two in that the pit crater it is in is itself located in the center of a larger
crater” Michael mentioned to their surprise. “I think it’s still active.”

“It’s
written here and translated as,
‘the treasure is located in the centre lake’
,
and so we’ll check that one out first” added
Vijendra
looking at Michael warily, wondering how he knew all this.

As the group neared the summit the forest petered out and
volcanic rock and rubble replaced it. The climb became more difficult now,
because they appeared to be on the edge of a previous lava flow. There were
some small trees and shrubs scattered around the rim of the centre green-blue
lake, but inside the crater was barren; completely different to the western
crater-lake.

“Quickly, we need to hide somewhere” Vijendra suggested,
scanning the area. “Over there behind those bushes.”

All of them could hear the voices now and Michael was glad Vijendra
had sharp hearing. There were eight men climbing out of the rim of the centre
lake, but Michael only recognized one of them. The group moved away to the
east, following the ridge between middle and western lakes, to the other side.

“I recognized one of them and he’s called Snake” Michael
whispered to his leader. “This has to be the crew we’re looking for.”

“We have to wait until they go over the rim and down the
side, because they’ll see us if we move now” he said.

“There are only four of us and at least eight or more of
them. Are we going to be able to overpower them?” Michael asked.

“It depends on the circumstances, my boy” he mentioned, not
sounding too convincing.

 Vijendra and his followers watched the pirates walk over to
the other side and around the eastern lake, before disappearing over the edge
and down the outer side of the volcano to the north. The western side of the
volcano was rugged and bushy, so Vijendra took the lead and followed the path
to the east while Dayang fell to the rear, sandwiching Constance and Michael
between them. The breeze up here on the exposed rim was strong, as if it was
trying to push the group into its murky depths, but they pushed on. The sun was
setting on their backs and they knew they had to get off this volcano and find
some shelter; they could easily break a leg or fall and die amongst the loose
rubble and volcanic rock in the dark. Two birds appeared in the distance, well
up in the northern sky.

“That’s a bad omen” Dayang mentioned, pointing to the sky.
“Someone has died.”

Michael felt a chill passing down his spine, but he didn’t
say anything. The birds were flying in large slow circles; their large
outstretched wing riding the air currents. Every muscle he owned hurt like hell
from the exertion, but Michael concentrated his efforts on simply keeping up.

By sundown Michael was exhausted, hampered by the heavy
cutlass hanging by his side, but the four of them had managed to clamber down
to the bottom, safely. There had been talk of stopping when it became dark, but
there wasn’t any shelter so they decided to keep going for a while.  Vijendra made
camp an hour later under a large tree and off the beaten track, bone-weary and hungry.
He didn’t want to risk a fire, so they just ate cold dried meat, cheese and
bread, washed down with water.

“We may have a chance to overpower the kidnappers, if the
original eight crew return to the crater tomorrow. If Sally is still alive,
there may only be one or two left behind to guard her” Vijendra mentioned.

“That’s if we can find her” Michael argued. “Where do you
think they’re heading?”

“Have some faith Michael, because I think we’ll find her, one
way or another” he said grimly. “There’s a village in that direction and it’s
marked down here as ‘Wologai’. The crew might be staying in one of the huts,
but we’ll find out tomorrow. It’s time to get some rest, because we’ll leave at
first light.”

The sunrise the next morning was an amazing sight. The sky in
the east was filled with gold, orange, silver and several shades of grey, but
Michael could only catch glimpses of it through the gaps in the leafy canopy.
The wind had picked up during the night and it now whistled and whooshed
through the treetops.

“What happens if we run into the same men on their way back
to the crater?” he asked his captain as they trekked through the lush green
vegetation.

“We’ll probably have some warning from the birds and the
animals” he mentioned, not sounding convincing at all.

Heliconias, bronelaids, large woody vines and ferns were
everywhere in this part of the forest, but abruptly the team arrived at a
plantation.

“Coffee plants!” Michael exclaimed happily. “We must be
getting close to civilization.”

“Quickly, we need to hide again, someone’s coming” urged
Vijendra, hearing someone coming above the wind noise.

The four of them quietly slipped into the dense jungle,
hoping they wouldn’t be seen from the path.

“We’re not going to find this treasure and I think we should
make this the last day we search for it” grumbled the short, bald man in the
middle of the pack.

“Yea, that’s what I’m thinkin’ too!” another one added.

“Me too, ‘cause we’ve been ere for more than a dozen days” added
someone else as he passed them.

“Hold it right here. Stop your whining. Ok we’ll make this
the last day for searching for the fabled ‘lost treasure’, but we still have
that bitch to trade, to the Maharaja, for her life” mentioned the first tall
bald man, turning to address his followers. “Let’s get on up there and search
the last quarter of the crater.”

The eight men trudged wearily up the mountain path, hoping to
have some results by the days’ end.

“Did you hear that, Sally’s still alive” Michael whispered to
the others.

“That may be so, but we still have to find her” suggested
Connie sadly.

“I think their base camp is close by and we need to tread
warily now” added their captain.

“Snake wasn’t with them this morning” Michael mentioned. “If
we can find him we can find Sally.”

“Ok, we’ll keep going for now” Vijendra announced to them.

They began to walk along the trail and into the coffee
plantation. The bushes were about seven feet tall and clouds of yellow
butterflies were feeding on the flower’s rich nectar. Flocks of hummingbirds
zipped in and out of the crop, joining in on the feast.

“There’s a second path joining the main one and I think we
should follow that one first” Vijendra suggested, not expecting an answer.

The four of them had walked about half a mile and were still
within the boundaries of the plantation, when Vijendra stopped.

“There’s a hut over there. Dayang and I will take a look
first, before we come back for you two. Hide off the main trail in case someone
comes” he ordered. “Describe the man called Snake to me.”

“He’s about 5’6’’ tall, black shoulder length hair, a black
goatee beard and he has a tattoo of a snake down his left arm” Michael reported
to him.

He and Connie watched the two experienced fighting men move
off the trail, crouch down and silently edge towards the hut. The two of them
moved off the main trail for about thirty feet and sat down in the dirt to
wait. They could still see the main trail and anyone walking along it, but they
probably wouldn’t see them or even expect to see someone here.

The land was cleared for about twenty feet around the hut and
there was no was way the Vijendra and Dayang could approach from the front without
being seen.

“There aren’t any windows on that side of the hut, so I can
approach it from that side and get underneath. I need to know if it’s the right
hut or if Snake’s around” Vijendra said. Stay here, Dayang and I’ll wave to you
if I need you to make a diversion, like throwing a rock or something.”

He made his way to the left and skirted the hut until he was
level with the blank wall.  Vijendra knew he had the element of surprise and
the men in the hut would be relaxed about security, because they wouldn’t be
expecting any trouble. He rushed over to the wall and snuck underneath it.

“I’m sick of hanging around here Snake” said a man angrily.

“Yea, me too! I didn’t want to go looking for this myth
anyway” he hissed. “What was that?”

A rock had been thrown onto the veranda and in through the
open door.

“Go out and see who threw that, Abdul. Chase them off if
they’re kids” he said.

Abdul walked out the door and onto the veranda, scanning for
the rock-throwing culprits; his hand ready to draw his cutlass. Without
warning, a knife sailed through the air and embedded deeply into his chest,
finding his heart. He tumbled over the railing, eyes wide open with shock.

“Who’s there?” Snake shouted, fully alert now.

There wasn’t any answer, so he cautiously peered through the
doorway.

“Who’s there?” he yelled again, as another rock sailed
through the air, hitting the wall with a loud thud.

Snake was hesitant about going out the door because he didn’t
want to end up like Abdul, but he thought he heard the creak of the steps so
Snake rushed out with his cutlass drawn.

“Who are you?” he asked the person standing there.

“I’m Vijendra, The White Ghost. Have you heard about me,
Snake?” he asked.

“Yea, I’ve heard of you, but what are you doing here?” he
asked warily.

“I’ve come here to kill you and take Sally back with us” he
said calmly.