Chapter 83 Trapped in a Blind Gorge
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Panic-stricken Kadin screams: "Run!"
She jumps up and just in time pulls Billy up. The first monster lands just behind Billy in the same shrub and another two lands on top of him.
Kadin runs as if her life depends on it with Billy hot on her heels on the very narrow footpath through dense bushes and shrubs. Pain shoots through her sore ankle but immense fear pumps her full of adrenaline and drives her forward relentlessly. The monsters are just behind Billy and she simply cannot slow him down.
The footpath mustn't end! Their safety gear prevents the branches from hitting them to injure them while they rush through the bushes. Her lungs burn like fire and her heart races madly in her chest. She hears the thumps of their boots and then suddenly there are a thunderous crack and showers of water rains on them.
The dense bushes open on her left side and the footpath is in the open with a muddy decline next to her. On the right side are dense bushes on the steep slope. They race down the stiff decline downwards. The rain makes the path muddy and slippery. Right in front of her a strong stream connects with the footpath and flows down it and further on goes over a fall. She slips in the mud and goes over the drop. She lands on her back in the muddy, slippery stream that drags her along down the steep slope. She realizes she is helplessly going to slide down and tries to grab on anything nearby to reduce her speed but in vain. She is gaining speed. Desperately she looks back. Billy is right behind her and she gets a horrible fright. The monsters are hot on his heels!
With her hand gloves and shoes, she tries desperately to steer herself through rocks, shrubs, and bushes because she now races uncontrollably down the slope. Suddenly Billy embraces her from behind, takes over, and steers them with his boots. They hear the noise of falling water in front just down below and they scream out of fear when they see the fall just in front of them and they know they can't escape going over the edge. Desperately they try to grab onto branches, roots, or shrubs to no avail. They shoot over the edge and fly through the air before they plunge down yelling.
Terrified they try to see what is below. Then they hit the water. It mercifully stops their fall before they go down to the muddy bottom where they desperately try to find their feet and straighten up coughing. Slowly water drips out of their helmets as they stand in hip-high water. Looking around desperately, they luckily see no monsters, but when they look up they see the monsters looking down on them. The monsters begin to look out for an alternative route to get to their prey. Billy and Kadin have a good look around. They are standing in a smallish pool under a waterfall with stiff inclines on both sides. The stream runs further downward and vanishes in a bushy gorge.
Billy now has the chance to say something and he screams over the loud noise of the waterfall. "Kadin, do you remember the dream? We must go down the stream. I bet we are going to reach the blind gorge. I now realize what message Vipracitti wanted to give us. I think he wanted to show us the pool that would save us. Come, it looks as if the cannibals are looking for a way to follow us. We must get a head start to that blind gorge. We will have to swim through there before they trap us here. Look, the inclines are very steep. We won't get away from here easily. There's a good chance they would trap us here. Come!"
Kadin coughs and splutters while he speaks and only nods distinctly. Together they struggle through the water up to the bank which overflows with a stream between white and brown rocks and Kadin recognizes it.
"I think you are right, Billy. Look, these rocks resemble those in our dreams. I think we are only higher up in this valley. If we follow the stream, we will probably reach the right place."
Billy gestures above on the left-hand side. "Look, it seems as if there is a footpath on this side of the gorge all along the stream. We must go up there. How's your ankle?"
Now that Billy mentions it, she becomes aware of the pain and the cold water makes it even worse. "It is quite sore, but he brought me thus far. I will endure. I have no choice, have I?"
"Shouldn't I carry you?"
"No, we will have to get away as quickly as possible. They are on their way. They might just block our way further on. If we are quick enough, maybe we can leave them behind. If I could run away from them with this ankle, I can go further with him. If you carry me, it will slow us down."
They climb through between the bushes and shrubs and eventually reach the foot oath. "You lead, my girl, I don't want to leave you behind accidentally."
They jog down the footpath. At some places, they don't see the stream. It is still raining dogs and cats and they are feeling cold and wet because the pool's water went in under their protective gear but they feverishly rush forward afraid that the monsters might cut them off if they slack down. The footpath suddenly ends in the stream and the incline is now very stiff on their left-hand side. Kadin is worried because if the monsters are able to somehow cross the stream, they will be trapped. The stream, luckily, is deep and flows strongly in the middle and they keep to the left as far as possible as quickly as the rough terrain allows them.
Suddenly a hard crack follows. Kadin's helmet hits her head hard before something ricochets away so that she nearly lost her balance. She only sees a big round stone, like those that lie around the stream, vanish in the bushes.
Billy yells when another two stones nearly hit them and also vanish into the bushes. "They are on the other side of the stream and are throwing us with stones. Run!"
Kadin doesn't even try to look. Desperately they start to jog as fast as they can over the slippery, rocky terrain until the projectiles behind them subside.
"We must get away as far as possible. They are just on the other side. It is only the stream safeguarding us."
Billy peeps. Where are the monsters? "Kadin, I think they are afraid of deep water. They don't even try to go into the stream. They only follow on the opposite side and their throwing caused them to be left behind."
"Billy, what about the heavy gear? We won't be able to swim with it when we reach the blind gorge."
"We shall have to run into the water and pull it off when we are deep enough."
"I just hope you are right that they are really scared of deep water and don't follow us."
"We can only hope, my love, we can only hope! That is our only chance."
"Billy, I recognize this place. It is beginning to look familiar. We are near!"
A silence follows before Billy replies: "Yes, me too. We are not far away from the blind gorge. Run! We must now be quick! It is shallow ahead. We must build up quite a lead."
They jog all along the stream and suddenly there are no bushes and they run onto a flat piece with shallow streamlets and in front of them, they see the magnificent, blind gorge just like in their dreams.
Billy looks around and sees the three monsters coming for them. "Kadin, run! They are right behind us."
They run into the beautiful pool. It is surrounded by vertical cliffs on both sides. It lies at the feet of the cliffs just like in their dreams and they go in deeper to chest height while they pull open the zips of their gear and pull it from their bodies. Luckily, all have been fastened with zips, even their boots, so it is easy to open it and let it drop to the bottom. They look around to see what has become of the monsters.
Billy had been correct. The monsters stopped before the pool and saunter around wretched but they don't care to go into the water.
Relieved Kadin yells: "You were right, Billy! They are afraid of deep water!"
The monsters now are looking around for loose stones and find some.
Billy warns: "We will have to start swimming as soon as possible. They are going to throw us with big stones. There is still danger."
Kadin pulls off her helmet and lets it sinks. "I can't swim with this thing." Suddenly the water splashes in her face as a stone hits the water near her head and her heart jumps into her throat.
Billy's helmet is off also and he yells: "Quick! Dive and swim dolphin style deep underwater as I taught you in Port Elizabeth."
They disappear underwater and swim as quickly as possible away from the stones that now hit the water regularly around them. They only break the surface to inhale fresh air before they vanish and eventually they succeed in swimming away from the dangerous projectiles and they surface. They look to where the monsters have now stopped throwing and disappointedly stand and stare at them.
You can't see beyond the turn ahead, but in their dreams, this pool led to another gorge between cliffs. They now swim freestyle further on and eventually pull themselves up on the bank and sit down on a big boulder. While they were crossing the pool, the rain has stopped and the sun now shines warmly on their bare wet, half-naked bodies and caresses them as if it is a sign of mercy which they are granted. They become aware of each other's warm presence while their wet bodies touch and silently they are thankful for the privilege to be alive.
They look into each other's eyes. Tenderly Billy wipes Kadin's lovely, brown hair aside and their lips melt away in a warm kiss. The tension of the previous ordeal gives way for the wild passion that they had to suppress every day. It erupted uncontrollably and they throw everything overboard. Each moment of life is precious and in this cruel world, they don't want to withhold anything from each other.
Lost in the blind gorge they forget everything and anyone and for this precious moment, they surrender to each other's passion.
