Ralph and Luke looked at each other, then both erupted into whoops and cheers. Xai ducked back out and they jogged after him.

  ‘Right on time!’ Luke shouted, clapping his hands. ‘You’ll like my dad, Ralphie! He’s a great guy.’

  But when they joined Xai outside, one glance at his face told them that something was wrong.

  ‘That’s not your dad, it’s the military,’ Xai told them. ‘Zuma’s found us first!’

  11

  Ralph stared up at the azure sky as the dark smudge of the helicopter resolved into a camo‑green portent of hell. The afternoon sun’s golden rays danced off its metallic surface; it was an Oryx, designed for the rapid deployment of a task force to a battle‑space. Ralph knew it could hold up to twenty fully equipped troops, and its twin door‑mounted machine guns could fire at a target from up to eight hundred metres away with deadly accuracy.

  ‘Take cover, boys,’ Xai snapped. The large courtyard offered few hiding places, so they ducked back under the porch outside the office building.

  ‘How could Zuma know we’re here?’ Ralph said. ‘We hid the pickup.’

  ‘Could be here on the off‑chance – this is an obvious place for us to stop for supplies,’ said Xai. ‘Then again, we could’ve tripped a silent alarm.’

  ‘I bet they noticed the comms sat was reset,’ Ralph said. ‘Their blackout over this area has gone.’

  ‘Who cares how they know? Maybe they’re psychic!’ Luke hissed. ‘But my dad is on his way. They wouldn’t do anything to civilians, right?’

  Xai looked grave. ‘Out here, with no witnesses, who’s to say what they’ll do?’

  ‘So what do we do?’ said Ralph. ‘Hide out somewhere and hope they don’t find us?’

  ‘They’ll find Gerhard,’ Xai pointed out. ‘And one check of the CCTV will show him that we never left.’

  The helicopter was getting closer, circling overhead – looking, perhaps, for evidence of trespassers. Or for a landing site.

  Xai held up his AK‑47. ‘You know, your father and I once took down a copter with one of these.’

  ‘You can’t attack an entire unit single‑handed. Maybe in the jungle, where you’ve got cover, but out in the open? You wouldn’t stand a chance!’ Ralph protested. ‘If I get one too –’

  ‘You are not engaging the enemy in a firefight,’ Xai said flatly. ‘You’re fifteen years old.’

  ‘And he won’t live to see sixteen if we don’t do something,’ Luke said.

  ‘Wait!’ Ralph pointed to two burnt‑orange shapes creeping stealthily into sight from behind a storehouse. ‘Great, that’s all we need. Those sabretooths followed us into the compound.’

  ‘We should get inside and jam the doors,’ Luke said. ‘Try to find a back way out.’

  ‘We don’t yet know where the copter will put down,’ Xai reminded him. ‘When we know that, we can act.’

  Peering out from the porch, Ralph watched as the Oryx began to descend, sweeping down towards the courtyard. The big cats looked up and roared as the air rippled with rotor wash. They’re going to land right here, Ralph thought. What the hell are we going to do?

  As the copter made ready to land, two soldiers leaned out from inside, one on either side, beneath the positioning lights. Ralph’s stomach twisted as they opened fire on the sabretooths, cutting down the magnificent beasts in a storm of bullets even as they tried to run. He wanted to shout ‘no!’

  But Xai knew other ways to shout.

  He charged out and opened fire on the troops who were leaning out of the copter. Two swift deadly bursts of gunfire, and the men jerked backwards then fell. One landed with a thud on the paving, the other on top of a sabretooth’s corpse. Immediately, the copter rose sharply as the pilot took evasive action. But Xai was already running, faster than Ralph would’ve believed possible, bellowing out his adrenaline as he blazed away directly at the cockpit. In a heartbeat the glass was riddled with bullet holes, and in two more it had exploded into fragments. The pilot slumped over the control stick and the helicopter dipped dangerously and swerved in a drunken circle, the prop wash knocking Xai to one knee.

  Shielding his eyes, the roaring wind tugging at his hair and clothes, Ralph stared as the carnage unfolded. Take cover, Xai! Ralph willed his old friend.

  But Xai raised his assault rifle and took careful aim at the tail rotor as it swung towards him. Red sparks scattered over camo‑green and thick black smoke huffed out to dance in the wild wind. The helicopter tipped backwards, metres above the ground.

  ‘Xai’s done it!’ whooped Luke. ‘That copter’s finished!’

  More gunfire. A bellow of pain.

  Xai.

  Hunched over, Ralph half‑ran, half‑staggered out into the storm of smoke and noise. He took in the scene between blinks, a frenzy of freeze‑frames. A soldier had jumped from the helicopter. Her short‑cropped hair framed a face that could’ve been chiselled from ebony; it bore both the scars of battle and the grim bravery of a seasoned warrior. She held a Vektor R4.

  Captain Zuma, Ralph thought numbly. Got to be.

  Two more soldiers jumped down from the helicopter as it continued to spin, landing awkwardly. One yelled in pain as his leg buckled beneath him; the other hit the ground and rolled over and over.

  They’re easy targets. Fire back, Xai, quick, before –

  But Xai, still on one knee, was falling backwards. He reached out an arm behind him to support himself, strained to hold the AK‑47 in his free arm.

  The woman fired again. A short, ruthless rattle.

  As if yanked on an invisible wire, Xai fell to the ground. The rifle fell from his grip.

  Ralph opened his mouth to scream, but the sound was taken by the whining roar of the stricken helicopter. Thick diesel smoke blew around him, blinding him. He heard footsteps pounding, but couldn’t work out if they were growing closer or heading away. He lay flat, rubbing his eyes, trying to clear the grit and tears, willing his sight back into focus, though he was terrified of what he’d see.

  The smoke cleared a little in a billowing rush. Ralph saw the helicopter go barrelling across the courtyard towards one of the lab buildings. The tail rotor punched through the brickwork. More soldiers threw themselves from the copter onto the roof – rolling, falling, trying to scramble clear, their bodies lost from sight as shrieking rotors tore through roof tiles, twisting and buckling. Shards of ceramic and carbon fibre sliced through the air, and for the next few moments Ralph’s world was nothing but noise and horror and whirling shrapnel. Just as he thought that he could stand no more, the helicopter exploded in a colossal fiery blast, its death throes seared into his vision.

  Then the wind dropped. Fierce flames licked up from inside the building. Smoke shrouded the crash site, but couldn’t mask the screams of the injured. Zuma was running towards the disaster zone to help her troops, shouting commands at the two men who accompanied her.

  Suddenly rough hands clamped down on Ralph’s shoulders. He yelled in surprise, struggled and kicked.

  ‘Whoa, bruh, it’s just me!’ Luke hissed. ‘You OK?’

  Ralph shook his head, dumbly, his eyes drawn to the dark puddle of blood seeping out from Xai’s body. Shaking off Luke, he crawled over to Xai, trembling all over.

  ‘Xai?’ Ralph whispered. Hope flared inside him as Xai’s eyes snapped open. He’s only wounded!

  ‘Ralph.’ Xai tried to raise his head, and a dribble of blood escaped his lips. ‘You and Luke, you’re all right?’

  ‘Yeah, but what about you?’ Ralph tried to keep the shake from his voice. ‘You’re injured, tell me how I can make it –’

  ‘Go,’ Xai said. ‘Ralph, it’s down to you – you and Robyn. Get the evidence.’ He coughed, and blood flooded over his chin. ‘Get your father out of this for me . . . my little rogue.’ His head fell back, and his eyes flickered shut.

  ‘No . . .’ Ralph stared down at Xai’s face. Those familiar features that he’d seen etched with worry these last weeks had finally settled in peace.

  Little rogue. Dad’s nickname for Xai, the one that meant so much. He’s passed it on to me, like a mantle.

  A mantle that had to be earned.

  ‘Ralph,’ Luke said, crouching beside him. ‘Is he . . . ?’

  ‘Zuma killed him.’ Ralph stood up, anger and grief trapped inside, heating in his blood like the smoke and fumes all around them. He couldn’t stop staring down at Xai, couldn’t find a way to express his grief. But he knew that would have to wait. You’re an adventurist, he told himself, trying to marshal his thoughts. ‘We . . . we’ve got to get that CCTV evidence.’

  ‘Ralph!’ Luke grabbed his arm.

  Ralph shrugged him off. ‘Zuma’s gone to help her squad, but they’re pros. They’ll come for us soon enough. And without that evidence –’

  ‘Ralph, look. There!’ Luke pointed up at the sky. ‘Another copter?’

  Ralph finally tore his gaze away from Xai’s face, looked up. ‘Yeah. Smaller copter. White, not camo.’

  ‘So!’ Luke put both hands on Ralph’s shoulders. ‘Got to be my dad, right?’

  ‘Must be,’ said Ralph. Xai can’t have given his life for nothing, he thought. No way. He turned his back on the chaos and the bodies, but smoke still billowed all around. ‘The crash site will draw the pilot in. We’ve got to get that footage –’

  ‘Not now, bruh! We’ve got to make sure Dad sees us, find somewhere he can land.’

  ‘But –’

  ‘Move, Ralph. Come on!’

  Reluctantly, his brain feeling as clouded as his vision, Ralph let Luke lead him away from the bloody scene – slowly, almost stumbling at first, but soon racing faster and faster, revulsion and nausea pushing him on.

  ‘Remember when we were first brought here, with Robyn?’ Luke shouted. ‘That concrete building. There was a big lawn outside it. Perfect landing site, right?’

  Ralph nodded, and as he and Luke rounded the main admin block, he recognised the low, functional building.

  ‘That’s it!’ Luke cried, racing towards it.

  Ralph heard shouts and yelling from the area of the downed helicopter – and a guttural, ferocious roar. With a sudden spark of horror, he realised the soldiers’ copter must have crashed into the warehouse where the predasaurs were kept.

  ‘Look! Dad has seen us!’ Luke shouted, windmilling his arms.

  The helicopter dropped lower through the trailing smoke, its taxi and landing lights pulsed alternately as it circled tightly overhead. The air turned fierce again with the whirring rotors, stinging Ralph’s eyes. Blinking hard, Ralph saw the pilot gesturing with one hand towards the far side of the examination building, then pointing downward. The helicopter turned and hovered away from them at low altitude.

  As if filling in for the small drop in volume, the sound of gunfire rattled from the other side of the admin block. Luke seemed rooted to the spot. ‘They’re shooting at us!’

  ‘Not at us,’ Ralph muttered, glancing back over his shoulder.

  The shaggy form of a cave hyena emerged from the apocalyptic fog; in all the chaos, it must have broken loose from its cage. Even from eighty metres away, Ralph could see the bloody drool stringing from its mouth.

  If Luke sees that thing, he’ll freak, Ralph realised. Still numb, he all but shoved Luke forward. ‘Keep running,’ he snapped. ‘Don’t look behind you, just keep running for that helicopter!’

  The cave hyena howled, and two of its brothers stalked from the roiling fog. A moment later, both jerked and jumped under a further burst of gunfire. The two new monsters fell to the grass, but the first took off on powerful hind legs. Fleeing the soldiers?

  No. Running down its prey. Them.

  That’s it, Ralph thought. There’s no time to get the footage, no chance to go back and get Gerhard, no way to take Xai’s body with us. He felt a surge of anger, which drove him on despite the stitch in his side, the cramp squeezing at his calves. His feet left the tarmacked path, pounding dust from the grass as he sprinted past the examination building.

  There it was! The Bell 407 waited on the lawn, gleaming in the sunlight, its rotors spinning lazily, as if mocking the frantic chaos so close by. The cabin door opened and Mr van Rok jumped down, his face ashen, holding his arms out to his son. Luke ran to him like a flanker taking on the ball carrier, almost knocking him down. They clung to each other.

  The cave hyena rounded the corner of the building, its eyes red and wild, snorting and grunting, its muscles rippling under its coarse reddish‑brown fur. Then another rattle of gunfire, louder this time, took its legs out from under it. It screeched in rage.

  ‘Go!’ Ralph bellowed.

  Mr van Rok was already bundling Luke into the cabin. The rotors spun faster as the engine whined. With one final effort, Ralph dived into the cabin. He closed his eyes, shaking and panting, the cool leather of the seat a balm against his flushed cheek.

  The Bell’s powerful engine roared, drowning out the sounds of the pursuing soldiers as the copter lifted. Ralph looked out. The world beneath blurred as the chopper ascended. He could see Zuma standing astride the corpse of the third cave hyena, staring up at the copter implacably; four men were behind her, guns raised but not firing. He clung to his seat, his knuckles white as he watched the squad grow smaller and smaller beneath them as the copter swung from the jaws of danger to the boundless freedom of the African sky.

  Luke turned to him, tears of relief streaming down his face. He locked his arms around Ralph. ‘We made it,’ he hissed.

  ‘You and I did.’ It was all Ralph could say. He leaned against Luke. But apart from that physical contact, he felt nothing. Nothing at all.

  12

  The Casspir rolled slowly forward through the thick brush. Robyn was glad the route to the jeep was passable, but wished they could stay in the armoured personnel carrier all the way to the Lodge itself, for the protection it offered. Roland had observed no further signs of the mystery predasaurs, but that didn’t mean they weren’t closing in with every passing moment.

  ‘I hate to say this,’ Grant said, ‘but we’re towing a caged rhino. To whatever’s out there, that’s got to be a giant fresh food hamper. He’ll bring them running like kids after a Happy Meal.’

  ‘What do you want us to do?’ said Robyn. ‘Ditch the trailer and leave him to die?’

  Roland sighed loudly. ‘If there have been predasaurs here at the Lodge all along,’ he muttered, ‘there was no need to bring the rhino at all.’

  ‘You’d rather hunt and catch whatever’s done this?’ Robyn gestured angrily at the bloody carnage. ‘We’ve just established they hunt in a pack.’

  Grant put his hand on her arm. His smile was an apology, his eyes dark and soulful. ‘I’m sorry, you’re right. Guess I’m just not looking forward to changing a trailer in the open.’

  ‘At least we’re armed,’ said Roland at last, tapping the butt of his rifle that lay beside his seat. ‘Grant, can you divvy up the firepower?’

  ‘On it.’ Grant went to the locker, checked and loaded a rifle, then passed it to Niko. She took it with a look of foreboding. Grant passed another rifle to Robyn and took one for himself.

  ‘Robyn, Grant, take a pistol too,’ Roland said. ‘For protection at close range. I don’t want anything catching us unawares.’ He started forward again. They drove along, shifting from side to side as the huge wheels rumbled over the uneven terrain. No one spoke. The rifle felt cold and heavy in Robyn’s grip.

  Suddenly she recognised a thicket, where the spiky lilac blooms of sprawling ribbon bush entwined with the tangled branches of bush violet. ‘I remember that! The bush violet was just beginning to flower . . .’

  ‘Yes,’ said Roland. ‘This is it.’

  Robyn saw a dusty vehicle parked neatly under the sheltering branches of a marula grove. ‘There it is, just where we left it,’ she said, her heart pounding. ‘If you stop here where there’s some space, I’ll drive the jeep up beside the Casspir. Then we don’t have to move the trailer as far.’

  ‘Good thinking,’ Roland agreed. ‘I’ll go with you. We’ll be quick. And careful.’

  ‘I’ll cover you,’ Grant promised, sliding back the tough glass window beside him so he had freedom to fire.

  Robyn scanned the bushveld but couldn’t see any movement. Her dad caught her eye, nodded encouragingly, then quietly scrambled out of the Casspir, landing on the ground with the rifle already in his hands.

  Robyn checked the pistol, pushed it into her waistband then got out as well, holding her rifle. Following her dad, she was halfway to the jeep when she felt a wave of fear shiver up her spine. It took her a moment to work out what had caused it, but then she saw Roland’s warning hand gesture and realised he’d seen it too – or rather, heard it.

  Silence.

  An unnatural quiet had settled over the clearing. Even the cicadas sounded far away here. Robyn clutched the rifle tighter in sweaty hands. Watching. Hardly breathing.

  ‘Nothing here,’ Roland whispered. He gestured her forward. Robyn moved quickly to the driver’s side of the jeep. She’d expected to feel a little calmer once she was inside, under cover, her dad beside her. But after riding in the Casspir for so long, here with the wider windscreen and windows she felt horribly exposed: an animal locked into a cage of glass and flimsy metal.

  ‘Let’s move,’ Roland said quietly.

  The key was still in the ignition, and Robyn turned it. The engine fired first time, and she reversed the jeep through the clearing, parking parallel to the Casspir.

  Roland scrambled out, rifle at the ready, scanning all around. ‘Niko, keep watch. Grant, Robyn, with me – we need to move the trailer across quickly.’

  Niko slid out of the vehicle and took up a defensive position between the Casspir and the bonnet of the jeep, while Robyn and Grant worked with Roland to transfer the trailer. Grant slid the hydraulic dolly under the trailer coupler and nudged it loose from the Casspir. The trailer was well balanced, but it still took the three of them pushing and pulling hard to shift it across to the jeep, even with the dolly. Tanky made their job harder, stamping his foot against the floor of the trailer and trying to push his head through the bars, his red eyes narrowed.