“What about swimming across that channel?” Jack said. “It’s only about thirty or forty feet wide and there’s no current to speak of.”
“I’m not a good swimmer,” Warren said nervously. “I told you that.”
“This whole area is also infested with crocodiles,” Kevin said.
“Oh, God!” Laurie said. “Now he tells us.”
“But, listen! We don’t have to swim,” Kevin said. “At least, I don’t think so. The boat that Melanie, Candace, and I used to get here is most likely where we left it, and it’s big enough for all of us.”
“Fantastic!” Jack said. “Where is it?”
“I’m afraid it’s going to require a little hike,” Kevin said. “It’s a little more than a mile, but at least there’s a freshly cleared trail.”
“Sounds like a walk in the park,” Jack said.
“What time is it?” Kevin asked.
“Three-twenty,” Warren said.
“Then we only have approximately an hour and a half before daylight,” Kevin said. “We’d better start now.”
What Jack had facetiously labeled a walk in the park turned out to be one of the most harrowing experiences that any of them had ever had. Unwilling to use the flashlights for the first two to three hundred yards, they had proceeded by a process that could only be termed the blind leading the blind. The interior of the jungle had been entirely devoid of light. It was so utterly dark it had been difficult for anyone to even know whether their eyes were open or not.
Kevin had gone first to feel his way along the ground, making frequent wrong choices that required backtracking to find the trail. Knowing what kind of creatures inhabited the forest, Kevin held his breath each time he extended his hand or his foot into the blackness.
Behind Kevin, the others had aligned themselves in snakelike single file, each holding on to the unseen figure ahead. Jack had tried to make light of the situation, but after a time even his usually resourceful flippancy failed him. From then on, they were all victims of their own fears as the nocturnal creatures chattered, chirped, bellowed, twittered, and occasionally screamed around them.
When they finally deemed it safe to use the flashlights, they made better progress. At the same time, they shuddered when they saw the number of snakes and insects that they encountered, knowing that prior to the use of the flashlights they had been passing these same creatures unawares.
By the time they reached the marshy fields around Lago Hippo, the eastern horizon was faintly beginning to lighten. Leaving the darkness of the forest, they mistakenly believed the worst was behind them. But it wasn’t the case. The hippopotami were all out of the water grazing. The animals looked enormous in the predawn twilight.
“They may not look it but they are very dangerous,” Kevin warned. “More humans are killed by them than you’d think.”
The group took a circuitous route to give the hippopotami wide berth. But as they neared the reeds where they hoped the small canoe was still hidden, they had to pass close by two particularly large hippos. The animals seemed to regard them sleepily until without warning they charged.
Luckily, they charged for the lake with a huge amount of commotion and crashing noise. Each multi-ton animal created a new wide trail through the reeds to the water. For a moment, everyone’s heart fluttered in his chest.
It took a few minutes for everyone to recover before pushing on. The sky was now progressively brightening, and they knew they had no time to lose. The short hike had taken much more time than they had anticipated.
“Thank God it’s still here,” Kevin said when he separated the reeds and found the small canoe. Even the Styrofoam food chest was still in place.
But reaching the canoe posed another problem. It was quickly decided the boat was too small and too dangerous to carry seven people. After a difficult discussion, it was decided that Jack and Warren would stay in the reeds to wait for Kevin to bring the small canoe back.
Waiting was hell. Not only did the sky continue to get lighter and lighter, presaging imminent dawn and the possible appearance of the soldiers, but there was always the worry that the motorized canoe had disappeared. Jack and Warren nervously alternated between looking at each other and their watches, while fighting off clouds of insatiable insects. And on top of everything else, their exhaustion was total.
Just when they were thinking that something terrible had happened to the others, Kevin appeared at the edge of the reeds like a mirage and silently paddled in.
Warren scrambled into the canoe followed by Jack.
“The power boat’s okay?” Jack asked anxiously.
“At least it was there,” Kevin said. “I didn’t try to start the engine.”
They backed out of the reeds and started for the Rio Diviso. Unfortunately, there were lots of hippos and even a few crocodiles forcing them to paddle twice the usual distance just to keep clear.
Before they slipped into the foliage hiding the mouth of the jungle-lined river they caught a glimpse of some soldiers entering the clearing in the distance.
“Do you think they saw us?” Jack asked from his position in the bow.
“There’s no way to know,” Kevin said.
“We’re getting out of here by the skin of our teeth,” Jack said.
The waiting was as hard on the women as it had been on Jack and Warren. When the small canoe pulled alongside, there were literal tears of relief.
The final worry was the outboard motor. Jack agreed to attend to it because of his experience with similar engines as a teenager. While he checked it over, the others paddled the heavy canoe out of the reeds into the open water.
Jack pumped the gas, then with a little prayer, pulled the cord.
The engine sputtered and caught. It was loud in the morning stillness. Jack looked at Laurie. She smiled and gave him the thumbs-up sign.
Jack put the motor in gear, gave it a full throttle, and steered directly south, where they could see Gabon as a line of green along the horizon.
EPILOGUE
MARCH 18, 1997
3:45 P.M.
NEW YORK CITY
LOU Soldano glanced at his watch as he flashed his police badge to get him into the Customs area of the international arrivals building at Kennedy Airport. He’d hit more traffic than he’d expected in the midtown tunnel, and hoped he was not too late to greet the returning world travelers.
Going up to one of the skycaps, he asked which carousel was Air France.
“Way down the end, brother,” the skycap said with a wave of his hand.
Just my luck, thought Lou as he broke into a slow jog. After a short distance he slowed, and for the one millionth time vowed to stop smoking.
As he got closer, it was easy to see which carousel he was looking for. Air France in block letters showed on a monitor. Around it, the people were four deep.
Lou made a half circuit before seeing the group. Even though they were facing away, he could recognize Laurie’s hair.
He insinuated himself between other passengers and gave Laurie’s arm a squeeze. She turned around indignantly but quickly recognized him. Then she gave him a hug so fierce, his face turned red.
“Okay, okay, I give up,” Lou managed. He laughed.
Laurie let him go so that he could give Jack and Warren a handshake. Lou gave Natalie a peck on the cheek.
“So, you guys have a good trip, or what?” Lou questioned. It was apparent he was all keyed up.
Jack shrugged and looked at Laurie. “It was okay,” he said noncommittally.
“Yeah, it was okay,” Laurie agreed. “The trouble was nothing happened.”
“Really?” Lou said. “I’m surprised. You know, being Africa and all. I haven’t been there, but I’ve heard.”
“What have you heard, man?” Warren asked.
“Well, there’s lots of animals,” Lou said.
“Is that it?” Natalie asked.
Lou shrugged embarrassingly. “I guess. Animals and the Ebola virus. But like I said, I’ve never been there.”