Chapters (39)
- Cover
- Title
- Author’s Note
- Glossary
- One
- Two
- Three
- Four
- Five
- Six
- Seven
- Eight
- Nine
- Ten
- Eleven
- Twelve
- Thirteen
- Fourteen
- Fifteen
- Sixteen
- Seventeen
- Eighteen
- Nineteen
- Twenty
- Twenty-One
- Twenty-Two
- Twenty-Three
- Twenty-Four
- Twenty-Five
- Twenty-Six
- Twenty-Seven
- Twenty-Eight
- Twenty-Nine
- Thirty
- Thirty-One
- Thirty-Two
- Thirty-Three
- Thirty-Four
- Acknowledgments
“Will you go back to the cabin? Wait for the rangers?”
“No. Yesterday I saw how badly the road was damaged. It’ll take them ages to reach us that way. I’m going to follow the trail into the ravine and see if I can’t raise help quicker the other way.”
“To Grootkloof Cabin? Where the others are? Or were?”
“Yes. It’s possible, with the weather as it was, that they’re still there, which would be helpful. That’s why I want to get going now.”
“But the Bloukrans is also flooded. I saw it. It’s huge.”
“Yes, but if I remember correctly, there’s a rope crossing at the bottom of the ravine. I’ve got to try. If it doesn’t work, I’ll turn back.”
“Are you sure it’s—”
“Yes.”
Clare’s lower lip quivered. Faye rested her hand on the girl’s shoulder.
“It’s the best we can hope for. You can’t move. You must stay as still as possible. Don’t move. At all. Understand?”
Clare closed her eyes and gave a small nod.
Faye took the bottle to a puddle on the path and filled it with rainwater. She placed it alongside Clare with the bag containing the nuts, crackers, energy bar and remaining orange. She didn’t remind Clare to eat; she knew the girl would, if she could.
She adjusted the empty backpack beneath Clare’s knee and straightened the space blanket over her.
“Thank you, Faye,” said the girl. “You’re amazing.”
“I know,” she replied. “I’ll see you soon. Then you can tell me again.”
Eighteen
Eighteen
“What’s your verdict, Geoff?” asked Derek, as he stepped out of the cabin and spotted his friend sitting on the stairs. “Is today the day we’ll be rescued?”
Geoffrey glanced at him, wondering why, after all these years, it still annoyed him that Derek was the only person who addressed him as Geoff. “My friends, Geoff and Mich,” he’d say. No one else called Michelle “Mich” either.
“Depends on whether the others met up with the rangers yesterday. But if they had to hike all the way to the offices, it’s unlikely they would have made it in a day.”
“The rain last night wouldn’t have helped.”
“No, but it’s stopped now so—”
Derek snorted. “The eternal optimist. God, I hope they come. I’ve had enough of this place.”