He shook his head. The sound of the river was drowning her words. He looked left and right and pointed slightly downstream from where Faye had approached through reeds. The river narrowed there and the water was deeper, less turbulent and quieter. Geoffrey kept pace with her from the other side as Faye inched her way back along the narrow bank and over the wet rocks. She sighed with relief as they both arrived at their designated spot on opposite sides of the river.

“What happened?” shouted Geoffrey.

It took Faye a moment to realise he was referring to the bloody punctures on her body.

“It’s nothing—an encounter with some thorns. But—”

“Are you sure? It looks pretty brutal.”

She was touched by his concern and self-consciously tugged at the lapels of her shirt.

“I’m fine. But Clare—”

“Where is she?”

Faye stepped as far into the water as was safe. Her boots and socks were already drenched from manoeuvring through the shallows. “She’s had an accident. Injured her knee. But it’s her ribs that I’m worried about. I think they’re broken. And—”

“What happened?”

“She fell.”

Geoffrey, almost knee deep in the water, leaned forward. “Where is she?”

“In the trees. The first part of the forest after Heuningbos Hut.”

“The trees? You can’t get her back to the cabin? To Heuningbos? Surely—”

Faye shook her head. “I don’t want to risk moving her. Her chest, her lungs—”

Geoffrey wrung his cap in his hands. “You think they’re punctured?”

“I’m not sure, but . . . yes, it’s possible. I—‘

“My God, what are we going to do?”

Even over the distance, Faye recognised the panic in his eyes. “You have a copy of the maps, right?”

“Yes, but we can’t risk crossing any of the rivers. We tried—”

“No. We can’t. Find the shortest escape route. Get to the rangers. She needs a doctor, a paramedic. A helicopter. Whatever is required.”

“A helicopter?”

Faye nodded.

“I’ll go. Derek will have to wait.”

“Derek?”

The sound of his name seemed out of place. Faye hadn’t thought about her husband since she’d spotted Geoffrey.

“He hurt his back during the crossing. It’s okay but he can’t go on. The others left yesterday. To get help. To find you and Clare.”

“Oh God! So they might be at the other cabin? On their way at least?”

“I don’t know where they are. It’s unlikely they would have reached Heuningbos by now. It’s a distance to the road. But, Faye, I’m going to go now. I can’t wait around wondering. If we’re really lucky, I’ll make it to the top of the ravine before nightfall and intercept them on the road. If I don’t make it before dark, I’ll sleep on the way and get going early tomorrow.”