Chapter 4: The Dark Descent

Tukwenethi turned to see where the voices were coming from, shading her eyes from the glare of the sun.

“We have to leave,” whispered Ben. “If we go back the way we came, we can hide behind the bushes.”

“But the two goatherds will see us leave,” Zoe whispered back.

“I’ll make sure they forget about us for a moment,” Ben said. He scrolled through the menu on his BUG.

Ben pointed his BUG toward the herd. At once, the hologram of a cheetah appeared in the middle of them. The terrified creatures skittered about, bleating in fear.

Spear raised, Tukwenethi and her brother ran to see what was wrong.

“Done,” whispered Ben. He shut off the hologram before the two goatherds could see it. “Let’s go!”

Ben and Zoe scrambled up the side of the valley and hid behind a bush. They watched as two men hurried down to see why the goats were so agitated. The moment the children couldn’t see them anymore, they darted back to the WASP.

“I feel bad about not saying goodbye to Tukwenethi and Jossy,” said Zoe. “But we have to continue our mission.”

Zoe pulled the sail until it caught the wind. Ben released the brake, and they were once again sailing across the sand.

Ben checked the satellite map on his BUG. “The well is just a short distance away,” he said.

“We’ll finish this mission before lunchtime!” Zoe said cheerfully.

“Now who’s obsessed with food?” Ben teased.

They continued to glide across the desert, their WASP soaring over the dunes. The bushes were less common now, and the ground was sandier. The ground shimmered in the heat of the morning sun.

Zoe adjusted the WASP’s course to catch the breeze. “The well should be near here,” she said.

Ben checked his tranquilizer gun. “As soon as we’re in range of the mother, slow down and I’ll put her to sleep,” he said. “We’ll give her the smallest dose we can so she’ll wake up quickly. That way, she’ll find her cub once we’ve rescued it.”

“There’s the well,” said Zoe. “It’s up ahead.”

The dusty, open ground led to a small stone mound with a simple wooden framework and pulley above it. A rope trailed down into the well.

“I can’t see the lioness, though,” said Ben, looking all around. “Where is she?”

“Probably left to hunt for some food,” whispered Zoe. “We’re going to have to be careful. She could come back at any moment.”

They let the WASP roll slowly along the track toward the well while checking for any signs of movement. When the WASP came to a halt, they jumped out, folded up the sail, and grabbed their tranquilizer gun.

Zoe watched as Ben took a rope from the back of the buggy and ran over to the well.

Every rustle of leaves in the bushes made Zoe whirl around and grip the tranquilizer gun tightly. She felt her heartbeat thunder in her ears.

“I hope nothing’s happened to the cub since last night,” she whispered anxiously. “It could have fallen into the water and drowned.”

Ben activated the spotlight on his glasses and peered down into the well’s narrow circle of darkness.

“I can’t see anything yet,” Ben said, shining the light across the black expanse. “Wait a minute. Did you just hear something?”

Zoe tensed. She heard a barely audible wailing sound echo up from the depths of the well.

“The cub’s still alive!” Zoe said in relief. “But it doesn’t sound like an animal at all. I’m not surprised the local people thought the well was haunted.”

Ben inspected the pulley above the wooden framework. “That might be strong enough to hold a bucket, but not one of us,” he said. “But we can tie the rope to the WASP and wedge it against the well.”

“You climb down the well and I’ll keep watch,” Zoe said. “But hurry.”

Ben brought the WASP over to the stone wall and tied the rope to the frame of the vehicle.

Zoe suddenly raised the tranquilizer gun. “Freeze!” she whispered. “The lioness is back.”

With their breaths held, Zoe and Ben watched as a large animal emerged from behind a rock. She had a long, sleek body. Her powerful muscles shifted under her golden coat as she moved. Her tail swished as she padded purposefully toward the well.

“Can you hit her with a dart from here?” Ben whispered between clenched teeth.

Zoe shook her head. “No,” she said. “I’ll try to get to her side.”

The big cat stopped as she caught sight of Ben. The lioness let out a low, deep-throated growl. Zoe’s finger tightened around the trigger as she edged away from the well.

WR_DesDa_F12_48-49.tif

But the creature suddenly crouched, ready to pounce. Zoe had to shoot!

POP! As the dart struck the lioness’s side, the terrified animal snarled and whipped around to see what had attacked her.

The next second she was bounding toward Zoe. She backed away. For one long, terrible moment it looked like the dart had not effected the beast.

But then the lioness’s steps faltered. Dragging herself up on to the stones of the well, the lioness slumped down. Her head hung drowsily over the well’s rim.

Slowly, Ben crept up next to her. She was completely unconscious now. He felt a stab of panic at being so close to this deadly predator.

“She was trying to protect her baby,” whispered Zoe. “If only she knew that we’re here to help.” She gently stroked the lioness’s ear. “We’ll soon have your little one out of there.”

“We need to hurry,” said Ben. “We don’t have long.”

Zoe sat on the WASP, gathered up the loose rope, and held it tightly. “I’ll feed out the rope as you descend,” she said.

“And then just hit reverse on the WASP to pull me back up,” said Ben. “I’ll give two tugs when I’m ready.”

Ben took the free end of the rope and tied it around his legs and waist, making a harness. He eased his legs over the edge of the well and found a foothold. He gave Zoe a thumbs-up to let more of the rope out. Then he began to squeeze past the warm, limp lioness. At that moment, the sleeping animal gurgled and her lips twitched, revealing a row of huge, sharp teeth. Ben froze. Had the tranquilizer begun to wear off already?

The lioness’s mouth relaxed and she went still again. Ben took a deep breath to calm himself and edged his way into the well. He searched for footholds in the rough stone. He stopped and looked down.

Far below, the water gleamed in Ben’s spotlight. His stomach turned — the well was much deeper than he’d thought. He moved his head, trying to locate the cub. He couldn’t see anything, so he began to climb down.

The sides of the well were slippery. Ben knew that he would have to take it slowly or he’d fall. He inched his way down, wedging his fingers into tiny crevices. Then he paused to rest. Above him was a tiny circle of sky, broken by the outline of the lioness’s head. He shined his light down and caught sight of a little ledge near the bottom. The glint of two round eyes reflected back at him.

He’d found the cub!

Suddenly, the narrow sides of the well seemed to be pressing in on him.

Ben began to feel hot and panicky. He started to think that he couldn’t go any further.

Then he heard a faint, pitiful mew. Forgetting his fears, Ben climbed down toward the sound.

The cub was lying on the ledge. By light, Ben could see its golden fur, the dark spots on its head, and every rib sticking out of its body. It raised its head weakly as Ben dropped into the narrow space next to it.

WR_DesDa_F12_53.tif

“We’re going to get you back to your mom,” Ben said to the little creature.

He slowly reached out, grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck, and held it tightly in one arm. The cub barely struggled.

Ben tugged the rope twice to give the signal. At once, he heard the distant whir of the WASP engine echoing down the stone walls. The rope tightened as he felt himself being hauled up toward the warm light.

At last he could feel the warmth of the sun on his head and shoulders. He was about to reach for the edge of the well to haul himself up when he realized he was level with the face of the lioness. The bleary eyes were flickering open.

The huge creature was awake — and staring right at him!