As they walked along the road together in the pitch of darkness, the woman told Cooper her name was Zola.
‘Well it’s good to meet you, Zola. It’s a shame it’s under these circumstances… And I’m so, so sorry for your loss.’
Zola said nothing. Her pace, much slower than he’d ideally have liked. He was hoping that any minute he’d see Rosedale and Maddie coming along the track in the Toyota, but so far all he’d heard was the calling of the monitor lizards.
Even though they’d been walking for the past half an hour they’d only managed to walk a short distance from the village due to Zola’s bad legs. There was so much he wanted to ask her. But each time he’d questioned her, she’d moved even more slowly as she answered. So for now it all had to wait.
From behind him, Cooper heard an engine but straight away he knew it wasn’t the Toyota. It was the Commer truck.
From the brow of the hill, he saw the lights of it approaching. Fast. He could also see the part of the dirt track they were on gave little place for them to hide. One side of the bank was steep. Dense. Wet. The other had large boulders and hunks of mud fallen from one of the numerous landslides which were commonplace due to the rains.
Whilst keeping his eye on the approaching truck, Cooper said, ‘I’m sorry, I’m going to pick you up again.’ Not waiting for any kind of reply, he lifted Zola up with ease onto his shoulder. Though this time he could feel her holding tightly. Firmly. Clinging onto the back of his top.
Deciding to take his chance with the mud side of the bank rather than the steep side, Cooper vaulted across the muddy earth. Scrambled across the boulders, being mindful of needing to hold his balance as he carried the old woman. And it was almost as if he could feel the heat of the lights speeding down the road, spotlighting their position. It struck him that he could still be seen by the truck if he continued to stand up. Twisting Zola off his shoulders and into his arms at rapid speed, Cooper flung himself down on the wet ground whilst holding her safe.
He was breathing hard and wild and he cursed to himself as the truck came to an absolute stop in front of them. He was certain they hadn’t been seen. But how long that would last, he didn’t know. But he was damned sure he wasn’t going to wait around to find out.
He whispered to Zola, signalling with his hand. ‘We’ve got to keep going.’
She nodded and Copper carefully got up.
Slowly.
Carefully.
Silently.
Backing away with Zola in his arms.
Hoping Maddie and Rosedale didn’t come along any time soon. He didn’t know who these people were, but they were trouble. Big trouble.
Minding his foot through the thick twisted vegetation of the forest as the rain began to pour down hitting them hard, Cooper glanced down at Zola as he carried her. She looked cold. But she smiled warmly. Croaked out her words. ‘Over the river. There’s a place we can shelter.’
He could see the small river was only few meters ahead. And he picked up his pace, wanting to take Zola as quickly as he could to the shelter. And from there he’d head back down to the village. All being well, meeting up again with Rosedale and Maddie.
*
By the time Cooper had waded through the fast flowing water, carried Zola up the wet and sludgy hill and along the high ground, avoided tripping over the labyrinth of buttress roots running along from the large trees which rose up like giant columns of a citadel, and almost twisted his right ankle, he could feel the tightening wheeze from his chest. The agitated come-down from the pills. The words of Zola, ‘We’re here,’ couldn’t come soon enough.
He gazed round. Seeing a gap in the trees with three burnt-out derelict huts. He put Zola down, who nodded at him gratefully. In return he gave her a wink.
Cooper kicked at the dirt. Nothing but discarded, rusting household equipment. Broken bottles and cans. Picked up some of the things, dropping them as he always did into his collecting bag, knowing most, if not all the things he gathered, would turn out to be trash.
The shrink at the VA medical center had told him he collected items to seek some kind of comfort. That it acted as a coping mechanism for dealing with his anxiety and fear of losing control. Not that he’d taken much notice of what the Doc had had to say. He’d just looked at the clock and waited for his court ordered session to finish.
He’d first started collecting the bits and pieces he’d found when he’d searched for Ellie. To him, rather than it being a question of seeking comfort, it’d been a question of sheer desperation which had prompted it. It hadn’t mattered what it was, he’d collected it. Just looked for anything, anything which would’ve given him a clue.
The thing was, he knew it’d become a habit. Another one to add to his list. Because even when he’d given up looking for Ellie, he’d continued to collect. Or, to use his doctor’s words, continued with his obsession.
He’d drive himself crazy with his collecting and at the end of each trip, he’d throw everything from the bottle tops to the candy wraps, to the tiny shards glass, away. Convincing himself determinedly it’d be the last time, only for the damn thing to start all over again on his next trip. And like the pills, he found it hard to stop. Who was he kidding? Couldn’t. Couldn’t stop.
Cooper scratched his head. It felt heavy. Focused on something else and shone the florescent pink pen torch Maddie had given him. He knelt in the wet earth, seeing and picking up what looked like a piece of a broken glazed porcelain pot.
Turned it over and noted the inner part wasn’t coated. Just an unfinished red matte clay with a pottery mark he couldn’t quite read. There was also what looked like a piece of copper wire embedded into it. Puzzled, he slipped it into his bag.
With a sigh and a crick of his neck, he stood up. Brushing off the wet, Cooper caught sight of something else. It looked like the remains of a pile of charcoal. ‘Are you sure it’ll be safe here?’
Zola nodded, walking into one of the huts which, unlike the other two, still had part of its roof intact. ‘No-one will come here.’
Following her in and clearing a spot for her to rest, Cooper said, ‘Why? How can you be so sure?’
‘They think it was the home of the possessed.’
Wanting to understand her better. ‘Don’t you?’
She shook her head emphatically. ‘No. There’s no evil here. I feel safe. This was the home of my friend, Emmanuel Mutombo… They say he walks amongst the dead trying to harm the living.’
Cooper stopped in his tracks. ‘What did you say?’
A look of fear crossed Zola’s face. She shook her head, reluctant to say anything more.
‘Zola… please. Just repeat the name you said?’
Her eyes darted round nervously and it took a long moment but eventually and slowly she said, ‘Emmanuel Mutombo. He was a good man, and I believe he’s still alive.’