Edge of Dawn

Chapter 12

'Alright you lazy baboons, get out!'

The men grumbled good-naturedly and climbed out of the truck. They looked calm and relaxed but the firm grip on their automatic rifles told a different story. Their shrewd eyes were taking in the surrounding bush, not missing a thing as they spread out along the perimeter fence. This was the border patrol, all crack shots. Some were ex-guerrilla who had decided to quit their Russian roulette life-style for better hours and pay. Their leader, Captain Suleiman, surveyed them with a critical eye before striding towards one of the laughing men.

'Shut up you fool,' he hissed into the man's face.

The grin disappeared to be replaced by instant anger. This was quickly subdued when the Captain thrust his face closer in a wordless challenge. Suleiman was ex-guerrilla and had been known to shoot his men for simple disobedience. He looked younger than his thirty-five years but his body was riddled with marks from a different life. Scars anointed every part of his body like badges. Despite this he was a handsome man, tall and lithe with bulging muscle rippling with his every move. He believed in good appearances and his clothes were immaculate even in this hot and dusty environment. Like most of the men around him he had a quick temper, which flared in an instant, but subsided just as quickly. His men respected him and would have followed him anywhere.

At the moment he was staring into the lieutenant's face, daring him to utter a word. Not receiving any counter challenge, he moved on along the line to inspect the rest of the patrol. This was the highest risk area for potential refugees and smugglers.

The lieutenant watched him go and spat on the ground discreetly where he had stood, he didn't like his superior. He was too quick for his own good. His fingers itched to pull the trigger while his back was turned, but he knew he would be a dead man if the others knew what was on his mind. Calmly he paced forward and stared through the fence.

'You lost your sweetheart in there?' one of the men asked slyly.

'No,' he shook his head, 'but I wouldn't mind losing you in there!'

The man laughed softly and walked away. Turning back to look through the fence he smiled mirthlessly, soon, when darkness fell, he would have to be very quiet, but until then he could afford to exchange banter with his companions.

'Down!'

He was pushed flat, his face in the dirt as he heard rustling nearby. Several men ran past their hiding place, their boots hitting the earth forcefully. They waited for another ten minutes before raising their heads. So far the expedition had run into at least five guerrilla groups and several armed patrols. They had managed to conceal themselves in time, but this had been close. They had gone through the city and were now on the road to the border, the most dangerous part of the trip so far. The five men glanced at each other. The time had almost come to leave the young pup to his own devices. They all thought him very young, but they also knew his chances were better alone. They had already explained the drill to him in minute detail.

A man would meet him just before he got to the border, would say a word and he would give the bag to him. He would then return to the meeting place, a huge acacia tree surrounded by thick shrub, the only one in that area, from whence they would protect him till they reached the compound. They had already hammered it into his head that they would only wait for a maximum of ten minutes past the agreed time before returning to the compound, with or without him. This last piece of the plan had sent cold fingers clutching at his heart, affecting his breathing. The grim faces looking at him told him all he needed to know, he was playing a very dangerous game.

Even now as he scanned the surrounding area, his heart was stumbling over itself with fear and try as he might to control his breathing, it was becoming more and more erratic. The leader of the gang turned to him and pointed a finger towards the dirt track concealed in the vegetation they had been following for the past day or so.

'Stay close to the track, but not on it.' He looked at the sun, shielding his eyes briefly, 'It's nearly noon. Find a hiding place. Stay hidden till six o'clock and then start walking. Meet at the tree at two o'clock in the morning. Remember, ten minutes and we are gone.' He clasped Peter's clammy hand tightly, and then pushed him away.

Peter darted across the clearing, directly in front of their hiding place, and hid behind a clump of bushes on the far side, waiting for a startled shout from a trooper. Not hearing anything except the birds, he gulped in some more air and looked at the trees behind which he had left the gang. He couldn't see them but he could feel their eyes on him as he crawled towards the track, trying not to move the blades of grass on either side of him. He stopped several times, glancing around quickly before resuming his painstaking crawl. By the time he had covered a few yards, his knees and hands were bleeding from the thorns and his back was aching with the effort of staying as close to the ground as possible. Seeing a thicket of thorn bush to one side of him he crawled towards it.

Reaching it he lay down in its shade and slowly surveyed the surrounding bush. The trees seemed far away now, and he had no hope of seeing the gang. No clouds of dust heralded patrols heading towards him, but as he had learnt from the gang leader, guerrillas were masters at using camouflage and a sniper could be sitting next to you, offering you a cigarette, before you realised he was there.

Having made sure he was alone for the moment at least, he turned his attention to the bag strapped safely to his waist. It was heavy. He hadn't opened it, but he could feel the cold stones through the canvas. How strange people were, running after stones; he shook his head he couldn't understand this power over men. Staring out at the savannah, with unseeing eyes, his mind replaced it all with the green fields of his village. The corn leaves rustling in the wind, the cows mooing softly and the laughter of his siblings. They used to laugh a lot, he amended the memory slightly, that was before the troops invaded the village and beat his father until he could rise no more, labouring under the misconception of his involvement with the rebels. Even then, the laughter was still there, reduced of course, but still ever present.

He could still hear his mother's voice, 'Now you are the man of the family. You must look after us.' She had pulled him away from the games he was playing with his sisters and the wild rabbits he chased with his brothers, so that she could enforce this reality in his mind.

'There is nothing left here, you must go to the city and get a lot of money for your brothers and sisters.'

Being the eldest left one with a lot of responsibility, even if the burden was not wanted. There was no choice. He pushed the memory from him and looked round again. Still no sign of humans, thank god. He looked at the azure blue sky and his mind immediately escaped into happier memories.

A flash of dark eyes, gleaming white teeth exposed just a little as she smiled at him, then the bouncing of her braids as she ran away after her mother. He had been playing at marbles with his brothers when he had seen her. She had swayed past balancing a large basket of fruit on her head, on the way to the city market. He had never seen her before, or he just hadn't noticed her. When he asked around for her name he was told it was Mary. Mary...the name sounded familiar and suddenly an image of a thin girl with skinny legs and frayed braids popped into focus.

As a very young boy he had teased her mercilessly. He could not believe this was the same girl. He knew, without being told that she was now the belle of the village and several of his friends seemed to take offence at her smiling at him. That had been a year ago. Since then they had become very friendly. Of course she had played hard to get, what respectable girl wouldn't? But they had finally agreed that they both loved each other and wanted to get married.

That was before his mother sent him to the city. He had told Mary of his planned journey and had left her in tears. It had been hard, but he had vowed to marry her as soon as he got back with enough money in his pocket to pay the dowry her parents had set. She in turn had promised to wait patiently for his return, or until she heard of his demise for nowadays there was no guarantee of life.

A sudden cracklingnearby nearly made him jump out of his skin. Turning swiftly he laughed at himself, a startled antelope was staringat him before taking to its heels and springing away. He settled back once more and vowed not todaydream any more in case he missed the sounds of a patrol or a guerrillateam. This thought lasted until his eyesclosed a few minutes later, and a gentle snore made a small bird fly away infright.

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