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demand, and in the light he would have her at his mercy. Her only
protection was darkness. In the darkness she would have the advantage,
for she was accustomed to it.
She had heard the nightjar and the owl calling so she knew that night
had fallen, and it was probable that the raincloud still blanketed moon
and stars. Darkness was out there in the forest. She must get out of
the house, and try to reach the servants quarters.
She hurried through the rooms towards the rear of the house, and as she
went she thought of a weapon. The firearms were locked in the steel
cabinet in David's office, and the key was with him. She ran through to
the kitchen and her heavy walking-stick was in its place by the door.
She grasped it thankfully and slipped open the door catch.
At that moment she heard the front door crash open, with the lock kicked
in, and she heard Akkers charge heavily into the living-room. She
closed the kitchen door behind her and started across the yard. She
tried not to run, she counted her steps. She must not lose her way. She
must find the track around the kopje to the servants hutments.
Her first landmark was the gate in the fence that ringed the homestead.
Before she reached it she heard the electricity generator throb to life
in the power house beyond the garages. Akkers had found a light switch.
She was slightly off in her direction and she ran into the barbed-wire
fence. Frantically she began to feel her way along it, trying for the
gate. Above her head she heard the buzz and crackle of the element in
one of the arc lamps that lined the fence and could flood the gardens
with light.
Akkers must have found the switch beside the kitchen door, and Debra
realized that she must be bathed in the light of the arcs.
She heard him shout behind her, and knew that he had seen her. At that
moment she found the gate, and with a sob of relief she tore it open and
began to run.
She must get out of the light of the arcs, she must find the darkness.
Light was mortal danger, darkness was sanctuary.
The track forked, left to the pools, right to the hutments. She took
the right-hand path and ran along it.
Behind her she heard the gate clank shut. He was after her.
She counted as she ran, five hundred paces to the rock on the left side
of the path that marked the next fork.
She tripped over it, falling heavily and barking her shins.
She rolled to her knees, and she had lost the walkingstick. She could
not waste precious seconds in searching for it. She groped for the path
and ran on.
Fifty paces and she knew she was on the wrong fork.
This path lead down to the pumphouse, and she was not familiar with it.
It was not one of her regular routes.
She missed a turn and ran into broken ground. She stumbled on until
rank grass wrapped about her ankles and brought her down again, falling
heavily on her side so that she was winded.
She was completely lost, but she knew she was out of the arc lights now.
With luck she was shielded by complete darkness, but her heart was
racing and she felt nauseous with terror.
She tried to control her gulping, sobbing breath, and to listen.
She heard him coming then, pounding footsteps that rang clearly, even on
the rain-soaked earth. He seemed to be coming directly to where she
lay, and she shrank down against the wet earth and she pressed her face
into her arms to hide her face and muffle her breathing.
At the last moment his blundering footsteps passed her closely, and ran
on. She felt sick with relief, but it was premature for abruptly the
footsteps ceased and he was so close she could hear him panting.
He was listening for her, standing close beside where she lay in the
grass. They stayed like that during the long slow passage of minutes.
For Debra it seemed an eternity of waiting, broken at last by his voice.
All! There you are, he giggled, there you are. I can see you. Her
heart jumped with shock, He was closer than she had thought. Almost she
jumped up and began to run again, but some deeper sense restrained her.
I can see you hiding there, he repeated, giggling and snickering. I've
got a big knife here, I'm going to hold you down and cut She quailed in
the grass, listening to the awful obscenities that poured from his
mouth. Then suddenly she realized that she was safe here. She was
covered by the night and the thick grass, and he had lost her. He was
trying to panic her, make her run again and betray her position. She
concentrated all her attention on remaining absolutely still and silent.
Akker's threats and sadistic droolings ended in silence again. He
listened for her with the patience of the hunter, and the long minutes
dragged by.
The ache in her bladder was like a red-hot iron, and she wanted to sob
out loud. Something loathsome crawled out of the wet grass over her
arm. Her skin prickled with fresh horror at the feel of multiple insect
feet on her skin, but she steeled herself not to move.
The thing, scorpion or spider, crawled across her neck and she knew her
nerves would crack within seconds.
Suddenly Akkers spoke again. All right! he said, I'm going back to
fetch a flashlight. . We'll see how far you get then. I'll be back
soon, don't think you'll beat old Akkers. He's forgotten more tricks
than you'll ever learn.
He moved away heavily, noisily, and she wanted to strike the insect from
her cheek and run again, but some instinct warned her. She waited five
minutes, and then ten. The insect moved up into her hair.
Akkers spoke again out of the darkness near her. All right, you clever
bitch. We'll get you yet, and she heard him move away. This time she
knew he had gone.
She brushed the insect from her hair, shuddering with horror. Then she
stood up and moved quietly into the forest. Her fingers were stiff and
cold on the fastenings of her slacks, but she loosened them and squatted
to relieve the burning ache in her lower belly.
She stood up again and felt the child move within her body. The feel of
it evoked all her maternal instincts of protection. She must find a
safe place for her child. She thought of the hide by the pools.
How to reach them? For she was now completely lost.
Then she remembered David telling her about the wind, the rain wind out
of the west, now reduced to an occasional light air, and she waited for
the next breath of it on her cheek. It gave her direction. She turned
her back to the next gust and set off steadily through the forest with
hands held out ahead to prevent herself ru
If only she could reach the pools, she could follow the bank to the
hide.
As the cyclonic winds at the centre of the storm turned upon their axis,
so they swung, changing direction constantly and Debra followed them
faithfully, begi
Akkers raged through the brightly lit homestead of Jabulani, jerking
open drawers and kicking in locked cupboard doors.
He found the gun cabinet in David's office, and ransacked the desk
drawers for keys. He found none, and giggled and swore with
frustration.
He crossed the room to the built-in cupboard unit.
There was a sealed-cell electric lantern on the shelf with a dozen
packets of shotgun shells. He took down the lantern eagerly and thumbed
the switch. The beam was bright white, even in the overhead lights, and