FRANKS, Bill (40 page)

   Suddenly the rhinos ended their attack and charged at the police car, which was turning to speed back to the entrance gates
.
Both hit the car in unison with tremendous force, causing it to bounce into the air before landing on its side with wheels spinning and the engine roaring harshly as the drivers foot became jammed by the damaged door onto the accelerator pedal
.
The car slithered along the grass before turning on its head only to be battered again and rolling like a falling boulder to come to rest once more on its head, the wrecked doors flying open
.
The policemen, trapped in their seats, were knocked unconscious.

   Back at the damaged forensics van, one of the lionesses had trotted over, attracted by the sounds of pain and the smell of humans
.
Leaping onto the side of the vehicle, it looked through the broken windows to see a gang of writhing people, each trying to back through the steel wall away from the impending danger
.
A large paw reached in and slashed across the nearest victim, spilling his innards in a delayed gush of blood
.
The attempted scream never materialised as the lioness dug her head in and pulled the man from the van
.
In a frenzy, it tore and bit at him until he was shredded over the van and the surrounding grass
.
Immediately, the 400-pound animal squirmed its upper body into the opening of the broken windows and began to slash with its claws and bite wherever it could
.
It then slithered back from the van and onto the ground, a no longer struggling woman in its mighty jaws
.
For several minutes the magnificent lioness chewed at the flesh and bones of the two forensic officers, before rising, sniffing the air and then trundling off to meet the pride
.
It had left two alive, though seriously injured.

   At the same time as she had attacked the van, a lion and lioness had struck at the Rangers vehicle, leaping onto the canvas top, ripping it with their
strong
claws
.
The lion with the
large
mane, nine-feet long and 560 pounds in weight landed behind the Rangers before they had chance to bring the rifles into action. In one movement, it was through the flimsy canvas backing of the cab and had the driver by the neck, its teeth burying into the soft flesh as it choked him
.
A heavy paw came over and tore an arm from him just as the lioness struck at the other Ranger
.
Her lunge hit him in the chest, biting into the flesh and bone
.
Slightly less in size than the lion but still a most formidable eight feet carrying 450 pounds, it sent him crashing through the windscreen and onto the bonnet, where it literally tore him to pieces.

   Graham and the occupants of the Range Rover were shocked and sickened at the terrifying sight, the driver frantically turning the vehicle back in the direction of the main gates
.
Misjudging the speed in his panic, he turned too fast and toppled the Rover over onto its side
.
The driver and his mate, who had suffered a broken arm in the crash, scrambled free and made a run for the fence
.
Before they had covered twenty feet, two sleek and beautifully marked Tigers were upon them
.
The driver was caught by the leg and dragged bleeding to the ground while the other prison officer found himself covered by a 450-pound beast and felled.

   The pig-like snuffling of the Tigers as they ate their screaming prey could be heard by those still struggling to free themselves from the stricken vehicle
.
Knowing that their chances of survival were remote if caught in the Rover, the decision was instantly taken by each individual to take their chance outside and scale the high perimeter fence
.
Fortunately for them, at that very time, the beasts of prey were engaged in their present attack, the two remaining lions finally reaching inside the police car to feed on the horrified officers within.

   As the men got out
of the Land Rover
and ran to the fence, Graham behind Clive, expecting Sallie to be on his heels, Ignatious, now freed from his shackles, looked into Sallie’s wide and frightened eyes
.
“You are safe with me, child,” he said, his voice incredibly calm in the mayhem going on about
them
.
“I will take you out of here
.
Do not worry.”

   Sallie was mesmerised, shocked by her thoughts
.
“
Wonderful God that
you are, take me here, in this hell
.
Take me!  Rape me! Hurt me!”
  Part of her wanted to rush to the fence with her lover but the strength of the Jesuit’s aura bound her mind in a vice-like grip
.
She was utterly powerless to resist.

   Reaching the fence and realising that his love was not with him, Graham turned in alarm
.
He saw her exiting the Rover with the Jesuit close behind just as the nearest tiger stood away from its victim, eyes red and shining, face covered in blood
.
It looked to the men scrambling up the fence then back at Ignatious and the girl
.
In that moment, Graham, heart breaking, realised that he could not save her and, the will to survive taking over, he leapt up the fence and began to race frantically for the top.

   The tiger turned again and its mate also arose, attention now all on the fleeing men on the fence
.
As one, they hurtled forward, growling and leaping at the fence, tearing the feeble humans from it with mighty paws
.
Clive had just reached the top, which was protected by razor wire and, in a moment of bravery, he reached down to grab the arm of his Superior and drag him a vital foot higher up, causing the measured leap of the tiger to miss him by inches
.
Screaming in pain as the razor wire sliced into his body, Clive draped himself over the barrier and urged Graham to quickly climb over him to safety
.
Not hesitating, Graham slipped over Clive’s body, placing as little weight as possible on him, and prepared to drop to the ground
.
Unfortunately, at the vital moment, he slipped, instinctively grabbing his partner and pulling him from his position and further onto the wire
.
Both men hurtled to the ground, landing in a stunned heap, where they lay unconscious.

   On the other side of the perimeter, lions had approached the tigers and were joining in the unexpected feast, to the accompaniment of the trumpeting of elephants and the nervous whinnying of the antelope.

   By the time the Rangers arrived, some staying on the outside of the enclosure, the gruesome affair was over
.
Those entering the inside of the compound had been delayed by the rhinos who were in an aggressive mood for many minutes after being hit by powerful tranquilliser darts and threatening to charge the insignificant jeeps
.
They reached the devastation as the animals casually dispersed, walking off as though nothing out of the ordinary had taken place.

   None of the Rangers had had the time to wonder at the man and the woman who had emerged from the melee
to
walk calmly past the attack scenes to the gates, and who were just being allowed through by stunned Rangers there
.
The couple moved through the gathering crowds to a taxi rank and entered the first vehicle
.
“St. Cecelia’s, Pangbourne, please, driver,” instructed Ignatious.

Sitting close to the Jesuit in the rear of the taxi, Sallie could not shake the feeling of rapture, even though, somewhere in the recesses of her mind, she hated it
.
Why not have me here, in the back of the taxi?  Take me now, as I am – whatever you wish!
  The wicked thoughts invaded her again and again.

   At last, the cab arrived at the church, where Sallie paid the fare plus a reasonable tip for the driver
.
Ignatious ushered her to the vestry door and knocked.

   Father McCahill was surprised to find the Jesuit on his doorstep, especially after seeing him arrested and his vehicle towed away by the police
.
“Hello, Brother,” he boomed, happily
.
“I didn’t expect to see you here.”  He laughed
.
“I thought you must have committed murder at the very least!  Come in
.
And, who is the young lady?”

   Ignatious smiled pleasantly
.
“Thank you, Father
.
This is Sallie; she is a friend of mine
.
She wanted to come along with me and see your interesting little room.”

   “Ah,” said the priest
.
“I can understand anyone being interested in that.”

   In the short telephone call of two days ago, when Ignatious made the appointment to visit, Father McCahill had mentioned a special room in the church, which he would like the Jesuit to see
.
It had only recently been discovered and dated back at least three centuries, probably more
.
He had said no more than that, but it had been enough to gain the interest of Ignatious.

   Once inside, the three sat down to the usual tea and cakes as Ignatious began his tales of adventure in the Amazon after convincing the priest that the arrest had been a dreadful mistake. Father McCahill was fascinated by the stories and strangely drawn to the wonderful being that had entered his domain
.
He had wanted to ask about the lovely young woman but his brain would not move in that direction, the Holy Brother filling his head.

The Safari Park had become a scene of frenetic activity
.
Ambulances, T.V. crews, newspaper reporters and police were jostling around the entrance gates waiting for the all-clear from the Rangers within the enclosure, who were hunting down the wild beasts and sedating them with darts
.
Cameras were flashing constantly, even though there seemed little to photograph at that time.

   As soon as the word came, the gates were opened and in drove two ambulances, hurrying to the scene of horror
.
Hardened to sickening sights through their experiences sorting out motorway victims, the paramedics went about their grisly work in a quietly efficient manner
.
Not a single body was intact
.
However, the occupants of the breakdown truck that had come to remove the wreckage were amazed to discover two injured, but alive members of the forensic team, huddled together in a recess of the vehicle, shuddering in shock in their unconsciousness.

   On the perimeter, the two detectives had been assessed and treated on the spot before being whisked away to hospital in a low-slung vehicle
.
The elder one, Graham, seemed to be suffering only from concussion and a few scratches and bruises whilst the other was badly lacerated along the front of his body where the razor-wire had sliced deeply into him from the weight of his companion
.
Whilst Graham would be released from hospital within a couple of hours, after undergoing a thorough examination, Clive would remain there for another two weeks and would not return to duty for a further month.

The conversation in the vestry finally came around to the hidden room, a conversation from which, strangely, Sallie allowed herself to be excluded
.
She rose to follow the priest and the Jesuit as they made their way into a conservatory that backed onto a wall of the ancient church
.
In here, the priest, smiling knowingly, gripped a protruding stone and pulled
.
Amazingly, a section of the wall moved silently and smoothly inwards;  the mechanism, untouched since its installation, working as easily as any modern day appliance
.
The door slid back into place once the last person stepped in.

   The room beyond revealed an area of around
twenty five
feet square, lit by a narrow window of thickened glass, measuring about six feet by one
.
Along the walls were several oil lamps placed in the original torch holders and being the only concession to modernisation
.
There was no mistaking the intent of the room – it was clearly designed for torture.

   Dotted around the walls were several sets of shackles around which dark stains and splatter marks could be seen
.
These would be the entrenched marks of blood carried down the centuries.