Journey to Freedom (13 page)

‘Sister! Sister!’ Lorna roared in disbelief. ‘Are you really so lazy?’

Ellen failed to answer. She had no idea what was expected of her. Finally Lorna stunned a hare with an outstretched paw, bowling it over and immediately following up the blow with a pounce that crushed the animal. Her once wounded paw had been used to propel her forward, but she felt nothing. Lorna seized the hare in her jaws and carried it to Ellen, dropping it in front of her. Ellen sniffed at it but showed no interest.

‘This is prey,’ said Lorna, beginning to rip the carcass apart. ‘We can catch the others too. Didn’t you feel any urge to chase the one that ran past you?’

‘No,’ Ellen replied. She guessed her sister was disappointed in her. ‘I – um – wasn’t hungry.’

‘Neither am I,’ Lorna told her. ‘But I want to keep in trim. When you’re stronger we’ll give your turn of speed a test. You’ve been inactive too long, sister. We’ll make you into something like a hunting lion yet!’

The remaining hares soon became much more careful. They found places in the long grass to hide. They didn’t move around as much, so that they didn’t attract attention. Lorna devoted her time to hunting them. Now that she had something
to occupy herself she was less aggressive towards the people at Kamenza. She even allowed Joel to replenish the meat in the enclosure without challenging his presence. She ate sparingly, leaving most of the food for Ellen. She preferred the satisfaction of supplying her own needs. But she wasn’t often successful.

Lorna’s attempts to involve Ellen in her hunting sprees were watched by Joel and his colleagues. Ellen began to show some appreciation of the stealth and speed required to catch a hare off guard. She didn’t actively join in a hunt but she took care not to disturb her sister when she was creeping towards her prey. She would remain silent and watchful while Lorna slunk on her belly through the dry vegetation of the pen. If Lorna had driven a hare in her direction she sometimes whipped out a paw and tried to bring the animal down. But her skill was negligible. Her reactions were too slow. Gradually, however, she was learning about the need to co-operate. This was vitally important if the lionesses were to rely on one another when the time came
to adapt to life on the plains. Ellen’s progress, however small, was noted and welcomed.

Lorna was the first to discover the honey badger’s absence. She called him one night as she had used to do when they thought of nothing but escape. Her insistent growls brought no response.

‘Strange,’ she mused. ‘He’s never failed before. Can he have died in his burrow?’ The thought made her unhappy and she started a series of melancholy roars. Ellen came running to pacify her.

‘What’s the trouble, sister? Don’t fret.’

‘I think Ratel has died,’ Lorna said. ‘He used to enjoy a chance to talk. He hasn’t come this time.’

‘Hasn’t it occurred to you,’ asked Ellen, ‘that perhaps he has’ – and she whispered – ‘escaped?’

‘Escaped? But how? He told me it was impossible. Oh, if he
has
got out and we’re still . . .’ She broke off and growled angrily.

‘Still what?’

‘HERE!’ roared Lorna. She loped to the far side of the pen and peered out through the final enclosing fence to the outside world in the slight hope of a glimpse of the honey badger. Naturally he was nowhere to be seen. Lorna called him. Her roars reached a climax. The refuge centre echoed them back until the whole complex seemed to rumble. Ellen joined her sister. The two lionesses stood shoulder to shoulder, gazing out over the African landscape. Ellen began to roar, low at first, then she opened her throat and gave full-blooded cries that even competed with Lorna’s.

People, Joel and Simon included, came running to the front of the lions’ enclosure. Annie trembled. She had her hands to her ears. The din was incredible. It was raw, wild, and expressed a deep and primitive longing. Instinct had taken command. The lionesses
were manifesting the wild animal’s innate hostility to captivity: the frustrations, the discomfort, the falsity of a life dictated by human will. Ellen had been caught up in it almost unconsciously. The sisters yearned for freedom. The pull of their ancient homeland had exerted its sway. Joel recognised the significance of the moment. He turned to Simon. Their glances met and they nodded quietly.

‘It’s time,’ said Simon.

‘Yes,’ said Joel. ‘They’ve found their roots.’

For a couple more days the lionesses were fed reduced rations while Lorna, with some help from her sister, polished off the remaining hares. Ellen’s return to health put on a spurt. She had filled out and she had a new confidence in herself. There was an eagerness about her which was a delight to see. Joel eventually began to wonder if the sisters could somehow tell that they were on the verge of an exciting adventure. They were restless. They patrolled the enclosure together, pausing now and then to stare with proud faces at their keepers as though looking for an expected signal. Then, early one morning, it came. An unusual bustle in the Kamenza refuge had the lionesses darting impatiently from one side of the pen to the other. They roared repeatedly, urging the men to hurry; to hasten their release. In a matter of moments, everything was transformed. An exit from the enclosure suddenly appeared on the far side as a section of fence was drawn upward, and they heard the voice of their old keeper, Joel, calling them by name for the last time.

‘Farewell, Lorna. Farewell, Ellen. Go now. Go home. Go home. Go! Go!’

From the veranda of her house Annie waved and waved. Together, always together, the lionesses bounded out of the opening and loped through the
long grass until they were just a tawny blur in the distance. The savannah engulfed them, easily finding space for two more beasts amongst the myriad already competing for life in its vastness.

Later, in the brief African twilight, Ellen and Lorna lay under an acacia tree. They had eaten. Lorna had chased and killed an elderly gazelle. Ellen had begun the chase too but her stamina was inadequate as yet and she had dropped out. Their meal had been interrupted by a pack of hyenas who had circled them as they ate their kill. Eventually the lionesses had been driven away by the pack’s determination and superior numbers. The sisters had been taught an early lesson about competition and when to give way. But there was much more to learn. Ellen lay staring in the direction of Kamenza and the security of its enclosures. Lorna, however, gazed across the limitless distance of the game park. Her eyes missed nothing. She watched the movements of the different game species that were now their neighbours, assessing them for strength, swiftness, rivalry, danger. She saw how one species reacted to another and she knew that she and her sister had to go cautiously and, for the most part, quietly before they were able to count themselves part of the great scheme. There were unknown fears to conquer as they battled for survival. There was anticipation too – a nerve-tingling, thrilling anticipation of the hunt and the triumph of speed and cunning.

‘Are you awake, sister?’ Lorna asked. ‘The air is cooling. There are new scents everywhere.’

‘Yes, I’m awake,’ Ellen answered. ‘I’ve been listening to all the strange cries. They’re quite disturbing. Whatever can they be?’

‘That’s what we’re going to find out,’ said Lorna.

Colin Dann was born in Richmond, Surrey. His interest in natural history was fostered by studying the local wildlife in Richmond Park, and wildlife success came at the age of ten, when he won a London Schools Essay Competition set by the RSPCA. His prize was a copy of
The Wind in the Willows
. For many years he worked for Collins, the publishers. It was during this period that his concern for conservation led him to write his first novel,
The Animals of Farthing Wood
, which won the Arts Council National Award for Children’s Literature in 1980.

Colin has since published seven further books in his Farthing Wood/White Deer Park sequence:
In the Grip of Winter
(1981),
Fox’s Feud
(1982),
The Fox Cub Bold
(1983),
The Siege of White Deer Park
(1985),
In the Path of the Storm
(1989),
Battle for the Park
(1992) and
Farthing Wood – The Adventure Begins
(1994). These stories were made into a highly successful animation series for the BBC. Other titles by him include
The Ram of Sweetriver
(1986),
The Beach Dogs
(1988),
Just Nuffin
(1989),
A Great Escape
(1990),
A Legacy of Ghosts
(1991) and the City Cats trilogy,
King of the Vagabonds
(1987),
The City Cats
(1991) and
Copycat
(1997).