Lamia (3 page)

“Um, there aren’t any dangerous or poisonous creatures that can attack me around here, are there?”

“Plenty,” she replied in a very matter-of-fact way.  “Best to
prod
things
around
with
a stick before you pick them up, and don’t go wandering off.
”

I was now very much on my guard, knowing that there were creatures that could hurt me.

“What about bears?” I asked.

“Oh don’t prod them, they don’t like it.”

She looked so serious until I realised what she had said.  Th
en we both burst out laughing.

By the time I had collected the wood, Maria had weaved
three short fences about a metre high.  These she laid against a boulder before dusting off a flat rock for the fire.  We built the fire together which I thought was probably the best idea.  As the sun dropped I was glad to have
its
heat.  Maria toasted some kinds of vegetable and made some tea with more of the leaves from the farm.
  We also had some fruit.

“I think I’m all right with plain water,” I said, not wanting to taste the
pungent liquid for a second time.

“You must drink it,” she said.  “It will relax your muscles and you won’t ache as much tomorrow.”

“What plant are the leaves from?”

“They’re coca leaves from the coca bush.”

“Coca!  I’ve been drinking cocaine?”

“No, you’ve been drinking and chewing coca.  It’s as close to cocaine as grapes are to wine.  It’s a mild stimulant, a bit like coffee but it has other properties that help
us
cope with this environment. 
Don’t worry about it, just drink it up.”

How could I ever have thought of this girl
as being weak?
  I
would not have dreamt of
disobeying her.

Darkness fell very quickly and Maria set up two of the fences at right angles to the rock, with the third one completing the square.  She had spread some leafy branches on the ground for padding and we pulled a waterproof cover over the top.  The cover and the food also explained why Maria’s pack was
bigger than mine.
  The fire was nearly out and the temperature had dropped considerably by the time we stepped into our sleeping area, pulled the cover over us, wrapped up in our blankets
and bid each other goodnight.

I could not sleep even though I was exhausted.  It was so cold that my teeth began to chatter and I wondered if I would make it through the night.  Then a hand began to rub my arm vigorously.

“You’re cold,” she whispered.  “Here, let’s share body heat.”

She moved right up against me pushing into my back and snaking her arm around me.  With two blankets and shared body heat I soon got warm again, yet still I could not sleep.  Maria had to be the most practical person I had ever met, but she had no idea of the effect she was having on me!
  I eventually
sle
p
t
but I had very confusing dreams.

By the time I awoke I was alone.  I peeked out from under the cover to see Maria
cooking breakfast over a crackling fire.  The air was cool and I
emerged still in my blanket,
much to
her
amusement.  I noticed she was cooking
Changua again but this time I was actually looking forward to it.  I sat there, still shivering a little as I watched Maria sprinkle fresh herbs over our breakfast.  The herbs did not come from her bag, so I assumed that she had already been out looking for them, as well as finding sticks and kindling for the fire,
and I was supposed to be looking after her?

Breakfast ended with the inevitable coca tea and by this time I had warmed up.  I noticed that Maria had kept a burnt ember from the previous night’s fire.  She noticed me looking at it.

“Toothpaste,” she said enigmatically.

I watched as she rubbed her index finger on the charred wood and proceeded to rub it on her teeth.  My teeth felt furry so I followed suit with the unpleasant task.  After a rinse she produced an apple each for us which quickly removed all traces of black from our teeth.
  We packed up our gear and I was ready for another day.  I thought that perhaps the
following
night would be warmer at a lower altitude and that Maria and I could relax a little together.
  As the saying goes, we all know what thought
did!  My night was to be the most stressful I had ever encountered.

I had not realised the
vast
area of ground that needed to be covered, just to secure a few plants!  Maria never seemed to tire
but
there had been times throughout the day when I
had
doubted I would make it.
If it was not for the stop at the lake to fill the water bottles, I think I might have passed out. 
It was always I who asked to
rest
,
when she would feed me fruit and coca leaves
.  Maria moved around like a
hunting
dog
,
running
right and left so that nothing was missed.  She jogged up and down embankments while every so often holding up a bunch of herbs or a root that she had found.  She would come back and show me her prize
, grinning
like a little girl showing off a new toy.  Couple this with the fact that her pack was twice the size of mine,
I
wondered if she would have been better on her own.

Eventually
we had arrived at our chosen spot for the night,
after the gruelling day. 
I knew the system by now so I set out to collect wood for the fire.

At first it looked like a branch had been broken and was drooping its brown leaves down to the ground.  I approached it thinking that the dead wood and leaves would make good kindling, when to my horror, I saw it was a man with his hands tied above his head.  I rushed up to him without thinking of the danger in which I could have placed myself, when I noticed that his naked body was covered in raised welts with canoe shaped bites in their centres, some up to four inches long.  The man was barely breathing and I was trying not to panic.  Maria had the only knife with which to cut him down, but how could I expose her to this naked, beaten man?
  After all, she
blushed at the mere touch of her hand.

I rushed back to camp and told Maria that I needed the knife quickly.

“What do you need it for?”

“I can’t tell you but please just trust me.”

“Sorry Michael, I can’t do that out here.  You look terrified!  What have you
seen
?”

“Believe me Maria, you don’t want to see this!”

She looked me in the eyes, then she grabbed me by the shoulders and backed me up against a tree.

“What is it?” she asked, but I could not speak.

She spun me away from the tree and pushed me forward.

“Show me,” she commanded.

I led her to the tree.  I do not know what I expected her to do; perhaps scream or panic
in some other way
.  The first thing she did was to look carefully around her in every direction.
Then she told me to support his
body.  He groaned as I touched him and I was startled into letting go, just as Maria cut the rope.
  He hit the ground with a thud and another groan.  Maria flashed a look at me.  Looking around again she took one of his arms.

“Help me get him back to camp,” she whispered.

I took the other arm and we dragged the unfortunate back to a fallen tree where we had left our packs.  I started to put him down but Maria had us take him into the tangled branches out of sight.

It was a bizarre situation.  We were lying on the ground in the chill of the evening air with a naked, wounded man,
but
Maria seemed to know just what to do.  It was as if she were used to doing things like this,
yet
I knew her as a shy creature who could not
even
hold my gaze as we spoke.

“Stay here,” she said and she disappeared, only to return immediately with the packs.

Then she disappeared again.  I watched her through the branches in the fading light.  She moved swiftly and silently through the forest.  Then, with furtive glances she proceeded to use a short, leafy branch to sweep away the track where we had dragged the man.  I was still lying beside him, sharing my blanket, but he seemed very cold.

I felt relieved when Maria arrived back.  I told myself that I was worried for her safety, but in truth, I was the one who was frightened.
  She
laid
the other side of the injured man, opened her jacket and
tucked
up against him to keep him warm.  I tentatively moved close to him.

“Undo your jacket,” she whispered.  “Share your body heat.”

I did what I was told although cuddling a naked man did cause me much concern.  I was astonished that Maria took it in her stride.  I heard men talking in Spanish nearby and I knew that there would be no fire to keep us warm that night.  The men camped some sixty paces from us and in the dead of night, I felt certain they would hear my heart beating.

It was a frightening night that saw me drift in and out of sleep.  Just before dawn I felt the man begin to twitch and I was relieved that he had made it through the night.
  The next time I opened my eyes, Maria was crouching a short distance away, surveying the other camp.  She beckoned me to her.

“They’re about to break camp and they’re heading for our village.  We must get there before they do so that we can warn everyone!  It’s too open further down the mountain.  We’d be spotted unless we were over a mile ahead.”

This seemed an impossible task and I wondered how we would have achieved it even without an injured man.

“Listen very carefully,” whispered Maria.  “You see those rocks over there?  Now follow them along until you come to a vertical crack.”

I followed her line of sight and saw the crack.

“There’s a ledge coming out from the left of the crack.  When you get there, follow the ledge along and you’ll see a small opening about head-height.  Pull yourself up into it and wait for me there.”

“Wait for you there?  Where will you be?”

“I’m going to distract them.”

This plan did not seem sane to me!

“What about him?”

“He’s dead,” she replied.  “He died a couple of hours into the night.”

“Oh no!” I said, a little too loudly which made us both duck down.
  “He was still alive this morning.  He was moving around for ages.”

“Rats,” she said.

“Rats?”

She tugged at the blanket exposing his legs and I noticed three missing toes.  Then the horror of realising I had been sleeping next to a man while the rats ate his feet, made me retch.

A hand clamped over my mouth and I was pulled to the ground.

“Be quiet!” she hissed.

I swallowed and slowly she released her grip.

“Are you ready? 
Take the packs and
wait until they’re all chasing me.  Do you know where you’re going?”