Gert Strydom
The Soldier [26]
Although the old dilapidated lorry bumps along while chickens are cackling and goats are bleating on the back of it and the sun is scorching Ryno and Maria, Maria is happy that they do not have to walk like the previous day.
Her feet is not completely healed and the walking of the previous day, did not help to let the wounds feel any better.
***
They drove with the Mercedes back to Luanda and from there took a road into the interior of the country. They were travelling well, but had almost driven into a FAPLA roadblock.
Luckily they were able to get off the road before being spotted and had hidden the Mercedes in a thorny acacia as the fuel had also been used up; perforce they had to start walking.
At places Ryno had carried her on his back, until they reached a farmer with a lorry whom Maria had known from her childhood days.
***
Ryno’s hair is being blowing in the wind, where next to her he is standing and looking at the road in front of them. He looks at Maria where she is sitting close to him and her smile hits deep into his heart and he smiles back to her.
He can almost not believe that they are together again and that they are free. He watches a few eagles that hang in the air to the west and it feels as if he can fly away along with them.
From under the camouflage cap on her head, she looks much younger and her black hair glitters in the afternoon sun. When he goes to sit down right next to her, she wipes the hair that is blowing into her face away with a small dirty hand.
The red dust is plastered all over Ryno’s face and the black camouflage paint had left stripes where the drops of his sweat started to run.
”Are we almost there,” he wants to know from Maria and he takes her hand in an encouraging gesture. “Yes, it cannot be very much further,” she remarks and wonders if Roberto Chipenda will be at his shop that is situated west from Cassinga.
After a while Ryno stands again and he again follows the flight of the eagles, when suddenly he notices something in the distance glittering in the air.
A few times he hits loudly with his fist on the roof of the vehicle and it rocks dangerously, when the driver at speed pulls the vehicle from the road into the veldt.
From behind the shelter of some trees they watch the passing helicopter, while it keeps coming nearer and to their relief it flies right on and eventually disappears in the distance.
”We have got to drive on,” the driver remarks and when the lorry battles to start, Ryno jumps off to help push while Maria is behind the steering wheel.
The engine however battles a bit longer, before it eventually starts. Ryno climbs back onto the truck, before it again takes to the road into the direction of the small shop.
Near to the shop the lorry stops under some trees and kills its engine and Ryno sneaks through the bushes to scout the aria at the shop. He finds the shop totally deserted.
The farmer drops them at the shop and slowly drives away. There is an old windmill that pumps water from a borehole and they drink some of the cold water, before they fill their water bottles.
They rest a while in the shadow of the small shop before Ryno carries Maria on his back to the shelter of the bushes at the side of the road, while they are walking into the direction of the bush hospital where they plan to use the radio transmitter to arrange to be picked up by a small aircraft.
They do however not reach the hospital. They climb a small hillock some distance from the road. It’s is a good lookout position and they are tired and thirsty and plan to spend the night right there. There is a cloud of dust that covers the western horizon, but it’s not a dust cloud.
The dust cloud in the west gets larger and the noise that goes along with it becomes louder and louder. “What can it be,” Ryno wants to know somewhat dumbstruck.
Ryno uses the binoculars and suddenly brings it down from his eyes. “Come on. We have got to get some shelter,” he says and quickly they hide under a rock that is somewhat hollow like a small cave of which the mouth is covered by bushes.
”Elephants. They are chasing them towards the river,” Ryno tells Maria and shakes his head as if he does not believe his own words. “They are using the helicopter gunships to gather them.” Another sound draws his attention.
He searches with the binoculars and notices the dot, northwest from them. They are near to the river and it lies between them and the elephants.
”The elephants have got cross the river before they can reach us,” Maria protests. “Why are we hiding?”
There are some of that Russian helicopter gunships coming directly in this direction,” Ryno explains. Maria takes the binoculars from Ryno. She notices eight helicopters hanging in the distance in the air above the elephants and that the veldt behind the elephants is burning and that the fire is driving the herd to the river.
Some more Mi-24 helicopters comes flying along the river and their rotors scream protesting while they land next to the river.
Groups of soldiers manned with light machineguns and belts of ammunition, jump from the doors before the helicopters take to the air again and fly away in a north-western direction.
”What are they doing here,” Ryno asks although it is quite clear what they are up to.
”They cannot just mow the poor animals down,” Maria hisses angrily. “We are in Angola and here the MPLA-government does just what it wants,” Ryno answers her.
Some more helicopters drop groups of heavily armed soldiers and they spread out and stand all along the river bank.
”Elephants. Look Ryno. The elephants are coming,” Maria indicates and give the binoculars back to Ryno and to the west there are elephants wherever he looks.
There are huge numbers of elephants running towards the river and the men on the river bank stand motionless, while the mass of trumpeting and scared animals are nearing them.
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