Hostile Territory (A Spider Shepherd short story) by Stephen Leather Read Free Book Online

they provided. Shepherd squinted through the site of his rifle drawing a bead on the man’s left eye as he moved slowly forward in three-quarter profile to him. He took a deep breath and as he exhaled, he squeezed home the trigger. He allowed himself a brief smile of satisfaction as the man’s head exploded. The boys looked around trying to work out where the shot had come from but Shepherd had already moved on. Shepherd discarded everything but his weapon and ammunition and belt kit to increase his speed over the ground. He had no food and could move safely only at night, for once he had left the forest and begun to cross the savannah, he was dangerously exposed by day, visible for miles under the pitiless sun.
    For two days and nights he moved on and then, exhausted, semi-delirious and now completely without water or food, he was stumbling through a patch of scrub when his eye caught a slight movement from the base of a thorn bush. As he looked at it, he saw an eye staring back at him. He swung his weapon up but in that instant, he heard a voice crying ‘Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!’ and an African man crawled out from under the tree and stood up, raising his hands over his head.
    ‘It’s all right, you can put your hands down,’ said Shepherd. ‘Why were you hiding?’
    The man grinned. ‘English?’ he said. ‘You’re English, aren’t you? Look at this!’
    He fumbled in his pocket and produced a small, cracked and crumpled book with a sun-faded red cover. Shepherd took it from him and read the title: “Soldier’s Service And Pay Book.”
    The man’s smile had become even broader. ‘It belonged to my father, Thomas Tucker,’ he said. ‘He fought with the British West African Field Force in the Second World War. He told me many stories of fighting with the Chindits in Burma. I am named after him: Thomas Tucker, Junior.’
    ‘Pleased to meet you,’ Shepherd said. ‘I’m Dan, but why were you hiding?’
    ‘Because the rebels are here. The RUF. If they find me they will kill me.’
    ‘I hear you,’ said Shepherd. ‘Looks like we have something in common.’
    ‘But you have a rifle. You can fight them off.’ He paused, eyeing Shepherd narrowly. ‘You are making for Freetown? We can travel together.’
    ‘I’m sorry Thomas, I can’t take a passenger.’
    Thomas shook his head. ‘I won’t be a passenger. You protect me - be my bodyguard - and I will show you a safe route into Freetown. Very few people know it. And,’ he said as his gaze took in Shepherd’s cracked lips and the empty bottle dangling from his belt. ‘I know where there is water too.’ He held out his own bottle. ‘Go on, drink. There is water nearby.’
     Shepherd took the bottle gratefully and took a long pull on it. Almost at once he felt some of his strength and sharpness returning. He looked at Thomas for a moment and then nodded. ‘All right, you’ve got yourself a deal.’
     Thomas led Shepherd away, at a tangent to the bearing he’d been following. A couple of miles away, half-hidden in a hollow, was a large baobab tree. ‘Give me your water bottle,’ Thomas said. He climbed its bulbous trunk, hauled himself up and then leaned forward into the crook of two branches. A few moments later, he dropped the bottle down to Shepherd; it was now full of water. Thomas beamed at the look of surprise on his face. We call these trees “the tree of life”. They store water from the wet season.’ He moved out along the branch and leaned down to pull a fruit that looked like a gourd from the underside. He grinned down at Shepherd. ‘They feed us, too.’
    He climbed back down and used a bush knife to cut through the hard skin, exposing its white, powdery pulp. He dug some out and handed it to Shepherd. Shepherd ate it greedily; it was the first food of any kind he’d seen in two days. It tasted like a cross between a pineapple and a melon with a tart, citrus tang.
    They moved off again and Thomas led Shepherd even further