Fear No Evil

She took a quivering breath to contain herself. His voice and manner were so quietly determined they were almost military. His whole presence inspired confidence. ‘You’re a vet, you should know. It’s not right to keep an animal in a cage. You’ve seen them at that zoo of yours—you must’ve seen them in plenty of zoos.’ He shook his head at her across the dappled darkness. ‘Pacing about, in those tiny cages. Why are they doing that, Dr. Johnson? Mama, here, the tiger. Up and down, up and down. Why? Is it natural for a tiger to do that? Or is she doing it because she wants out? Because she wants space? Because her nerves and body and soul are crying out for freedom?’

‘But Mama doesn’t know about freedom! Any more than a child who grows up in Manhattan knows about Africa! She was born in captivity.’

He said quietly. ‘Then why does she do it? For fun? Because she’s enjoying herself? No, Dr. Johnson. She’s doing it because she just naturally knows she wants out. She’s yearning. And the other big cats in your zoo—they weren’t all born in captivity. They remember, just as you and I remember, natural things like freedom. They long for it. And the elephants and the hippo. And the gorillas …’ He shook his head. ‘Jamba—she wasn’t born in captivity, was she? And look at her tiny cage. Nor the two youngsters …’

Big Charlie said out of the darkness. ‘Cats finished eating.’

‘Mr Jordan, please listen …’

‘We’re going now, Dr. Johnson,’ he said quietly. ‘Thank you very much for the meat. You better go back to your car. I don’t think you’ll keep up with us; you’ll be left behind. It would be much better if you went back and told them to leave us alone.’

She cried. ‘Where are you going?’

But he turned away from her and made a low whistling sound. All about her in the dark the big animals turned and shuffled; then he was moving among them like a shadow, making soft muttering noises, touching them and calling them by name. She grabbed her knapsack, too desperate to marvel at what she was seeing.

They slithered down the embankment at Sams Gap, and scrambled onto the highway. Davey ran across the road and leaped up into the forest on the other side, and the animals loped and lumbered urgently after him, followed by Big Charlie and Sam. Last of all stumbled Dr. Elizabeth Johnson.

Davey slogged up through the black forest, across the mountain-side, the animals strung out behind him. Elizabeth gasped. ‘Mr Buffalohorn!’

Big Charlie hesitated, then stopped. She toiled up to him, and dropped her medical bag.

‘You better quit, ma’am.’

‘I’m coming, dammit!’

She was bent double, hands on knees, head hanging. He hesitated, then picked up her doctor’s bag. He turned and started after the animals.

She straightened, exhausted, then started stumbling doggedly after him.

Just before sunrise Davey stopped. They were in dense forest about a mile down-mountain from the Appalachian Trail. Somewhere, above the thudding of her heart, Elizabeth could hear a waterfall. He said, ahead in the dark, ‘We’re sleeping here.’

She looked exhaustedly about for a good spot. She badly wanted to sleep near him, or Big Charlie, or both.

But she was not going to ask. She wasn’t going to sleep surrounded by animals either. She went plodding back up the mountainside, struggling through the undergrowth, for about twenty paces. Then down she slumped.

She woke with sun on her eyelids. And the dread.

She blinked; all she could see was dense foliage. She struggled out of her sleeping bag, then her heart suddenly tripped as she heard a branch snap. She jerked around and stared, heart pounding; then closed her eyes. They were still here—that was the sound of an elephant feeding.

‘Mr. Jordan?’ she whispered.

The elephant jerked and blundered farther into the forest.

It was completely silent but for the hammering of her heart. She stood there, feeling helpless, afraid. She started rolling up her sleeping bag. Then out of the corner of her eyes she noticed a pair of black hairy legs. She jerked up, and looked straight into the blinking face of a chimpanzee, holding Big Charlie’s hand.

‘Oh, thank God …’ She closed her eyes. ‘Where’s Mr. Jordan?’

Charlie nodded downhill. ‘Asleep down there aways. Don’t do anything to wake him.’

‘And the animals?’

‘Down there too.’ He looked at her uncomfortably, eyes hooded in his brown face: ‘You’d better quit and go back today, Dr. Johnson. For your own sake.’

He had said it kindly. There was nothing she’d like better than to quit.

‘Well, I’m not going to … my own sake doesn’t matter. I’m staying for the animals’ sake.’

He built a tiny fire of dry twigs between two stones, balanced a little tin can of water and made coffee.

‘How long are you staying here?’

‘Until sunset. The animals need a good rest.’

‘And then?’

He did not answer. She wanted to cry out, For God’s sake tell me where you think you’re going.

‘The Garden of Eden, you said last night.’

Big Charlie fed twigs into the tiny fire. ‘Yes.’

She blurted, ‘There’s no such place.’

He did not answer. She closed her eyes in frustration. ‘Oh, for God’s sake give it up. They’re going to be shot to pieces. You know what a beast the American so-called hunter is! And I saw them, getting ready …’

He was staring into the little fire. Her hands were clenched; she stared at his big profile. He turned and looked at her, kindly.

‘It’s no good talking about it, Dr. Johnson.’

‘Where?’ she whispered fiercely. ‘And how the hell are you going to get there?’

‘It’s no use, Dr. Johnson. And it’s no good trying to talk to Davey about it, either. He’s got enough on his mind.’

She snorted. ‘Of course I’m going to talk to him; I don’t care how angry he gets.’

Big Charlie shook his head.

‘He won’t get mad. Takes an awful lot to make Davey mad. He just won’t argue with you, that’s all. He’ll just walk away.’

Big Charlie stood up and turned away himself.

‘Where are you going?’she appealed.

He stopped and looked back at her. Then she understood.

‘All right—I won’t talk about it anymore. Please don’t leave me here …’

‘Okay. Come with me.’