Switch! by Karen Prince

Author:Karen Prince
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Young adult fantasy adventure
Publisher: Karen Prince
Published: 2012-09-23T16:00:00+00:00

16

A Ride on a Tiger

After a night spent cradled in the upper branches of a baobab tree, Joe awoke stiff, his legs ablaze with pain from running, and his arms almost too sore to reach out and pluck a fruit growing less than a metre from where he lay. Ears straining for any sound of hyenas, he craned his head over the treetops, and followed the path he had taken the night before, to see if Mesande had followed him. Chuki had said “pack”. Did the people of the forest roam in packs like gangs in movies? If he found other people living in the forest, would they attack him or help him?

Even from his position, elevated above the treetops, Joe had to move a few branches to get a clear view of his surroundings. The forest fell away abruptly, not far east of Mesande’s village, into a deep rift valley. Dense acacia woodland filled the valley floor, with a river meandering through the middle, which flowed into a large lake. And on the far side of the lake there were definite signs of a settlement. Although it looked many days hike away, he wondered why his rescuers had directed him south-west, towards the mountains, instead of east towards the settlement. Had they really meant witches? Anything was possible. The tiger had mentioned witches, and the villagers had been prepared to believe that he was a demon, but surely that was just ignorance?

In the end, as tempted as he was to strike out towards the lake settlement, that way lay past Mesande’s village. Joe rubbed a knot of tension in his neck. He did not want to risk going anywhere near Mesande’s village.

His stomach rumbled. Almost groaning with fatigue and stiffness, he stretched out a hand to pluck a fruit and bashed it against the trunk of the baobab tree, the shock of the impact rippling painfully up his arm. Despite its velvety coating, the gourd-like casing was too hard to crack against the bark of the tree. Instead, he had to ease his way to the forest floor, where he managed to crack it open against a rock. Sticky powder-covered seeds spilled out onto the ground.

After sucking the tangy flesh off the seeds he lined them up on a rock and carefully broke them open with a stone to get at the soft nutty-tasting core, which he felt must be nutritious. His mother always cracked open the pips of plums and apricots to get at the goodness hidden in them. He washed them down with a swig of water from the water-skin Chuki’s friends had given him the night before, and picked up two fallen fruits for later. He absentmindedly patted down his sides where his pockets should be, before he remembered that the pelt-like garment that they’d given him hadn’t any. He balked at the pelt that looked just like Mesande’s unkempt hair. Although the same thing hadn’t looked so bad on Chuki, he felt like a savage.

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