Evans turned, and hurried forward.
There was something chilling about being herded by children. Except these weren't children. He was only too aware of the cold look in their eyes. They had seen a lot in their lives. They lived in another world. It was not Evans's world.
But he was now in theirs.
Up ahead, he saw a pair of jeeps at the side of a muddy road.
He looked at his watch. It was ten o'clock.
Seven hours to go.
But somehow it didn't seem important anymore.
The kids pushed them into the jeeps, and then they drove off, down a muddy track, into the dark and trackless interior of the jungle.
PAVUTU
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 14
11:02 A. M.
There were times, Sarah thought, when she really did not want to be a woman. That was how she felt as she was driven into the muddy village of Pavutu, the rebel stronghold, in the back of an open jeep. The village seemed to be populated almost entirely by men, who came yelling into the clearing to see who had arrived. But there were women, too, including older women who stared at her height and her hair, and then came up and poked at her, as if she might not be real.
Jennifer, who was shorter and darker, stood beside her and attracted no attention at all. Nevertheless, they were herded together into one of the huge thatch houses. Inside the house was a large open space, a kind of central room, three stories high. There was a ladder made of wood leading up to a series of landings, going all the way to the top, where there was a kind of catwalk and a viewing area. In the center of the room was a fire, and at the fire sat a heavyset man with pale skin and a dark beard. He wore sunglasses and had a sort of beret with the Jamaican flag on it.
This, it seemed, was Sambuca. They were shoved in front of him, and he leered at them, but it was clear to Sarah--she had an instinct for these things--that he was not interested in them. He was interested in Ted, and in Peter. Kenner he inspected briefly, then looked away.
"Killim."
They pushed Kenner out the door, poking him with the butts of their rifles. They were clearly excited at the prospect of executing him.
"No nau,"Sambuca said, in a growl."Behain."
It took Sarah a moment to translate in her head. Not now. Behind. Which must mean later on, she thought. So Kenner had a reprieve, at least for a while.
Sambuca turned and stared at the others in the room.
"Meris,"he said, with a dismissive wave."Goapim meri behain."
Sarah had the distinct impression, from the grins on the faces of the boys, that they were being given the freedom to do with the two women what they wanted. Go up 'em. She and Jennifer were led off to a back room.
Sarah remained calm. Of course she knew things were bad. But they were not bad yet. She was noticing that Jennifer did not appear to be shaken in the least. She had the same flat, uninterested expression that she might have if she was walking toward a company cocktail party.
The boys took the two women into a thatched room at the back of the larger building. There were two posts sunk in the earthen floor. One of the kids took out a pair of handcuffs and cuffed Jennifer to one post, her hands behind her back. Then he cuffed Sarah to the other post in the same way. Then another kid reached up and squeezed Sarah's tit, smiled knowingly, and walked out of the room.
"Charming," Jennifer said, when they were alone. "You all right?"
"So far, yes." There were drums starting to beat from somewhere outside, in the courtyard between the thatch buildings.
"Good," Jennifer said. "It's not over yet."
"Sanjong is--"
"Right. He is."
"But we came a long way in the jeeps."
"Yes. At least two or three miles. I tried to see the odometer, but it was spattered with mud. But on foot, even running, it'll take him a while."
"He had a rifle."
"Yes."
"Can you get free?"
Jennifer shook her head. "It's too tight."
Through the open door, they saw Bradley and Evans being led away to another room. They glimpsed the two men only for a moment. Not long after, Kenner followed. He glanced into their room, giving what seemed to Sarah a meaningful look.
But she couldn't be sure.
Jennifer sat down on the bare earth, leaning back against the pole. She said, "Might as well sit down. It could be a long night." Sarah sat down, too.
A moment later, a young boy looked in and saw that they were sitting. He came into the room, looked at their handcuffs, and then walked out again.
Outside, the drums were louder. People must have been starting to gather, because the women could hear shouts and murmurs.
"Going to be a ceremony," Jennifer said. "And I'm afraid I know what it is."