The screams were still in her ears long after they were silenced. She couldn't see beyond the drape covering her steel cage, the heat of the sun beating down on her confinement, causing the humidity to rise within her tiny prison and the sweat to dampen her clothes.
She didn't know if her friends were dead or alive, or why she was tossed onto the back of the truck while they were dragged off in the opposite direction. Sipho's blood was still on her arms and hands, dried smears that turned brown on her skin. She tried to help him, but there was nothing she could do. He lost his life trying to save them from the men who ambushed their tour in the light of day. It was like a scene from an action movie, though, in reality, it was a horror film.
The only glimpses of their surroundings were when they opened the drape to toss her water or food. She couldn't see her friends, only the men who spoke a language she didn't understand. They were poachers; she could figure that much by the tusks they were hoarding - an ever-growing pile of ivory.
She never wanted to travel to Botswana - to go on the safari for her bachelorette, but her fiance insisted and booked the trip himself. She wanted a weekend out with her girls in Cape Town. She should've stood her ground. She felt uneasy ever since Mark surprised them with the flights and bookings.
Call it her sixth sense, but she's always been right about the unexplained feelings of dread that placed her on edge. Whenever the persistent apprehension clawed at her chest, disaster was soon to follow, but she didn't want to seem ungrateful. So, she shook it off and now she was huddled in the corner of a cage, waiting to find out why these monsters were keeping alive.
It's been three days of the same. A few of the men would leave at the crack of dawn and return shortly after nightfall with their hunt of the day, chattering excitedly. She couldn't tell what they were saying but she knew the tone. They were bragging about what they did the day and the elephants they killed for no reason other than profit. Two men would stay behind, standing guard and ensuring she didn't escape- her babysitters.
Today was different, though. The sun was still high when she heard the poachers return - one vehicle instead of the three that left. The men didn't sound excited, they were almost frantic. She could hear them shouting - things being tossed around as they packed up in a panic. The truck she was on suddenly roared to life and sped away, causing her to fall forward into the door of her cage, tearing open the already healing cut that split her lip. The sting had tears forming in her eyes.
They couldn't have gotten far in the few minutes that the truck was speeding along the gravel road when they slammed on the brakes, sending her flying backwards again, her head connecting with the rear of the cage and then they were rolling. Her scream, an instinctive shriek, muffled out by the yells of the men as she tumbled within her steel confinement.
She got separated from the truck, the drape over her cage remaining in place, but she caught a glimpse through an opening, trying to see what was happening. There was so much going on. The yelling continued and then suddenly gunshots had her ducking down, curling in on herself, the action sending a sharp pain through her ribcage.
The last of the shots fired echoed within her ears and then everything went silent moments before the drape over her cage was flung off, her arms tossing over her eyes to shield her from the blinding light. She tried to focus, her eyes struggling to adjust, but all she could see was the silhouette of a tall figure casting a shadow over her.