NO! Alice heard the helicopter flying away from their location! She immediately broke another branch and threw it over the fire. Dark gray smoke drifted up making Alice cough violently. Surely they couldn't miss seeing the smoke now! The thick smoke made it difficult for Alice to see. Her eyes burned and the smoke singed her throat. As she stepped back from the pit she noticed the lion was no longer pacing outside their camp. Where had the beast gone? Had the smoke frightened it away? Or, had it finally entered their campsite? If so, where was it? Fear gripped at her heart as Alice rushed to Danny's side and grabbed the rifle. By now the smoke had become a thick dark cloud engulfing the camp and making it impossible for Alice to see her surroundings.
Evan and the Search and Rescue team's tracker, Mark Aguda, knelt to look at the footprints left behind by Danny and Alice. It was obvious to both the direction Danny and Alice had taken. They had decided to walk back to Leopard's Den. All the rescue team needed to do now was to follow their tracks until they found them.
Dupe knew it normally would have taken about five hours to reach Leopard's Den by foot. Danny knew the area well so they couldn't have gotten lost. The older man didn't want to think about it, but he felt it in the pit of his stomach - something terrible must have happened to his friends on their way back.
Rowan noticed the worried look on Dupe's face. "You believe something bad has happened to them, don't you?"
Dupe looked at his feet and nodded. "Yeah, I do. They came here first, so they would have arrived here early yesterday morning. When the jeep rolled down the hill and crashed they decided to walk back to Leopard's Den. Danny wouldn't have made the trip unless they were both okay and he thought it would be all right for them to do…anyway, they should've arrived at the house sometime late yesterday afternoon. They didn't make it back and that means only one thing…"
"I see what you mean," Rowan said anxiously. "Do you think Evan realizes this?"
"Evan's not stupid. He's just hoping, like I am, that we'll find them alive and in one piece."
The phone rang at Leopard's Den. Georgina rushed to answer it.
"Hello," Georgina said. "Oh, hi, Vanessa. How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine, thanks. Have you heard anything yet?"
"No, dear, I haven't."
"I'm coming over," Vanessa said.
"Vanessa, you should stay at Mara and rest. You have guests arriving today, remember. I promise I'll let you know as soon as I hear anything."
"I've put Cedric in charge. I just can't stay here and do nothing. I'll be right over," Vanessa said firmly.
There was a click on the other end of the line. Georgina sighed heavily and hung up the phone. She stepped into the living room and found Charlotte curled up on the couch and crying softly. The old woman sat beside the little girl and took her in her arms.
"I want my Mommy," Charlotte said sobbing.
"I know, honey. Everyone's doing their best to find her. Right now we have to be brave. She wouldn't want you worrying about her would she?" Georgina asked.
"No," Charlotte whimpered.
"Hey, how would like to help me bake some cookies for your mommy? I'm sure she and Danny will be starving by the time they get here and cookies always make people feel good."
"Okay," Charlotte said.
"Come on then," Georgina hugged the little girl once more and led her into the kitchen.
Danny stirred and began to cough. Alice waved her arms back and forth trying to clear the air around him but to no avail. A light breeze was blowing the thick smoke in their direction. Alice had to do something! She rushed over to the pit, grabbed the end of the branches and removed them from the fire. Alice was relieved to see how quickly the smoke began to disappear. However, her relief was short-lived. When she turned toward Danny, what she saw made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. The male lion had somehow found its way into the camp and was standing mere inches from the man she loved.
"GET OUT OF HERE!" Alice screamed, waving her arms wildly.
The lion was startled and backed away just a few inches, but then it came to an abrupt halt. It turned toward Alice and stood its ground. Alice was shocked and couldn't understand how the animal was so bold and fearless of the fire and smoke.
"GET BACK!" Alice shouted again.
The wild beast growled fiercely showing the young woman its long and lethal fangs. Suddenly the animal made a move toward Danny.
"STOP!" Alice screamed. "You go near him and I'll kill you!" She aimed the rifle at the big cat.
To her shock the lion turned toward her and got into a striking posture with its head and body low. Alice knew the big cat was getting ready to attack.
"Didn't they say they should be out in this area?" the helicopter pilot asked the copilot.
"That's what they figure," the copilot answered.
"Well, if they are down there we should have seen them by now."
"Unless they're under some trees or they've been…" the copilot didn't have to finish the sentence. The pilot knew exactly what he meant.
"Yeah, well, let's go around again and see if we notice anything out of the ordinary," said the helicopter pilot.
As the helicopter crew flew the aircraft over the area once again they finally spotted the smoke drifting up through the African Wattles.
"I see smoke!" the copilot said excitedly.
"Yep, that's gotta be them," the pilot said and radioed the rescue team coordinator immediately.
"The helicopter crew's spotted smoke about ten miles north of here! It has to be them!" the coordinator said to Dupe.
"Then what are we waiting for? Evan, come on! " Dupe shouted at the boy and ran toward the Land Rover with Rowan and Evan at his heels. The rescue team ran toward their vehicle and drove off after Dupe.
Vanessa arrived at Leopard's Den and rushed into the house. She found Georgina, Charlotte and Nomsa in the kitchen baking cookies.
Georgina noticed the surprised look on Vanessa's face. "Best kind of therapy, I say," Georgina said smiling. "Why don't you join us?"
"I'd rather be out there looking for them," Vanessa said impatiently.
"You've done enough, Vanessa. Let the professionals do their job," the older woman said firmly. "Now, help Charlotte cut out the cookie dough."
Charlotte held the cookie cutter out to Vanessa. The blonde reluctantly took the utensil and began cutting into the flattened dough.
The lion's roar and the animal's proximity pierced through the darkness enveloping Danny's mind. He became agitated again. He stirred and brought his arms up to protect his face. Unfortunately, his movements caught the lion's attention. The beast could smell the blood on Danny's leg and all it could think about was getting its next meal.
"DANNY! DON'T MOVE!" Alice shouted.
She grabbed one of the burning branches and raced toward the lion, but the big cat had already made a mad dash toward the unconscious man! Alice had no other choice – she quickly aimed the rifle and fired!