AllFreeNovel
Share Us
But before we could even start our story of being stranded in a Mexican jungle, a loud, thundering noise behind us captured our attention.
“What in the hell?” Marge spun in her seat. Her eyes went big. “Oh, cripes.”
I spun to see what had caused her face to freeze up like stone. When I saw the stampeding herd of animals barreling straight toward us, my eyes flashed as wide as hers. “Holy shit! Stampede!”
Ndungu glanced over his shoulder then spit out several words I didn’t understand, but I assumed were swear words in his native language. “The lions are attacking and it’s causing a stampede. We can’t get caught up in this. That many animals can destroy the vehicle with no effort. We can go faster than them, but this rough terrain isn’t made for speed. It’s going to be a bumpy ride, so hold on tight, ladies!”
We grabbed ahold of anything within our reach as Ndungu stepped on the gas. Doris started spitting out prayers while I flung out a string of swearwords that likely canceled out her good ones.
“They are gaining on us, Ndungu!” Sylvie screeched as she looked out behind us.
I spun back in my seat to see the wall of huge bodies surrounded by red dust closing in by the second.
We picked up speed as we lurched and bumped along the rocky, uneven ground. Each time we hit a bump, we shrieked as we caught air and came crashing back down. We hit a huge rut, and it sent the cruiser airborne for a moment, our screams melding with the roaring engine, and then we came down hard. A loudbangpunctured the air, and the cruiser veered left and right. We screamed again as Ndungu struggled to get control of the vehicle.
Ndungu spit out another word I didn’t understand, then started looking left and right frantically as we slowed down. “We blew a tire. We can’t outrun them now. And they are in such a panic they will flip this vehicle if I don’t get out of the path. I’m going to try for that river crossing I told you about and hope the water has receded enough we can make it across. They should keep going straight when we turn. Hold on tight because it will get bumpy when we hit the water at high speed.”
“Holy cripes! This is worse than running with the bulls!” Marge shouted, tugging on her seatbelt to make sure it was tight.
We all did the same, then I turned back to see just how close the buffalo were. At this distance, I could see the whites of their eyes. “They are right on our tail! Drive, Ndungu, drive!”
“Hold on, ladies! I’ll get you out of this!” He grabbed the wheel, veering left into the river between the stone markers indicating the crossing spot. Our screams collided into one loud, ear-shattering cry that I assumed every animal and human in Africa had heard. When we hit the water at high speed, it felt like slamming into a wall. I grunted as I flung forward into my seatbelt.
“Hold on! I’ve got to try to get us across!” Ndungu pressed the gas, gunning the vehicle into the deepening river. We were only fifty feet from the other side, but it felt like a mile as the vehicle started to chug when the water came up over the hood.
Behind us, the stampede of panicked animals blew by, tearing apart the ground we’d just been driving on. For a moment, I took a sigh of relief we were no longer in their path, but when we were a little over halfway across, the vehicle tires started spinning, then the engine sputtered and stalled out. My panic leaped up my throat again.
“Damn,” Ndungu breathed. “It’s too deep. The tires are sinking, and the water has flooded the engine. We can’t drive across.”
“Now what happens?” Doris cried out. “Are we going to drown?”
“No. We’re gonna sit here and wait while I call back to the resort, and they’ll send someone for help. There is nothing to worry about. We are prepared for any and all emergencies.”
I looked down at the water flooding in by our feet. “Are we sinking? We’re sinking, aren’t we?”
Ndungu kept his calm and shook his head. “We’re not sinking. We’re safe on the bridge which is wide enough we aren’t going to slide off. We’re just stuck. The water won’t get any deeper. It’s deep on either side of us, but here we’re only in a few feet. Nothing dangerous, but too deep to drive through. We could walk back, but with the lions on the hunt, we’re safest in here. As long as we stay in the vehicle, we’re fine. All we have to do is sit here and wait for help.” He smiled and lifted up his phone, showing he was going to make the call.
Bam.
The vehicle shook with a powerful blow, and our screams returned into one horrifying melody as we gripped our seats while the vehicle rocked from the hit.
“What the hell was that?” Marge shouted, and we all looked around.
Bam.
Another hit, this time hard enough we felt the vehicle start tipping to the left.
Our screams rose again like we were competing in an audition for the part of “screaming girl” in a B-rated horror movie.
“What is happening?” Sylvie asked, panicked, as the vehicle slammed back down into the water.
“I don’t kn—” Ndungu started, but his sentence was stopped by another hit.
This time, a huge hippo’s head appeared at the side of the vehicle right beside me.
“Ahhhhhhhhhh!” we screamed so loudly that I worried we’d rupture our own ear drums.
“Holy cripes! We’re under attack!” Marge shouted.
