Page 36 of Sheltering Instinct

“Out here, people help each other, or people die. Okay, here we go. They’re at a good angle. I’m flashing SOS in their direction with the signal mirror. Just so you know, in between flashes, I’m watching the vehicle’s progress through your binoculars. I’m trying to aim the flash toward their windshield.”

“Can we make a deal?”

“What’s that?”

“If that car doesn’t stop and come up to us, you’ll go down and drive away to get help?”

“If we’re not home in time to get dressed for dinner, Mom’s going to send someone to look for us. In Namibia, she’s impatient with me not being where I’m supposed to be.”

“Gwen, I could die by then. I could lose my leg. This is a no-joke emergency. Please. If this car doesn’t stop to help, you have to go down. Time is the enemy. I’ll blow the emergency whistle to keep predators away.”

“They’ve stopped.” There was victory in Gwen’s voice.

“Far?” Tess asked.

“Yeah. They’re getting out.”

“Are they searching for the direction? Flash the signal again.”

“I’ll flash again, but I don’t think they stopped for my signal. It looks like they stopped to change their tire. I know Otto was an idiot on the Big Daddy trip, but flats really do happen quite a bit here. Some of the rocks are very sharp.”

“Are they far? Could you get down to them?”

“Down and over to them? No, it’s farther than the vineyard, and I’m not leaving you at dusk on a hill in Namibia. It’s not happening.”

“Which is worse, venom or predator?”

“The problem, Tess, is it could be both. You don’t get a choice. Nope, they don’t seem to see my signal.”

“Okay.” Tess’s mind was switching away from desperation to something much clearer and more rational. “Think. How do we signal them? You could hold up a mylar emergency blanket, and I could use my head lamp’s strobe. Look at them in proximity to us. Could they see something like that?”

“I’m standing on the edge of the observation deck and considering,” Gwen walked Tess through her actions, probably so Tess would leave her arm draped over her eyes. “Yeah, I thinkthat would be a long shot. They may see it and not feel curious enough to climb the hill to check it out. It would be different if that were search and rescue, and they were hunting our signal.”

“As the crow flies, how far are they?”

“Not taking into consideration the trek down just straight out? I’m looking through the binoculars, and I’d say, what? My best guess is that they’re not that far, quarter of a mile? Less? Four men and a dog. That’s good. If we can get their attention they can carry you off the hillside. You can’t exert.”

“Try the hurricane whistle,” Tess commanded. “Three blasts. Count to thirty. Three blasts. On repeat.”

“Hurricane … okay, where is it?”

“Attached to the handle for easy reach. It’s orange.”

“Got it.”

The shrill pitch of the whistle moved through Tess’s system.

Chapter Eleven

Levi

Between Etosha and Metz Vineyard

Enrico pulled off the narrow, paved road into the dirt. “Flat tire,” he said, sliding the gear to park. “The longer you visit, the more you realize how typical that is in Namibia. Like an Irish fisherman sits in front of the fire fixing their nets at night, we sit under the stars repairing the holes in our tires.”

The four men piled out.

“What can I do to give you a hand?” Levi asked as Mojo clambered out the door and immediately put his nose in the air, checking his environment.

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