The Everest Files by Matt Dickinson Page B

he saw she was trembling and white in the face as she reached the far side.
    Shortly after making the crossing the trail became steeper and more demanding. Conversation petered out as they climbed one valley wall after another. The lack of sleep began to tell; Kami felt weirdly light-headed, like he was floating a few metres above the ground.
    By late morning they were travelling through a vast forest. In the middle they found a small encampment where a band of men were burning wood to create charcoal. They were rough working types covered in soot from head to toe, but they greeted these new arrivals cheerfully and offered them tea.
    â€˜Have you seen a man with a gun?’ Kami asked them.
    â€˜He came past just after dawn,’ one of the charcoal burners told them, ‘miserable-looking character, didn’t even say Namaste.’
    Just after dawn! Shreeya and Kami exchanged a look of quiet satisfaction. They were definitely moving faster than their quarry and after one night on the trail were now just five or six hours behind him.
    â€˜What’s your business with him?’ another asked curiously.
    â€˜He’s hunting for snow leopards,’ Shreeya told him, sipping her sweet tea, ‘and we’re going to stop him.’
    The men roared with laughter at this and the children’s cheeks flared red with embarrassment. Kami thought they should have come up with a cover story that sounded a little more plausible, but he knew that Shreeya was incapable of lying.
    â€˜Do your parents know you’re doing this?’ one of them asked sharply.
    â€˜Yes,’ Kami answered. He got a hard look from Shreeya for this reply, but he figured he wasn’t exactly lying.
    â€˜Better you go back to your village,’ the wisest looking of the men told them in a kindly tone, ‘I saw that man and I wouldn’t want to mess around with him.’
    â€˜We’re going to Langtang anyway,’ Kami said hurriedly, ‘but thanks for the advice.’
    The conversation died away and the children hurried to finish their drinks. They thanked the charcoal burners and hit the trail again, refreshed by the sweet tea and disturbed by these new words of warning.
    â€˜I think it’s better we try and avoid talking to people,’ Shreeya said.
    Kami agreed with her, and from that point on they ran into the forest and hid on the rare occasions they heard people coming towards them.
    On the second night fatigue began to wear them down. They had been moving for thirty hours without a significant rest and both were staggering with exhaustion. The battery in their single torch had run out and they found themselves tripping along a narrow and greasy section of the trail high above a rushing river.
    â€˜This trail is too dangerous,’ Kami said finally in despair, ‘We can’t see enough. If we slip here … ’
    He didn’t need to say any more. Shreeya had already had a narrow escape, managing to prevent a fall only by grabbing hold of Kami’s arm.
    â€˜Let’s rest for a while.’
    They climbed away from the track, pushing up a slope through thick vegetation until they found a flat enough place. Shreeya pulled out the blanket and they wrapped it tight around their shoulders, grateful for the warmth it gave them on this chilled night.
    â€˜We’ve got the biscuits,’ Shreeya mumbled, but Kami didn’t have the energy to reply, let alone rummage for them in the pack.
    Shreeya put her head against Kami’s shoulder and he placed his arm around her. He could hear her teeth chattering for a while, but he pulled the blanket ever tighter and before long they were comfortably warm.
    Lulled by the constant rushing sound of the river below, the two children soon fell into an exhausted sleep.
    Strange dreams haunted them both and they woke with aching bones with the first hint of dawn.
    â€˜Come on,’ Shreeya urged him as she quickly stuffed the blanket