Into the Darkness

By Paul Zunckel

Piet van Zyl steps into the darkness of the mind, a violent blow to the back of his head causes him to suffer memory loss. Left for dead, to wander the wilds of the Zambezi Valley, home to the big five, unarmed and with no memory of who he is or where he comes from.
The search is on for the burly South Africa, one is a search and rescue, the other is a seek and destroy...who will get to Piet first...will he survive the wilds of Africa, the land he loves, or will it destroy him.
Can Piet van Zyl survive in a land where the law of the jungle rules and the lion is king with no memory, where death lurks beneath the beauty of Africa?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Paul Zunckel
• Release date: Dec 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463701638

Book preview

Into the Darkness

A Piet van Zyl Adventure.

By

Paul Zunckel

Dedicated to

Lucie, my love, my rock.

Pooch, my foot rest.

The Lord God for the gift

Copyright: 22/6/2015

Prologue

A blazing sun burns down on the man’s back as he stumbles through the thick African bush, his mind a haze as he struggles to find his identity, he has no idea who he is, what his name is, or where he is from or where he is.

Vicious thorns from the Coral tree cut deep into his flesh as he forces his way through the thicket, the sound of running water spurring him on as his throat cries out for the life giving liquid, and in desperation he throws his body down the steep embankment towards salvation, plunging his head deep into the dark water, drinking deeply, unaware of the surface of the river being broken as one of the giant reptiles that call the Zambezi home slowly start to stalk the drinking man.

Too much water at once, the man falls away from the river, gagging as his stomach rejects the liquid, and in a rush, it is expelled from his burning body. He sits back, away from the water’s edge, his heart hammering like a freight train moving up a steep incline, taking in a lungful of air, gasping, looking around...his eyes wide, fearful as he is unable to understand what is happening to him.

He looks back at the river and his eyes fall upon the giant reptile that waits just below the surface of the water, and with a cry of terror the man pushes back, away from the edge, all thoughts of quenching the burning thirst inside him forgotten as he scrambles up the river bank away from the danger. He is unable to name the danger, but somehow he recognized what it represented to him.

With the river and the setting sun behind him the man turns towards the distant mountains and starts moving slowly through the bush that steadily closes behind him, hiding him from view, moving forward but not knowing where he is going, Piet van Zyl moves into the darkness, the darkness of the falling night, and the darkness of the mind, his memory erased by a vicious blow to the head.

Chapter 1

The cry of the Fish Eagle cuts through the early morning silence that surrounds the camp, as the sun slowly starts to warm the day, and kisses the sky, the grunts from a pod of hippo in the nearby Kafue River add to the peacefulness that hangs in the air, when suddenly the early morning bliss is shattered by a sound, unheard before in this part of Africa.

Hello darkness my old friend, I’ve come to talk with you aga...

"Bloody hell, what the moer is that fucking noise, sounds like someone is skinning a bloody cat."

Ag Piet, it is only Jacques singing in the shower.

Peggy, you call that singing...it sounds like the man is in bloody pain, and I don’t even have a hangover.

Give him a break my man, he’s collecting Veronica from Lusaka airport today, so he’s in high spirits.

Ja but what about my spirits...that bloody singing has scared the shit out of them...time to pull the plug on the Frenchman.

Piet stumbles out of the tent, draws in a deep breath of the fresh morning air.

Hey Le Vee, shut up man, you’re going to scare all the game away.

"Ah Monsieur Piet, u wound me deeply, for ave I not got a good voice, ear how it carries."

"Le Vee, the only ear that I am worried about is an earache if you carry on with that so called singing...my moer man, bly nou stil."

"I suppose Monsieur Piet; this means that you will not enjoy it if I were to sing at your daughters first birthday...I still ave a few days to practice."

"Le Vee, jy vat n kans...I would rather take on a bloody Bull Elephant, then have you scare the guests...not a chance my friend...put a zip on it."

With the sounds of silence behind him, Piet storms back into the tent.

I swear Peggy that bloody Frenchman is going to drive me to drink.

Piet my love, you drink already.

"Ja, you are right, but that Le Vee is a bloody good excuse to start early in the day...ek gaan nou n dop gooi."

Don’t you dare Piet van Zyl...there are things that need to be done.

"Ha ha, ek het jou...you see, without Adele and Veronica, I win. Come here my love and give old Piet a morning kiss."

Oh Piet, what am I going to do with you?

Piet looks down at his sleeping daughter, five days away from her first birthday, and with a smile on his face, turns to his lovely wife.

"You could always put me out to stud my skat."

With that said, he quickly leaves the tent, ducking a thrown boot from his laughing wife, and head over towards the gun safe to select a rifle for his hunting trip later in the day.

"Monsieur Piet, are you sure about going out alone, yu ave taught me well, and the one thing that sticks in my mind is...do not hunt alone...the men are not ere to accompany you into the bush, but I will."

"Nee Le Vee, your lady arrives later today, and take it from me, my French friend...don’t keep a lady waiting...and stop worrying like a French Hen, this is not the first time I will be going into the bush alone...at least I will be away from your singing."

"Ah Monsieur Piet, you are a tease no, but I ear what you say, a lady like Mademoiselle Veronica must not be kept waiting, so I will bow to your expertise and follow yr advice."

Ja Le Vee, you do that, and by the time you get back I will have a nice Warthog or Impala waiting for you to skin and prepare for the little one's birthday...that will help to keep your hands off Veronica for awhile.

"Monsieur Piet, u theenk that I am one track minded...I am a gentleman and can wait until the sun goes down...I will keep my ands to myself.

Famous last words Le Vee, we will wait and see.

"Well then Monsieur Piet, I will take my leave, and venture forth to meet my lady, I should be back in camp before sunset...I will take care of the game you shoot in the morning."

Okay Le Vee, while you are there, pick up a couple of bottle of Brandy for the party, and I will be back in camp before you return...drive safely...your lady is a special friend of mine.

"That I will Monsieur Piet, and you...be careful out there."

Don’t I always Le Vee, don’t I always?

Piet stands back and watches as the dust from the departing Land Rover slowly settles back onto the bush lining the dirt road as Jacques Le Vee heads towards the distant Lusaka and the woman who holds his heart.

Hey, I like that Le Vee, but moer, he must not sing...he even scared the bloody monkeys into silence.

Piet turns and heads back towards the rifle locker, selects a 416 Rigby, checks the rifle, grabs a handful of shells, and then straps on his hunting knife with a seven inch razor sharp blade, fits his hat on his head, and returns to the tent to bid Peggy and his daughter, Heather goodbye.

"Peggy. My skat I am off now, but should be back long before the Frenchman returns with Veronica. What do you feel like, Warthog or Impala?"

Be careful my man and whatever you bring back will be fine with me. Piet, don’t forget water, the sun is climbing and it is going to be hot over the next few days.

Ja okay my love, I will take a canteen. Be good skat...see you in awhile.

Piet bends and plants a loving kiss on Heather's forehead, and gets a gurgle and squeal of delight from his first born, then turning to Peggy, he takes her in his arms, kissing her tenderly, before turning away and heading towards the remaining Land Rover.

Piet, please be careful, we love you.

I love you both, and of course I will be careful skat, I’ve got the two of you waiting back here for me, what more could a man ask for?

Peggy stands outside the tent, Heather in her arms as she watches the burly South African climb into the cab of the Land Rover, and head off into the thick bush of the Zambezi Valley, the sun climbing to its zenith in the clear blue sky, and the heat waves playing in the still air.

***

Piet moves out, away from the safari camp, and decides that the place where he is going to find what he is looking for is the Mana Pools, which is situated in the extreme north and is rich in game as it is far from any major town or human settlement.

The sun climbs up into the sky, as the Land Rover makes its way through the thick bush towards the area that the burly South Africa has ear marked for his hunt.

Chapter 2

A group of men slowly make their way through the thick bush, careful to stay upwind of their intended quarry, her 37in horn the prize for stealth. The bush gives way to tall savannah grass and in the distance the Black Rhino cow, swollen with calf grazes on the sweet green shoots, her tail brushing away the flies, totally unaware of the approaching danger, armed with AK47 rifles, hatchets and a desire to kill without remorse.

Time stands still, and Africa falls silent as the drama starts to play out, the only witnesses to the murder take to the skies as the rapid sound of automatic gun fire fills the air. The rhino swings around to confront her attackers, but the steady hail of bullets hit their target, and with a cry of anguish, the magnificent 870kg rhino sinks to her knees, her blood staining the ground around her, tears running from her eyes as she dies in the dirt. Her only crime, a front horn of thirty-seven inches.

With a cry of victory on their lips, the barrels of the smoking AK47’s still hot from the onslaught, the men rush forward, hatchets raised they start to butcher the dead rhino, hacking at the base of the horn, cutting into flesh in their haste to remove and claim their prize. Another magnificent beast of Africa falls to satisfy the greed of man.

***

Sounds of automatic rifle fire cut through Piet's thoughts, and he brings the Land Rover to a sliding halt on the dirt road, the tires throwing up a cloud of dust behind him. He looks up into the sky and sees the birds taking flight, the rifle fire falling away to leave nothing but silence hanging in the air, and the stench of death. Anger fills the man in the Land Rover, and without a second thought, the 416 Rigby clutched in his hand, Piet leaves the Land Rover and starts off towards the source of the gunfire.

"Fucking poachers, nou gaan die poppe dans. Bastards, jail is too good for them."

Piet moves through the thick brush, and as he nears the killing zone he can clearly hear the excited chatter of the men as well as the sickening thud of the hatchet as it cuts into the flesh of the downed animal, and as his anger at the murder that has taken place starts to boil over, he throws all caution to the wind, puts a round in the chamber, and moves out into the open to confront the killers.

The sight that confronts Piet sickens him to his stomach, and he has to struggle with himself from opening fire on the four men gathered around the dead Black rhino, her belly swollen with calf, her two horns hacked off, and the massive body riddled with bullet holes from the onslaught by the AK47 rifles, her life blood still staining the earth beneath her.

"Fuck it, you bastards put your fucking hands in the air, and move into the open, or else you bliksems, I swear I will open fire...roer jou