Things We Do for Love

By Saki Marais

The moment Meg’s closest and only friend was abused and abducted; her mind changed gears.
Alone and physically weakened in a Spanish speaking country, she had to harness who and whatever to fight the overwhelming enemy.
Sacrifices had to be made.
The question is, would that be enough to save her loved ones?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: Mar 1, 2024
• ISBN: 9781035839759

Saki Marais

Initially, Saki Marais was challenged to write a book in English by an English lady who was an actual fiction author. He made the mistake of suggesting that it was easy to write books. With a lot of laughter from intoxicated BBQ collaborators, they decided to make the challenge nearly impossible to achieve. The main character must be a woman. It must be contemporary and about the sexual exploitation of young women and girls by grooming gangs and their ilk. Saki is a complete feminist after writing eight books.

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About the Author

Initially, Saki Marais was challenged to write a book in English by an English lady who was an actual fiction author. He made the mistake of suggesting that it was easy to write books. With a lot of laughter from intoxicated BBQ collaborators, they decided to make the challenge nearly impossible to achieve. The main character must be a woman. It must be contemporary and about the sexual exploitation of young women and girls by grooming gangs and their ilk. Saki is a complete feminist after writing eight books.

Copyright Information ©

Saki Marais 2024

The right of Saki Marais to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781035839735 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781035839759 (ePub e-book)

ISBN 9781035839742 (Audiobook)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published 2024

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd®1 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5AA

Acknowledgement

The Challenge for opening my eyes to the atrocities happening every day in the world today.

The London Times and The Guardian reporting on crimes.

Friends in England and Europe for the real truth.

Wikipedia for supplying titbits.

Google Maps.

Chapter 1

Hearing very loud shouting and seeing no cars behind, I peeked around the canopy of the truck. An ice-cold shiver went right through my body. There was a traffic jam ahead.

Men dressed in red Condor shirts were going from car to car, checking all of them. That was the worst thing that could have happened to me. I’d have to do something to stay out of the Condor clutches. Going down this road was like going down a pipe. There were quite few places to hide on either side of the road.

Looking for a means of escape and hiding places was met with bleak prospects. The bare rock face was out of the question on the mountainside. Nobody could climb that. An expert maybe, but certainly not me. The vertical drop of many metres on the gorge side was impossible as well. Immediate death would be my fate if I fell to the bottom. Even if I fell into the water, the impact would be enough to kill me.

The tray of the truck that I was hiding in, had very limited space right at the back. I was using most of it already. As I lay down, feet at one end and head nearly touching the other side, I would be exposed to anyone lifting the tarpaulin. Looking forward, I could see the Condors lifting the tarpaulins away from the back of trucks to have a look inside. They were even crawling into the tray of trucks if there were obstructions.

Lifting luggage out of the boot of cars showed how serious they were. They checked everywhere. They knew that they had to catch me to stop me from exposing them. For me, it was a case of them raping me like they did Ann, or possibly death. For them, it was not wanting to leave a job half done. Wow. I had never seen men attack a woman in such a brutal way before. They behaved like animals.

‘Swallow your tears, Meg,’ I whispered to myself. ‘Focus.’

Lucky for me, there was a big truck far behind the truck that I was hiding in and no cars could overtake it on the single lane. There were no cars immediately behind whose drivers could spot and point me out. The road behind was clear and I knew that I had to make my move and there would not be another time like right now.

Sliding from underneath the tarpaulin, I slipped over the side of the back gate. With the sharp bend in the road ahead and the steep incline, the truck was going at a very slow pace.

Letting go, I went to the outside of the bend and ran to a rocky outcrop at the edge of the road, right next to the cliff. Keeping low, I did a baseball slide past the rock. Closer to the edge, I went on to crawl crocodile style to stay as low as possible to get behind the rocky outcrop.

Don’t look down was drumming through my brain. I’d seen what a straight drop to the bottom could be while I was part of the group. It felt as if my heart was going to climb out of my chest. That gasp was close to pushing me into another bout of an anxiety attack. There was no ledge that a bird could land on. Nothing. There was just clean clear air beneath me and the rocky bottom.

This was the world famous, or should I say world notorious, Road of Death in Bolivia and everybody driving along it was constantly aware of the extremely dangerous conditions. Most of the time, there was only single lane traffic allowed. Most of the way, the mountainside was vertical, with a sheer drop of at least two to three hundred metres on the open side.

All the trucks driving on this road have damage to their vertical sides. They have to hug the mountainside to the extent that they were actually touching the rock face. Truck drivers quite often would rip into cars too. These dangerous conditions were working in my favour. All the drivers nearing the bend in the road were straining their necks to check on the inside for oncoming traffic.

I kept on repeating all the time, ‘Thanks heavens for small mercies.’

Fortunately, I was able to have limited glimpses on both sides of the bend in the road. I’d have to wait for a break in the traffic to run across the road and find a safer spot on the mountainside to hide behind.

Looking across the road at intervals, I could see that the only better hiding place available was a longish but flat rock. Unfortunately, there was no vegetation around it. It was just a bare rock. Regrettably, it was not very high above the road either. To get there, I’d have to run in the open up a steep incline littered with loose rocks.

The moment I was getting there, I’d have to lay down flat behind it. If I were going to sit up, travellers would be able to see me from both sides.

With no immediate traffic coming both ways, I carefully crawled on to the flat surface. With a soft ‘Thank you,’ to that small bush that anchored me, I ran as fast as I could. With eyes flicking right and left for any oncoming cars, I ran across the road. I scrambled up the steep slope, five to six metres above the road. The last bit I had to climb, using the rough surface to cling to.

The smallish rock was just that, a smallish rock. There was not a lot of space to hide behind. At least it had a bit of shade deeper in and a small crack in the middle to hide my t-shirt, bra and joggers in.

The sharp rough edges that helped me to climb up here were causing a problem. Now, they were jabbing into my left side. Being a long distance runner, I didn’t have padded hips like normal women. Pain or not, no movement allowed at all from me. So whatever pain I may suffer, I’d have to tolerate it for the sake of Ann’s freedom.

Why does this have to happen to me? The break-up with Greg was horrible. Break-up was not a part of my vocabulary and what he did to me was most definitely the worst thing ever. Now this. This would push me over the edge.

Chapter 2

The discovery ants must have delivered their message to the nest. They were crawling all over me and that was becoming a problem. They obviously liked to dine on good protein, like many other pests.

‘Aw!’ in shock at the unexpected pain.

The first ant bite was on my right calf, under my jeans. That opened my eyes in shock. With quite a few cars going past, I couldn’t slap or squash the pesky ant. It was like a starting gun. The burning of the ant acid was extraordinarily painful. Much more than what I was used to at home on the farm. They were looking different too.

To my horror, when I looked past my feet, I could see a huge army of red- brown ants on their way to me. Most of them did not even slow down at my feet. They went straight under my jeans, biting as far as they went. They had discovered my thighs and groin. The fire that was created by their ant acid was incredible.

My topless upper body was the next target to feast on for them. I pushed small pebbles into my nose and ears, closed my eyes and breathed through a thin opening in my mouth. I’d have to keep them from getting inside me. They would blind me too.

With one hand over my mouth, nose and eyes, the other over my groin, I submitted to the onslaught, because there was a constant stream of cars and trucks driving by. I’d have to sacrifice the rest of my body to save that.

As if my troubles were not enough, a blinking falcon landed about three metres away from me on the ground. It came to inspect this juicy piece of meat, I suppose. To compound the problem, if the falcon could see me, foxes or eagles could see me too. Cougars would learn from them too. If the big hunters arrived, it may focus people’s attention on me even more.

People would come to help me, protecting me from the big predators. In their goodwill, they would be talking and then the red shirt Condors would hear about it. Then I was in big trouble. The Condors had proven themselves ruthless.

The ants were biting me all over under my jeans, right up to the edge of my private parts. My outer groin and boobs were on fire because my flesh was softer there. My whole body seemed to be on fire. I started to cry again and pee in my pants from the massive pain that had engulfed my body. My body control was haywire.

I couldn’t defend myself. I had to stay still and take the falcon’s pecks. Moments when I dared to look, I could see its claws clamp down on to my legs below my jeans and calves. It took three pecks and then ripped the flesh in between. I could see as if in slow motion, how pieces of skin and then the muscle were torn out of my calf. It was perforating me first and then tearing. That seemed to the easiest way.

The smell of blood was making the ants go berserk. Scooping up the blood in their pincers, the ants were nearly doing a victory dance and then running off to the nest with it. Blood was good protein and it was the easiest part of me that they could collect. They were giving the falcon a run for its money to see who could get to the blood first. At least the pebbles in my ears and nose stopped them from crawling inside me.

I began to slowly breathe between my stiff lips. My eyelids were the next soft target and I kept my eyes closed to keep them away from my eyeballs. My face was the most important part of my body from that point on and I just capitulated to their onslaught. I took my hand away from my groin and just continued to protect my face. The immediate result was the new pain down there.

After some time, my body was burning so much that I didn’t feel any new bites. I couldn’t care anymore. My whole body was numb. It must be the acid from the bites. I could see them biting small chunks out of my skin and from the falcon’s deeper wounds, but I was incapable in feeling the pain.

My eyes were vital to my survival. The problem with keeping my eyes closed against the ants was that I couldn’t see the falcon. I just had to check the falcon to make sure it did not peck my eyes out. I knew that the falcons liked to go for the eyes by nature. They were very quick and they didn’t have to land to have a go at my eyes.

‘Take that, you bastard!’ I shouted with joy.

I was laughing at my achievement. I had managed to kick the falcon very hard. It broke my heart as an animal lover to see animals suffering from injuries. But boy-o-boy, to see the bird hobble away with an injured leg and wing was a real joy to me.

My joy was short though. A fox had chased the falcon away, but now it was sniffing the wind, nose in the air. That was a real danger sign. Foxes were extremely agile and very bright. If they couldn’t kill something, they called their mates to help finish the job. The worst part of the fox moving around me was that any sudden movement from me or the fox would draw the attention of the drivers on the road.

My eyes were closing more and more from the swelling. My lips and tongue were swollen up as well. The only place where it was really burning was around my groin. After all the ant bites, the urine was burning my skin like fire. With the dusk setting in, the chill began to affect me. It may be summer, but this high in the Andes Mountains, it becomes cold as soon as the sun sets.

The ants seemed to have decided that it was going time to go home. I couldn’t feel any of their new bites anymore. The slow movement of my swollen eyelids and even bigger swollen tongue told me that something was seriously wrong.

My slow movements would make it easier for the fox to attack me. To escape from the fox, I’d have to kill it. My body was too slow and there was no way that I could outclimb or outrun this joker. The bigger problem was that it was going to call his fellow foxes to come and join in the feast. That would probably lure the cougars out of their dens as well.

How do I kill it was the question. They had quicksilver reactions. The only way to allow it close was to play dead. With the near darkness, I could sit with my back against the rock. By pulling my legs closer to my butt, crossing them, I would be able to get him within reach. At least it couldn’t attack me from behind and the drivers couldn’t see me from the road. I closed my heavy eyelids to slits with my arms to my sides, ready to spring my trap.

After probably two hours, with cramps in my legs, stiff as a board, the fox came close enough to smell my joggers first and then lick the blood around my ankles. It tried to bite my calf and feet, but my jeans and joggers were protecting me. The cramps in my legs and back were bad. But, I’d have to endure to survive.

It stepped on my knees and started to lick the blood on my stomach. Being fit, the skin over my six-pack was tight. Not a lot of loose flap to bite. The fox looked further up at my boobs for better prospects. Stepping on to my tummy, he started by licking my left. They were moving when he licked them and the fox seemed to decide to start the feast right there.

The moment it lay down on my tummy, getting ready to bite my left breast, I grabbed it by the neck, choking it as hard as I could manage. In a flash, the fox was biting in all directions, going for my arms and boobs. My foot slipped when I stood up and to my horror, the bloody fox slipped out of my grasp when my elbow hit the ground.

In the escaping flash, I managed to catch the fox by its tail. It was pulling me downhill and the bloody gravity was helping my downhill slide. I was clinging for dear life, sliding down on my front. I hollowed my back to lift my boobs away from the rock, but my stomach was hammered in the process. But, the fear of this animal made me hold on to its tail, away from its sharp end.

Close to the bottom, I managed to swing my legs around and skid the rest of the way on the bum of my jeans. With my joggers finding traction, I braked and stood up, still holding the fox’s tail. Only its front feet were touching the ground now. It curled up and nearly bit my boobs and legs. It was too heavy to hold it at arm’s length to keep myself out of harm’s way. My already weak arms were getting tired rapidly.

I was in trouble. The fox’s nose nearly touched my left breast, trying to bite me in its effort to escape from me. My heart-wrenching gasp made me push the fox away, but with the back swing, it nearly bite my boob again.

Out of frustration, I started to swing the fox like a hammer thrower in athletics. Now it was staying out of reach. Centrifugal force was keeping its head far away from me. I could lower my arms, which helped and my legs could help now too. I’d have to hurry, because a car might come around the bend any minute.

I started crying, because for me to stay alive, I’d have to get rid of the fox. Then I remembered the pool. Swinging the fox by its tail, I moved over the road to the cliff edge and with a ‘Sorry fox,’ I threw it clear over the edge into the pool. The good thing was that it wouldn’t be able to climb the near vertical cliff. I was safe from attack at last.

My heart nearly stopped. I could see the glare of an approaching car’s lights. I had to run and hide behind my first rocky outcrop again. With my feet over the edge, I had to wait for two cars to go by. If hanging over the edge was a horrible experience during daylight, it was spine-chilling terror in the dark. I knew what it looked like from memory. My loud scream nearly gave me away when my feet slipped off that little ledge.

I was hanging only by means of that little scrub next to the rock. I’d have to be quick, because the strength in my hands and arms were waning at a rapid rate. I remained there for another three cars, just to get my heart rate down a bit.

With the coast clear in both directions, I ran up to my hiding place. My legs didn’t want to follow my brain and my feet felt like lead. I did not make it to the top. I fell and slid down on my tummy again. After a third try, I made it to the top of the rock.

My splitting headache that was started by the ant bites was made worse by my crying. It was throbbing out of control. I’d have to keep my swollen eyelids open, because there may be more foxes, or even worse, cougars around.

My brain seemed to be muddled. My head felt so heavy by now, that it was lolling around, as if my neck was a coil spring. Could it be from the ant’s acid? Maybe I was allergic to it. I felt slightly drunk. My lack of balance was the reason why I couldn’t make it back up to the rock the first time. A feverish shudder racked my whole body again. My face was glowing hot even in the cold breeze coming down the gorge.

Why does this have to happen to me? After all the emotional hardship, the stressful crackdown before the trip, this whole gruesome episode this morning, I think I was on the verge of another nervous breakdown. I couldn’t afford to lose my mind. I had to save Ann. I knew that Jon and Mat would certainly be dead. Nothing in this world could have saved them. I had to escape. How?

I knew from earlier observations, that it would be impossible for me to climb the rock face behind me. Too steep. I’d have to find another way up, away from the road and the Condor trucks. Down the cliff was out of the question. It was vertical all the way. Hitching a ride would be out of the question, because the Condors would search all vehicles on both sides of the pass.

My salvation would be to find an easier slope on the mountainside. If I could find a place with vegetation, it would be a bonus, because my yellow top would be like a glaring advertisement. Behind a dense bush, I would be able to hide and study the terrain.

Still topless, I ran to the bend in the road to see what it looked like on the other side. I had to lay flat on the ground behind a small bush, to wait for another car to go past.

In the glow from the headlights, I could see a small gully about fifty paces away. It was going up the slope around the corner. If I could manage to reach that, I would be able to get more height above the road. There was a lot more vegetation as well to hide behind. I’d have to escape away from the road, which was the danger.

The road was where the Condors were doing their patrolling. Earlier, I saw them with spotlights shining up the slope as well. They knew that going up there was the only way I could escape from them. Those guys were serious about catching me.

Following a car, back to my earlier hiding place, I was nearly caught in the headlights of an oncoming truck. I just ploughed into the ground, lying still and prayed that the driver wouldn’t see me. My tummy and boobs took another bashing again. My jeans has several tear marks over the knees. I wondered what my legs must look like underneath. The numbness from the ant bites was probably hiding the real pain that would come later.

My tummy and right breast were bleeding heavily from cuts that I got from being towed down the slope by the fox. I knew that it should be very painful, but my whole body was numb one moment and burning like in a mad fever next. That did not sound very positive.

My drunk head was a major concern to me though. When I wanted to get up, I fell back on my butt. I had to crawl up against the rock to be able to stand up. My balance was haywire.

Chapter 3

With my t-shirt around my butt under my jeans and my bra squashed into my darker fanny pack, I managed after sliding down several times to get to the gully unobserved. I continued climbing in a feverish haste to probably 30 to 40 metres above the road in the gully. Luckily, there were many footholds and hardy plants to make it easier for me. To my utter relief, I discovered a small flat area, behind a thick bush to lie down.

The space was about two square metres in size and the trunk of the bush ensured that I wouldn’t slide down the slope. I couldn’t afford to slide down again, because the palms of my hands were raw. Dirt and small pebbles were ingrained into my skin from the sliding. I’d need water to wash the dirt out. The worst part was that my hands were super sensitive. Luckily, my nails were still okay.

With my body embracing’ the bush, I just relaxed for a while to get my breathing under control. Apart from the pain all over my body, the anxiety of a possible discovery had drained a huge amount of energy from me. Looking through my painfully swollen eyelids, I could see the beautiful stars above. I would have loved a short shower of rain to cool down my boiling hot body. Closing my eyes, I tried to shut out the cruel reality.

To my great joy, I’d found a metre long dry branch about an inch thick. I immediately started to sharpen one end on the rock. With my tender hands, it was going to take ages. But thank goodness, I had a weapon at least to defend myself. It was not completely straight, but it looked strong in the dark. I would have liked to have this to scare the fox away. But, I had to shove all the guilty thoughts out of my mind for now. Ann first.

My right boob was still bleeding and since I was quite some distance above the road, I rubbed my bra into the ground first for camouflage and then slipped it on to stop the bleeding. I did the same with my t-shirt and pushed it against the cut on my stomach. That should stop the bleeding too. The dirt should give me enough camouflage against capture. I just curled up and fell asleep from pure exhaustion.

***

The intense cold, followed by shivering of my hot feverish body woke me long before dawn. I was incredibly thirsty and my whole body was burning again. The drunk feeling in my head was a lot worse and it was affecting my balance in a bad way. My neck was a lot weaker than the night before and my head was lolling more. My eyes were having problems focussing as well.

Looking around the bush, I checked for any danger. At this time, there were no cars on the road, but knowing farmers, they would be busy getting their crops to the markets. The cold fog was hiding some part of the road in the distance, but that wouldn’t last long. I’d have to move.

Going up the mountain slope, I’d have to be very careful. I couldn’t afford to slip and damage my hands again. With the scabs on my hands going hard during the night, they started bleeding with the slightest bending of my fingers. I had given up extracting dirt and stones from under the skin of my palms. Some were too deeply ingrained to get out with my nails.

***

‘Ann,’ I whispered to myself. ‘Where are you?’

My dear friend, no, sister in adventure, my soulmate was Ann. I had to save Ann. To do that, I’d have to go up and over this mountain. The Condor red shirt scumbags would patrol the road. Hopefully, they wouldn’t search on the other side of this mountain ridge. I didn’t even want to think of a chase with a helicopter. I wouldn’t stand a chance with that searching for me.

Mat and Jon were in charge of the maps. Ann and I were just trying to be happy-go-lucky, accepting any course decisions that they may have made. We were here to recover from our previous traumas and enjoy the trip. Our aim was that we’d be looking after the domestic side. Make food and keep the men happy. We had decided that in no way were we going to get involved with the official aim of this trip.

As a result, I didn’t have a clue where I was. I knew that we were on the Yungas Road, The Road of Death in Bolivia. I also knew that crazy cyclists from all over the world saw this road as extreme sport. From the stories that I had heard, I knew that many had died on this road. The slightest mistake and death becomes your friend.

The narrowness of the road, the steep incline in certain parts and the bloody cowboy way certain drivers drove, was like a death trap to cyclists. But, they still came so that they could tick it off their bucket lists. Something to brag about when they barbeque with like-minded crazies.

But this road led to La Paz, the American Embassy and safety. The main object was to get help for Ann if she was still alive. If she was dead, I wanted justice to prevail for Mat and Jon as well. But and this was a big but, this road also had Condor men, instant rape and death if they were able to catch me. I knew that I’d have to climb over the top of the mountain and follow a parallel course all the way to La Paz on foot. I couldn’t afford to hitch a ride.

The word should have spread already. From the arrogant way that they intimidated the local people on the road, they clearly didn’t care if there were cops around. They had probably placed a reward on my head as well. The locals would be on the lookout and I’d be spotted in a flash. Then I would be a goner. Very unfair.

In the dim light of dawn, I started to climb higher. I was still topless, because my bra and t-shirt were too bright in colour. I’d just have to be very careful. I couldn’t afford to fall and cause any more bleeding. Then I’d have to wear them again to stop me from bleeding. That could be dangerous.

The climbing was very slow, because of my raw hands. They were bleeding the moment I grabbed hold of a bush or a rock to pull me up the steep side. With the bleeding starting again, I pushed a leafy branch in the back pocket of my jeans and under the bra strap, and another hanging down from my belt to camouflage my backside while I climbed upwards.

The cliff face was covered with green vegetation. Unfortunately, the shrubs were short and I would certainly be exposed to drivers from both sides. I’d have to camouflage by doing a leopard crawl. The going was very slow and tiring, but it was worth the trouble. I’d have to reach the summit, or I would surely die of exposure.

The stuff, acid or poison that I got from the ants was killing me from the inside. I must be allergic to it. The ants were very different from the ones that I knew as a kid in Oregon. The sting was a lot more severe in the beginning, but afterwards, it had a numbing effect on me.

Maybe it was the sheer number of the bites that was causing my nervous system to go haywire. Especially the bites between my legs were causing a problem. My jeans were chafing over my skin and that was causing an incredible stinging irritation. As a result, I had to climb with my legs spread wide apart, which was making the climb awkward.

The effect it had on my brain was very bad and made going up the steep mountain slope very dangerous. I felt drunk and my depth perception was nowhere near to what it was supposed to be. I had to make use of that sharpened weapon stick I’d picked up to support me. It was okay as a sort of walking stick.

In the middle of the day, utterly exhausted, I slept with my body folded around the sturdy trunk of a bush again. I had to do that to make sure that I didn’t slide down the slope. There were no flat spaces available. My thirst was driving me nuts on top of my other dilemmas. The little bit of dew that I licked from leaves this morning had long gone. Thirst and fever were doing bad things in my body.

My head was painfully swimming and my balance nearly non-existent. My 3D perception was nearly gone too. I jumped to a rock and nearly smashed my face into it. I thought it was a lot further and it scraped a bit of skin off my nose. A little further and I would have gone head over heels down the slope.

***

Biting the remainder of my nails off my bleeding fingertips was extremely agonising. The bloody stick broke and I slid for about five metres over a bare rock face with nothing to stop me. My clutching for hand and footholds nearly ripped all my nails off. Lucky for me, I went groin first into the trunk of the bush that I had slept around earlier. Most of the thump went