The Four Horsemen 3 - Famine Read Online Free Page A

and could just as easily be killed by one of them as by the men hunting him. Nothing stalked him, so he reached the oasis without incident.
    Ekundayo hung back, waiting until the herds had moved on. When there were no other animals approaching the watering place, he slipped out from the bush, and knelt by the bank. He scooped up the murky water and drank. He knew better than to drink too much. He would only throw it back up.
    As he bent down to take another drink, he felt the sensation of being watched skate across his back. He didn’t think there were any humans out there with him, so it could only mean one thing. One of the continent’s big animals stared at him. Was it preparing to attack or was it merely studying him to figure out what he was?
    Straightening without rushing, Ekundayo began to make his way around the pool to where he saw the trail in the distance. He didn’t rush or run, knowing it would entice whatever stalked him to attack. Once his feet hit the ruts where vehicles, wagons, and people had wandered by, he breathed a soft sigh of relief. The feeling of being hunted disappeared, and he trudged on.
    As Ekundayo walked or shuffled like a mindless zombie in the direction of freedom, he tried to figure out exactly what he was going to do with the diamond. Selling it on the black market was the best idea, but he wasn’t sure how to go about it. With his luck, the man he tried to sell it to would be working for the diamond companies, and Ekundayo would find his ass being dragged back to the mine.
    If he did sell it, how would he get the money back to the people in the village? It wasn’t like he could return, because he was a wanted man, and always would be. Shaking his head almost caused him to fall over. Ekundayo stopped, and locked his knees to keep from collapsing. God, the lack of food and water had made him crazy. He looked in the direction he was headed before glancing back over his shoulder.
    He pulled the diamond out of his pocket and held it in his hand, rolling it around between his fingers. It wasn’t the biggest gem he’d ever found, but, when cut and set, it could bring him hundreds of pula. The money could buy food and bottled water for his village. The knowledge rolled around his brain, and was the most important thing he thought about during every minute of his race to the border. Okay, so it was more of a plod towards the border. He barely had the energy to breath, much less run.
    Ekundayo sighed, and turned. He would go back and take his punishment. He didn’t have the resources or partners to help him do what he wanted. Dirt puffed up around his feet with each step, and he was soon coated with a thin layer of dust. The itching drove him to distraction, causing him not to pay attention to where he was going.
    His left foot hit a rock and he tumbled over it, arms flailing as he tried to cry out. It didn’t matter that there wasn’t anyone around to hear him. Maybe the noise would echo and someone somewhere would come to investigate.
    When he came to a stop at the bottom of the crevice, he lay on his right side, covered in cuts and bruises. He could feel blood trickle from various wounds. He couldn’t move, his arm lodged in the crack between two boulders.
    Ekundayo rested his head against one of the rocks and closed his eyes. He’d rest, and then try to find a way out of his predicament. As the sun beat down on him, Ekundayo slipped into unconsciousness.
* * * *
    Famine strolled along, studying the animals he walked among. They were skinny and rough-looking, but they seemed to be finding enough to eat and drink. Somehow, no matter how bad the drought got, the animals managed to survive. It was the mortals who suffered the most from it.
    Each grain of the salt he dropped seemed to suck out any moisture in the ground. He moved along, awed in a fundamental way by the stark beauty of the African land around him. Famine had been from one end of the continent to the other thousands of times