That was when Kirsten broke down and sobbed again, cried herself to sleep in Keith's arms.
The day wore on and towards evening the atmosphere cooled somewhat. Keith experienced nausea and thirst, a terrible combination that resulted in a desire to vomit, only he did not have anything left to throw up. Neither of them had used the bucket since midday and he knew they were beginning to dehydrate.
He had been tempted to open the door a few inches and take another look beneath the van; perhaps the snake had tired of waiting, had slunk off somewhere. Surely it, too, had to sleep sometime. But even if it was not in sight he would not know exactly where it was; it was cunning enough to try to trick them, lull them into thinking that it had gone away and then, when they emerged, ambush them from the thick cover which grew luxuriantly all along the track leading to safety. There wasn't much point in seeing if it was still beneath the vehicle. It could be anywhere within a few yards of them.
He knew they could not last another day in here. Certainly Kirsten could not. Whatever the outcome he would have to try and go for help. He calculated mentally his weaponry in the back; a spade, a fork, a hoe, a sickle. Possibly the latter was the most suitable. He had honed the blade to a razor sharpness only two or three days ago. It was capable of cutting that monster out there in two, provided it did not get him first.
If nobody had found them by morning he would make the attempt. Just thinking about it sent little shivers up and down his spine, his imagination giving him a frightening preview of what might happen.
No sign of the bastard, getting out slowly, carefully, trying to stop that door from creaking. A quick look round. Now! Running the gauntlet of undergrowth that tore at his legs, tried to bring him down, low branches whipping his face. Always the fear that the next tuft of long grass might suddenly unfurl a coloured serpent, a devil that moved too fast for the eye to follow. Not this one, then maybe the next, nearly crazy with fear. Exhausted, his reflexes slowed down, worried about what would happen to Kirsten if he did not make it.
He wondered again what species it was and how deadly was its bite. Even if it inflicted its venom into his body surely death would not be instantaneous, he would be able to make it to the village and raise the alarm before . . .
There was no way of knowing what might happen until he actually made the attempt. He closed his eyes and felt his body starting to relax. Sleep if you can, you're going to need all the energy you can muster.
And now the snake was back on the bonnet again.
He looked at it, studied its colourful markings, those red, black and white rings. Through the thick glass of a cage in a reptile house you would find yourself marvelling at its colourings; through the windscreen of an overheated van which you had not been outside of for the last 24 hours your appreciation was somewhat diminished. You just wished the fucking thing did not exist, or else that it was dead. You wanted all snakes extinct.
He marvelled at its motionless posture; there was not so much as a blink from those cold penetrating eyes but you knew that it watched your every movement. Hypnotic in an awesome way. Go on, make a run for it, I'll give you a five-yard start. No way. Not yet.
'It's still around then.' He was amazed at the relaxed tone of Kirsten's voice. Worried, too, because this heat might cause you to react in a number of ways. Hallucinations, disorientation, anything that might put you at risk. You didn't even trust yourself.
'At least we can see it, we know where it is,' he replied.
'Try the starter again,' she said.
'It's just a waste of time. After this length of time the battery will be completely dead.'
'Well, we've nothing to lose. Go on, Keith, give it a go.'
'All right.' He fumbled for the key. 'But don't get raising any hopes because it won't . . .'
The starter-motor shuddered, turned, suddenly had life back in it. And fired!
"Keith, it's going to go? Kirsten yelled. She pulled herself upright, the fatigue, the exhaustion, suddenly falling from her. 'We can leave?
'Hold on, we're not out of the wood yet.' He pumped the throttle, got the revs and kept them, anticipated the engine fading any second. It didn't, it was running sweetly for one that had nearly 90,000 miles on the clock, the chassis vibrating, rattling the tools in the back. It was a dream, a cruel nightmare, one of those where you found yourself unable to run any further just as you took flight from some unmentionable horror or else you lost your way and never found it again. Maybe it was himself who was having hallucinations, not his companion,
'What are you waiting for?' She had her voice back, yelled at him. 'We can go.'
I'm waiting because I don't believe it. The snake moved, seemed to shift its entire body into a tighter coil, pressed itself up against the windscreen. As though it knew the van was about to move and was settling itself into a secure position so that it would not be dislodged when they bumped their way back down the track.
'Here we go!' he shouted back at her at the top of his voice. 'Full speed ahead for Stainforth.'
Keith crashed the lever into bottom gear, felt the van move forward, bumping over rough ground. There was room enough to swing it around in a circle and drive straight out, much easier than trying to reverse all the way back through the overhanging trees and undergrowth.
'Two minutes, probably less, and we'll be out on the road.'
This euphoria was an unforgettable experience. Suddenly everything had come right, they did not have any more worries. If the snake stayed on for the whole way then that was fine, the police or the army would soon deal with it.
They bumped their way over more stones and deep ruts, Keith now going into a left-hand circle, hard over on full lock, 180 degrees, and now they were facing in the opposite direction. Gathering speed so that he had to change up to second gear, the exit from this place of terror looming up in front of them. He would take it at speed, go like hell all the way.
And that was when the engine suddenly coughed, lost its momentum, hiccupped again. And petered out.
'Oh no? Kirsten cried, and buried her face in her hands as the van slowed, rolled to a halt.
They sat there, saying nothing because there was nothing to say, staring at the red ignition warning light on the dashboard, hating it, blaming it. Keith reached for the key, switched it off.
'What . . . happened?' Kirsten asked at length. 'We're out of petrol.' An admission of guilt was in his tone, a resignation to their plight. An apology. And the snake on the bonnet seemed to grin at them through the glass. 'I was nearly empty yesterday. I should have filled up but ... I didn't. I'm sorry, Kirsten.'
'Then the battery wasn't fiat after all.' 'I guess not. Probably a dicky lead or some dirt under the terminals.' What the fuck does it matter what it was? We're back to square one, in almost exactly the same place except that we're facing in the opposite direction.
'If the battery's working again now then ... then perhaps the horn will work. We can blow it, attract attention.'
The horn did work. A piping squeak rather than the expected klaxon blast. The sound came back at them off the quarry walls, hurtful to the ears, remonstrated with them for breaking the silence. Keith stopped after half a dozen goes; it was futile, no louder than their shouting some hours ago.
He did not look at Kirsten. I'm sorry, darling, I wish the engine had never started up, at least then we knew what we were up against. I gave you hope and immediately destroyed it.
'We're going to die, aren't we?' she said at length, her voice steady, not crying, staring out of the side window.
'I don't know.' He could not lie to her. 'Not if I can help it. Look, I'm going to try and make a break for it . . .'
'No! Not with that monstrosity perched out there waiting . . .'
'Not immediately,' he smiled. 'Probably in the morning when it gets light. There's a sickle in the back, the blade's like a razor. It would cut that snake in two at one stroke.'
'Unless it bit you first.' She clutched his arm, afraid that he might suddenly decide to make a run for freedom now.
'That's a chance I'll have to take. Better that than both of us dying in here. And, anyway, even if I do get bitten I probably won't die. It isn't a python, it can't crush me, I'll make it to the village, send help back to rescue you. You can bet your life that Doctor Brennan has at this moment got every available type of snakebite serum handy in his surgery.' Of course, there were certain snake poisons that had no known antidote. He didn't tell Kirsten that, just hoped that the creature on the bonnet was not one of those.
'I want to come with you,' she said.
'Don't be bloody silly, there's no point in us both getting bitten.'
'I suppose you're right,' she sighed. 'But if I'm asleep wake me up before you go.'
'I promise.' He leaned across, kissed her.
'Oh, and there's something else,' she murmured, 'not that I suppose it makes any difference now.'
'What's that?'
'I'm not pregnant.'
A sudden pang of anxiety had him asking, 'But you will marry me, won't you?'