It was closer to an hour, rather than forty five minutes before she looked to the sun to check the time. In that time she had collected only a few plants which she thought might come in useful. When she finally realised how late it was getting, she chastised herself foe dawdling.

About five metres away from the plant, she realised that what she thought was the flower, was in fact nothing more than a large feather. Still, she had come this far, she might as well look at it more closely.

  “Wow”, she exclaimed. It was an Eagles feather. This was a Prized possession among the tribe. It was supposed to bring luck and good fortune to the finder. It was said, the larger the feather, the greater the luck. Manana’s feather (for she now considered it hers) was not that large. But then she thought, neither am I so all things considered, things should even out.

  Nether the less, it was a good specimen. Nearly twenty five centimetres long, and at least ten centimetres at its widest part. The feather itself was a greyish white at the bottom. Gradually changing to a deeper white brown at its tip. As Manana bent to remove it from the plant, she noticed that it also contained some reddish brown spots along it.

  Puzzled, she removed the feather form its perch on top of the plant. She ran her fingers along the feather, to feel its texture. As her fingers passed over the spots, she shuddered involuntary. “It’s blood”, she said to herself. She raised the feather to her nostrils and inhaled. That strange, she thought, the blood smells fresh.

She then recalled her sighting of the Great Eagle earlier. Could it have been from that one, she wondered. But why the blood?. Grasping the feather tightly, as if it would reveal a clue to the mystery of how it got there . She scanned her immediate surroundings carefully once more. A few metres to the north, there seemed to be more some smaller feathers scattered on the floor. Any thoughts Manana had of returning back to camp were now forgotten in her desire to solve this current mystery.

  As she approached them, she noticed that there were more feathers than she had originally thought. Manana pondered over the fact that she hadn’t spotted these earlier. Then it dawned on her. The feathers were a mixture of grey, brown and white. Lying among a landscape of greyish and white rocks and the rich brown soil, they would be impossible for anything to spot from more than a few metres away.

Now her eyes were adjusted to the texture and colour of the feathers, she noticed that there were more then she had originally thought. She set to gathering as many as she could. Her mind actively trying to solve the riddle of these feathers. That they were all Eagle feathers, she did not doubt. But how did they get here?, and why did some have bloodspots on?.

  Maybe the great Eagle she had saw earlier had attacked some prey here, then lost these feathers in a fight. That explanation seemed unlikely to Manana. There would be more signs of a struggle, she reasoned. Any animal that could inflict such damage on a Great Eagle, that cause it to loose so many feathers, would itself have to be a large and fearsome creature. There were no signs of a struggle, and no indications that any other creature had been near this spot.

  That the solution to this mystery involved the Eagle she had seen earlier, she was certain. She replayed the events through her head. It had been circling she thought. It did not seemed to be hunting, more like it was looking for something.

  Looking more carefully at the feathers, Manana realised that they seemed smaller and softer than she would have expected from such a large bird. One more puzzle in this mystery she thought. The more she tried to reason out the puzzle, the more confusing the whole matter became. In the end, she decided to collect as many feathers as possible, then return to the camp and discuss the whole matter with her father.

  As she was bending to recover the feathers, once more her keen sense of smell picked up the scent of fresh blood. Now closer to the ground, she noticed that small dark spots stained the soil. She put her fingers on one of the spots and recognised immediately that it was blood. There was a small trail of this blood, leading to a deep gully. Following the trail, she Made her way carefully to the edge.

The gully itself ran twisting and turning in both directions for as far as she could see. On average, it was about three to four metres wide, and about the same deep. In some places, heavy rain had eroded the banks, increasing its width, but reducing the depth.

  Because of the treacherous embankment, Manana went on her knees and nervously peered over the edge. Inside the gully, an abundance of life fed of the silt rich soil. Small bushes, vines and grasses competed for space among the rocks and boulders strewn along its floor and sides. A flash of white and grey immediately caught her eye. “There is something there”, she said aloud. Her view of what ever it was, was restricted by a ledge, halfway down the gully, between her and the object.

  Unable to see around this ledge, Manana realised she would have to go down. Snakes she thought, there’s bound to be snakes down there. Despite her dislike of these reptiles, she swung her legs over the edge of the embankment. Slowly, she worked herself downwards, until she stood on the ledge. Now the smell of fresh blood was stronger. Manana was looking for the best possible route to the bottom, to investigate fully what was down there. She lowered herself of the ledge, her foot finding a large stone to rest on. As she stooped, to see what it was that had led her down into the gully, she was totally unprepared for what happened next.

  The rock she was on gave way. It was so unexpected, she let out a small cry, more in surprise then terror. She also, without realising it, jerked backwards. Her foot came away from the collapsing rock that had failed to support her. With another scream she lost her balance completely. Arms flailing wildly about her, she fell towards the gully floor. As she fell, her head struck against a protruding rock, causing her to bite her tongue, drawing blood. The pain coursed through Manana, as she struck the gully bottom in a tangled heap.

  Her head was groggy. Her mind disorientated from the concussion. She lay still, moaning, feeling the blood from a head wound, trickling down her skull, down the neck and slowly down her back. Her natural instincts told her to be still. Just lay down until the pain clears. If you try and move, it said, dizziness will overcome you.

She lay rigid, for at least five minutes, allowing the disorientation in her mind to clear. Then she opened her eyes. The sudden light made her wince, causing her head to start throbbing once more. Slowly, she thought, lets do it slowly. Opening first one eye ever so slow, she allowed the light to filter through to her brain. When she was happy there would be no more headaches, she opened the other eye, just as carefully.

  At first, her vision was a little blurry. Gradually, things began to come into focus. She looked to the left. She could see clearly now, the rocks and plants along the gully floor. A few inches in front of her eyes, a intricate spiders web was spun between a cactus leaf and a rock. Trapped inside it, an ant struggled uselessly against its inevitable fate. Her eyes focused on this miniature drama, until she felt that her vision was back to normal again.

  She tested her fingers, feet and arms, to ascertain her co-ordination was one hundred percent. Satisfied the concussion was passing, she moved her hands to the back of her head to check the wound. She was relieved to find that it was only a slight cut, and that the bleeding had already stopped. Her head still throbbed slightly, bur she realised that this would soon go if she did not exert herself.

It was as she was touching the wound, that Manana first began to feel something was wrong. As her senses returned to normal, so a growing feeling of unease crept through her. The unease inside her grew stronger. There’s something here, and it’s near me, her mind screamed to her. Now her unease was replaced by fear, as the sensation of another presence grew.

  Goose-pimples broke out on her flesh. Her scalp began to tingle, and her body broke out in a cold sweat. There is danger here, her instincts warned, get up, run. Try as she might, she could not force her body upwards, fear had rooted her to the spot.

  Manana knew that whatever it was, was behind her, and it was very close. It’s presence felt stronger now, she could almost feel the heat from its body. She gripped her crucifix hanging on the rosemary chain around her neck. “Oh God, please help me”, she whispered. But still she could not find the strength or willpower to move her legs.

  She heard a small movement behind her. She did not have the courage to turn and face whatever danger was there. Her body began to tremble. She clutched her crucifix even tighter. Tears began to run from her eyes. “Oh Madonna Negro, please help me”, she cried. Without her knowing, self preservation took over. Her hands fumbled blindly around the rocky floor. They fastened on a rock, which her fingers anxiously clawed and gripped tightly.

  You must confront this danger, said a calmer voice inside her. Yet fear still gripped her in its paralysing stillness. The only part of her body that seemed to be responding, to the frantic signals from her brain, was the hand that now lifted the rock. Manana, uttered another short prayer. Her nostrils were assaulted by the beasts presence, for now she realised it could only be some wild animal smell. It was unlike any aroma she had encountered. The smell of blood was strong on it, and she recognised another odour. One she had smelt before. It was the smell of the dead or dying.

  Still held in terrors chilly grip. What She did next, was a brave an act of courage, as any soldier faced in battle. Concentrating her strength and will power, she decided to face the unknown enemy. Slowly, inch by inch, she turned her head. She felt the stone in her hand. She hoped her resolve would not fail, and she would find the courage to strike the creature if necessary.

  As she finally came face to face with her unknown nemesis, she let out a scream of pure terror. Not more than half a metre away, the animal described as “the most dangerous creature on Gods planet”, stared into her eyes. It was an apparition so dreadful, she was convinced death lay before her.

  It was larger than she could ever imagined. Its penetrating deep smoky grey eyes seemed to look into her very soul. Underneath those eyes, a steely blue-black beak, capable of tearing flesh from bone curved to an almost razor sharp, hook-like end.  It opened it’s rapacious beak, and let out a throaty warble. It moved its head towards Manana, and as those penetrating eyes gazed into her, Manana began to feel the last vestiges of resistance leave her. Dear God, she prayed silently. It’s the Eagle I saw earlier, it’s come for me. dear God help me.

  Manana started to feint. The fear, terror and concussion of a few moments ago overcame her at last. Her last conscious thought were for her mother and father. Please spare them any suffering oh Lord. Then blackness engulfed her. Her mind sought relief from the real danger, and she quickly drifted into the nightmare world of unconsciousness.

End of part one