The Wildlife Games Read Online Free PDF Page B

by hiswel-come grin . . .
    The film crew caught Mimi, followed closely by Anastasia, Declan and Jason, who, once he saw the camera, broke away to take the lead, run up the brow of the hill and race towards the drummers.
    He reached the drummers and stood there expectantly. When they kept on drumming, he looked around.
    â€˜Ahh, so I got here first. Don’t I win this leg of the challenge?’ he asked the camera.
    The drummers smiled but kept on drumming out the same tune.
    â€˜Where’s Bindi?’ he asked, looking around.
    Anastasia hadn’t even reached the drummers before she let out a ‘Huh!’ and began running in a different direction.
    Jason looked around, baffled. ‘I’m missingsomething, aren’t I?’
    Declan and Mimi reached him. ‘Whatever you’re missing, I’m missing too,’ said Declan, gulping in deep breaths.
    Mimi was so out of breath she just nodded in agreement.
    They all caught their breath and looked around for signs of their next clue, with the drums beating in the background.
    Declan frowned. ‘It’s not a very African-sounding rhythm, is it?’
    Mimi turned to him, concentrating. ‘But it was earlier, remember? They’ve changed it.’
    It came out before Jason could stop himself revealing the answer to the other two. ‘It sounds like “Ne-ver smile at a –”.’ He swallowed the last word, realising his mistake.
    Declan laughed. ‘Thanks, mate. Race you to thecrocs?’
    The boys took off.
    Mimi trailed behind, grinning. Nice clue, Bindi, she thought to herself.

    Over at the croc enclosure, Bindi was getting restless. Now that she had a few minutes to wait, her nerves resurfaced. Was this a good idea? How were the contestants doing? Was it making good television? The sun was blasting at full heat now. She felt a bead of perspiration on her forehead.
    She pulled out her walkie-talkie. ‘Where are the contestants, over?’
    The runner of the film crew radioed back. ‘Ana’s in the lead. She’s just jumped off the shuttle. She’llbe with you in about five.’
    â€˜Is she wearing a sunhat?’ Bindi knew it was a strange thing to ask, but she wanted to know.
    The runner hesitated before responding. ‘Ahh, yeah, I think she was last time I saw her,’ he answered, a question in his voice.
    â€˜And do you think she’s hydrated? It’s hot out here, you know, over,’ said Bindi, grabbing a drink from the esky beside her.
    The runner now understood. ‘They’re all fine, Bindi. We’ll make sure they’re okay. No need to worry, over,’ he replied.
    â€˜Okay, thanks, over.’ Bindi ended the transmission, resting a foot on the esky. She glanced in the direction she knew Ana would be coming from. ‘Come on, guys, you can do it!’ she called out, hoping the wind would carry herencouragement to the contestants.
    The camerawoman sidled over. ‘Hey Bindi, while we’re waiting, would you like to film an update? Keep it short and suspenseful.’
    Bindi was grateful for something to pass the time. ‘Sure.’
    She looked over at the crocs. ‘Hmm, which set of crocs should we have in the background?’ Weipa gave her a wide open grin while his girlfriend, Lucy, remained swimming daintily in their pond. ‘Ah, perfect. Weipa and Lucy are our background crocs.’
    The director signalled, ‘And . . . action!’
    â€˜Hi guys,’ said Bindi, beaming at the camera. ‘Just wanted to give you a quick update. So the contestants were quick off the mark for the first clue, racing up to the African Savannah at cheetah-like speeds. My brother Robert was there to give them a musical clue, and it sounds like it was Anastasia Hunter who picked the tune first.’
    Anastasia zoomed into the frame, almost bowling Bindi over in the process. She took over the commentary. ‘Along with