The Warthog, the rosty Subaru and Anna

Her old Subaru made a puffing noise every time she pressed the gas pedal, and it got much louder when she stepped on the brakes to stop in front of the gate. The guards raised their heads as they heard the screech of the brakes. There were three guards: one in the cabin at the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve entrance gate, and two outside approaching Anna, one of whom appeared to be the dog's handler. 

The guard holding the device walked towards her on the driver's side. He grimaced but said nothing further. He pointed to the reader, simultaneously the handler let go of his dog off the leash and went to the passenger side. 

The handler placed his palm on the roof of her car and studied her face intently. Blood raced into her cheeks, turning them crimson. 

"The passcode, Mom." The handler looks into the Subaru's back seat.

Her hands trembled as she showed the screenshot to the guard on the driver's side, which included the code number and her name. This guard did not appear to bother saying anything to her, instead staring at the passcode with the same gloomy face and then back at her. 

The handler continued in a deep, demanding voice, "The phone number," while she gave him a perplexed look.

His detecting dog, whom he called Vertigo, a German Shepard, gave her car a thorough sniff. After a few minutes, Vertigo returned, wagging. The guard on her driver’s side nodded to the handler and they both took a step back. The handler turned around and signaled to the other man at the cabin with a hand gesture. The gates opened. 

She breathed a sigh of relief and nearly floored the gas pedal, forcing the Subaru to shriek. The drive was along the first asphalted road, which turned after four kilometers into a natural path. She stopped her car, took her previously tattered map, searched for the entrance, and ran her fingers down it.

"All right. That's the change to the sandy road, and I still have about two kilometers left on this route," she said aloud while folding the map and putting it back in the side compartment of the driver's door.

Gazing at her father's classic mechanical pocket watch, which she had inherited as a gift, she felt a sense of adventure as he told her about his stories. She keeps things straightforward and practical, even with her modest yet fashionable wardrobe.

The Subaru engine shook as though it was running on too little gas, as she inserted the key into the ignition.

"Come on, please," she murmured, turning around the key a second time; then a third time.

It made a mechanical clicking noise shortly after starting and stumbled for moments.

She depressed the gas pedal, and it began to move with some effort. She gazed down the road; it had a shimmering appearance. The beads of sweat trickled from her brow over her eyes. 

She wiped them away with her palm while looking at the passenger side. Her upper body leaned toward the seat, but her head faced the street. She searched for the bottle with her hands and gazed at it briefly. She swiftly took the bottle, straightened her upper body, and peered down the street.

Suddenly a duiker - an antelope the size of a golden retriever - appeared on the path. She braked instantly and had to steady herself with her hands on the steering wheel. 

The small antelope tensed up, pointing her ears back, her eyes wide alert.

"Hell no," she shouted.

 "Go away," and honked repeatedly.

The small antelope leaped six feet into the dry, thorny, broad-leafed woods. Anna shook her head; took a rag and wiped down her blazing red face, neck, and chest. She leaned her head back, closed her eyes, and breathed deeply in and out.

The Subaru shuddered again and growled. The radiator emitted a powerful steam. 

"Not now," she exclaimed forcefully, her face seeming more redder. She struck the driving wheel with her palms numerous times.

She looked at her smartphone on the passenger side, picked it up, and phoned. It rang several times on the other end, and just when she was about to hang up, someone did answer.

"Hello, this is Marian," Anna overheard a clear voice with a soothing tone on the other end.

"Hello." She paused to breathe. "Hello. My name is Anna. My interview with you is set for today. My car has broken down..." She took a deep breath. "I will walk the rest of the way."

"I didn't understand your name; it seemed a little broken. What do you want, walk up to us?”

"My name is Anna. Yes, it's just a little distance.”

“No, you won't. I'll send you a ranger, but you must wait between 1 and 1.5 hours. Stay where you are. Do not get out of your car. Drink water! Do you understand what I am saying? Where exactly are you?"

Anna pulled out the map and explained the route. After hanging up, she took a few long breaths. She grabbed the water bottle, took several sips, opened the door, and stepped out. 

She heard branches crack near her, and birds flew away, so she dashed back into her car and waited. Minutes passed...nothing happened.

With her application folder in hand, a glance at the map, and her car's rearview mirror, she took a big breath and stepped out. Her eyes darted around, startled by the noises of rustling leaves, cracking trees, animals she didn't recognize, and a few bird calls in between. She moved calmly and methodically, taking each step with a glance to the front, behind, and right. The noises grew louder and louder. 

An unexpected low-frequency call from the side brought her to an abrupt halt. Her chest appeared to stop moving. She moved her head slightly towards the call. Their gazes met - she looked at light grey to brown, huge, flat skulls covered with "warts," and four pointed tusks. 

This warthog was enormous; smaller warthogs with babies followed behind; even she recognized its size. This time, the call is more lethal. She swallowed. She widened her eyes, her chest rose and fell, and sweat dripped down her cheeks.

She gestured to the animal with her quivering palm outward and murmured calmly. She breathed many times before taking a cautious step backward, keeping her gaze fixed on the animal. With a stomp, it warned her again about each movement she made. The animal followed her, so she took a step, then another, and kept speaking calmly; her chest rose and fell harder and faster. Her steps backward became increasingly shaky, and her red-painted lips stood out dramatically against her pale skin. 

The warthog had halted after a few more feet, yet it kept her in sight. With an audible sigh of relief, she turned around, rushed the last meters back to her car, flung open the door, and hopped inside. She closed her eyes and laid her palm on her chest; her breathing gradually returned to normal, and her pallor faded.

Seeing a safari vehicle approach in her rearview mirror, she let out an exuberant cry. She nearly jumped out of her car, waving both arms ecstatically. Behind her, the car stopped and a ranger got out.

"Marian instructed me to take you up. I drove away earlier..."

"Thank you, thank you, and thank you a thousand times." Anna jumped onto his neck. 

With a shake of his head, the ranger nearly yanked her away from him. The other ranger in the vehicle chuckled.

"Get on. My colleague will care for your automobile."

Anna nodded in relief and fought with her balance to climb inside the safari car; behind her, the dog "Vertigo" sniffed her intently.

"I hope you don't intend to introduce yourself for the ranger training here, do you?" remarked the Handler, whom she had once met at the entrance gate.

She smiled gently and looked at her job application materials - National Park Ranger Training - before checking her pocket watch. She was one hour late.