by Mirren Hogan
He heard her footsteps as she came up behind Flynn and smiled at the woman, “Hi! Sorry, we blew up a tire! My car is waaay too old!” That drew a smile from the woman, who visibly relaxed. “Aunty, no worry! I get ‘um, kay? No suk suk after ten!”
The landlady’s eyes went wide and she blushed, “Ai, ukininam! Fine, go! You not living wit’ him, yeah? Or else, have to charge more rent!”
“No, Aunty! I’m just a friend! I won’t be around too much. Promise! We’re both gonna go, soon.” Makani leaned further out the door and ran a hand over the bird’s back, making it ruffle its feathers.
“No, you can hang out here. Just no living here! And no make so much noise! The puppy was so scared!” The woman backed away and started back the way she came, mollified by the girl’s answers.
Makani pulled Flynn back through the door and closed it, before bursting out in laughter. “She said ‘ukininam’! That’s classic!”
“Let me guess, I just got insulted?” he asked dryly, although he was trying not to smile. The old lady might be half off her rocker, but the rental was a great house.
“No, no! Ukininam is, like . . . it’s like ‘oh, god’, ‘damn it’, and ‘mutha fucka’ rolled into one. It’s my favorite filipino word. Ever! That and suk suk.” She sat back on the couch, giggling in perverse delight.
He grinned. “I wouldn’t argue with suk suk, it’s one of my favorite things.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her and looked at her mouth, imagining her lips pressed around him. Taking a deep breath that was nowhere nearly as good as a cold shower, he finished his coffee and sandwich.
The decent food out of the way, Flynn opened a packet of cupcakes—chocolate of course. “Chocolate is almost as good,” he added, peeling the paper from his and licking the crumbs.
“Chocolate is my kryptonite! I’ll do anything for it.” She licked frosting off the top and paused, “Almost anything.” Then she took a bite off the side, her eyes closing in pleasure.
“I know where to put it for suk suk then?” he suggested, taking a bite and getting chocolate on his nose. He preferred his mother’s homemade cupcakes, but these weren’t bad.
She leaned up and took his chin between her fingers, and licked his nose clean. “Can I eat it off you without a rubber? Or else, it would ruin the flavor.”
He contemplated while he chewed. “I don’t have any nasty diseases. My mother insisted I have a full medical before I came out here.” It seemed ridiculous at the time, but now he was starting to think it had been a good idea. “You’d be taking my word for it, though. I certainly don’t object.” He was still alive after all. “I’m a fan of safe, but rubber, not so much.” He didn’t think too many people were. He shrugged with one shoulder and went on eating.
“Yeah, well . . . last I checked, I’m good. That wasn’t too long ago. And I’m on the pill . . . so you don’t have to worry about leaving anything behind when you go.” Makani was busy swiping the topping off with her finger, licking it up between bites of the cake. “But who’s to say we didn’t catch something from the mananaggal?” She looked up at Flynn and smiled flippantly.
He stopped chewing. His eyes widened and he swallowed hastily. So hastily, he almost choked on a chunk of cupcake. “Like what?” he gasped out. He hadn’t thought of rabies from the creature, or tetanus. Or who knew what other nasty diseases a thing that lived inside a karst might be infected with? Suddenly lunch was sitting in the bottom of his stomach like a ball of lead.
“I’m kidding! Relax! From what little I know they don’t give you cooties. They just eat you from the inside out.”
“That’s very reassuring,” he said sarcastically.
He crumpled the little wrapper in his hands and stood up, grabbing hers. He took the plates and mugs, and washed everything up, setting it to dry on the little old rack by the sink.
“Now, are we going or not?” she asked, sucking provocatively on the tips of her fingers. The action was making him feel particularly hot. “The light coming through the trees is beautiful in the afternoon.”
Flynn regarded her doubtfully. He wouldn’t mind staying in and practicing some suk suk, but he finally nodded. “Yes, let’s go. I could use some fresh air and a change of scenery.” And to burn off that cupcake. He pulled his camera onto his shoulder and made sure he had his phone and wallet in his pockets. He’d braced himself already for her driving, but that didn’t stop him from hanging on tightly once in the passenger seat.
Makani threw a pair of swim shorts and a towel at Flynn, and started working to hotwire the jeep to life. While it still needed the key in the ignition, there was a trick to getting the engine to turn over. “Swimming hole! You’re gonna want those!” This time, she nearly ran over a pair of teenagers on skateboards, and they flipped rude gestures that she promptly returned. “Stay in school, braddah!” She called back as they sped back west towards the greener mountain valleys.
“Good advice,” Flynn said his tone and expression deadpan. “They might end up like me.” He looked back and watched the boys, smirking at the way their shorts hung below their underwear. His mother would have killed him before she let him out like that in public.
He shook his head and looked away, his attention on the front windscreen. “So, mananaggal guts hmm?”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Wouldn’t be the first time I’ve had guts there. Long story!” She glanced over and smiled, leaning back into her seat.
“We have time,” he replied. “And you have a captive audience.” Especially at this speed.
“I bought this baby back in Oregon when I was going to school. So, one night, on the way back up from Willamette, that’s wine country, me and a few friends decided to turn on ‘Dragula’ as loud as we could, and see how fast we could get her to go. It was a bad idea because I didn’t see the dog that ran across the PCH, the Pacific Coast Highway. So I swerved across the center line. Almost hit a van full of hippies. They ran the dog over, and jumped out, started crying over the damn thing. “So we stopped to ask if they needed help. Y’know, booze, pot, a round of ‘Kumbaya’ . . . . and then they pulled a gun on us! Can you believe hippies with guns! Never happen down here!”
Flynn wasn’t so sure about that. Unless hippies with guns were too tame for Hawaii. They couldn’t really compete with gut sucking monsters for scary value. He pushed the thought away and listened to her speak.
“We went running for the jeep and started away, going about ninety I guess. So we’re all looking back to make sure the hippies aren’t coming after us, and this fuckin’ deer comes chargin’. We went kerrang ‘em! It was so awful! Big guy, too. A twelve-pointer, I think. The bugga was splattered! We were screaming our heads off, but we didn’t want to stop. So we finally got back up to Corvalis, and got to a gas station. The whole hood was red! It looked like we hit a person. The gas station attendant called the cops on us! We had to tell them we hit a deer, while all of us were drunk out of our minds. Thank the lord they didn’t bring us in for a DUI. That scared me sober for a looooong time.” She stopped and shuddered, “Funny, I’ve only hit two things in my life. The deer and that thing that blew up in the sea.”
He couldn’t help but smile. He wasn’t sure if it was the story, the way she spoke or both. “I’ve hit two kangaroos. The first one did the most damage and the bloody thing was already dead. I didn’t see it until I got around the bend. The second one just knocked the plastic guard off from around my front plates. And then it died. The roo, not the car. The blasted things are dangerous near roads. Good eating, though.”
“Really? Like, roadkill-style? You kill ‘em, you grill ‘em?” They turned down the off ramp that would take them to her valley. A little old road led to a nondescript sign that simply said ‘Judd Memorial Trail’ next to a copse of monkeypod trees. Makani pulled the jeep to the side and grabbed her pack
“No,” he replied, following. “Farmed Roos. The wild ones are full of germs. And joeys. Baby kangaroos,” he added, in case she didn’t know. “We toss the wild,
dead ones into the bush for the currawongs.”
She looked back over her shoulder while slipping the pack on, “What the hell is a currawong?” They slid easily down the hill and veered left. She pointed to the first of the small waterfalls that led to the swimming hole.
“It’s a kind of bird, like a raven. They’re all black, with evil looking yellow eyes and they eat meat. We had one bite the head off a finch once, right out of the cage.” He shuddered at the memory of finding the tiny, decapitated body lying on its back.
“Oh, sick!” Makani scrunched her nose up, and led him towards the stream. “We cross here, and follow it down. The bamboo thicket heads north.” She pointed toward it, the darkness making it look ominous, even in the bright sunlight. “But the swimming hole is the other way. Come on.” She skipped on the rocks, her steps sure and light as she led the way. “Plenty for you to shoot.”
“Yeah,” he unzipped his camera bag and took a few quick shots of her behind. “Nice view!” He grinned. “Is this a place you bring lots of tourists to?” Why did that give him a stab of jealousy?
“Actually, no. This is where . . . ” She gestured around and hopped over rocks to stand in the middle of the river. “I hide here. I used to. Even though a lot of people come through, no one really bothered me. I could listen to nothing. No cars, no radios, no crazy parents . . . I could explore.” Makani swung over a little pool on a hanging vine, following the water as it wound down the way.
“Up the road, there’s the ruins of a king’s summer home. The remains of the old waterway that serviced the valley. All of that history in this one place. I used to stay here all day, and get lost . . . but I would always find my way back. I’m never scared here. This is home. Just as much as grandma’s house was and not just for me.” She sat down on a rock, and pointed up at the canopy. Several species of bird congregated amidst the highest branches.
It was lovely. He felt slightly awed that she would bring him here. He had a feeling that he was amongst a select few. It was almost a shame to take pictures of it. “Are you sure you want to show this place to other people? The next thing you know, it’ll be flooded with tourists. You don’t want hundreds of me here.” The thought of anyone ruining the spot made him grimace. Places like this were becoming more rare as progress and development destroyed so much natural beauty.
In spite of that, Flynn started walking around, making the best use of the light, which was perfect at this time of day. He had a feeling she’d known that, which is why she’d brought him here now.
“People are always up here,” her voice broke through his thoughts. “It’s the perspective, that’s what matters. Everything I see, what I know, is totally different from what other people get. That’s what I love about this place. It’s always different, it’s always changing. Even when it stays the same.” She climbed up onto a rocky ledge where he had to crane his neck to look up at her. Her eyes reflected the water as it flowed. She turned to Flynn, slid back down, and started back over the trail, “So yeah . . . show everyone my world. They’ll never see what I see.”
“I have a feeling that not many people do,” he remarked. “Hey, there aren’t any maneating crocodiles in the water, are there?” He peered in as though he’d see one.
“This ain’t the Outback, buddy!” She laughed and swatted his butt. “Come on! The swimming hole isn’t much further.” She skipped back over to the far bank and started scaling the large rocks that blocked the path. On the other side, the massive trees gave way to waterfalls, the water swirling and bubbling before it flowed down. “Happy Face Spider!” She pointed to the little crawler, and the distinctive markings on its back.
“Cheerful.” He took a few photos of it and then turned his camera toward the waterfalls. The mist rose from it, caught by the light, adding to the ambiance. The closer he got, the louder the falls roared, thundering down the rocks. “So is the spider poisonous?”
“Not that I know of. But they’re kind of endangered, so I don’t suggest trying to grab it.” Makani pointed at something moving in the water below the foam. “Huh . . . I didn’t realize there were big fish in there.” She shrugged, looking nonplussed. She led him over a little rise, and they came to another waterfall, that ended in the water hole. “Here ya go! Better than the karst, right?”
He laughed. “It’s different. The karst was exciting, though. If you don’t count the blood sucking monsters and weird prawns.” He crouched down beside the water and dipped a hand in. The water was cool and refreshing. His eyes followed the flow up the side of the waterfall, right to the top. He just found the source when something stung his finger, like a searing pinch. He yanked his hand out of the water. Blood beaded on his fingertips and started to run down his fingers like the falls.
CHAPTER 11
“Hey! What happened?”
A large shadow in the water slipped over the side of the falls and disappeared.
Makani turned and picked her way over to Flynn, kneeling down at the water’s edge. She grabbed his hand and looked at his fingers, “What the hell?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know. I just felt a stinging and then . . . ” He shrugged and peered at his fingers. “It looks like something stuck a stinger inside and sucked the insi . . . ” He trailed off and got to his feet. Slowly, he backed away from the water, his eyes wide in horror.
“Wait, what?” She got up and followed him, her eyes following the line his took. Something was stirring the water in ways it shouldn’t be. Fear made the hair on the back of her head stand up. “Come on. Up the bank. Come on!” She grabbed his hand again and scrambled back, dragging him over the rocks.
“I thought you said they didn’t come out during the day?” he asked. And then, “What are they doing here?”
“I don’t know, I don’t know!” She flipped the knife out from the side pocket of her bag and looked around. The wind blew, rustling the pines behind them, making it hard to hear any other noises that might not have belonged. “Let’s get back to the jeep, hurry.” She spoke quietly, keeping her eyes on the water, and their backs to the cliff. She reached back and grabbed the bag of salt she had kept there since the night before. She thrust it at Flynn. “Don’t be afraid to dump it on anything that comes up.”
He grabbed it and wielded it as though it were a knife. “You brought salt? Why?’What for?”
His next words were cut off by the sound of a woman screaming. It echoed through the trees from somewhere uncomfortably close.
Makani turned towards the scream, “Let’s go!” She darted up and grabbed branches and roots to keep balance, heading straight to the entrance of the trail. But instead of crossing the stream back to the jeep, she started through the bamboo grove, the sound of Flynn’s footsteps right behind her.
“There, just up ahead,” he hissed, making her jump.
She slowed down, careful to keep her knife at the ready. Her feet were nearly silent, even on the thick covering of dead leaves. Just through the grove, in a clearing to the side that opened up to a small offshoot of the stream.
Laying in the mud and rocks, was something that might once have been a person. A woman. Bent over it, was something completely different from the things they had seen in the cave.
“What the hell?” she whispered as she tightened her grip on the knife.
“What is this, the bloody Hell-mouth?” Flynn had stepped up beside her. She could see his face whiten in the corner of her eye.
“What is it? Will salt even work?” Before she could stop him, he brought the salt up and flung it, sending a spray of crystals through the air.
The creature turned reptilian eyes at the two, and its mouth gaped wide. Sharp teeth, still coated liberally with the gore and blood that had been its victim, gnashed and clawed fingers gripped the ground. Its head was indented into a bowl, and it held water that sloshed over the side and ran over its face. The salt, unfortunately, didn’t do anything. It just made the creature very upset.
“Flynn! Go!” She
pushed at him, urging him up into the bamboo grove and off the trail. Makani searched her mind for what she might be seeing, but couldn’t quite think of what it was. She looked behind them, but the creature had disappeared. “Oh, no . . . ”
Flynn started off at a run but skidded to a halt after a few steps. “Oh no, what? Makani? Oh no, what?”
She pushed him again, going the opposite direction. “Just split up! Keep quiet! Get away from the water! Now!” She maneuvered herself between the bamboo, narrowly avoiding the broken stalks that jutted up. She made as much noise as she could, keeping herself in line with the trail that split the grove up the side of the valley.
He went the other way, in the direction of the jeep.
She moved high up the hill, keeping her ears open for anything. Makani knew the stories, having heard them as a kid running up and down the valley with her siblings. She would never have believed them, though. Not in a million years. But faced with this thing, after everything they had seen . . . what else lived on this island?
The creature took its time stalking the female, but as she moved higher up, it grew afraid. To be so far from its home waters . . . no, best not to chance it. It decided the male, bigger, stronger, but probably not as fast, would be a better target. Moving back down to its water, the creature let its bowl fill with water and slithered back up towards the first waterfall. It saw the male, and found a good spot to watch until he came close enough. The creature was so hungry . . . so very hungry...
The male kept walking. The creature followed, its face twitching the further it moved from the water. Security was important, but food was vital. It licked its maw, savoring the taste of blood, even while it craved more. The first female had been the merest taste. This male would be a meal that would fill him for days.
The creature knew these places better than people and the direction the male needed to take to reach the vehicle. The creature knew a shorter path. It wound its way through the trees, blending with the foliage. It reached the car park and hissed softly in delight. It could hear the approaching human.