by Scott Bergin
"Hello." Alex said.
The girl did not say anything. She just stared at his mouth while he spoke. Then Fimyany spoke, and she watched his mouth as well.
"It doesn't look like she speaks English." Fimyany said.
"I'm Alex." He said, tapping his chest.
This time the girl smiled. She watched his hands, though, not his lips. Even after he stopped talking, she watched his hands. Fimyany spoke again, and she looked up to follow his lips.
"What's out there?" He said, pointing to the smoke.
The girl pointed toward the smoke and shook her head. She pointed to Alex's hands and tapped her chest with her index fingers. Then she pointed to the smoke again, and shook her head.
"She doesn't like what's out there." Alex said. "You think maybe cannibals ate her parents?"
"Maybe." Fimyany replied. "But what's she doing here in the first place?"
"I don't know." Alex said. "She sure seems interested in my hands though."
"Well, show them to her." Fimyany replied.
Alex held both of his hands out to the girl. His palms were turned toward her. She looked at his hands and smiled. Then she tapped the handcuffs with one index finger, as she tapped her chest with the other.
"Looks like she wants your jewelry." Fimyany said.
"I guess she doesn't understand about handcuffs." Alex replied.
"I guess you'll have to explain it to her." Fimyany said.
"They don't come off." Alex said.
"They are attached." He said, holding up the dead guard's arm.
Immediately the little girl's eyes went wide with surprise. She stepped onto the raft, and knelt down. She leaned forward and grabbed hold of the arm. Alex let go of it, and she sunk her teeth in. Alex and Fimyany looked on in horror. The little girl gnawed through the wrist in less than a minute. Once she got through to the bone, she pulled on the arm. The hand snapped off the arm, and landed on the raft. She held the freed arm in one hand, and pointed to her chest with the other. Then she pointed to the smoke, and shook her head.
"I guess she just didn't want to share." Fimyany said.
"Are you that hungry?" Alex asked, trying to make light of the situation.
The girl picked up the hand, and stood. Then, she started chewing on the decaying thumb. Alex noticed that some of the flowers on the girl's dress were actually dried blood stains. He had been looking at her face so much that he hadn't noticed them before. Now that she stuffed her face with rotting human flesh, Alex couldn't stand to look at her seemingly innocent face any longer. Alex heard Fimyany moving around at the back of the boat, but he didn't bother to see what he was doing. A second later, Fimyany was standing beside him. Alex looked up, and saw Fimyany swinging a piece of wood. The wood came within inches of Alex's head as it swung over. The small log struck the girl in the face. Instantly, her arms fell to her sides. The rotted hand, and the half eaten arm, fell to the raft. The girl swayed, then fell onto Alex. He caught her, then gently set her limp body onto the raft. He could see that her nose was badly broken. The girl's chest was still raising and lowering. She was unconscious, but alive. Alex turned to question Fimyany. Before he uttered a word, Fimyany attacked again. He drove the end of the wood into her face with all his strength. The girl's body convulsed massively when the wood struck. Fimyany let go of the log, and it remained sticking straight up out of her face. The wood had crushed her nose and forehead, and it had driven them both back into her brain. She was dead.
"What the hell are you doing?" Alex whispered furiously. "She was just a child."
"Would you rather I let her go wake up the others?" Fimyany asked.
"You still didn't have to kill her." Alex protested. "You could have just left her unconscious."
"We have got to hurry." Fimyany said. "They'll be coming soon."
"Nobody heard her." Alex insisted. "What makes you think they'll be coming?"
"Not the cannibals." Fimyany replied. "The crocodiles."
Alex looked down at the girl's lifeless body. Blood dripped out her head and onto the raft. Once the crocodiles got a taste of the blood in the water, they would attack. Fimyany pushed the boat away from the shore. He stuck the stick into the river's bottom, and pushed off downstream. The boat drifted slowly through the water. Alex could see the blood continuing to flow from her head. The blood was traveling downstream faster than the raft. The crocodiles would be waiting for them.
"I don't understand." Alex said.
"What about?" Fimyany asked.
"The girl, the dress, any of it." He admitted.
"You mean why she is what she is?" Fimyany asked.
"Was what she was." Alex corrected him.
"Some white man with a child must have passed through here a while back." Fimyany replied with confidence. "That would explain it."
"I still don't understand." Alex confessed.
"The man had sex with one of the cannibal women." Fimyany said. "That child must be the result."
"Couldn't it have been a white woman?" Alex asked.
"Ha." Fimyany replied. "The cannibals wouldn't let her live nine days, let alone nine months."
"What if she was pregnant when she fell into the hands of the cannibals?" Alex asked.
"Then they would have eaten the child." Fimyany assured him. "The child would have to be native to even have a chance at surviving."
"And why did you say that this man had to have a little girl with him?" Alex asked.
"That's the only way to explain the dress." Fimyany said. "The cannibals wear their victims' clothes."
"The dress could have come from some other child." Alex replied.
"That is true." Fimyany admitted.
"Why would one of the cannibal women allow a white man to have sex with her?" Alex asked.
"Who says she allowed him to?" Fimyany asked. "It could have been rape."
"Rape." Alex said shaking his head. "Who would rape someone in front of his own daughter?"
"You are assuming that the girl was with him." Fimyany replied. "Though we have nothing to prove that."
"I guess I am." Alex replied.
"Tactics." Fimyany said.
"What do you mean?" Alex asked.
"They send one person out to lure others into a trap." He explained. "The cannibal woman must have found the white man's camp site. After enticing him with sex, she could lure him back to her village."
"And to his death." Alex replied.
"That is exactly what this girl used to do." Fimyany said, pointing to her carcass. "I'm sure of it."
"How do you know?" Alex asked.
"That is the only explanation for the disappearances from my village." Fimyany replied. "The people in my village were told to avoid contact with anyone after dark. Apparently, the sight of a white child was enough to make them leave the safety of the village."
"And they would follow her back here?" Alex asked in disbelief.
"They wouldn't have to." Fimyany assured him. "Other cannibals would be waiting a few hundred yards into the woods. Once she lured them far enough, the cannibals would quietly kill them. Now I know why it was mostly women that were tricked into leaving the village."
"Apparently she didn't like the situation." Alex said.
"Why do you say that?" Fimyany asked.
"The way she pointed at the smoke, and shook her head." He explained. "Then pointed at the arm, and pointed to herself. She was probably underfed."
"No doubt they looked upon her like an outsider, because she was different." Fimyany replied.
As the raft continued downstream, Alex spotted two crocodiles swimming upstream. The blood had reached them, and they were tracking down its source. Fimyany walked to the front of the raft. After removing the wood from her skull, he put a toe under the girl's back. As he lifted his foot, her limp body rolled off the front of the raft. It hit several times on the front of the raft, then it slid underneath. Fimyany returned to the rear of the boat. He picked up the steering pole, and poked
at the girl's body. It landed on the back of her head. The pole slid inside the back of her dress. He pulled the pole back, as if he had just caught a large fish. The girl's body lifted up out of the water.
"What are you doing?" Alex asked, as he looked on in disgust.
"Crocodiles don't like dead meat." He explained. "They like to make the kill."
Fimyany dipped the girl's body into the water, then pulled it back out. The two crocodiles swam under the raft, and toward the bait. Fimyany dipped the girl's corpse again. When he tried to raise it, her dress tore. The pole hooked the collar of the dress, but it was not enough to hold her. The little girl's body slithered out the bottom of the dress. Her arms pulled the sleeves inside out. She hit the water, but did not sink below the knees. Her wrists were still entangled in the dress. Fimyany held the pole steady. The sleeves of the dress held the girl's naked body above the water long enough for the crocodiles to attack. The first crocodile seemed to leap out of the water. Its teeth sank into the girl's stomach, with her legs in its mouth. The weight of the animal was enough to tear her from the dress. She immediately dropped below the surface. Fimyany lowered the pole, and the second crocodile took a bite out of it. The second animal took the dress and pole to the bottom, just as the first had taken the girl. Each rolled onto its back as it went down. Alex knew what a death roll was, but he had never seen one on a person. He was sickened. Not by the act, but by his thought. He wished he had brought his camera with him.
Chapter 31
April 15
5:50 p.m.
Yaoundé, Cameroon
Gabrielle and Robert sat across from one another at one of the few establishments that reopened its doors for business since the disaster. The merchants were eager to earn the money of the journalists. However, most merchants had still not returned to the city. Some who returned had suffered too great a loss to recover quickly. Gabrielle was surprised that none seemed to mind that the reporters were there only to exploit the shop owners' miseries. She couldn't decide whether to feel more sorry for what they lost, or more guilty for why she was there. Robert was listening closely to a small radio that he had brought with him. Gabrielle paid almost no attention to the reports coming from the radio. She paid more attention to the way her thighs stuck to the vinyl bench. Robert gave his undivided attention to the radio. His hands were folded on the table in front of him, and though he stared straight at Gabrielle, he did not see her. Her mind was focused on Alex. She wondered where he was, and how he was, and if he was even still alive. Then she thought of Thomas LaRue. Gabrielle pictured Alex coming face to face with him somewhere in the middle of the jungle.
"I hate this crap." Robert said, shattering ten minutes of silence.
"Huh." Gabrielle replied, her mind had not even begun to return.
"I said, I hate this radio." Robert replied. "You just can't get the full perspective."
"What would you have me do about it?" She asked, as her mind slowly drifted back. Though, she still held a picture of Thomas' face in her mind.
"I guess I'm not used to field work." Robert admitted. "I can't live without cable T.V." He said, only half joking.
Gabrielle's mind held the image of Thomas constant, but everything around him changed. At first, she thought she was going crazy, until the image became clear. She saw Thomas' head repeating the exact same line. She looked around, and recognized the location. It was the hotel room back in Benoué Park. Then she saw the satellite dish in the background, near the window. The satellite dish was identical to the one she had seen in the photograph yesterday. Her face went white, and she felt like passing out.
"Are you all right?" Robert asked.
"What the hell did you say?" Gabrielle snapped.
"It's just that you look a little pale." He explained.
"No. I don't mean that." Gabrielle replied. "Never mind."
Her mind started racing at a million miles an hour. She realized that Thomas had something to do with the dam. He may have even caused it. Since he blew up the museum, it stood to reason that the two were somehow related. The dam might have been some type of diversion, so no one would see him rob the museum. Gabrielle knew that she had enough information to knock Dana's socks off. Hell, she had enough to make her pass out. Now she had to get out of the country. That would be a very difficult task. All air traffic was booked solid, with emergency relief workers or other journalists. What she needed was someone to help her get on board a plane headed for London. The only person she had seen successfully bribe someone was sitting right across from her. The only problem was that she would have to tell him what she knew. It was a small price to pay, if he could get her out of the country. If he could not, it would be a colossal waste. She decided to play it safe, and find out what he could offer before giving up any vital information.
"Are you all right?" Robert asked again.
"I'm fine." Gabrielle replied. "No, that's not entirely true."
"What's wrong?" He asked, falling right into her ploy.
"I need to leave the country as soon as I possibly can." She said.
"Are you in some kind of trouble with the law?" Robert asked. "Something to do with the museum?"
"No." Gabrielle insisted. "Nothing like that."
"What then?" He asked.
"I'm just finished here." She replied. "Now I have to return to London, for the magazine."
"I don't buy it." He said. "If you were only leaving to get back to the magazine, you wouldn't be in such a hurry."
"I'm not really in such a hurry." Gabrielle insisted.
"Sure you are." Robert replied. "Now what's so important to make you skip town."
"Do you have a lot of money?" Gabrielle asked bluntly.
"I got enough." He replied. "Why?"
"No." Gabrielle said. "You misunderstood me. Have you got a shit load of money?"
"Yeah." Robert admitted. "I do."
"And connections?" Gabrielle asked.
"You want me to get you out of the country?" Robert asked.
"Yes." She replied. "Can you?"
"I could have you on a private charter to London within twenty-four hours." Robert said. "Now why is that suddenly of interest to you?"
"Because I know some things that could get me in a lot of trouble if I stay here any longer." She told him.
"You know who did this?" He asked, pointing to the radio.
"I know his name." Gabrielle whispered.
"You know his name." Robert replied. "I guess you could be in a lot of trouble if you stay."
"Then you'll help me?" Gabrielle asked.
"If you tell me his name." He whispered.
"The minute we are airborne." She replied.
"Not good enough." Robert said flatly.
"What do you mean?" Gabrielle protested. "I'm not about to tell you who he is, and have you leave me here."
"Just tell me how you know who he is." He said.
"That's it?" She asked.
"And why you are afraid to stay here any longer." Robert added.
"I recognized the satellite dish." She explained. "I knew that I had seen it before. I only just remembered where I had seen it before."
"And where was that?" He asked.
"The man who blew up the museum." She replied. "He had one just like it in his hotel room, and that was only days after the destruction."
"And where is this man now?" Robert asked. "Being chased through the jungle?"
"Yes." Gabrielle said. "That's right."
"Then why are you afraid to stay here any longer?" He asked. "If he is in the middle of the jungle, you should be perfectly safe here."
"I was not the only one to see that satellite dish." Gabrielle explained. "Anyone who saw that dish must know that he was up to something. When the other picture of the satellite shows up, they will know what he was up to."
"And you think they will connect him with you?" Robert asked.
"Well, we were the only Americans staying at the hotel that day." She replie
d.
"So that was in this country?" He asked.
"Yes." Gabrielle said. "Now how do I know that you aren't just lying about being able to get us out of the country?"
"Are you worried that I might be asking too many questions?" Robert asked.
"Frankly, yes." She replied.
"This should convince you." He said, pulling something out from the inside pocket of his jacket. It was a stack of hundred Franc notes. He fanned the two inch stack at her, and she stared at it. It was far from an enormous amount of money, but it was still more than the average person would just happen to be carrying around.
"I'm convinced." Gabrielle confessed.
"Then we leave for London tomorrow." Robert said firmly.
"Why are you so interested in how I know him?" She asked.
"Once we are airborne, I'm going to check your story out." He replied. "And if the hotel you tell me has never heard of you, or him, we will be landing back here. If your story holds water, we will land in London."
"And how do you know I won't just call the hotel now and have them lie?" Gabrielle asked.
"Because I'm not going to let you out of my sight." He replied. "Besides, if you were going to make that call, you wouldn't be telling me about it now."
"O.K." Gabrielle said, smiling. "So, what do we do for the next twenty four hours?"
"I make plans." Robert said. "You watch me make plans, and we both stay out of sight."
"We can do that." She assured him.
"And don't tell anyone your real name." He told her. "In case that picture gets out before we do. If anyone asks, just tell them your name is Tracy."
Robert switched off the radio. He placed the money back into his pocket, and retrieved a tiny cellular phone from the opposite pocket. Immediately, he began placing calls. Gabrielle did exactly what she was told to do, nothing. She sat back and watched him plan their swift escape.
Chapter 32
April 15
8:20 p.m.
Gabon
Alex rolled from his left side onto his back. His arm extended, and the back of his right hand hit something cold and hard. He opened his eyes, and saw the sunset through the trees. He noticed that the trees were not moving. His right hand was resting on the muddy bank of the river. They had run ashore, but he didn't know how long ago. Fimyany was sound asleep on the back of the raft. Alex got up and walked toward him.