Sandra came out of the tent after William. She was wearing shorts and the tan smoothness of her legs made Thomas stare a bit longer than he should’ve. She walked over, a smile parting her pink lips.
“Hello boys,” Sandra said playfully. “Ready for your big manly kill today?”
“Oh,” Thomas said, “I don’t believe we’ll get him so quick. He’s a couple days away by now I would figure.”
“Big Thomas,” she said, “always on the hunt. You know Eric, he was a ladykiller back when we were in college. All the girls thought he was so tough and mysterious.”
“Tough yes,” Thomas said with a grin, “though I can’t attest to how mysterious I am.” They looked at each other a moment and then Thomas said, “We should probably get moving soon, don’t want to waste any daylight.”
“Where are all the men?” Eric asked.
“Hunting and foraging. The women stay and tend to the homes and children.” He stood up and wiped some dirt off his pants. “Come, there’s much to be done yet.”
After a quick breakfast of coffee and eggs cooked over an open fire the jeeps were off again. Next to Eric in the backseat of the second jeep sat a tracker from the tribe. He was wiry and had an intense glare in his charcoal eyes. A rifle sat next to him and he didn’t remove his hand from the barrel for a second.
Eric thought it odd that Sandra only traveled with Thomas, and even odder that William didn’t mind.
“Where we going?” Eric asked Jalani.
“There was a killing yesterday near another village. If they still have the body, we’re going to see it.”
“Why?”
“We can tell if it is a tiger from the way they kill.”
The day dragged on and the driving was rough as the paved road turned into a rough path that few cars had driven down before. Grass was growing again over the path and the earth was now fine red dirt, almost like sand. Eric took inventory of the supplies while they drove; the second jeep had all the food and water and the first was loaded with the gasoline. He wasn’t sure the food could last more than a few days for this many people.
At the base of a large green hill was another village. This one was larger than the last and had some of the tin huts made from scavenged metal found in the plains. The people dressed and looked different from those of the other village even though they were only a few hours away from each other. There was a monkey tied to a post near the edge of the village and a group of children were throwing food at it, their laughter a welcome sound after hours of nothing but roaring jeep engines.
The jeeps parked near the children and one of the boys ran back to the village and into one of the huts. A few moments later a man emerged with him. He was dressed in a dirty blue button-up shirt and jeans. He smiled widely as he saw Thomas approaching.
“Namdi?” Thomas said. “What in God’s name are you doing here?”
They shook hands and Namdi looked over the group. “Dangerous for tourists here, no?” he said.
“Special group this,” Thomas said.
Namdi saw Jalani and nodded. “How are you?”
“Good, Doctor. You?”
“Fine. What are you still doing with this old man?”
“He pays too much to kill him.”
Namdi laughed and slapped Thomas’s arm. Thomas turned to the rest of the group and said, “This is Doctor Namdi Said, an old friend. This is Eric, Sandra, Will and Douglas.”
Namdi bowed his head. “Pleased to meet you.”
“So,” Thomas said, “you still haven’t answered my question. I thought you’d be in South Africa?”
“I was doing some contract work for the government here when I came across the injuries. They led me here.”
“What injuries?”
Namdi gave him a puzzled look and then said, “Follow me.”
Thomas looked to Eric, “Come with me. The rest of you wait here.”
They walked through the village, Eric lagging a little behind as he watched the faces of the people that peaked out of doorways to steal a glance at him. Many of them looked frightened and the rest looked aggressive. One small boy pointed at him and said something as he walked past.
Eventually they came to a massive tent. Namdi parted the hanging flaps that were used as a door and held them open for the others.
“Actually,” Thomas said, “I was told you have a body, Namdi.”
“We have many bodies.”
“Fresh one from last night.”
Namdi nodded.
They walked from the village heading south into the brush. Thomas explained to Eric that the dead were kept away from the villagers in case their smell attracted scavengers. In the middle of a thicket of green bushes was a path cut out that led to a small tin shack. Namdi opened the door which had a padlock on it.
Inside was the corpse of a man, at least what Eric thought was a man. He had to glance away and prepare himself before looking again.
“Go and get Jalani,” Thomas said quietly.
“He needs to be buried,” Eric said.
“They don’t bury the dead here,” Namdi said. “Hyenas dig up and eat corpses. We burn the dead each night.”
Thomas spoke softly and laid his hand on Eric’s shoulder. “Go get Jalani.”
Eric walked through the village, watching the crowds of women laughing and giggling as he walked by. Some of them appeared somber and averted their eyes. He saw his group drinking water and eating beef jerky by the jeeps. He called to Jalani and they walked back together
“What is the matter?” Jalani said.
“I don’t know.”
Jalani walked into the shack and inadvertently held her breath when she saw the corpse. She looked to Thomas. Eric watched them but didn’t understand what was going on. The corpse looked like he expected someone to look like after being eaten by a tiger.
“Is this fresh?” Jalani asked.
Thomas nodded. He stood up and walked out of the shack without saying anything. Eric followed.
“I don’t understand,” Eric said.
“You didn’t notice the color of the flesh? That body had the blood drained from it before death; the animal had drunk his blood. Tigers don’t do that.”
“I don’t get it.”
“It means, young Eric, that we are dealing with a different type of animal. Are you familiar with the story of the lions of Tsavo?”
“Not really, just what Douglas said.”
“They were man-eaters that ate a hundred and forty people. They too drank the blood of their victims. They enjoyed it, as I think this animal enjoys it. If it is the same phenomena, these animals are killing for pleasure, not food.”
They walked back to the jeeps and Thomas began speaking with Douglas. Sandra and William were playing cards in one of the jeeps and the tracker was standing at the edge of the brush. Eric walked behind him. The man was squatting and in full concentration. He was staring into the tall grass unblinkingly, his muscles tense and his rifle slung over his shoulder.
The man didn’t move when Eric approached. He didn’t acknowledge him. He stood perfectly still, staring. Eric looked into the grass. It was longer than he’d seen, about chest high and a dull green-brown. The wind was whipping it back and forth and it had an eerie voice-like quality from its motion.
The man slowly raised one hand up to his rifle and began to bring it down. He froze mid-motion a few seconds, and then continued. Before it was near his chest Eric heard the grass split apart and a warm spatter of blood hit his face as a shot rang in his ears. Something knocked him on his back as the tracker screamed and was pulled into the brush. The world spun and suddenly Eric was staring at the blue sky, a puffy white cloud drifting over his vision.
The screams died down but Eric couldn’t hear anything. He didn’t hear Sandra and William standing over him and yelling or Thomas and Douglas running into the brush with their rifles ready. He didn’t hear the screams of the children as they ran for protection in their homes, or the roar tha
t thundered through the warm air.
CHAPTER
35
Eric floated from a mound of grass to a cloud that sat next to him. The cloud moved purposefully, turning at an angle to fit perfectly between him and the grass. He moved toward the sky and the sun was bright on his face.
“Son?”
Eric was in the backseat of a car. In the passenger seat was Jeff, staring at the road before them. His father was driving and turned back to Eric. “Son?”
“Yeah, dad.”
“You have to make sure there’s no water in your shoes. You can’t get trenchfoot. Wear your boots without socks and stop every hour and dry your feet. It worked when you were in Vietnam. Your grandpa saw you there.”
“I will dad.”
“There’s the dam.”
A large dam sat in the middle of the road, water leaking from millions of little crevices.
“Looks like it’s going to burst,” his father said.
“Yeah,” Eric said. He looked to Jeff. On his head was a clear bowl of water with a scorpion floating inside.
“Son?”
“Yeah.”
“We needed to take a detour.”
“Yeah.”
Eric felt a sharp pain in his head and it spread over his face, down his neck, over his chest and legs to his feet.
He awoke in a cold sweat, Jalani sitting by his cot applying a wet rag to the wound on his head. The side of his face ached and he felt the stickiness of dried blood running down his neck.
“Don’t get up,” Jalani said. “Dr. Said gave you some antibiotics. You will be fine, it is just a scratch.”
Eric thought back and remembered motion and warmth and slight pain in his head. He couldn’t slow the image down enough to see anything more than a blur.
“Where’s the tracker?” Eric said.
“Gone.”
Eric reached up and touched his head. “What happened?”
Jalani hesitated. “You were . . . you were bit, Eric.”
Eric saw a flash in his mind’s eye. The red and brown of a tongue, and the sharp angles of yellowed teeth scraping his face.
CHAPTER
36
Eric sat in one of the jeeps, William sitting next to him. Douglas, Jalani and Thomas were out scowering the neighboring areas with some of the men from the village. Sandra was sitting with the children playing games and calming their nerves. It was still hot and the breeze had died down. The sun was relentless and William had to pour sunscreen over himself and applied a few dabs to Eric’s nose and neck.
“I’ve never seen anything move so fast,” Eric finally said.
“What’d you see?”
“I felt blood hit my face and then a streak of fur. Some yellow teeth.”
“Nothing else?”
“No.”
“Well, I think we should be heading back. This is too dangerous for us.”
Thomas eventually appeared out of the brush and approached the jeep. The skin on his hands and knees were cut from the dense branches he’d made his way through and sweat glistened as it dripped down his forehead.
“Anything?” William said.
“Afraid not. It made off with the body as well, damn thing. Must be strong as an ox. I think it might’ve been a lion.”
William said, “If you have anything personal of the tracker, I’d like to perform a service before we left.”
“Left?” Thomas said in amazement. “Why would we do that?”
“Are you kidding me? This thing is dangerous. This isn’t some safari anymore.”
“It never was. You were told it was a hunting trip, were you not?” Thomas’s face softened as he saw he was only escalating things. “Look, you’re a religious man, William. You value life as much or more than anyone here. These people are dying every night. Children, women, doesn’t matter to the beast. He drinks their blood before he eats them, alive. Without bribes the government authorities don’t give a damn. How can we just leave these people as they are without helping?”
William took a deep breath. “Fine, I’ll stay. But Sandra and Eric have to go back.”
“No,” Eric said.
“What?” William said incredulously. “Eric, that thing could’ve killed you.”
“That thing killed my father. I’m not leaving.”
“I’m not leaving either,” Sandra said, walking up and standing next to Thomas.
“Sands—”
“No, Will. There’s children dying here. Thomas says he can kill it and I believe him.”
“You can stay here if you like,” Thomas said. “We’ll have to go farther out in the plains to hunt him. Some of us will have to stay here, with the women and children.”
William grew angry as he realized Thomas was mocking him. “No,” he said, “I’ll come.”
“Good. I think it only fair that Eric come as well. I’ll have Jalani and Douglas stay here with Sandra. They’ll be safe enough if they stay in good numbers in the village.”
“Fine,” William said.
“Why can’t we just stay here and wait for it?” Eric said.
“We’ll need to be out in the open so we can draw him away from the village.”
“Draw him away with what?” William said.
“With us,” Thomas said with a grin.
The first jeep was packed with gasoline and food and water, enough for three people to last five days. William said good-bye to Sandra and they hugged. Douglas handed Thomas a couple bottles of whiskey and they took a drink together before Thomas climbed into the jeep.
“I have something for you,” Jalani said before Eric got into the backseat of the jeep. She pulled a chrome handgun from a holster around her waist and handed it to him. “Keep this with you. The rifles are only good at long range, not close.”
“Thanks,” Eric said as he took it with both hands. He tucked it into his waistband, enjoying the weight of it against him. Jalani stood watching him but not saying anything.
Namdi and some of the villagers had gathered around and they waved good-bye as the jeep started along its path. Sandra stood watching awhile, and then turned away into the crowd. Only Jalani watched the entire time until they were out of sight.
CHAPTER
37
They followed a path around the brush and took up the trail of blood and broken stems of grass where the tracker’s body had been dragged. They drove a few minutes before Thomas stopped, and turned the engine off.
“What’s wrong?” William said.
“The trail’s stopped.” He looked around in all directions. “And I don’t see a . . . wait.” Sticking out of the brush was the bloodied stump of a human foot. Thomas jumped out of the jeep and went to look at it. He bent down and saw that it was severed from the ankle. Going into the brush a little farther he saw the remains of the tracker. He glanced around and then climbed back into the jeep, starting the engine and taking off slowly.
“What’d you see?” William asked.
“It wasn’t a lion, the bite marks were too deep in the bone. The only animal I know that can do that is a hyena. But hyena’s don’t roar.”
“Are you certain?”
“Yes. Eric, start pouring out the kill, would you?”
In the very back of the jeep was an icebox filled with the entrails and blood of the recently slaughtered pig. Eric’s job was to scoop out handfuls of the guts with a cup and throw them on the ground every five or ten minutes to attract the animal and have him follow the jeep.
“So you think it’s only one hyena?” William asked.
“Yes.”
“How?”
“We would have seen or heard if there was a clan around. They hunt in packs. This is a lone hyena. Probably ousted from a clan and having to go rogue. We’re easy prey and a starving hyena wouldn’t hesitate to use us for sustenance. They usually only get up to around eighty kilos. This one would have to be much larger to drag a body like that.”
“You said he drinks blood,” Eric
said.
“Yes, that is . . . puzzling. Only a few man-eaters in history have done that, but they’ve all been lions. They lick the skin off with their tongues and then drink but hyenas don’t have the sandpaper tongues of lions. I don’t know how one would do it.”
They drove under the scorching sun and stopped to rest and refuel in the shade of a large gray rock formation. A herd of small deer were grazing out in front of them and they could see the gray clouds of an oncoming storm in the distance. William sat in the jeep while Thomas sat on the rocks and ate chips and fruit. Eric couldn’t bring himself to get out of the jeep yet.
“How can you be sure it’ll follow us and not just go back to the village?” William asked.
“I can’t,” Thomas said with a mouthful. “But I’m betting it will. They can’t resist the scent of blood, it’ll be far more appealing than the scent of live prey.”
“How far out are we going to go?”
“Don’t know yet. Far as it takes I suppose. There’s a village four or so hours east. We should be able to reach there and back at least.”
The conversation was broken by the high-pitched chirp of laughter coming from the grass. William and Thomas glanced at each other and then Thomas darted for his rifle in the jeep. He grabbed it and jumped in front, searching the high grass for any movement.
William took the other rifle and stood up inside the jeep, looking in the opposite direction of Thomas. The deer had sprinted away. Eventually, the plains became silent.
“That sounded close,” William said.
“No more than thirty meters,” Thomas said, squinting as the sight of his rifle swept to and fro. He lowered it and climbed up onto the hood of the jeep for a better look. “Well Will, it seems your worries are unfounded; it’s followed us.”
CHAPTER
38
They drove through the short yellow grass in a large valley. Wild dogs dotted the landscape, their barking occasionally breaking the monotony of the putting engine and the dirt and pebbles crunching underneath the tires. Eric was scooping out a cup of entrails every fifteen minutes now as they were running low.
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