“Parts of it are beautiful I guess. I was in the jungle once and it was raining really hard and the sun came up from behind some clouds but the rain didn’t let up. It looked like the whole sky was one giant rainbow.”
“What’s the culture like?”
“Interesting. They’re really proud of their culture. But life’s pretty cheap. If you have the money you can do whatever you want with people.”
“You didn’t know.”
William shook his head. “Something like that . . . you’re just not the same afterward.”
The air was thick with heat and Eric took off his shirt and rolled up his pant legs. By the afternoon he was burned a light pink and the skin on the back of his neck would sting whenever sweat rolled down from his scalp.
It became clear to him that they were absolutely in the middle of nowhere. There were large mountains to one side of them far off across the plains and instead of ending in peaks they were topped with flat plateaus. On the other side was a vast expanse of short-grassed plains, teaming with life and vegetation. Heat waves were streaming from the ground as they walked past a plethora of trees huddled together. .
“Stop,” William said. He stood perfectly still, listening. His eyes were unblinking and they grew wider as he realized what he was hearing.
He walked slowly near the trees and ducked low in the grass. He motioned for Eric to come down next to him.
“What is—” Eric stopped mid-sentence when he saw what William was looking at. In front of them, not more than twenty yards, was a pride of lions feeding on the carcass of a deer. They were swarming over the body like bees, each lion clamoring for as much meat as possible, yet keeping a rigid social order. Their faces were stained red and a few had bits of flesh hanging out of their gaping mouths. They were making primitive noises; not growls really, more like grunts.
“They look so . . . happy,” Eric whispered.
“They’re doing what comes naturally to them. But it’s temporary.”
A large lion, a male with a thick scraggly mane, roared and it sent shivers down Eric’s spine. He’d never seen anything so inspiring of awe and fear. From this close he could see their true bulk and the packed muscles contracting in their jaws and legs.
“We’ll go around,” William whispered.
Eric followed him two or three hundred meters out from the pride and they started west again. The heat was getting to the point of being unbearable and Eric was starting to feel lightheaded. In this weakened, irrational state—a state not unlike the moments of unreality before one falls asleep—looking out over the Andhra Pradeshn landscape seemed as alien to him as observing another planet. Every rock and tree and blade of grass seemed like it didn’t belong in the same world as he. Perhaps it was him that didn’t belong in their world? Either way, he felt grossly out of place and it made him uncomfortable; he felt weird in his own skin.
“Where’d you meet Sandra?” Eric said, trying to make conversation to get his mind off what he was feeling.
“Boston. Her sister was a friend of mine and she introduced us,” William said, happy to talk about his wife. The very thought of her put a smile on his face. “Eric, there’s nothing quite like finding a good woman. It affects everything else. It’s almost indescribable; you just have to go through it to see how far into your life they can reach.”
Eric felt a slight tinge of remorse. But with his mind distracted, and the added stress of being out here, his body ached for a hit of H. He would’ve been perfectly content taking a nice large hit, lying down in the shade of a tree, and sleeping until someone came to pick him up.
He wondered what it was that could make the difference between a casual drug user and a junkie. There didn’t seem to be any pattern; he came from a good family with decent money. Jason back home came from two neglectful, alcoholic parents and a neighbor that had molested him, yet he could drink everyday for a week straight and then not touch the stuff again for a year and not even miss it. In the end there didn’t seem to be any difference except deep down in some part of the soul. And how were you supposed to fix that?
“You believe in a soul, Will?”
“I do,” William said, glancing over at him.
“Prove it to me. Tell me where it is.”
“Do you have thoughts about sex sometimes, Eric?”
“Yeah.”
“Prove it. Tell me where they are.”
“Point taken, I guess.”
“Why do you ask about a soul?”
“Do you think a soul could be diseased? I mean, like permanently diseased?”
“I think a soul could be diseased, yeah. But permanently? No way. People can make great changes to themselves and the world. Some people change their values, their sense of taste, their thought process—it’s like they can change their soul. I don’t think anything is permanent when it comes to the soul except the essence of who you are. Do you think your soul’s diseased, Eric?”
“I was a junkie,” Eric said uncomfortably. The words had to be forced out and even then they left a bad taste in his mouth.
“Are you now?”
“I don’t know. I don’t use, but I always kinda want to. It’s always in my head, you know?”
“No, I guess I don’t.”
They ended the conversation at that, speaking taking up too much effort at this point. Eric decided he liked Will. In a way he was a lot like Jason; no bullshit to him.
Evening came before long and the sky was lit up crimson, the sun a yellow orb in an ocean of red. Though tired and with a growing worry of the coming darkness, they couldn’t help but stop for awhile and admire the view.
“Are you tired enough for sleep?” William asked.
“Definitely.”
“Let’s do two hours each and one person keep watch. Then we’ll keep walking throughout the night.”
Eric put his shirt back on and lay down in front of a large tree. William sat next to him, his rifle across his lap. Eric closed his eyes and could hear the chirping of birds over his breathing. The steady rhythm of large animals grazing was off in the expanse before him and he heard vultures swooping over a nearby kill as he drifted and fell into a dreamless sleep.
CHAPTER
45
Eric awoke to William’s nudging. It was dark now and the moon was only a crescent in the sky. The air was warm and had wafts of dust in it from a strong wind. Eric grudgingly rose and saw William gazing into the valley before them. A small fire was built in front of him but provided little light or warmth.
“What is it?” Eric said.
William’s gaze was unmoving, his voice steady. “It’s here.”
Eric watched the darkness, the trill chirps of thousands of crickets aggravating him and increasing his fear. There was nothing he could see and he wondered if William was just too fatigued. But gradually, as his eyes adjusted, he could see two small glowing lights. They were slits of red, and they were circling them. The lights stopped, fixated, and began a silent approach.
“Run,” William said.
Eric ran, William right behind him. The wind was loud in his ears but he could still make out the crunching of tall weeds and grass behind them. He looked back only to see the slits of red closing in.
“Up there!” William shouted.
There were large boulders piled atop one another and Eric sprinted for them. He leapt onto the first one and grabbed William’s hand and helped him up. They began to climb on the rough, dry surface of the rock and only stopped when they reached the top. Eric’s breathing was labored and his heart felt like it would explode. He took out his handgun and held it in front of him.
“Did you see it?” he said.
“No, just its eyes,” William said, crouching to one knee for better stability. “You watch behind us. Shoot for the head if it charges up the rocks.”
Only the sound of their breaths filled the awful silence; the crickets had stopped. And, somewhere out in the dark, laughter.
The laughte
r could’ve been human. Eric thought it was the type of laugh that someone who was insane would have; menacing and meaningless at once.
“Why isn’t it attacking?” Eric said.
“I don’t know.”
William saw the slits of red glowing like embers in the dark. He pointed the rifle, trying to steady his shaking hands. He aimed and pulled the trigger. The eyes seemed to disappear in the night. William couldn’t keep the rifle steady.
“Did you hit it?” Eric asked.
“I don’t know, maybe.”
“We should run.”
“I don’t think we’d get very far. At least from here we can see around us.”
They sat on the warm stone through the night. By morning, Eric’s legs and back were stiff and throbbed with pain. His eyes were blurry from a lack of sleep and he found it difficult to think. The sun came slowly and ignited the colors of the plains before them. There was nothing surrounding them but vegetation.
William stood up. “Stay here.” He made his way down the boulders and out to where he thought he might have hit the animal. There was trampled ground and deep paw prints, but he didn’t have enough experience to say what animal they’d come from. There wasn’t any blood that he could see.
Eric climbed down and stood behind him. “Let’s get going.”
“I’m not sure if it was . . . it.”
“Who cares? Let’s just get the fuck outta here.”
They walked back to their supplies and saw with horror that their food was scattered and mostly eaten. The remaining water bottles had been ripped open and the plastic containers were slowly tumbling in the wind across the valley. They walked off without saying a word.
It had the makings of being another scorching, dry, day and Eric feared what it would feel like in a few hours without any water. He surveyed his surroundings in detail and came to the conclusion that none of it looked familiar.
“I don’t think we’re going in the right direction, Will.”
“Me neither. But there’s got to be people somewhere around here.”
“We could go back to the village.”
William hesitated. “No, those people have Satan in their souls.”
“You don’t really believe that do you?”
“Of course I do. They have no regard for human life.”
“That doesn’t mean they’re possessed by Satan. I’ve done evil things, am I possessed?”
“No, you’re confused. But they’re evil.”
Eric had never seen this side of William and he didn’t like it. He didn’t really want to go back to the village either, but to think they were possessed by the devil was madness. In a way, Eric could see Thomas’s point; they did what they had to to survive. An uneasy feeling came over him and he wasn’t sure why.
CHAPTER
46
It had started pouring rain. It was rain unlike Eric had ever seen, as if the sky were bleeding water. It poured in thick, heavy sheets and stung the skin on his face when it spattered against him. Off in the distance he could see lightening brighten the sky and thunder would crackle a few seconds later. The ground turned to mud and eventually large puddles formed. They kept walking, stopping only when evening fell.
They approached a large ravine. There was a small stream running across the bottom and the sides were coated in long green weeds. They sat down under a large tree and William took his boots off. His socks were wet and he stripped them off, revealing white blistered feet.
“Damn it,” he said. “Who would’ve thought you’d have to worry about trench-foot in a hundred and ten degree weather.” He stripped off his socks and threw them over the edge of the ravine, slipping his boots back on over his feet. “Little tactic I picked up from a Vietnam vet,” William said. “You stop every hour and air your feet out . . . Eric? You okay?”
“Fine. Who’d you know that was in Vietnam?”
“One of the homeless men that came to the church for the free Sunday dinner. A lotta homeless were in that war.” He shook his head. “Damn fine waste of good men.”
“You don’t believe in stopping communism?”
“Communism was nothing. People jumped to conclusions but there was nothing behind it, no substance. They never could’ve taken over the world, never. They’re only justification for existing was our fear. Our fear gave them strength. Without it, they would’ve collapsed.” William scooted back underneath a large branch, trying to keep the downpour off his head. “So what was your father like, Eric? You never talk about him.”
“He was a good man. I don’t think he was ever happy but he always treated me good. What about yours?”
“I don’t remember my father. My mother said he was in World War II, but I don’t even know if that’s true. One of my uncles got drunk one night and told me she had a one night stand and never saw the guy again.” William looked off into the ravine. “Weird feeling, to hate your father though you’ve never met him.” He leaned forward, over the edge. “Hey, look at this.”
Eric leaned over the edge. Two small balls of fur were bouncing around on a ledge. They were a golden color with black spots; leopards. They couldn’t have been more than a few months old.
“Cute little bastards,” William said.
There was a barking coming from across the ravine and Eric’s heart jumped. He looked over, his eyes trying to focus while rain poured over him. A troop of baboons were making their way toward the ravine. The large males were in the front and back with the females and young in the center. A particularly large male stopped at the edge of the ravine and looked in.
“Duck low,” William said. “I don’t want to have to shoot them.”
But the baboon wasn’t looking at them. He was glancing down about twenty meters at the leopard cubs. The baboon began looking for a way down. He saw a small trail that led to the bottom of the ravine and started making his way; the troop staying behind.
The cubs’ instinct kicked in and they began looking for a place to hide. Their bellies stayed low to the ground, almost rubbing against it, and they found a small hole to climb into.
The baboon came directly to where the cubs were. He stopped a few feet from the hole and stood staring in. Finally, he came closer and began sticking his hand in to get the cubs.
Eric began to ask William to hand him the rifle—
But it was too late. The cubs made no noise as life was crushed out of them. The baboon began to make his way back up to the troop, two little limp bodies in its hands. The male kept one of the cubs for himself and gave the other one to the troop to share.
A roar thundered as the mother leopard sprinted for the troop. A cacophony of barks and howls rose up from the troop as the females and young retreated and the males held their ground.
Two young males circled around the leopard, barking and hollering loudly to draw its attention. The leopard roared and showed her teeth, spinning around every time a young male would nip at her or pull her tail. The large male baboon stood in front of her, staring into her eyes. Animals always stare in the eyes to fight.
The leopard lunged and the baboon darted to the side as the leopard’s teeth clamped down on its hind leg. The baboon let out a scream and the younger males jumped on the leopard, biting her legs and belly and coming away with bloody chunks of fur and tissue.
The leopard wouldn’t let go, even as the two younger males began tearing at her open belly. She shook her head violently and managed to snap off the older male’s leg. The two males tore open her belly further and her organs were exposed. She refused to die. She spun around and bit down onto one of the baboons’ arm. The other younger male, his two compatriots injured, decided to retreat and ran off through the grass.
The leopard did not let go of the baboon, even as the blood loss began to make life leave her. The baboon was still alive but wasn’t able to remove the vicious jaws from its arm. It lay screaming on the ground as the leopard died on top of it. The older baboon collapsed without a leg and stopped moving as th
e younger one screamed for help. The troop simply began to move on.
“My God,” William gasped. He looked to Eric who was staring unblinkingly at the sight of the leopard, frozen with death on top of the writhing ape. “Let’s get going,” William said.
CHAPTER
47
The rain cleared up as quickly as it had come and the clouds seemed to vanish. The sun began pounding the earth again and within hours the plains were dry once more. It was odd how quickly the weather changed out here and it was something Eric was certain he could never have gotten used to. Life was unstable and unpredictable enough without the environment being the same way.
They walked through a particularly thick patch of grass and came out the other side onto a narrow dirt road. William looked one way, and then the other.
“It’s gotta lead somewhere,” Eric said.
“Yeah, but which way?”
The road went on in both directions well past the limits of vision. Eric examined it more carefully. It wasn’t a road built intentionally; it was a path that had been beaten down through the grass.
“Why would so many people come through here?”
“Tourists probably. Maybe there’s a government facility here somewhere, who knows?” William looked both ways again and then said, “Well, what do you think?”
Laughter behind them.
They both turned and looked into the grass, unable to see anything. There was some movement far off and William raised his rifle, but didn’t fire.
“Either one is as good as the other,” William said.
“Yeah,” Eric said, not taking his eyes off the grass.
Neither of them could concentrate as they walked, each glancing over their shoulder. Whenever they’d hear the slightest noise they would stop and raise their guns. They’d wait half a minute before walking again.
“Eric, I want you to know something. I think there’s a good chance we could die out here.”
“I know,” he said.
The Extinct Page 18