It seemed almost in unison when they threw their spears. They moved too fast to be anything but a blur and the animals reacted too slowly to move out of the way of the oncoming projectiles.
A high pitched squeal rang through the air as panic gripped the deer. The doe was wounded but was still running faster than the men who’d begun chasing him. One of the spears of the larger group had struck a full size buck, but the wound was superficial and the spear quickly dropped from its flesh as it sprinted away.
Eric watched as the doe became sluggish. It seemed disoriented and began running in a wide circle. The men were walking casually a few dozen yards behind it. The doe neighed and shook its head vigorously as it spun around, bucking and kicking. It stopped abruptly, watching the two men, and then fell to the ground with a loud squeal. The men approached and one took out a long blade. He grabbed the animal by the head and slit its throat. The blade was too dull to do it in one or two motions so he had to saw at the animal’s neck until blood began to pour into the dry earth.
The rest of the men gathered around the dying creature. Tuu’ brought out a small bowl from a pouch and held it underneath the stream of blood. He brought the bowl to his lips and tilted his head back, guzzling with obvious pleasure. He refilled the bowl and passed it around to the other men.
They drank their fill until the animal had died and then sat around him. Tuu’ closed his eyes and began a chant that Eric thought sounded like a prayer. The men appeared serene as they joined in, their faces calm with blood stained lips. Tuu’ began rocking back and forth as if in a trance. He opened his eyes suddenly and was looking directly at Eric. His eyes were distant and unwavering, like two gems set in his skull. He turned around as the other men chanted louder and slit the creature’s belly, thrusting the bowl into the wound and filling it once more with dark blood. He rose and walked over to Eric and William.
Tuu’ offered up the bowl to William first. William looked to Eric and then to the bowl. The blood wasn’t as thin as it was right after the kill. It was syrupy and almost a dark purple. William took the bowl with both hands, and put it to his lips. He lowered it after a second and handed it to Tuu’.
It was Eric’s turn next. He took the blood and looked down into the bowl. He could see his reflection, wavy and indistinct in the daylight. Bringing the bowl up, he took two deep swallows.
The blood was warm, almost hot. It tasted like rancid meat and had a thick, slimy texture. It had already congealed a bit and he had to chew the last portion and swallow.
Eric tried to hand the bowl back to Tuu’ as vomit spewed forth and over his shirt. Eric kneeled down and started puking bile and deer blood. The smell of the concoction made him doubly sick and he dry-heaved; his stomach empty.
William’s eyes widened and his hand reached for the rifle that was slung across his shoulder. He couldn’t be sure that such an insult wasn’t an executable offense. But Tuu’ just stared, and eventually his eyes softened. He smiled and began to laugh. His laugh was deep and took over his whole body. Leaning his head back, he exposed small white teeth and a light pink tongue. The other men saw what was happening and they too began to laugh. “I don’t think they find you very manly,” William said. “How the fuck did you drink that?” Eric said, gagging. “I didn’t, I just put it to my lips.” Eric looked at him banefully and then dry-heaved again.
CHAPTER
50
The kill was hauled back to a small encampment near a hill. As night fell, the bushman lit an enormous fire in a pit the women had dug out with their hands. They stabbed sharpened sticks through the meat and cooked it over the pit until it was crisp. Tuu’ gave their guests the biggest portions of meat.
The food was good, a bit like sweet spicy beef. Eric ate two large slabs quickly and felt sick afterward.
The bushman were kind to the point of being flawed. There was enough meat to go around this time but Eric had a feeling that even if there wasn’t they still would’ve given the biggest portions to them.
After the meal the group sat around in a circle in front of Tuu’ as he spoke. His speech was peppered with noises and hand motions and the group was fully entertained. Their attention never wavered from him. Not to the bright glowing moon or the shimmering stars blanketing the sky. They seemed to have an ability to focus completely on what they were doing at any particular moment.
Eric watched Tuu’ with a sense of wonder. The way he moved and spoke reminded him of some ancient shaman, sitting around a cave telling his tribe about the wonders of the world outside.
Just behind Tuu’, in Eric’s peripheral vision, he saw movement.
It wasn’t much at first; just a blurry streak. Then Eric made out a moving shape. It looked like it was moving slowly but as his eyes adjusted he saw that it was traveling from a great distance through the grass and barreling toward them at incredible speed.
“No!” Eric shouted as he jumped to his feet.
Before the tribe could respond the beast bit down on Tuu’. The flesh on his shoulder and back tore as he let out a scream and was dragged backward into the night. It was hard to make out much more than the head of the creature, but it was massive. Its eyes glowing a faint red in the darkness. Tuu’ flew backward into the bush as easily as a leaf being blown by the wind. He was dragged fifty feet in a couple of seconds and disappeared. His screaming didn’t stop but slowly dimmed to nothing, like a passing ship in the night sea.
William was running past the fire and into the bush. He leapt over some thick shrubbery and continued sprinting, the thorny vegetation tearing at his clothes and skin. There was a trail in the dirt where Tuu’ had been dragged. It went into the tall grass about a hundred feet and then stopped near a dark circle. William bent down and touched the circle; it was wet and had a coppery smell. There was no sign of the man other than one of his small leather pouches. William picked it up.
He searched for paw prints to follow but could find none. Before long, he realized it was hopeless and began walking back.
A thought struck him as he made his way back to the fire; the tribesman didn’t help. Some of it was the speed and surprise of the attack of course, but even after that, they didn’t do anything. He approached them now and they still sat in the same positions, looks of terror across their faces. The only ones that had moved were the women who had encircled one of their younger members that was weeping. Perhaps Tuu’s’ wife, William thought. He handed her the small pouch, and walked over to Eric. “We need to leave,” William said. “What? Now?” “We’re a danger to these people, Eric.” “How? That thing could’ve attacked-”
“That animal’s following us. These people aren’t safe while we’re with them. They’re clearly brave but none of them ran after that thing. They’re either scared to death of it or think it’s some deity or something. Either way, we need to get outta here.”
CHAPTER
51
Eric and William had walked through the night and well into the day. They’d made their way past the valley, over a small hill, and into another valley.
Quick moving gazelles darted around in front of them, the small animals stopping to graze every so often. Roars of the big cats were constantly echoing in the distance and the trumpeting of elephants sometimes followed. There was a small river along their path and they rested for what seemed like hours, dousing themselves in the brown water. William made a fire and they boiled the water in William’s flask before drinking. It was warm and tasted like mud, but they drank two full flasks each before they felt sick and bloated from the dirt that was mixed with it.