by Slay (epub)
“Sorry, shumba yedu, I will warn you of rocks in the path.”
“Lioness? Why do you call me your lioness?” Aziza followed Amad more closely as they came to the opening in the tree line.
“Because you attacked just like a lead lioness would lead the hunt. We are in awe of you, murwi. All the gunners are. It pains us to see you like this, without your eyes.” Aziza felt a warmth in her heart for the men and women behind her, and she wished she had heeded their advice in the beginning of the hunt. They crouched down low in the bushes and Aziza covered her mouth, eyes narrowing on a very different picture in front of her.
“Amad, I know which one is Talik.”
“You can see her?? Which one is she? How can you know for sure?”
“Your blood is blue inside your body. It has not seen the air. So is the blood of the other pachyderm, but Talik’s is red. She does not produce her own blood but takes the blood of others. It is scary to look at.” Aziza averted her eyes but explained to Amad Talik’s exact position in the field. Amad nodded and raised his weapon. Aziza heard the whistle of an arrow fly into the back of Talik. The elephant reared and trumpeted a warning cry, sending the herd into a frenzy.
Charles and his team drove out from their position and separated the elephants using their car horns and gunshots. Talik and a couple of bulls charged, but the men saw the arrow and knew which elephant to lead away and which to back off from. Having successfully separated Talik from the herd, the Jeeps surrounded her on three sides, and the rangers yelled at her to frighten and confuse her. Aziza and Amad caught up with the group and someone pressed a spear into Aziza’s hands. She stayed at the edge of the group, feeling the length of her weapon, but she wanted to be in the front, in the middle of the fight. Her body ached with held tension and she knew she needed to attack.
Aziza shoved her way to the front and hollered at Talik. Talik turned to face her opponent and trumpeted in response to the challenge. The men and women shouted behind Aziza, cheering her on, but also staying close for backup. Aziza made a mental note to thank them for their trust in her later. Talik waved her trunk back and forth, stomping her foot on the ground. Aziza waited and watched the crimson lines pulse, leading back to contorted red center. She focused on that center. Aziza took a deep breath and exhaled as Talik charged. She dodged to the right and ran to the opposite side of the ranger’s output. Talik stopped just short of the Jeeps and turned to charge once more at her small enemy.
Aziza took a few steps back and felt water rise around her ankles. She gripped her spear tight and whooped for Talik to come get her. Talik charged with a roar and Aziza stuck the spear down into the soggy earth, causing Talik to rear up on her hind legs to stop her forward momentum. The rangers ran forward and speared her in the back, forcing Talik to fall forward on Aziza’s weapon, trapping Aziza underneath. Aziza squirmed as water and earth shifted underneath her, sinking her further into the watering hole. Hands grabbed her shoulders and pried her free from the elephant’s death grip.
They all watched in silence, waiting for Talik to move, Aziza shivering. She watched with horror the veins turn black as they exited the body down the spears and onto the ground. Aziza turned her gaze towards the ensemble of pumping blue veins around her. She nodded, confirming Talik’s death, and everyone cheered. Some men picked her up and hoisted her on their shoulders. Aziza joined in their contagious laughter, feeling her spirit lift for the first time in years. Charles gave her a hug and placed his ranger hat on her head.
“How can we ever thank you, Aziza? You went through so much for us!”
Aziza looked at Talik and an idea formed in her head.
“I want Talik’s jaw and tusk. I have new weapons to make.”
Charles whistled but agreed.
“You are going to frighten every vampire away just by brandishing your weapons.”
Aziza smirked at Charles and watched as the men set to work carving up the bones. Aziza heard a familiar voice behind her, and she turned to see the red veins of Hannah approaching them.
“Aziza! Well done! I knew you would come to your senses!”
“It is nice to see you again, Hannah.” Aziza’s tone turned cold, and Hannah stopped in her tracks. Several of the crew around her felt the shift in tension and stopped what they were doing to watch the confrontation. “Would you like to tell Charles why you caused this mess?”
“What mess? What are you talking about?”
“You know. Why did you hurt Talik? Why did you do this to an innocent? Why is your blood red in my eyes?” Hannah glanced left and right as the rangers closed in around her, picking up on Aziza’s meaning.
“You can’t possibly believe this brute. Argos, we’ve worked together for years! Honestly, she could be a vampire for all we know! Why are you trusting her? She’s a weakling! How did she know that was Talik? What if she’s infiltrating the Order? Nab her, not me!”
Aziza felt a hand on her shoulder, and she looked up into the face of its owner.
“It’s over, Hannah. Don’t pretend any more. It sickens me that I fell for your charade and let you on my team. Argos, Amad. Dispatch her.” Charles said.
“What? Charles, you can’t be – NO!”
Argos grabbed Hannah from behind while Amad took a knife and stabbed her chest. Hannah spat blood in his face and hissed, kicking Argos off her and jumping on Amad, biting his neck. Amad screamed and Aziza ripped Hannah aside, pulling the knife out of her chest. She could see Amad’s strike was inches from the heart. Hannah lunged at her, but Aziza was faster and struck true. Hannah slumped over her shoulder, the knife sticking out her back, heart turning black. Aziza dropped her as Charles stabbed Amad in the heart.
“Once bitten, death is a mercy.” Charles cleaned off his knife and Aziza nodded, regret filling her stomach.
“It is finished. I am sorry about Hannah. How did you know I was telling you the truth?”
“I had my suspicions for a while, given her actions and the reddish color peeking out from behind her contacts in direct sunlight. All I needed was your confirmation today. You saved us. All of us.”
Aziza looked out over the grassland at the returning elephants coming to graze. She grinned as a little one ran up to the carcass at the watering hole, her mother trumpeting behind her to stay clear of the defeated beast.
Aziza listened to Heakim describe the board’s positioning. She reviewed all her options before taking Jokum’s king. Jokum bowed his head in defeat and Aziza whooped for victory! She and Heakim danced in the streets, singing a song of praise while Jokum watched from the sidelines, stroking his beard.
“Have you given the Order an answer?” Jokum inquired after the singing had died down. Aziza turned to Heakim who nodded encouragement.
“Yes. I accepted their offer to become a member. I start my new training tomorrow in Europe.”
“Good. I expect great things from you, Aziza. Great things.”
Aziza smiled, hearing her daughter’s laughter echo in the breeze, enchanting her to embark on her next big adventure.
No God But Hunger
Steve Van Samson
How many years had it been? Remembering is hard but memories, however faded or fractured, are all we have. They’ve taken everything else. Everything real. Blood drinkers, vampires, sasabonsam. When he was still alive, my uncle called them matsatsaku maza—the leech men. What they really were, was an end. The end… and a beginning that no one asked for.
As the plague spread, so did things like panic, chaos, and finally, a long silence. Because after that, the only flies left upon Earth’s carcass were the ones who had learned a very hard lesson. Those little bugs knew better than to beat their tiny, buzzing wings. In other words—if what remained of mankind wanted to survive, he was going to have to crawl.
I can still remember that last night with Nico. In fact, if I concentrate hard enough… I can even smell the air. Sweet and a little spoiled. Like compost under a hot Tanzanian sun. Like meat that’s gone to th
e worms.
Twenty-five. That’s it. As of that night it had been twenty-five years since the world went red. Right before my world ended for the third time.
1
For hours we moved across the Serengeti, checking every tree along the way. Carefully, systematically—always keeping one eye on the sun and its slow but steady descent. Though I did not yet regret my decision to go after the leopard, I was growing increasingly anxious. At my suggestion, further measures were added to our costumes. The acacia tree’s yellow sap smells a bit like bee honey, but it adds to the unappetizing qualities of our bouquet. We applied it in dots and lines to our faces and anywhere skin was showing and then we kept going.
I worried that Nico had lost the trail, but then, there would be something—a print, some disturbed brush, or most encouraging of all: the lines in the dirt that told us the animal was still dragging whatever it had killed. In the dying light, we saw something far more disturbing than the sky’s colors.
Signs of civilization.
“What do you think it is?” I narrowed my eyes at the collection of metal poles sticking straight up out of the ground. There must have been twenty or more.
“I think,” Nico said thoughtfully. “It’s a camp. Or at least, it was.”
For a second, I remained confused, but then it clicked.
“Ah.” I nodded. “The canvas roofs are probably long gone. I see now... those are the naked poles of some kind of campsite.”
“Maybe-maybe.” Nico didn’t sound terribly interested. “Or one of those open-air lodges? All the way out here for that authentic safari experience.”
My fingers loosened around my sharpened oar. Civilization was a dangerous thing. Over the last twenty-five years, even the most meager of structures had been claimed. Four walls, a roof, something to block the windows, little more was required to escape the deadly rays of their great nemesis. In Predator World, the sun shone as brightly as ever, but the matsatsaku maza never saw it. For as Nico had said, by that particular point in history, the cities belonged to them.
“Well,” I said with a sigh of relief. “Whatever that is or was, it doesn’t look like a place for leeches.”
“Nor for leopards, it would seem.” Nico’s eyed the ground, but they moved to the distance, past the old campsite and to a large acacia, maybe a kilometer away. “Do you see the part in the grass? There. Right there.”
I peered through the eye slits of my mask.
“That’s the one,” he said with a hint of excitement.
“But we’ve passed so many trees. Why would this leopard come so far?”
To my surprise, Nico said nothing. At least at first.
“Home is where we make it, my China.” He smiled, showing that I was not the only one wearing a cracked mask. “Just look how far we have come, you and I.” He turned to inspect the swath of land behind us. Not west, but south. Toward Jua.”
“Nico,” I placed a hand on his shoulder—glanced down at a man slightly shorter than myself. “It’s 6:21. The sun will be down in less than thirty minutes. If that’s our tree, I would like to finish this.”
After a few silent moments, he said “Yes. The lizard who considers the road for too long, may get paved over before ever taking a step.”
“If you say so.” I shook my head.
Making sure to stay low to the ground, the two of us set off, moving as quickly as possible. As we came to the big acacia, our pace slowed. The branches were high. The lowest had to be fifteen meters from the ground. But there was no sign of any leopard.
“This is it.” Nico whispered. “Check out at the bark!”
I didn’t know what he was talking about. The sun was almost set, and we were still moving.
“I see a tree.”
“Is that all?” Even whispering there was an insidious smile in Nico’s voice.
“Yes, damn it. I—”
I stopped—talking, moving… everything but searching. I reached out to the acacia’s trunk irregular surface, and that’s when I realized that portions of it had been clawed away. I turned to Nico, then gazed up into the branches. I couldn’t see, hear or smell the beast but by God, I knew it was up there.
“The best way to catch a leopard is to find where it lives. If it’s not home, just climb up and wait. I guarantee you will be the last thing it will expect to find in its parlor.”
“Yeah?” I stared up into the dark, canopy shadows. “And what if it is home?”
“Well…” Nico took out a length of rope from his pack. With one hand, he swung it around the trunk—catching the end with his other. “Then you are most definitely going to piss it off,” He flipped the rope a bit more up the trunk. “In that case, it is best to have someone on the ground with strong arms, because they may very well need to catch you.”
“Can you do me one favor?” I asked. “Can that one be the last proverb of the day?”
“What proverb? I’m being completely literal.” Nico pulled himself a bit higher up the tree, before digging in his heels and repeating the process. “Just hold onto that oar. And if something falls that isn’t me, I want you to hit it on the head. A lot.”
“Okay, okay,” I said dismissively. “Don’t worry about me. Just pay attention to what you’re—”
A low noise drifted down from above. A warning. A growl wrapped in a hiss. It stopped my mouth from flapping, my heart from beating. And though it felt as if I were moving in slow motion, I inclined my head up, up, once more into the acacia’s pitch-dark shadows just in time to see two yellow eyes.
I raised my weapon, just not fast enough. The leopard pounced. Nico had been right about one thing at least—the animal was undeniably pissed off. The initial impact felt more like someone had dropped a water buffalo on me than a 30 kilo cat. I lifted my weapon, but the force was too much. I felt the thing snap.
After that, the world was replaced with horrible, yellow teeth. My hands gripped what had once been a canoe oar and I braced myself for the inevitable. For the vice-like pressure of the leopard’s kiss upon my throat.
I think it was then that I began to feel we had made the wrong decision. Gone the wrong way. We could have gone home. Could have been safe. Safe? In that moment, as I realized that the hot breath in my nostrils was not my own—I remembered this was bullshit. There was no such thing as safe. In Predator World, there was only this. That which had replaced God. The question was, who was hungrier? The cat? Or the crazy bitch in the elephant mask?
My face shot forward, resulting in an impact that registered as a flash behind my eyes. I had smashed the leopard right in the mouth, causing it to rear back, just enough. Needing to capitalize, my right hand stabbed down, still gripping wood. The thrust was all and everything I had. It wasn’t enough to puncture the leopard’s hide, but the gasping shriek as I stabbed that broken piece of oar into its throat was music. It told me I had hurt the thing.
I tried to roll away, but a large paw came down on my chest and slammed me back to the ground. Then, powerful legs were all around, as a spotted hide became the sky.
I remember screaming. Beating the heavy thing on top of me with alternating pieces of broken oar. Wanting to deal out more pain, but even my strongest hits were glancing, feeble things. I was weak and pathetic and worst of all, I was going to die looking like a damned fool. Nico’s grass could do nothing to protect me from anything as natural as a leopard.
“Get off! Get off!” I roared in impotent outrage—thoroughly underwhelmed with what might be my final words.
The teeth had returned. Curved and long and yellow. And past them, radiated the heat of a thousand suns. But the thing’s reeking breath was like smelling salts, steeling my waning nerve. I fought and I pushed, and I continued to scream—dreading more than anything, that inevitable moment when the cat’s claws would find my flesh. And though uninvited, would proceed to enter me.
“Ha!!”
The impact came from the side. The metal head of a garden hoe was jabbed so hard into the ca
t’s side, I heard a dull cracking. I tried to see what was happening, but everything swam. With a sharp inhalation, I scrambled to my feet. And though I knew Nico was battling for his life and mine, something in me went soft. Both of my hands opened—letting the two halves of oar fall and bounce off the ground.
My hands flew over my body and then searched for new openings, finding none. And as I stood there, hugging myself, wanting to weep out of rage and violation, I felt the pain of an old scar. Unable to stop myself, one hand began to travel behind my shoulder—suddenly needing to touch. To feel the raised skin of the letters that had been carved there.
“Mirèlha!” The sound of my name pulled me back to the moment. “We have to be quick! End this, now!”
I beheld the scene with wide, startled eyes. Nico and the leopard were facing each other. The cat, snarling, baring its long teeth and considerable fury. Nico had switched to the other end of his garden hoe. The vampire-killing end—sharpened to a long point in the fashion of my late oar. This was a shocking thing to see. After all, it was Nico who loved reminding me that a smart kill was one with no blood spilled.
Because that was the safe play. The reason he always chose to brain animals with the dull, metal end of that hoe. Because blood brings blood.
“If it runs out there, we can’t track it till morning!”
I gazed out across the savanna, which was now almost completely dark. “We have to get in front of it,” I began, shakily. “Put the tree to its back!”
Out of my left boot, I retrieved the kitchen knife I had put there. Then, the two of us began sidestepping until the animal we had tracked for so many hours had nowhere to go. In the moonlight, its eyes flashed as yellow as its teeth, but with unholy light. It snarled and spat and then… it stopped.
