At some point the Jombi had gone from being pulled along to following him willingly. Occasionally a limp arm would straighten towards him and the hand would grasp the air in his direction. After another few minutes Marik found he had to hurry a little faster to stay ahead of the creature attempting to get to him.
Marik knew he soon would no longer be able to lead the monster. It would become more insistent until it was uncontrollable with the simple pole. The pole may keep it at a safe distance for a time, but the creature would stop at nothing to get to him. He was going to have to come up with another solution.
Low growls were starting to emanate from it. After another few minutes, both arms were raised towards him. The creature slowly increased its speed. The deadly jaws seemed to reach and the neck pushed forward. Deep ragged gasps continuously dragged in great gulps of air as if the creature was consuming the scent of fear coming from the boy.
Over the next hour things continued to unravel and Marik had to make a decision. Should he continue on his quest to avenge his father, or attempt to get away now before things truly got out of control?
He knew the creature would relentlessly follow him and, though he had never actually tested the theory, Marik suspected he was faster than the shambling monster. He decided to go on, knowing he would regret it for the rest of his life if he gave up now. There was still hope for revenge if it continued to follow him. He just hoped he was able to stay ahead of it.
Marik held on to the safety pole as long as he was able, but he let go to devote his efforts to staying out of reach. Without the pole forcing him to walk backwards, Marik was able to greatly increase his speed. The rope on the other end of the pole remained securely looped around the monster’s neck and the long bamboo pole dragged the ground behind it. The creature was able to walk quickly, but often stumbled and fell as it single mindedly pursued its prey, ignorant of anything else in its way. Marik had no problem staying ahead of it as the day wore on.
As night approached a new problem loomed. The boy’s first thought was to climb a tree to get out of reach until morning, but as he contemplated the many difficulties involved, another opportunity presented itself.
Marik made a long jump across a slow running stream. When the creature attempted to cross after him, it became hopelessly bogged down in the muddy bottom. Its legs were buried almost up to the knees. As hard as it struggled to reach Marik, there was no way to remove itself from the muck. Marik jumped back across the water and secured the bamboo pole to a thick cotton tree root sticking out from the stream’s bank.
Looking high up at the towering branches of the tree he laughed in wonder. He had unintentionally arrived at the same cotton tree where he found the larvae.
“This is where it all started,” he said to himself while running his hands over the gashes in the trunk he had made only weeks before.
He moved away from the creature upstream to get a drink. He realized as he moved away the monster calmed down considerably. Once he was beyond a certain point the creature seemed to be unable to perceive him as a target. At this point, it just stood there serenely staring into the woods. It did not even seem interested in escaping the muddy trap.
Marik scouted around finding fruits and berries to eat. As night fell he contemplated sleeping on the relatively comfortable ground, but instead located a large tree with wide branches and was able to climb into the lowest limbs. He spent a restless night worried about falling out of the tree and wondering if the creature could climb.
In the morning Marik was exhausted. He headed back to the stranded creature gathering breakfast as he walked with senses tuned to the slightest sound. Back in the stream nothing had changed. As he silently approached from behind, the creature somehow sensed him and turned its head around. Immediately it resumed the ultra-aggressive behavior Marik had seen the day before.
When the boy got close he noticed a handful of white larvae crawling away from the creature. Looking closer, he noticed some larvae had already made it over the muddy ground to the shore and were crawling towards the giant cotton tree on the bank. Others lay unmoving in the mud as if dead or already pupated.
Unconcerned, Marik untied the bamboo pole and pulled towards the far side of the stream as the monster struggled to reach him. Its neck was extended with chin up as Marik gave it the extra pull it needed. First one leg, then the other came free, and slowly the creature worked its way towards him.
As he turned around to start the day’s journey, the boy came down awkwardly on an egg-shaped stone and his ankle twisted savagely. He heard a slight pop, but found he was still able to run with only a little discomfort.
Determined, he limped onward with the pursuit close behind.
~ Chapter XVIII ~
Hours ago they had reached the battlefield. Marik found he was able to track the other tribe easily from their side of the field. They had many men and had made no attempt to hide their route.
It was late in the day and Marik struggled to stay on his feet ahead of the creature. All day the relentless pursuit continued without any opportunity to rest and his ankle was a ball of flame. Looking down he could see it had swollen to twice its normal size. He was unable to move without a limp and leaned heavily on a thick stick he had picked up on the way.
He had no idea how much further the tribe’s camp was, but he did know he had passed his physical limit and was now moving on adrenalin and desperation alone. Once he had stumbled and the seemingly inexhaustible creature behind him managed to scratch his arm and roared in triumph before the frightened boy quickly moved out of reach.
He continued to run. The scratch burned.
He needed a drink badly, but they had not crossed any streams in hours. Even if he had been able to summon a burst of speed to pull away, he did not know where to find water in this unfamiliar part of the forest.
Marik debated climbing a tree but was not sure he had the energy to do so or if the ankle would let him physically climb at all. He asked his ancestors for help, but he could not feel their comforting presence.
Ahead he noticed a clearing where the light poured through the canopy. Heading towards it he was relieved to see multiple huts around the perimeter. He had finally reached the camp he had been searching for.
It was not until he burst into the clearing that he realized there were no people. The small camp was uninhabited. It must have been a temporary stop for the others on the way to each battle. There was no telling how much further until he found the people of the other tribe.
Heading toward what looked like the largest hut Marik managed to climb the few stairs and closed the swinging door behind him. He heard a collision and felt the floor under him tremble as the creature slammed into the stairs and collapsed.
Marik’s body was rebelling. His lungs heaved with great gasps and his now useless ankle pulsed brutally.
The temporary shelter’s door was made of bamboo poles. Marik could see through the gaps and watched as the monster crawled up towards him. It moaned louder as it got closer. He limped over to the door and wedged his body up against it while holding the edge tightly with both hands. The journey was done. Marik sobbed with fear.
When the creature reached the door, the pumping heart just inches away called to it. Hunger was a desire of the past. It was not searching for a meal for sustenance. All that was left now was the undeniable craving to consume the living creature’s spirit that no longer existed in its ruined body. The longing was as great as a drowning man’s need for air.
The creature attacked the door trying to tear the barrier away and snapped at the bamboo relentlessly with its jaws before noticing a single thumb pulsing thickly with blood wrapped around one of the poles. The creature attacked savagely tearing off a chunk of flesh and relishing the lifeblood as it ran sweetly into its mouth.
Inside, Marik screamed with pain and quickly pulled both hands in to his chest. The agony was more than a physical wound;
it was an intense sting. He felt it flow quickly up his arm and explode into his chest. He suddenly struggled to pull breath into savaged lungs and the stinging pain travelled up his neck. It locked his jaws shut and moved into up his spine into his brain. Mercifully, the pain ended quickly after that as Marik’s spirit left his quickly perishing body.
Without Marik’s active resistance, the creature outside was able to push open the door causing the now limp body on the other side to fall on its back. The creature pushed its way into the hut where it found the boy’s feet wedged near the door. Sweet blood still flooded through the body’s veins. Moaning, the creature tore large pieces of flesh from the blood swollen ankle. It gorged with blessed pleasure.
Within minutes, the blood became dark, tainted with the taste of death, and the creature lost interest. It stood up just inside the door of the hut and felt no need to move. There was no living creature close enough to enflame its desire.
It briefly looked to the right minutes later when the body on the floor stood up next to him, but disregarded the other corpse as uninteresting.
It did not even flinch when hours later a single larva fell from its neck to the floor, and then through a crack to the ground below.
~ Epilogue 1 ~
The shaman sat despondently beside the stream just outside of camp. He and the warriors had been searching for Marik for weeks and had called off the search the day before. Life had returned to normal. All of his dreams recently had been evil and foreboding, but they offered no answers.
A small boy splashed in the water while his mother bathed a few feet away. Suddenly the boy screamed in pain and ran into his mother’s arms. The shaman saw her slap the boy harshly on the back and reach down in the water to retrieve something.
She walked over to Tanis and held out her hand. In it she had a large mature bondai fly.
Behind her, the boy fell into the water and screamed again in agony.
~ Epilogue 2 ~
The warriors ventured eagerly into their war camp. They were exhausted from the long journey, but anxious for battle training the next day. It had been months since they had last been here, and the bitterness of that loss had been replaced by the anticipation of the next battle’s victory.
Everything looked just as they had last seen it. They would spend the next few days repairing the handful of huts, sharing stories, competing with each other and sharpening their skills. It was a time every man in the tribe cherished.
Inside the main hut two head’s turned simultaneously when the first of the men approached. Each moaned softly in anticipation as the living spirits approached.
###END###
Author Notes
Undead Genesis: Zombie Page 5
