Feral – A SciFi web series – Chapter 5
Agumbe had decided against any confession about his discovery to his brother. The whole day was spent doing the usual, collecting the fruits from the nearby shrubs, hunting for the elusive Kargish, hiding under the rocks when the sky opened up and the water lashed down and finally consuming the left over from the hunt. He had kept his composure all through the day even though the strange feeling of guilt made him slow in all the activities. Quite a few times Mani had shouted at him to fasten his pace.
The night fell fast and the darkness enveloped them in a jiffy. As the brothers retreated back into the caves they cleared the entrance leaving no signs of any life. Nobody wanted the naree to sniff them out.
Agumbe kept thinking about the object and the creature hidden inside. Would he see it again and be face-to-face with it?
They settled in their spots as the moonless night spread its cover all over them. The shining light twinkling in the sky was hardly enough to light up the trees; the ground around them was pitch-dark. Agumbe had got used to the darkness a long time back but the fear of the unknown had still not waded out of him. Unlike him Mani had become completely one with the night. Agumbe heard his brother breathe in his sleep and strained hard to get a glimpse of him. He could hardly make out his own limbs. He remembered how he loved the twin moon nights.
He tossed around unable to get the image of the creature out of his mind. He then heard a low growl very close. He froze and clenched his fist. His back was facing the open and he did not want to make any noise turning around. He hoped for his brother to wake up and take care of it but Mani’s rhythmic breathing continued. The growl slowly closed in.
Agumbe could not hold his terror any longer and turned around to face the threat. All he could see was the dark air next to his face. He scanned desperately to place the predator but to no avail. As his body remained stiff he gathered enough courage to move. As he relaxed and let out a breath; a figure appeared and scared him to death. A small but firm hand pressed hard on his mouth making him hard to let even the slightest of a shrill and then a dark smooth face closed on him and stared right into his eyes. He knew what would happen next.
A little later he was in the middle of the brown pillars feeling cold and scared. The creature that brought him here circled him. The creature reached and slowly removed the layer on its face and revealed itself. Agumbe looked at the smooth skin and the large eyes. The same one from the structure that he and his brother had explored.
The creature now looked at him and then at the forest that surrounded them. It then knelt down next to him and sniffed him. Agumbe froze as the creature moved its little nose around. Agumbe then reached out and held his hand and slowly dropped his head looking down. He scanned the ground and hoped for a truce. He felt a soft touch on the edge of his fingers. An unknown sensation inside him shot across every limb. At this very perilous moment his spirits rose.
Never had Agumbe before felt so much alive before in his life. As the burning sphere rose the following day above the brown pillars and made the dark creatures go silent, Agumbe awoke a new creature, all smiling and ready to face the day. Mani noticed it immediately and came sniffing at him. Agumbe pushed his brother’s face away and ran into the forest. Mani stood wondering what had gotten into his little brother who had been sober till yesterday.
On the very extremes of this forest moved another certain creature, a creature unlike the rest on this planet. He moved more agile and certain of his steps. He moved as if he searched for something. He moved not on his feet but on another object, a vehicle sort. He maneuvered his vehicle dexterously and avoided the brown pillars, the water bodies and the steep mountains. His face showed a sense of urgency, something a friend would consider normal in recent times.
He arrived at a clearing surrounded by dense forest of all the sides and parked his vehicle right in the middle. He descended and walked a few feet away and tapped his feet. The ground shook and land parted to reveal a hole. Dark abyss with secrets held beyond eons. The creature then slowly entered the void and disappeared.
Agumbe sat across Maira, looking into her eyes for indication on what his next action should. He could not look away. The more he saw, the more he stayed. On the other hand Maira rambled on with noises from her mouth as if the world had just been born. He moved her hand frantically gesturing the sky, the brown pillars, the water and the forest. She told him her life story while he gazed unintelligibly at her.
As the burning sphere dropped behind the canopies, Agumbe still sat listening to her but she twitched uneasily. She became careful when the sky turned dark. She got up and pointed towards her home. Agumbe stood up and pointed towards his. For some unknown reason her lips separated and she smiled. Agumbe could hear his own heartbeat. And then at the skip of his next heartbeat she was gone. Agumbe stood staring at the path hoping she would return and then turned around and headed home, the last thing he wanted.
Agumbe stood confused at the spot and looked back at his home. He thought about his brother, his antics and his bravery. He then looked ahead and saw the path that led to where his heart wanted him to go. At this juncture of time Agumbe decided and the events that led to everything else that this world would go through. He followed his heart and went into the path.
