Well, it’s me again, popping in to wrap up my account that I posted here earlier. Here you can check out part 1. I believe I can continue directly from our sighting of that colossal creature:
My spine tingled. Benjamin started to run, leading the way, followed by Barasa, and lastly, me. We could hear the animal and the commotion starting to form in the village. When we were a few meters away, all of this culminated in a dry, deathly scream. A woman screamed in despair. We arrived to find her, facing the darkness of the forest, her arms outstretched, calling for her son, swallowed by the monster. The scene before us was terrible. The other villagers gathered around, trying to console her. Barasa ran to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder as he murmured something. Benjamin was looking into the darkness of the forest, his face serious.
“We must do something,” he said, his voice urgent.
I agreed.
“And what do you suggest?”
He ran to his jeep, and I understood that I should follow him. We got in and took the road… As he accelerated sinuously along the dusty route, almost running over unaware small animals daring to cross the path, I monitored through the camera images where the ghost of the savannah was. We reached a rock wall, he was running there and probably couldn’t escape (or at least, escape with the child). We descended carefully, while Ben was already cocking his gun. We walked crouched through the taller vegetation, approaching the surreal structure of the wall, its silhouette depriving us of the moonlight, and making us enter a dark and ominous territory.
“It’s been 10 minutes since he passed through here,” I said, checking the clock. “Are you sure he didn’t leave?”
“No, no…” Benjamin said, darker. “I know he stays in this place… It’s his slaughterhouse.”
Those words got me, my blood chilling from my stomach to my back. I looked to the side for the first time and saw, staring back at me, a skull, half-buried, its empty sockets penetrating my soul. My muscles tensed with anxiety as we continued, trying to ignore this disturbing fact. Slowly, however, I began to hear a sound, it was something… wet? Like when you step with a boot in the mud, and it creates that vacuum layer…
I realized what it was when I looked ahead. In the distance, I could make out the white spot, lying on the grass. It was evident why the natives judged him a ghost… but… there was something under it, I approached and strained my eyes… and I shouldn’t have. The noise came from him, he was chewing something, gnawing, and when his mouth released, I could see the head of the young man who had been taken, partially eaten… my stomach churned as I watched the scene, disgusted but with a fixed gaze. Like I said, you see a lot of death scenes in nature, it’s the cycle, but I never got used to seeing this with humans… I guess it makes you feel, I don’t know, too fragile? It’s impressive how even after so many millennia of advancement and building a safe place, man is still a fragile creature… just a thinking reed…
“Damn… this isn’t good,” I murmured. “And now Benjamin, what do we–” Something hard hit my head and I blacked out.
When I woke up, I was lying on the hard ground, face down, with a throbbing headache. It took a moment to fully regain consciousness and realize where I was. There was a weight on top of me, and soon the idea of the lion came to mind. I began to panic and struggle, but then I heard a voice in my ear.
“Easy, sleeping beauty,” came the rough voice of whoever was on top of me. He was now tying my arms. “We’re just making sure you don’t spend too much of your energy.” I struggled to turn my neck and look at him. I had no idea who he was, wearing a hat with mosquito netting, camouflaged clothing, and a rifle on his back… hunters, I supposed.
“What… the hell is going on?” I asked, my voice weak and trembling.
The man smiled, a smile full of malice that sent a shiver down my spine. “You don’t need to know right now, ‘Doctor’,” he said, his voice smooth contrasting with the cold expression in his eyes. “But you should feel honored to serve as dinner for our little albino friend.”
My heart sank in my chest as I struggled against despair. “Please, you can’t do this,” I pleaded, trying to find some humanity in him. “I didn’t even see what you guys did, I’ll just leave and everything will be okay, no one will find out.”
He laughed, shaking his head. “Oh, I’m sure no one will find out… I can’t take the risk of you warning others about my presence here,” he explained, his eyes gleaming with a sinister fire. “Besides, I think I can make some good money selling a doctor like you on the black market.”
I trembled.
“Haha, that was good, Max,” a fuller voice said somewhere I couldn’t see. “Are you going to leave him in the tree?”
“Yeah, now come here and help me hang him, that thing can come back at any moment.”
I felt arms grabbing me and lifting me up. They left me in one of the trees, for the first time looking at them. I got a better look at the face of this “Max” guy, a thin mustache marked his upper lip while the other, a fatter and sunburnt man, sported a crooked smile. As they laughed and talked about what they would do with me, a movement in the background caught my attention. I saw, walking straight, Benjamin. He had a serious and authoritative air that I had never seen in him, approaching while wielding his rifle in one hand.
I tried not to show that I had seen him, so that he could arrive unexpectedly. He approached, however, when he was about 10 meters away, I felt something strange in the air, he didn’t raise the gun, just kept walking until he stopped behind them.
“Ben?” I finally said.
The men turned around.
“It looks like you really blacked out,” he said. “Max, Cliff, is everything ready?”
“Sure thing, boss,” Cliff replied. “The truck’s already loaded,” he said, pointing. I followed his gaze to see an old 4x4 filled with things behind it: Some ivory and what I assumed to be skin.
“Great… Look, Doctor,” Benjamin turned to me. “I’m really sorry about this, okay? But I can’t take any risks. I’ll tell Barasa that you died heroically, okay?”
“I don’t… what’s going on?”
“For a doctor, you’re pretty dumb,” Max said.
“I hate this James Bond villain cliché that explains your whole plan and everything. So, to make sure you can’t say I wasn’t nice, tell me, Doctor, what do you think is happening here? Come on, it’s not hard.”
“I already figured out the hunters’ scheme, and that you sold out to them… but… is all this to catch the white lion?”
Cliff burst into laughter. Max turned serious and gave him a slap on the neck.
“No, no, no…” Ben said. “The lion is just a small pawn of ours, or rather, a big pawn. Did you know you can teach an animal like that to like the taste of human flesh?” His eyes met mine, relishing when he saw the mental realization in me, when I understood what he had done.
It wasn’t organic… he chose the animal… gave it some people, maybe villagers or other researchers. He shaped its appetite until, on its own, the ghost came after the others.
“Why?” I asked, the only thing that came out of my mouth.
“It’s business… can’t feed many mouths with research money, and I think you know that better than anyone… we needed the village far from here and, if they won’t leave, we’ll force them to flee, or they’ll be devoured one by one.”
It was a cruel and inhumane plan, and I felt sick just thinking about it.
“That’s insane!” I exclaimed, my voice trembling with indignation. “You’re the real monster of the savanna, Benjamin!”
He shrugged, as if it was no big deal. “Business is business, Doctor. They should have accepted our offers to buy the land, but they’re too stubborn for that. This is just an efficient way to solve the problem.”
I felt a mixture of anger and despair building up inside me.
He laughed, as if he found my indignation amusing. “Good luck with that, Doctor. You’ll need it.”
With that, he turned and began to walk away, followed by Max and Cliff. I watched them get into the truck and drive away. I found myself alone, tied to a tree, feeling powerless, as the first rays of sunlight appeared on the horizon, bringing to my eyes the savanna, the beautiful and cruel nature.
I decided to at least try to free myself. I weakly kicked the trunk of the tree, trying to swing myself, moved my arms and shoulders in unimaginably painful ways, but nothing, but my noises soon caught attention. I saw in the distance, at the end of my field of vision, a small spot, increasing as it approached, a white spot. The monstrous lion was coming, as usual, to receive the feeding from its cruel and sadistic “handlers,” and this time I was the dinner.
The lion approached slowly, its bright eyes fixed on me, as I frantically struggled against the ropes binding me to the tree. My heart was pounding so hard it felt like it was about to burst out of my chest. I knew I had no chance against that beast, I had to escape as soon as possible. The animal stopped a few meters from me, sniffing the air with curiosity. Its eyes showed hunger, and I could feel the weight of its presence suffocating me. It was like staring death in the face.
I kept struggling, desperately trying to free myself, but the ropes were tightly tied. I was completely helpless. The lion let out a low growl, its muscles tensing, preparing to pounce, ending my existence. I closed my eyes, accepting my fate, when a thunderous roar made me flinch, echoing through the cliff.
I opened my eyes in time to see a figure emerging from the nearby vegetation. It was… another lion? Yes, big, that lion from before? It advanced towards the albino lion, emitting roars that echoed across the plain. The albino lion recoiled at the threat, clearly surprised by the presence of the new intruder.
The common lion wasted no time and charged at the ghost, launching into a fierce confrontation. The two animals grappled, snarling and roaring, as layers of blood gradually emerged on their bodies. Taking advantage of the distraction, I redoubled my efforts to free myself from the ropes, and finally, with Herculean effort, I managed to break free. I ran as fast as I could, moving away from the site of the confrontation, while the roars and sounds of the fight echoed behind me.
I didn’t look back, I wasn’t interested in seeing the outcome of the battle. I just wanted to get away from there as soon as possible. I ran, praying that they wouldn’t give up the fight and decide to come after me. I walked confused and disoriented, off the trail, remembering that I should also hide from Benjamin and his henchmen. It was a day of exhaustion, fearing man and animal, the jungle and “civilization,” not knowing which would cause me more harm. But finally, as night began to show its face, I cautiously approached the tribe, attentive to any sign. I crouched down when I saw Wright’s hat brim; he was talking to Barasa.
“I’m sorry, but that’s what happened…The Doctor is gone, along with the boy.” Now I understood the discomfort his voice caused me, finally understood the falsehood behind his words. “Let’s avenge him! Gather men, let’s end this once and for all, meet me at the edge of the village!”
“It won’t be necessary,” I shouted, emerging from the bushes. “I’m right here.”
Barasa and Benjamin turned abruptly to stare at me, surprised by my arrival. The elder was the first to react, with a mixture of relief and confusion written on his face.
“Doctor! But… How… What happened?”
“Barasa, it’s a long story,” I began, taking a deep breath to calm myself. “But we don’t have time for that now.” I was panting. “Benjamin is behind the attacks.”
His gaze turned to the man.
“Oh…I think you’re just fatigued, doctor, come on, have some water and-“
“Shut up!” I yelled at him. “He’s working with hunters!” I started walking toward him but stopped when he took the gun from his back and aimed it at Barasa’s chest.
“One more step… one more step, you bastard, and I’ll blow the old man up!” We were both tense as we stared at each other. Surely, if he shot one of us, the other would have time to attack him… but I didn’t play with lives like he did.
“Okay,” I said, raising my arms. “Just go, you don’t need all this.”
“That’s what I’m gonna do, but only when this area is completely clear for us,” he pulled a radio from his waist. “Max, you copy? I need reinforcements here, some extra weapons would come in handy.”
Silence…
Ben adjusted the radio.
“Cliff, get over here with Max, bring all the weapons.”
Silence…
“What the-“ He stopped talking. We all stopped, while, from the midst of the dense forest, walking slowly, we saw the figure emerge.
He was wounded, deep marks on his face. His right eye was now gone, and the remaining one, bruised, gleamed fiercely. He was panting, and blood dripped from his mouth. He stopped and looked at us, then began to regurgitate, like cats with hairballs. He forced his diaphragm more and more until he expelled something, something that rolled until it found Benjamin’s feet and stopped: Max’s head, still with its mouth open, frozen in a scream expression.
Benjamin seemed paralyzed by the scene, unable to react. The lion took another step.
“Easy, kitty…” he said, now turning the gun to the animal.
The ghost of the savanna took another step, and another. Benjamin fired, in panic. If I hadn’t been there, I would doubt it, but I clearly saw the bullet pass through the creature, as if it didn’t exist. He fired another shot, which again, pierced the lion as if it were just a beam of light. The beast leaped onto Benjamin, biting his leg. I could hear as its fangs sank into the soft flesh of his calf.
“Please, help me!” I saw the panic in his face, the pure fear. Tears formed in what had been the most stoic face I could think of. “Don’t let it kill me!”
His screams began to intensify as he was dragged to the grass. His hands sought support somewhere on the ground, on rocks and roots, but all he managed was to leave his nails behind, finally, when he was completely hidden by the vegetation, he reached an apex of agony, his screams attracting all the other villagers around, until, about 5 minutes later, he fell silent. Everything fell silent, in fact. Deadly quiet…
The lion then got up, looking at us. Some villagers backed away, others pointed their spears. He, however, just stared at us, let out the loudest roar I’ve ever heard, making me cover my ears with my hands, turned, and walked into the dark night, disappearing again.
We stood paralyzed, numb with what had happened without even understanding. The next few days flew by quickly. To summarize the story: There were no more child disappearances, no more mysterious deaths. The village grew and prospered.
That same day, we called the local authorities, warning them about Benjamin. His body, however, was never found. The only corpse they found, curiously, was that of a large white lion on the stone wall of the region, practically a record size for the species. It was severely injured in the head, the result of a fight with another male. After that, I understood that what sought Max, Cliff, and of course, Benjamin that night, was genuinely the ghost of the savanna, in its most literal sense.
There are many differences between man and nature, but the one I realized that night was definitely that nature doesn’t know when it’s already dead…