Escape Africa (2)

 

2: Vlei Monster

I remember the blood smeared across my face like someone
had slapped me square in the forehead with a side slab of rump. My head
remained fuzzy, eyes blurry from the crimson stained sweat trickling down my
brow. I was walking along the side of a dirt road crunching the loose gravel
beneath my feet. Smythe Road; somewhere near to the Blesbokspruit, the stagnant
water smell was getting stronger with every labored step I took.

‘Where the hell is that rancid smell coming from?’  I shouted. That permanent odour of dead
things lying in motionless water rotted just beyond the thick overgrowth, dense
silent foliage of a lifeless water system. I could sense there was at least one
unnatural thing creeping in those bushes on the opposite bank, or at least
smell it. I couldn’t see much more than a pair of reddish eyes darting between
the thinner gaps of the tree line as if whatever it was across the way was mirroring
my movements in anticipation of something.  

‘Dirk!’ I called out into the darkness; we separated
about half an hour back so I guess I was looking for him instead on looking for
the monster. He’d told me stories of this monster in the Vlei, the terrifying
beast that prowled the waters of the Blesbokspruit grabbing anything passing by
the dense vegetation. The Vlei remained a dead section of the Blesbokspruit
water system which ran west to east from the Wetland Reserve to the East Lakes
but my mind was struggling to remember the rest of Dirk’s nature time lecture because
of the rancid smell eating its way into my air supply. It was intensifying so I
figured I must have passed one of the old mine dumps that pumped run-off water
into the Vlei, abandoned now, probably a bolt hold for monster snacks. I started
moving upstream when I heard Dirk scream for his miserable life a short
distance ahead of me. I couldn’t see a damn thing in the dark but I damn sure
heard the thrashing through the reed grass and low hanging tree on the opposite
bank to me; made me think Dirk found the monster and they stood facing off in
the dark; Dirk found it alright, probably pissed it off. The sounds were
fierce, still I followed the sounds reluctantly, my reluctance quickly turned
to panic when a low hanging branch snapped and fell to the ground about three feet
behind me as something rushed overhead. I bolted like a jack rabbit, following
the tree line in search of a clearing; to hell with Dirk if I couldn’t save my
own skin first. I couldn’t see a damn thing, just heard the ferocity chasing
me; I turned once to meet those glowing red eyes coming for me. Spotting a
narrow gap ahead I hoped there was some kind of bridge to cross as I took a
giant leap of faith but my foot caught a fallen tree branch, and i hit the
ground face down, rolled a few times over and plummeted into the thick mud all
while the rustling of trees grew closer; this thing was snapping at my ankles. I
scrambled to my feet and took a desperately short leap into the narrow,
striking the muddy bank opposite with a sullen thud, I struggled to catch my
breath reaching for anything to grab hold, but I was sliding back into the
wretched stinking water. A final scream from Dirk; screw it, I pulled grabbed
hold of some exposed tree roots and with whatever force both my arms had left
in them launched myself onto the dry bank. I dived forward but was struck down
mid air like I had been clothes lined. The impact against the dry ground knocked
me clear of my senses. I remember being dragged away before I blacked out, Dirk
screaming for the last time ringing in my ears.

What the hell is this thing? Wendigo? A Shifter? Swamp
man?

My senses came racing back; I lay on the ground in
complete darkness feeling the compacted grit beneath my hands. I couldn’t see
it I was definitely aware those glowing red eyes were focused on me. I fumbled
around the ground in search of a weapon when my hand touched a rock; just then
the red eyes lunged at me and I swung as hard as I could. I struck something
with enough force it threw me back and knocked me out again. The last thing I
heard was a howling cry of pain, more blood then black. I remembered Dirk
telling me the legend of the Vlei monster on our drive in. He spoke of an old
Sangoma cursing the Blesbokspruit forcing all life from the water as it turned
putrid from the poisons of man. The locals blamed the mining companies and ran
them out of the area. The Vlei became a place of death that fed on death so
much it attracted a resident evil spirit to manifest as a monster. Gradually the
Vlei filled with bodies sunk deep into the mud as the flowing water passed
quietly overhead. Rain woke me, I was outside and it was almost dawn. The rain
intensified and the muddy bank beneath me starting to give way, I didn’t plan
another dip in the stink water so I pushed back to find solid ground at the
base of a large tree trunk. I was alone, in the silence with only the falling
rain for company. My pain was strongest in the throbbing at the back of my
head, my hands were cut up a bit but I was still in one piece. I remembered the
rock I grabbed in the darkness; I swung it at something that was built like a
brick shithouse, I struck a solid mass as hard as I could and I went reeling
back. I looked around, judging by the broken branches and deep claw marks in
the tree trunks around me there was one hell of a brawl here, I was lucky and I
was alive. The rain washed away more blood but it wasn’t mine, I must have hit
something that bleeds. I set about searching the immediate area, I found Dirk; his
oversized right arm dangled from the tree nearby, left there to be found by one
who knew where to look. The missing rock bothered me, so did finding what remained
of Dirk; I figured it was a fair trade, blood for blood. Red Eyes and I fought to
a draw, double knockout; the mangled limb was my title belt. I waited another 30
minutes before heading back. Slightly bloodied, dirty and carrying Dirk’s
severed arm I went to find the authorities. I gave a piss poor account to the local
police, the security response team and the local journalist looking for quick
filler to run in the late edition print; and to an anonymous individual from
the government wearing a cheap black suit but all he wanted to know was what Dirk
and I were doing on the Vlei in the middle of the night. Honestly I didn’t know
how to answer him, lied through my teeth to avoid jail time. The man in the
black suit thanked me by name, expressed his condolences for Dirk and relieved
me of Dirk’s severed arm. Funny thing about it was I never told him my name. Dirk
was the first of us to go, taken by the dark shadow.