Chapter 6
A faint intermittent high-frequency tone hums somewhere inside his head. Has a mosquito crawled down his ear lobe, eaten through his eardrum and burrowed into his brain to make its nest? The jungle is bursting with insects searching for a suitable dark hole to lay their larvae, to keep them safe from predators.
Andy knows the jungle well, since he has spent many nights sleeping under the stars on SAS training in Belize or Borneo. He knows that the jungle comes alive at night and is he very familiar with the sounds and noises that are frustratingly inescapable. There are no such noises tonight, only the intermittent tone that is fading as darkness returns to envelop him.
***
The tone is there again—or is it his imagination? Andy fixes on it in his dream.
Who is watching what programme on the television? Why don’t they turn it down and stop disturbing my sleep? I need to sleep… my brain is too tired to wake up. My patrol will have to wait or go without me. I cannot run up that hill again… my shoulders are aching still from carrying the bergen filled with rocks. I still feel its weight dragging me down, pulling my shoulders from their sockets. Please turn that television down, let me rest.
Chatter, the blood-stained teeth chatter together, then they part, opening wide. Drool slides down over the black lips, across the grey chin and down, extending, stretching, flowing down, dribbling onto the skin of my bare exposed arm, making me shiver. The teeth move closer, opening wider for a dark rusty brown tongue to slither out, wet with drool. The dirty tongue licks across the side of my face, licking the wounds there. Why won’t my head move away? Fear paralyses me. Lick the wounds again! I want you to, the wounds you put there with your infected fingernails… clean them, you fucker.
Its tongue slides back inside its disgusting mouth, into that dark crevice, flicking across its lips on its way in, to moisten them. Relief comes as the creature’s head moves back away from me, its bloodstained teeth still on show, threatening.
The black pools of its eyes stare at me, and there is a dim reflection in them as if the moon is reflecting in the black waters of night. He looks closer, my eyes straining to see what’s there, reflected in the creature's eyes. Unknowingly, I lean forward to see what is hidden. I have to see. The reflection gets bigger, gradually coming into view. Panic stuns me as realisation hits. The black eyes of another creature are hidden in the reflection, staring back at me, the reflection of me…
The repulsive creature reflected is me!
I manage to back away, not wanting to see the horrible truth. There is a wall behind me, stopping me getting away from what I have been shown. I push against it, wishing it to give way. I look around for something to grab hold of, to pull myself away. There is nothing, only blackness; it surrounds everything. The only light is in front of me, bathing the heinous creature. It sits on its haunches looking at me, studying me and waiting, waiting for what, to attack me, to devour me? I have to escape—but escape to where there is only emptiness. Something touches my wrist and I look down to see what it is, fear welling inside me again. Is this the start of the attack? The creature's hand squeezes my wrist and then slides up my arm gently, caressing. It feels good, welcoming. My fear subsides and I look up again, look into the creature's eyes. It pulls me forward, towards it, and at first, I resist, unsure. The creature's eyes blink and its head tilts slightly. It pulls again, and I give in. As I move forward into the creature's body, its other arm moves around my shoulders to pull me in closer. The creature swaddles me into its body and I welcome its embrace, its affection caring and warm. Finally safe, I can rest and as my mind relaxes, sleep comes.
***
The tone is there again, squawking quietly into my head and it wakes me from my slumber. I feel for my companion, but its embrace has disappeared; where has it gone? My eyes strain to open as my weary body and head protest. Slowly, they open, my blurred vision impaired by the darkness. Gradually my head moves, looking around the blackness for my companion. A dim light not far away shows me where my creature is.
It’s crouched over with its back to me, but it knows I am awake, I can feel it. I long again for its embrace, so why doesn’t it come to me? Finally, my creature starts to move around, leaving whatever it is doing. My hope rises as its heads turns towards me. It lifts its head, its face coming into view. Deep red blood is smeared across its mouth and lips and covers its chin. Its protruding teeth are coated in blood, with flesh hanging down between them as blood drips from its mouth.
My heart stops as I see below, to what it has been feeding on; the long blonde curls are unmistakable even though her face is masked. Emily!
The shock makes me jerk awake from my nightmare, adrenaline pouring through my body. Dread and fear consume me, almost shielding me from the pain that racks my body. My head spins, grasping to find reality. Am I awake or still asleep? The almighty agony tells me I’m awake. My head moves slightly, slipping my face on the slick, cold tiled floor, where I lie. Even that small movement sends bolts of excruciating pain thundering down my neck and back.
Emily; is she hurt? Is the Rabid here with me?
It was a nightmare, it must have been a nightmare, I tell myself.
Something is in my mouth, resting on my
