The Cannibals of Caliba 04

“Run!”

The self-induced warning still rang in Sule's mind, but instead of offering the possibility of hope, it sent him

reeling to the edge of the abyss. It was like he had feared, if only he had been able to connect the dots, the

markings he had seen on the stones and rocks were obvious. How he omitted the clue was strange. The

alarming silence and the fake emptiness. The strange tradition that had refused civilization exposure, their

thwarted hearts, and undeniable beliefs and custom.

What do I do? He thought. "How could I have been so careless"

Looking behind him, he swallowed nervously and continued running again. With the bright sun overhead going down behind a high mountain he breathed heavily panting. Clutching his stomach but as he pushed

through the undergrowth, the tree canopy's dense weave plunged his surroundings into a verdant gloom. The

heat is dwindling and the air dripped with humidity in form of misty fog. Hearing a loud piercing scream he

stopped abruptly, he slowly turned on his back to see a shaking movement among the shrubs. It was like

something was coming towards him. He wiped the orbs of sweats on his bow, he could feel the erratic beat of

his heart with his ears. He loosened the top buttons of his collar and folded the sleeves of his loose shirt. He

brought out the mini shovel in his bag and held it like a weapon rather than like a tool.

He swung the shovel in his hand, waiting. The shrub shook again and then turned still. Aiming for the shovel,

a white rabbit jumped out.

When his racing heart waned, he quickly took a swig at his water bottle and began to take note of his

surrounding.

"Where am I?" He swiveled around slowly puzzled, his eyes searching for the markings they had made earlier

to identify the path back to the camp.

"Oh no!" He couldn't find any. On that spur, he knew that he was lost. He fl ipped out a compass and then the

Google Earth. A sense of relief enveloped him when he located the marked site they had been assigned to.

He continued on the journey back to the camp as he wondered what Mari's faith was at present.

* * *

The scratchy sound on her trekking boots alerted her of the deep slumber that had overtaken her. She could

barely see anything at first until her eyes adjusted to the darkness.

"Where am I?" She wanted to wipe her face but the bonds were tied to her hands. As she remembered the state

she was in, she began to sob at her helplessness. Just then the door opened, the light from the outside was

almost as dark as the room she is in.

"It was already dark!" She eventually sighed when she saw them coming in with something in their hands. As

they advanced on her, she crawled away in a backward manner but stopped until her back met a wall.

They in their clunky language they cut off the bounds on her wrist and began to dress her. She could feel the

soft fur. As soon as they were done another brought a wooden fl at log on it hailed steams from the food they

could. Mari scrunched up her nose in disgust yet she didn't say anything. She wondered when help will reach

her.

* * *

“Where is she?"

Sule fell to the ground highly exhausted and panting heavily. The first light of the sun had started to travel

across the violet sky. It was dawn. Many slumbering students woke up with a start, surprised by his disheveled

state. They wondered where Mari was. Bona pacing stopped abruptly and he rushed towards Sule. The other

students closest to him held him up. He was given glucose in a cup of water by another. His bag pack was also

removed. Having gained a little strength he moved to answer all their rhetoric questions.

Standing on his own, he revealed in summary what they had encountered. As he got to the point explaining

the Calibaan's hold onto Mari, Bona went into his tent and began to gear up. Laila followed closely. They

exchanged a glance and then she nodded. She also went into her tent.

"I have called the department, they will be sending in the helicopters before noon"

The remaining student moved towards them talking, murmuring. Voicing their opinions about the situation.

Bona placed his index finger on his lips and they all kept quiet.

"We should be back before noon" Bona and Laila stood together heavily geared with ammunitions

"Please, don't forget to submit your fi eld report to the Professor"

Bona glanced at Sule and said "Sule, lead the way"

"We will be back" Bona called back as they left.

The dawn passed and the day came in a blur. The women had taken her away from the darkroom into one of

the huts at first light. They had adorned her with strange accessories she had never come across. The room was

nothing like she had seen either.

"This was a living stone age," she thought

The bed was carved from the rocks, the tables and the stools were beautifully sculptured from the enormous

rock that served as a shelter. If Sule had seen this, his eyes will certainly light up.

She could smell the ruins in the air like a smoky fog had covered the village. One would have thought that it

was the misty cloud as it often does during the harmattan. Her boots were removed and her legs were washed

and painted with a white paste. They had drawn a mountain pattern on her legs. They moved on to her face,

she felt the wet splash of the paste on her face. She could feel it harden. Then it felt itchy. She wanted to

scratch it so bad but the woman held her hand. Her shoulder to her hands was covered in a large amount of

the same paste. This time around no patterns was made on them.

As all this was going on, Mari could not come to terms with how she was feeling but one thing was for sure.

She was extremely anxious. Then she felt an intense stare burrowing into her back. She turned and saw the

little boy that had lingered by her side the day before. His face was awful, his tears were unceremoniously

falling but he didn't wail aloud. He kept wiping it away but they kept falling.

Mari was puzzled and frowned in concern. She wondered why no one attended to him. She could not bear to

see his outburst so she made a gesture for him to come and he did.

The women that were with her didn't obstruct the boy from getting to her. They ignored the exchange and

went on with their activities. Suddenly, her stomach grumbled loudly. A girl had materialized by her side

offering her fruits but she declined the act.

"What if this was poisoned?" She ignored the girl.

When they were through they all left except the boy and some guards stood by the entrance.

The little boy began to whisper in the clunky language but of course, Mari could understand a word. He kept

touching her neck. After a while, he just slumped against her breast and cried quietly.

The beating drums alerted them. The boy quickly jumped to his feet. He held Mari by the hand and led her

out of the room.