It was shorter than a foot and walked on hindlegs,
though that was not the only thing that reminded me of a dinosaur. Another
strange thing was that it had four nostrils. When I saw that it had one claw in
front that was much larger and longer than the others, my first thought was
this could be the creature that harmed Erik, but that had been several miles
away and it was too small.
Unless
it has a big brother.
Sandy muttered a curse. My insides
churned while I studied the little guy as I slowly came up to a squat.
Sharon hadn’t told us much about the
lizard she was looking for, other than that it was bigger than most. I had not
imagined anything larger than an iguana, this was far smaller and differently
proportioned. I initially doubted the specimen in front of us was her quarry
but as it moved, I started to wonder if this was just a baby.
I looked over my shoulder just to
make sure a larger version was not coming at us from another way. The lizard
cocked its head, blinked, and took several steps in our direction while not
showing the slightest hesitation.
Sandy slowly moved up her pad of
paper. I got the idea she was planning to make a drawing.
I’ll
do better than that.
I pulled out my cell phone—it was
useless for communication here—but worked well as a camera and I made sure to
charge it when the generator was on. I opened my phone by tapping the screen,
brought up my camera app, and hit the video button.
The lizard hopped, reminding me of a
bird.
I held still, torn between watching
and making certain I got it all on camera.
Walking on its hindlegs had certainly
gotten my attention. The four nostrils made me sure we had discovered a new
species. I glanced at Sandy who grinned like a kid at Christmas.
I smiled in return.
The others were going to be jealous
we had made such a significant discovery while watching their gear.
It all of the sudden became worth it.
The long days trudging through the
humidity, mud, and rain. The nights where I felt like I was being eaten alive
by mosquitoes while trying to sleep, even after spraying myself generously with
bug spray and hiding underneath a mosquito net.
Our
names are going down in history. This will make Sharon mad with jealousy. I chuckled
quietly, checking to make sure my camera was still going.
Then the strangest thing happened.
A baby capybara wandered out of the
bushes, stumbling as if drunk. It was followed by two more. These also moved in
the same manner, walking as if every step were difficult and they were in
danger of toppling over. I had only seen the animals a few others times but
they typically moved with an energetic bounce.
These seemed like the walking dead.
“Ah, cute.” Sandy stopped drawing and
just soaked in the moment with the largest smile I had ever seen on her face.
I was no longer as enamored.
Something struck me as off. The baby
capybaras should not have been walking like that. The lizard did not even look
back at the other animals, never mind the fact they were more than double its
size.
The capybaras were likewise not
concerned about the lizard.
“They are together,” I whispered as
the realization dawned on me even though it seemed impossible.
“What?” Sandy muttered from the side
of her mouth.
I did not answer. It was a crazy
hypothesis and even though I did not have real evidence something in my gut
told me I was correct. The creatures moved as a herd. The lizard and capybaras were
together.
A capybara took a step forward and
almost toppled over, its ears flicking as it caught itself at the last moment.
“Hold on,” I said looking up from the
camera and examining the face of the closest rodent. It had a sore on its face
similar to the dead anteater. I studied the lizard but saw no sign of disease.
It was one thing for a small lizard
to approach us, like a squirrel looking for a handout, but three baby
capybaras? All without fear? We were too far from civilization for any of these
creatures to be domesticated.
“This is not good.”
“Hush,” Sandy said as she started to
draw again.
The lizard made a chittering sound
and the capybaras came closer.
A chill ran down my spine.
It looked like the lizard had given
them an order that they had obeyed. Impossible, sure, but that was what it
looked like.
I stood, expecting my sudden move
would scatter the animals but they did not react. I focused on the eyes of the
capybaras.
Something was off there too.
I could tell this even though I had
little experience with them. For lack of a better comparison, they reminded me
of the dead anteater’s eyes.
Why?
The capybaras were past the lizard.
“Sandy, we need to move. Now.”
“It’s okay. They’re not used to
seeing humans.”
“I don’t think that’s it at all. They
should be afraid, yet they are fearless. Look at their eyes.”
Sandy shook her head and kept
drawing.
I feigned an attack on the closest
capybara, acting like I was going to kick it, but it did not even blink.
I was certain, more certain than I
had been about anything. These creatures were not acting normal. The lizard
looked at me, cocked its head and chittered again. The capybaras came my
direction. The baby rodents were half the size of an adult but considering their
abnormal behavior, it was difficult to not feel panic rising in my chest even
though they were small.
I grabbed Sandy’s arm. “We have to
go.”
“When was the last time you heard of
a capybara attacking somebody?”
“Something is very wrong about all
this.”
She shrugged off my hand.
I stepped back, uncomfortable at how
close the animals had come. As I shuffled into the jungle the capybaras
followed me, ignoring Sandy who unconcernedly drew the lizard, seemingly
oblivious to what was happening with the rodents.
Giving up on convincing Sandy that we
were in—
It did not feel like danger, at least
not yet.
It felt more like a situation.
The capybaras still came after me,
their feet moving as if they were liable to trip.
I stopped backing away, turned, and walked
straight, looking over my shoulder to make sure Sandy was fine before
disappearing into the foliage. They moved right past without looking at her. I
spun and charged to within a foot of the plodding animals but they did not
react, not even when I threatened to kick them again.
Not a one blinked.
They lacked instincts. They kept
coming when they should have scattered.
As I walked back into the undergrowth
my heartrate increased. I suspected they would attack if they got close. After
I led them into the jungle, I gave them a wide berth and returned to Sandy,
hoping I might have five minutes before the bumbling creatures came back.
Sandy was no longer on my stool. She
knelt with a hand out to the lizard. It chittered, but kept its distance,
dancing back and forth as if agitated. It was the first sign of nervous
behavior it had displayed.
“This is not working.” She reached
into a pocket and fished out a granola bar. She opened it and broke off a small
piece.
“That’s not a good idea,” I said.
“Where did you go?” Her voice was so
quiet it was barely audible. She gave me a wicked grin. “I thought the
capybaras had gotten you.”
I did not answer as I considered the
best way to respond to the problem in front of me. Sandy did not recognize the
danger and I somehow needed to convince her to be more cautious.
I am
not imagining things. That lizard told the
capybaras what to do, however impossible that seems.
My instincts told me I was correct. I
had witnessed the capybaras act as if they had been ordered. It defied all
logic, but I knew what I saw.
“Be careful around that little guy.
You should leave him alone. His bite might be venomous.”
She turned to me. “Please—”
The lizard jumped. I thought it was
going for the food but it bit her forearm.
Sandy screamed as the little devil
bit again. She flung it off but it landed on its feet. I kicked, hoping to send
it flying into the jungle, if not kill it, but it dodged and bit Sandy’s leg
just above her ankle.
I grabbed the stool. It collapsed as
I grabbed one leg, holding it like a bat. I swung but the creature jumped out
of the way. Cursing, I spun and lashed out with my foot, unfortunately kicking
the lizard up onto Sandy’s shoulder where it bit her again.
Muttering an apology, I grabbed it by
the tail and swung it into a moss-covered tree. Before it could move I hit it
in the head.
I held it down with the end of my
stool as I pulled out a pocketknife that I opened one-handed. I was glad I had
not put it in my pack during the rain as I had with the machete. After making
sure my hand was not within range of its teeth, I pressed down on its neck with
my sharp blade and removed its head.
Sandy moaned, sending a shudder down
my back. I had not yet acknowledged that the baby capybaras looked like
miniature walking zombies, but her discomfort sent that idea home.
“Are you okay?” I asked, approaching
as I wiped my knife on some leaves, closed it, and put it back in my pocket. Even
with its head cut off, I did not trust the lizard to stop attacking, but a
glance showed my concerns were unfounded. Its tail flicked and the severed head
worked its jaw, but the little menace was dead.
Sandy shook her head. “I’ll be okay,
they might be small but they sting.”
I examined them. They each had barely
scratched the surface, she bled but it was not bad.
“Are you feeling woozy?” I asked
going back to the lizard and turning the head with my boot to look at its
mouth. “It might be poisonous.” Its little teeth were razor sharp.
“It’s going to be okay. They aren’t
deep, they just sting, that’s all. They’ll soon heal.
I bit my lip and nodded, thinking it
was best to not state my concerns aloud. There was no way to know that Sandy
was going to be okay until sufficient time passed. I pulled out my first aid
kit from my pack while wondering if the capybaras had been bitten too.
“Want me to bandage those for you?”
4 – Monster Country: Genizyz was originally published on DAN DECKER