| Exerpt: |
| “After several steps, he stopped, reeling, panting for breath. He turned loose of the ape, wiped his brow, and … A metallic clang rang out behind him. He turned. The flashlight beam shone on the dead infant. He saw the ape, holding the flashlight in on hand and the machete in the other. The big male’s eyes had fixed on the infant, and his hair stood on end. As Ngasala watched, dark forms oozed from the shadows and crowded around the male, chirping at the dead baby. With the silence of ghosts they all turned toward Ngasala. Their bared teeth and eyes shimmered in the reflected light. … I Ngasala tried to sit up, his shotgun gripped in both hands, and the flashlight beam hit him squarely in the face. He couldn't see the animal behind it ... but he saw the machete blade glowing as though aflame, swinging down. Ngasala let out a shocked cry as it sliced through his belly. He dropped his hand into the rushing wetness that was his stomach. The smell of severed intestines stunned him. A terrified whimper caught in his throat.” |
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