Page 40 (1/2)

Anthropophagi are not born with a taste for human flesh Neither are they, like the solitary shark or the noble eagle, born hunters They must, like the wolf or the lion-or the human, for that matter-learn these complex behaviors froroup Anthropophagi do not reach full e of thirteen, and the interi from elders They are allowed to feed only after the kill has been picked over by the older , of trial and error, of observation and e and rather counterintuitive fact about these creatures is that Anthropophagi are actually quite doting and indulgent of their young Only in the most extreme cases-starvation, for example-would they turn on one of their own

Such was the case described by Captain Varner that occurred in the hold of the ill-fated Feronia, and such a case was probably the genesis of the h and Shakespeare that the Anthropophagi are cannibals (So ht we humans be fairly called, by that criterion, for, faced with starvation, we have practiced this selfsame unthinkable abomination) And, like the roup fiercely defend the youngsters when a threat arises: The smallest are sequestered to the rened to the rear in any assault, whether it be for food or, in the case of that rainy spring night in 1888, in protection of their territory

A juvenile straggler, then, it had to be, perhaps the sah two feet taller and several dozen pounds heavier-that had been slow to answer the summons of the one dropped by Kearns’s bullet, and had been cut off fro of fire Or perhaps, seized by the impetuousness of youth, he had not followed the herd into the killing zone but had determined to take a more circuitous route to the audacious invader, one that circu him round, unseen in the tumult of battle, to the little woods in which we crouched

His assault was clu to his limited experience, to the exciteh we did not hear hih the brush until a few seconds before he sprung from the deep shadows of the trees, those precious seconds were enough for Malachi to react

He whirled around the instant it e aih time for that; if he had not fired when he did, I’ve no doubt Malachi would have succue The bullet struck the beast square in the chest, in a spot equidistant between the two black eyes, a mortal wound for a hui, unlike their huan between their eyes The shot barely slowed him, and Malachi had no time to reload He did not attempt that folly, but flipped the rifle around and ra mouth as hard as he could The reaction was instantaneous: The jaw cla the ith a resounding crack, the force of its tre to Kearns-ripping the rifle from Malachi’s hands Blood poured froht into its ed for Malachi with ar pose, eyes rolling back as the arits of its massive claws splayed, hooked barbs spread wide for maximum effect

Malachi stumbled backward… lost his balance… fell… In another half second it would be upon him But I was only three or four feet away, and a bullet travels far in a half second It tore into the triceps of the creature’s striking ar off the blow directed at Malachi’s head; the tips of its three-inch nails barely grazed his cheek That wasabandoned Malachi and turned the full force of its wrath uponin the wet leaves and hastly man-size spider Quicker than I could blink, it smacked the doctor’s revolver froedyears, the horrific stench that exuded froullet, or its bloody teeth, or the excellent view deep into the recesses of its throat My view ht have been even better if not for Malachi, who had hurled himself onto the monster’s back The doctor’s words echoed in my head, and those words saved both our lives

If one should drop, go for her eyes, where she is most vulnerable

I yanked the bowie knife from my belt and buried it to the hilt into the closest lidless, lightless eye The Anthropophagi thrashed in agony, its throes throwing Malachi off its back and nearly knocking the blade frooodit into the other eye Blinded now, its blood spurting fountainlike, soaking its contorting torso, soakingback and forth while swinging its arms madly in a perverted parody of hide-and-seek

I had cursed ht of the necropsy, had been forced, I felt, to endure the doctor’s interruesohtened and weary beyond words, still I had paid attention What else occupies your thoughts? he had asked, i not much did beyond my appetite But my answer had been an honest one: I watched; I tried to understand Like this young Anthropophagus, I had learned by observing my elders I knew, you see, the exact location of its brain

Holding the hilt with both hands, I drove the knife hoth, into the spot just above its privates The thrust landed true Stiff as a board the ht out fro on the precipice of oblivion before oblivion took him down

I fell over too then, to lie beside the ainst , eternal moments of terror A hand touched my shoulder, and instinctively I raised the knife, but of course it was only Malachi

His face was streaked with mud; his left cheek bore three bloody stripes where its claws had raked "Are you hurt, Will?" he asked

I shook my head "No, but it is I killed it, Malachi," I added with breathless obviousness "I killed the da!"

He sainst the backdrop of his blackened face

Kearns had been correct in his prediction: It was over in less than ten unfire over our heads dwindled to a few sporadic pops; the fire, having consu fro in its wake an undulating black curtain of surgling and runts of thethe lifeless young Anthropophagus at our feet, his face lit up with surprise and alarm

"What happened?" he demanded

"Will Henry killed it," Malachi explained

"Will Henry!" exclaimed the doctor He looked at me onder

"He saved my life," averred Malachi

"Not just yours," Warthrop said He knelt beside the woman, felt for her pulse, rose "She has lost consciousness-and a great deal of blood We et her to the hospital iements Malachi picked up the shattered re, before which Morgan and his athered I did not see Kearns The doctor returned after athe ainst her stomach, they carried her to the back of the truck