IM SEEING THINGS II THE CLAW THE TAIL AND CROSS EPISODE XXVIII BY ROYVER JERRYMAKLIN “I can hear them,” he said, looking at each and every one of us in turn. “I can hear your heartbeats. The blood in your veins calls to me.” The assistant foreman stood at the end of the table, his seat upturned, the leopard hanging unmoving in his grasp as it suffocated to death. The room was in utter silence. Mr. Engman and the two locals were cowering in fear on the floor behind Mr. Bells who had stopped shouting and was still standing, his mouth open but silent, tears running down his eyes, as he watched his beloved pet swing about like a rag doll, its feet well above the ground with the tail trailing on the floor aimlessly. The Assistant foreman was a large fellow, easily six feet, standing taLl in the stillness of the boardroom. Mr. Obi and Mr. Kelvin had jumped up and were now backed up in a corner along with Jenny and Chioma while I stood at the other side of the table with Mr. John. Many eyes in the room kept darting between him and the only exit, the door through which their freedom lay, the door that was now barricaded by the Man-animal’s large frame. He cocked his head to one side, almost with cat-like reflexes, and his face wore a puzzled expression. “One of you is not afraid.” He said quietly, “One of you’s heart beats with the regular resonance of a man unmoved.” He sniffed the air, “Fear, fear, its repugnant stench is everywhere, except…” and then he turned and faced me. I stood up straight and faced him, my hand resting ever so lightly on the swivel-chair I had been seating on, weighing it covertly to see how effective it would be as a weapon. He looked into my eyes and growled. The sound, coming from his mouth, a human mouth, was uncanny. “I admire your courage, seer, but in a battle of brute force, you would lose.” He said with an almost gentle smile. “I am not a seer.” I said. “You dare look me in the eye?” he took a deep breath and the manifestation of the leopard with two tails took position as if about to pounce. “You dare challenge me the same way this little cub I now hold lifeless in my hands did? Do you want to suffer the same fate?” “Do not presume to know me, beast” I said, though for a moment it was not I, but the stronger. I found myself grinning. “I am far from the cub you hold in your hand.” The man-animal gazed at me in anger. “You, sir, please…” Jenny cut in, taking a step forward. “You are not yourself. The only reason the leopard attacked you was because he saw you were not…right. ” “And yet he charged, despite your warning to sit still!” the man-animal turned to Jenny, his eyes blazing. “Am I not king? Am I not splendor? How dare he challenge me for these pitiful ones he calls his masters!” “Let me help you!” Jenny pleaded. “I know the desires that are running rampant within your mind right now. I know the fury, you feel, like you are on the verge of losing all control. It ought not to be this way. Let me help make it better.” For a very brief moment, the man-animal’s features softened and he looked as if he was about to cry. “Help me…help me, please.” He whispered. “What’s going on?” Mr. Bells said, suddenly finding his voice. He appeared like one that was in a dream state. He took a step forward and Obi tried to draw him back but he pulled away violently. “What have you done with Sidney? You let him down this instant!” “Mr. Bells, please sit down,” I said, not taking my eyes off the man-animal for one second. “No! Leave my son alone!” Mr. Bells said wildly and lunged himself at the man-animal. The man-animal suddenly moved. He flung the limp body of Sidney at his master and there was a dull “thump” as both collided violently. Sidney’s body bounced off Mr. Bells and fell beside one of the representatives, who promptly freaked out. Screaming, he made a bolt for the door, accompanied by the other representative and Obi. As they reached the man-animal he snarled and punched the first man hard in the face, sending a spray of blood into the other man’s eyes who now stumbled blindly into the grasp of the man-animal. The man-animal wrung the latter’s neck until a sickening snap was heard through the whole room. Obi exhibited amazing agility as he slipped beneath this entire melee and was able to open the door and run out. The man-animal bit into the broken neck of the man he had just strangled and tore out a large amount of flesh mixed with blood. The other men in the room started screaming and Chioma collapsed to the floor in a faint. **continued**
Posted on: Sun, 30 Mar 2014 20:42:47 +0000
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