1999, Silent Valley, El Yunque National Forest.
Radio static breaks the silence of the deep rainforest,
muffling the crunched leaves as the group of poachers advance, in search of an
unknown wild beast causing carnage around the higher regions of the Silent
Valley, located in Puerto Rico of South America. The jungle is known for its
natural beauty and density, surrounded by tales of spiritual presence and
folk-lore. The jungle covered her mouth, dampening everything but the movement
of the attack squad, whose hearts grew fearful with every step. They hesitantly
and unwillingly followed radio commands to a certain death. Unaware of the
horror awaits ahead, the jungle welcomed their fate. With every few paces, the
darkness intensified and left them surrounded like a piece out of M. Night
Shyamalan’s work. “Find them, recover the luggage”, muttered command as the
squad tried to relocate their missing numbers. They could overhear gushing
waters, echoing off a nearby river and proceeded towards it. Further into the
light, a small piece of land left open for the ground and the water to bask in
the Luna’s light. With Luna peering down onto the situation, she sneered. For
she knew, what lies beyond.
The poachers took a moment to examine the location as they
finally have clear visibility under the moonlight and decided to reignite their
lanterns. Using the lake as a water resource, two of the poachers kneed before
it to gather and revitalize themselves, only to find the water was muddled in
an unfamiliar mixture of blood, trickling down the side of the rocks and
diluting into the water. Horrified by what they saw next, they exclaimed and
alerted the remaining members to a sight so gruesome, it could be considered
art. Three of the missing members, mauled by large claws that sunk so deep into
their flesh, it cut through like butter. Leaving the insides to be scattered,
barely latching onto the organs. Something that Hannibal Lector would do, if he
had claws that were 9 inches long. The blood of the fallen enemies laid pooling
against the soil, bathing under Luna’s glow. This sight instilled fear into the
poachers and sent shivers all the way down to their tailbones.
“Command, we’ve found three of them. They’re dead, over’,
whispered one of them with a trembling voice from having witnessed the terror.
And as soon as they gave away their locations with a relaying radio contact
saying “FIND THE LUGGAGE!”, by an angered commanding official, their fates were
sealed. The jungle no longer kept quiet, the leaves began rustling and the birds
began to chirp into the skies. A faint growl was heard from afar and the
poachers quickly reached for their rifles, pointing north all at once. Having
no clear visibility into the denser forests, they remained under the moonlight,
awaiting whatever caused this to come forth. Tigers are known for their
ambushes and a great one was awaiting them. Attempting to ignite a lantern, one
poacher pivoted about to stay clear of the winds finding their way through the
landscape. And as soon as he lit up the lantern, it glowed its weak light
forwards, shining the patterned fur of the tiger. Noticing a faint yet large
figure with stripes moving, he aimed the lantern higher so as towards the tree
branches, where he saw the cunning eyes and large canines.
Before the man’s vocal chords could vibrate to alert the
rest, the tiger soared with its claws forward, using its heavy mass to down his
prey and promising him death, instantaneously. Now, the fight began and the
tiger had the upper hand. Overwhelmed by the situation they were in, one
poacher accidentally fired forwards as he heard the thud of his fallen ally.
The gunshot rang into the ears of all life present in a large radius and echoes
into the murky skies. Within moments, the jungle’s wildlife came alive and
started to scatter at the gunshot’s blow. They were at a positional
disadvantage as they had no hunch about the horror standing behind them due to
their rifles pointing north. “Did you see anything?”, asked a poacher to the
one that fired and before he could finish “I thoug.-“, his voice turned milky
as he gargled onto his own blood by the strike of the tiger to the back of his
neck. The tiger was masterful in combat and these numbers were no match for his
ferocity and grace. With an array of slashes and torn organs, one by one the
poachers fell to the ground. Tapping into the Rage, the tiger was able to
finish his enemies without disturbing the entirety of the forest anymore. Shots
were fired towards the tiger, wounding him as it’s hard to miss hitting an 800
pound animal from an arm’s length. However, the shots they took were their last
as the tiger’s blessings of fortified vigor were no match for their weaponry.
In a sequence, the tiger clawed away at the enemies of the forest, ending the
threat as a whole. The lifeless mangled bodies of the poachers laid against the
soil, pooling blood that seeped into the lake. As the tiger examined them, he
overheard the radio once again, “Status?”, to which the tiger channeled his
spirituality and took his human form, standing over them. Trilok lowered
himself into a crouch and reached for the radio, putting to by his mouth before
speaking with a growling undertone. “I promise you the same fate if you enter
the jungles again”. He then crushed the radio within his grasp before rising.
The jungle returned to its silence as the man walked away, carrying a bag over
his shoulder into the heart of Emerald Mother's lands.
No comments:
Post a Comment