ANGEL

MORTUARY - END OF THE CHAPTER

But just to get speed, strength and impulse enough to jump up at once on the tree, when I do that, I found myself out face-to-face with Mako, rather face-to-snout and our eyes meet as well, mine, a black green taken by desire and hunger and his, a mix of unease and certainty, but no fear, never fear.

I have no time to lose because at that very moment I feel my paws slipping down again and I know I will fall down quickly if I won´t act, but I don´t understand why, that trunk it´s very rough, never slippery.

When I am ready to attack, opening my big and powerful mouth that it´s able to frighten even the boldest and terrible creature of all the forest and able to devour ten times the size of Mako´s head, at the last dying moment, a strong and sharp smell catch my  sense of smell and I don´t know what to do, I don´t know if I finish what I started with Mako and afterwards I go and hunt that prey, I don´t know if I just let the prey escape, I don´t know if I let Mako escape, my head it´s giving turns, my mind a complete blur, my rage it´s not so fanned and I am not so bad-tempered as before, but my hunger it´s only increasing anyway and I have to make one choice now, but fast, as fast as Mako´s movements, as fast as that creature´s movements, as fast as myself.

I look into Mako´s eyes and they are with colors so deep and strong as I never have seen before, an conflicting hue of certainty and confusion, neutrality and even courage, they are swaying as the waves of the lakes when enraged, but not with fury itself, but fickleness, I don´t know what it mean but I am almost sure it doesn´t represent any danger or importance to me, it seems that refer to other people and other times, so distant…

The only thing I could precisely detect and that immediately had some effect upon me, it was “don´t run away”.

He should not have let it out to me, it seemed as if Mako knew me as well as me and that was exactly what I did.

I ran away.

I ran with all my strength, but not with fear or cowardice, it never, but with an precious courage and boldness, with security and precision to catch that prey to me and turn it my meal, I must do that, if I won´t, I will stay even more uncontrollable and Mako will not be safe with me, I will eat him some hour or other, I never know when my instincts ask me to play the feral crocodile, besides, when I chase after some hunt, I go till the end, till the last consequences and leave nothing but the fur, coat and paws of the creature, that´s always so.

Instinctively and automatically my paws obey me and on all fours, I run and sneak through the little and middle puddles at my front, making feral and enormous splashes that could bath all the forest up and into the biggest and deepest lakes too, when I do that, I come completely into that soiled and dark waters, swimming deftly inside and using my four paws, the hind paws, the flat of the hand and my tail too that stay slashing and cut back and forth quickly as one oar to make an strong impulse and let me run with the same speed I would use outside on the ground and mud; even inside the water I can hear everything it´s outside, being my perception so sharp and refined and I can feel the smell of my close hunt, I feel the fear that time, a great fear and that fulfil me with an enormous pleasure I even can describe, it´s always so good when you know you are fearsome and frightening, of course that when you can win one fight with an bold and even more powerful than you, the meal it´s an treasure, an infinite source of tidbit and you haven´t what to complain about.

When all of sudden I get out from the deep lake, my sense of smell became more refined and I can finally make out that what I am chasing after it´s a horse, I really don´t know what an horse it´s doing here because swamps it´s not their place but farms and open fields, but I won´t to turn it over my mind neither make stupid questions to myself, I simply will run faster and stuck it between my sharp teeth while I eat and devour the whole horse, biting every piece, every inch, till I can swallow it completely. And that´s what happened when I could double my speed to put an end at it; the horse, as I realized, was with one of his hind paws injured then it was much more easy than I thought, some moments later I was close behind the gaunt, meaty and appetizing brindled black and brown horse and I saw it limping, emanating fear and dread as waves escaping from the animal. I smiled with myself, probably the poor animal it´s with its wide open eyes, breathless and with its heart, pounding as one great drum, looking at all its sides where to find an shelter to come in and very watchful about any danger…

No need to that, friend, the danger´s upon you right now.

With an high and extensive jump , my paw attaches to his injured leg and that put an end to any fruitless attempt to escape from the horse that fall down immediately on the ground, still neighing, knocking to every sides and making terrible noises that I don´t endure, that´s why soon I found myself tucking my beautiful and polished teeth into the fur, getting through the meat, nerve and bone of the animal´s throat, he stops to scream at a matter of seconds and I satiate me with my wonderful daily meal, taking generous bites through all the parts of the horse, starting with the throat itself, after going to the injured legs, both of them, and swallowing them with an single mouthful and then comes the better part, the whole body that´s very meat, gaunt and strong, that makes me think that the horse could to be badly injured at the legs, but he were very healthy and used to eat very well… now I am eating him and gorging with the better fat slices of the body, much blood, much meat running into my own throat and staining my fangs, I don´t worry if some other big and menacing animal come to dispute and fight with me by the horse, I will kill all of them too and my meal will be as complete as ever.

When I am almost finishing my meal, swallowing with an single mouthful the better and most delicious slices and there´s nothing left of the animal but some bones scattered through the ground making almost one white carpet, bones stained with blood that I clenched and cracked into my fangs, one bite that has almost the weight and strength of one ton, Mako appeared again, as before, suddenly, he were not sneaking anymore, but just walking as one false human being again, he saw me eating and came closer.

-wow! What an appetite, Logo! You really should to be hungry.

-I am sorry I leave nothing to you- I said placing the last slice that had the heart of the horse, still soaked with blood and pulsing slowly into my mouth, so desperately as if I am afraid Mako could steal it from me.

-no, don´t need- Mako said with a grimace- I only came here to find the two-headed snake den- he said pensive and looking around.

It caught my attention and I come closer of him, now satiated and properly fed.

-you still didn´t say to me what the wise serpent said to you that day- I say with a hint of requirement.

He turned more serious and a little surprised, as if he didn´t wait that question, but that time he didn´t escape from the answer.

-she said… there comes Mortuary´s curse.