11-30-2020, 10:43 PM
[ A continuation of the story from post #109]
The thunderous hammering of sticks came abruptly to a halt; dead silence.
Somehow this worried him even more. Then, the door flew open and those armadillo-sized rats
scurried out of the scant wooden hovel. Appearing in the doorway was a figure holding a torch.
A primitive clay mask covered their face as they entered and freed the man bound to the rusted
metal pole. The mystery person motioned for him to walk through the doorway and he did.
Once outside he was met by two more masked individuals. The first one locked the hut and turned
to give a nod to the others to take the man with them. They began walking him up the tiny trail through
the dense, dark wooded night. The broken thumbs were now causing his hands to swell. Pain was nothing
new to him but this all-over bruising ache was formidable. Not to mention the unbridled terror he was
feeling. Although it had calmed down to a more acceptable sheer panic. Where were they taking him?
Soon, they reached a clearing. A large bonfire could be seen at the edge of the small field. He could make
out figures dancing around that fire. As they got closer the chanting grew louder and more intelligible.
"Wa-NAY-Nah, Oh-Na-DAY-Nah-Ho" was the repeated cry filling the icy air. He had no idea what it meant
but it reminded him of singing he'd heard during a Haitian Voodoo ceremony on one of those television
documentaries. This really put his back up. Close enough now to see the fire and dancers plainly, he noticed
that at the heart of that bonfire was his car. The one he left on the side of the road hours before. He'd had
a flat and no spare and was gracious for the ride he was offered by what he at the time thought was
a kind stranger. Life's turns could sometimes be cruel.
The two figures marched the man over to a large wooden post where they lashed him securely. He was once
again tied and subject to the will of others. Things weren't looking good.
He could hear yelling in the distance. It was getting closer. He could tell it was a man screaming through
tearful begging. Now just several feet away, he was certain. Something akin to "Please don't do this!" in
Spanish. He wasn't fluent but that's about what it boiled down to. Suddenly he got very sick. A desperate
nausea washed over him head to toe. He was watching his own future play out in front of him.
"Noooo!!" cried the man who now spoke a few words in English.
"Pleeease Noooo!!"
His heart broke as he watched them bind the man at wrist and ankle. They pushed him down onto his
knees and a tall, muscular figure walked over and grabbed him by his hair. With a long bladed knife
he opened the man's throat over a large earthen vessel. His blood ran cold and that once dull panic
was now prickling every inch of his skin. Tearing its way through his body and soul. The poor victim
now drained of his life force, his body was thrown onto that bonfire as the chanting grew louder and
more chaotic.
This was the stuff of nightmares.
The thunderous hammering of sticks came abruptly to a halt; dead silence.
Somehow this worried him even more. Then, the door flew open and those armadillo-sized rats
scurried out of the scant wooden hovel. Appearing in the doorway was a figure holding a torch.
A primitive clay mask covered their face as they entered and freed the man bound to the rusted
metal pole. The mystery person motioned for him to walk through the doorway and he did.
Once outside he was met by two more masked individuals. The first one locked the hut and turned
to give a nod to the others to take the man with them. They began walking him up the tiny trail through
the dense, dark wooded night. The broken thumbs were now causing his hands to swell. Pain was nothing
new to him but this all-over bruising ache was formidable. Not to mention the unbridled terror he was
feeling. Although it had calmed down to a more acceptable sheer panic. Where were they taking him?
Soon, they reached a clearing. A large bonfire could be seen at the edge of the small field. He could make
out figures dancing around that fire. As they got closer the chanting grew louder and more intelligible.
"Wa-NAY-Nah, Oh-Na-DAY-Nah-Ho" was the repeated cry filling the icy air. He had no idea what it meant
but it reminded him of singing he'd heard during a Haitian Voodoo ceremony on one of those television
documentaries. This really put his back up. Close enough now to see the fire and dancers plainly, he noticed
that at the heart of that bonfire was his car. The one he left on the side of the road hours before. He'd had
a flat and no spare and was gracious for the ride he was offered by what he at the time thought was
a kind stranger. Life's turns could sometimes be cruel.
The two figures marched the man over to a large wooden post where they lashed him securely. He was once
again tied and subject to the will of others. Things weren't looking good.
He could hear yelling in the distance. It was getting closer. He could tell it was a man screaming through
tearful begging. Now just several feet away, he was certain. Something akin to "Please don't do this!" in
Spanish. He wasn't fluent but that's about what it boiled down to. Suddenly he got very sick. A desperate
nausea washed over him head to toe. He was watching his own future play out in front of him.
"Noooo!!" cried the man who now spoke a few words in English.
"Pleeease Noooo!!"
His heart broke as he watched them bind the man at wrist and ankle. They pushed him down onto his
knees and a tall, muscular figure walked over and grabbed him by his hair. With a long bladed knife
he opened the man's throat over a large earthen vessel. His blood ran cold and that once dull panic
was now prickling every inch of his skin. Tearing its way through his body and soul. The poor victim
now drained of his life force, his body was thrown onto that bonfire as the chanting grew louder and
more chaotic.
This was the stuff of nightmares.
