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Posted by Archosaur on October 25, 2009, 12:10 am
69.3.1.56
The Hungry River
The height of the rainy season was ending, and the great river was swollen, rushing past with the debris of the forest, logs, leaves, and dead animals. Such a time was a danger, for the unaware could be swept away is the rapid stream. Yet, it was also a time of opportunity, for the debris of the forest brought fish to the surface of the river, providing an annual bounty.
A reed woven boat of the Deru people made its way through the massive channel, the two fishermen preparing their nets. The Deru were a small folk, averaging between four to five feet in height, and had recently fled to this tropical isle to escape their more warlike cousins. In the year since their arrival, they had begun to explore inland through the river system, discovering a land of lush bounty. This supposed “land of monsters” was apparently a paradise. Expecting to bring home a great feast, the fishermen cast their nets into the stream.
Watching the small figures with glittering eyes was the king of the island, also anticipating a great feast. This elder crocodile was decades old and 24 feet long. In his time he had driven out many of the smaller crocodiles in order to have sole access to the females upstream, and thus had helped create the enormous bounty of fish the Deru were scooping up today. He had since grown too large to feed well on just fish, and often sought to ambush and swallow many of the mammals that inhabited the forest. Each rainy season brought the feast of drowned mammals, their bloated carcasses free food for a large crocodile. Lately, he had had the chance to sample new fare: the small, hairless mammals that have migrated into his territory recently. Finding them quite palatable, he now advanced silently underwater towards two more of the new creatures.
Laughing, the two fishermen hauled their latest catch aboard. Then, with sudden violence, something hit their boat, tearing the fragile reed craft in half and spilling the men into the water. Rising to the surface the two men looked around to see what hit them, seeing nothing but the wreckage of their craft. One of the men vanished underwater with scarcely more than a splash. The fisherman called out for his companion, hearing, and seeing nothing.
The water then exploded, with four foot scaled jaws gripping his wailing companion upper body and flailing hands emerging from the huge jaws in a macabre spectacle. The massive muscles of the neck bulge, effortlessly raising the doomed man higher into the air. The great reptile closes his eyes and gapes his jaws, tossing his prey further into his throat. The massive neck swells to accommodate the man, and when the jaws close, only one of his hands and pitiful moans emerge from the scaly snout. The leviathan repeats the process, this time the reptile’s throat pouch swells and ripples as crocodile’s human prey slides into the massive creature.
Seeing the now empty jaws slowly close, the fisherman breaks out of his paralysis. Desperately he begins to swim towards the distant riverbank. Looking back, he sees nothing pursuing him. He begins to paddle again as his world explodes is a spray of foam.
Gasping for breath, the man felt the rubbery surface of the tongue under his body, and the smooth flesh of the roof of the massive mouth above. Little light leaked in between the fanged jaws, and surely, no one heard his cries of horror. His world lurched upward as the massive creature tilted his terrible jaws skyward. The man gets a brief view of the sky as the jaws gape wide to toss back this predator’s latest catch. The man’s hands flail desperately as his naked form slides down the slick tongue, and he sinks waist deep into the expansive throat. Then, darkness again as the jaw closes again. Sunlight shines on the doomed man’s face one last time as the jaws open again. The powerful throat muscles surge and contract about his waist, almost gently sucking the man down into his doom. He gives one last wail as the esophageal flap closed wetly over his head, sealing him into his new world. His last cry disappearing into the throat is not unlike his first cry upon being expelled from the womb.
As he struggles inside the massive predator’s throat, rings of muscles surge and contract, gently squeezing him farther into the depths of the beast. A slow and steady thump is heard, the powerful four chambered heart of the giant reptile. With a final push, he slides into the creature’s expansive belly. Coughing and gagging in the deadly fluids, he struggles against the slick, undulating walls. As awareness begins to fade, he discovers with horror that many of the forms about him are the familiar shapes of hands and feet. Wondering how many people the monster has eaten, he surrenders his life to the mighty crocodile.
The crocodile, while larger and cleverer than many of his kind, was also slower. He had had difficulty catching adequate prey, and had been in danger of going hungry. Fortunately, he had discovered what appeared to be the perfect food. With no fur, scales, nor horns, these small, soft creatures went down easily, and were simple to catch. He began to make his way downstream towards the colony of the new creatures.
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