Read Online Fury and the Power by John Farris - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: John Farris
Tags: Horror
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at the embers o' my fire and listenin' tae the soft nocturnal calls o' the great beasts in the wood close by, how Sophocles would ha' enjoyed my elephants. I woonder did he e'er sae one."
The elephants—two families temporarily conjoined, Pert explained, because there were twenty-eight of them, not including Karloff, who belonged to no family—were now close enough to distinguish individual features and imperfections: a ragged ear, broken or cracked tusks, Karloff's scars and wizened eye socket. Pert's attention sharpened to her task. Adolescents were bumptious and play-threatening; they flashed young clean tusks like foot-long baby teeth, broke into ambling runs with their tails straight up and ears flapping. Czarina, oldest of the females and the matriarch the others deferred to, had a remnant of one tusk, the other blunt at the tip. She led the others with eyes downcast, trunk swinging close to the ground, sampling odors on a familiar trail. She was a talker, mostly rumblings. Long aware of the two vehicles parked in the acacia grove, when she was within thirty meters of them Czarina stopped and raised her trunk in an S-shape, nostrils moving delicately.
"We will be verra quiet now" Pert advised everyone. "Tha' roomble ye hear is reassurance tae the group. They may tarry a while, er joost pass oos by."
The elephants stayed. There were calves to be fed. Water to be sucked from boreholes in the dry streambed.
To the south a herd of zebra appeared in parched short grass. Wildebeest accompanied the zebra, both favored prey of lion, Pert said. "Also high in desirability a' mealtimes is the two-legged species, tha' canna run verra fast nor protect thir tender arses. Which o' carse ye dinna hear aboot sae aften, as it is bad fer tourism."
The sun rose higher; they all were damp with sweat. Pert apparently had no use for deodorant. Etan filmed and Pegeen fidgeted. Her surgical mask had turned grimy. One of the male elephants, adolescent but still a good eight feet at the shoulder, came close to the Rover, flapping his ears, pissing noisily; he sucked up dust and blew it over them. A mature female called him off. She waved her trunk then, casting what might have been an apologetic eye in their direction.
That's when they heard, and felt, Karloff coming, with a roar that could fibrillate an artificial heart.
The Rover trembled on the hard ground. Pert's head jerked around. In spite of the dark glasses she wore, Eden saw her eyes widen in alarm. They all looked back at the monster elephant as he charged the two vehicles in the grove. His show of rage had instantly upset the other elephants, who responded with fright rumbles, bellowing, and screams.
"What's happening?" Pegeen cried.
Etan said, panning his camera, "We should get out of—"
All of the elephants, led by Czarina, began to run, ears flat against their necks, trumpeting madly, raising an immense cloud of dust. The Rover shook from the impact of the stampede around it; the sun went dark. But not a single elephant made contact with them in their headlong panic.
Moments after the last elephant had cleared out, Karloff arrived. He had gone from a charge to a trot. His ears flapped and cracked like sails in a spanking wind. He loomed behind the Rover, less than three feet away but only partly visible through the dust. And passed it, heading for the combi. Trunk curled high, bellowing his outrage.
Eden could only imagine the petrified faces inside the combi; there was too much dust to see anything from twenty feet away. Pegeen whimpered in terror. Pert's walkie-talkie was on, but they heard nothing but static.
The bull elephant lowered his domed juggernaut's head and placed it against the side of the combi, as if he intended to roll it over a few times. Until he'd dislodged all of the combi's passengers like a few seeds from a gourd.
"Uh-oh, what's got him in this state?" Pert said.
Eden heard Bertie, but not over the walkie-talkie.
Karloff had lifted the
The elephants—two families temporarily conjoined, Pert explained, because there were twenty-eight of them, not including Karloff, who belonged to no family—were now close enough to distinguish individual features and imperfections: a ragged ear, broken or cracked tusks, Karloff's scars and wizened eye socket. Pert's attention sharpened to her task. Adolescents were bumptious and play-threatening; they flashed young clean tusks like foot-long baby teeth, broke into ambling runs with their tails straight up and ears flapping. Czarina, oldest of the females and the matriarch the others deferred to, had a remnant of one tusk, the other blunt at the tip. She led the others with eyes downcast, trunk swinging close to the ground, sampling odors on a familiar trail. She was a talker, mostly rumblings. Long aware of the two vehicles parked in the acacia grove, when she was within thirty meters of them Czarina stopped and raised her trunk in an S-shape, nostrils moving delicately.
"We will be verra quiet now" Pert advised everyone. "Tha' roomble ye hear is reassurance tae the group. They may tarry a while, er joost pass oos by."
The elephants stayed. There were calves to be fed. Water to be sucked from boreholes in the dry streambed.
To the south a herd of zebra appeared in parched short grass. Wildebeest accompanied the zebra, both favored prey of lion, Pert said. "Also high in desirability a' mealtimes is the two-legged species, tha' canna run verra fast nor protect thir tender arses. Which o' carse ye dinna hear aboot sae aften, as it is bad fer tourism."
The sun rose higher; they all were damp with sweat. Pert apparently had no use for deodorant. Etan filmed and Pegeen fidgeted. Her surgical mask had turned grimy. One of the male elephants, adolescent but still a good eight feet at the shoulder, came close to the Rover, flapping his ears, pissing noisily; he sucked up dust and blew it over them. A mature female called him off. She waved her trunk then, casting what might have been an apologetic eye in their direction.
That's when they heard, and felt, Karloff coming, with a roar that could fibrillate an artificial heart.
The Rover trembled on the hard ground. Pert's head jerked around. In spite of the dark glasses she wore, Eden saw her eyes widen in alarm. They all looked back at the monster elephant as he charged the two vehicles in the grove. His show of rage had instantly upset the other elephants, who responded with fright rumbles, bellowing, and screams.
"What's happening?" Pegeen cried.
Etan said, panning his camera, "We should get out of—"
All of the elephants, led by Czarina, began to run, ears flat against their necks, trumpeting madly, raising an immense cloud of dust. The Rover shook from the impact of the stampede around it; the sun went dark. But not a single elephant made contact with them in their headlong panic.
Moments after the last elephant had cleared out, Karloff arrived. He had gone from a charge to a trot. His ears flapped and cracked like sails in a spanking wind. He loomed behind the Rover, less than three feet away but only partly visible through the dust. And passed it, heading for the combi. Trunk curled high, bellowing his outrage.
Eden could only imagine the petrified faces inside the combi; there was too much dust to see anything from twenty feet away. Pegeen whimpered in terror. Pert's walkie-talkie was on, but they heard nothing but static.
The bull elephant lowered his domed juggernaut's head and placed it against the side of the combi, as if he intended to roll it over a few times. Until he'd dislodged all of the combi's passengers like a few seeds from a gourd.
"Uh-oh, what's got him in this state?" Pert said.
Eden heard Bertie, but not over the walkie-talkie.
Karloff had lifted the
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