AKAME ASSASINATION (28)
There are some mysteries that are just unsolvable, some that stretch centuries into the past and some that are extremely modern. One such question might be where do souls go after they leave the human body? Or does a nineth planet really exist in our solar system? Are human beings the pinnacle of creation?
Well despite what you might think, answers haven't really been found for any of the questions above and so many more. But there was one mystery in particular the the Pokot people just didn't seem to have an answer to.
***
A COUPLE OF DAYS BEFORE GIL'S ARRIVAL
"Herdsmen disappearing and leaving their flocks in the field?" A dire situation for the Pokot people who lived on the same land as the Massai ,however, their territory was somewhat bigger.
"How is that even possible?"
As all you historians might know, whenever a problem arrives within the community all the members of that village come together and discuss it with the council of elders who were even more parplexed now than they were before the incident.
"Are you saying its an abduction?" One of the elders asked.
"My son went to take care of his father's herd, he was suppose to be back when the sun set like he always is but he hasn't returned in 5 days." A woman noted.
The land they shared with the Massai people was small and kind of cramped, as such the little land they had to graze animals had to be shared amongst multiple families. For years its been like this, and the problem with overgrazing as one might assume is that soon the grass will have no more room to grow leaving nothing but bare soil behind and that is how desertification begins.
"I would understand if some sheep were stolen or even women, but men?" An elder said, "Are we sure they just didn't run off."
"Why would they?"
"Perhaps those white folk intimidated them, or gave them a better deal."
"Impossible!" The woman screamed, "My son would never, he was engaged and would never have done such a thing."
"We don't know that for sure woman, people change. Especially when proposed with something a man cannot deny. Wealth." Another elder joined in.
The woman could not speak anymore and decided to leave the community meeting, it would seem as though they weren't really helping with anything.
The idea was tossed around that perhaps it had nothing to do with the white folk but perhaps the Massai were abducting people for their rituals.
"That would make more sense, or maybe they are trying to reduce our number slowly and one day take over the entire land."
"Those filthy mongrels, how dare they! They are lucky we even decided to let them live with us and now this is how they want to repay us?"
"We must find a way of paying them back." Another elder suggested. "Maybe we steal their cattle?"
"No that is too merciful, I suggest we take everything they own and make it ours just as they plan to."
The others nodded in agreement, it was a mighty fine idea. The Massai abducting people from Pokot land can only be dealt with by the Pokot people doing the same thing, yet why does it feel as though there is something missing from this equation?
***
PRESENT TIME, STILL ON POKOT LAND THOUGH
A nice and quiet night for herding wouldn't you agree? Was it around three in the morning? Yes, Would there be many more dangers around this time? Yes. But apparently the trade of is that you get to herd your animals without the prospect of being abducted an used in painful human experiments.
So of course men would take this option rather than opting for the alternative. As such here we are, early in the morning sitting around watching sheep chew grass as they made that 'CRUNCH!' Sound if you know what I'm talking about.
It was nice and quiet, that morning and nothing seemed like it would go wrong. The last week or so this was truly the best method of herding. It was inconspicuous, nobody woke up this early for anything and at the very least you have the crickets to keep you company.
Things have always been quiet around these parts especially as of late, 'The city people haven't come to bother us in a long while so maybe they have finally agreed to let us live as we please.'
That was pure speculation on the man's part, however, it wouldn't be the craziest assumption to make.
'After my son's disappearance we've decided to this but is it even enough? The Massai, can't we just talk with them instead of trying to instigate a war? We're all on the same side here, we all want to protect ourselves from losing our own culture.'
He gave a long sigh, 'Why can't things be simple, like nature, nature is very simple and it thrives so well…'
It was troubling for this man, he could not understand it, he could only look up at the starry night and pray that the gods would help them overcome this.
SWOOOSH!
He looked up and saw storm clouds forming, slowly of course, but they were forming even though it didn't feel as though the rainy season had come.
But more than that he sensed something dense, something he had never felt before. Perhaps it was the feeling of a bad omen or maybe the feeling of something brewing below the surface. Or maybe something more… physical than what he thought.
"Grrr!"
It was a low growl, but a growl non the less, the man jumped up equipping his machete. 'A wild dog?' They were pretty common out here. And he had heard a few howls the previous nights.
'Relax, show that you are more intimidating than it and it will run along.' The good thing about wild dogs is that they don't hunt in packs, and if push came to shove he can handle one dog. 'Prevent it from getting to the herd.'
The mixture of sheep and cattle grazed peacefully in the distance a bit far away from where the man was sitting, but from his perspective he could see all of them… he could see their shadowy figures which was enough.
The man gripped the machete with both hands and took his stance even dropping the cloth he used to protect himself from the cold. He moved his bare feet slowly, the growl came from behind a group of trees.
'Any loud sounds and I risk scaring the herd, searching for individual animals in the cover of darkness doesn't seem ideal.' He moved closer.
He head heavy breathing coming from behind the bushes fixed in between the cluster of trees. His breathing was getting heavy and his strides smaller, his body preparing itself for the worst.
With the machete he slowly parted the bushes and suddenly his heart skipped a beat. Under the moonlight it was heard to make out what the creature looked like, but what shocked the man was the fact that it had a skull head. He squinted as he looked, the creature's body was a dark shade of purple and ashy as though it had not felt the touch of water in ages.
"What are you?" His curiosity outweighed his fear and he reached out to touch the creature's skin. It was rough and hard, really hard, probably like a rock. "What… are."
GRRR!
The growl grew louder and a faint light appeared where the eyes in the skull were suppose to be. The creature looked at him and he jumped back gripping his machete tighter.
GRRR!
It growled again before the growls subsided completely, it was as though the energy the creature had just disappeared completely. The man walked back slowly to check on the creature, when he looked now all he saw was a black substance with a skull remaining. But what surprised him was that he saw something slithering away from the skull.
"Don't worry."
"!" The man turned with the machete in hand. He saw the figure of a man with something on their head.
"Oh, hold on… my pokot isn't very good." The man in white cleared his throat, "Is this better?"
"Who are you?"
The man in white walked closer, "I'm a tourist. Call me Koji."
KOJI TATSU
CONTRACTED OWNER OF THE ARTIFACT, SHIZEN!
TO BE CONTINUED!