Echoes of a woodpecker probing for hidden treasures in a distant tree first convinced Brian to open his eyes from a deep sleep. At first he merely shifted his weight to find a more comfortable position, but the forest’s voice was a persistent presence that would not take no for an answer. The unwavering noise forced his eyes open to discover he had been amidst a thicket of bushy trees. Must be another night gone wrong with the fraternity brothers, he thought. But a prank of this level was way too elaborate…even for his brothers. In fact, shock came on instantly as he learned he wasn’t on the ground; he was suspended mid air about four feet from the earth below as a foreign stringy substance bore the weight of his body. Swaying in the melodic breeze of the forest, Brian shook his head feverishly to rid the drowsiness that clung to the underside of his eyelids.
The netting was no ordinary rope, strangely silky with yet a tacky feel to it. The dull white color of it glistened as the sun peaked through the trees. As curiosity set in, he arched his back up to get a better look. But the quirky substance mimicked Brian’s body movement and clung to all of his limbs like it had millions of tiny fingers. Harder and harder, he twisted, but tighter and tighter the net entwined him. A bad science fiction movie entered his mind, but he dismissed the thought quickly. However, the uncertainty of it convinced him of a pending need to get out of it. Slowly, he wiggled and shifted his body to a better vantage point, but the net spawned a will of its own and further constrained Brian. Hysteria festered in Brian’s stomach as it slowly crept into every last muscle, which created a heavier weight to bear with each passing movement. All attempts of escape, erratic and frantic, were met with no success. After all energy reserves had been drained, a paralysis-like state defeated his ability for any further movement. That’s when Brian realized the thing had not been put there to hold him up; it was there to hold him in. Indeed, it was a gigantic web, and its intended purpose was self evident.
Now immobilized, Brian temporarily abandoned his attempt to escape and lay calmly in the live hammock to analyze the situation. A sharp blinding light pierced the corner of his left eye and panic surfaced once again, his fears restrained by the idea of what might hear him. Once again, a ping of light grazed his eye. Overwhelming emotions seized control of him and tears trickled from his eyes, his body trembling. On the third flash, he noticed the direction it had come from and realized it was a reflection from the sun on a knife protruding from his pocket. Hope presented itself instantly as he quickly hatched a plan to cut himself free from the web. That is, until his body reminded him of its incapacity.
A twig behind him snapped and doom filled the air. The blind zone behind him filled with questions from the muffled sounds of a horrible shriek. Some living thing approached him as the horrid sounds focused into clarity, to pierce Brian’s inner ears. It slowly moved into Brian’s right visual periphery in a jerky sort of motion but stopped short of allowing Brian a full view of it.
Despair flooded Brian’s senses and jumpstarted his body which gave him back the gift of movement. He instinctually grabbed the knife and hacked at the web. Now, with his body half liberated, the creature changed its path to maintain the stealthy advantage as it continued in from exactly behind him. The sounds were only about two feet away and it became apparent that he wouldn’t have enough time to escape the rest of his web. Brian held up his knife to catch a glimpse in the reflection at the entity that would soon seal his fate, but the blade was too dirty to make out much more than a general shape. At least he could see enough to know when the creature was about to strike. With about two paces from the onslaught, Brian made one last attempt and heaved the knife over his head in the direction of the creature. The thud that followed suggested that his defensive maneuver had been successful. The air filled with violent shrieks, and then silence. The only thing left to do was wait and listen for the movement to continue. Too quickly he assumed the best after a minute of silent celebration. The sound of the creature struggling to get up once again tortured Brian.
Sensing that Brian was now completely helpless, its movement slowed with caution. Ironically, it was the most intense moment of the ordeal, but a serene calmness found its way into Brian’s soul that he had never experience before. His fear drained from his brain, through his body, and out his toes. The sun produced an amazing glow, the air tasted of nothing but freshness, the breeze once again massaged his skin, and the jungle sounds filled his ears like a finely tuned symphony orchestra. He accepted what was about to happen and he found peace with it. There was nothing left to do now but take in his last few seconds of life in peace.
Brian gazed into the beautiful blue sky as wisdom poured into him from the heavens. He almost appeared to be smiling as if all the answers of life had suddenly shown down on him. A forceful blow punctured the side of his lower back without warning. Air dispersed from his lungs as he looked down to find a steel claw protruding from the side of his torso. He tried to grasp onto it to prevent further infliction, but his strength exited along with the air in his lungs. Excruciating pain followed which left his momentary peace nothing but a memory. Pain ricocheted against every nerve ending in his body. Brian clenched his hands as he prepared to welcome the final blow.
But then a loud clash was heard, followed by a desperate cry. Brian’s monster dropped lifelessly to the ground. Two men wearing green fatigues stood in front of him with guns pointed beyond him at the thing they emptied their ammo into.
The men cautiously moved his way as they surveyed the surrounding area. One of the men walked up to him, quickly assessed the condition of his shredded body, and stuck him with a needle. “Don’t worry pal, this morphine will take the pain away.” he said.
The men started to cut the web from around him and Brian turned to finally get a good look at his assailant, but a quick rush of blood flow to his head stole his opportunity to see it clearly. After a few minutes of darkness, he woke up on a stretcher, and looked up at the rescuers that saved him. Everything was still a blur with the morphine severely dampening his ability to process any thoughts. However, he managed to look over to faintly see where the horrible incident had happened. He struggled to bring it into focus, but it seemed impossible in his current state. “I don’t know how I got here. Who are you? And what is that?”, Brian asked one of the soldiers. The man dressed in green replied, “We are United States Army just like you, soldier. That is the Viet-Cong who almost took your life.” The soldier pointed at a dead Vietnamese soldier on the ground just beyond a net that had been used to detain Brian.
Brian closed his eyes and could once again hear the peaceful sound of a woodpecker in the distance, but this time he recognized it for what it truly was - gunfire.
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