The Reef (24 page)

He wanted to believe everything had a cure.

An ichthyocentaur followed him, trotting awkwardly down the slope and through the vegetation, to the clearing in which everyone was standing. The ichthyocentaur made a clicking noise, deep within its throat. Manolin walked over to the doctor and the creature, who was clutching a handful of dried herb.

‘He died about ten minutes ago,’ Manolin said. His voice was weak. The doctor nodded, turned to the ichthyocentaur.
We’re too late,
he signed.

Forb drew a deep breath. The ichthyocentaur inched towards the body. Jefry was standing next to it. His black eyes gave away little emotion. The creature crouched over the rumel, jutting its neck to analyse the body. Forb knew that had only seen a rumel when Jefry and Arth were introduced to the village. The ichthyocentaur prodded the wound, which had foamed considerably. Tiny flies began to crawl around the viscous substance, moving with purpose.

Forb and Manolin rejoined the body, and it seemed a relief of sorts, as the rumel was in great pain before he died. His black rumel eyes had glazed, seeming to stare at the canopy and the specks of sunlight that filtered through. The scene was strangely calm and you could hear the sea now, clear and sharp. Two more ichthyocentaurs came down the slope carrying a stretcher made from bamboo and woven leaves.

Arth’s body was loaded onto the stretcher.

Everyone made their way back to the beach. Manolin led with Jefry, his arm around the rumel. ‘I feel rather guilty,’ Forb said. ‘Why should you feel guilty, man?’ Santiago said. He felt ridiculous in his body paint. He wanted more than ever to be wearing respectful clothes again, to put all the savagery behind him. Forb said, ‘Well, if I hadn’t invited you to the hunt, none of this would’ve ever happened.’

‘Nonsense,’ Santiago said. ‘We came of our own accord.
It
was an accident, plain and simple. There were quite a few of us firing those darts, and I guess Arth was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.’

Forb reflected on the thought for a moment. ‘You don’t seem too bothered.’

‘I am, doctor, I am. I just expect some sort of danger or threat on these expeditions. I’ve not had a trip yet where someone hasn’t been injured. DeBrelt’s has lost more than a few people. There used to be more of us, but some don’t want to take the risk. That’s why I’m surprised those government agents are here. Anything could happen on a place like this.’

Forb said, ‘How are those two, anyway?’

‘Oh, I’m sure they’re fine. I’m not entirely sure what they’re up to. I know that if anything happened to them, it wouldn’t be long until the Eschan Navy is sent out here.’

Forb stopped, turning to face Santiago. ‘We can’t have that, Santiago, we can’t.’

Santiago said, ‘I know -’

‘This is paradise,’ Forb said. ‘We can’t have any navy here. They’ll come and tear up this place, destroying every plant and animal, and I simply can’t have that.’

‘Okay, okay,’ Santiago said. ‘That won’t happen.’

Forb was silent after that. When they arrived at the beach, the sun was weaker, the wind refreshing. They walked out in a line to the village, their painted bodies dirty and smeared with sweat.

Yana and Becq were swimming in the lagoon when they saw the line of men and women returning from the hunt. Yana pointed out the stretcher. She and Becq hauled themselves out of the gentle green waters, on to the beach. Yana was wearing a white bikini, Becq a black swimsuit. White sand clung to their feet as they marched up to the village and the two women halted when they saw the body.

‘Oh no,’ Yana said. ‘What. .. what happened?’

Manolin approached the girls, his arms wide. He managed to steer them back, and they looked over his arms, their eyes still red from the salt water.

Manolin said, ‘There was an accident, during the hunt.’

‘What... Is he all right? Becq asked.

Manolin looked her right in the eye, and shook his head. ‘No. He passed away. I’m sorry.’

‘Oh, no,’ Yana shouted. Then, more quietly, ‘Oh, fuck no.’

‘I’m afraid so,’ Manolin said. ‘He took a dart in the neck. We tried to help, but it was too late.’

He let go of the two women, and they didn’t move. Their bodies were stained by the paint from Manolin’s torso. They stared at the corpse that was yards away.

Manolin waited for a reaction but none came.

‘He’s with Arrahd now,’ Manolin said. He didn’t know whether saying something like that would have any effect, particularly because they were people of science, not spirituality, but it felt right. When it came down to it, Manolin thought, to the stresses of life, science went out the window. People clung to their basest beliefs, no matter how rational a person was. It made everything easier. Or perhaps, science went only so far to explain things. What it couldn’t yet explain, people dismissed as spiritual. But he was more open to suggestion than that.

‘What happened, Manolin,’ Yana asked. ‘I mean, what
actually
happened?’

Manolin glanced back to watch the body being carried towards the village, the line of natives that followed. Santiago, Forb and Jefry were walking with them. ‘He was struck in the neck by one of the darts that was meant for a hog. The darts are deadly. Somehow he got in the way.’

‘Who fired the dart?’ Becq said.

‘I don’t know. There were a lot of us firing. It could’ve been any one of us, I suppose.’

‘So, one of you killed him?’ Yana said.

‘I haven’t looked at it like that,’ he said. ‘It’s an accident. Nothing more. I think it would be helpful if we didn’t look at things in that way.’

The three of them walked towards the village. The two women picked up their clothes. The sun had dried their bodies. He watched Yana, focussing on her skin, which had browned since they had left the shore. Becq was a little too slender for his own liking, not that he’d even consider doing anything with her. He looked at the two of them, side by side. They were so different from each other. Yana had curves, her hair had grown long. The sun had made her look younger. Becq seemed to burn in the sun. Her face was red from the wind and heat. He thought her nose was a little too wide for her to be pretty. Yana had a more pointed nose. Sure she was older, but he found her much more attractive than Becq. Aware of what exactly he was thinking, he shook his head. It seemed as though he wanted to be distracted by the day’s events.

As the women got dressed, Manolin caught sight of a group of villagers that were strolling from the forest. They carried hogs on spears that were placed on the shoulders of two individuals per animal. He counted five hogs in total. They were large animals, their weight tilting them upside down on the spears so that their stocky legs pointed to the sky. Blood had congealed in streaks across their bodies, the wounds from the darts had turned black like a tumour.

He felt a little guilty as, in his mind, he compared the hogs to Arth-he couldn’t help it. They’d both shared the same fate, yet he looked at these animals with barely any emotion at all. The hunt was part of an island cycle, a natural cycle, of which death was an essential feature. That was no way to think about a friend though. He watched the group pass, then he and the women followed.

They approached the others that were gathered around Arth’s body. The silence may have come from respect, or sheer shock at the fact that someone, a foreigner, a visitor had died. The natives seemed peaceful and comfortable with the corpse. Jefry was crying, crouched next to the body. Yana walked up to him. For the first time in as long as he could remember, she put her arm around her husband. She crouched down next to him, and he turned into her and nestled on her neck. His black tail lay still. Yana looked up at Manolin, who then regarded the sea.

He sighed, strolled thoughtfully over to the lower shore, near the ebbing tide, where the water was clearest. From where he was stood you could see the shadow of the reef, the waves that were being broken upon it, some way in the distance. At this hour you had to squint to protect your eyes from the sun. From there, the reef was a darkness on the surface of the water, as if a ship had sunk. He could tell it was there, longed to be able to sit on one of the tiny coral islands, where only one or two species of seaweed existed, lying in the sun.

Suddenly, he couldn’t be sure if he heard a song.

It was like the previous night. He could hear it, but quieter. A shiver descended his spine. The sand was bright. He felt isolated. No sooner had he heard it then it had gone and all he could hear was the sound of the waves.

To one side, an ichthyocentaur was standing ten yards away, also staring out to sea. It was the one from the forest that came with Forb. Manolin coughed, held his hands up ready to sign the greeting he had learned the day before. The ichthyocentaur didn’t move. The sand was so bright behind the creature that it appeared at first in silhouette.

It was just staring towards the reef.

Forb joined Manolin and placed his hand on his shoulder. Manolin shuddered as he was brought out of a trance.

‘Weird at first, aren’t they?’ Forb said.

Manolin said, ‘They’ll seem weird for a long time yet.’

‘Amazing place, isn’t it.’

‘I have to say I’ve never seen anywhere quite like this. I can’t believe how clear the waters are, especially down by the lagoon. And

I’ve never seen so much life as in that lagoon.’ ‘Yes,’ Forb said. ‘It’s quite something. You know, your huts form little artificial reefs?’

‘Really? I hadn’t looked too close at them. I expect if I were a creature I’d set up camp there. Nutrient run-off from the land. Stability and protection from the sea by that bank of sand. I’d be one happy fish in there.’

Forb laughed. ‘I’m glad someone like you is here. I suppose we could’ve had anyone come, but it’s good to know you
understand
the place. Sure, that Santiago chap is bright, but you’ve really got a
feel
for things here.’

Manolin said, ‘Oh, there’s still a lot for me to learn.’ ‘Exactly. It’s always that way. So then. What do you think will happen now?’

‘Not sure,’ Manolin said. ‘It’s up to Santiago really, but I can’t see him wanting to leave without surveying the island and finding out what was killing those chaps.’ He indicated the ichthyocentaur.

Forb nodded.

Manolin said, ‘I really don’t think we’ll be going anywhere for a while.’ ‘Good.’ ‘Don’t know what we’re going to do about Arth’s body though.’ ‘No, tough one,’ Forb said, rubbing his chin. He ran his hand over his bald head, as was his habit. ‘You know, we can perform some sort of funeral if you’d like.’

‘It’ll have to be talked over with the others,’ Manolin said. ‘I think it’s going to be a bit of a shock for a while. We’ve been here, what, only a couple of days and one of our team has died. Not in a pretty way either.’

Forb said, ‘No, it wasn’t nice. As long as I’ve been here, no one has died in the hunt. I’m surprised no one has blamed me for it yet.’ ‘Oh it’s no one’s fault. It’s just a shock that someone’s died, and so early, too.’

‘We’re used to death here,’ Forb said. ‘We’ve lost so many ichthyocentaurs now. I guess that’s why none of the villagers seem all that bothered by another body. I guess they’re only curious as they’ve never seen a rumel.’

‘No,I guess they haven’t. I guess they’re just as interested in us as we are in them.’

Forb said, ‘I doubt it.’

‘Really?’ Manolin said.

‘I had the same problem of you,’ Forb said. ‘I called it “newcomer ego”. They’re not all that bothered about you. Sure, they wonder what you’re doing here, and yes the rumel are interesting to them, but they get on with life in a different way. They’ll welcome you, but don’t think that they have a boring existence without you.’ Forb spoke in a gentle, kind manner.

‘I know,’ Manolin said. ‘I guess we’re curious in them and this island because life on the mainland isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. We’ve been waiting a long time for something like this to come up. A real chance to explore the world. And within two days someone dies.’

Forb nodded.

Manolin turned with the doctor to face the village. He could see the dark forest, the palms being aired by the easterly breeze. They began to walk back.

‘Tell me, how much do you know about the ichthyocentaur deaths?’ Manolin asked.

‘Not a great amount, I’m afraid. I usually find them first thing in the morning, at some stretch of the beach. Mostly on the other side of the island, when I’m out for my morning surf. Like I said to Santiago, their innards are removed. Sometimes you get just stab wounds.’

Manolin said, ‘Ever seen one of them get killed?’ ‘No. No, the island isn’t huge, but there’s still a lot of beach to keep an eye on.’ ‘Hmm. I don’t suppose, and I know this sounds stupid, but I don’t suppose you
hear
anything when they’re being killed?’

‘How do you mean?’

Manolin said, ‘Like a melody? I know that sounds ridiculous.’

‘You’ve heard that too, then?’ Forb said.

‘I was hoping it was my imagination.’

‘No, I’ve heard something. A slight sound. It’s the only common link, since you mention it. I don’t always hear it though. Often, it’s out of my hearing.’