13 - Take

"Arrrggghh. Oh my goodness!!!!"

One of the men said. They were sitting at the bank of the river Put. The seven of them. They actually had no idea how twas easy for them to had made it there. They had been chased by crazy cougars in a cave-tunnel and they had been waited for by some Manganis at exit.

While they were running through the cave-tunnel towards the exit, they had noticed that the hurling of the stones towards them ceased. They had no idea why. Then had heaved sighs of relief owning it to the fact that twas just some mere miscalculations.

But they were more than surprised to step out. They had stepped out to the clear of the day. The heat of he sun was sighing on the cheeks of the river. Nosy river was sure to remonstrate.

"Look at how clear the view is."

The leader had said to them, but even more surprises came up as they walked towards the river.

They had sat at where they were seating trying to rest for a while, then remembering the cougars they had wanted to make for the mouth of the cave to prevent them from crossing over.

But before they could even stand, few Managanis had came on them and surrounded them. They had beaten their chests heavily and shrieked.

And at that point in time when they were surrounded, the cougars began to leap outta the cave-tunnel. The leader of the Cougar didn't take the tunnel with then, it had ran through the top of the tunnel had hopped off the height.

The Manganis were the ones who did the justice for the fellows. They were more than lucky.

They had watched the Manganis rip apart the wild cats in rage. Some even broke their necks, and some bit them hard in the face.

They could say that, even the Manganis were more than ruthless than any creatures they had ever met.

They were like the missing connection between humans and animals. Like the gap or intervals. The frame of reference to be precise.

The leader of the Cougar had been left to battle with the weakest of the Manganis which in glee, held unto the Cougars legs and began to wipe him on the earth.

The Cougar wrenched in pain and rage. It snarled heavily and determinedly but there was nothing it could possibly do. Nothing at all.

And after the death of all the Cougars, two of the Manganis had taken them away to where none of the seven men knew.

And since then, they had been made to sit where they were, surrounded by frowning and unfriendly and crazy apes.

They had no idea since when they had been sitting there, probably over hours or so.

"What do you think they would do to us?"

One of the men said to the master.

The master, hitherto had been quiet. There was nothing that had moved him. He seemed to be calculating the odds and trying to figure out what he was supposed to know about the apes.

"I'm not sure. Probably treat us the way they had treated the Cougar or do to us what they had done to Hava."

Another man answered the question of the other man.

One of the Managanis walked to the man who had just given a reply to the other guy. He wielded his knuckles and knocked the fellow hard on his forehead.

"Fucker."

The guy shouted and reached his hands to touch where the pain was coming from, but the same ape restrained him and cracked his knuckles.

"Ahhhhh!!!!"

He screamed. The ape slapped him delicately and pressed his nose together. The fellow almost breathed blood out for carbon dioxide.

They all knew what that meant. None of them was expected to say a word. None at all.

The fellow that had been hit looked at the other guy he had spoken to. Nothing was done to him? Wasn't that unfair.

Before he could take his eyes off that guy, who was sitting at the end of the second row of their sitting formation, he saw one of the apes pick up the guy and dropped him heavily on the earth.

That fellow was contented but he dared not show him. Not because of his colleagues, but of the apes. He had no idea what mountain they might make of that molehill again.

They kept quiet. They were sitting in two rows. Three at the front, three at the back. Their leader was sitting independently.

They were even shocked until that moment, they had no idea how the Managanis could had discern amongst them who their leader was.

The leader of the Manganis was nowhere to be found. He had left them since their arrivals.

He had gone with two others of the Manganis who took the Cougars away.

Then at once, the leader of the men stood up and walked to the one Mangani who seemed to be overseeing the affairs of everyone there.

"Why did you stay us here? We have something better to do."

The Mangani stared back into the eyes of the fellow. His look was blank and you could easily tell that twas making fun of the master.

The ape grunted and snorted. One of the six Manganis who were there came by and picked their master up.

He turned and lashed the master on his bums with his fingers. Then walked back and dropped the master on where he was seated earlier.

One of the men chuckled but was lucky to be ignored.

He thought he was actually ignored, but at once he noticed all the six Manganis started laughing really hard and gibbering. Jumping and beating their chests. Damn! The difference between them and kids was candy.

The master of the men looked around as he tried to seat up. Behind them was a forest. By their side was the river. They were facing an endless route which probably led to somewhere they didn't know.

They heard the rustles of leaves behind them. All turned. The leader of the Manganis returned with the two assistants and a man bearing a log of wood.

"Hava!"

The master of the men said and stood up as he saw the man bearing the log.

The other men took suit, but the Manganis were already over them again.