Part 26: Nature of The Beast

Tony sipped on the water quietly. He couldn’t tell how many people were around him. He knew his core group was there but after what he did on the beach, a few extra people were around. He could hear the kind words of Bernard. Taylor and Mandy were gossiping. Kristy didn’t say anything but Tony could tell she was around cause of her unique perfume. Martin sat at their section too cause he was concerned. Tony sipped on his water one more time, allowing everybody to adjust to the story he just told. “Any idea where you where, Tony?” asked McKay.

“Stand up, turn around, head straight until you reach a dried grass clearing.” Tony pointed behind him.

“Perhaps Poteet’s body is there?” Bernard mentioned.

“Once again, his body is going to be no where!” Tony threw up his hands, “The monster ate him. I heard it plain as day.”

“But you didn’t see it,” Mandy said, “How can you be sure that thing ate him?”

Tony sighed, massaging his bandage over his right eye. “I guess I ain’t too sure right now.”

“Who gives a rat’s ass where the body is?” John said angrily, “Poteet can rot for all I care.”

“We have an obligation to find his body.” Bernard mentioned.

“Excuse me, Reverend, but haven’t you heard a word Tony said?” the archer looked at him, “Polliwog or no Polliwog, he was using Tony as human shield. A blind man! The cowardly son of a bitch got what he deserved.”

“I agree.” Marita mentioned.

“We can not become like this, “Bernard said with desperation in his voice, “If we give into what is happening, how much longer before we turn on each other?”

“I admire what you are saying, Bernard, “ Tony whispered, “But you weren’t there. I was fighting for my life. Poteet, in all essence, was trying to kill me.”

Bernard merely shook his head and walked away. He didn’t want to hear any more about this monster that no one could see. John slowly sat down. He regretted yelling at the nice man. He was, after all, simply trying to help them maintain their perspective. But the story was still all to fascinating to barely comprehend. Martin was the one puzzled the most. He gently stood up, crossed over near the fire and sat close to Tony. “Doctor, you say Poteet pushed you forward. Do you think the beast could see you?” he asked.

“Poteet wasn’t that much bigger than me.” Tony waved his hands, “If I had to take an educated guess, I would Yes, the monster should have been able to see me.”

“And yet, he walked right over you. This doesn’t make a bit of sense.”

“What are you getting at, Martin?” asked McKay.

“If this were truly an animal, then it should have attacked Tony. It doesn’t make the difference between it’s prey. But yet, it chose to kill Poteet. That denotes intelligence. The very idea that this monster is smart is kinda scary.”

“How do you know so much about animals?” asked Yolanda.

“My dad. He’s a zoo keeper.” The young man smiled.

“The Polliwog is smart,” Eddie piped in, “He was gonna spare Tony anyway.”

“Yeah, whatever, kid,” Martin brushed him off.

“Wait a second, “Tony then became interested, “Eddie, how would you know the Polliwog wouldn’t hurt me?”

“Cause you weren’t misbehaving. Mr. Poteet was a bad man. The Polliwog knew that and punished him.”

“How would you know that, Eddie?” asked Marita.

“Cause that is what my dad says. The Polliwog’s job was to punish misbehaving boys and girls. I am the only kid here. So dat means the Polliwog is going to punish the adults.”

“That has got to be the craziest thing I have ever heard.” Martin exclaimed.

“In a strange way, it makes sense.” McKay muttered.

Martin stood up and began to walk away. He was always a man of “seeing is believing” and until he saw the Polliwog itself, he was going to take it at face value. He silently muttered that he still couldn’t believe they were still calling it The Polliwog.

Most of the other survivors left for their small encampments. Tony massaged his eye one more time. Marita was growing concerned. She remembered that he said Poteet took the alcohol from him. But the fantastic story of the monster overlooked what had happened. “The Vodka?” the Latina hugged his arm.

“Gone.” Tony whispered.

“What can we do, Tony?” asked John.

“Either find more or find antibiotics. The one thing I am worried about now is this getting infected.”

“What about the salt water , doc?” McKay asked.

“No good, my friend. It would disinfect sure but it’s pure salt water. It’ll make my eye wound bleed more and faster than what it’s doing now.”

“Then you have to hold on, Tony. The rescue party will be here soon.” Yolanda mentioned.

Tony just smiled. He put up a front to agree with Yolanda. However, as the sun was slowly creeping down from the sky, the blind doctor was worried. Soon they would have been on this island for five days. That meant they were having trouble finding them. If they were having trouble finding them, then Tony would have to hold out for at least another week.

He wasn’t sure if he could.