Andrew's mouth opened in a mute scream and his legs seized up in shock, sending him crashing to his knees. Two inches from his face a pair of eyes shone out from the steamy darkness, the irises such a deep shade of brown that the eyes appeared to be merely large black pupils fringed by a tangle of thick, dark lashes. The thing stopped grasping Andrew's hand and moved towards his chest, grabbing a fistful of his filthy shirtfront.
Frozen with fear, Andrew couldn't move, couldn't yell out to the men walking just feet in front of him. The creature extended its other hand ever so slowly towards Andrew's face, its black eyes still fixed keenly on his own. Then, right under his nose and so close to his face that he could feel the heat from thing's hand on his lips, the creature uncurled its fist. In the middle of its palm, crushed and almost transparent with sweat, lay a tiny flower.
"Well, what have we here?" drawled a soft voice from somewhere over Andrew's head.
The paralytic spell of terror finally lifted from Andrew's body and he scrambled upright, clutching the jacket of the questioner to steady himself. He looked up and saw Clancy's face, grim and unsmiling, staring down at the patch of earth where Andrew had been frozen a moment before. Still clutching at his friend, Andrew tremulously followed Clancy's gaze and, his panic abating, got his first clear look at the thing that had attacked him.
The wide dark eyes that had so petrified him had not wavered, and still stared at Andrew with a bright intensity. However, they were not, as Andrew had expected, rolling ferociously in the eye sockets of some violent beast intent on ripping his throat out. Instead, Andrew was surprised to find these eyes twinkling out at him from above the tiny nose and rosebud mouth of a child's face. Any embarrassment that Andrew might have felt at being frightened by a child was overshadowed by his astonishment.
The child was very young, not much older than a baby really. The child was naked, and Andrew saw that it was a girl. He was surprised at how much she looked like what he thought of as a 'normal baby'. The swell of her pudgy tummy, her miniscule fingers and toes, the lips parted in a dopey, toothless grin, all looked exactly like those of toddlers he had seen back home; only rather than being varying shades of rosy pink, they were instead covered with skin the soft brown shade of cocoa.
"Maxwell, we got something back here! Andrew's found one!" Clancy shouted, and though he had made his normally gentle voice strident in order to cut through the cacophony of the surrounding jungle, Andrew heard a hint of what seemed like apprehension in his voice.
Thunderous crashing sounds and muttered swear words drifted towards Andrew's ears as Uncle Maxwell and the rest of the hunting party doubled back and fought against flora and fauna to reach them. Reynolds was the first to arrive, wielding his knife and clearly readying himself to battle a fierce African wildman. Laying eyes on his combatant, Reynolds stopped, his knife suspended in midair and face flying open in a comical expression of surprise.
"Ah, just a cub then, eh? Might've said, Clancy!" grumbled Reynolds, red faced and lowering his blade. The baby continued to smile up at Andrew, tiny white teeth poking out of her pink gums and a big bubble of drool growing in one corner of the grin. Andrew found it hard not to smile back.
Frozen with fear, Andrew couldn't move, couldn't yell out to the men walking just feet in front of him. The creature extended its other hand ever so slowly towards Andrew's face, its black eyes still fixed keenly on his own. Then, right under his nose and so close to his face that he could feel the heat from thing's hand on his lips, the creature uncurled its fist. In the middle of its palm, crushed and almost transparent with sweat, lay a tiny flower.
"Well, what have we here?" drawled a soft voice from somewhere over Andrew's head.
The paralytic spell of terror finally lifted from Andrew's body and he scrambled upright, clutching the jacket of the questioner to steady himself. He looked up and saw Clancy's face, grim and unsmiling, staring down at the patch of earth where Andrew had been frozen a moment before. Still clutching at his friend, Andrew tremulously followed Clancy's gaze and, his panic abating, got his first clear look at the thing that had attacked him.
The wide dark eyes that had so petrified him had not wavered, and still stared at Andrew with a bright intensity. However, they were not, as Andrew had expected, rolling ferociously in the eye sockets of some violent beast intent on ripping his throat out. Instead, Andrew was surprised to find these eyes twinkling out at him from above the tiny nose and rosebud mouth of a child's face. Any embarrassment that Andrew might have felt at being frightened by a child was overshadowed by his astonishment.
The child was very young, not much older than a baby really. The child was naked, and Andrew saw that it was a girl. He was surprised at how much she looked like what he thought of as a 'normal baby'. The swell of her pudgy tummy, her miniscule fingers and toes, the lips parted in a dopey, toothless grin, all looked exactly like those of toddlers he had seen back home; only rather than being varying shades of rosy pink, they were instead covered with skin the soft brown shade of cocoa.
"Maxwell, we got something back here! Andrew's found one!" Clancy shouted, and though he had made his normally gentle voice strident in order to cut through the cacophony of the surrounding jungle, Andrew heard a hint of what seemed like apprehension in his voice.
Thunderous crashing sounds and muttered swear words drifted towards Andrew's ears as Uncle Maxwell and the rest of the hunting party doubled back and fought against flora and fauna to reach them. Reynolds was the first to arrive, wielding his knife and clearly readying himself to battle a fierce African wildman. Laying eyes on his combatant, Reynolds stopped, his knife suspended in midair and face flying open in a comical expression of surprise.
"Ah, just a cub then, eh? Might've said, Clancy!" grumbled Reynolds, red faced and lowering his blade. The baby continued to smile up at Andrew, tiny white teeth poking out of her pink gums and a big bubble of drool growing in one corner of the grin. Andrew found it hard not to smile back.