It happened so fast

About the author and series.

This book is part of a series, written by IP Spall, consisting of 22 short stories in total. To find out more about this book series or any of IP Spall’s other publications, head to https://linktr.ee/ipspallbooks

Many of these short stories are free, and if you enjoy reading this book, you can even buy a total collection of all the short stories for a low price! Follow the link above to find out more.

This story can be found on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/2XT9NxB

An uncomfortable foreword

It has been said that a series of short stories must emanate unexpectedness and a sense of chilling surprise. Such a collection of stories would require a character framework that is present throughout the whole book; from tale to tale, offering the reader a chance to relate to the individual characters — their pain, their horror, their paranoia. Such a collation would also contain an underlying subplot, so all of the stories connect and relate to one another, in a weblike manner, allowing each entry to follow on from the last with some continuity, while still retaining individuality.

I gave this some thought and decided to do the complete opposite. For me, each story should be read as an individual tale of terror, and certainly not as a collective.

Each of my short stories should evoke thought, emotion, and hopefully, leaves the reader wondering what the hell happens next. Let’s face it; not everyone looks for a happy ending in the stories they read. With this in mind, let your imaginations run wild, and enjoy the unpredictability; often an uncomfortable ride.

It happened so fast

Frank and Steve had a thriving little safari business, deep in the wilds of South Africa. They had built it up together, slowly growing with success, over the last eight years. They both loved their jobs and felt that every day was a pleasure, as they were fortunate enough to look forward to work each day. Every day was different, living as natural life as possible, integrating themselves and their families into the culture and lifestyle off the beaten track. They knew that they were fortunate, but took pride in securing a future for themselves and their families, both building new and exotic homes, right in the heart of the beautiful open African plains. The company had grown significantly in the past couple of years, to the point that they had made a huge investment, building their eco-village, in the prime African bush. It not only encouraged sustainable tourism, but it allowed the tourist to literally live amongst the animals, allowing them to experience the African Bush first-hand. The village had was commissioned last year, so structurally; it had only just been completed. The initial interest had been incredible, far more than they had predicted, so at this moment in time, the future looked very confident.

With new growth and success within the tourist market, Frank and Steve decided that they needed to expand their tours, delving deeper into the heart of Mother Africa. With both of their families now living on-site, their overheads had lowered significantly. The men still had a large business loan to pay off, especially now the village had been completed. So it was time to sit down and plan for the future; they needed a lot more routes, find new places to see and different attractions for visitors to visit; generally scaling the business up. The expansion plans included the employment of another two guides in the coming months if their success continued.

In the latter half of April, just as they were heading towards the summer months, business usually dried up a little, they decided to sit down and start planning. The holiday village was located out in the African bush; their new routes would take them deeper into the plains, off towards the mountains. They were hoping to find something new, something that would help entice more business throughout the whole year.

They set a date when they had no visitors booked in, which was a rare occurrence, to sit down, get the maps out, and discuss their new ideas. They spent hours mapping new routes out, bouncing ideas off each other, and even bringing a couple of tribal elders, who happened to be close friends, into the hut to discuss new options. The day had been a success, and they were both pleased with their progress, but the real achievement would be when they go out and drive the new routes, to see how well they faired, the actual costings of diesel and the time each route took. Trialling the new routes had been planned out for the following day.

With additional diesel containers strapped to the roofs of the Land Rovers, as well as plenty of freshwater containers, the men readied themselves for the long journeys, planning to convene later in the day, up at the Lion’s Mouth, a well-known small area of land about twenty miles away, located near to one of their most popular routes. The new routes started off to the East, so to begin with, they followed each over until the tracks split up, about twelve miles outs. The new routes took them in a new general direction, somewhere they’d never really touched on before, as most of their existing trails all seemed to go in a more westerly direction. Within huge trails of dust, the two off-road vehicles then converged, finally arriving at the place where they were to separate.

Once arrived at the meeting point, Frank went over to Steve’s car, to find him standing out front with a large map out on the hood, looking specifically at the area of land that they were to prospect.

“Do you wanna go up this track and check out what’s over by the river”? Frank said,

“I’ll go this way and see what’s around the base of the mountains, just here,” he added, pointing to a darkened area on the map.

“Yeah ok, we should meet up at say what… 2.30, roundabout right here” Steve added, pointing to a specific area on the map.

“Yeap sounds like a plan.” Steve grabbed the map, quickly folding it up, shoving it under his arm.

“See you later mate, let know how you get on, eh,” Frank said, as he got back into his Jeep.

“Yeah, will do,” Steve, said, shouting it above the revving of the engines. Steve’s front wheels then spun through the sand with force, as both men then raced off at speed in opposing directions. From a distance, vast trails of dust splintered out across the plains, slowly settling with time and distance. On the way, Frank slowed down a few times, only to watch the wildlife cross the track. Otherwise, he kept his foot on the floor. The new route produced nothing new, but he continued on regardless.

Steve, on the other hand, came to a place where the scenery did change, as the arid desert landscape, turned into a green plateau, that had a large river bed running through it, full of large rocks and boulder and plenty of small pools, connected by streams. In the middle of the day, when the sun was high, the temperature was scorching, as Steve grabbed a bottle of water. The track took a sharp turn, as it meandered around the river. For whatever reason, it seemed like the right place to stop. He slammed the brakes on and stayed in the middle of the track, which was only a few metres away from the river.

He got out and walked down to the river, noticing that the water looked unusually clear, and on the river bend, the streams of water slithered through the rocks at some speed. Steve couldn’t resist the call, and as he walked, grabbed his canteen, heading down to the bank. He gave a quick look around for Croc’s and Hippos, but there weren’t any signs of them, he continued. As he arrived, he took a minute to purveyed the fantastic landscape. It was stunning; the river just seemed to complete the view. It was an area of natural beauty; Steve felt privileged to be there. It was a prime location for one of the new tours, he thought, thinking that he should take a few photos before he went back to meet Frank.

After Steve stood there appreciating the beautiful landscape, he then looked down to the river. There wasn’t a massive amount of water, but the stream was just about big enough to fill his flask.

He leant down cupping his hands, bringing a handful of water up to his mouth, this followed by another handful which went over his head; he then squatted down and lent forward, allowing the water to flow freely into the bottle. From out of nowhere, a large, three meters long Mamba snake appeared just to the right of his leg, just as Steve was screwing the lid back onto the water bottle. Without initially realising, his hand went within only inches of the creature, before his brain acknowledged it. He instinctively yanked it back at speed, but it was too late. At almost twice as fast as he was, the snake lashed out and clamped its jaws around the centre of his forearm; it hit a perfect shot, sinking both fangs deep into his muscle. Steve’s natural reaction was to pull his arm away, but that just brought the whole length of the snake nearer to him. He fell backwards, pushing himself away. Placing his other hand on the ground, the snake broke free and re-envenomed him, lashing out to bite him again on the arm, this time lower down by his wrist. He cried out and panicked pushing himself backwards, away from the beast, pushing frantically with his legs, digging his heels deep into the sandy soil. The snake stopped; raised itself up and just watched. It didn’t strike again. Instead, it just hissed and swayed back and forth.

In the few precious seconds that followed, he fell backwards, sitting on the ground. The snake turned and vanished back into the undergrowth. Steve had taken a deadly amount of toxic poison, and he knew that he was in real trouble.

He looked down at his arm, seeing the two devastating puncture wounds; a cold fear-ridden wave of terror sent a bolt of panic down his spine. In turn, slowly each of the holes gradually squeezed out a single drop of blood. For a moment, he thought that the wounds looked quite small and not too bad, but that was before he had the realisation that he had just been attacked and bitten by the world’s deadliest snake. In the seconds that followed, time shuddered and slowed. He drew his head back to look around; he looked at the Land Rover, and then looked around, hoping to see someone that could help. Then he felt the first inkling’s of something happening inside his body. His arm, just above the first bite, suddenly felt heavy, pulsating along with the same beat as his heart. Then a sudden, sharp and quite frankly disgusting strange metallic copper type taste filled his mouth; it was so strong, that he knew it would make him vomit if it continued to intensify. His saliva levels then increase dramatically, as his mouth filled up with a frothy sort of liquid; he suddenly felt the urge to spit, chucking out quite a sizeable mouthful of saliva onto the ground next to him. Panic set in, as he knew he had to get help and get it fast; he knew that the only thing that could help him now, was to get the satellite phone from the car. So regardless of the strange reaction in his mouth, he tried to get himself up and onto his feet, as quickly as he could muster. As he pushed himself up with his unaffected hand, he then felt a strange numbness rise up and along with his arm, heading right towards his body. His eyes started to water, as his eyes welled up. He wanted to cry, but Steve felt like he needed to keep calm, even though it was an impossibility.

A He had to get back to the vehicle, so he placed his hand over the bite, holding it firmly as he quickly turned back towards the car, moving as soon as he could, given the circumstances. With every step he then took, something seemed to happen. His legs grew increasingly heavy, as the strange numbness and tingling began to materialise in his feet as well now, followed by the realisation that his heart was beating unnaturally harder and faster, hurting the centre of his chest. His mouth poured out saliva in a relentless stream of thick gooey liquid, as the usual procedure of movement began to be laboured and awkward. His breathing becomes difficult, spluttering and rasping, as he tried to move. He stopped; taken only a few steps, he needed to rest, as his body fought against him. The hair on the back of his neck stood up, as shivers of fear rippled right down his spine. The anguish of panic was now beginning to kick in, and although his car was only a few metres away, it seemed an almost impossible and daunting task for him.

Within only two steps taken, he felt the bite areas puff up, so fast that he could watch them grow. Threads of pain then shot out in all directions, causing a mass of red lines to join it. His veins bubbled and popped in his arm, as the wounds now started to leak a foul smelly cream liquid, consuming his whole lower arm with pain.

The pain was so great that Steve couldn’t help but openly weep, let alone cry out for some help. He looked down in horror; the wound had grown significantly angrier and sore, swollen and oozing. It was at that point that he noticed the double-vision. He moved his arm, and his sight went fuzzy; he could hardly see anything. He looked up and saw a giant grey blob, in the haze of the bright sun.

Steve stumbled forward, desperately trying to get nearer to the vehicle. A few more steps and again everything intensified, both arms and legs felt exceptionally painful, weirdly numb, and heavy as hell. The poison ravished his body; everything hurt, he felt squirming under his skin; wiggling around, eating him from the inside. He took another step and then fell to his knees. He had to keep going; he had no choice.

Sweating profusely, it ran down his face just making matters worse. The feeling of sick rose up and mingled with the ever-present metallic taste, which was now so strong, it forced him to vomit. He fell forward, trying to land on his hands, but his right arm was in so much pain, that he fell onto his side, splurting and spluttering. He raised his hand and tried to wipe his brow, but he was now so dizzy, he found it hard to find his head. Everything was building up, the chaos and destruction ate away at him, as he spiralled into hell. He couldn’t move; his arms and legs twitched, as he felt his body start to twitch and shake. Foamed sprayed everywhere, and he couldn’t see anything now, as a line of blood now leaked from the corner of his right eye. His tongue swelled to a ridiculous size, blocking his mouth, causing the saliva to squirt out. Steve screamed. His body was now swollen, full of pain, shaking uncontrollably.

He could no longer breathe through his nose, which was getting harder and harder by the second.

After a few more steps, he was now much closer to the car as another wave of poison seemed to condemn him yet further; within the last few steps, he felt an incredible urge to stop and lie down, feeling drowsy, excessively tired and lethargic. His eyes, which were also watering like mad, felt like they needed to shut down, as every single movement began to feel excessively heavy and tiresome. The car was just there right in front of him, only two more steps, but as every micro-second slowly passed by, it just made everything much worse. As he neared the Jeep, he reached out his arm for the door handle, when his vision started to go all weird, in the haze of water and drowsiness, the sight in both of his eyes then veered to left before it then drastically moved without any warning to his right, as he seemed to lose control of them. He quickly put his left hand to his eyes, before he realised that his vision was rapidly diminishing fast, as his arm frantically waved around in front of him, searching the grey blur that was the door to his jeep and the door handle he so desperately wanted to find. As his fingertips flapped back and forth of the metal door, he eventually found the handle as he fell to his knees; he felt the merely massive weight of his body push him to the ground, forcing him down onto his knees, crumpling up against the vehicle. The effects of a Mamba bite, or rather the neurotoxic venom, which now attacked the central nervous system, now had complete control over his motorised coordination, including his speech. He knew that unconsciousness was about to happen any second, as a strange, unsettling ripple of pain terrorised his whole body. The power to use his limbs was removed merely, as every movement became difficult and immensely painful. He fell forward, delusional, not knowing where he was, or what the hell was happening to him, and a long thick line of saliva slowly descended from the centre of his lower lip, shortly followed by his head falling forward, hitting the side door of the car. Within the following moments, his body violently jerked a few times, and a quiet and subtle scream seemed to seep out of the corners of his mouth, as his body then slumped to the floor. As he laid there, heavy and difficult breaths that rang out, in a desperate bid to escape his body; with each gulp of air, an unsettling, crackling noise followed as he was now merely struggled to survive. His jeans then darkened as he lost control of bodily functions, as the area below his waistline became wet and foul-smelling. The water in his eyes had reached such an extent that he could no longer see anything or define shapes or colours, nor could he hear anything except his internal organs fighting and screaming inside his body. His body mass was now only too dense to move, as the darkness slowly gathered pace, soon enveloping him in a thick black shroud of pain. A slight glimmer of a smile then passed his lips almost as a closing thought, as he envisioned his family, his wife and kids before it slowly slipped away into the darkness. An isolated breath then burst out, with his ribs momentarily extending themselves out for one last breath, but that was wishful thinking, as he slumped back down into a motionless lump, with each of his internal organs finally giving up on him. The searing, burning pain that now flooded his body, gradually started to fade. His breaths shallowed, his body went limp, and darkness consumed him. He lay there dead, next to the door of his Jeep, riddled with venom that corroded and destroyed his body; the necrosis had spread all along his forearm, which had started to dissolve his organs, effectively eating him alive, from the inside of his body. He was now beyond help, falling victim to the pain.

About the author and series.

This book is part of a series, written by IP Spall, consisting of 22 short stories in total. To find out more about this book series or any of IP Spall’s other publications, head to https://linktr.ee/ipspallbooks

Many of these short stories are free, and if you enjoy reading this book, you can even buy a total collection of all the short stories for a low price! Follow the link above to find out more.

This story can be found on Amazon at: https://amzn.to/2XT9NxB