Page 60 of The Voice of Wild Places
The four men quickly put together a camp, stringing hammocks between some outlying trees close to the woodline.There was a small and steady stream nearby, so Severino built a small fire and Cornelius boiled water over it in order to fill their canteens later.Watt walked with Maggie and Antônio in hopes of scaring something out of the low vegetation near the stream.They had plenty of food from the Post, but it would be several weeks before they reached the dig site.Best to live off the land best they could, and supplement only when they needed to.
A few feet ahead of him and Antônio, Maggie made a noise low in her throat, body stiffening.Watt followed her gaze into an area overrun with ferns.Could be anything under there.A snake, an armadillo or tapir, or—
A pack of peccary burst out from the bush, charging at Maggie with canines gnashing and wiry black fur raised high on their backs.Their white faces were streaked with mud, as was the rest of their bodies.Maggie growled, body coiling in preparation to lunge.Watt shouted and fired a shot, taking the wild animal down before it could thrash her.It went down with a great squeal, but Watt hadn’t the time to make sure it was dead as another one charged at Antônio.
Antônio had his own gun at the ready, and he shot the animal square between the eyes.It screamed even louder than the first, and the rest of the pack scattered in fear.For a second or two they simply stood there, chests heaving.Finally, Antônio said, “Leave it to the gringo to be scared by a pack of queixada.”
Watt laughed, although there wasn’t quite enough air in his lungs to do so.“You were too.”
“You scared me!”Antônio snapped, but he was grinning.
Guided by Antônio as he worked his own kill, Watt made quick work of butchering the animal.There was a scent gland on the peccary that Antônio insisted they remove before anything else.Situated on the hindquarters, it was hard to miss the area of skin that was not unlike a human breast and generally used to mark trees.Using a wide berth and many reminders from Antônio not to puncture the gland, he cut a large circle through the tough hide and removed it.
Antônio uncapped his canteen of water, instructing Watt to rinse his hands before he did the same.The smell was God awful, and soap would’ve been greatly appreciated, but after rinsing most of the smell came off their hands.Watt didn’t want to know what it would’ve been like if they had punctured the gland itself.They found a suitable tree to hang their peccary from, using rope secured around the hind legs.Each weighed likely no more than forty pounds, but it was dead weight and Watt was tired.Once they were hung, it was business as usual.While the anatomy was slightly different, gutting an animal was more or less the same.Out with the entrails and anything else that could spoil the meat.He made several incisions around the legs and belly in order to cape the animal.He pulled downwards on the hide until reaching the base of the neck, leaving the flesh beneath exposed.He removed the hide in a single, satisfying piece.
“You are a hunter?”Antônio asked, watching him curiously.His English was intentional and heavily accented.He was a quick study, and had learned enough to ask questions, which he did often.He’d removed the hide from his own animal at this point, and his arms were just as bloody as Watt’s, up to the elbows.
Watt stilled, allowing the first thought that came to mind to pass.He said, “When I was small, with my father.Ahh,pai.It is not the same.”
“How?”
“It is…” Watt searched for the word staged in Portuguese, but he couldn’t find it.“Falso.If you don't shoot anything, it is okay.Here, now, it is important.”
“Hmm.”Antônio returned, frowning.They went back to work, and all the while, Watt did his best not to think of the thing he’d hunted most in his life.
Other humans.
On the one hand, Cornelius was incredibly grateful for the tender white meat roasting over the fire.And on the other hand, well.He wanted nothing more than to swat Watt Johnson over the back of the head.
“You’re absolutely covered,” Cornelius fumed.He gestured to Antônio.“Look at him.He’s got barely a spot on him.”
Antônio grinned.He'd changed into clean clothes shortly after turning over the peccary to Cornelius and Severino to prepare.Meanwhile, Watt had sat nearby and helped them in his own way, which was mostly just a lot of sitting and staring.His eyes were glassy, and his skin pale.Maggie had hardly left her post, laying at his feet with her head on his boot.They were covered in mud and probably blood, but she didn't care.
Watt sighed.“It’s just blood, it’ll dry."
Cornelius’ eye twitched.He said, “You’re not sleeping in bloody clothes.Get changed, now.”
Severino covered his mouth with a hand, stifling laughter.Muffled, he said, “He has spoken, and so it will be done.”
Watt’s cheeks flushed red, and Cornelius almost felt bad.Almost.
“Fine,” Watt muttered, then stalked off to his hammock and pack with Maggie right behind him.None of the men had serious qualms about modesty, but none of them ever went fully nude in the presence of another either.Cornelius was the exception, as he always dressed and bathed in private.There'd been a few times after river crossings that had been close calls, but Cornelius was quicker than most when changing.Nearly as fast as Watt, who Cornelius guessed felt insecure about his scars.
Cornelius watched the fire, glancing at Watt every now and then as he stripped down to his boxer shorts.His boxers weren’t much different than Cornelius’ own, colorful pinstripes and everything.But Watt filled them out much better than Cornelius did, and the sight of Watt tugging on pants and hopping into them a little had Cornelius instantly regretting his earlier demands.Dear Lord.He’d started to pull his gaze back to the fire when Watt stretched his arms overhead to tug on a shirt, revealing an angry swollen area in his armpit.Cornelius stood and made it all the way over to Watt before a single thought could occur.
Watt raised a brow at his unsteady approach, but didn't stop tucking his loose shirt into his trousers.Cornelius’ fingers skated beneath the fabric, tugging the shirt upwards a fluid motion.Watt's eyes went wide and he inhaled sharply, which resulted in a low whine from Maggie.He started to pull away, but stopped when Cornelius said, “You’re hurt.”
“It’s just a bite,” Watt said, indignant.He half-heartedly tried to pull away again, but Cornelius lost his footing and pain lanced up his leg.He shot Watt a withering look.Abashed, he said, “I'm sorry, but I can take care of myself, you know.”
Perhaps it had been a bite at one point, but now it was a festering wound.Circular and smaller than the palm of his hand, but hard and highly inflamed.“Clearly not.It’s infected, Watt.How long has it been like this?"Cornelius hissed, inspecting the surrounding area.
“D’know,” Watt said defensively.“A few days?”
“Watt,”Cornelius glared at him.“Doesn't it hurt?”
“It’s a bug bite, Cornelius.It's infected.I've been keeping it clean, that's all that can be done for it.It's nothing compared to …” Watt trailed off, and his cheeks flushed.He swallowed, looking away from Cornelius.“It's fine.”
Cornelius sighed.According to more than half the stories about the Fawcett group, that’s all it took to kill Raleigh, a bug bite gone wrong.True or not, it wouldn’t happen to Watt, not on his watch.“Come on over by the fire so I can get a better look at you.”
