Under the Canopy Read Free Page B

together, digging it from the soil. From time to time they would chatter about their problems and then return to work.
    I took a bag of snacks out and opened it. It was corn flakes with some faint flavor between bacon and peanut. I broke off a piece and threw it to the group. They didn't notice it and kept to their business. I didn't feel cross at them and munched the snacks myself.
    Suddenly I heard scraping, and a beltysh landed in front of me. It must have jumped from the nearby tree. The animal's entrance startled me, but I tried not to show it. I remembered that they weren't carnivorous or aggressive. So I took some more snacks and threw it on the rock before the visiting beltysh.
    The animal cautiously looked at me and then at the food. Its nose twitched, obviously interested, but it didn't approach. I remembered a trick I had seen on TV.
    I covered one eye with my palm. For animals, two closely set eyes mean a predator. Seeing a one-eyed creature before it, the beltysh mustered courage to approach and took the food. The animal ate it with crunching and looked at me asking for more. I chuckled and gave the treat. There was no harm in getting friendly with my charges.
    Shouts of fear ruined the idyllic scene. I swung to the side and watched the animals scattering to the trees. The reason for that could be clearly seen on the ground: Tikili , a wolfish animal with antenna protruding from its nose, was mauling one beltysh. Yellow blood gushed into the air and froze in beads on the predator's brown coat.
    Watching the scene of the massacre, I felt indignant. Such villainy made bile rise in my stomach and I felt sick. The dead beltysh looked so miserable and defenseless, like a child. I looked at the agitated beltysh near me, at the tikili on the ground and grabbed my rifle.
    A shot rang out in the woods, echoing off the trunks. A piece of soil near the tikili exploded into the air. The animal jumped, dropping its prey and fled the scene. The beltysh near me screamed at the sound of the report and jumped off the rock.
    In a matter of minutes I was left alone. I sighed and lowered the rifle. I knew that I shouldn't have intervened, but I just couldn't sit there, apathetic to the misery of the small peaceful animals. What was worse — they couldn't possibly comprehend that I was on their side. For all they knew, I was just another predator, the one with a booming voice. I remembered Edlon's words about the thundergods and smiled mirthlessly.
    I tucked the rifle into the tent and started preparing to sleep. The sun was going down, and I wanted to get this stuff done while it was still bright.
    When I was finished, I lay on the bag and read an ebook from the wrist communicator by projecting it on the wall of the tent. So the night came down.
    The forest darkened and became even more silent. The animals had hidden away, and the night birds took their place, preparing for the hunt.
    I wished them all good night and zipped up the tent.
     
    Sleep came quickly, but my dreams were weird as shit.
    I was sitting in the barracks with Ned. He'd started in again about his house. I sneezed, and he took a small beltysh monkey out of his pocket, rubbed it on his shoulder with a swishing sound, and started to eat it like an apple. I looked at him and felt the emptiness growing inside. Ned finished his meal and threw a mesh of bone and fur on the floor. It landed in a puddle and disappeared under water. The room was getting more humid with every passing moment. I asked Ned what was happening, but he only vanished into thin air solemnly shaking his head. Water started dripping from the ceiling. Paint was peeling off the walls. I watched as fungus slowly consumed everything around me.
    I woke abruptly to the sound of an endless drumroll on canvas. I looked around and saw that the wall of my tent was whipping in and out. I grabbed my rifle and crouched to the entrance. I didn't really expect to find an enemy there, but being cautious wouldn't