Chapter 6
The four men entered the room and observed Lee resting in bed, eyes closed and breathing deeply. At the sound of the door Lee opened his eyes and smiled at the return of his friends.
"Kevin, good to see you again," Lee said as he watched the men disperse around the room.
"Good to see you too, Lee. How are you doing?" Kevin replied.
"Well hopefully you and the rest of this motley crew can tell me," Lee bandied back. As Lee took in the faces of Nelson, Morton and Jamieson he got the distinct impression what they found was not good. He swallowed hard and sighed. "So Admiral what's the bad news? By the looks on your faces I get the feeling that things are not going well."
"Lee when I opened the box to take the samples from the mingehe, it opened its eyes and actually moved. Son, that thing is still animated," Harri replied.
What color had returned to Lee's face vanished at the news that his would-be assassin was still active. The implications of that little bit of information quickly flashed through his mind and suddenly explained to him why he felt as though something from outside had been pushing its way into his dreams and why they had become so intense and so real.
Kevin as well looked stunned at that revelation. "How is that possible?" he wondered aloud. Having never seen the mingehe in action he was still somewhat dubious of the claims that it had come to life but given the looks on everyone's faces now, that doubt died.
"I think it's still active because it wasn't able to carry out its last tasking to kill Lee. I'm guessing here, but I think it probably was stunned into temporary stasis when it killed Amherst, the man responsible for dispatching it on its mission. It probably has taken this long for it to recoup its strength and is now exerting what power it has over Lee," Harri offered.
Lee nodded slowly, seeing the logic in that possible explanation. "It makes sense. It explains why my dreams have become so real and so intense. Probably when it bit me it marked me somehow so it could find me again and now that it has recovered from the death of Amherst it's ready again to come after me," Lee replied.
"I think that also explains the source of the toxins in your blood," Jamie added. "These compounds work to limit the mobility and strength of a living organism making it easier for a predator, in this case the mingehe, to render a prey that got away immobile and easier to track down and kill."
"Well that's just lovely," Lee replied flatly.
"It must also explain why the toxins haven't killed you outright Lee," Blanchard added as he struggled to comprehend what was going on and how these men so matter-of-factly discussed a topic so far beyond the realm of reason. "It probably has to complete its task physically as opposed to letting the poisons do the job. The poison it injected into you when it bit you is just to keep you from running off and dying on your own. It must somehow be able to moderate the effects to keep them from being fatal."
"But why isn't Henderson experiencing these same effects?" Chip wondered.
"My guess again, is that in the animation ceremony Lee was specifically marked as the target by the offering made. Henderson was merely in the way and not the target of its attack. Lee and the mingehe were somehow bound together by that spell and Lee's genetic material, and the only way to end it is for one of them to be destroyed," Harri offered grimly.
"So we just go toss the thing in the furnace and be done with it," Chip offered hopefully.
"Somehow I don't think that will work given how it responded to the physical attacks it endured from Lee's gun and Henderson's and Baker's rifle butts. It's definitely worth a try but I get the feeling we're going to have to go back to its site of origin and have it unmade by the people who created it," Harri responded. "Kevin what can you tell us about the Baka?"
"The Baka are generally a very peaceful people who live as hunter/gatherers in the African rainforest. They have been pretty well marginalized by mainstream African society and only exist on the periphery. Only a few of the tribe interact with the outside and fewer still speak anything but Baka. They have historically been referred to as Pygmies which now days is no longer considered a politically correct term for the tribe. They're a diminutive group that usually don't grow taller than 5 feet. They are semi-nomadic and their movements are governed by the ready availability of game animals in their current location. Once they've hunted things to the point they're difficult to find they move on to another area," Kevin explained. "As I told you earlier they utilize poisoned arrows and spears in their hunting and the poison is derived from the plant strophanthus congoensis, which is one of the poisons floating around in Lee's bloodstream. Religiously they are tied closely to the jungle and a belief in bark and metamorphosis. They worship a being known as Komba as the god above all others but also worship lesser gods and other supernatural entities that compose their world."
"Very interesting," commented Harri. "Do you think we will have any problem locating the specific group Amherst got the mingehe from?"
"It's been over 7 months since we were with them, they've probably moved on to another hunting area since then. I suppose we could return to their last campsite and see if they're there and if not we can check with the surrounding villages and towns to see if anyone knows where they've gone," Kevin answered.
"That's a start," Harri responded. "Will, why don't you get that sample analyzed just to confirm our suspicions. Kevin, you and Chip come with me and we'll give Chip's suggestion of trying to destroy the mingehe a shot and Lee, you lay back and relax."
"Oh come on Admiral, you can't expect me to just lay here while you try and torch that thing. I want to be there and watch," Lee shot back.
"I can't even begin to tell you how stupid that request is," Chip fired back angrily. Lee glared at his friend ready to pull him up short for his tone. "Think about it rationally for a minute Lee. You don't want to be anywhere near that thing especially if this doesn't work and it somehow gets free. We've already established that we have yet to find a way to kill it and if it does get loose you know anyone else there will be trying to protect you and will probably wind up injured or dead. If you insist on being there, why don't we just tie you to a stake and be done with it."
Lee let loose an exasperated sigh as Chip's words really hit home. He was right and as much as he needed to be there to see the thing destroyed his presence would introduce additional dangers to his friends that were unacceptable.
"Chip's right, son. You know that," Harri added quietly trying to assuage the sting.
"I know Admiral, and you're right Chip. I'm just so tired of all this and want it over. I need to know it's not coming back, but I would never willingly put you or anyone else at risk to satisfy my selfish needs," Lee replied contritely.
"What if we did a live video feed?" Chip offered after a moment's thought.
"That would work," replied Lee with a huge smile. "I'm there, yet I'm not."
"Well now that that's settled let's get busy," Nelson said matching Lee's smile.
(oo)
Three hours later the live feed from the maintenance bay streamed into Lee's med bay room and onto the screen of his laptop computer. He saw Harri, Chip and Kevin preparing for their experiment in mingehe destruction. He manipulated the keys on his keyboard and zoomed the picture in and out and panned across the room.
"Are you there Lee?" Harri called out as he heard the camera lens move.
"Yes sir, Jamie and I are standing by," Lee replied into the mic.
"Good we're just about ready to give this a try. Sit tight and relax, okay son."
"Yes sir."
As the men in the maintenance bay came and went collecting the items they needed Lee watched in fascination. In the center of the bay they had placed a 3' x 3' metal burn tray atop a pedestal of concrete blocks. To one side were a number of fire extinguishers to control any errant flames along with a bag of sand and an asbestos blanket. Zooming in he noticed that a ring had been welded to the floor of the tray obviously to attach the chain to during their burn to keep the mingehe in one place.
Harri moved into view with the box in hand and set it down in the tray then slit the tape holding the lid shut and removed it. He cautiously reached in and removed the doll from the box and as he did the mingehe's eyes snapped open and it glared at him. He damn near dropped the thing he was so startled by the action. Kevin, who was off to Harri's right, physically jumped and skittered backwards a few steps as he was finally witness to the animated state. The mingehe for its part hissed at the men but was otherwise unable to move much due to the restraining collar that held it in place.
Harri quickly placed the thing in the tray and attached the chain from the collar to the retention ring on the floor of the pan. He then grabbed the box and stepped back.
"All right everyone, are you ready to begin?" asked Nelson.
"Admiral a quick question before you start," Lee responded.
"Yes Lee what is it?"
"Why aren't your just tossing the doll into the refuse furnace?"
"Well Lee the melting point of gold is just under 2000 F and our furnaces burn considerably hotter than that to eliminate some of the more exotic compounds we use here. I don't want to take the chance that fire doesn't work and all we succeed in doing is melting off the only means we have of controlling this thing in the process," Harri explained.
"Ah, makes sense. Thanks, I'm ready for you to put that thing out of my misery," Lee replied.
"Okay Chip you're up," Harri said as he stepped back and Chip approached with an acetylene torch.
"Ready?" Chip asked as he pulled the face shield down.
"Ready!" Nelson and Blanchard replied.
Chip quickly sparked the torch and dialed it down to a razor thin flame. He reached forward and began applying heat to the torso of the mingehe. The thing hissed again and tried to sidle away from the searing heat of the torch. It squirmed uncomfortably and issued a strangled roar but failed to catch fire.
As they all stared in amazement at the obviously fireproof doll, Lee suddenly screamed out in pain. "Admiral, Chip please stop! Oh god stop!"
Chip immediately pulled the torch away and shut off the flame. "Lee! Lee what's wrong?!" he called to the microphone.
The next thing they heard was Jamie calling for ice packs and the sound of people exiting and entering the room as Jamie tried to get Lee to relax.
"Jamie, what's going on?" called Nelson.
"Damn it, Harri the effects of that heat were transmitted directly to Lee. There's a huge red welt on his side exactly where Chip was trying to burn the mingehe. He just passed out from the pain."
"Damn it!" Harri swore. "I was afraid something like this might happen. I guess that pretty much settles it, we're going to have to go back to Cameroon and track down the Baka. So how's Lee doing now?"
"He's still out. I've got cold packs on his side and the welt is fading fast. It looks like only the pain is passed on and not any actual physical damage, which is some consolation I guess," Jamie replied.
"Okay Jamie, take care of him. We'll wrap things up here and be there shortly," Harri said then flipped the camera system off.
He walked back to the burn tray and stared at the mingehe. It was seated in its normal position and its eyes were once more closed. He reached down and picked up its box and placed it in the tray then released the chain from the retaining ring and grabbed the doll. It remained inanimate for which Harri was extremely grateful. He placed it back in the box, returned the lid then once again wrapped multiple layers of duct tape around the box.
"So much for that," he said with undisguised frustration.
"Th…that…that thing was really alive," stammered Blanchard as he stared in fear at the tape-encased box.
"Told ya," Chip replied. "I know it sounds impossible up until the point it moves."
Blanchard released a ragged sigh as he tried desperately to settle himself down. "How is it you all accept this so easily?"
"This is one of the tamer things we've encountered on our voyages. We've run into mummies, ghosts and a host of extraterrestrials," Harri replied. "It's not something we advertise for obvious reasons and would appreciate it if you kept this to yourself Kevin."
"Of…of course Harri," Kevin answered. "I don't think anyone but the fringe element would believe me anyway and it's not the type of attention that would do my research work any good."
"Thank you Kevin. Given our rather stunning failure at burning this thing to ash I think our only other option is to return to Cameroon and get in touch with this Dharbaka, the shaman Amherst got the mingehe from. Would you be willing to accompany us Kevin?" Harri asked.
"Of course Harri," Blanchard replied. "I still feel somewhat responsible for providing Amherst the opportunity to go after Lee and need to make up for that."
"It wasn't your fault Kevin, you're in no way responsible for what happened. Amherst was mentally deranged and just seized on the chance to take out his sick version of revenge for a perceived slight," Nelson replied.
(oo)