text: [Themes: modern]
  
  There are a few stretched clouds dispersed in the early morning sky as you ride across the African Savanna in your two-man jeep. Not nearly enough to discourage the sun from shining, you think as you push your sunglasses up your nose for the seventh time, only to have them slide back down thanks to the sweat on your skin. It's still cool, but on account of the rigorous start you had to make in order to get out here early enough, you managed to work up a good sweat.
  
  You squint over at your driver and fellow hunter, Eddie Trapper, whose face is formed into a seemingly permanent smile, seeing as he's been grinning like that since you touched down in Africa. You're happy too, of course. This is what you've wanted to do your entire life. You've sworn to everyone back home that you plan on taking on one of the Big Five: the lion, African elephant, Cape buffalo, leopard, or rhinoceros, but you won't say no to a zebra or giraffe if the opportunity presents itself.
  
  Eddie notices you looking and calls over the sound of the jeep. "How do you feel about splitting up? We could see how much we can get done on our own and meet up later."
  
  You lean back and stare for a moment at the dashboard as you ponder your decision.
  
  > stay With Eddie
  "Yeah, sure, let's stick together." You say.
  
  Eddie directs his attention to his driving. You see his lips move as he mumbles something under his breath, but you can't hear him over the sound of the jeep.
  
  You drive on for several more miles, and then Eddie parks the jeep in a cluster of trees. There is a clearing inside surrounded by brush and tall grasses, which will serve as your camp for the night. The two of you hop out of the vehicle and you reach in the back to get your gun and pack. You wait as Eddie adjusts the scope on his rifle.
  
  Then the two of you are off, trekking through the tall grass as you leave your jeep parked in the underbrush. You can hear Eddie humming under his breath, and a few birds are singing in the scattered trees, but both are tunes you don't recognize. The singing of the birds isn't anything like that of a meadowlark or common songbird back in the States.
  
  The time passes quickly, and by midday the sun has hidden itself behind a cover of clouds that has moved in from the south.
  
  "Rain, d'you think?" You remark to Eddie.
  
  But Eddie doesn't answer. He suddenly drops into a crouch and motions for you to do the same. You edge along until you are crouched beside him. "What is it?"
  
  He points forward with a long tanned index finger. You notice his smile has returned, and it's as wide as ever. You feel a smile creep onto your face as well.
  
  Giraffes. You might as well be viewing them from behind a fence at the zoo. You watch as a larger one stretches its neck to and wraps a long purple tongue around a clump of leaves from the trees. "Whoa." You hear Eddie whisper.
  
  "Too bad we don't have a tag for it." You murmur back. Both of you are looking longingly at the bull giraffe, thinking of what the folks back home would say if you brought something like that home.
  
  "That doesn't mean we can't get a closer look." Eddie points out.
  
  "True."
  
  You both scramble down the slope of the small hill with mischievous grins. Eddie is hurrying along in front, half-crouched in the grass as he moves. Soon you are so close to the giraffes you can see their skin twitch as they ward off insects.
  
  "What do you say?" Eddie picks up a rock and gestures to the giraffes.
  
  > throw a Rock and Frighten the Giraffes
  You feel like a naughty kid as you pick up a rock. You hold up three fingers and count down, mouthing each number as you go. One, two, three! With a small grunt, you heave a rock toward the largest bull giraffe in sight. The bull jumps as the rocks crash around his long legs.
  
  Well, that was smart. You think. You and Eddie leap to your feet and tear off through the grass. The giraffe runs forward a few paces in an act of aggression, but it doesn't seem to be following. Even so, you and Eddie don't stop running.
  
  Finally you stop out of sheer exhaustion. "We are never doing that again!" You hiss at Eddie, who has a self-satisfied look on his face.
  
  "Aw, come on, you gotta admit it was fun."
  
  "No...it...was...not!" You say, panting each word between heaving breaths. Your heart is pumping wildly as you clutch a stitch in your side, and you aim a kick in Eddie's direction, although he just dances out of reach.
  
  You're ready to call it quits for the day, and you say so to Eddie. He looks disappointed, but doesn't argue, and the two of you start making your way back to camp at a slow and steady pace. Your heart is still going a hundred miles an hour.
  
  On your way back you see a small herd of bushbucks, but you pay them hardly any mind. One of the Big Five are a much more enticing hunting opportunity than the antelope in the grass. You and Eddie walk dejectedly into camp. After a meal of freeze-dried macaroni and cheese, you are glad to be able to lay back and relax. Soon you're sleeping peacefully beneath the African sky.
  
  > Two Days Later
  It's been two days, and you still haven't had any luck whatsoever. You've decided to begin your hunt in the early morning, and as you glance at the dark sky, you can't help thinking this entire trip might have been a waste of time and money.
  
  You convinced Eddie to move your camp farther south. As you shoulder your rifle, ready to plunge into another day full of hiking and spotting, you utter a silent prayer that you'll find something, even if it is just a zebra. You told everyone back home that you wouldn't come home empty handed. Well, it had seemed like an achievable goal before you'd gotten on the plane to Africa.
  
  Eddie seems cheery as ever as you clamber into the jeep and drive out of camp. You hope that maybe his good mood might rub off on you during your hunt. You've decided that the chances of you getting anything are extremely narrow, that way if you happen to get something you'll be pleasantly surprised, and if you don't then you at least won't be disappointed.
  
  You grip the dashboard with white knuckles as Eddie rolls the jeep over a particularly large bump; the protein bar you ate before you left churns disagreeably in your stomach. Maybe, you think as you hold you nauseated abdomen, I'll get the stomach bug and Eddie'll have to take me home early. Eddie hasn't seemed to notice your discomfort so you grit your teeth and stare out at the passing terrain, feeling slightly green and completely opposite of the way you were feeling during your first day on the savanna.
  
  Eddie drives the jeep beneath a canopy of acacia trees. The shade is a nice contrast to the heat of the early sun. You're just starting to close your eyes in a state of relaxation when something heavy and mottled drops down from one of the trees into the back seat of your jeep. You turn around to see a leopard, looking slightly stunned from dropping into a moving vehicle, but looking hungry just the same.
  
  Eddie's still driving, but he looks panic stricken and you're coming close to screaming yourself. What are you supposed to do?
  
  "Yeah, sure, let's stick together." You say.
  
  Eddie directs his attention to his driving. You see his lips move as he mumbles something under his breath, but you can't hear him over the sound of the jeep.
  
  You drive on for several more miles, and then Eddie parks the jeep in a cluster of trees. There is a clearing inside surrounded by brush and tall grasses, which will serve as your camp for the night. The two of you hop out of the vehicle and you reach in the back to get your gun and pack. You wait as Eddie adjusts the scope on his rifle.
  
  Then the two of you are off, trekking through the tall grass as you leave your jeep parked in the underbrush. You can hear Eddie humming under his breath, and a few birds are singing in the scattered trees, but both are tunes you don't recognize. The singing of the birds isn't anything like that of a meadowlark or common songbird back in the States.
  
  The time passes quickly, and by midday the sun has hidden itself behind a cover of clouds that has moved in from the south.
  
  "Rain, d'you think?" You remark to Eddie.
  
  But Eddie doesn't answer. He suddenly drops into a crouch and motions for you to do the same. You edge along until you are crouched beside him. "What is it?"
  
  He points forward with a long tanned index finger. You notice his smile has returned, and it's as wide as ever. You feel a smile creep onto your face as well.
  
  Giraffes. You might as well be viewing them from behind a fence at the zoo. You watch as a larger one stretches its neck to and wraps a long purple tongue around a clump of leaves from the trees. "Whoa." You hear Eddie whisper.
  
  "Too bad we don't have a tag for it." You murmur back. Both of you are looking longingly at the bull giraffe, thinking of what the folks back home would say if you brought something like that home.
  
  "That doesn't mean we can't get a closer look." Eddie points out.
  
  "True."
  
  You both scramble down the slope of the small hill with mischievous grins. Eddie is hurrying along in front, half-crouched in the grass as he moves. Soon you are so close to the giraffes you can see their skin twitch as they ward off insects.
  
  "What do you say?" Eddie picks up a rock and gestures to the giraffes.
  
  > leave Them Be and Move On
  You shake your head and Eddie grudgingly places his rock on the ground. The giraffes pay you no attention as you move away. "Now what?" Eddie demands in an ornery tone. You can tell he's not about to forgive you for spoiling his fun.
  
  "Now we keep looking." You say.
  
  You trudge off through the tall grass again, leaving the small herd of giraffes behind as you move on to the southeast.
  
  Suddenly a pain spreads up your leg and you fall to the ground. You feel as though you've just been hit in the leg by a metal baseball bat, but the thought slips your mind as you feel another blow of pain on your shoulder. You see something like a giant black rope drop to the ground and slither away through the grass. Wait...You blink and shake your head to ward off the dizziness. Ropes can't slither. You gasp for breath. Your chest feels suddenly very tight.
  
  You can't see Eddie. Your vision blurs as you peer around at your surroundings: yellow grass blending in with green trees and blue sky, like someone spilled water on a painting. The colors bleed together. You cough loudly, trying to breathe. You feel cold regardless of the warmth of the day as you slowly lower yourself to the ground. Blackness begins to smudge the edges of your vision now. Someone yells indistinctly, as though from a great distance as you lay on the ground and struggle for breath.
  
  The End