Short Fiction: Two Men and The Last of its Kind
He lined up the cross-hairs with the forehead of the beast. As he steadied his aim, sweat trickled down his dark skin from his bald head onto his khaki t-shirt. In this tense moment, the air carried a cloud of guilt that itched but he couldn’t risk missing this. He would leave the contemplating to his son who will have all the time in the world in the classroom and hopefully make his father proud one day. That thought, made him smile and hardened his resolve. This poor specimen looked rather alone even in this solitary terrain, as if he was the last of his kind. But no matter. “Goodbye my friend, your death will not in vain”. Tayo muttered with slight remorse.
A shot rang in the distance. Serge had been waiting and dreading this sound. Was it too late? Had he failed to prevent the extinction of the Black Western Rhino? Spinning the car around, he pressed the pedal firmly and off he went to catch the bastard. As his golden, shoulder-length hair blew in the wind, he squinted searching the safari landscape. The next few minutes felt like hours then in the corner of his eye, he saw a young man knelt in front of a big object. Screeching his vehicle to a halt, he picked up his camera then continued his pursuit on foot.
The rifle sound was like a red flare attracting danger from all walks of life — rival poachers, harsh authorities or even other wildlife. While on edge, his heightened senses picked up on something. Whipping round he spotted a man pointing a camera right at him. Wide-eyed, his arms moved without instruction towards the weapon. Then within a moment, he had the tourist in the centre of his scope….
Ah shit.
He didn’t expect the poacher to spot him so quickly or to actually shoot him. Now blood was pouring from his lower abdomen. As his life slowly left his vessel, he used his remaining strength to document his last act by pressing “Share” on the camera’s touchscreen. Funny how friends, of his friends will find out before even his family. Then, everything turned black.
