The Timor Man by Kerry B. Collison Page A

had cut them down, their life’s blood making curious patterns around their mutilated corpses.
    Bambang vomited out of control, his stomach heaving long after it had emptied itself. Wanti had stood in shock, motionless, the full impact shutting down her mind to assist her to cope with the death that lay before her.
    Her three sisters lay sprawled in the garden. Beheaded. Her parents had been hacked into pieces now almost unrecognizable as once being human bodies. As she turned, the carnage continued to be evident. Bodies. Everywhere bodies. Over there an infant no more than a few months. What was her name, Elly? Or was it Atun? No, it was not Atun for Wanti could see Elly’s body at the base of the brick wall against which she had been thrown. Death had snatched her from the hands of those twisted minds which had slaughtered over three hundred of her fellow villagers in this small kampung .
    Their world had been destroyed.
    Hours passed. Bambang led Wanti into the forest taking whatever food and clothing he could carry. His fear had now been replaced by hate and anger. His first concern was to secure a safe camp until the madness had ended.
    As night fell they hid in the alang-alang , the long grass offering temporary refuge. They remained there, arms locked together in dread of being discovered until finally, exhaustion overcame fear and they slept.
    A bird screeched loudly close by. Bambang awoke, startled. He turned his head slowly observing Wanti. His sister remained undisturbed, almost as if she had ceased breathing, her body was so still. He looked closer, panic rising in his chest. ‘ Oh Tuhan ,’ he thought, ‘what if she is dead?’ He raised his right hand to her neck to see if she was still warm. His face twisted in horror as he recognized the disgusting slimy body of the lintah darah , the leech, attached to his hand. He jumped to his feet examining the rest of his body.
    It was worse than he had feared! The bloodsucking worms covered his body. He moaned and writhed pulling at the disgusting creatures undressing as he wailed. Then he remembered his sister!
    â€œ Wanti! Wanti! Bangun, wake up, quickly! ” he screamed.
    Wanti jumped to her brother’s command, instantly overcome with fear, expecting to see the killers approaching. Seconds passed before she was sufficiently conscious to identify the reason for her brother’s panic. She screamed.
    â€œ Aduh! aduh !” she wailed pulling at the leeches stuck to her arms.
    Hurriedly, they had both stripped, pulling, brushing, occasionally assisting each other until their bodies were free of the terrible sticky animals. They inspected their bodies thoroughly and discovered that there were ticks as well, full now from their bloody diet. They slowly checked again. Their mother had told them that once a tick had entered the body, certain death would follow. Bambang vowed to sleep away from the damp ground in future. Later, he could not coax his sister into bathing in the small kali , which flowed nearby, for fear of the slimy creatures.
    They stayed in the jungle for several days on the assumption and with the hope that the marauding gangs would have left their district, having already destroyed all of the local kampung settlements. Their village was one of perhaps twenty in the area spanning a radius of some ten kilometres. Wanti wanted to remain hidden a little longer but Bambang had convinced her that they must seek help from the army detachment billeted at Kampung Kawi just twenty kilometres to the north.
    Wanti had reluctantly agreed, insisting that they cut through the mountain forest to avoid running into the gangs. Her brother felt certain that the murderers would have moved in a direction away from the Army, not wanting to engage a well armed force.
    He discovered his error the following day when they almost stumbled into their camp. His fear was so great, Bambang felt his bowels begin to betray him again. He turned, grabbing