The Venetou
A Story by
Philip R Benge
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Published by
The Venetou
Copyright Philip R Benge 2014
Cover Art Copyright Philip R Benge 2014
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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the author’s imagination and used fictitiously.
The Venetou
Prologue
The Venetou were a strong vicious killer species, one who looked very similar to the human beings of Earth. The Venetou though had evolved to supplement their normal diet by also living off the life-force of other creatures, even though the native wildlife only possessed it in meagre amounts. There was also another difference, for their two canine teeth resembled those of Count Dracula, only they used theirs much as a viper does, to inject a venom into their prey. This toxin paralyses all bodily movements including that of the larynx, this is so their prey can not scream out an alarm. To add to all their other advantages there was only a slender chance of their prey seeing them, for the Venetou could blend into the background, for it used hypnotism to prevent their prey from seeing them. They were only fully visible to their prey when they were feeding upon it, then they returned to their normal colour. When engaged on a hunt they spoke to one another telepathically, which helped them in their search for their prey and kept the noise of their approach to a minimum. To combat these obvious advantages possessed by the Venetou, the many senses possessed by their prey evolved too, and so the Venetou still had to work hard to find a meal. The Venetou were now an intelligent being that had taken the next step up in their evolutionary chain, they were now a fully sentient creature, and as with Man, one that was at the very top of the food chain.
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Chapter One
The Vampires of Retem
Three large war canoes were blown towards this large island continent, arriving finally just off shore one of its long sandy beaches. The war canoes were sturdy vessels and had been built to go to sea, they were forty feet long, six feet wide at the middle and narrowing at either end. The paddlers sat on thwarts, fourteen on each side, paddling with long paddles, some five feet long, to the rhythm of the drummer who stood in the centre of the canoe. The steersman sitting in the stern had a paddle nine feet long, and he was in command of his canoe. They carried their food and weapons by their feet, and if necessary they slept where they paddled, although they rarely stayed out at sea during the night. Aboard the canoes were one hundred warriors, they had been returning from a battle against an enemy that lived on a large island one day`s sail away from their own land. Caught by a powerful storm they had been driven southwards, and when they all feared death was near at hand they had sighted land. The war chief, Cherian, was aboard the lead canoe and he found to his delight that they had come across an enormous new world, one which he decided to name Saviour, as it had saved his life and those of his warriors.
For the small group of Venetou that lived near to this beach the natural order changed dramatically, although they did not know it yet, they did smile though when this large new animal arrived. The warriors were about the same size and build as the Venetou, slightly under five feet tall, muscular and obviously intelligent, however, the Venetou did not notice this last attribute, they only saw the men as a welcome addition to their diet.
The newly arrived survivors of the storm immediately took to this beautiful land, the first thing they did was to fashion rough shelters, so as to keep out the weather that had brought them here. The shelters were built in a half circle, as was the custom of their tribe, and were meant as a temporary shelter only. As the night was almost upon them by the time their shelters were ready, the warriors prepared a line of fires which they set along the middle of the line that ran from either end of the shelters, and this was to ward off any local carnivorous beasts who might want to attack them. The next thing was to prepare for their much needed sleep, for they were exhausted by their terrible ordeal, so they cut the tall grass that grew nearby and they used it for their beds. Finally, the warriors lit their fires and went to their hard beds seeking escape from the exhaustion of the last few days.
The nine Venetou made up an extended family, six adults and three children, and as the warriors tried to get some sleep, the Venetou lay hidden amongst the undergrowth, and just outside the ring of light thrown out by the fires. Safely hidden here they watched their unsuspecting prey, the Bora, as the Venetou called their new prey, the large ones, waiting for them to go to sleep so that they might move in and feed upon them. Finally, the warriors fell asleep, however, it was a sleep that was tormented by nightmares, did their subconscious minds somehow know that evil lay near by.
The alpha male of this small group of Venetou quietly sniffed the air blowing towards him on the light cool breeze, it brought the scent of the Bora to him, one that comprised mostly of stale sweat, then he caught the scent of something far more interesting. It was one other lesser almost indistinct smell, it told him of the large amount of the life-force possessed by each of the Bora, his pulse quickened, for if his senses were correct then one such Bora would provide enough food for a Venetou for one whole day. He looked to his older son, the second of the two adult males, and saw that he too had breathed in the delicious scent, he saw the excitement in his sons eyes as he too saw how their lives might be about to change for the better.
It was only because of the lifetime of experience possessed by the alpha male that he was able to hold himself in check, but he had to threaten his small tribe to stop them for moving in too soon, for they had also caught the divine scent. It was just an hour after midnight, although they knew nothing of such things as hours, the moon was slowly climbing in the dark sky, lighting their way towards their unsuspecting victims, the alpha male looked up at the moon and silently thanked her for her help, their god was always there when they needed her.
He took in another deep breath and savoured it, initially he had been a little fearful of this new large animal, especially when he saw that it used fire as a tool, for fire was the ultimate destroyer. However, the prospect of devouring so much of the life-force that each of these strange creatures possessed in abundance now drove him forward, and he was closely followed by the other members of his family. Their breathing had almost stopped as they carefully stepped around the fires and moved towards the sleeping warriors, afraid in case their soft breath might waken the strange new animals. For with so many large Bora within the half circle of rough shelters, even they, the chosen ones, would be forced to retreat if their prey became aware of their presence.
The three adult males each chose a victim from underneath a separate shelter, so as to not get in one another’s way. Their females took their children with them and each female chose three more of the prey, which were under shelters that were near to their mate, she would share the prey with her child.
The alpha male knelt near to his chosen man, his eyes gleamed brightly as he drove his two fangs into the exposed soft neck, and then he sent his powerful venom streaming into the veins of his prey. He was covering the man`s mouth with one hand, so as to prevent him giving the alarm, and holding his prey firmly down with the other hand.
The male Venetou sought only to immobilise his prey with the venom, not to kill it, for the Venetou needed their prey to be alive if they were
to feed upon the energy known by the Venetou as its life-force.
The warrior woke up when he felt the sharp fangs enter his neck, fear filling his mind and body. He attempted to struggle, to strike out at his attacker, however on opening his eyes he saw that his attacker was invisible, shock caused him to stop struggling for just a moment, and in that time the venom of the Venetou took affect. When the brain of the warrior began to work again he found to his astonishment that he was unable to move, he could still see though, and feel. He watched in terror as the body of a strange man slowly shimmered into view, until he could see him in all his terrible glory. Two bright blue eyes shone brightly upon the man as fear raced through his brain, and when he took in the evil grin of the stranger attacking him, he almost fainted from the fear. He watched in terror as the stranger opened his mouth and pushed out a long pointed tongue towards his head. The warrior wanted to strike out, defend himself, but all he could do was watch as the demon’s long tongue approached his eye, for he now thought of the man as a demon, he could not even shrink back in fear. Then, silently, his mind screamed in agony as this hard tongue burrowed through to the lower part of his eye. An evil grin lit up the face of the Venetou as he thought of the strange creature’s energy that would soon be coursing through his own body, his level of excitement was blowing his mind, for never before had he ever fed on such a large quantity of the life-force as this. The warrior for his part knew that the terrible demon was about to kill him, but he was powerless to prevent it, all he could do was to scream, unfortunately no one could hear his screams.
Once behind the eye of the warrior the hard tongue forced its way through a small hole in the skull, the Foramen Ovale, and now the tongue was touching the warrior`s brain. It was at this point that the feeder opened up and ten very fine needles were sent into the brain to feed upon the screaming warrior. It was upon the life-force of its unfortunate prey that the Venetou fed, while the warrior screamed in the most terrible agony that he could ever imagine. Thankfully the pain only last for a very short time, but for the warrior it seemed to last forever, as he felt his very essence being ripped out from his brain. He tried to resist it, to fight for his very existence, but it was useless, and as the pain reached a new high point he died.
The nine Venetou were soon all sated, having found to their delight that this new prey was so rich in the life giving energy, and then they silently withdrew and returned through the darkness of the night to the safety of their den, a large cave set beneath a nearby ridge. The alpha male though did not enter the cave immediately, he stood just outside of the cave and here he howled into the night sky, it was his way of thanking their god for not only sending such a prey to them, but for also joining them on the hunt. Then he yawned, and turning he entered the cave to join his family, who he could hear talking about this wondrous new prey and how they were now so full of its wondrous energy.
When the warriors awoke to a new day they found their dead friends bodies, they looked with horror at the holes drilled through their eyes, saw the pain plainly written upon their faces, and they screamed in terror. The sound carried on the light morning breeze to the cave of the Venetou who knew what the sounds meant, for they had heard similar sounds from one of their normal prey, a small ape-like creature that lived in the trees all around their territory.
The warriors were panicking, all of them were pleading with their war chief, Cherian, to allow them to leave this terrible place, however, the huge waves still crashed ashore and so prevented any such attempt to escape from happening. Therefore, with fear ever present they fed and rested as best they could, and then they prayed to their gods for calmer weather. That night, when the men turned in for their sleep at the end of this new day, they did so fearfully, for what if the demons of this land came by again to feed upon them. It was decided that ten of their men would stand watch to guard the rest, however, none of them ever saw another day, for the Venetou fed on them, happy to have the men set away from the main group of the Bora. Within days, and to the trepidation of the surviving warriors, the Venetou had killed thirty of the men, but finally the storm moved away and the sea was calm.
Terrified, as they were by the terrible deaths of their comrades, and apparently killed by some local demon, the remaining warriors made ready to flee this terrible land, they filled the canoes with supplies of food and water, enough to last them until they reached home.
The Alpha male of the Venetou instinctively knew that their prey was making ready to flee, and after bullying and threatening the other Venetou that made up his small tribe, they agreed to follow him aboard the canoes.
“We will need our clothing, for there will be no shelter for us from our enemy, the sun.” The alpha male advised his small tribe, and so after collecting everything that they needed the alpha male led them onto the far end of the war canoes and settled down to awaits events.
With everything ready for their journey the warriors boarded their canoes and fled this terrible land of demons, and headed for home at the best possible speed that their war canoes could achieve. They did not realise that they carried back to their far away homes the nine Venetou, at least not at first. It was as the morning sun came up that they saw that six of their comrades were missing, two from each boat. The Venetou had slid the empty carcases over the side of the canoes to hide their deed from their prey, in case it spooked them.
When the second morning came the warriors were indeed spooked when they saw that six more warriors were missing, and as before it was those at the front of the large war canoes. On the third night they had three of their warriors stay awake to watch over the others, and they had positioned them at the front of the war canoe to see just what had occurred during the previous nights. These three warriors were shaking with fear, but with a short stabbing spear held firmly in their hands, they settled down and waited. They fervently hoped that it was not the demons, and as the moon rose and lit up the canoes their courage left them, for what could they do against powerful demons, Poulson the light rays of the moon to come and feed on them.
On the following morning the watchers had disappeared as too had three more warriors, and so the next night the warriors were now too afraid to sleep, and they watched in terror as for the first time they saw the Venetou shimmer into view. The alpha male let loose a terrible roar that filled the dark night and paralysed the warriors with fear, then the warriors watched as the demons attacked and then fed upon the men nearest to them. Not one of the warriors dared to intervene, lest the demon grow angry and attack even more of them, finally the demons were sated and the alpha male howled once more into the night sky. After thanking their god the Venetou now disappeared from view, and after a very long night finally the sun rose to declare the arrival of a new day. One of the Venetou always stayed awake during the long daylight hours, so as to keep the hypnotic trance that the warriors were under in operation. It was because of this that the warriors never once made an attempt to attack them, for they did not realise that the Venetou were still aboard their boats during the day. When the night finally arrived, the watchers amongst the Venetou were truly exhausted, the amount of energy needed to keep their families hidden had almost been too much, even for them.
During the following day the strongest of the warriors tied up six of the weakest of their number, and that evening they gave them up to the Venetou, so desperate was they to save their own lives. This sacrifice of their weakest men was to continue during the rest of the horrific voyage, a seven day trip back to the long thin peninsular of land that was home to the warriors. A peninsular that stretched out from the southern edge of a large continental land mass that straddled the equator of the planet but also stretched high up into the northern ocean.
During the final days of the voyage the Venetou treated their prey with utter contempt, for even the small monkey-like creatures attempted to fight back, but the warriors just sat there rigid with fear. The only thing that the Venetou were initially afraid of was the large expanse of water thr
ough which they sailed, though even this fear grew less as the voyage continued on, day after day. However when the sun had slipped beneath the distant horizon hunger helped them to forget their fear of so much water. They were becoming rather exhausted though, having to use their powers to stay hidden for so long, and a new thing accompanied them on this voyage, fear. Fear that their powers would fail them due to this exhaustion, and that when their prey saw them sitting at the front of the canoes, they would finally be able to overcome their own fear and attacked them with their weapons. Then their small number would die beneath an avalanche of the arrows and spears of the Bora, for they were still outnumbered.
The remaining nights saw the warriors too afraid to sleep, on the fifth night when the Venetou fed, some of the warriors, those nearest to the Venetou, even jumped overboard in their haste to flee the demons.
After a horrific voyage in which only a third of the men lived to see their homes, and with one of their war canoes abandoned for lack of oarsmen, the surviving warriors finally arrived back at their village. Those that did survive the voyage were half-mad with fear of the terrible demons that had fed off them during their voyage, that and by what they had been forced to do to ensure their survival. Screaming in abject terror they struggled ashore, just as the sun was setting, and never once thinking about what they were bringing home to their families, or of the terrible ordeal that lay ahead for all of them. Their families fearful of them when they saw the half mad state in which they had returned in, and even more when they heard their terrible tale, locked them away for Maliki, the local shaman, to inspect and they hoped, cleanse them of whatever madness had overcome them all.
The Venetou`s life now changed dramatically for the better, and it started on this very first night that they had returned to dry land. On this first night the Venetou went on an orgy of killings, feeding as never before, this time their victims were amongst the villagers who had not been on the ill fated voyage. Sated, and after such a long exhausting trip, they went in search of a dry den to rest up in, and away from the heat of the sun when it rose again. They soon found their new den, a large dry cave overlooking the sea, it was a mile away from the village and along a narrow track that would prevent a surprise attack. Now there was no need to use their powers, for now they could eat well each night and sleep away the daylight hours without the constant fear of an attack, should their powers fail them due to exhaustion.