Excerpt: (Working Title) Wally Willdo

NaNo WriMo 2008: CHAPTER ONE. (WORD COUNT: 924)

Working Title. Wally Willdo. (First Draft.)

The single giant eye should have been a warning. Jake ignored it. Jake got eaten. Only his boots remained because the creature found the tough rhino-skin uppers unpalatable. You could say they were a sole survivor... but there were two of them... boots; not creatures.
Wally watched from a distance, a twisted smile forming the shape of his lips. Job done. Justice served. Cleaner world. Move on.
The creature closed its eye and retreated into the blackness of the deep water. After a short while Wally went over to the edge and kicked the slime-covered boots, one at a time, like a rugby player converting a try. Their trajectory would have earned him full points in a real match - here, his elation came from ridding the world of yet another evil miscreant. It didn't take a mean and vicious man to do what Wally did. He did it for the good of mankind. His conscience was clear, based on virtue and fairness.
Jake, on the other hand, had been a menace to young women; stalking them, kidnapping them, torturing them, abusing them, and leaving them to die in remote locations. Twenty perished before Wally caught up with Jake. An over-zealous trial judge let him out on bail because of a technicality. Those twenty dead women, and maybe loads more, never got that chance. Wally acted on their behalf. Swift. Efficient. Final.
He checked the area for any telltale clues he may have left behind. In the eyes of the law he had committed a crime, and, if caught, would be punished, despite any extenuating circumstances offered in his defence. All things considered, it would be best if the authorities thought Jake had broken bail conditions and gone far away. And even if this caused concern among the female population about suffering a similar fate to Jake's other victims, Wally considered that a good thing. It would keep them on their guard, and, most important of all, keep them safe.
Brushing away the last of his footsteps with a tree branch, he stepped off the volcanic dust onto the solidified lava surface surrounding the lake and turned his back on the scene of the recent gruesome event. His thoughts turned to happier times when this had been his playground. At first sight, a bleak and desolate landscape, summoning images of moon-walks, spaceships and aliens. A place full of mystery and adventure. Cracks and crevices in which to hide from any kind of imaginary attacker formulated in the deep recesses of a lonely boy's mind. Wally had been left to his own devices while his father was away on government business and his mother performed menial tasks at the nearby scientific station. A small volcanic eruption had caused that to be vacated a few years ago. Its ruins stood testament to the fact that mankind will never get the better of Nature.
There wasn't a local school for miles, so Wally's mother educated him at home after she finished work. With few distractions, he learned quickly, and, providing his homework was done, he was free to choose his own daytime activities.
Thus, he grew strong, resilient, and independent - then one day he found a friend. A strange friend. A possible mutation caused by the discarded experimental fluids from the scientific station. There it was, an inch long, right at the edge of the lake. At first glance, Wally thought a centipede had fallen in the water while trying to carry a mistletoe berry; but, for one thing, it was the wrong colour for a centipede - this one was pale like an albino. And for another thing - a thin membrane flicked over the mistletoe berry and back again. And, right below that white berry, two rows of sharp teeth flashed in the sunlight. In a moment of foolish curiosity, Wally reached to remove the berry so he could get a clearer look at this unusual critter, and received a sharp bite on the lobe of his thumb. The tiny fangs drew drops of blood and a loud curse from Wally, together with a great deal of respect. This new-found acquaintance had no intention of being messed with, and that suited Wally. As he studied the newcomer, Wally realised the mistletoe berry was not a berry at all - it was, in fact, the creature's eye. Its one and only enormous eye. What a great friend he would make with his single eye and his many legs. Wally chose a name for him there and then - CycloPedia - and that was the start of their long friendship. As a peace offering, Wally offered CycloPedia a juicy stalk of water weed while making sure he kept his fingers at a safe distance, but the creature showed no interest and backed away. A fly landed on the end of the weed. In a split second, the fly was clamped firmly in CycloPedia's teeth; then crushed, chewed, and swallowed in no time.
"Okay," said Wally. "I guess you're a carnivore."
The membrane flicked over the huge eye several times.
"I'll bring you some meat treats next time I come," Wally continued; "as long as you leave me off the menu."
The membrane flicked, the teeth flashed, the myriad of tiny legs wriggled, and CycloPedia sank into the darkness of the volcanic lake.
***
END OF CHAPTER ONE...TO BE CONTINUED.