— And then I spotted the cage — said Heitor, taking another puff from his cigar and releasing the smoke upwards.
— It was quite dark in the laboratory, but up near the ceiling, about six meters off the ground, there was a kind of mezzanine, an observation platform with several glass hatches, and a faint light was coming from there. My eyes were adjusting to the darkness.
Durval was hungry; it must have been around noon, his lunchtime, but he needed to know what the caged beast in the army laboratory that Heitor had invaded during his years as a lieutenant in the Armed Forces was. Melinda, Heitor’s wife, was preparing lunch, and Durval agreed to stay for a meal after Heitor’s assertive invitation. But even with hunger, he wanted her to take a little longer until Heitor finished his account.
— The cage was like a rectangular box made of reinforced iron bars — Heitor continued. — It was about two meters high and roughly six meters wide. The joints of the bars were reinforced with wire and soldered by brazing, the strongest welding process that exists. The cell was pressed against the back wall of the laboratory and seemed to have been built right there, as the bottom was cemented to the floor, and you could see the new concrete, which was lighter in color than the rest of the floor. Next to the cage, there was a shelf and a table with several surgical instruments. I noticed two tranquilizer dart guns and several syringes, some still sealed, others lined up side by side with a dark red liquid that looked like blood inside.
“Inside the cage, I could see a kind of low cot that seemed to be made of cement. On top of it was a thick tarp spread out, and what looked like straw or thin twigs of dry grass.
“I looked around and saw nothing; it seemed the cage was empty. I approached, trying not to make a sound.
“The cage door had iron hinges that seemed disproportionate in size, and the lock, as well as the iron doorknob, were completely twisted, as if they had been bent by some superhuman force. Around the junction of the door with the bars on the side of the cage, three thick chains had been wrapped several times and locked with padlocks. One at the top of the door, another in the middle, and the third close to the ground.
“I took another step towards the cage and stood right in front of the door. I strained my eyes towards the back of the cell. There was something leaning against the wall, but it looked like a pile of branches and straw. There were also two bales of hay tied together, each about half a meter long, next to the pile. Other than that, the cage seemed completely empty.
“Only then did I notice on the floor, inside the cage, very close to where I was, the creature crouched down, looking directly at me.”
Episode XL continues in the next edition.
JOSÉ GASPAR
Filmmaker and writer
www.historiasdooutromundo.com