Gorracula: A Tale of Science (Excerpt)

1
The gorilla craved human flesh. Sweat pooled at the base of its spine as it crept toward the furthest car facing the drive-in movie screen. It desired the scent of terror stricken bodies, the waft of panicked humans. The thought made its breath shallow.

The North Park Drive-In sat three miles from town. The lights and noise carried across farm fields drawing coyotes and raccoons to where food scraps piled up in cans under the stars at night. Moonlight glinted off the gorilla’s shiny black fur while silver lights danced upon the movie screen. Students from the nearby university indulged their desires behind car doors. Clumsy hands found ready flesh. Illicit gasping bled between the screams on screen. Cars rocked slightly. The gorilla crept closer.

As the action on screen reached its peak, howling sirens and flashing lights in flickering black and white, the gorilla charged upon its prey. The thump and scud of rent metal and the terror of naked bodies, bitten and losing blood. The young couple were swiftly silenced and dragged into the trees.

No other car was parked nearby. Their vehicle sat empty, awkwardly leaning with its door torn off. The movie played to its end and everyone drove through the exit, unbothered by anything at the edges of their night. The bad movie, salty popcorn, and smell of sweat in their cars, but watching them leave was a beast with flesh in its teeth and blood in its fur. It grumbled satisfaction and skulked away towards town.

2
ONE WEEK EARLIER:
Hampton’s Pub near campus was usually a quiet place to spend a Friday night. Tonight though it was packed. Most weekends Professor Lester Pleasance would try to find a girl there to take to see his gorilla. Given the large crowd tonight he liked his odds. 

Lester was not handsome. He had the slight frame and narrow shoulders of a lifelong academic. He was pale and freckled and his glasses were thick. Their black frames made him seem even paler than he was. But his scientific eye had long ago noticed that it was not always the brawny chest and perfect hair that attracted women. It was actually the confidence which that feature-set bred in a man. 

 He would weather the first few giggles and feints of disinterest and had come to know the moment, persisting like a man who knows his worth. Make eye contact and ask questions about her and her interests. Hint at your intentions but hold back. Desperation is bred by lack of confidence and it stinks to the opposite sex. 

Most nights he would get there, that moment of interest and implicit trust, and then he would ask, “Would you like to see my gorilla?” Usually they said yes. He would bring them into the biology building, past the classrooms and down stairs onto the main research floor. He would unlock the pebbled glass door with his name on it and let them see the beast behind the plexiglass in his large and imposing laboratory. If they were impressed he’d push it further, enter the cage and risk looking small by comparison to demonstrate their rapport. It had worked repeatedly over the months of his project and he had made love more in the last year than his entire life previously.

His serum had shown results. Not the drastic headline grabbing kind but accelerated learning, clear evidence of comprehension and problem solving skills. It made for an easy moment, when a young lady saw the animal playing both sides of a chess board. Lester could place a gentle hand on the small of her back. She’d be amazed and slightly disoriented and here was the man who had done it. Word had gotten around and now a girl might seek him out. The “Gorilla Professor” had become known and he was not above trading notoriety for romantic attention.

Tonight the pub was hosting a concert, which lowered Lester’s chances. He entered and saw all eyes trained on the stage waiting for a band to go on. There wouldn’t be much chance for intimate talking tonight.

“Hey, Professor!” A voice came from his right. He turned around in time to be slammed in the head by what felt like a Volkswagen with knuckles. 

Lester hit the floor and the world went black for an instant. He came-to reeling slightly, seeing only the feet and knees of people who had watched him fall. He grabbed his glasses which now had a crack down the middle of the right lens. Someone picked him up roughly and he put his glasses on to see the person across from him winding up to strike again. 

A set of arms intervened from behind and possibly saved Lester’s life.

“Frank, what the hell are you doing! I oughta have you arrested.”

“He moved in on my girl and I’m gonna kick his teeth in is what I’m doin’!”

The man who’d helped was the owner of the bar, a friend of Lester’s named Herbert Hampton or just Herb to his friends.

“You got a lotta nerve wanting to play a show here and then thinking you can just attack my regulars. Get out! No show tonight, it’s off, you’re done!”

The crowd became irate.

“Are you serious? You’re going to burn down this whole thing because of him?” He pointed at Lester and the ire of the crowd bounced from Herb to Lester.

“I don’t need your crowd. Crawl back into the sewer you damn rats!”

Frank stood up on a table and shouted to his audience, “Alright folks, Herb here hates your music and your money! Come to our place and we’ll be playing our show anyway out of our garage. Rock and Roll lives!”

The crowd roared and started breaking glasses and bottles on the floor. A gunshot went off behind the bar. The bartender had pulled out a shotgun and fired it into the ceiling. The crowd went silent.

“Leave nicely or Rock and Roll may live, but you won't!”

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