Down South

DOWN SOUTH Act I: The Breakdown The day was bright, full of the humming of birds that could barely be heard over the roaring engine of the convertible cruising at 120 km/h. Inside, the car was full of laughter. The five friends—Mbali, Lerato, Tsakane, Gift, and Tim—weren't even bothered about when they would reach their destination. They were entirely caught up in enjoying each other’s company.

"You took a wrong turn," Mbali said, leaning forward against the wind.

"I know a shortcut down south that will help us reach the destination expeditiously," Tim replied smoothly, gripping the steering wheel. "Don’t worry, I know what I am doing."

Suddenly, a harsh, coughing sputter cut through the music—a sound like a man choking on cigarette smoke. Thick, cloudy particles erupted from beneath the bonnet, demanding the car halt its pace as the engine violently died. The convertible rolled to a stop in the middle of a desolate road.

"What happened?" Mbali asked, her voice tight.

"The car broke down," Tim replied, staring at the lifeless dashboard.

The afternoon sun began to feel vulgar against their skin as sweat started to drip down their faces. Seeking a solution, Gift stepped up to handle the logistics while Tim sat reeling from the embarrassment of the breakdown.

"I was able to get ahold of a towing company," Gift announced, checking his phone. "They should be here within twenty minutes."

But before a commercial tow truck could arrive, a heavy-bodied bakkie pulled up alongside them. Two individuals stepped out—a man and a woman in their early thirties, both possessing striking, desirable features.

"Hello, my name is Jim, and this is my wife, Tamica," the man said warmly.

After checking the engine, Jim looked up. "This car hasn’t been serviced for quite some time. It’s never a good idea to travel long distances on a car that is not serviced."

Gift turned on Tim, his eyes narrowing. "You didn’t service the car? Tim, tell the truth."

Tim looked down, the heat of embarrassment burning. "Okay, I’ll tell you the truth. I’m broke. For me to afford this trip, I had to cut some costs, and servicing the car was one of them. I didn’t want all of you to feel pity for me."

"Unbelievable, Tim. You just had to be yourself," Tsakane said, her voice dripping with disappointment.

The darkness started to creep upon them as the sun faded away after a small turn of the earth.

"There’s nothing I can do right here," Jim interrupted. "But I can tow you down to where we live, and we can try and fix your car there. Plus, the sun is going down and these streets are not safe at night to unfamiliar people."

"I concur with my husband," Tamica added. She stepped closer, her eyes locking onto Tim with a heavy, intense gaze. There was a dark, unreadable hunger in her expression—a look that felt intensely lustful, completely devouring him through sight alone while her husband remained occupied. Tim felt a sudden spike of adrenaline, entirely distracted by her gaze.

With the group in agreement, Jim hooked the winch to the convertible. Tsakane and Gift decided to remain inside the towed car, while Tim, Mbali, and Lerato climbed into the cab of the bakkie with Jim and Tamica. The truck shifted into gear, traveling down a lonely, forgotten road that showed absolutely no signs of life.

Act II: Salva Lodge

The silence inside the bakkie was suffocating. Jim took a sharp right turn, and the thick treeline suddenly opened up. Ahead of them sat a large lodge, expansive enough to accommodate a community of fifty people. The compound was arranged in a tight, protective circle of buildings, creating an enclosed courtyard.

"The name of the lodge is Salva," Jim murmured as the truck rolled to a stop.

It was pitch black outside, but the courtyard was illuminated by the heavy, dancing flames of a massive wood bonfire. Surrounding the courtyard were large, circular houses painted in vibrant, bright colors that gave the structures a strange, surreal life. Looming directly behind these huts were massive, towering trees, standing like a fortress protecting the lodge from the wild animals of the outside world. Several local couples were scattered around the courtyard, looking cozy by the fire.

Because of their budget, the group had to split up. Tsakane and Gift booked a separate room, while Tim, Mbali, and Lerato shared another, as Tim could not afford a space of his own. Tamica showed them to their quarters before excusing herself with a lingering look at Tim.

While the rest of the group decided to sit by the bonfire, Tim felt restless. Needing to clear his head, he walked over to the lodge's swimming pool for a swim. The pool area was dark and isolated. As Tim swam, a dark shadow approached slowly. It was Tamica. She moved with a slow, predatory confidence, shedding her clothes into the darkness. Underneath, she wore nothing at all.

Without exchanging a word, Tamica slipped into the water, swimming toward him until there was no space left between them. Before he could speak, Tamica pulled him in, filling his mouth with a deep, breathless kiss. She wrapped her legs tightly around his waist. The encounter was intense and overwhelming; at one point, she bit his tongue hard enough to cause a sharp flash of pain, but Tim didn't stop her. Blinded by the moment, they moved together in the dark water. When it was over, they separated in silence.

Tim walked back toward the courtyard to join his friends at the fire. As he sat down with Mbali, Lerato, Tsakane, and Gift, he noticed a terrifying shift in the atmosphere. The surrounding locals were watching them intensely. They stared at the new visitors with an unsettling, hungry fixation—and from time to time, a few of them quite literally drooled as they watched the friends talk.

Then, silently and all at once, the locals stood up, leaving the bonfire completely. They vanished into the heavy shadows of the massive trees, leaving the five friends entirely alone by the dying flames.

Act III: The Harvesting

The sudden silence of the courtyard made Lerato restless. She stared at the massive trees, a sudden curiosity taking hold of her. Without telling the others, she quietly slipped away from the fire, grabbing a lit torch lamp to guide her path.

At the base of the massive trees, she found patches of flowers growing wildly—red roses, lilies, and daisies blooming in the soil. Lerato went down on her knees, burying the handle of the torch into the dirt so it would stand on its own. Using both hands, she carefully picked a fresh daisy. She stood up, effortlessly turning her body away from the treeline, her back facing the deep woods. Holding the daisy up to her face, she closed her eyes, breathing in its scent.

Suddenly, the shadows behind her fractured.

Before she could open her eyes, a massive, beast-like figure named Drax lunged from the darkness of the trees. His rough, heavy hand clamped violently over her mouth, instantly cutting off her scream, while his crushing arms locked her in place. Lerato thrashed, but she was entirely trapped. In the struggle, the daisy slipped from her hand, landing directly onto the upright torch below, catching fire. Jim stepped out from the shadows, quickly administering a heavy sedative into her neck. Her vision blurred, and the darkness took her completely as they carried her toward the preparation room of food.

Back at the fire, guilt began to weigh heavily on Tim. He looked at the cozy room he was supposed to share with Mbali and Lerato—a room he couldn't even afford to contribute toward. Feeling like a burden and wanting to stay out of their way, he decided to walk over to the garage to check on the car. Too ashamed to go back to the room and crowd the girls, Tim quietly climbed into the backseat of his own convertible, pulling his jacket tight. He fell asleep there, completely unaware of the horror unfolding.

Inside the circular hut, Mbali was now all alone, wondering where the others were. Suddenly, a faint, hissing sound whispered through the darkness. Near the floorboards, a thin, pale smoke began to linger, curling upward into the room. It had a sweet, sickening chemical odor. Mbali tried to scramble off the bed, but the toxins hit her instantly. Her lungs burned, her legs turned to lead, and her nose began to bleed heavily from the harsh, chemical rupture. She collapsed onto the cold floorboards, losing consciousness.

Through half-closed eyelids, she watched in horror as a section of the solid stone wall swung inward. The massive figure of Drax stepped out. He grabbed her by her two feet, dragging her backward into the dark, yawning void of the secret passage, leaving a trail of crimson blood on the floor.

Act IV: Hidden Underneath

In the second hut, Gift and Tsakane were sitting together, bonding over their love. For a few minutes, the strange lodge was forgotten, until Gift’s phone suddenly chimed. It had caught a fleeting minute of reception. A message from the towing company popped up on his screen:

NOTICE: Our drivers reported a completely vacant stretch of road. No unserviced convertible or passengers were located. Your emergency service request has been canceled.

The single bar of reception vanished, plunging the screen back into darkness. Gift’s blood ran cold. He turned to Tsakane. "Tsakane... if the towing company couldn't find us, who the hell picked us up?"

They didn't wait for morning. Slipping out into the freezing night, Gift and Tsakane hurried to the second hut to warn the others. Finding the door unlocked, they pushed it open. The room was empty. Gift and Tsakane caught a slight, passing waft of the sweet, sickening chemical toxin still lingering in the air. Looking down, they saw the dark stain of blood from Mbali's nosebleed, leading directly to the seamless stone wall and stopping completely.

"They're taking everyone," Gift whispered.

Realizing their friends were missing and that they needed protection, Gift and Tsakane didn't just run blindly; instead, they wandered frantically through the quiet shadows of the compound, searching everywhere for Mbali, Lerato, and Tim.

Meanwhile, just a few moments before Gift and Tsakane arrived at the garage area, Tim had just woken up in the backseat of the car from the freezing cold. Guilt pushing him to move, he stepped out and used his last remaining strength to adjust the battery leads and tweak the fuel lines. He turned the key. The convertible let out a harsh, sputtering cough, and with a roaring purr, the engine finally started up and stayed idling.

Right after the car started idling, Tamica appeared standing at the garage entrance. She smiled, guiding Tim toward the open secret doorway in the floor. Tim was surprised by the underground tunnel, but blinded by the intoxicating feeling he had experienced at the pool, he followed her down into the darkness.

After finding nothing but empty huts across the compound, Gift and Tsakane finally made their way to the dark garage. To their intense confusion and surprise, they found their convertible completely empty but idling, its engine purring steadily in the dark. Finding the car running with no one inside made them even more suspicious.No one was inside, but as they searched the floor, they discovered a fresh, thick fingerprint of oil pressed against a hidden seam on the ground. To their surprise, pushing it revealed a secret pathway leading down into a subterranean bunker.

Knowing they might be walking into a nightmare, they quickly grabbed weapons from the garage toolkit to defend themselves: Tsakane picked up a heavy steel scriber, while Gift grabbed a solid iron crowbar. Armed and breathing heavily, he and Tsakane gripped their tools tightly and descended the stone steps into the darkness below.

Down in the bunker, Tamica led Tim into a room that was pitch-black. She held the door, letting Tim step inside first, and then slammed it shut, sliding a heavy deadbolt into place.

Tamica flipped the light switch.

The harsh fluorescent bulb buzzed to life. Tim blinked, and his heart dropped. There, in the center of the concrete room, sat Jim.

Jim was calmly sharpening a massive butcher's knife against a whetstone. Tamica stood by the door, her face cold. She had already confessed everything to Jim about her encounter with Tim at the pool, twisting the narrative to save herself. She told Jim that Tim had made the advances first, using his smooth-talking ways to trap her.

Jim knew his wife belonged to the streets. He knew she had used her body to lure travelers into this cannibalistic trap many times before. But Jim still hated the disrespect. He hated the humiliation, and he always took his burning rage out on the men she brought home.

Jim stood up, his eyes black with malice. He grabbed a heavy, rusted iron chain that had been heating up in a blazing coals brazier in the corner. The links glowed cherry-red.

Jim swung the burning chain, striking Tim violently across the chest. Tim, stripped down to only his underwear, screamed in agony as his flesh sizzled. Jim repeatedly hit Tim with the burning iron chain, fracturing his skin, and then used his knife to slowly carve into Tim's flesh. Tim was strapped to a wooden armchair, and under the sheer violence of the blows, he kept falling over with the chair. Each time, Jim would brutally hoist the chair back up, over and over again, mocking his agony.

While Tim was being tortured, Jim took a pair of heavy pliers, pulled Tim's tongue forward, and sliced it completely out. It was the same tongue that had been inside his wife. Jim and Tamica stood over the bleeding victim, sharing and devouring the raw tongue together to seal her twisted loyalty and wash away the humiliation.

Act V: Act of Defiance

Deep in the bunker's kitchen, Gift and Tsakane were moving through the shadows. The bunker wasn't fully manned; Jim, Tamica, Drax, and about five cooks were inside preparing a meal, while the rest of the cult members had ventured above ground into the dark woods to search for the remaining girls.

As Gift and Tsakane peered into the prep room, they saw human eyeballs in jars and severed body parts laid out on stainless steel tables. Horrified, they mistakenly thought the remains belonged to their friends. Suddenly, two cult cooks spotted them. A savage scuffle broke out. Gift swung his heavy iron crowbar, smashing one cook down, while Tsakane drove her scriber through the second cook's chest, leaving them dying on the floor. Hearing frantic screams further down, they ran toward the back holding cells.

Inside the torture room, the wooden armchair finally gave up under the immense strain and shattered. The breaking wood freed Tim's hands. Fueled by a final, primal surge of survival and adrenaline, Tim grabbed a jagged, broken piece of the wooden armchair arm. With a desperate lunging scream, he drove the splintered wood straight into Jim's eye.

Jim shrieked in agony, dropping his butcher's knife as he clutched his bleeding eye, trying frantically to remove the wooden armchair piece from his socket.

As the knife clattered to the floor, Tim scooped it up. In one fluid, rage-filled motion, he spun around and violently sliced Tamica’s throat. She gasped, clutching her neck as blood sprayed across the concrete, collapsing to the floor dead.

Tim then focused solely on Jim. Blinded by blood and pain, Tim charged, shoving the screaming man backward with all his might. Jim hit the concrete wall hard and stumbled blindly, crashing directly into the blazing fire brazier that had been used to heat the iron chains. The coals erupted, engulfing Jim in flames as his screams filled the bunker.

Tim, bleeding and missing his tongue, stumbled out of the room, following the distant voices of Mbali and Lerato.

He burst into the holding cell just as Gift and Tsakane found themselves in a terrifying standoff with Drax. The massive brute was standing in front of Mbali and Lerato, who were suspended in a horrific star-like symbol, their wrists and ankles pierced through by sharp, metal pirate hooks anchored to chains. The cult believed a victim had to be completely terrified before being killed, as the rush of adrenaline gave the cannibalistic meat a richer feeling.

Drax roared and charged the group. He lunged at Gift, stabbing him deeply in the gut with a sharp tool. Gift collapsed, gasping for air, but the wound missed his vital organs and he survived.

Tsakane, screaming in fury, swung her big garage scriber with all her might, piercing it directly into Drax's head. But the massive brute was completely unfazed by the blow. He snarled, grabbing Tsakane by the throat and violently throwing her across the room. She crashed against the prep table, her hands landing on a heavy chopping axe meant for butchering.

Drax turned to finish off the bleeding Tim and Gift, but Tsakane scrambled to her feet. Raising the heavy axe high above her head, she charged from behind and drove the blade straight through the center of Drax's skull. The force of the blow split his head into two distinct pieces. Drax collapsed to the floor, instantly dead.

Tim, Tsakane, and a bleeding Gift desperately worked the chains, releasing Mbali and Lerato from the cruel pirate hooks. Supporting each other, the five friends limped back up the concrete stairs. The remaining three cult cooks tried to block their path in the kitchen, but the friends violently fended them off with their tools, knocking them aside and leaving them broken on the floor.

They burst out into the garage. The convertible was still idling exactly where Tim had left it, its engine purring in the cold night air. They scrambled inside, but the car took time to shift and gather speed. Above them, the hunting party that had been searching the woods heard the commotion and came rushing back, hot on their heels.

The cult members sprinted toward the garage, screaming and throwing heavy tools, rocks, and iron bars at the moving vehicle to hold them off. Glass shattered and metal dented, but Tim smashed his foot onto the gas pedal. The tires screeched, and the convertible tore out of the Salva Lodge gates, leaving the screaming cannibals behind in the dust.

Once they hit the main highway, Gitf's phone finally had reception and contacted the police. Hours later, heavily armed authorities raided Salva Lodge—but they found the compound completely vacant. The cult had evacuated into the dark corners of the country, leaving behind nothing but empty buildings and stripped infrastructure.

The physical wounds healed, but the psychological scars remained absolute. Knowing that the monsters were still out there, the five friends made a grim, unspoken pact. Bound by blood and survival, Tim, Gift, Tsakane, Lerato, and Mbali committed their lives to a single, dark purpose: tracking down, hunting, and punishing every single member of the cannibalistic cult that practiced down south.