The Man Who Killed Everest

By Edward Punales

Tomás loves hunting endangered game. The thrill of wiping out an entire species holds a special place in his heart.

Caprona is the only place in the world with living dinosaurs, making it a mecca for trophy hunters.

But when his friend Lucas kills the world's last Triceratops, Tomás will have to up his game, and take down the last Tyrannosaurus Rex alive; an old beast that the hunters call, Everest.

Word Count: 5,300

• Language: English
• Publisher: Edward Punales
• Release date: Sep 23, 2018
• ISBN: 9781386654650

Edward Punales

I’m a writer, poet, filmmaker, and lover of mythology, science fiction, art, and cheeseburgers.  I’ve published three short story collections, written and/or directed a handful of short films, regularly publish new work on my Medium page, and have spent way too much time on the internet watching old vine complications. I used to write under the pen name Edward Lange, but I switched to my real name in 2015. I live in South Florida.

Book preview

Tomás had wanted to kill the last Triceratops, but his friend Lucas beat him to it.

Lucas killed it in Tanzania over the summer, at the Caprona Wildlife Reserve. He had the body discreetly transported back to Brazil. He’d left Tanzanian jurisdiction so quickly that he was no longer subject to the country’s very strict anti-poaching laws. The UN fined him a hefty 3.8 BRL (about 1 million USD) but his uncle who worked for Heineken foot the bill. No one in his family cared. There was nothing stopping him from keeping the body.

Lucas mounted the beast’s head onto the mantle above the fireplace in his summer home in Rio de Janeiro. He then threw a party to show off.

Tomás had wanted to strangle the smug son of a bitch. He was ten minutes early to the party.

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Tomás stood by the fireplace, champagne glass in hand, looking up at his friend’s trophy. The Dinosaur’s frilled head, with two long horns above the eyes and a short one above the beaked-snout, stared down at him, mocking him.

The party around him was loud, crazy, with dozens of people, all here to admire his friend Lucas. Lucas himself was on the other side of the room, talking to a group of three young women in tight dresses. They hung on his every word, as he regaled them with the story of his hunt.

Tomás took another gulp of his drink.

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The party went on. Tomás followed Lucas out to the balcony on the third floor. Their friends David and Raul joined them by the railing, overlooking Rio. They smoked Cuban cigars, and Lucas told them that