Tir Mal nodded and Sah Lee saw her jaw was clenched, making her facial muscles stand out. Her eyes were narrowed and Tir Mal’s face had a hard, angry look to it. She suspected that her own face looked the same. Heading west again Sah Lee broke into a run, but this time, instead of trailing behind her, Tir Mal caught up and they ran side by side. Sah Lee was comforted that her closest friend Tir Mal was right alongside her.
They continued running until the sun had sunk to just touch the horizon. Sah Lee called a halt. “We’ll have a drink and rest until the sun has gone down, then we’ll hunt for something to eat in the twilight. We should be able to find something. When we’ve eaten, we’ll sleep for a few hours and then set out before dawn.”
“I want to kill more of those creatures!” Tir Mal said. “Why don’t we just keep going until we find them?”
“If we fight them when we are tired and hungry, we will be slow and weak, and then we’ll be dead. We need to rest and regain our strength before we attack the demons.”
Tir Mal dropped to the ground and Sah Lee sat beside her. Her head was still painful and had bled again while they ran, but the pounding had eased. She would look for a stand of kahn trees while they hunted. Chewing the bark had a pain killing effect and should reduce or even stop the pounding.
She took a drink and turned to Tir Mal. She lay asleep on the ground, her head on her backpack. Sah Lee wondered when Tir Mal had last slept. She put her leather water bottle in her backpack and left it by Tir Mal as she went to hunt for food and kahn tree bark.
Chapter Seventeen
Demon Hunt
Sah Lee returned, chewing khan bark and carrying a full grown ranual. Tir Mal was still asleep, so Sah Lee sat on a rock fifty meters away and carefully skinned and prepared the ranual, then buried the head, feet and guts. She carried the carcass wrapped in its skin back to Tir Mal and woke her gently. She sat up and rubbed her eyes.
“It’s dark.” Tir Mal said sleepily. “Let’s go and see if we can find something to eat.” Then she caught the scent of the fresh ranual meat. “You’ve been. Why didn’t you wake me?”
“You need to sleep as much as I do. It only takes one to hunt a ranual this far from a village. Come on, let’s eat.”
They shared the ranual’s small liver, then ate most of the rest of the meat. Sah Lee wrapped the remains in its skin and put it into her backpack. They rubbed the blood and juices from their hands with the loose dry soil, then tore off handfuls of the thin dry grass and rubbed the dirt off their hands. They settled down in the lee of a patch of scrubby bushes which gave scant protection against the cool night breeze and both fell into a deep sleep.
Tir Mal woke first in the pre-dawn silence as the nocturnal animals and insects were preparing to hide and sleep for the day and before the diurnal denizens of the plains had started to wake. It was still dark and looking up she could see stars twinkling, but the sky in the east was starting to lighten. She took a drink of water and then woke Sah Lee. They shared the remains of the ranual, buried the bones and skin, then set off eastwards in the twilight before the sun rose.
They ran side by side in the steady, mile eating, hunting lope which was almost hypnotic in its unvarying, regular pace. Late in the morning they caught the scent of something that didn’t belong on the plains and slowed to a stop.
“What is that scent?” asked Sah Lee.
“I have smelt that before. It is the scent of the flying machines.” Tir Mal answered. “We must be downwind of one.”
“We’ll see what’s there and decide what to do.” Said Sah Lee. She crouched down and led the way towards the scent.
The scent was strong, but their prey was further away than they thought. They caught sight of a flying machine and staying downwind, they moved across to higher ground to get a better view. Sah Lee was shocked to see nearly thirty of the machines arranged in a rough circle. The machine they had seen had been the nearest, the others hidden by the lay of the land. They could see a large number, between two and three hundred, of the creatures milling around in the space in the middle of the flying machines.
“There’s nothing we can do there.” Sah Lee said. “We could try to find any scouts they have sent out.”
“Let’s do it. If we can’t kill them all at once, we’ll do it one at a time.”
Sah Lee led the way cautiously round to the west. If they weren’t directly downwind of the enemy encampment, the heavy scent wouldn’t drown out the tell-tale odor of any scouts. Progress was slow as this wasn’t like their normal tracking, now they were not only looking for their prey but also knew that they may be hunted themselves.
Past the scent of the main camp, the faint scent of the enemy creatures came to their nostrils. They hunkered down while they worked out the location of its source. They were far enough away from the encampment to not be detected by the main body of the enemy force, but not far enough away that the sound of their weapons would not go unnoticed. Creeping closer through the low scrub, they caught sight of two of the enemy creatures. Sah Lee drew a breath through her teeth with a hiss when she saw them. They weren’t wearing head covers and she could clearly see that these weren’t the same as the one she had killed earlier. One had a long narrow scaly muzzle with gray scales covering its head. The other had a short-hooked beak in the middle of a pink skinned face with a ruff of short feathers sweeping back over its head. “These are demons!” she whispered.
“I think they are just different types of animal,” Tir Mal replied, “they die too easily to be demons.”
“Whatever they are, we need to get a lot closer and take them by surprise. If they use their weapons on us, we won’t stand a chance.”
Slipping off her backpack and drawing her hunting knife, Sah Lee crept forward, moving slowly and silently, staying low, with Tir Mal just behind her. They came up behind the two scouts who were standing relaxed grunting and squawking at each other. Sah Lee and Tir Mal paused four paces away, nodded to each other and leapt on them. Their blades flashed as they buried them into the creature’s throats. Tir Mal was a fraction too slow and as the beaked creature died from her knife, its arms jerked up and fired a burst from its weapon harmlessly into the air. As she and Sah Lee pulled their knives free and stepped back, an answering burst of gunfire tore through Tir Mal and Sah Lee saw her jerking body drop to the ground in a welter of blood. Sah Lee’s arm came back as she spun towards the source of the gunfire and she saw a third creature swing its weapon toward her. Her arm snapped back, and her hunting knife flew straight into the eye of the third creature burying itself up to the hilt. The creature fell backwards, frantically scrabbling at its eye, dropping its weapon, which clattered onto the rocks at its feet. It struggled for a moment then became still.
Sah Lee knew the sound of the weapon would attract more of the demons to investigate. She ran the few steps to the body of the third creature and pulled her knife from its eye socket, wiping it with two quick strokes on the dead creature’s arm. She stepped back and crouched down by the torn and lifeless body of Tir Mal. She blinked, and her eyes stung, but no tears came. It was as though she knew that Tir Mal’s death was inevitable. For a moment, she was looking down into her own dead face. A ripple ran across it like a reflection in a still pool and a cold chill ran from her scalp down her back. She shook her head and Tir Mal’s empty eyes stared back up at her.
She bent down and kissed Tir Mal’s forehead and closing her eyes, whispered, “Rest well, my friend.” She sprang up and sprinted away, not even stopping to collect her backpack. She knew she needed to put as much distance between herself and the encampment as quickly as possible before the demons came for their revenge.
Chapter Eighteen
Escape
Sah Lee ran hard until the sun was halfway to the horizon. Catching the scent of water, she followed it to a shallow muddy pool, hidden by trees and long reeds. She pushed through the undergrowth and dropped to her knees in the mud. Still panting from her run, she scooped the murky water up with her hands and
gulped it down. She regretted leaving her backpack with her water bottles now. It was impetuous and foolish. If she had stopped a moment and considered it, she could have spent the few minutes retrieving it. Sah Lee felt ashamed that her fear overcame her common sense. She had nothing to carry water in and knew if she drank too much now and continued running, she would probably vomit it up. She also thought it probable that the creatures would be hunting her, and in their flying machines, they could move much more quickly than she could. Her thirst barely slaked, she pushed through the reeds and broke into a run, heading west again.
The sun set, and the color bled away from the landscape but there was enough light for Sah Lee to continue running, albeit at a slower pace than before. In the distance she saw a spark of light, a camp-fire. Relieved to see the signs of life, Sah Lee changed direction toward the fire. Aware that the light might attract unwanted attention as she approached, she moved more cautiously round to the south and west of the fire to get downwind of the camp to make sure she didn’t run into any of the enemy creatures. She was still some distance away when she caught the unnatural scent of the flying machines.
Even more carefully now, Sah Lee crept towards the source of the scent. Spotting higher ground to her left, she moved across to it to get a better view. When she was on top of the rise, she edged forward on her stomach amongst the low growing grass towards the highest part. Peering through the blades of grass, she was shocked to see another group of flying machines, just visible in the faint light of the Necklet. She could see them in a rough circle, with firelight flickering on a small group of demons in the middle.
Sah Lee shuffled backwards until she was out of sight of the encampment. Even if most of the demons were asleep or resting in the flying machines, there may be patrols in the area. Tired and hungry as she was, Sah Lee was in no hurry to run into a group of them in the dark. And the death of Tir Mal still unsettled her. She had always been Sah Lee’s closest ally, they had been almost inseparable. Now she was truly alone. She felt the emptiness in her stomach she had felt when she left home, but also the sense of loss of her friends and the destruction of the University which she had become to think of as home. Not gone because she had followed her duty and left it, but because the invading demons had snatched it away and smashed everything into dust. No tears came to her this time. When she saw the city destroyed, then her friends all dead, she felt as though something inside was dying. When Tir Mal was killed its spark was finally quenched. The only thing she felt now was anger, a lust for revenge and a primal fear that she fought to keep down.
Once clear of the mound, Sah Lee glanced at the Necklet and stars to get her bearings and resumed her journey west. She had many days travel ahead of her to get to where she might find her village again.
As she ran, she was startled to hear an Aarnth voice call out - even more so as it was a male. The voice called out again, “Who’s there.”
She stopped, focused and alert. Looking in the direction the voice came from, she saw a dark shape moving about fifty paces away. “What are you doing here? she hissed.
“Thank the Makers, I was afraid you were one of them.” the male voice replied. “I’ve managed to avoid them, but I’ve seen what they have done.” He moved towards her. “Do you have any meat? I have water.”
Desperately thirsty, she overcame her distrust of males. The ones in the city were, apparently, tame and safe, but she grew up fearing the village males who were kept securely penned up.
“Where are you from?” she asked.
“I was just outside the city. I escaped onto the plains. It seemed safer. Do you have food?”
“No, can I have some of your water. I don’t have any.”
“Where are you from?” he asked.
“I was at the university. My class was on a field trip when - what happened, happened.”
“You mixed with males in the city?”
“No, I never saw what worth males had. I don’t know what we kept you for.”
He approached her, she saw he had no backpack or any other possessions, just a canteen hanging from the leather strap in his hand.
“You must be a city girl.” he said, handing her the canteen. “A hunter would never lose their water bottle.”
Sah Lee said nothing and took a mouthful of the sour, tannin tainted water which she rinsed round her mouth and spat out on the ground. Then she took a deep drink and handed it back.
As she turned her back on him, he leapt and crashed down on her as she fell face down on the ground. Gripping her neck with his left hand he pressed her face into the dust while he pulled at her breeches with his right hand.
“Now I’ll show you what us males are for.” He snarled at her.
In his eagerness he misjudged Sah Lee’s strength, determination and fighting skills. She didn’t want to draw the hunting knife strapped to her back, all that would achieve would be to hand it to the male. She pulled her right arm up above her shoulders to reach up behind her and extended her claws. She twisted her upper body and grasped at his left forearm, digging her razor sharpened claws into his flesh, raking them down to his wrist, each claw laying open the skin and slicing deep into the underlying muscle.
He let out a cross between a scream and a roar. As his left hand lost its strength it lifted off Sah Lee’s neck. She twisted round underneath him and while he was off balance jerked her pelvis up and threw him off. As she rolled back to attack him, he swung his right fist round and caught her in the side of the head with a terrific blow. She fell back dazed, while he staggered to his feet, clutching his ruined left arm to his chest, blood pouring from the wounds.
“I’ll kill you for that!” He bellowed, looking around for a suitable sized rock.
Sah Lee looked up, trying to focus her eyes, realizing that if she stayed on the ground, she would soon have her head caved in. He looked like he would do a better job of it than Sor Tan. She staggered to her feet, desperately trying to pull herself together. The recent wound on her head had reopened and was dripping blood down her cheek. As she stood up, he charged towards her with a rock in his right hand, held high ready to swing down on her skull. Remembering what she had learnt at the University fighting club, she twisted slightly to her left and leaned back as she brought her right foot up and hit him hard, squarely in the middle of his torso just below his breastbone. The impact temporarily paralyzed his diaphragm muscle, causing acute pain and stopping him from breathing. He stopped in his tracks. With his lungs unable to draw breath in or out, his roar cut off as though with a switch and he stood stock still, eyes bulging. Sah Lee took the opportunity and sprang forward sinking her teeth deep into his throat, snapping them closed and shook her head as she yanked it back. A large piece of the male’s throat came away, pouring blood down Sah Lee’s chin and over his chest.
Still unable to breath, with arteries in his neck severed and his windpipe half torn out, the male dropped to his knees, his right hand over his throat trying to cover the wound while his life blood pumped out between his fingers. As the blood quickly drained from his brain, he lost consciousness and collapsed on his side. A few moments later, he died.
Sah Lee spat out the bits of the male’s throat that remained in her mouth. It was the first time she had tasted Aarnth blood. It was very much like the blood from all the other animals she had killed.
Chapter Nineteen
Dust
As the sky started to lighten before dawn, Sah Lee woke from the shallow scrape she had made in the shelter of a morl berry bush. The thorny branches hadn’t offered any physical protection to her, but they hid her from view and the pungent smell of its leaves and crushed berries helped to cover her scent. She was now several hours run away from the body of the male. The memory of her encounter with him frightened and angered her. She had left him and his water bottle behind and once again she regretted letting her fear get the better of her, she really needed something to carry water in.
She had seen a tallak tree a few paces away b
efore she created her bed. She walked over to the stunted, twisted tree and picked a few of the ripe black berries that hung on it in profusion. The juice filled berries tasted sharp, but she knew they would slake her thirst and keep her going until she could get fresh meat.
Moving into the light breeze coming from the north west, Sah Lee left her overnight shelter, knowing she would catch the scent of the flying machines or any demon scouts. Every time she glanced up at the sky, she saw flying machines crisscrossing high above her. They seemed to be flying in random directions; the sight reminded her of the flight of angry hornets when as a child she and her friends played, throwing rocks at their nests and then running away when the furious insects swarmed out.
As she ran with her eyes half on the horizon, half on the ground in front of her she saw one of the high up flying machines suddenly wink out of existence, leaving a small cloud of dust which rapidly fell groundward. She slowed down to see what was happening. Another disappeared, then two more. A puff of dust rose from the ground in the distance, followed a few seconds later by what sounded like a single, distant clap of thunder. The same sound, but louder this time, came from behind her, she spun round and saw another cloud of dust that looked like it came from the group of flying machines she had seen the previous evening.
Then there were puffs and clouds of dust rising from all around her and the sound like thunder merged into one continuous rolling rumble which grew in intensity and she could feel the ground beneath her feet trembling.
A cloud of dust silently exploded from the ground less than a quarter of an hour running distance away and Sah Lee turned around to look directly at it. Dust burst out into a roiling cloud and small dark specks flew out in all directions. As the specks heading towards her grew, she realized that what looked like small dots were huge rocks hurled up from the ground. Then the sound and pressure wave hit her like a hammer blow and flung her backwards. The wind tore the air from her lungs and tumbled her across the ground like a rag, ripping up shrubs and throwing loose soil, dust and small rocks outwards. As soon as the rush of wind and sound passed, Sah Lee pushed herself up and stood, bruised and bleeding, choking in the dust peering at the source of the devastation. The rocks thrown in the air started to fall out of the sky, crashing to the ground, bouncing, spinning and flattening everything in their path. There was no shelter, all she could do was to drop to the ground and roll herself into as small a ball as possible with her arms wrapped protectively over her head and hope that nothing big hit her. She had been frightened for so long that her fear seemed to be a permanent part of her now, almost normal. She felt the inevitability of her death, hoping that whatever killed her would be quick and painless.
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