Throwback

by Edward J. McFadden III

  “I guess here is as a good spot as any,” Hawk said. “Is there fresh water nearby?”

  “Yes. I’ll show you,” Enyo said.

  “Max, can you go with him? Fill the bottles?”

  “I’m shot, boss.”

  Hawk said, “Good enough. I’ll go, but while I’m gone get a fire going and make camp.”

  “Yes sir, captain my captain,” Max said.

  Svet laughed.

  “Commander, and don’t forget it,” Hawk said.

  He followed Enyo into the forest, torch held before him, the dusk of the prehistoric jungle engulfing them.

  30

  When Hawk and Enyo got back with the water they joined their companions around the blazing campfire. Darkness closed in around them, nothing but blackness beyond the firelight. The night symphony roared, buzzed and chirped. It had become the melody of their lives. The elevator music that kept them on the edge between sane and insane.

  Hawk wanted a martini so bad he could taste it in his mouth, which gave him an idea. “Hey, how about I mix us some drinks? Liven up this party.”

  “What kind?” Max said. “We’ve only got water.”

  “I can mix you up anything you want.”

  “You can’t make—”

  “I can. Trust me.”

  “OK, I’ll play.”

  “Me too,” Svet said.

  Enyo said nothing. He shook his head and squinted.

  Hawk stood before his fellow time travelers and pretended to pull a towel off his shoulder and wipe an imaginary bar in front of him. “OK? Svet, what can I get you?”

  “You go choknutiy?” Svet said. “How you do this?”

  “If you do what I tell you, you’ll see.”

  “Da,” she said, and threw up her hands. “I want a martini, dry, straight up with olives on bamboo skewer.”

  “Coming right up.” Hawk took down an invisible glass and rubbed it with his imaginary towel. He set the glass on the invisible bar and started making a fantasy martini. Between making ice rattling sounds, Hawk said, “I want you to close your eyes and think of the last martini you had. Get it in your mind. Think about how it tasted. Bite the olive.”

  “Da.”

  “Your drink is done. Take a sip,” Hawk said.

  Svet opened her eyes, took the faux martini off the bar and brought it to her lips. She took a long sip, closing her eyes. “Thank you, Hawk. Thank you very much.”

  “I’ll have a scotch on the rocks,” Max said.

  “Saki hot,” Enyo said.

  They all sat at the make-believe bar, in the middle of the jungle like crazy people, sipping drinks in their minds. Hawk took a pull of his own martini, and felt the burn of the alcohol in his throat.

  After two rounds Hawk said, “Let’s turn in. Long day tomorrow.”

  “Can you make any drink?” Svet asked.

  “Most,” Hawk said.

  “You working tomorrow night?” Max said.

  “Sure.”

  They set out the next morning refreshed, but with no hangovers. Hawk felt like he’d had a night out, some time away from the constant grind of survival and the never-ending quest for the beacon. Enyo’s trails were well worn, and they made good time through the jungle. The Chinese astronaut narrated as they walked, pointing out certain flowers and food sources. The tree canopy was full, but patches of sky were visible, and the jungle baked in tunnels of light. The party stopped in one of these areas to soak in the rays.

  “Science has proven that humans need sunlight. Without it the odds of depression go up in orders of magnitude, and lack of sunlight can inhibit the body’s ability to process resources,” Max said.

  “Sun with cold beer better,” Svet said.

  “You had to go say that?” Hawk said.

  “Sorry.”

  The ancient temple didn’t look ancient at all. Hawk had formed a mental picture of crumbling stone and root-cracked slabs of rock, but that’s not what he saw.

  Creepers covered everything, and flowers and small ferns protruded from every gap and ledge. Large open windows looked out like dark eyes, and great trees with wide trunks surrounded the temple. They were in ordered rows, as if planted as a barricade. The building sat on a foundation that looked pristine. It was white and smooth beneath the creepers, and was clearly made of a different material than the structure.

  The place had an air of age, but if the creepers were stripped away Hawk thought the building would look in excellent shape. Nowhere did he see polyhedron shapes, like those of markers.

  Hawk understood why Enyo thought the place looked like a temple. It had an oriental temple feel to it, as it tapered from a square foundation to a pointed peak in stepped levels. Not like a pyramid, but more of a layered wedding cake. Each section looked to be made of a different color stone, and the rock had a smooth sheen like that of polished granite despite the vines and their little claws.

  “Whoever built this place meant it to last,” Hawk said.

  “Ja.”

  “Hold up here,” Enyo said.

  They approached the building across an open area between the protective cover of the trees and the temple. Ferns and scrub palmetto covered the ground, and small dinosaurs skittered away on their hind legs, running through the foliage with heads bobbing.

  “Hold up,” Svet said. “Why—”

  Four mini-tyrannosaurs rexs stepped from behind a large fern, blocking their way.

  “Meet Xio, Grog, Mixie, and Clint. Stay gemen. Sit. Sit,” Enyo yelled.

  One of the dinosaurs came forward, one stayed where it was, and two sat.

  “Clint and Mixie always listen. Grog does when he’s scared, but Xio is a bitch,” Enyo said.

  “What the fuck are you talking about, Enyo? You know these monsters?” Max said.

  “They’re not monsters. I think they’re a type of carnosaur. I’m not sure—” Xio chomped at air and took another step forward. “Hey, Xio, I said sit. I mean it now. Sit.” Xio roared, but didn’t advance. “They are my watch dogs. I killed their mother and when I found the eggs I just…”

  “Whatever. Just send them back to their doghouse,” Hawk said.

  “So, one minor thing, no matter at all really,” Enyo said.

  “What?” Hawk said.

  “A slight flaw in my training. They were trained like military guard dogs, but they’re not as smart.”

  “And?”

  “Xio will attack anything other than me, and Grog will follow her. Eventually the other two will join in and I won’t be able to stop them,” Enyo said.

  “What are you saying?” Svet said.

  “I’m saying I’ll hold them off, you run,” Enyo said.

  Xio took another step forward and threw her yellow head back in frustration. Her baseball sized eyes burned, and saliva dripped between sharp teeth. She snapped at the air again and came forward.

  “Halt,” Enyo yelled. The beast stopped.

  Hawk dove behind a tree and Svet dropped and rolled. Max didn’t move, like a spider that freezes when the lights come on in hopes that nobody will notice it. After a moment Max’s muscles unlocked and he raised his spear.

  Grog had fallen in behind his sister, and the two dinosaurs inched forward toward Enyo, who stood palms outward, trying to hold the beasts back. Clint and Mixie also inched forward, but they appeared less hostile. Their mouths were closed and their eyes blinked innocently.

  Hawk moved away, using trees as cover, limiting his movement and going as slow as his frayed nerves would allow. Svet propped herself up on her elbows and worked her way backward in a reverse army crawl. Max took another approach. He stabbed forward with his spear, attempting to intimidate Xio, but the eight-foot dinosaur had different ideas.

  A yellow-black streak moved toward Max, flying past Enyo as the astronaut yelled for the beast to stop. The dinosaur leapt at Max, who blocked the blow with the point of his spear as he fell to the ground. Xio wailed, the spear tip catching the beast with a glancing blow o
n its chest. Blood trickled from the gash, but the beast came on, straddling Max between its legs and biting at him.

  Enyo still stood before the other dinosaurs, but Grog was screeching and yelling, throwing his head back like a panicking horse trying to break from its bridle.

  “Shit,” Hawk said. He drew the Viking, and worked his way back toward the fray. He hid behind a thick conifer and yelled as loud as he could, every strange sound he could come up with. Beeping horns. Dogs barking. Explosions. Laughter. The sound of a crashing plane. Like a clown at the circus Hawk made as much of a commotion as he could.

  All the dinosaur heads jerked in Hawk’s direction as if controlled by one mind, and that mind was hearing things it had never heard before.

  Max inched backward, and vaulted to his feet. Xio noticed the movement and swung her yellow snout back his way, jaws opening to take a bite.

  Max parried two of the beast’s bites with his spear, but a third strike snapped the spear and the beast’s teeth sank into Max’s shoulder. The physicist screamed as he hit the ground, and crabbed back, trying to get away from the beast’s chomping jaws.

  Svet threw a rock and it hit Xio in the head and the creature wailed, throwing her head up, eyes rolling back. Max got to his feet and staggered behind a tree.

  The scene froze. Animals and people alike stood their ground, eyes darting around, waiting for something to happen.

  “Max, are you alright?” Hawk yelled.

  “Yeah. I’m bleeding bad.”

  Hawk said, “Enyo, what should we do?”

  The Chinese astronaut still held back Grog, Clint and Mixie, but all three beasts were abreast of him and would spring past him as soon as someone hit play and then everything jerked back into motion.

  Xio’s head flicked between where Max hid behind his thin tree, and Hawk, the beast not sure who to pursue. Svet appeared next to Max and she gave him her spear. As she retreated behind a tree of her own she trained the Ash 12 on Xio, prepared to fire into the beast’s face should she come on.

  Grog sprang past Enyo in a blur, followed by Clint and Mixie.

  Max threw his spear at the charging Grog, and he caught the animal in its open mouth, and the spear’s point protruded out the back of the beast’s head like a unicorn horn. The dino fell to its knees and toppled over on its side with a crash and puff of dust.

  Clint and Mixie had enough, and they ran squealing into the jungle like pigs. Xio wouldn’t be scared off so easy. The dinosaur came forward, sniffing the tree Svet hid behind.

  Max stepped out from his cover and threw a stone at the beast’s head, and it hit home, catching the creature in a bulbous eye. It screeched and snapped, lunging toward him.

  Hawk eased forward, trying to get a bead on the dinosaur through the trees. He got a few feet and stopped short. Clint and Mixie’s heads poked through the foliage, watching him with confused eyes.

  Max grunted as he hid behind a tree that didn’t provide enough cover, so he backed away slow, Xio coming at him, head dodging right and left like a boxer looking for a spot to strike.

  Hawk smiled at Clint and Mixie and pushed through the foliage, gun held out before him. Clint and Mixie darted past Hawk and fell in behind their sister. Then seeing Svet, moved toward her, cutting Max off from help.

  The jungle fell silent. The ground shook. The commotion had caught the attention of something bigger.

  The dinosaurs paused, and Svet ran, cutting through the forest like a blur.

  Max tried the same thing, but tripped on a tree root and went sprawling to the ground, blood spurting from the wound on his shoulder. Xio screeched and came forward, her siblings behind her.

  Hawk brought up the Viking, and sighted it on the lead dinosaur. A headshot should take the beast down, but what difference would it make? He only had one bullet, and there were three beasts. When Grog went down it had enraged the animals, so maybe a warning shot into the air? Freeze them one more time to give Max a chance to get up and run? Hawk took too long to decide.

  Enyo blocked Hawk’s view. He was a flash of white as he jumped between Max and the raging dinosaurs he’d raised.

  31

  Enyo put his palms out, bowed his head, and said, “Stay, Xio. Stay.” The dinosaur sprang forward and clamped her jaws on Enyo’s leg, shaking him and tearing skin and muscle. Enyo yelled, and Xio tossed him to the ground like garbage, then dove in for another bite.

  Hawk tried to get a clear shot with the Viking, but branches, leaves and palm fronds blocked his view. There was a flash of yellow in the foliage ahead, but Hawk hesitated and didn’t fire.

  Clint and Mixie scattered, and Svet disappeared into the forest. Xio bit and tore at Enyo as Max backed away, scrambling to put space between himself and the fray. Enyo’s screams of pain filled Hawk’s mind, his heart pounding in his head.

  Svet appeared from behind a tree and drove her spear through Xio’s bulbous left eye and it came out on the opposite side of the beast’s head. Svet jerked the spear free and stabbed at the beast again, and again, until the dinosaur went down, blood and brains oozing from holes in her chest and skull. Clint and Mixie were still nowhere to be seen, but their clicking and moaning could be heard just inside the tree break.

  Enyo was unconscious when Hawk reached him. He was covered in blood, his torso ripped open, a bad bite mark on his leg, and he was missing two fingers on his left hand. The dinosaur’s razor-sharp teeth had cut through his muscle and sinew, the white of his bones visible in the gashes.

  Svet went to Max, who said, “I’m fine. Help Hawk.” He was pale and held his shoulder, but his eyes were bright.

  She peeled off and came to Enyo’s side. “Get leaves. Water.” Svet wiped away the blood and pulled off the torn shirt. She pressed her hands on the wounds, trying to stop the bleeding, but blood pulsed through her fingers. Hawk returned with wide green leaves and Svet used them as bandages, wrapping them around the wounds, tying them in place with palm fronds. “We need to move him. Clean wounds good.”

  “Ja,” Max said. “Hawk, let’s make a stretcher.”

  “You up for it?” Hawk said.

  “I’m fine.” Max winced. His shoulder was red with blood, but he was on his feet and moving.

  “Still two out there,” Svet said.

  Enyo was on the edge of consciousness, but he forced out, “Clint and Mixie will leave you be.” Enyo moaned and grimaced with pain. “I’m going to be unconscious soon, so listen. When you get through the main entrance make a left, go to the end, then make two rights. Got that?”

  “A left, to the end, and two rights. Got it,” Svet said.

  Hawk went into the forest and hunted for two straight branches while Svet pulled down creepers, and ten minutes later Enyo was on a makeshift stretcher. Hawk hid their gear and helped Svet carry Enyo, and Max stumbled before them, clutching his shoulder. Hawk would come back for their gear.

  The party crossed dark hardpan in front of the temple, the entire area surrounded by a thick stand of soldier trees. The temple was covered in creepers, and patches of white stone stood out against the uniform pale green. Vines trailed through open windows, but there appeared to be only one entry.

  The party gathered beneath a large overhang of stone that covered the entrance. Several torches sat propped against the wall, their black tips staining the fine stone. Hawk and Svet put Enyo down and Hawk tried to light one of the torches with the spark stones. He’d only been tapping a minute when Enyo came awake with laughter, blood bubbles and saliva dripping from his mouth.

  “Be here all night,” Enyo said. He pointed to a ledge above the entryway. “Up there.” He shook his finger, pointing.

  Hawk felt along the sill and came down with a disposable lighter.

  “Holly Hanna,” Hawk said. He held the yellow lighter up to the sun and saw that the fluid was almost gone.

  “Bring it,” Enyo said.

  With three flicks of his thumb, Hawk got the torches going and the party prepared to enter through smo
oth stone doors that were mounted on pin counterweight hinges. Enyo motioned at a metal latch with a lift handle held fast with a pin. Hawk removed the pin, lifted the latch, and the heavy stone doors arced open with a gentle push and a puff of dry air.

  Once again Hawk’s mental image didn’t match reality. Inside no creepers clung to the smooth stone walls, and the floor was free of dirt. The foyer was adorned with a huge mosaic etched into the smooth stone wall that showed the progressions of the moon. It was detailed, and showed other star systems than Earth’s.

  Passages trailed to the right and left, dark tubes that led into the structure. There were no statues. No benches or seating, it was plain and unadorned. Hawk went left, his heart racing. He felt like Indiana Jones, except a plane didn’t wait to whisk him away home. The passageway reminded Hawk of the subterranean levels beneath the buildings at NASA headquarters; sterile, dark, and cold. Hawk searched for light fixtures on the ceiling, but there were none. He knew that was a crazy thought, but there was nothing old about the interior of the structure.

  The companions shuffled on through the darkness, diving deeper into the building. They’d seen no doorways, few windows, and the walls, ceiling, and floor were smooth and free of blemishes. To Hawk, the stuff looked like poured concrete, but of a very high grade. There were no cracks, no pock marks, no lines from the forms that would have been needed to shape it.

  When the party reached the t-intersection, they turned right as instructed. Hawk and Svet carried Enyo, while Max went on point, leading through the darkness, the Ash 12 under his arm and a torch held high.

  They made another right and ended in a vast chamber that reminded Hawk of a dining hall. Long tables with thin stone tops filled the outside of the room, but at one corner the tables had been rearranged on their sides to make a privacy barrier.

  Firelight danced on the walls and the ceiling above disappeared into blackness. The torchlight revealed walls covered with pictures. The term hieroglyphs didn’t do them justice. They were stone etchings with detail so fine it looked like the work had been done with a laser cutter.

  In the far corner, behind walls of stacked tables, was Enyo’s living quarters. Hawk and Svet placed the Chinese astronaut on his bed of bamboo and dried grass and covered him with his dirty and torn spacesuit. There was a jungle kitchen with an assortment of nutshell bowls and bamboo containers, a metal pot and a skillet made of steel from Enyo’s ship. Hawk was surprised to see the pot. Apparently, the Chinese had been more practical with their worst-case-scenario planning.