Infinity looked back over her shoulder. She saw no sign of Striker. Abruptly, his leg shot out of the water. His foot kicked out desperately, slapping the surface, and then it disappeared. The second otter was still ten yards away but closing the distance quickly. It dove under. The water’s surface suddenly erupted with flailing arms, legs, and tails as the two otters fought over Striker’s body.
Infinity turned to Tequila. “Shit, Scottie. He’s gone.”
“We have to go,” he said, his voice calmer than before. He pulled on her arm. “Passie, we gotta do our job.”
She glanced at the clients. Naked and wide-eyed, they were backing away from the water, unable to stop staring at the fighting otters. She swallowed, tasting muddy river water. Her job. Yes, she had to protect the clients.
She and Tequila sloshed their way back to shore and then ran to Jarvis and Horton.
“Look at me,” Infinity ordered the two men.
They dragged their eyes from the water to meet her gaze.
“We’re getting away from this river,” she said firmly. “Keep up with us, even if your feet start to hurt. Got it?”
They both nodded.
“This way,” Tequila said, and he began walking directly away from the river.
Infinity took one last look at the water. At first she didn’t see anything. But then she spotted one of the otters, swimming toward shore and the humans. Only its head was visible, and it had something in its mouth, dragging the object awkwardly as it swam. Infinity squinted and felt her gut tighten. It appeared to be a detached arm.
“Let’s go,” she said to the clients.
13
Fire
The strip of trees growing along the river turned out to be only about a hundred yards deep. Infinity, Tequila, Horton, and Jarvis stopped as they emerged from the forest. Before them was a grassy hillside. To the left and right were more hills, and behind the group was the river. They could head straight up the hillside, or they could follow the forest’s edge in one direction or the other. Going back to the river was not an option.
The two anthropologists were winded, but they both had the presence of mind to check their bare feet for damage. As far as Infinity could tell, the area was mostly free of sharp-edged rocks, cacti, and other hazards. This might make all the difference if they had to run all-out to escape danger.
Jarvis finished inspecting his feet and stood upright. “I just… I can’t believe Striker is gone. I really don’t know what to say.”
They all remained silent for several long seconds. Infinity bit her lip and rubbed her temple, trying to shut out the vivid memory of the otters fighting over Striker’s body. She tasted fresh blood and realized she had bitten down too hard.
“He was there, and then he was just gone,” Horton said.
“That’s the thing,” Tequila said. “He’s gone. But you two are still alive, and we’re going to keep it that way. We need to arm ourselves and be ready in case we’re attacked by anything else.”
Infinity blinked and stared at Tequila. He was thinking more clearly than she was. She needed to get her shit together and start acting like a bridger. “Agreed—weapons first,” she said. She walked back over to the edge of the forest and saw that numerous limbs and several fallen trees littered the forest floor. Many were obviously old and rotting, but others looked to be sturdy. “We’re going to make spears,” she said to the others. “We need four solid sticks, each about five feet long. The straighter, the better.”
Without further conversation, they spread out and found four fallen limbs that were suitable. Infinity also selected an eight-foot limb with a forked end. She set about breaking off the two branched tips so that they each extended only about a foot from the main limb. This branch was much heavier than the shorter sticks but not too heavy to carry.
She grabbed one of the shorter sticks, held it up, and gestured for Horton and Jarvis to come closer. “These aren’t sharpened yet, and they don’t look like much, but they can be surprisingly effective, even as they are now. Keep in mind that aggressive animals will often give up if they realize you’re capable of hurting them. Sometimes you can even scare them off before they attack you. If an animal looks like it’s going to attack, the first thing you should do is try to scare it. Be loud and intimidating. Make yourself seem larger. If that doesn’t work, try to hurt the animal any way you can. Before it touches you.”
She leveled the stick and held the tip against Tequila’s chest. “If the animal comes at you, this is your best move. If you’re holding the spear tightly, the animal’s momentum will do the work for you. The position of the tip is crucial, though.” She pressed the stick harder into Tequila’s chest. “Here.” She then moved the tip up to his neck and then to his right eye. “Here, or here. Aim for a spot where you’ll be guaranteed to do some damage.”
She grabbed the smaller end of the stick with both hands and swung it toward Tequila’s head, stopping just before impact. “You can also swing your spear as a club, especially if we’re attacked before we have a chance to sharpen these. With a little luck, a solid hit will convince the creature you’re not easy prey. But be ready to strike again and again if you have to.”
Tequila picked up the longer, forked weapon and proceeded to demonstrate how to use it to hold an animal back at a safe distance. Once everyone seemed to have a basic understanding of this, they located a second forked limb but couldn’t find any others in the immediate area that were sturdy enough.
Next, Infinity looked around for a rock with which to sharpen the weapons but failed to find one. She had seen plenty of rocks by the river, but she wasn’t about to go back there.
“Up there, if you’re looking for rocks,” Jarvis said, pointing up the hillside.
Infinity looked where he was pointing. Near the hill’s crest she saw numerous nearly-white rocks, strewn out horizontally in long, jumbled rows.
“Better than going back to the river,” Tequila muttered.
Infinity and Tequila watched for danger in every direction as they all made their way up the grassy slope. The hill was taller than Infinity had estimated, and they were all panting by the time they reached the first jumbled row of rocks. Some of the stones had wide, flat surfaces, ideal for sharpening spear tips. They all worked at rubbing the branches against the rocks for about an hour, until the two bridgers were satisfied with the results. During that time, the group spotted no other animals except for a few birds of prey soaring in gentle circles far above.
Infinity felt more at ease now that they had the weapons sharpened and ready for use. With any luck, the group would be able to avoid further encounters with dangerous predators by staying clear of the river.
“I’d like to hike to the top of this hill with Jarvis,” Horton said. “Maybe from there we’ll be able to see… you know, our surroundings.”
“You might as well say what you mean,” Infinity told him. “From the top of the hill you might see signs of humans.”
Horton grimaced. “I didn’t want to sound—you know—too focused on our research so soon after Striker’s death.”
“It’s your excursion, man,” Tequila said. “There’s nothing we can do to bring Striker back. If we can move around these hills safely, there’s no reason we shouldn’t try to do what you came here to do.”
“I agree,” Infinity said. “Let’s see what’s visible from up there.” She handed each of the clients a spear and one of the longer, forked weapons. “Keep both of those with you at all times. Be ready to use them at a moment’s notice.” She picked up her own spear and started up the hill, and the others followed.
At the top they found a flat area perhaps a quarter mile across. Infinity scanned the horizon and saw nothing but the tops of additional hills in all directions.
“There, look at that!” Tequila exclaimed, pointing to the west.
A thin column of smoke, barely visible, was rising from a spot near the river a mile or two away.
“I’ll be damne
d,” Horton said. “It has to be from humans.”
“I don't know, man," Tequila said. "It could be a natural fire caused by lightning."
Horton shook his head. “Possibly, but we haven’t heard thunder since we’ve been here. It has to be humans.”
Infinity scanned the surrounding hills again and still didn't see any power lines, fences, jet contrails, rooftops, or other signs of civilization. Just the smoke. The hilltop was so wide and flat that she couldn’t see down into the next valley. “This way,” she said. “Let’s see what’s on the other side.”
They all walked across the hilltop, picking their way between numerous boulders embedded in the soil. As the group approached the edge, the next valley started coming into view.
“Stop!” Infinity commanded. On the far side of the valley below was a herd of large, brown animals.
“Those are elk,” Horton said. “I used to live in Colorado and saw elk all the time. No mistaking them.”
Infinity turned to him. “Are they dangerous?”
Horton frowned at her. “They’re elk. Of course they’re not dangerous. Unless you walk up to one of the bulls and punch it in the face. Aren’t you supposed to be an expert on these things?”
“It’s called on-the-job training,” Tequila said. “You’ve never heard of it?”
Horton looked from Infinity to Tequila and then back to Infinity. “Is he serious? Because I can never tell.”
She shook her head and didn’t answer. “Crouch down. Let’s move closer to the slope.”
They cautiously made their way toward the edge of the hilltop until they could see the entire valley. The elk herd numbered at least three hundred strong. Some distance to the west of the elk was a herd of several hundred darker-colored animals. This time, Infinity recognized their unmistakable shape—they were bison. Other than the two herds, no other animals were visible in the grassy valley or on the hillsides.
She moved to a large, flat rock and sat down. The others joined her. For several minutes they sat in silence, gazing out at the stunning scene below. Infinity considered saying something about how amazing it was that they were the only people from their version of Earth ever to see this place, but she decided the comment would be inappropriate so soon after Striker’s death.
Finally, Horton spoke up. “I knew bridging would be dangerous, but I guess I thought the danger would come from the people we encountered. They certainly wouldn't speak any language we could understand, having developed over a completely different timeline for the last 50,000 years. So I knew there would be the risk of them misunderstanding our purpose here. I thought they might treat us as trespassers, you know, depending on where we arrived. But this,” he waved his hand at the scene before them, “this isn’t at all what I expected.”
Jarvis pointed to the west. “The smoke suggests that the humans here still exist in a fairly primitive state. How is that possible? They’ve had just as long to develop their civilization as we have.”
“Maybe we bridged into a nature preserve,” Infinity suggested. “You know, like a national park or something.”
The anthropologists remained silent for a few seconds, considering this.
“That would be quite a coincidence,” Horton said. “It seems unlikely.”
“Kind of like bridging onto a little island in the middle of a river infested with giant otters?” Tequila said. “Is that the kind of unlikely you’re talking about?”
Both men gave Tequila a sidelong look.
“Alright,” Infinity said, “considering our new understanding of the situation, what do you need to accomplish while we’re here? As long as we can do it safely, we’re here to help.”
The two men gazed toward the column of smoke. Jarvis said, “That’s the only lead we have at this point. I’d like to go check it out.”
Infinity stared at the thin column rising in the distance. It was near the river, which meant it was near the only trees in the area. This was fortunate, because the trees could save their lives if they were attacked again. Considering the presence of elk and bison herds, these hills were probably also home to large predators.
“What types of predators are we likely to find here?” she asked.
Horton said, “Bears, wolves, and mountain lions used to be common in Missouri but were mostly wiped out by humans. Obviously, humans are scarce here, so those species are likely still going strong.”
“What about all those big-ass monsters like saber-tooth cats and mammoths?” Tequila asked. “If humans weren’t here to wipe those out, shouldn’t they still be here too?”
Horton's face seemed to light up a bit at the opportunity for discussion, and he shifted his body to face Tequila and Infinity. “At one time, it was widely believed that overhunting by humans was the cause of the North American megafaunal extinctions that took place a little over 10,000 years ago. It was a major extinction event, referred to as the Quaternary extinction. In recent years, evidence has emerged suggesting those extinctions were not caused by humans, but instead by climate change. Jarvis and I are of the opinion that the extinctions occurred as a result of the dramatic advancement and retreat of glaciers, which of course had nothing to do with human hunting.”
Jarvis added, “Far too many species went extinct for humans to have been the cause. We’re talking fifty-one genera of large mammals, including at least sixteen species of horses, numerous tapirs, camels, antelope, three different mammoths, and the mastodon.”
Horton nodded. “And there were numerous large predators: several bears, the American lion, the saber-toothed cat, a half-dozen other large cats, and a handful of canids, including a few species of wolves.”
“And we mustn’t forget the huge number of birds,” Jarvis said.
“Make no mistake,” said Horton, “there were certainly humans in North America at the time of the extinctions, but I simply cannot buy into the hypothesis that humans wiped out all those species.”
Tequila sighed. “So, the short answer is….”
Horton frowned. “That we don’t expect to see ‘those big-ass things’ here, even in the absence of humans.”
Tequila shrugged slightly. “That’s really all you needed to say, man.”
Jarvis said, “Although several species of bison and elk died out, some survived, like the ones you see right down there.” He nodded toward the valley below. “The fact that we’re seeing species we know survived the Quaternary extinction, yet we’re not seeing species we know perished, suggests to me that the extinction event took place on this world, as it did on our own.”
As Infinity was staring at the elk herd below, something caught her eye. A column of smoke was just starting to rise from a point near the top of the far slope above the herd, as if a fire had been set there only seconds ago. “You guys seeing this?” she asked, pointing.
“What the hell?” Tequila said.
Soon they could see flames as the fire began spreading down the slope. Then another column of smoke began rising to the west of the spot where the original fire had started, as if an invisible person were intentionally creating a burn line along the ridge.
The elk in the valley started to become restless, tossing their heads up and down. They began moving away from the flames as a group, walking slowly at first and then picking up their pace to a trot. Infinity spun around to check the hilltop directly behind her. Nothing. She then scanned the surrounding hills. No sign of the humans who had started the fire.
“My God, would you look at that!” Horton said.
Infinity turned and followed his gaze. At least a hundred smaller, tan-colored animals were flowing over the ridge to the west of the fire, running down the slope directly toward the fleeing elk herd in the valley below. If the creatures had been standing still, they would’ve been nearly invisible, as they were the same color as the tall grass. But they were running full speed.
“I think those are coyotes,” Horton said. “Or perhaps foxes. From here they look to be smaller than coyote
s. Definitely smaller than wolves.”
As the elk continued fleeing from the fire, the mass of dog-like creatures barreled straight into the herd. About a dozen elk panicked and broke from the herd, doubling back toward the fire. The predators ignored the main portion of the herd and went straight for the smaller group, forcing them toward the burning hillside. When the terrified elk reached the base of the burning hillside, they hesitated, unwilling to run up the slope into the flames.
The elk then took off toward the east, running parallel to the slope. Suddenly the patch of hillside below the fire exploded with activity. Hundreds of coyotes, previously hidden in the grass, now charged down on the herd fragment. Seconds later another group of hidden coyotes sprung into action from the grass directly in front of the fleeing elk. The three groups of coyotes converged on the elk and began tearing into their prey with startling ferocity. Within seconds, the elk were completely buried in thrashing canine bodies.
“God in heaven,” Horton muttered.
Infinity scanned the hillside above the fire. “I don’t see them,” she said. “I don’t see them anywhere.”
“See what?” Tequila asked.
“The people! The hunters who started the fire.”
The chaotic battle below ended as quickly as it had started. The coyotes untangled themselves and backed off, leaving behind eleven motionless, bloodied carcasses.
Why had the predators left their prey behind? They were now moving as one massive group toward the center of the valley, where they angled up the far slope. Infinity suddenly realized they were moving out of the way of the approaching fire. The coyotes circled around behind the burn line, and the flames continued spreading until they engulfed the dead elk. The grass around the carcasses quickly burned away, and the flames moved on, leaving behind the smoking bodies.
The coyotes approached the dead, smoldering elk from behind the fire line. The first of the animals to reach the carcasses sniffed at them tentatively and touched them with their snouts as if making sure they weren’t too hot. Then the pack of predators began feeding. Soon the elk carcasses were no longer visible, hidden beneath a frenzy of hundreds of feeding coyotes. Infinity could hear the creatures growling and ripping into the flesh.
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