Caveman Alien's Trap

by Calista Skye

  “Not on me.” Okay, so I think I’m starting to grasp what the main problem will be, here.

  Some of them lose interest and go back to staring at the fire. Now I see that they’re roasting something over it. It’s a bunch of roots, of the kind that the girls and I also tried before we found better plants. These ones were too tough and too hard. And they had a bitterness to them that Delyah said wasn’t a good sign.

  “Lab coat girl, huh?” the girl in the pajama says. “You’re the reason we’re here in the first place.”

  I know what she means, of course. Some of us did try to hijack the flying saucer after we were taken, but it failed, and the aliens executed Alesya as punishment.

  “We’re really not the reason we’re here,” I state with as much force as I can muster, which is a whole fucking lot. I’m not in the mood for bullshit. “It was those fucking Plood aliens. But we might have a way to get home. And we have food. Lots of it.”

  That gets them interested, and now more girls are sticking their heads out from the huts.

  “Where, though?” Tamara asks. “We’re trapped here. By that dragon thing.”

  I nod, thinking hard. If we’re in that star shape I spotted, then we’re surrounded by Troga’s trench on all sides. Me sliding down one side of the trench and up the other sides is not something we can count on to succeed ever again.

  I already know that I don’t want to stay here any longer than necessary. I have to get out. And I have to take these girls with me. I’m clearly in much better shape, having lived the past ten months or so in relative safety, with somewhat decent food and a whole lot of physical activity. Any way I look at it, I’m now responsible for getting them out. And, it occurs to me, I’ve pretty much just promised that I will.

  “We have to deal with the dragon,” I state. “And we will.”

  “Where are the other lab girls?” pajama girl asks.

  I don’t like her tone. “I’m sorry, what’s your name? I’m Caroline.”

  “Okay. Eleanor. Where are the other lab girls?”

  “They’re in a cave we found. We’ve lived there for months. It’s pretty safe, and we have food. But it’s on the other side of the dragon’s trench. I’m the only one on this side.”

  “Can we get to that cave and the food?”

  “I think we can,” I lie. “I just have to think. So you guys were dumped here by the dactyls?”

  Some of the girls nod.

  “It took me into its claws and just… flew,” onesie girl says. “I was sure I was dead. Those claws were so cold. Then it landed and released me, and I thought it would eat me. But it took off again. And…”

  “They dumped all of us here,” Tamara says. “Then we realized that we were separated from the rest of the woods by that riverbed or whatever. The glass one. Some of the girls went down into it and wanted to see where it led. We heard screaming right after. They never came back. Then another one tried it. And then…”

  “The dragon came and burned her and ate her,” Eleanor says harshly. “We all saw it. The dragon lives in the trench. It doesn’t come out of it. But it tries to get us down there.”

  “It will sometimes make sounds,” onesie girl says. “Like, make crying noises, sounding the way one of the girls would if she was down in the trench. It’s terrible.”

  “We can’t get past that trench,” Tamara says. “But are things any better on the other side of it?”

  I scratch my head and look in the direction of the treehouse. “Sometimes.”

  I sit down and start telling them about what’s happened to the girls and me since we got here. I skip some details that don’t seem important, but even so, it takes me a long time to tell our story.

  The girls are just listening. I don’t know if it’s from interest or because they don’t have the energy to do anything else.

  Their roots seem to be cooked, and they share them equally between all twelve of them. They don’t offer me any, but that doesn’t bother me. I’ve eaten much better than them for months.

  When I get to the part about Xark’on and me, I quickly decide to cut it short. “I came across a caveman who was building a trap to kill the dragon. And I helped him. We finished it yesterday. And he said that—”

  Then, out of the blue, despite that short, perfunctory version of events, the whole load of emotions comes crashing over me, and I can’t stop a deep, drawn-out sob from working its way up my throat.

  And then I’m just bawling my eyes out in front of twelve girls I don’t even know.

  How could he do that to me?

  Tamara puts a bony arm across my shoulders and keeps it there until I can get ahold of myself.

  “Anyway,” I say, wiping tears from my eyes, “there’s a way to kill the dragon. The trap is still there.”

  “How would that work?” Tamara asks.

  I tell them about the trap, trying to avoid seeing Xark’on in my mind’s eye. But it’s impossible, and I have to concentrate to not break down again.

  “So, to get to the trap, we have to get across the trench,” Eleanor says. “Did you miss the part where we said that’s impossible?”

  I sigh. “I didn’t miss it. But I got across it. It’s hard, but not impossible.”

  “Yeah, so, we don’t care about killing that dragon. We just want to get across that trench. There are some people there who have helped us.”

  I frown. “There are?”

  “Huge men with green stripes. They sometimes toss food over to us.”

  “Well, one of them did,” Tamara said. “A really big one. Muscles like… well. But then he stopped doing that. About two weeks ago.”

  I feel dizzy. Suddenly, things are falling into place. That man she’s describing — that has to be Xark’on.

  The Treasure Xark’on was talking about. That’s these girls.

  They’re his Treasure. That’s how things would get so much better for his tribe. They’d have women.

  He would kill the dragon so that the tribe could come and take the girls. Then they would have women. And I’m sure he was planning to take one for himself.

  That’s why he didn’t react that much to meeting me. He’d already seen women here on Xren. He was sure he’d get one of them.

  And that’s why he didn’t start digging the trap until long after the dragon had come here. He had to discover the women first. That fired him up enough to start working.

  So when I came along, of course he would think of me as bait for the trap. After all, with Troga dead, the tribe would have access to twelve women to use as sex toys. One woman in exchange for twelve. The math checks out.

  So fucking cold, though. So ice cold and evil to use me like that.

  But I’m sure he would get first pick of these girls.

  He would give them food, of course. That sounds just like him. Tossing it over the trench with his huge strength. And then he lost interest. About two weeks ago. Because he started spending all his time with me.

  I don’t blame him for the things that happened before I came here. He’s a virile, energetic man, vibrantly alive. Of course, he wanted a woman. He wouldn’t be real if he didn’t. And these girls needed help.

  But using me like that… no. Just no.

  “Yeah,” I say at last, with my soul reduced to cold ashes. “I’ve met those guys. But I don’t think they want good things for you. I think they want you to be their slaves.”

  Eleanor spits something onto the fire, making it hiss. “Why do you think that?”

  I try to blink away more acid tears. “Because they’re some mean, treacherous fuckers.”

  31

  - Xark’on -

  It’s never been this difficult to get down the rope from the tree. I’m still dizzy, and I see everything double. It’s hard to keep my balance. At one point, I almost lose my grip and plummet to the ground, and for one moment I’m hanging by one arm, just dangling, almost smashing my head into the counterweight rock on its way up.

  It’s
never happened before. I can usually get down from this tree in the space of five heartbeats. Now, my head is full of sand, and I can’t see straight.

  I have to get down in one piece. If something happens to me, then there’s nobody to help Caroline.

  I’m finally down.

  A little close to the grass, perhaps. I never noticed how huge those green strands are.

  Ah. I’m lying down.

  I have to get up.

  I use the trunk of the tree to support me, and after just a moderate effort, I’m standing upright, leaning against the tree while everything spins.

  When things settle down a little, I catch my bearings. I never noticed before how similar the jungle looks in every direction. It’s the same blurry green everywhere I look. How am I supposed to find the right way to the trap now?

  Well, I have to pick one.

  I stagger slowly in among the trees, hoping there’s no rekh or brak waiting for me in there. It feels like I’d have trouble defending myself when I can’t quite control my arms.

  I know I’m making too much noise. But speed is important. Troga is fast.

  Caroline is fast, too. The way she moves her hands when she’s working on something—such precise movements with those slender fingers!

  She’s the only important thing in my life. Nothing was ever like her.

  I have to find her.

  I stop and just breathe. Where could she be? Is she in the treehouse?

  No. That’s where she’s not. I have to remember that.

  Then where?

  The forge.

  I squint, trying to remember.

  No. Not the forge.

  The trap.

  The breath sticks in my throat. Roti’ax! He wants to use her to bait Troga into the trap!

  That was it. I remember now.

  I keep going. I have to find her. She’s the only good thing in this jungle.

  I laugh out loud. Good thing? She’s not just good. She’s far beyond any words. I’ve never had anything fill my mind like she does. It’s all Caroline now. Everything. And it feels really good.

  She has a light to her, that woman. She’s just perfect. I can’t think about anything without her being there.

  Before, I thought that the tribe was the most important thing in life. Now, Caroline overshadows it like the midday sun overshadows little pale Yrf.

  She took up my thoughts so much, I forgot about the Treasure and about giving them food. Before I went to the treehouse to dig the trap, I told Roti’ax to make sure they were given something every day. I hope he did it. But they’re none of my concern.

  The tribesmen can deal with the Treasure. I’m no longer interested. The Treasure doesn’t fill me with a warm light every time I think of it. Caroline does.

  I will save Caroline.

  Then I will kill Roti’ax.

  And anyone else who took part in using her as bait.

  32

  - Caroline -

  The fire has burned out, and the girls are just sitting here. Right now, the girls back at the cave are done with breakfast, and they’re starting the work of the day.

  These girls are not. There’s not much they can do.

  I see no reason to postpone the things that have to happen. These girls don’t have food because there’s not much here. There are no not-sheep, as far as I can tell from what the girls here are telling me. No turkeypigs. The bushes and roots have already been eaten. We have a trickle of water from the creek, and that’s it.

  I want to get away from this star-shaped patch of jungle. And I want that while I still have some energy. The longer I wait, the harder it will be.

  If we go all the way out to the point of the star, where I came from, then we’ll be very close to the trap. Only the trench will separate us from that. And if we’re somehow able to kill Troga there, then we can safely make our way over the new trench she burned, to the cave and relative safety.

  Troga shows up pretty soon after any activity near her trench. I’m pretty sure I know how. The glass that makes up the trench is continuous. There are no cracks in it. It’s hard and stiff. Any vibration or sound will be conducted perfectly.

  Troga can lie still and just listen to the sounds of the glass, like a spider in the middle of its web stays still waiting to feel the vibrations of a fly caught in its sticky net. She can probably hear footsteps near her trench. And if someone falls into it, that must make the whole web sing like when you tap your nail on a crystal wine glass. Then, she can come and burn the victim, knowing that they can’t get away from her slippery trench.

  If I get out of this, I’ll get these girls back to the cave, and we’ll all make crossbows like Aurora’s, and we’ll march to Bune, break into its center, and seriously fuck up the entity responsible for this. Whether it’s a computer or a person or whatever. Sending Troga out into this jungle is one step too far. There’s no excuse for that. No fucking excuse.

  “We’ll get out of this,” I state out loud. “Today. We can’t wait.”

  Okay. Now I’m committed.

  “Not sure who elected you dictator,” Eleanor drawls. “But it wasn’t any of us.”

  “I’m not trying to boss anyone around. But nothing’s getting better just by sitting here and waiting. Those cavemen with the green stripes will try to kill the dragon. If they succeed, the first thing that happens is that they’ll come here and capture all of you. You think you’ll have a choice about what happens then? These guys don’t have any women of their own. Zero. Us right here and the girls back at the cave are the only women on the whole planet. They’ll keep you as sex slaves and breeding pods and servants.”

  “But not you?”

  “Not me. I’ll slit my wrists before I let these guys get me. I’d rather fucking die.”

  My intensity at that last statement gets some of the girls to look at me with more interest.

  “What can we do?” onesie girl asks.

  I feel for my throwing stars in my chest pocket. Still there. Three of them. Sharp as razors. “I have a plan. We’ll trap Troga. We’ll get to the cave. There’s food. We’ll be safe there. We’re a tribe all to ourselves. The best tribe on the planet. We have some cavemen of our own living with us, too.”

  “Are you their slaves?” Eleanor asks.

  “No.”

  “Then what makes you think we’ll be?”

  It’s really hard to explain a gut feeling. “I’m pretty sure you will. Our men don’t come from one tribe. They come from different tribes. We met each of them separately, got to know him really well, and invited him to our cave. One at a time. That makes a big difference. You’re twelve girls who’ll be attacked by a hundred primitive men with swords. A hundred caveman virgins with swords. You think they’ll let you decide if and how things happen?”

  They’re all quiet for a long time.

  “How will we trap that dragon?” Tamara finally asks.

  I clench my jaw. “She has to be baited. Just so happens that I have the perfect bait.”

  “What?”

  I force a grin. “Me.”

  - - -

  I explain my plan. Some of the girls are eager to get going while others are more reserved. But they all agree to try. I think my little speech worked.

  “We need rocks,” I direct. “As big as possible.”

  Then, we’re marching the way I came, out on the point of the huge star that goes all the way to the trap. Almost.

  “The dragon can reach out of the trench with her claws,” I warn the girls. She’ll try to trip you up. If she thinks you’ll escape, she might blow fire. If she does, hit the ground.”

  “How do you know so much about that dragon?” Eleanor asks.

  I sigh. “I never wanted to know shit about her, or any dragon, believe me. But I had no choice.”

  “Who was that guy you helped build the trap?”

  “His name is Xark’on,” I say in a tone that doesn’t invite any further questions.

  “Green stripe
s? Lots of muscles?” Eleanor keeps on like she didn’t hear me.

  “Yes.”

  “And he’s a little more to you than just a guy who builds traps.”

  Of course, my helpless bawling a little earlier gave that away. “Maybe.”

  “So, will he help us?”

  Shit, things would be so much better if he would. And so much worse. “No.”

  “So you’re pretty much judging a whole bunch of aliens on the basis of the one of them you don’t like.”

  “No. I met the others. If I thought they would be good for you or for us, then I’d be all for letting them just do their thing and come get us. Let them deal with that fucking deadly, creepy dragon. But it won’t be like that. The dragon will kill us. But that tribe will enslave and rape you. Breed you.” My voice cracks at that last part.

  “Eleanor,” Tamara says, “let’s not pester her about that guy. Can’t you see she’s barely holding it together?”

  “You said that you had a way of going home,” Eleanor says. “Did you mean home to Earth?”

  “Uh-huh. There’s a spaceship here. We were all dropped right on top of it.”

  “Then why haven’t you gone home yet?”

  “We don’t know how it works. But we know it can fly.”

  “Doesn’t it have a crew? Is it those nasty little shits who abducted us?”

  “We don’t think so. That flying saucer crashed in a lake here. They won’t come back and get us. Now we have to be quiet. That trench is pretty close.”

  I actually don’t know how close to the trench we are, or how much safer we would be if we don’t talk. But I’m not thrilled about what’s about to happen, and I don’t want to be interrogated about things I’m not really all that sure about.

  We’ve brought a bunch of rocks, as big as we can carry. So, they’re not very big. Hopefully, we’ll find some larger ones closer to the trench.

  And then we’re there. It’s the point of the star, where the trench takes a hard turn, almost 180 degrees, creating a sharp angle with itself.

  “The trap is right over that ridge,” I whisper and point. “It’s extremely well hidden.”