Eden's Children (Earth Exiles Book 2)

by Mark Harritt

  “Okay, we can’t spread out when we bivouac. We have to stay in tight. We need to find places that are easily defended. And, we need to make sure we have a fire every time we settle in.”

  He looked over at Tom, “Any ideas on what else we can do?”

  “Well, keep your eyes peeled. If you see it, let me know, and I’ll try to get the optics on it. If it looks dangerous, then I’ll try to kill it before it can get close to us.”

  Mike nodded. He turned to Matki, “Any ideas on what it might be?”

  Matki shook his head, “There are fewer predators up here, not enough prey for them to hunt.” He paused as he looked around the mountains, “Sometimes, an older animal will be driven by sickness or other predators to the mountains. The talgit are like this, and can be a concern to us. But, once again, it’s the same thing. Since they hunt in packs, there’s not enough protein up here to keep them all fed. We might see them in singles, but they are not stealthy hunters. They prefer to run down their prey.”

  “So you have no problems with predators, then? No native predators in the mountains?” Mike asked.

  “Oh no, I didn’t say that. The mountains are still a dangerous place, even without the dragons. There are some animals up here that hunt smaller game. There’s just not a whole lot of them. Sometimes, people disappear. Of course, you know about the dragon spawn.”

  Mike nodded, “I don’t think we have to worry about them for a while.”

  “No, we don’t. Besides, we would already know if it was them. They hunt in packs until they get older,” Matki confirmed

  “Okay then, we continue our scout. We’re looking for an opening to our south so that we can cut over and get to the other side of that ridge line.” Mike pointed to indicate the direction he was talking about, “So if you see anything that might be a cut over, let me know, and we’ll check it out.”

  Tom spoke, “Make sure you keep your eyes peeled. Whatever’s stalking us might have friends in front of us. It won’t be the first time that an animal has driven prey to its pack.”

  They continued walking, looking for a way south. Everett saw the cut first, “Hey Mike, what do you think about that,” he pointed to indicate the area that he was looking at.

  Mike called a halt, and everybody faced out for security. Mike dropped his pack to the ground, “Okay, everybody, relax. Go ahead, pull in and set up for a halt. Maintain security, though.”

  Mike rummaged in his pack, and pulled out binoculars. He scanned the area that Everett was talking about. The cut was masked partially by a peak in front of it, but he was able to see it. It was a high pass, but it was definitely climbable, steep but no need for mountaineering tools. That was a relief. He’d been worried that they would have to do another climb to get to the other side of the ridge line.

  With the mountains as high as they were, that would have been problematic for his team. They didn’t have enough food for an extended foray at high altitudes. If they didn’t find a way across soon, then they would have to change the plan. They’d have to relay supplies up, set up a temporary camp, then explore mountaineering routes across the southern ridge. That would have been much more work intensive and time consuming.

  Mike surveyed the route to the pass. It looked like it would be another four, five hours before they could get to the base. He figured that they could set up camp there, then tackle the high pass in the morning. He looked up. The sun was low in the sky. Daylight didn’t last as long in the high mountains, even with the longer days. He wanted to be in the bivouac area before before darkness set in. With a possible predator out there, he didn’t want to take any chances.

  He walked over to Rob, and motioned for him to take point, “Rob, go ahead and make your way to the cut, in that direction,” Mike pointed at the area he was talking about, “Then find a defensible position for us. When you do that, we’ll laager up and get ready for the night.”

  Rob pointed in the direction that Mike had indicated, a question in his eyes. Mike confirmed, and Rob started walking. Mike walked back and grabbed his pack as the rest of the group stood up.

  “Alright, break time is over. We’re going to head to that high pass and laager up for the night at the base, then we can head out in the morning.”

  They started walking, heading in a southeasterly direction. They didn’t take any more breaks, trying to beat the sun so that they could get to a defensible position. The crew kept a sharp eye out, looking for whatever was stalking them. There weren’t any more sightings, though. Whatever it was, it was able to blend into the minimal cover that the landscape provided. To Mike’s thinking, that wasn’t a good thing. It meant that they were up against a practiced, capable predator.

  They were about an hour away from the location that Mike wanted to get to when Mickey spoke up, “Hey, Mike, look over there.”

  Mike called a halt and looked at the large jumble of rocks that Mickey was pointing at. It wasn’t close to where Mike wanted to laager up, but the rock formation was tight, and it had some overhead cover. A slab of rock had toppled over onto the other stones. It would work as a defensible position, with only a few ways in. They could improve it with a little work. It wasn’t perfect, but it was the best they would be able to find. The sun was headed behind the high mountains to the west, and the light was getting dimmer, so it was an easy decision for him to make.

  “Good eye, Mickey. Okay, let’s move over there, and get it ready for the night.”

  They walked over to the jumble of stones. There was one wide opening, down slope, that they would use for the entrance. There were three other openings up slope that they had to close off. With Mickey there, it was no problem to roll stones down to the openings and close them off. There were still openings in the rocks, but nothing big enough for an animal to get through. It was going to be tight in there, but cozy was a good thing, body heat would make it easier to stay warm. Nights up here at these heights were colder than they were at the compound.

  As they moved to the rock formation, Mike noticed something, “hey, look at that.”

  There were carvings on top of the rock. The carvings were diverse. There were carvings that looked like Neolithic cave art, and a few things that looked like jets. It was very Von Daniken, ‘Chariots of the Gods,’ looking.

  “Man, that looks crazy,” Rob said.

  Matki smiled, “They’re all over. You can find things like that throughout the mountains.”

  Everett studied it, thoughtfully, “Imagine how many different civilizations have risen and fallen since ours.”

  Mike nodded, “Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!”

  Everett looked at Mike, “What’s that?”

  “What?”

  “What you just said. That ‘look on my works’ thing,” Everett replied.

  “Oh, that’s a quote from a poem. ‘Ozymandias’ by Shelly. I found it when I was looking up information for my trip to Egypt, to see the pyramids.”

  “Poetry?” Everett asked.

  Mike shrugged, “Chicks dig it.”

  They moved inside, putting the packs up against the sides of the rocks. They took out their sleeping bags, and arranged them on the floor, trying to find a comfortable place to sleep. There was some muttering as the team tried to get comfortable, and loose stones were thrown out. Matki went outside and started cutting swathes of moss, which he brought back and laid down to cover the rough dirt and stone ground. Soon, the floor was covered in the springy moss, and it made for a much more comfortable bed.

  Tom and Mickey arranged rocks at the larger opening to make a fire pit. They placed flat rocks inside the opening so that canteen cups could be placed next to the fire to warm water. Mike wished they had coffee to brew, but that ship had already sailed. Instead, they had herbs which made a decent tea. It was spicy, and had a good taste. Matki told them it was good for their health as well.

  The tea was brewed, and passed around as the light drifted to twilight, the rays of the setting sun casting long shadows.
Since they had a secure position, Mike decided that they could rack out with one guard in place. It had been a long day, and everybody crashed hard, except for Mickey, who pulled first guard.

  ----------------------------------------------------

  Tom woke Everett up. Soft snores filled the air as Mickey and Matki competed for unique sounds and intensity. Tom moved back to fire, and sat down, sheltered from a light mist by the overhanging rock.

  Everett pulled on his shirt, and then put on and laced up his boots. He finished, grabbed his rifle and moved to the entrance. He had to bend over to move among the sleeping bodies. He accidently stepped on someone, who grunted, then quickly turned over and went back to sleep.

  He sat next to Tom, and laid his rifle down, the muzzle towards the fire, so that he could quickly pick it up and shoot at anything that might come at him. He sat down next to Tom, “So, how’s things?”

  “Quiet.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Yeah, I expect so. Better than the alternative.”

  “Always.”

  They sat there for a few minutes, staring across the fire. Tom pulled up some moss gathered and put it onto the fire. The fire flared as the dry moss caught. He had two canteen cups of herbal tea steeping. He pointed for Everett to take the one closer to him.

  “You think the critter that was following us is gone?” Everett asked.

  Tom shrugged, “Hard to tell. Problem is, a lot of animals here aren’t afraid of humans. If we were back on our world, it would be trying to get as far away from us as possible.”

  “Yeah, but everybody had guns back there. They wouldn’t have been afraid of us if we couldn’t kill them,” Everett replied.

  “Not so sure of that, Everett. Lions on the Serengeti learned quickly that it wasn’t a good idea to hunt the cattle of Masai warriors.”

  “I don’t think they would have had a problem with the Masai warriors if they were all as big as the dragons back in the valley,” Everett pointed out.

  “Good point. Kind of hard to put the fear of God into other predators when you’re the smallest one on the block.”

  Everett nodded, “it would be like a mouse trying to hunt a lion.”

  Everett leaned forward to grab the canteen cup.

  A breathy chuff was the only warning that they got. Luckily, Tom had heard something similar on the African plains. Everett felt Tom grab his collar, and yank him back. Tom was skinny, but he was a strong, wiry man. Everett was pulled back onto his ass, his eyes growing large when he saw how close to death he had been. A large paw swept through the air where his head would have been if Tom hadn’t pulled him to safety. That paw was large enough that it would have crushed his skull.

  The Sig-Sauer P220 appeared like magic in Tom’s hand. He snapped off a quick shot that missed the long arm of the creature that had just tried to kill Everett. Everybody was instantly awake. They scrambled to grab their weapons.

  “What’s going on? SITREP!” Mike yelled.

  “Something just tried to kill Everett. Whatever it is, it’s on top of the rock.”

  “You think your shot scared it off?”

  “No way of telling. Probably not a good idea to try and check right now. It wasn’t afraid of the fire, though.”

  The spaces between the rocks concerned Mike, “Okay, people, take your rucks, and put them into the openings among the rocks. We have to . . . Urrrrk!”

  Something hooked the back of his shirt. His words were cut short as the material was yanked back, and his breath was cut off by the top button. He was being dragged backwards towards one of the smaller openings. His hands thrashed around, trying to find a weapon. His pistol and combat knife were out of reach. He saw Mickey scrambling to get close to him. Mike reached into his pants pocket and pulled out his Spyderco. He flipped the knife blade open and stabbed it into the flesh of the beast that had him.

  A roar reverberated through the rocks. Whatever it was, it was now extremely pissed. It didn’t let go, though. Mike’s progress only slowed for a second, then he smacked against the rocks. His head bounced off the rock that made the roof of their enclosure.

  Mickey scrambled over Mike, and straddled him as he shoved his Sig past Mike’s head and started shooting. He fired three times. After the first shot, Mike felt the tension on his shirt ease, and he scrambled forward, toward the center, away from the open spaces.

  “Everybody in here, in the center, facing out. Use your pistols. Rifles are too long for the space.”

  They all scrambled away from the outside edge. They sat there with pistols drawn, ready to shoot.

  Mike could feel blood trickle down his scalp, “Mickey, I need a little help here. I have a cut across the scalp. Can you check it out for me?”

  “Yeah, no prob.”

  Mickey turned on his flashlight, and pointed it at Mike’s head, “Turn to me.” He flashed his light into Mike’s eyes to make sure he didn’t have a concussion. Mickey grunted at what he found.

  “What, what is it?”

  “Stop whining. Nothing’s wrong. You don’t have a concussion. Let me tape up your head.”

  Mickey took a bandage, and placed it over Mike’s injury. Since it was a head wound, the location made it a bitch to tie in place. With the bandage on, the head wound looked a lot worse than it really was.

  "Damn, Mickey, is this all really necessary?

  “Yes, it is. Don’t argue with the medic.”

  Mike tried to take control of the situation again, “Is anybody else hurt?”

  Mickey shined the flashlight around, “No, Mike, it looks like you’re the only one that wasn’t fast enough.”

  “Old age is a bitch, isn’t it Mike?” Rob asked.

  “I think it was just attracted to the hot air coming from that side of the pit,” Tom observed.

  They didn’t get any sleep that night. They sat in a star pattern with their feet toward the rock openings. They took turns, and every two hours, three of the six would sleep. They didn’t hear anything, so eventually, they lengthened this out to four hours. With a thirty three hour day, the nights were much longer. It felt like forever before the first rays of the sun lit up the morning

  Morning came, and they were all tired, from lack of sleep and adrenalin. They talked about their options.

  “Well, did anybody see it leave?” Mike asked.

  Nobody spoke.

  “So, we don’t know if it’s still up there or not, right?” He looked at Tom as he asked this.

  “No, we don’t. It could be lounging up there, waiting for us.”

  “Recommendations?”

  Tom shrugged, “We have no choice, really. We have to go out and kill it, if it’s still there.”

  Mike looked at the small opening at the entrance. It was just big enough for two people to get out. It wasn’t a very high opening, about four and half feet. It was going to be very tight for anybody to go through at the same time.

  “Okay, here’s what we’re going to do. Tom and Rob, since they’re the smallest, will be in the front, I’ll be in the back. All three of us go out at the same time. Whatever it is, I hope we get it now so that we can get some sleep tonight.”

  Mike motioned, and Rob and Tom moved to the front next to the entrance. Mike was standing right behind them, knowing that if anything was up there, he would probably be the one it landed on. Rob and Tom were standing so that their shoulders were touching. If one moved, the other would follow.

  Mike turned around and looked at the other three, “hey, move over to the other side and make some noise. I want it distracted if it’s up there.”

  “Roger boss.”

  Everett started talking loudly as he moved, Mickey was clapping his hands and singing, and Matki was throwing stones to ping on rocks.

  “Alright, guys, I’m going to count to three, then we go.”

  Rob and Tom nodded, neither one speaking, anticipating what was about to go down.

  Mike started counting, “One, Two, Three.”
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br />   Tom felt the slap on his butt, and he moved without hesitation, knowing that Rob and Mike would follow him into the Gates of Hell if need be. The die was cast, and they rushed out, through the small entrance, rising as they cleared the rocky overhang. Rob cleared front left, Tom cleared front right, and Mike came out behind them, turning as he moved forward, to cover the top of the rock.

  The animal was big, as big as a tiger. It was mammalian, fur covered. It had been distracted by the noise that Everett and the others were making. It turned its head as it sensed Mike behind it. It turned and roared as it saw its challengers, charging towards the trio. Mike’s rifle muzzle shot up and he pulled the trigger. He kept pulling it, relying on training and instinct. He felt Rob and Tom turn, and they were shooting as well. The beast completed its run and leaped, the bullets hitting its body as it sprang forward. The three scattered, and the beast landed in a heap on the ground where Mike had been standing. The continued pop, pop, pop of the shots echoed across the rock walls of the surrounding mountains.

  Tom and Mike were on one side, and Rob was on the other side of the beast. Blood flowed across the ground as it died. It was panting heavily as if it was running fast. Its legs were still kicking. Slowly, they came to a stop. Mike wondered if it dreamed about the chase as it died.

  All rifles were still trained on the animal. Nobody spoke, as if they were afraid noise would bring it back to life. It stayed quiet on the ground, unmoving.

  “Damn, that was intense,” Rob said.

  Mike nodded slowly, “I think I peed.”

  “I know I peed. I think I may have left something in my shorts as well,” Tom’s slow drawl pronounced.

  The others came out from the overhang. They walked over to the animal. It was a beautiful creature. It looked like a large feline, with long, black fur that ringed its chest and shoulders like a vest. Dark brown and black spots dotted the light brown fur. It had long ears that ended with tufts of hair on the tips. The mouth was different, though, the mouth of a hyena instead of a cat.