Eliza’s grin fell. “She wasn’t exactly talking to us much.”
“Did you mention anything to her while you two were out? She said she listened even if she didn’t respond.”
Eliza shrugged. “I said a lot of things. Can’t remember if I told her anything about what happened when we arrived here.”
“Let’s hurry then. If she wanders off, we might not be able to find her again. The forest is vast.” He looked at Mirabelle, who had her quiver over her shoulder, bow in hand. “Ready?”
She gave a firm nod.
He grabbed two wooden spears as well as the one made from the alien’s talon.
“You bringing that?” Eliza asked, taking the wooden spears from him.
He hefted it, nodding. “It should be stronger, easier to pierce their shells with. I didn’t use it earlier because its range isn’t as good.” He held it out, judging the length. “But I misjudged I think. Should be long enough.”
Eliza raised an eyebrow. “And if it’s not?”
He motioned at the spears she held. “That’s why you have two.”
“Oh, so I’m your caddy again. Shades of when we were back on Earth.”
Cal smiled at the beautiful redhead. “I’ll make it up to you.”
“Oh yeah? How’s that?”
Cal glanced at Mirabelle. “She is mine to give.”
“What!” Mirabelle snapped.
Cal patted her head. “We can talk about this later. For now, we need to go get Imogen.”
34
“Shh,” Cal said.
“What is it?” Eliza whispered.
He held up his finger, cocked his head, listening. “I hear something. Footsteps.”
They’d gone out the rear path and followed the stream along its winding bank. Even though there was a dot indicating the direction to head, Cal had let Eliza lead the way, as she’d been to the clearing before, more than once, and the dot didn’t seem to take into account obstacles, acting like a compass rather than a GPS.
Cal had been once, but he’d been unconscious for most of the way back to their base, and also they were taking a different route than the waterslide one they’d taken on the way back that first day.
Now they were in the clearing he’d appeared in that same day. But there was no sign of Imogen.
Except that sound.
“Footsteps?” Mirabelle asked. “Imogen’s?”
Cal frowned, listening intently. “It sounds like multiple people.” He looked around at the other two. “Neither of you hear that?”
They shook their heads.
He looked down at Rufus.
The alien dog had his head tilted and ears pricked.
So he heard it too.
Cal idly wondered if they could train the dog to track.
Returning his attention to the others, he gestured in the direction of the sound. “Let’s go see what it is.”
They moved as quietly as they could through the forest, following the sound.
Whatever was creating it wasn’t moving in any particular hurry and they soon got close enough for both Mirabelle and Eliza to hear as well.
Huh, Cal thought, my hearing is surprisingly good. Strange.
They occasionally heard grunts and what sounded like voices, but none of them could make out any words.
“Sounds like another language,” Mirabelle observed.
The sound-trail of the mystery group led Cal and the others in a direction none had ever been before.
At least it was away from the valley which still even now gave Cal a sense of unease.
He remembered looking upon it when he’d first arrived here. Feeling a sense of all-encompassing dread, but not knowing why.
And now, as he looked over that valley as they headed down into the forest to parts unknown, he felt it again, and still didn’t know why.
He wanted to ask the others about it, but found himself remaining silent.
He told himself it was because he didn’t want to alert those they were following, but really it was that he was afraid to give voice to his fear, to speak it out loud, to draw attention to it.
Or draw its attention to them.
35
A few minutes later they caught their first sight of their quarry through the dense trees.
It was a group of nine people, both male and female.
Except, “people” wasn’t quite accurate.
Humanoid, but not human.
They were blue, the same shade as Rufus, and had short, shiny fur covering the outside edges of their arms, torsos, and legs. This gave way to smooth, slightly paler blue skin toward their centers, leaving their chests, stomachs, crotches, and inner thighs exposed.
Their ears were on the tops of their heads instead of the sides, and they were large and triangular. Again like Rufus’s.
They wore no clothing, but even if they had been, Cal would have easily been able to tell the males and females apart.
The males were incredibly thick and muscular, while the females were slender, almost delicately so.
Both males and females didn’t seem to have any fur on their faces, but they all had long hair—manes?—of varying shades of blue or purple.
And what really drew Cal’s attention, was that held between two of the males, bound up with rope and apparently unconscious, was Imogen, her leaf outfit gone, now replaced with a loincloth and cloth top just like Mirabelle’s and Eliza’s.
Cal didn’t see any blood on her, but they had her wrapped nearly completely in cordage. She wouldn’t be escaping on her own.
“Shit,” he hissed.
“Is it just me,” Mirabelle said, “or are those not human?”
Cal shook his head. “It’s not just you.”
“They look like human versions of Rufus,” Eliza observed.
“Are those the aliens that took us?” Mirabelle wondered.
“Doubt it,” Cal said. “Come on. Keep quiet. Let’s see what they’re doing.”
“You don’t want to take them out from here?”
An ambush could work to their advantage since they were outnumbered, but it would still be risky. He shook his head. “Not yet. We need more information. Imogen isn’t in any immediate danger.”
“She’s tied up like a hog.”
“Like I said, not in immediate danger.”
They kept their distance, following the larger group until they reached what was clearly their camp.
For some reason Cal had expected to see a fire here, but there was none, just several stacks of huge leaves that looked like they might be bedding, set up in a circle around a large stash of food.
He noted with some relief that the food all appeared to be of a plant origin, hopefully indicating they didn’t intend to eat Imogen.
That, or she was the main course.
He, Mirabelle, and Eliza crouched in the trees several hundred yards uphill from these newcomers’ camp, watching as they settled in.
Rufus was at their feet, staring at the camp as well. For once he wasn’t drooling.
Cal wondered if Rufus had ever seen these aliens before. The similarities between him and them were too great to ignore. Were these this planet’s natives?
“We need to get her out of there,” Eliza said. “We have no idea what they’re going to do to her.”
They’d set Imogen down near the center of the camp then split off into groups of twos and threes, eating and apparently conversing, though from all the way up here, Cal couldn’t hear more than faint whispers of speech.
Even if they had been speaking English, he wouldn’t have been able to make out the words from this distance. And judging by their alien appearance, he was pretty sure it wasn’t English.
But they were talking, which meant they weren’t just animals. He could see their faces clearly now, and their features were surprisingly human. A bit smoother and flatter, the eyes wider-set, but if it weren’t for the fur, blue skin, and ears, they likely could have walked around any major city wit
hout drawing unwanted attention.
“How are we going to get her?” Eliza asked. “I count nine of them.”
Mirabelle glanced down at Rufus. “We have him. We saw what he did to the monsters.”
“Look at the males,” Eliza said. “More muscular than Cal and just as tall. It’s too dangerous. I don’t want him to get hurt.”
“Aww,” Cal said, “thanks.”
“Huh?”
“It’s sweet you don’t want me to get hurt.”
“No, not you. Rufus.”
“We could wait till nightfall and sneak in,” Mirabelle offered.
“It’s a long way until nightfall,” Cal countered. “And what if they keep watch like we do?”
“Why do you think they took her?” Eliza asked.
“Not sure I want to know the answer to that.” Even if they weren’t planning on eating her, there were plenty of other unsavory things a primitive tribe of humanoids could have in store for her.
“At least we know we’re not the only ones here now,” Eliza said. “Do you think they have a display?”
“If so,” Mirabelle mused, “I wonder why they didn’t come looking for us when we arrived.”
“Maybe they don’t have them,” Cal said. “They might have simply stumbled upon her. Who knows.” He looked at Eliza. “I guess you would’ve told us if you had seen them before.”
She nodded. “I’ve never seen a hint of anyone. No hint of life at all other than the monsters, the snake, and Rufus.” She reached down and absently patted the alien dog’s head.
“You think they’ve had to fight monsters too?” Mirabelle asked.
“Too bad we can’t summon some to distract them,” Eliza mused.
Cal thought back to the four monsters that had fled. Depending on which direction they’d gone, and assuming they didn’t just disappear like they appeared, there might be some wandering about the area.
But hypotheticals didn’t help them right now.
He glanced down at Mirabelle’s bow. “Do you think you could take them out from here?”
Mirabelle looked at him with a look of horror. “Are you joking? Those aren’t monsters.”
“No, but they kidnapped Imogen.”
“We don’t know that,” she protested.
“They tied her up.”
“Maybe they don’t know if she’s dangerous yet. They’re just playing it safe.”
Cal gave her a look.
“It’s possible,” she persisted, not being cowed.
“And what if you’re wrong?”
Instead of answering, she said, “We can go down there and talk to them. Maybe they’ll give her back.”
“We don’t even know they speak English. Or how friendly they’ll be. I mean, look at them. They can talk, yes, but they don’t even wear clothes.”
“Just because they’re aliens doesn’t mean they’re savages.”
“Have you seen those videos of uncontacted tribes? They shoot arrows and throw spears at anyone who tries to go near them.”
Mirabelle frowned. “What are you talking about?”
Cal sighed, remembering that Mirabelle was from the eighties and that she wouldn’t have had the internet and billions of hours of instantly accessible video at her fingertips. So she probably hadn’t seen anything like that. “Ever read National Geographic?”
She shook her head. “I’ve seen them. Maybe flipped through some when I was a kid.”
“Well in my time we have the internet—have we told you about that?”
“You mentioned it before. A place where anyone in the world can talk through computers.”
“Not just talk. There’s lots of videos there. And some of those are of people trying to contact uncontacted tribes like these. It’s gone okay a few times, but just as often they get a spear in the gut for their troubles.” He shook his head. “I’m not taking that risk.”
“I’m not going to shoot them without knowing that they’re dangerous and want to kill us. Besides, it seems silly to make enemies for no reason. Especially in a place like this.”
Cal couldn’t disagree with her sentiment, but that didn’t mean he was going to risk it, not with them having Imogen.
He studied them. They didn’t seem particularly concerned about her; they weren’t guarding her or anything like that. She was just left there, unconscious in the middle of their camp while they sat around eating and talking.
“What if you don’t have to kill them, but only create a diversion? Draw them away so one of us can slip in and get Imogen.”
“That probably should be you,” Eliza told him. “You’re the strongest, especially with that upgrade. I’m fast and in shape, faster than you even, but—” She shook her head. “With carrying her I’d be much slower.”
“Rufus is big enough,” Mirabelle said. “She could ride him like a horse.”
“We still need to get her first,” Cal pointed out.
“Right.”
“Okay,” Eliza said, “so how do we do that?”
36
Cal crouched alone with Rufus, now farther down in the forest, at the edge of the treeline, a hundred yards away from where the natives had their camp set up.
He glanced to his right, out across the clearing into the trees on the other side, his pulse ramping up, adrenaline filling his body making his legs tremble.
He would have to do this quickly. He just hoped it worked.
If they didn’t follow Eliza, he’d be screwed, because if they came after him, wasn’t sure he’d be able to outrun them.
Something he hadn’t noticed at first but which he saw now that he was closer was that their lower legs weren’t quite human, their feet something between a paw and a human foot. They looked fast.
Cal glanced down at Rufus. “You might just end up being a mini horse after all.”
Of course, there was no guarantee Rufus wouldn’t try to attack the natives if they followed, so putting Imogen on his back would be the absolute last resort.
He stared hard at the treeline to his right, waiting for Eliza and Mirabelle to make their move. If this didn’t work out, he might get Imogen back only to lose the two of them.
But Eliza was fast, and she would be the one leading them away.
Was she faster than these natives though?
There was a thunk and an arrow landed just outside their little camp.
Cal got ready to dart forward, but none of them had noticed the arrow.
He cursed.
There was another sound, and Cal saw it was a rock landing.
That wasn’t part of the plan.
It got their attention however, and a few looked up and around at this louder noise.
One of them spotted the arrow and shouted something. Definitely not English.
They all rose to their inhuman feet, dropping their meals, conversations instantly halting as they took up their spears—which were more elaborate than the plain wooden ones the humans used—and scanned the area.
Cal had a heart-stopping moment as one of them looked directly at him.
He sighed when her gaze moved past him. He hadn’t been spotted. She was just scanning the area. He was glad he hadn’t gotten up and run. She would have seen that.
Another arrow landed right next to the woman that had been looking in his direction and she jumped back with a quickness that didn’t bode well for their plan.
A nearby male saw this and let out a roar—an actual roar—and threw his spear in the direction the arrow had come from.
“Holy shit,” Cal gasped in amazement as he watched the spear fly all the way into the woods.
There came a yelp of pain or surprise, he couldn’t tell which, and he felt his blood boil.
If they’d just hit Mirabelle or Eliza…
The natives heard it too and this finally got them moving, all of them taking off toward the treeline.
“Get the hell out of there Eliza,” he muttered to himself, and got ready to take off.
/> As soon as the last of them disappeared into the forest he launched himself forward, covering the hundred yards to their camp in what seemed like an instant, Rufus easily keeping pace.
He skidded down beside Imogen and tried to wake her up.
Her eyes opened slightly, but were unfocused, and closed again almost at once.
He was expecting to see blood on her head from this close, but he didn’t, and with her bright blonde hair it would have been obvious.
Since he’d left his talon-spear back in the forest, he had nothing to cut the ropes with, so he slung her over his shoulder and got moving.
He saw Rufus staring at where the natives had disappeared into the forest.
“Come on boy,” he called back, and the dog looked at him, the treeline, then him again before finally following reluctantly.
They ran into the forest, toward the ridge several hundred yards away where they had originally been watching from, which was where the other two were going to meet him.
In the distance he detected faint shouts and yells and hoped Eliza was getting away.
Run like the wind, he mentally urged.
Given that Eliza was the fastest, the plan had been for Mirabelle to shoot arrows to get the natives’ attention, then hide and meet him back here once Eliza had led them away.
Once Eliza had lost them, she’d double back and meet Cal and Mirabelle here and they’d head back to base.
That was before he’d seen how well those natives could throw a spear.
Eliza was fast, but not fast enough to outrun what amounted to a rocket-propelled spear.
Cal stopped when they reached the top of the crest, but Rufus continued past.
“Rufus,” he called.
At hearing his name the dog skidded to a halt, turning around to look at him.
When he saw Cal had stopped and was setting Imogen down, he huffed, as though to get Cal to keep moving.
“Come on. We’re waiting here. For Eliza,” he added.
Rufus huffed again, but came back over. He looked anxious, his long blue ears pricked, moving like satellite dishes scanning for alien signals.
Cal was anxious too, but he got to work using the talon-spear he’d left behind to free Imogen from her bonds.
Survivor: World of Monsters 2 Page 10
