Intrepid

by Nate Johnson

  Keep them off of Billy. That was his mission. Twist, turn, lunge with spear, retreat, lunge again.

  His lungs burned as if he would never get enough air. Still, he fought.

  The blood leaked down his face and into his eye. He tried wiping it away with his shoulder, but one of the beasts made another charge.

  He couldn’t keep them back much longer.

  A long, hard yell from the cave froze everyone in place for a brief moment. Jonathan. Jonathan and everyone else. They charged down the hill as if shot from a cannon. Each held a spear and looked as if they knew how to use it. Even Combs was charging. Everyone except Professor Breat, who stood at the cave entrance with a lost expression on his face.

  His people were coming to the rescue.

  Pregnant Jo looked like she wanted to kill the devil himself for threatening her man. Nora had a similar look. As if nothing in this world would stop them. The others looked just as mad. Dean limped down the hill. A crutch under one arm, a spear in the other.

  The group plowed into the Yarks, snarling, slashing. His heart swelled with pride as they drove the beasts back and away from Billy and Erik. A spear flashed through the air and struck a Yark in the side. Two more spears followed them into the brush as the monsters retreated.

  “And stay away,” Johnathan yelled after the retreating attackers. He stood there, hands on his hips, legs spread wide, defying the animals to return.

  Erik couldn’t help but smile. If anything happened to him. Johnathan could take over. He would keep them alive.

  A strong arm wrapped around his waist and pulled him towards the cave. “Come on, let me look at that cut,” Nora said.

  Erik allowed himself to be led away from Billy. He glanced back, having to turn his entire body to see out of his one clear eye, the boy was alive. Jo and Brenda were kneeling beside him, fighting to stop the bleeding on his legs.

  Billy’s eyes locked onto Erik’s for a moment, A chagrined look passed over the boy’s face.

  “I just stepped away for a moment. I needed to go to the bathroom, I thought it’d be okay.”

  Erik nodded. “That’s okay, it could have happened to any of us.”

  Billy winced and closed his eyes as Brenda did something to his legs.

  Nora got him situated close to the fire so that she had enough light to see. Her fingers gently probed the wound on his forehead as she shook her head.

  “Another scar for you to not get fixed,” she said with a small laugh.

  “We gave better than we got,” he said with pride.

  “Is that all you ever think about,” she said as she began wiping the blood away from his face. “Who wins, who loses. Don’t you realize, if something happens to you, we all lose? Without you, we die. I die,” she said as a tear began to crawl down her cheek.

  “Nora ...”

  “Don’t you Nora me. In the future, wait until we can all do it together. No more heroics, you don’t always have to be first.”

  He looked at her for a long moment. “Yes I do,” he said. “With them, here, now. Yes, I do have to be first.”

  She hung her head in defeat, and he knew that she knew he was right.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Erik woke with a splitting headache and his arms wrapped around Nora. She had refused to leave him, and he hadn’t had to say goodnight. Instead, he held her while she fell asleep. It had been one of his favorite nights of all time.

  Smiling to himself, he let himself feel the joy of holding her. The pure pleasure of knowing she was there, safe, and with him.

  A hand touched his shoulder, pulling him from his happiness.

  “It’s daylight,” Jonathan said with a frown. “You need to come see this.”

  The worry on the boy’s face sent a bolt of adrenaline through him. He pushed it aside and gently eased his arm from under Nora’s head before pulling away. She groaned in her sleep, her lips turning down in a priceless pout.

  Swallowing his regret, Erik followed Jonathan to the cave’s entrance. Dean and Combs were standing by the entrance, spears in hand, staring outside.

  The morning sun was threatening to come over the distant horizon. A gray mist hugged the bottom of the valley down by the stream and a bird chirped in the distance.

  His eyes took a moment to adjust. Then, he saw them. Yarks, fifty of them, spread out at the bottom of the hill.

  He turned to Jonathan. “How long have they been there?” he asked.

  “All night, we only figured out how many when the sun came up.”

  Erik turned back to examine the monsters before them. Some simply sat and stared up at the cave. Their long yellow fangs glistening in the morning light. Others paced back and forth, as if desperate for action. The kind of pacing an animal does when it is hungry and being denied his meal.

  Erik’s stomach fell. Fifty! How would they ever cope with fifty Yarks?

  “We’ve got twenty-five spears left,” Johnathan said with a shake of his head. “We lost six, last night, two broke and four were thrown. For the six spears, we wounded three Yarks.”

  “I got one,” Erik said, “pretty good.”

  “I was counting that,” Johnathan said. “At that ratio, we would need a hundred spears. Probably more.”

  There was a quiet silence between the men, as they stared out at their enemies.

  Johnathan continued, “If we built up the wall, here at the entrance, they couldn’t all rush us at once. A few men in the gap could hold them off.”

  Erik stepped back and measured the fence. They’d need to reinforce it in parts. Make it taller, stronger.

  “They won’t rush us,” Erik said. “They don’t have to. They can sit out there and wait us out. Our food sources are out there. All they’ve got to do is scare the Kairns away from us, and we’ll starve to death.

  “They won’t have to wait that long, or work that hard,” Combs said without taking his eyes off the beasts.

  “What do you mean?” Dean asked.

  “Water,” Erik said, “we’ve only got a few days’ worth of water here in the cave.”

  “Probably less,” Jonathan said. “We used a lot last night washing wounds. Billy lost a lot of blood. He’s been real thirsty.

  The four of them stood there and stared at their nemeses as the seriousness of the situation sank in.

  “I can’t believe they got organized,” Combs said, shaking his head. “We’ve never seen this many together.”

  “They never had to,” Erik said. “They’ve been the apex predator around here forever. They’ve always been in competition with only each other. They obviously come to realize a new alpha is on the scene, and they don’t like it.”

  “That’s why they’ve been tracking us, watching us.”

  “Yeah, just waiting until we made a fatal mistake. Like trapping ourselves here in this cave,” Erik said with a sad smile. He had been such an idiot.

  “It could be worse. They could have surrounded us out on the savanna where we couldn’t defend ourselves.”

  Erik scoffed. “The fact that you are right isn’t going to help us now. We are as trapped as if they built it for us.”

  “Maybe they’ll give up and go away. Maybe we can wait them out. They’ve got to eat too.”

  The men’s brief hope was shattered when a pair of Yarks crested the far ridge, dragging a dead Kairn between them to the waiting pack of Yarks.

  A majority of the animals left their post. Tearing into the poor animal like piranhas on a side of beef. Each would grab a few quick bites, then move aside to let others in.

  Eventually, each had eaten, and the corpse had been reduced to a few white bones and a chunk of raw hide.

  “Well, that answers that,” Combs said with a slight shake of his head.

  .o0o.

  “Okay,” Erik said, “listen up. We are only going to get one chance at this.”

  The group of students, his people, looked back at him in anticipation. What miracle was he going to produce this ti
me to save them?

  “Dean, you will stay here, at the gap, protecting Billy and Professor Breat?”

  “Why? I can walk,” the boy answered.

  “Yes, but I need someone here, you’re it,” Erik said, then looked at the rest of the group. “Jo, Brenda, Nora, you will be in the middle. Nora, you take the bucket Jonathan made back at the shuttle. Jo and Brenda, two globe helmets each. You’ll also carry the extra spears.”

  “What do we do when we get to the water?” Nora said. “I can’t carry that bucket and the spears.”

  “You won’t have to. By then, we will have thrown enough to relieve you of your spears. You three just focus on the water. Let us do the rest.”

  “Shouldn’t I be on the protective wall?” Nora said, as she stared at him, daring him to say she wasn’t good enough.

  Erik sighed heavily. He didn’t need this. He needed her where he knew she was safe. Or, at least as safe as possible. Otherwise, he’d lose focus and make a mistake. But, he was smart enough to not say that out loud. Instead, he said, “The water is the most important thing. I need someone in charge in the middle.”

  He turned away from her before she could protest more. “Jonathan, you will bring up the back. You’ll be walking backwards so be careful. Ahmed, Tina, you’ll be on either side of Johnathan, help him over the rough spots.

  “On the left, it will be Tina, Combs, and Ann. On the right, it will be Ahmed, Sarah, and Gene. I’ll take the front, Jonathan the back.”

  The group looked back at him with shocked faces. He was serious. They were going to have to do this.

  “Stick close together. If someone goes down, shuffle them inside, water bearers will help him the best they can. If we stay tight, focused, disciplined, we can do this. We are a porcupine. Remember, tight.”

  The group nodded their heads and slowly got into formation. Suddenly, Jo handed Brenda her globe helmets and broke from through the circle to race back to Billy. The boy lay unconscious on their bed. She paused for a moment, then leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead. She gave him a last endearing look, then glanced up at Dean.

  “Take care of him,” she said. “Tell him I love him,” she added.

  “You can tell him yourself when you get back,” Dean replied.

  Erik’s heart dropped. What was he doing? Putting a pregnant woman in this situation. This was crazy. He’d fought himself for two days, but there was no other way. They needed everyone if this was going to work.

  “What are our chances?” Combs asked.

  Erik paused and looked at the group. They each looked back, begging him with their eyes to tell them the truth. They deserve the truth, he thought. They’ve earned it. These weren’t coddled, children. These were hardy, pioneers. Men and women worth knowing the truth.

  “Fifty fifty,” he said. Several of them gasped at the brutal odds. “But, without water, it’s zero,” he added.

  The group nodded. Setting their jaws and gripping their tools, they formed a tight circle.

  “Jo, you’re behind me, Nora in the middle, and Brenda behind Johnathan.”

  The tall red head reached out a hand and gave Johnathan a smile. “I’ll make sure you don’t trip over those big feet of yours,” she said to him.

  Taking a deep breath, Erik led the way through the opening and into the outside. Each and every Yark immediately came to full point. Their attention focused on the group, as it made its way down the hill.

  The group moved in step, shoulder to shoulder. Spears pointing outward. He wondered if this world had a porcupine. Did the Yarks have any experience defeating such an animal?

  Erik’s heart raced. This was so ridiculously crazy. It couldn’t work. But, what choice did they have? It had to be now, before they became so weak they couldn’t fight.

  Not for the first time, he wished that they had figured out how to build bows and arrows. Or, maybe slings. Some kind of standoff weapon with longer range than spears. There had just never seemed to be time.

  They made the bottom of the hill and began towards the river. The Yarks quickly filled in the space behind them. Encircling them in a ring of death. Their angry growls and yelps sent a cold shiver down his spine.

  He thought they might make the river, but the Yarks knew what they were doing and attacked in mass. All rushing forward at the same time. Erik threw his metal spear and grabbed another from Jo before it had reached its target.

  The spear caught the beast in mid chest. The force of the blow pushing him to the ground. He quivered in place for a second then was still. One down, Erik thought. Forty nine more to go.

  The Yarks rushed them, then pulled back when the spears thrust out at them. Each person was focused on the animals immediately in front of them. No one could see the whole battle. It was a matter of keeping them away from the group. Away from the water carriers.

  “Move,” Erik yelled. The group took one step close to the water.

  “Move,” Erik yelled again, setting a beat. A step at a time, they might make it.

  A scream behind him shook him to the core, was that Nora? What if Nora was hurt? He couldn’t look. Two Yarks were charging, coming in low to try and get under spear points. He thrust forward and felt the wooden spear sink into animal flesh and pin the beast to the ground.

  He heaved at the spear to pull it back, but the dying animal twisted, snapping the spear like kindling. Erik threw the useless piece of wood at the rushing Yark, then followed up with another lunge.

  Another scream echoed off the valley walls. He felt the circle behind him shift. Something was wrong. He could feel it in his bones.

  Stepping out away from the circle, he pushed a Yark back far enough so that he could look over his shoulder and figure out what was going on.

  Gene was down on one knee, a nasty gash on his hip showed where a Yark had ripped him with one of those nasty fangs.

  Sarah was frozen in place, staring at her bleeding arm, as if unable to believe she could be hurt.

  Nora pushed the girl into the middle and slammed the metal bucket into the face of an on rushing Yark.

  “Move,” Erik yelled, and the circle took a step towards the water. He saw Ahmed hand Nora a weapon, as she handed her bucket back to Sarah.

  Erik twisted and met another charging Yark.

  They weren’t going to make it, he realized. They were losing too many spears. It was almost as if the Yarks were willing to sacrifice themselves, as long as it meant the defeat of the humans.

  A sad resignation passed through him. They’d go down fighting. But, they were going to lose. The writing was on the wall.

  “Damn,” Johnathan yelled, breaking Erik out of his thoughts. He looked back, Brenda had taken the boys spears and stepped in front of Johnathan who lay on the grown twisting in agony from the bloody wound in his side. Brenda ignored his yells and turned to face a large Yark charging, its jaws open, ready to rip the woman apart.

  Erik watched in horror, as the Yark leapt into the air.

  An explosion off to the right, and the beast charging Brenda exploded in fire and smoke.

  What? How? Erik couldn’t take the time to understand. Instead, he lunged at another attacking beast.

  Ann, on his left shoulder, gave a grunt, then slumped to the ground. Erik twisted to shove his spear into the beast trying to get to her throat. He pulled the spear back before the animal could twist and break it.

  Jo began to help the girl up, but there was a breach in their lines, and the Yarks knew it. They gathered to rush when again one of the animals burst into flames.

  Erik froze, his eyes scanning around him for a new threat. What was going on?

  A Yark charged him, but it too burst into flame then fell to the ground. A smoldering hole in its side. The smell of burnt flesh actually made his mouth water. It had been that long since he had eaten.

  Erik’s heart lurched.

  The Yarks were looking around as well. They were as confused as he was. But, the animals quickly put it away and c
harged once more. This time, all three fell with burning holes in their sides.

  The Yarks had enough, they broke and ran.

  Erik froze. There, marching towards him, was an Imperial Naval Officer with six Imperial Marines. Their rifles up and picking off Yarks, one after the other. Each shot, a Yark fell. You had to love the Marines, they never missed.

  He couldn’t believe it. They looked so deadly, so beautiful in their crisp uniforms. Dealing death from a distance, as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

  The Officer, in full dress, with sword swinging at his side. The man looked like he’d just stepped off the parade ground. His eyes scanned the group, as if searching for someone. The man was a full commander, Erik realized. Hell, even out here, he couldn’t get away from the brass.

  The man was a little old to be leading a squad of Marines, but then, Erik wasn’t going to complain. They could have sent Admiral Harris himself, and it would have been okay with him.

  Erik brought himself to attention and saluted. “Petty Officer Erik Tanner, Sir,” he said.

  The officer returned his salute, then stared over Erik’s shoulder, his face relaxing just a little.

  “Commander Blair,” Nora said. “Why am I not surprised?”

  Erik’s brow narrowed in confusion.

  “Lady Lexington, it is good to see that you are well,” the officer said with a small smirk.

  “You two know each other?” Erik stammered. “How? Why? What did he mean by Lady Lexington?”

  The look of pain and guilt on Nora’s face tore at his heart. No, it couldn’t be.

  “The Commander works for my father,” Nora said, her voice wobbling with fear.

  “Naval Officers don’t work for civilians,” Erik said. Glad that he at least knew that much.

  Nora swallowed and looked up into his eyes, begging him to understand. Begging him to forgive her.

  “They do when he’s the Defense Minister,” she said, then quickly looked down. Unable to meet his stare.