by Brian King
“Trel, I told you I was going to get a dinosaur and here she is. What do you think?” I called to the spider woman with a cheery voice.
“I thought you’d get a bigger one.” She spoke with her typical sarcasm.
“Are you serious?” I asked, and my shoulders slumped despite my intentions.
“Oh, I’m going to have fun with you, male.” The spider-woman let out a giggle and then spun around to walk back into the cave.
“Why do I feel like I’m walking into a trap with her?” I asked Sheela.
“I do not think we yet know Trel’s true personality,” she replied.
“She eats men,” I said with a laugh, “what more do I need to know?” I momentarily ignored all her contributions to our construction project.
“There is that,” Sheela agreed.
I walked up the ramp with the sexy feline-woman while my mind did loop-the-loops thinking of all the cool shit Hope was going to do. As soon as we reached the middle of the ramp, the parasaur let out a single, hollow note as if she didn’t want us to leave her. I glanced back, intending to reassure her we wouldn’t be gone long, but then I noticed some activity above us.
“Well, fuck,” I said in a hushed voice. “We have another problem.”
“What is it, Victor?” Sheela said as she looked up.
A group of orange and black birds hopped from branch to branch high in the closest of the big redwoods. They weren’t a new threat, but seeing them made me wonder how we were going to take care of the latest member of our growing tribe.
“Besides the orange birds up in the trees, roaming carnos, that missing pterodactyl, and all the other pieces of our daily grind, we have to add pet security to our list.” I pointed to Hope. “We can't leave her out here overnight. Something will come along and kill her, especially if she's tied up.”
Sheela looked at me with concern, then glanced around the almost-dark forest. I expected her to have an answer, especially on matters loosely related to hunting, but she seemed to come up short.
“We’ll have to stay out here and guard her,” I finally said. If Hope was a little smaller, she might have fit into the cave with us, but that wouldn’t leave much room for anyone else. I squinted to see the ruins of our fort out in the growing darkness of the grove and formulated a quick plan of action.
“We’ll have to build a stall or something in our new place, so we can keep her safe. Until then, I think you and I will have to sleep outside with spears at the ready.” Over the past week and a half, we’d had maybe two encounters with dinosaurs in the dark of night. The first happened when those raptors came snooping around, which was pretty fucking scary. The second event was when a huge carnivore ran past the bottom of our ramp as I sat and watched all the fireflies one night. It was so silent I couldn’t be sure what I saw was real, but the next day I found the giant tracks, proving the point that it was never, ever, completely safe in the forest.
“It will be dangerous, but I think it will help to have this beast with us. We will guard her, and she will, in turn, protect us.” Sheela smiled.
“That doesn’t sound so bad,” I admitted. I walked back to Hope and patted her on the side of the neck like I’d done for horses back home. “I told you we’ll take care of you, girl.”
I still didn’t understand the mechanics of Tame, but whenever I spoke, I tried to convey positive thoughts to her. In the short time I’d known the parasaur, I’d ordered her around like I’d been training her my whole life. Even a top-notch AKC show dog couldn’t match the commands I’d been giving Hope so far, and I’d have many new commands when building the fort. But all of that depended on trust between animal and trainer, so I kept up calming thoughts of friendship whenever I was around her.
The orange birds cackled and cawed in the trees high above. They seemed restless as if waiting for their chance to drop in on us, but it was late, and I hoped they were getting ready to roost for the night.
Sheela continued to look up at them while I spoke.
“If we had a bow and arrow, we could pop them when they get to the lower branches.” It was the second time I’d thought of a specific task for arrows, and that probably meant we should divert some resources to make them.
“Agreed,” she replied dryly.
“How fast can you build a bow?” I asked as I thought about the cost to our schedule. Even with Hope here to help us, it was going to take a miracle to get the improved design of the fort done before the birds arrived.
We’d have to start cutting out non-essentials, like sleep.
“We have unlimited trees, all the cord we need for the string, and bird feathers to make the arrows fly straight,” Sheela said as she returned her attention from the birds. “I can work on it during the night.”
“So, a few hours?” I asked.
“Yes. It is not difficult if I have all the materials ready.”
“I’m surprised you haven’t made one already,” I suggested.
“I did have a bow back at my other cave,” the feline warrior started to say, “but I lost it when I had to flee. I have lacked the time to make another because of all my other duties. Also, arrows are perfect for birds but are not effective against large dinosaurs. Spears are quicker to make and are better able to bring down the big creatures.”
“I see,” I said.
“Spears are also better for close combat on this world. If you have to fight a dino in a tight spot, you will not be able to use a bow.” She showed me her weaponless hand. “And if we are staying out here tonight, I need to get a spear to replace the one I threw. I will return in a moment.”
I fought the urge to gulp dramatically due to her warning.
“I’ll hang out here,” I said with a bit of a laugh to take the edge off the worry, “and see if I can think of a place where we can watch over Hope tonight,” It sounded crazy, but I was getting used to doing and saying all kinds of insane shit around Sheela. Riding a dinosaur and fighting a carno were only the latest.
Sheela was gone for a few minutes, and her absence gave me a chance to look around our front yard below the cave. I barely had time to consider our options when someone came walking back. I figured it was Sheela, but spun around when I heard Galmine on the ramp above me.
“Victor, I love the new dinosaur and love, love, love, the name Hope! You are an amazing provider,” she gushed as she hugged me.
“Thank you,” I replied as I melted in her arms. Though the evening was hot, and I was sweating from rescuing Hope, the warmth of her body was an electric blanket I desperately needed to wrap around me. My insta-hard dick rubbed against her stomach, and she ground against me in return.
“You should know, I’m keeping track of all your brave actions.” Galmine whispered in my ear, and her warm breath caused goosebumps to sprint down my neck. “That’s how many times you are going to get rewarded when we finally have time to ourselves.”
I was again faced with an opportunity to fuck the beautiful woman, and even though I was reaching the level of solid granite in my pants, I had to fight off Galmine’s obvious advances. With Hope down below, I had new duties that were more important than pleasure, so I gently pushed her off my chest and peered into her soulful eyes.
“Grrr. I really want to claim your reward, Galmine, but Sheela and I have to get back to Hope. She’s by herself down there.” I hid my disappointment as best I could.
“I know. And trust me, I know exactly how much you want my reward.” She grabbed my crotch gently, and I felt all the blood leave my head. “Though I want to be taken by you, it pleases me to know how much you think of the other women. I bet that makes them desire you, since you treat them with respect.”
I gasped as she released her hand. My man brain was pummeling my leader brain to let nature take its fucking course, but I resisted my urges and tried to respond to her.
“You, uh, think they like me in that way, too?” I scratched my head while I thought it over. Sheela was married, but was Trel interested
in me? Were all her insults just covering up her feelings? It seemed like a longshot.
“Only if I believe what they say while you are sleeping,” she replied with a giggle.
“What do they say?” I asked. I knew I had important things to do, but man brain jammed his foot in the door to keep this conversation from ending.
Her brow furrowed as she studied me in the glow of the first fireflies of the night. “You haven’t had sex with me yet, and you are already thinking of being with them. Oh, Victor, nothing would make me happier than if you used your Tame skill on all three of us, but it isn’t for me to say what words they have spoken. I guess it will just have to be a surprise.” Her eyes became flirtatious as she waved goodbye.
I watched her hips sway as she returned to the cave. I almost asked her to come back, but then Hope let out a little toot, and I turned to watch her down below.
I was still trying to calm myself when Sheela returned a moment later. I wondered if she knew what Galmine had just said, or if she could see how flushed I was, but her face remained as stoic as ever. She stood in front of me and showed me her replacement spear.
“Have you found a place where we can watch over her?” Sheela asked.
“I, uh. Yeah.” I was sweating bullets from how fast my heart had been beating around Galmine, but I steadied myself and tried to get serious. “I did have an idea, actually.” I looked around our front yard again and came up with something in seconds. “We can get a few poles from our ruined walls and lay them down below to make a little enclosure up against these rocks. Then, we can camp up here and guard the pen.”
Sheela watched as I pointed to where I wanted to put Hope, but I kept speaking before she had any questions.
“She could break any rope that we make, so the poles are more of a suggestion for her not to run away. Jinx doesn’t split, and I never worry about him, so maybe once they are tamed, they’ll just stay with me.” It was only a guess based on observation, but I thought that made more sense than requiring me to stay awake all the time to keep the animals under my control.
“Yes,” the cat-like woman said, “and if a threat does arrive, we will defend from up here on the high ground.”
It was getting dark in the grove, but only a few fireflies were visible. I waved my hand toward them as I thought of another piece of good luck in my planning.
“The glow of those creatures will allow us to watch for predators,” I declared. “And if those aren’t around, we should have a moon or two.” I realized another potential solution as my mind jumped several steps ahead. “When we have time, we could move our pile of branches and extra wood from next to the sequoia and put it out into the open. Then we could burn it for extra light during an emergency.”
“I will put extra spears where we will keep watch,” she said.
“Let’s get this done,” I commanded.
She and I worked for several hours to get Hope’s pen set up next to the bottom of the ramp. We tried a few fancy ways of doing it, but in the end, we just dragged some logs to outline a corral and then shoved them into the dirt, so they stood up like fence posts.
I wanted to use Hope to move the logs, but we didn’t have enough thick rope to make the tow line, so I asked Galmine to make us more while we were putting the last touches on the pen.
It was probably 2:00 AM when I guided Hope into her enclosure, and we propped up a long, thin pole as a makeshift door. She went in and laid down at the base of the rocks like it was no big deal. The low, red glow of the moon made it difficult to see the logs and sticks we put all around her, and I thought for sure she’d get up and trample over them, but after several minutes I began to think she was going to stay there.
“Good night, Hope,” I said with a tired voice. After feeling her raw power, I knew none of this could happen without her approval, so there was nothing to be done except be polite to her.
The bright red glow of the moon made it easy to walk the ramp and join Sheela at our tiny watch fire right outside the cave.
“I can’t wait to ride with Hope again tomorrow. I’m still stoked about bringing her back here. That was the coolest thing I’ve ever done. You think she’ll stay there?” I felt like I was mainlining Mountain Dew because of the flurry of thoughts percolating in my head and spilling out of my mouth.
“I trust your judgment, Victor,” Sheela answered. “If you think she will stay with us, then I believe that is what she will do.”
“She’ll stay,” I replied with total confidence.
I thought about what Hope would look like in the light of the morning, and I couldn’t help but imagine the feeling of riding on top of her again. It was way more exciting than the best Christmas present I’d ever opened, and I felt a bit giddy, so I laughed with delight.
I enjoyed the fireflies and the smell of the campfire as we sat in shared silence for several minutes, but we both glanced upward when the sky exploded with colors.
“There!” Sheela exclaimed as she jumped to her feet. “Those are the lights I’ve been telling you about. People are arriving on this world.”
The high redwoods made it difficult to see any of the lights, but their bright colors and frosty appearance reminded me of raver’s glow sticks. They began high up in the atmosphere and then shot down to the planet’s surface in one, fast-moving beam. The colors, direction, and frequency all seemed random, but there were dozens of them.
“You weren’t kidding before,” I said as I stood next to her. “If we could find half of those people, we’d have more than enough manpower to build our fort before the birds get here. Hell, we could build two.”
“Do you want to go look for them?” she suggested as if unsure herself. Distant thunder rumbled in the darkness, and the lights winked out one by one while I considered her question.
“Yes,” I answered. “I want to find them, but I don’t think we should risk it right now.” The feline warrior had gone out to find me after a similar light show, and I now appreciated how much danger she’d put herself in to get me. “I can’t spare you to search, and honestly I would want us both to go. Also, if we wandered around and didn’t find anyone, I’d be pretty pissed because our timeline has no room for error. In the morning we have to start work with Hope, and we can’t delay five minutes until those walls are done.”
We watched in silence as a second batch of lights popped up and fizzled out in various parts of the sky. It disturbed me that each of those beams was a person who would be as lost and confused as I was upon arrival.
Then there would be lots of dying when the dinosaurs found them.
I wasn’t sure it was the right decision, but for the moment I could only think of my group of women. Things would have been different if the original fort was still intact, but that stampede really altered our outlook for the future. I had to be more conservative and protective of my time and friends.
Soon enough, all the lights faded away.
I took the first shift watching Hope. I wanted to be ready if she somehow untamed herself, but nothing interesting happened during my watch. Sheela slept by the fire as the fireflies ended their show and the red moon moved across the sky. I searched the horizon for the second moon as an exercise to keep my eyes in motion while I rocked back and forth on my feet.
It struck me that the moons needed names better than “red” and “white,” so I spent some time working the problem. I tried to think of names of moons from our solar system back home, but I only remembered two that were in an old video game. I assumed Phobos and Deimos were the moons of Mars, but only because the video game took place there. My tired mind failed me with better alternatives, so I went ahead and dubbed the red one above me as Deimos.
Phobos was just starting to rise, along with the first hint of dawn, when I finally had to wake up Sheela for her shift. I greeted her and then fell over into the sleep of the dead.
“Wake up, Victor,” Sheela whispered almost as soon as my skull touched down on the ramp.
I fel
t exhausted when I came to, but it was the same as any other day. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes but became instantly alert when I saw Sheela crouched next to me with a spear in her hand. I thought maybe Hope had escaped, but I still saw her curved crest down below.
“We have visitors,” she said while motioning me to look down the ramp.
Six or seven of the annoying orange and black birds were walking as a group near Hope’s pen. I didn’t think they would even register as a nuisance to the parasaur, but their very presence was a threat to the rest of us.
“They just came down from their high branches,” the warrior woman declared. “I knew you would want to be wakened.”
“We better chase these fuckers away, or we’re going to have even more to deal with,” I said. It made my heart skip a beat to suggest fighting them, but we couldn’t let them wander into the cave, and I also didn’t want them bothering my new pet dinosaur.
The branches of the barricade were still shoved into the cave door, so I knew the two other women were safe. My other concern was Hope, but the parasaur was on her feet nipping at some of the green bushes on the hillside and seemed oblivious to the birds.
“You’ve fought these before. What’s the best way to do this?” I asked as we paused at the bottom of the ramp.
She eyed the birds for ten seconds before seeming to make up her mind.
“There are only six of them,” the feline woman said. “We should be able to attack and chase them off, but as their numbers swell they will stop running from us.”
“Well, then we should kill every one of them,” I replied.
“We can try, but they are very fast.” She tossed her spear from her left hand to her right, then turned to me. “Tell me when,” she added with a small smile.
“Go!” I said with excitement.
We both sprang into action and ran the twenty-five feet to the first bird, but they scattered like geese and took flight before we could close the distance. Sheela managed to throw her spear and knock one out of the sky, but my throw missed by a few feet.
