by Saxon Andrew
“After you killed them, the room with the cutters wouldn’t open for you.”
The man’s eyes narrowed, “How do you know this?”
“You’re not the first group to inhabit this cave. The ones before you weren’t able to defeat the Atlantans and we had to come and rescue the survivors.”
“What’s in the room you want to open?”
“A weapon that is being used against us.”
“Why should we allow you to take it?”
Andy said in Latin, “Everyone, reveal yourselves.” The men from the cave suddenly saw a hundred faces appear around them. “Ignite your cutters.” A blue beam suddenly appeared above the hundred heads. Andy turned to the man, “We don’t need the cutters to kill you. You saw what we did to the dinosaur. We could kill every one of you and simply take what we want. However, we’d prefer to do it peacefully. One thing we could do to help you, for allowing us to take what we want, is to open the door with the cutters inside.”
The woman said, “We need more than that.”
The man said, “Jenna, his offer is a good one.”
“I know that, Mark.” She turned to Andy, “We need you to teach us how to survive in this place.”
One of the men behind them said, “Jenna, they have more women than men here.”
Jenna and Mark looked at the speaker and he pointed at the ones that had them surrounded. They turned and looked at the heads surrounding them and Andy saw their shock. Andy sighed, “We managed to save two hundred women from this cave. Only forty men were still alive.”
Maranda pulled her camoshirt down and said, “I was one of them.”
The men in front of the cave stared at Maranda with their mouths open. Carrie said, “Andy, we need to help them.”
“Why?”
“What happens if they don’t make it? Another group will be put here and we’ll have to keep coming back time after time to defend ourselves. It would be better to have an alliance with them.”
Maxus looked at Andy, “What she’s saying makes good sense.”
Andy thought about the idea and looked at Maranda, “Would any of you want to come back here to train them on the bow and how to use the cutters effectively?”
Maranda looked at the hundreds of men and said, “I suspect most of us would welcome the opportunity; however, we won’t do it without you agreeing to include this group in our community. We are not willing to give up our new family.”
Jenna looked at Maranda, “You seem to have found a good life.”
Maranda smiled, “The best it can be in this most dangerous of worlds.”
Jenna slowly nodded, “Do you know how we got here and why?”
“We have some ideas about it but first we have to decide what we’re going to do about our current situation.”
One of the men in the group standing behind Mark and Jenna said, “I’d agree to anything just to be able to talk with her for an hour.”
Maranda looked at the young man and raised an eyebrow, “I suspect I can arrange for that to happen.” The young man turned deep red in the face and smiled.
Andy looked at Mark and Jenna, “Alright, here’s what I’m willing to do. We need to see what doors we can open in your cave to see what you have available for your defense. You will have to agree to follow our instructions.” Mark’s eyes narrowed and Andy said, “Are you going to instruct us on how to survive?” Mark took a deep breath and shook his head. “Then you will follow our instructions and the moment you decide to do it on your own, we’ll leave and not come back.”
“Will you leave us some of the weapons you’re taking?”
“Absolutely not.”
Everyone was surprised by Andy’s statement. Carrie looked at him and wondered what was going on. “Why not?”
“Because this world isn’t ready for them. Once we remove the ones attacking us, they will be put away and not used again.”
Carrie looked at Andy, “Why would you do that?”
“I suspect those weapons are nuclear powered and they will eventually cease to operate. If we build our survival around them, we’ll die with them. We’re thousands of years from being able to create anything like them and they will be a last resort weapon. We will learn the things that our descendants can use to build a life here. Depending on a weapon that will eventually fail is not something we’ll do.”
Maxus looked at Andy, “Don’t the cutters also fall into what you’re saying?”
“They’re solar powered. As long as they aren’t abused, we should have them for centuries to come. They aren’t going to fail due to the energy source decaying and eventually dying.” Andy looked at Jenna and Mark, “Take a few moments and discuss this among yourselves.”
Jenna looked around the group in front of the cave and said, “We were doomed until you showed up. We only have one food room open and it was going fast. We don’t have enough cutters to protect any crops we try to grow. I think we can work together to survive.”
“Will you assist us in moving the boxes we need?”
Mark smiled, “We will.”
Andy looked at Carrie and then at the rest of the raiding party, “I need one member of each group to go with us in the cave and see if you can open the doors.”
Jenna and Mark walked with Andy toward the cave and Jenna sighed. Mark heard her, “What’s wrong?”
“I don’t expect our special treatment will continue when the women arrive from the other cave.”
Mark reached forward and took her hand. She looked up at him and he smiled, “It will get better, Jenna. I can promise you that.” Jenna smiled and squeezed his hand.
• • •
The hand beams were found in the fifth room they opened. The compound bows and arrows were found in the tenth room. Andy had the men start moving the hand beams out of the cave as Jenak went to a room and opened it. Mark was standing beside him and saw the thousands of cutters stacked in the room. Mark looked at Jenak, “Are you an Atlantan?”
“Not anymore.”
“What caused you to change your mind?”
Jenak pointed across the cave at Andy, “He did.”
Mark stared at Andy, “Do you really think he will treat us fairly?”
Jenak looked Mark in the eyes, “You have no idea how he will do everything in his power to protect and defend you. He is what brought us together into a family. You’ll see that you’re making a wise decision.”
Mark looked at Jenak and held out his hand. Jenak took it and shook it.
• • •
Andy looked at Maranda, “I want you and as many of the women as are willing to stay with you to remain here and start training them on the bow.”
Maranda nodded, “Give me a moment.” Maranda walked over to the women archers and started talking with them. Carrie followed her and listened to her tell the group that there was a fine group of men waiting to find a mate. Forty of the women immediately volunteered to remain behind. Maranda turned to inform Andy and Carrie said, “I’m surprised you’re choosing to stay.”
Maranda looked at Carrie with a smile, “Why is that?”
“I thought you might be interested in Andy.”
Maranda’s smile disappeared and she stared at Carrie for a long moment. “Carrie, can you tell if a man is interested in you?”
“Uhhh, I don’t know. Where I came from most men would try to kill anyone they encountered, male or female.”
“Well, I can tell and I spent the entire march here talking with Mr. Andy and I saw rather quickly that he is not interested in me.”
“How can you know that?”
“Trust me, Carrie; I know.”
“But you’re so beautiful and such a great warrior.”
Maranda’s smile was back in an instant, “Why thank you; that’s the second nicest thing I’ve heard all day.”
“What was the first?”
Maranda looked over Carrie’s head and looked at the men gathered in front of the cave, “The one that said he
wanted an hour to just to talk with me. Now that got my attention.”
Carrie smiled, “I can see he is quite smitten with you.”
“Here’s something you should know; most of the men here are smitten by me. He had the courage to say it. That tells me a lot about him and I like that.” Maranda looked Carrie in the eyes, “The only one that Andy chooses to spend time with is you.”
Carrie stared at Maranda and took a breath and blew it out. “That’s because I can fly the glider.”
Maranda chuckled, “You really don’t have a clue; do you?”
“What?”
Maranda walked by Carrie and said, “Give it time; you’ll see.”
Carrie watched Maranda walk away and shouted, “See what?”
Maranda burst out laughing and raised her arm and waved back. She walked over to Andy and they started talking. Carrie watched them and Andy looked Maranda in the eyes and after a moment turned and looked at the men in front of the cave as Maranda kept talking. He nodded several times and then looked at Maranda again and said something. She nodded and walked over to the man that said he wanted an hour with her. She put her arm in his and said something. The man’s smile was huge as he let her toward the cave entrance.
Maranda was right; Andy wasn’t attracted to her. He was focused on the things that needed to be done. She saw Andy turn and move toward her. He smiled and Carrie thought it was the first time she had seen him smile all day. “Carrie, I need you to take the glider and make a delivery.”
“What kind of delivery?”
“I’m putting fifty of the hand beams in a pouch and I want you to take the glider and deliver them to Harvey. I’m worried about the ones sent to meet the attackers. I want you to instruct them on how to use the hand beams and stay with them until I can arrive.”
“How long will it take you to get back?”
“At least two days. I have to make sure the beams are stored and put out of reach of everyone else. Then I’ll bring another hundred archers and march with them to meet you. Tell Harvey to leave several hooks in the cliff path close to where he is planning his attack so I can find him.”
Carrie saw that Andy never took his gaze from her face. “I’ll go get the glider and fly in here. If you’ll have the pouch ready, I’ll leave immediately.”
“That would be good.” Carrie turned and ran up the clearing. Andy watched her go and sighed. He turned and headed back to the cliff wall to supervise the raising of the hand beam boxes.
Carrie flew the glider along he cliff wall and fought keeping it down at ground level. The sand was starting to heat up and the air flowed in from the forest and moved up along the cliff. The men at the cave were astonished when Carrie came flying in over the clearing. They could see her head and upper body but nothing else was visible. The women that had moved among them told them about the glider and the camomaterial used to cover it. Fifteen minutes later, Carrie had the pouch lashed to the central spine of the glider and she flew away. Andy watched her go and shouted for everyone to hurry up. The community was at risk. As soon as the beams were raised, the raiders started their march back to the community. Maranda immediately began archery classes while ten women remained outside to discourage any dinosaurs from coming close to the cave entrance. They allowed the Raptors and Pteranodons to come in and devour the carcass of the dead Allosaurus; no one wanted the smell of decaying flesh that close to the cave.
Chapter Seventeen
Carrie made good time flying north and she didn’t slow as she flew over the community. She saw Togawa in the center of the clearing as archery training was being done with many of the newest community members who had not mastered the bow. The numbers firing at the targets lined up along the southern wall was down from the previous week. It appeared many had passed the final tests and were now full archers. She continued to fly north and remembered training with Linnae. She was so full of life and her spirit was amazing. She was one of the most beautiful women in the community and her smile brightened everyone’s day. She missed Linnae so much. She was shocked at Joshua’s statement that she was going to invite her to join her and Andy. She knew it would have worked. She loved Linnae as a kindred spirit. But what about Andy? She just didn’t know.
Ten miles north of the community she saw Harvey standing outside the tree line. He appeared to be yelling something but she was too high to hear. She removed her skull cap and he disappeared. She used one hand to pull her shirt open and began spiraling down toward the clearing. She yelled Harvey’s name and after a few more minutes brought the glider down into the clearing. She unbuckled the harness and Harvey’s head suddenly appeared, “How did it go?”
“Much easier than anticipated. I’ve brought some hand beams for you to distribute. Do you have time for me to teach everyone how they operate?”
“The scouts will be attacking in a few hours. How long will it take?”
“Just a few minutes.”
Harvey turned to the forest and yelled, “All archers, get out here!”
Carrie put her skull cap back on and saw the archers come running out of the forest. She began teaching them how to use the weapon and after thirty minutes, Harvey began placing them among the trees. Carrie went to the glider and folded the wings and slid the tubes inside each other. She put the frame on her back and went over to the cliff wall and saw a camorope hanging. Harvey looked at her, “What are you doing?”
“I’m taking the glider up to the top of the cliff and anchoring it down. I don’t want it damaged if the attackers stumble across it.”
“You could hide it in the forest.”
“If we happen to lose, I don’t want it found if one of them puts on one of our skull caps.”
Harvey shrugged as Carrie pulled herself up the cliff wall. Harvey was amazed at the strength of the small woman. She was only a little over five feet tall but she was incredibly strong. With her brown hair cut short, she could almost pass for a young boy. At least until you got close to her; then it was clear she wasn’t. Harvey noticed she didn’t smile as much as she did in the past. Then he realized, she stopped smiling after Linnae died. Harvey sighed, she wasn’t alone in that.
• • •
Enapay watched the men advancing through the forest and saw that only a third of them were wearing the grey colored uniforms. All of them were holding one of the hand beams out in front of them as they advanced. Enapay looked out at the other scouts hidden in the trees above the forest and saw them move behind the tree trunks. Enapay did the same, even though he knew they wouldn’t see him in his camosuit. Old habits die hard. The hundred men passed under the scouts and didn’t even look up. That was bad tactics; death could come from any direction. The last of the raiders exited the tree line and moved out into the clearing running along the cliff.
Enapay raised his hand and lowered it. The sixteen scouts came down the trees and moved quickly to the edge of the tree line. They lined up and waited. When the raiding party was fifty yards away, Enapay pulled an arrow out of his quiver and pulled his bow back. He held a moment and then released the arrow. The other fifteen released their arrows as soon as they heard Enapay’s bow. They all turned in unison and ran into the tree line and grabbed a rope hanging on the cliff wall. They pulled themselves up quickly as red beams flashed into the forest below them. One of the beams missed a scout’s foot by an inch and the tingling sensation stayed in the foot for three months before it disappeared.
Rison heard the screams of the men in back of the formation as he turned and saw then lying on the ground. Half of them were dead and the others impaled by an arrow. “FIRE INTO THE TREES.” Red beams flashed and the entire tree line was bathed in red light. The raiders moved forward keeping the forest covered in red light. Rison looked at the dead men and stared at the forest behind him. They were shot from the forest and the attackers had not been seen. He looked to the south and saw the forest as it dipped in and out of the clearing. There were more places where he could be ambushed. He had learned a
hard lesson in his timeline that to advance into an unknown situation was stupid. He looked south again and felt he knew what happened to the fourteen scouts that had been sent out to explore. He stood and yelled, “Alright, everyone head back to the cave. I want beams fired ahead and behind our advance. Fire up into the trees; leaving nothing uncovered.”
• • •
Enapay looked down from the top of the cliff and was surprised by the withdrawal. He knew it was the smart thing to do but he didn’t think he would have done it. He shrugged and looked at the scouts, “Move north and watch what they’re doing. I’m going to tell Hotah what’s happening.” The scouts nodded and began running along the cliff wall. Enapay turned and ran south. The invaders were not acting like expected. A new strategy had to be developed. Hotah would know what to do.
• • •
Carrie looked at Harvey and saw he was nervous. “What’s bothering you?”
“Many of us could die if these new weapons are used. It doesn’t take any kind of training to use them; every one that carries one becomes a threat.”
“We can stop them from advancing by keeping a wall of beams in front of them.”
Harvey shook his head, “That doesn’t resolve this problem; it simply brings things to a stop. We need to resolve this while we are an unknown to this new enemy.” Harvey turned to Carrie, “I don’t see why the humans in your time were so aggressive toward each other. It doesn’t make sense.”
Carrie shook her head, “Most of the survivors after the nuclear blasts died of starvation. There were more powerful weapons used but most of them ran out of energy in the twenty years following the holocaust. It was during that time that most of the survivors died. It was during those two decades that groups would take possession of the food stores and kill anyone that tried to come close. The high powered shoulder blasters would not only kill the ones in the stores but also destroy the food inside. Everyone quickly discovered that the hand beams were the only weapons that would kill humans and not destroy the food. They became the weapons of choice.
“What was it like, Carrie?”
