The Huntsman

by Rafael

  “I knew it, I knew it. Something about her just didn’t add up. She said you and her were lovers. She made it all up.”

  A minute passed. She sprang back onto her elbow. “Oh my God. She might be back at the camp. They might all be in danger.” Janesh said nothing. “Did you hear me? They might be in danger. Or maybe dead.”

  “She’s not in the camp.” Miranda stared at him. A shiver ran down her spine. She knew the answer but needed to hear him say it.”

  “How do you know that?” Janesh looked at her.

  “She’s dead. I killed her this morning.”

  She lay back down. Her lungs expelled all their air. Behind her the forest’s denizens buzzed and chirped, flapped and flittered, bugled and honked. She listened to a passing breeze rustle the tree leaves. Above, a late afternoon sun prepared to end its day. Across the bank, crocodiles lazed and the river wound its interminable way. Tomorrow the day would begin anew. And the day after.

  “Are you okay, Miranda?” She didn’t respond. He didn’t press.

  “I had no idea how sheltered and protected my life in Ohio was. I think back and shake my head at its naiveté. Life came to me through a communicator, a television, a radio, a newspaper. Fashion, trends, gossip. Splashy headlines and lead-ins. Who’s in, who’s out, who will be? Cleansed, sanitized, airbrushed. All of it self-righteously intended to keep reality at arm’s length. Spare me the details. Skip bitter truths. Don’t hurt or embarrass. Above all don’t make me uncomfortable. Leave corpses sheathed until embalmers can restore life and for heaven’s sake not during prime time. If I question too closely they’ll ask, what of the children? It brooks no retort, leaves you mute. Children define our made up world and no one peers out. We exist sheltered, protected. Cocooned.”

  Janesh rose, strode to the river, washed hands and face, cupped his hands and drank. He returned, dropped to his knees, and tugged her shorts over her hips. Leaning on one hand the other unbuttoned her top. Outlined by the grass, he gazed over her curves and flawless skin. Lips closed around one nipple. It swelled to greet his tongue. He kissed her belly, her thighs, stood to unfasten his loin cloth. Miranda watched, emerald eyes afire. Ache wracked her body, opened her legs. “I love you, Janesh McKenzie.” Ever so lightly, his tongue brushed her woman. Miranda gasped.

  CHAPTER 44 Vanishing Act

  Halfway across the clearing, they began waving to the waiting scientists. Warm hugs and hearty handshakes greeted the returning duo. Gary pulled back from an embrace to look Miranda over. “It’s been two days. We were beginning to worry.”

  “Sorry. We took a wrong turn.” Laughter re-bonded the group.

  “You’re just in time.” the Israeli declared. “We’re about to sit for breakfast.”

  “C’mon Clara, I’ll help you serve it.” Janesh joined the men to help put out the seating arrangements. Duncan and Ronan circled about sniffing for anything new.

  Inside the kitchen hut Clara winked at Miranda. “Don’t say a word. You look happy and full of life. She leaned in conspiratorially. “I know it sets feminists’ hair on fire but there’s nothing that ails a woman a good oomph won’t cure.” Miranda laughed.

  “Or a couple oomphs.” They paused to embrace. “Oh, Clara. It’s good to be back. I missed you.”

  “Come. Let’s get this out before we start bawling like two babies.”

  With everyone seated Gary raised his tea cup. “We welcome back our dear colleagues. We are comforted by their return.”

  “Hear, hear.”

  “We have good news.” the Russian declared. Janesh and Miranda glanced around the table. Everyone wore Cheshire cat grins.

  “What? What is it?”

  “The wormhole device works.”

  “Did you go through it?” The Russian nodded.

  “I did last night. I needed three steps to go from here to the street outside my laboratories at the Malenkov Institute in St. Petersburg. I walked up to the building and pressed my hand against the wall just to confirm the reality of it. Only a few others were about at that hour. No one noticed I popped out of thin air. Three more steps returned me here.” Janesh shook his head.

  “The world is inside out and doesn’t know yet.”

  “What’s next?” Miranda asked. The Russian turned to the Israeli.

  “I’ve been studying Professor Ang’s coordinate tables since accessing them. I’ve made adjustments we will test after breakfast. I think we will be able to position and time termination points with greater precision than Professor Ang did.”

  “Who will test it?” Janesh asked.

  “I will.” the Israeli answered. “They are my calculations.”

  “How safe is it?”

  “It is a mathematical certainty. Still, I’ll be nervous. It won’t stop me but I’ll be nervous.”

  “And don’t forget”, the Russian resumed, “this is a prototype, a proof-of-concept model. Once the industrialists and engineers obtain the design, rapid advancement in terms of power up, positioning, speed, and functionality will follow. We are, after all, the descendants of homo habilis.”

  “Any reason not to get started?”

  “Yes.” Clara called out. “Finish your food.”

  Three hours later the solar batteries finally held a full charge. “Is this what you mean by power up advancements?” Janesh asked the Russian.

  “Exactly. We have to make sure everything is set correctly. The power needed to fire the lasers will drain the batteries. It then takes hours to wait for a recharge. Once the wormhole unlocks, negative energy will keep it open. But if anything happens, the person on the other end is stuck. It’s why during the testing phase we are choosing very neutral destinations.” Janesh turned to the Israeli.

  “Where are you going?”

  “To the one place I can be certain where I am: home. My family owns a farm in the town of Petach Tikvah in Israel’s center. I go often to clear my thoughts. If I arrive there, I will know it. Unless something is very wrong, at this moment my son will be working the north field.”

  The Russian looked up from a panel. “It’s charged.”

  Everyone gathered by the rectangular gate propped on a foundation built from the wooden crate it shipped in. One by one they hugged Ariel until only Dimitrov remained. The Russian smiled. “Good luck, my friend. I’ll be waiting.” Ariel stepped before the gate then turned around to take in the motley group’s grim expressions. He smiled.

  “Did you learn nothing from Miranda? Relax. I can do this.” Janesh shot her a curious look.

  “I’ll explain later.”

  The gate’s surrounding air began to shimmer and glow in undulating waves. Ariel stepped through, disappeared from India, and emerged in Israel. Behind him, as planned, the gate closed. Behind it, as he had calculated, stood the north field entrance. Ahead, a tractor jerked to a stop. A man stood to place a hand over his eyes. He jumped down and broke into a run. He stopped, confused and confounded.

  “Papa. I saw you appear from nowhere.” Ariel turned to look behind himself then back.

  “How long have you been working, Aaron?”

  “But I saw it. You just appeared.” Ariel grabbed him by the shoulders.

  “Aaron. You know that’s not possible. Is there water in the cab?”

  “Yes.” he nodded still looking about. Ariel wrapped an arm around his shoulders.

  “Come. You’ve been in the sun too long.”

  “How did you get here?” Ariel smiled.

  “I walked.” Aaron looked behind them, gave his head a shake.

  “What brings you?”

  “I need a reason to see my son?”

  “No, no. It’s good to see you, Papa. It’s always good to see you.”

  “How are things?”

  “The harvest will be a good one. Prices are stable. The children are healthy. I love my wife. I have a good father, a good mother. I am a wealthy man.”

  “Good, good. But don’t you forget to be a good father. And a good husband
.”

  They reached the tractor. Ariel removed a water bottle from the cooler. “Drink. Water is your friend. Don’t give it all to the fields. Without you the fields are nothing. Don’t drive me back. I want to walk. The smell of the soil cleanses my soul. I’ll see you at home.”

  At the north entrance, Ariel heard children at play. He stepped quietly to the house and peered around the corner. His grandson and granddaughter kicked a soccer ball. Their future would not be his. They would grow up in a world of instant travel, galactic civilizations, alien beings. How safe could he make it for them? What did safe mean? He stepped clear. They made to shout but he placed a finger to his lips and closed the distance. He bent on one knee.

  “Can you both keep a magic secret” Wide-eyed, they nodded solemnly.

  “Don’t tell anyone you saw me. I’m not sure when but if you don’t, you’ll both receive a magic gift.” He shushed them again when they gasped with delight. “Now, give your grandfather a hug and a kiss. I love you both very, very much.” He rose and bent down with an extended forefinger. “Now remember. It’s a magic secret.” He rounded the corner and walked toward the north entrance. Right on schedule the wormhole opened. He disappeared.

  At dinnertime Aaron entered the kitchen. “Where’s Papa’s car? His wife looked up from the stove, confused. “Where’s Papa’s car?”

  “Why would his car be here?”

  “Where is Papa? Isn’t he here?”

  “No. He’s not here.”

  “What do you mean he’s not here? I saw him today in the north field. Spoke to him. Where is he?”

  His wife rushed over to grasp his face between her hands. Rotated his head, pulled the eyelids down, checked his pupils. “Aaron, are you alright?”

  “Of course I’m alright.” She led him to the table.

  “Aaron, sit down. No one has been here all day. Not your father not anyone.”

  She removed ice water from the refrigerator, soaked a hand towel, placed it on his head. You might have heat exhaustion. Sit quietly.” Confused, Aaron wondered if he might have imagined it. He glanced at the children. Smug expressions plastered their faces.

  CHAPTER 45 Culture Clash

  Kreetor gabbled clacks, clicks, and hisses without letup. The Seer waited. It did not know impatience. “Galactic history has never recorded such a phenomenon.”

  “Nonetheless, Grand Dominant, it is a certainty.”

  Frustration ruffled Kreetor’s feathers. Unlike every known biosphere in the galaxy, the High Council had sent her to the singular planet where intelligence had arisen in only one species. Worlds evolved two or three, many five and six. Nowhere did it exist in just one. Had the Council known this? She did not understand. Could not understand. Priestesses guarded, acted, fought. Knowledge and thought belonged to the Unwinged.

  “And these, what are they called?”

  “Dogs, Grand Dominant.”

  “These dogs are not intelligent?”

  “I have monitored them closely. I have scanned every frequency mode near them. I have analyzed the history and records of this planet. Dogs are ruled and subjugated by the inhabitants as are many other life forms. The rest are eaten or geographically restrained. The inhabitants do the same to one another. No, they are not intelligent.”

  “And the inhabitants eat one another?”

  “They must. Otherwise what purpose does killing serve?”

  “Truly, they are a mighty race. The Council is wise to fear them. I understand now, Seer. The Unwinged sent me to destroy their gate and all associated with it that the Subjugators may not ignite a conflagration on sacred Sorke. Our duty is clear. Have you located the gate?”

  “It has been active. I know its precise location.

  * * *

  “We don’t have the means to test radiation levels around the gate when activated and what health risks they might pose. Or even what the exposure is during the brief traversal within. I and Clara’s examinations and observations of Dimitrov and Ariel can discern no ill effects. Much study remains. Nonetheless we stand at a momentous precipice. The human race is poised to expand beyond the planet that birthed it.”

  “Let me add to Gary’s point.” Ariel said. “Within Professor Ang’s original destination tables were seventeen entries beyond the Solar System. Attached notes to the tables indicated he had devised some type of wheeled, tethered robot he would send through the gate to take air samples. Six times Professor Ang stepped onto an alien world. The last time something grabbed the robot and bit through the tether. Realizing the danger of possibly dragging something back through, he stopped the extraterrestrial visits.”

  “So the question is no longer abstract. What do we do next?” Clara asked.

  Silence descended around the table. The raucous, free-wheeling after dinner debates had taken a sober, intense tone. Clara had injected focus. Idle speculation now required concrete decision. Thirty feet beyond sat a device that would be at the center of mankind’s future history. Narsimha lightened the mood.

  “It’d be great if we could speak to the person who launched the first boat.” Everyone smiled.

  “I doubt he subjected himself to all the navel gazing.” Gary said.

  “Agreed.” Miranda said. “He put it in the water and sailed off. Let the chips fall where they may. The original plan may be best. Release the design to the world simultaneously. Let the chips fall where they may.”

  “Perhaps we should…” Duncan and Ronan began a furious bark, stared into the night sky. Janesh made the instant connection.

  “Everyone under the table. Now!”

  Ariel could not bend down fast enough. Janesh stood over him spear at the ready. Above, a dark mass soared by. It flapped once, twice, and disappeared into the gloom. An eerie, piercing screech crossed the distance. He scanned the overcast night but saw nothing. Ears strained for the slightest sound. The dogs had quieted. He could not leave everyone under a table.

  “Okay everyone. We’re going to the kitchen hut. Stay together. There’s no need to run but move quickly. Let’s go.” Once inside Janesh cycled options. “Leave the two bunks for Ariel and Dimitrov. Sleeping on the floor won’t kill the rest of us. We’re sheltered, out of the elements with food and water but have sacrificed mobility. The creature has the initiative to attack at its choosing and leisure. Make yourselves as comfortable as possible. It may be a long night. I’ll use the time to figure out something better. I’m open to any suggestions.”

  Kreetor left them no time to make any. With a loud thump that shook the roof, it landed. Scrapes and scuffs caused dust to float down. Sharp, wicked claws punctured through followed by a jarring, tearing sound. It flew off, a thatched section hooked to its talons.

  Moments later it returned. A beak poked through. Underneath a pink tube wriggled, targeted. “Look out!” Janesh yanked Narsimha off his feet. A gelatinous, viscous mass splattered on the spot he had occupied. More scrapes and tears. Another roof section flew off. Janesh raced through options.

  The woods offered sanctuary but they’d have to cross the clearing. Keeping everyone close would make them easier targets. Spreading out would make it impossible to defend everyone. Ariel and Dimitrov could not keep up if they ran. If they stayed the Sorken would tear the roof off piece by piece. Eventually someone would fall victim to its adhesive paste. Janesh imagined the creature might also drop rocks from unseen heights. Primitive but effective. He had to find a way to make the roof untenable and make the alien know if it wanted to kill the others it would have to kill him first.

  His eyes darted about, searched for anything that might make a weapon. Pots, pans, plates...knives. He jerked the drawer open. Fruit slicers and too unbalanced for throwing. His head snapped upward. One spear good, many spears better. He made to run out then stopped. The dogs could be useful but he needed Miranda safe. He pointed to her. “Guard.”

  Outside, he hurried to pull down the bamboo rods used to hold intertwined thatch. Two sharp, angled blows with his knife lo
pped off the ends leaving razor points that could puncture feather and flesh. He circled the hut until six interspersed spears leaned around the structure. Kreetor did not keep him waiting.

  It landed and Janesh rushed to a spear. Nimble hops evaded upward stabs as it flapped and screeched. Thrust, miss. Thrust, miss. Thrust, miss. But not the fourth. He caught a leg and tore open a long gash. An ear-piercing shriek and it took off. “Everyone stay inside. Don’t go near the openings.”

  Janesh moved away from the hut, daring it to return. Kreetor did. He ran in spear at the ready and the bird took off. The pattern repeated twice more. Stalemate. Good, Janesh thought. It’ll have to change tactics.

  Behind him, Kreetor landed in the clearing, screeched a challenge. Janesh turned. Spear leveled, he charged. Before he could close, the beast launched with a mighty flap. Janesh watched it fly past him back to the hut. His heart sank when it touched down atop the roof and flew away with another torn-off section. He walked back, cycling through options. Behind him, the alien landed and screeched another challenge.

  Janesh turned, crouched low, spear ready to throw. He stalked forward. Kreetor waited, wings open, ready to fly. Muscles tensed, Janesh crossed into range, ready to track its launch. Kreetor remained on the ground. Janesh smiled. Two more steps and the alien could not evade the spear’s flight. Its black beak opened. Janesh let fly. The spear passed through it. Behind him he heard wings flap. He turned to watch the monster land and poke its head into a roof hole. Janesh raced back, prayed for time.

  It jerked its head back out, feathers steaming. Water flecked off as it launched away shrieking its rage. Janesh howled his defiance. The scientists had joined the battle. Someone had put water to boil.

  He ran back for his spear then to the hut. Inside no one celebrated. “Everybody stay alert. That thing is smart. I can’t anticipate everything and it might succeed tearing off the entire roof. Listen for my command. When you hear it, run to the next hut. Understand?” Their wide-eyed faces, both fearful and determined, nodded in disjointed unison. Janesh glanced at Miranda then the group. “Steady, everyone. We can do this.”