by Calista Skye
And I totally will. I may be the bitch and coward of the story, but I'm not abandoning the girls.
Jax'zan is frowning and his eyes are smouldering more than ever. “Important place. Danger. Not go.”
I should probably avoid making him angry. I put my hand into my pockets and lightly grip the gun.
“I really have to go there,” I say as a last attempt. “It's my sacred duty.” Maybe inserting some holiness into this will help him relent.
He considers it and frowns. But he can consider all he wants. This isn't his decision to make.
I take a deep breath and turn my back, walking up the hill. I put a little extra swing into my hips. Maybe my ass will convince him when pure reason won't.
I glance behind me. He's still standing there, frowning.
My heart sinks in my chest. Well, it was worth a try. I walk on with less hip movements. The hillside is pretty steep.
Then I hear Jax'zan grunt something that sounds angry.
“Human waste,” the translator chirps. Yes, that sounds like the polite version of what he said.
And then the caveman comes walking up to me with long, strong strides. He points up the side of the hill. “Friends?”
I jut my chin out in the way that I hope means 'yes'. “Friends.”
He fixes his stare on me and I have a strong urge to flinch and look away, because it's like looking straight into Judgement Day. “Danger.”
But I hold my own and stare right back. I won't back down on this. “Friends.”
He takes a deep breath, glances up the hill and blows air out between his teeth in a way that means damn it on Earth. Then he starts walking up the steep incline.
I scramble after him. He really doesn't want to do this. It's pretty obvious he's doing it for my sake only. My heart overflows with gratitude and I'm so moved I want to cry. I feel much safer with him by my side and I will absolutely want to reward him for that later. One way or the other.
His strong back and his powerful legs and his cute little butt flex and move in front of me, and I keep close to him. I keep lookout upwards. Those not-dactyls scared me almost to death yesterday, and this mountain is where they came upon us. Probably this is where they live and that's the reason Jax'zan says it's forbidden.
But when the attack comes, it's not from above. I see Jax'zan snap his head around. He yells something that the translator doesn't catch, and in a split second his sword is in his hand and he's beside me, taking my hand and yanking me so I'm behind him. Only then do I see what he's spotted – it's a giant centipede the size of a living room couch, just much longer. It has many long tentacles sticking out from its front, as well as two black scissor-like blades. It zigzags and slithers up the hill at amazing speed, and I can feel the blood drain from my face. That's the worst thing I've ever seen, and it's coming right for us.
Jax'zan puts an arm behind him so he's shielding me, and then he winds up and throws his sword. It rotates through the air and hits the terrible creature right in the middle of its face, cleaving the whole thing in half for at least the first six feet of its body. The rest of the centipede slowly falls over.
Jax'zan goes down the slope and yanks his sword out of the dead thing, then wipes it on the grass and comes back up to me with a little grin on his face. “Very dangerous,” he says unnecessarily.
I'm shaking like a leaf and I cling to him when he gets to me. “Damn, that thing scared me.”
He hugs me with one arm and says something more. “Danger. But Zopia safe with Jax'zan,” the translator says.
Oh my heavens. If he hadn't come along, and I had been alone here when that thing charged ...
I can't finish the thought. I just shudder and cling to him a little more before I let him go. “Thanks. That was a fantastic throw.”
He just smirks and we continue upwards, me on shaky legs. The vegetation gets thicker the further up the hill we get, and I recognize plants that look a lot like ferns. That makes this place look even more jurassic.
Jax'zan turns around and I reflexively scurry to seek shelter behind his broad back.
But he doesn't get out his sword, just points down the hill. “Ehn Stoh hr.”
“A Big,” the translator says.
“Uh-huh?” I say and look down the valley from behind his back. And sure enough, that's a pretty big thing he's seeing. It's far away, probably a couple of miles at least.
“Ohmigod, that's huge!” It's a real dinosaur. It's huge and lumbering and it walks on six legs, moving just one of them at a time like those huge walking machines in some of the Star Wars movies. It's easily a hundred feet long and covered in what looks like dirty feathers. It looks like it's walking backwards, because the tiny head is placed on top of an extremely long neck at the far back of its body. But the tail is right behind there, too, so that's probably just the way it evolved, walking with most of its body first and the neck last. It's strangely graceful and it's totally mesmerizing to watch it.
Jax'zan puts his hands on his hips and doesn't seem too worried. The dino isn't coming in our direction, so I allow myself to relax and just admire it. I can hear the ground thunder distantly each time it puts a foot down on the ground, and it has to weigh the same as an apartment building.
Why feathers, though? Surely that thing can't fly.
Jax'zan points. “Seh.”
“Look,” comes the translation.
“Oh my.” Someone is stalking the huge dinosaur. Two smaller creatures are closing in on it from the sides, clearly about to attack it from either side. They're black with yellow stripes and they look extremely deadly, with large, streamlined heads and mouths that look very large from where we're standing. They have spikes along their spines and a whole bunch of long, whip-like tails each. They have two legs in front, but I have trouble seeing what's holding them up further back.
We watch in silence as the two predators close in on the huge dino. Then they pounce, both at the same time from opposite directions. The victim puts its little head back and rears two of its front legs into the air, and a second later we can hear its scream – a deep, piercing howl like a foghorn. The two attackers appear to have bitten themselves onto the dino's sides, and they're chomping down on it hard. And now I can see their rear parts. They have huge wheels in the middle of their bodies, and they're clearly part of them. I see the reason too, now – they're hanging onto the dino with their mouths, it's still moving, and the attackers can roll effortlessly along with it on their wheels while using their energy to bite down.
“They've got it,” I state. It makes me sad – that huge goofy-looking dino was just minding its own business, and now I can see its feathered flanks dark with blood. Still the foghorn noise persists, but the dino doesn't seem to be fighting back in any other way.
“Not yet,” Jax'zan says through the translator. And now I see why. There are two more creatures moving in, large and squat six-legged creatures with big, triangular heads and the same feathery look as the big one. They're different from it, but at the same time there's something very similar about them. They approach the attackers from each side, and then they ram their heads into the wheels and jam them.
Immediately a lot of dust rises around the altercation as the wheels that are a part of the attackers stop turning and start scraping up the ground. The foghorn sound stops and the attackers both lose their grips on the dino. They fall to the ground and the two defenders immediately pounce on them while the huge goofy one keeps on walking away. By the end the attackers are slinking off back the way they came, and the defenders trot after the dino.
“Are those its kids?” I ask out loud. They're totally different, but strangely similar.
“No,” Jax'zan says, amused. “Seh.”
11
- Sophia -
The two defenders catch up with the giant dinosaur and then they seem to climb into the feathery body of the large one, and then their heads poke up from the front of the body. It's a three-headed dinosaur now. I guess the fe
athers must have hidden cavities in the huge body where they fit perfectly.
“They're one,” I state, because it's obvious. “That's actually just one being, but it can split into three parts.” It probably makes no sense. But that's what it looks like to me.
Jax'zan grunts, turns around and keeps walking. “Yes.”
I guess the show's over, so I follow him as closely as I can up the hill. It's hard going, because the hill is steep and Jax'zan walks pretty fast.
When we get to the stream I recognize I'm soaked with sweat and my breath is ragged in my throat. But I'm not tempted to take a dip.
“Bune,” Jax'zan says and sweeps his hand to indicate the forest ahead of us. The translator doesn't offer any suggestions, so I guess it could be the name of this place.
“Bune,” I repeat thoughtfully. “The tuna can is right over that ridge.”
Jax'zan looks up and around and places his hand lightly over his mouth while looking at me. I get it: shut up.
That's fine with me. This is not-dactyl country and I'm not about to attract their attention.
But it's also sophiasaurus country and god-knows-what-else country, so I stick very close to Jax'zan as we make our way up the ridge. I'm half expecting to find Caroline's dead body on the ground, because after I fell into the stream last night she would have been on her own. And being on your own here in Bune seems very unwise.
We get to the ridge and I see the tuna can glinting in the sunlight. “That's it. I came in that. And my friends are inside. I hope.”
Jax'zan can produce some pretty spectacular frowns, and this one is a real doozy. “Bune,” he says. “Forbidden.”
He points to the ground. And sure enough, right on the top of the ridge there's a row of rocks of the same size. Just gravel size, really, but they're all white and round and carefully placed in a straight line that disappears into the vegetation in both directions. I may be an alien here, but even I can see that it's a boundary of some kind.
But I can't be ruled by alien customs. I have to let my conscience guide me.
I take one step so I'm on the other side of the little stones. “I have no choice.”
Jax'zan doesn't move. But the look he sends me could probably kill rabbits from thirty feet away.
Damn it. So near and yet so far.
I have to try. “Jax'zan, I would really need your help on this side, too. I understand that it's a boundary you don't want to cross, but this is an emergency. Maybe you could bend the rules a little this time?”
The translator goes on for a good while, but Jax'zan's frown doesn't change. He just stands there like a statue, feet apart and his arms crossed over his chest. Yeah, he's not moving from there.
Shit. I don't want to lose his help. But I have to go see the girls.
“I know this is a lot to ask. But if you won't cross, could you please wait here until I come back? I need your protection, and the other girls do too, if they're still alive. Please?”
He looks at me levelly and says nothing. I've made him angry, I'm pretty sure.
“Okay,” I say. “If you have to go, then thank you for everything. I hope I'll see you again.”
And I mean it. Because this guy doesn't just make me feel safe and protected. He also turns me on just by existing. And I like his quiet confidence, especially since it seems to be totally backed by actual skills and strength. He's not showing off. At all. This is who he is. His movements are natural and powerful, and his alien looks are just the right side of weird. I never liked the runway model look anyway, and this is a real man. I could totally fall for a guy like that. Totally. And I think I can see a bulge in his loincloth. It's a big bulge, and its contours are ... interesting.
I really don't want to lose him.
And still I'm turning my back to him and walking away. Because I guess I have to accept being the bitch of the story. But there's no way in hell I'm going to be the coward, too.
I can feel his eyes burning a hole in my back and probably on my ass as I walk towards the tuna can, always looking around for signs of movement. Then I pass on the other side of a tree, and when I glance back he's gone.
I sigh and force down the urge to run back. Dammit. I really liked him.
I reach the tuna can and knock. “Hello in there. It's Sophia.”
The translator says something in Jax'zan's language and I turn it off. The battery is good, but it won't last forever.
The door slides open and a pale face looks out.
It's Heidi. “Sophia?”
I go inside the can and she closes the door behind me. It smells worse in here than last night.
“Sophia?” Caroline gets to her feet and comes over to hug me. “I was so sure you drowned!”
“Yeah, me too.”
The girls are drawn and look both tired and exhausted, like they've been crying a lot. And I don't blame them at all. I know what I'd rather be doing right now.
I tell them what's happened, glossing over the details of how Jax'zan woke me up that first time. “But I'm not sure if he's there anymore. He may have left.”
They're all looking at each other. “That's the most amazing thing I've ever heard,” Aurora says. “A caveman? Who is hot and protects you? That's ... yeah, just amazing.”
Emilia taps her lips with one finger. “Do you have any of that meat, maybe?”
I give them the packets and they unwrap the leaves and eat the meat with much less caution than I showed the first time. Well, I guess they can see it didn't kill me.
“So what happened here while I was gone?”
“Ohmigod,” Aurora says. “We've had the worst time. First the sun set and it got totally dark and neither you or Caroline had returned. So we opened the door so you could see the light and you could find this thing. Then Caroline comes and she only has one leaf of water and she's crying and says that you drowned. And then we all cry our eyes out for a while because we know we're all doing to die here. Then we drink the water. And then we feel so much better. Except Delyah.”
Delyah shrugs. “That water reeked of psychoactive substances. I wouldn't touch it.”
“After sunrise,” Emilia continues, “we kept the door open for a while and we thought about going back to the stream and maybe finding some plants to eat. Until we heard one of those screams. The not-dactyls. So we closed the door again and that's all we know until you knocked.”
“I went outside at dawn to collect clean water,” Delyah adds. “The air here is very humid and the leaves are dripping with dew all night long. Just a survival tip.”
I nod. “Good thinking. So. What now?”
“You know,” Caroline says, “this can isn't going anywhere. It's like a cargo container on a ship back home. Just walls and floor and roof. Nothing else. No creature comforts except some light and the door. And it provides shelter against predators. That's it.”
I nod. “We should probably try to get Jax'zan to take us to his village. I mean, we have nothing left to lose now.”
“Will they be willing to house and feed us?” Heidi asks. “I mean, he sounds like a pretty primitive guy. No offense, but I highly doubt he or anyone in his village has a space ship that can take us to Earth. Or any kind of emergency communications thing. And even that could be useless. No one from Earth could reach us here. It's another solar system.”
“At least four light-years away from Earth,” Delyah informs us. “It would take the fastest NASA spacecraft seventeen thousand years to get here. If that sun is Proxima Centauri and not another star.”
We're all stunned for a moment, and I feel I'm welling up again. We're further from home than I suspected.
Caroline shakes her head. “What we're looking at is this. As the very best case scenario. We become members of his tribe and go back to a stone age way of life. I'm not sure that's a choice I'm willing to make right now.”
“If it's that or death, then we'll all choose life,” Emilia reasons. “We could give them a chance to help us before we judge them.�
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Aurora bangs on the wall with her fist. “We shouldn't leave this can! This is the only shelter we have. And it's the closest thing to a spaceship. Our only hope to get home is if the abductors return to pick us back up. I think they might. It could happen at any time. We don't want to not be here when they come. If we're not, we're stranded here for good. Forever.”
Again we're all silent while the reality of this disaster is dawning of us.
Heidi stares at the wall. “Will they take us in, though? That is not a given. They might be struggling already. We're six useless mouths to feed. I don't think they'll care too much about our great knowledge of Earth languages and philosophers and social sciences. I don't know how to hunt mammoths or dactyls or even how to make wicker baskets. Do any of you?”
“We can learn,” I state. “We're not useless. We're six intelligent young women. Sure, it'll be a harder life than we're used to. But we can do it. What do you think, Delyah?”
Everyone looks at her. She rarely speaks, but when she does, it probably pays to listen. And now we need some common sense here.
She shrugs. “I think we can stay alive right here. Even if the tribe will take us in, I'm guessing that getting to their village will take us through some unknown and very dangerous terrain. In here, we seem to be pretty safe. We can stay here and learn how to stay alive on our own. Then, if for some reason we think that village life will be better, we can go there and ask for their support. Not as a bunch of helpless aliens, but as people who can fend for themselves and know how to stay alive. We'll have value for them then. We can spend weeks right here cultivating skills that they might need. I'm sure we can do some stuff that they can't or that we know about inventions that they don't have. I say we should stay here and thrive. And keep in touch with Jax'zan and his village if that's possible. It's a fertile land. We can live here. I doubt there will be any winters with the sun that close. This could actually turn into a very interesting field trip.”
We're all quiet for three heartbeats.
“I think Delyah should be our leader,” I suggest spontaneously. “Those in favor?”
