Caveman Alien’s Claim

by Calista Skye

  I don’t reply, just walk away from the others and hear their muttering.

  “The alien got to him good.”

  “Doubtlessly, he helped her escape. She will tell her tribe about our gold, you can bet your necklace on it.”

  “Perhaps he took her out of her confinement and killed her.”

  “Perhaps. It would be the right thing to do. Correcting his mistake.”

  “He does look like he has some secret darkness in him today.”

  “Good old Car’rakz. Doing whatever is best for his tribe.”

  I stalk into the woods to get away from it all. Only in my tribe could the men think that I would ever pull a strand of hair from Tamara’s head, much less kill her.

  I wander blindly around in the woods, my mind consumed with dark thoughts.

  Before long, I find myself at the cave on the mountain, the place where I had the happiest time of my life. The jungle lies beneath, bathed in bright sunshine. Somewhere down there Tamara is making her way home. Probably relieved to be rid of me.

  No, that’s unfair. She tried her best to get me to come along.

  “Be safe, my love,” I whisper.

  Safe? She can’t be safe while the dragon is alive.

  In the same moment, I know what to do. It’s a flash of light in my mind, at the same time dark and very, very bright.

  It’s true. She can’t be safe as long as that dragon is alive. Her tribe might try to defend themselves from it, but it will be very, very dangerous. And the way I know Tamara, she won’t shy away from the fight.

  The idea of her facing the terrible dragon makes the world spin around me. I can’t let that happen.

  The trap is still where we left it. And the dragon may be in the sky right now.

  I turn around and walk fast back the way I came.

  Oh, Tamara!

  30

  - Tamara -

  The trap is well placed. In this narrow valley, the dragon has to approach it from one of two possible sides. Still, it should be easily visible from above. Car’rakz and I spent a lot of time camouflaging the iron parts with branches and leaves, after rubbing soot on the iron to make sure it won’t reflect sunlight. The trap now looks like a big bush among many others of the same kind.

  The rope goes from the trap to a likewise camouflaged heap of huge rocks thirty feet away. Most of them were there already, but Car’rakz arranged them so there’s a little bit of an opening in them you can see through to observe the trap. When I’m behind the rocks, I have a fine canopy of leaves above me so I’m hidden from above.

  I look at the setup, and it would have fooled me. But we have no idea how easy it is to trick an alien dragon. We probably have to bank on it going so crazy over gold it will ignore any sign that this is out of the ordinary.

  Only the bait is missing.

  I use the tip of the spear to carefully unfasten the tiny screw that holds the bangle together. Then the thing hinges open and I can take it off for the first time since I came to this planet.

  I rub it on my dress to take off the soot I put on it to keep it from shining.

  It’s dented and scratched now, but still it twinkles.

  It was my mother’s. She had a set of three, and she always wore them. She didn’t have much jewelry besides those.

  When she realized that her illness could only have one outcome, she gave them to me and my sisters.

  Bella got the rose one. Sybil got the yellow one.

  And I got this one.

  Cartier Love Bracelet. Eighteen carat white gold.

  The cavemen assumed it was polished steel. They’ve never seen white gold, of course, so I didn’t correct them. Not even Car’rakz. Why would I? It’s nobody else’s business.

  I screw it back together and carefully place it inside the domed cage of the trap, hanging from a twig high up so it catches the sun. I hope the dragon won’t take it for iron, too. But the way it can apparently hone in on a couple of crude bracelets from miles away, I think it can separate the gleam of steel from the much brighter and warmer sheen of white gold. The polish on this thing is certainly much better than any gold I ever saw in the village.

  If this works, I’ll get it back. If this doesn’t work, then it doesn’t matter, anyway.

  I squint into the sky. I think the dragon will pass by overhead today. Right here.

  I go behind cover and make sure the rope is taught. I will get exactly one chance at this.

  I lean back on the bare rock face so I can look up between the leaves at the sky where the dragon will come. The sun is gone, and there are only clouds. That’s not ideal, but it’s out of my hands.

  “Come on, little Berezar,” I say softly, as if using its name will compel it to come. “I’m ready.”

  31

  - Car’rakz -

  The fear hits me before I spot the dragon in the sky. It’s just a speck against the clouds.

  Using the trick Tamara taught me, I cover one eye and see that it is in fact much closer.

  And it’s headed for the village, coming down fast as the feeling of impending doom increases in strength.

  I start running.

  Branches and twigs whip my face as I make my way through the jungle, and if there were other predators in this part of the jungle still, they would have heard me coming from very far away.

  As I near the village, I can hear my tribesmen yell, and the confusion in their voices is obvious. And the fear. I’ve never heard that many frightened voices, and it makes my own fear deeper.

  That dragon is attacking my tribe!

  As I emerge from the jungle, I’m met by the most terrible sight.

  The dragon is looping in the air, laughing with evil mirth as it burns and crushes and kills. I see several charred bodies, and as I watch, the dragon whips its tail around a tribesman, cutting him in half. Then the horrible beast dives down to rip him apart and take all the gold he was wearing.

  Already, the dragon’s claws are glittering with the yellow metal.

  Some men run to their caves to hide, but I know it’s futile. That dragon will kill all the life here and take every little piece of gold.

  Holy Ancestors, it’s terrible! And yet it’s so beautiful, there’s a part of my mind that thinks that perhaps this being is fully within its rights to do this. After all, it is the perfect being.

  No, it’s not perfect. It’s a living thing, and living things can die.

  Still I run. I have my sword. And I carry no gold on me. That flying horror might not notice I’m coming.

  Then the sun breaks through the clouds. It’s only for a moment, but the strangest thing happens — the dragon does a double take. In mid-air, curled up in the most elegant pre-attack pose.

  It has spotted something further away in the jungle, outside the village. Something that interests it more than the tribe.

  It laughs again, and this time it’s a laugh of delighted surprise. And then, immense joy.

  The dragon rises higher in the air, looking away, as if it has totally forgotten the village. Then it flies off, low over the treetops.

  For one heartbeat, I’m relieved. It’s leaving.

  Then I realize it’s flying directly towards the spot where Tamara and I set up the trap.

  A coldness settles in my stomach, worse than any fear for myself. Surely, Tamara went home to her tribe, like I told her to?

  And she has no gold! How can she possibly use the trap?

  No, it can’t be her. But if the dragon is moving that way anyway, then there’s nothing that says I can’t get some gold.

  I run to the treasure cave, finding the guards gone. I take the box from its pedestal and sprint out in the direction of the trap. It’s not far.

  I’ve lost track of the dragon, but it doesn’t matter. I know exactly where the trap is.

  I crash through the vegetation again, feeling the wound on my back sting with each pace. But it is of no concern. The only thing that matters is that I kill the dragon and keep Tamara s
afe from it.

  I finally reach the little valley where we placed the trap. And there it is, looking just like before.

  Except there’s a dragon circling the valley, suspiciously eyeing it.

  I run around the edge of the forest to the closest point to the trap. What do I do now? It’s too late to bait the trap. Then why is the dragon here?

  I stand there, breathing heavily after my long run. The fear of the dragon is still present, but now I’m also puzzled.

  The dragon is, too. It’s not laughing anymore.

  The sun comes out again. And there’s a small glint of light from the trap. The trap that we made so very sure wouldn’t reflect sunlight.

  It’s a small reflection. But it is very bright, like another tiny sun in there.

  And I realize that the trap is baited.

  The breath catches in my throat. Only one person knows how to do that.

  The dragon circles ever lower, whipping its tail around in the air. This isn’t how I imagined it.

  The dragon is bigger than I expected, for one thing. And I always thought it would pounce straight onto the trap as soon as it saw the gold inside.

  It’s not doing that. This thing is much more suspicious than I thought it would be. But perhaps it is because I thought the dragon would be as blinded by the gold as my tribesmen are.

  I hold my breath. Tamara must be behind that heap of rocks, ready to pull the rope when the dragon is right on top of the trap.

  It has landed and is crawling closer to the iron dome with the steel spikes, ready to penetrate it in many places.

  I can almost feel how Tamara must be itching to pull the rope and release the trap.

  Not yet, not yet, not yet, I mutter under my breath. The dragon is too far away still. It has to be right on top of the trap.

  It appears to be sniffing the ground.

  Then it pounces, right onto the trap, and then into the air, faster than the eye can follow.

  The trap is released, and with a horrible racket of iron on iron, sixty steel spikes shoot out from the trap in every direction, leaving the bush looking like a hurum with its spikes out.

  And the dragon has yet another glittering little thing in its talons as it soars straight up, laughing again in triumph and joy.

  But there is unspeakable menace in it. The air is thick with evil tension. The dragon isn’t finished here. It has its attention focused on something else. Something behind that heap of rocks, where the rope can now be clearly seen to be leading.

  Tamara is behind there. I can sense her as well as I can sense the dragon. She released the trap too late, and that was the only chance we had.

  I feel the heft of the box of gold, still in my arms.

  Hmm. Perhaps the trap wasn’t the only chance.

  I quickly wipe the soot off my stripes so they shine again.

  The dragon loops once in the air and dives.

  I look to the sky, thanking the Ancestors for giving me this opportunity. This is my time. This life has come to an end. And which other warrior gets to meet his end as meaningfully as this?

  A forgotten phrase from the shaman’s old lessons about the time we had women of our own comes unbidden into my mind. It makes no sense, but then nothing will matter after this.

  Tamara walks out from behind the rocks, spear in hand and a defiant look on her face. She looks tiny compared to the dragon.

  A happy grin spreads on my face, and contentedness fills my soul.

  “Tamara,” I call, stepping out of the woods and drawing my sword for the last time. “Will you marry me?”

  32

  - Tamara -

  I trigger the trap too late, and the dragon sees me.

  Then it concentrates all its fearsome attention on me, and it feels as if it goes into my mind and talks to me. There are no words, but still I can hear it.

  Not nice to set traps. I will have to punish you.

  I can feel the wave of fear it somehow projects. But it doesn’t affect me that much anymore. I have lived with it for too long. And the loss of Car’rakz has dulled my emotions. I mostly feel numb, unable to feel more. He’s gone, and he took the light with him.

  And now I will die. I almost hope the dragon will burn me. I’ll be flash-fried in a split second.

  My bracelet is dangling from the dragon’s claw. It’s taunting me with it.

  But it’s not working. I’m beyond caring now.

  I take my spear and walk out from behind the rocks. Berezar is huge and terrible and sleek and beautiful in its perfect proportions. As beautiful and final as death itself.

  I stare up at it. “Whatever. Your scales are ugly.”

  It’s lost its power over me. I don’t care anymore.

  Then I almost faint when Car’rakz steps out of the jungle on the other side of the valley.

  Fuck, he’s magnificent. Huge and strong and defiant. His stripes shine in the sun.

  My heart swells with pride and joy. We’re here together, here at the end.

  “Yes!” I yell in reply to his question. “Yes, I will! We’ll meet on the other side, my love! We’ll be together forever!”

  And my caveman grins so wide it looks like a beam of white light from his face.

  He looks up at the hovering dragon and slams something onto the ground in front of him. It’s a box of gold, and the wood shatters from the impact. Many small, yellow objects spill out and on the dirt in front of him.

  “You want gold?” he yells to the dragon. “Here it is!”

  Yeah, that catches Berezar’s attention.

  Tribute won’t help you now, the dragon says. Nobody tries to kill Berezar and lives.

  The dragon soars up into the air to gain speed. I can see Car’rakz holding one hand in front of his eye, just like I taught him.

  Berezar beats its wings once and whips down towards the caveman.

  I don’t want to watch. But a man this great deserves to have his glorious death witnessed. Only I will die alone.

  Then I see Car’rakz running. He’s running to meet the dragon head on.

  Berezar coils up in the air, either to pounce or to prepare to spew fire. But because Car’rakz is running towards it, it has a moment of clumsiness when it has to readjust its position.

  At that moment, Car’rakz jumps.

  My jaw drops. I’ve never seen anything like it. The huge caveman jumps twelve freaking feet into the air and slashes his sword at the dragon’s neck with such force that I can hear the whine from the blade as it cuts through the air.

  On the way down, he heaves the sword twice more at the dragon’s legs and wings before he lands on his feet, crouching down and looking ready to go again.

  But the first slash was enough.

  The dragon is still in the air, but it has a deep cut in its neck, and it’s spewing silvery blood everywhere. It twitches and curls wildly, but its wings are beating irregularly and without force.

  The scream isn’t audible. But I sense it in my mind — an incredulous, furious scream as the monster bleeds out all over its surroundings. Then, to my grim satisfaction, it takes on a new emotion, one that the dragon alien hasn’t felt before: fear.

  “How you like that?!” I yell as the dragon bucks and twists wildly, thrashing in the air and falling ever lower.

  Car’rakz comes running towards me. “Get under cover! Back behind the rocks!”

  He grabs my arm and pulls me with him behind the rocks.

  I lose my balance as the ground shakes when the dragon hits the ground, and I fall to my knees. Huge drops of its blood splatter into the rocks in front of us, and then everything goes quiet.

  In my mind, the dragon’s presence gets smaller and smaller, more and more pitiful.

  Then it’s gone, and all that’s left is relief.

  I get to my feet and look up into Car’rakz eyes, so full of light. “Yes,” I repeat, just in case he didn’t hear me the first time. “Of course, I’ll marry my dragonslayer.”

  He lifts me up. �
��That make Car’rakz highly happy.”

  I lose myself in the most wonderful kiss I’ve ever taken part in.

  I hold him close as tightly as I can. “You came to bait the trap.”

  He kisses me again. “Only to see that it was already baited.”

  Finally, we walk out from cover. The dragon is motionless on the ground, both a little smaller and less beautiful than when alive. I guess these things can trick your mind in some evil ways.

  The zoologist in me awakes. “We should take samples.”

  Car’rakz frowns. “Samples?”

  “For analysis. Actually, we don’t have a lab. But maybe we can get one of those scales—oh!”

  The dead dragon is melting. Right in front of us. It like the air going out of a balloon, except this thing is steaming with noxious fumes and the blackest smoke I’ve ever seen.

  I clench Car’rakz’s hand. We’re both just staring. It takes maybe three minutes, and then the only thing left of the dragon is a large heap of metallic scales.

  And the gold.

  I pick up my bangle.

  “Its blood is poisonous,” Car’rakz says. “Look.”

  Many of the bushes and trees have black spots on them where they have been splattered with blood.

  I look Car’rakz up and down. “There!”

  He has a couple of small burns on his torso, but I guess he avoided most of the blood.

  He embraces me so hard he just about squeezes the breath out of me. That’s fine. I’d stay like this forever if I could.

  “I love you,” he says into my hair.

  “I love you, too,” I state, not capable of anything but the most base emotions. “I always have and always will.”

  Then I turn around and look at the heap of scales. “Car’rakz. You killed the dragon!”

  “We killed it,” he corrects me. “Together.”

  That works for me. “Okay. But now I want to go. Let’s get that gold. We might need it if there are more of these things coming.”

  We collect the rest of the gold and put it in the bag that Car’rakz always has with him. I use the spear to fasten the little screw again, and then Mom’s bangle is safely on my wrist again.