He nodded.
“Go upstream. Stay in sight of the river. You can’t get lost that way.”
He nodded again. “I don’t plan to go far.”
He left them on the cliff and headed upstream alone.
Desmond didn’t find a substantial stand of suitable grasses until he had descended the hill and made his way to the top of the next ridge. The grasses apparently grew only on the hilltops where there were no trees. He pulled all he could find and placed them in a pile. It didn’t look like enough. He saw another hilltop another quarter-mile upstream. He turned and looked back the way he’d come. He could see the first ridge but couldn’t make out the three humans sitting there. That was good. The less visible they were, the better.
Being this far from the others was already starting to make him uncomfortable. Not only that, but his feet were also bleeding from the rocky terrain. But he couldn’t go back without what he’d come for. He left the pile of grass to pick up on his way back and headed down the slope toward the next hill.
A small stream ran through the valley between the two hills, emptying into the river. Desmond stopped long enough to apply a fresh layer of mud to his skin. The mud had become a comfort to him, making him feel less exposed.
As he was climbing the next hill, two creatures exploded from a low clump of brush. Desmond staggered back in panic. But instead of attacking, the creatures fled. They were the same type of timid animals the humans had seen drinking from the river. One was half the size of the other, perhaps a mother and its offspring.
Watching them disappear amidst the trees on the hillside, Desmond felt a wave of self-centered remorse. His purpose for coming here was to find and observe creatures like these, as well as every other living thing he encountered. It had been a last-ditch attempt to produce a doctoral dissertation that might gain him some notoriety. Sure, bridging excursions had been the focus of research before, but none of the attempts had amounted to much, due to the limitations of bridging. The researchers simply couldn’t remember enough detail to create more than a superficial, descriptive account of their destination worlds. But with Desmond it was different, which was why his supervising professors hadn’t rejected his dissertation proposal.
His entire research mission had gone out the window within seconds of bridging to this world. Months of careful planning and a million and a half of Xavier’s family money, all wasted. And a good bridger had died trying to protect them. The whole thing was a disaster. Even if they managed to survive until bridge-back, Desmond had little to look forward to upon returning except guilt, shame at his arrogance, and an uncertain future.
The next hill was taller than the first two, and he emerged from the trees onto the summit breathing hard. He turned his back to the river to gaze down at a wide, mostly-treeless valley that spread out into the distance. The sight nearly took his breath away. A herd of hundreds—maybe thousands—of animals grazed near the center. Smaller groups of creatures of another type dotted the valley here and there. At this distance, he couldn’t make out details, but he could see that all of them walked on two legs.
The view was truly mesmerizing, but he had been gone too long. He gathered an armload of grass stems and headed back. As he descended the hill, he spotted a patch of the same rigid plants they had used to make sharpened weapons. They had abandoned the last of the weapons when they’d escaped from the shelter, so he took a detour away from the river to get some. For several minutes, he watched a bewildering variety of flies and butterfly-like insects swarming around the green bubble structures at the tip of each stalk. Finally he sighed and pulled up four of the stalks.
He angled back toward the river. He was applying yet another layer of mud after re-crossing the small stream, when he heard something approaching. The rustling of dead bubble leaves, a splash in the stream, and then the crack of a fairly large branch—unmistakable sounds of a heavy creature. It was close, but he couldn’t see it yet. Which meant it couldn’t see him. He carefully stepped to a cluster of small trees and stood behind them, watching.
There was movement at about fifty yards up the stream, glimpses of dark brown. Seconds later it came into full view—the same type of monstrous predator that had killed and eaten Razor. The creature was walking along the stream. It was already too close for Desmond to creep away without being seen. It was coming directly toward him—he would have to run. The thing was massive, but there was no doubt it could outrun him. With paralyzing clarity, Desmond realized he was screwed.
He willed himself to run, but he was frozen in place. If he ran, his life would probably end within seconds. If he stayed there, maybe there was a chance the creature would change direction.
It kept coming.
Abruptly, the thing stopped. It raised its beak as if sniffing the air. It looked to one side and then the other, still sniffing. Desmond’s heart was racing, and his hands were starting to shake. He closed his eyes, trying to relax, to control his movements the way Infinity had instructed.
When he opened his eyes, the creature was looking directly at him. Desmond didn’t dare blink. Instead, he slowly closed his eyelids until he was looking through narrow slits, hoping to keep his eyes moist enough to avoid the need to blink. The predator stared, not moving a muscle. Excruciating seconds passed. Desmond knew the thing was unlikely to simply turn around and go away. If he wanted to live, he would have to run—maybe get up into a tree before the creature caught him. But still, his legs refused.
Finally, the creature took a step. It then crouched low to the ground.
Desmond turned and ran. Immediately he heard the predator take off in pursuit, crashing through everything in its path. Several trees with low branches whisked by Desmond, but the predator was too close behind for him to try to climb. The only thing he could think of was to run straight for the river, jump in, and try to make it across. But he still couldn’t see the water, and the creature was gaining on him.
He ran past something that caught his eye—something that seemed out of place. Confused, he snapped his head back to look. It was a dead, mangled animal, skewered against a huge tree by two sharpened poles at the chest height.
The predator stopped pursuing him. Desmond’s momentum took him a few more steps, but he came to a stop and stared back, trying to comprehend what was happening. The predator sniffed the air. It then stepped up to the dead animal and stared at it.
Desmond was only thirty yards ahead. He should have been running, but something about the situation kept him in place. Before he could ask himself what it was, the huge predator lunged forward, clamped its beak onto the dead animal, and shook it. At the same moment, something exploded from the branches above, scattering bubble-leaves and slamming down onto the predator. It was so sudden and violent that Desmond stumbled back and fell on his butt.
He got to his feet and stepped closer. The predator was dead, pinned to the ground by rows of sharpened poles that had pushed all the way through its body. The poles were attached to a rectangular frame by tightly-wrapped cord. Tied atop the frame were several large stones, obviously there to provide additional momentum.
Desmond realized he wasn’t breathing and sucked in a lungful of air. He suddenly felt helpless and exposed. Something—or someone—had set a trap.
As stealthily as he could, Desmond returned to where he’d first seen the predator and retrieved the bundle of grass and the rigid stalks. These materials were more important now than he had previously realized. He made his way to the top of the first hill and grabbed the other bundle of grass. He descended that hill and made his way up to the summit of the cliff face. He found the others hunkered down in a low area where they were less visible. Panting from the climb, he dumped the materials beside them and joined them on the ground.
“We’re not alone,” he said.
Lenny and Xavier stared at him.
“Clarify,” Infinity said.
“There’s an intelligent species here. At least intelligent enough to construct a high
ly effective kill trap for large animals.”
Infinity sat up straight and swiveled her head, looking in every direction. “Describe the kill trap. Did it have any parts that indicate an industrial or technological society, like metal or plastic?”
He shook his head. “Nothing like that. Wood mostly, tied together with cord. Rocks tied on for weight.”
She mouthed a silent curse. “Just what we need.” She then seemed to realize they were waiting for her to explain. “Primitive non-human tribes are bad news. At least in my experience.”
“Maybe they’d be willing to help us,” Lenny said. “It’d be freaking mind-blowing to meet them.”
Infinity shook her head. “Not an option.”
Lenny persisted. “How can you know that? Don’t be so pessimistic about people. It’s all in how you present yourself to them. I think they might help us.”
“We don’t even know what they are,” Desmond said. “They can’t possibly be human. Not even close to human. It’s been eighty million years since this universe diverged from ours. We haven’t seen a single mammal. I’m willing to bet there are no mammals. Think about it—this world was the same as ours until eighty million years ago. So the dinosaurs, pterosaurs, insects, therapsids, mammals, and everything else were identical to ours at that point. And they probably continued to be somewhat similar after the divergence point, at least for another fourteen million years until the Chicxulub asteroid caused the KT extinction. I suppose it’s possible the asteroid didn’t even strike in this universe, but most likely it did.”
“It almost certainly did,” Xavier said. “The damn thing was six miles across. There aren’t a lot of random things that could happen in only fourteen million years that could change its course.”
Desmond said, “So we’ll assume the asteroid struck this world. In which case the KT extinction took place here. But what’s interesting—and it’s the reason I wanted a world with divergence at eighty million years—is that, as we all know, the KT extinction caused an evolutionary bottleneck. As many as 75% of the existing species were wiped out. On our world, the small mammals that existed at that time thrived and diversified. And although the non-avian dinosaurs became extinct, the avian dinosaurs thrived and diversified into thousands of species of birds. The—”
A disturbing shriek erupted from somewhere in the forest near the river below. It sounded like one animal being killed by another. After a few seconds it stopped abruptly.
Infinity shoved the pile of grasses and several rocks at Desmond, Xavier, and Lenny. “We need rope. If you have to talk, do it while making cords.”
Desmond, Xavier, and Lenny began twisting and wrapping while Infinity sharpened the ends of the four stalks Desmond had brought.
Vocalizing his thoughts was helping Desmond keep his mind off the fact that they could be attacked at any moment, so he continued. “The diversification of life after the KT extinction could just as easily have gone any number of other ways. There was no guarantee that mammals would thrive. That’s the thing about evolutionary bottlenecks—small random events can make a huge difference. We see it over and over again in our own world, when a small population of living things becomes isolated. The Galapagos islands, for example. Anyway, after the KT extinction, almost anything could have happened.”
“And based on what we’ve seen here,” Xavier said, “the avian dinosaurs that survived the extinction event got the upper hand. They diversified and filled all the niches the mammals otherwise would have.”
“Exactly,” Desmond said.
Lenny grunted. “So they’re not human. Doesn’t flipping matter. If they’re intelligent, they’re probably basically compassionate.”
Xavier said, “You’re absurdly naive, Lenny. And in case you haven’t noticed, you and I are crippled. If you happen to be wrong, we can’t even run away.”
“Which is why we need the rope,” Infinity said. “Less talking, more twisting.”
The finished rope was surprisingly strong, as Infinity had promised. It was only an inch in diameter, but their tests had proven it would hold Lenny’s weight, and Lenny was the heaviest.
Still, the thought of hanging from it over a 50-foot cliff made Desmond feel ill. Apparently Xavier and Lenny were feeling the same way, because they had become somber once they realized it was time to actually use the rope.
Infinity, of course, was not interested in wasting time. She stepped to the edge of the bluff and dangled the rope. “Lenny, you’re first. There isn’t enough to tie around you. Just grip it above the knot.” She pulled the rope back up and held the end of it out to him. “Are you strong enough for this?”
He took the rope. “My foot’s mangled, not my hands.”
Desmond felt the need to address the obvious problem. “The rope’s barely long enough, and there’s nothing to tie it to anyway. How’s the last person going to get down?”
Infinity said, “I’m the last. Once the three of you are safe, I’ll make more rope.”
Desmond looked around. “There’s nothing here to tie it to.”
Her mud-crusted eyes narrowed. “I’ll figure it out. We’re wasting time, tourist.” She took the rope, sat on the edge of the cliff, and braced her feet against a crack in the rock surface. “Sit behind me,” she said to Desmond.
He sighed and sat down.
“Closer,” she said. “We don’t have any rope to spare.”
He inched forward until he was pressed against her back, his legs on either side of her thighs.
“Xavier, you’re behind Desmond.”
Xavier grunted in pain as he scooted into place. Infinity passed the rope back and they all gripped it on their right.
Infinity spoke to Lenny. “Lay on your belly and go over the edge feet-first. Then just hold on, and we’ll do the rest.”
Lenny moved into place, and they began lowering him down a few inches at a time, which was surprisingly easy. Desmond felt the rope stretch and tighten down on itself, just as Infinity had said it would. Lenny remained silent as he descended.
“I’ve got the knot in my hand,” Xavier said, his voice strained. “There’s no more.”
“Don’t let go,” Infinity instructed, “but extend your arm past Desmond.”
Xavier slid forward until he was pressed against Desmond’s back. Desmond half-expected him to make a joke about it, but Xavier only grunted in his ear.
Suddenly the weight on the rope was gone.
“I’m in!” Lenny called out from below. “It’s big enough for all of us.”
Infinity leaned over the edge and spoke in a low tone. “Do not shout. Understand?”
“Sorry. Uh, there’s a lot of bird shit in here. A lot.”
She ignored him and got back into position. “You’re up, Xavier. Are you strong enough to hold your own weight?”
“I’m exhausted and probably in shock. Do I have a choice?”
“If you’re too weak, you’ll wait up here with me until we can create a harness. My priority is to get you safely into the cave.”
He sighed and gingerly touched his lower leg. Desmond was glad the leg was covered in mud. When they had crossed the river, the mud had been washed away, revealing stomach-churning bruising from the knee down.
Xavier said, “I guess I’d rather die from falling than from being eaten.”
She frowned at him. “Again, can you hold your weight?”
He nodded. “I can do it, don’t worry.”
Desmond and Infinity lowered him over the edge. About a minute later Xavier cried out in pain, and the rope went slack.
“He’s okay,” Lenny called up in a hushed voice.
Infinity repositioned her feet for better leverage. “Let’s get this done,” she said.
Desmond considered her plan for a moment, and then he stood up. “I’m staying up here.”
She looked up at him. “No you’re not.”
“I’ll help you make more rope. Then we’ll figure out how to tie it off, and we’ll both
go down.”
She got to her feet and faced him. “Like I said, my priority is getting you into the cave where it’s safe.”
“Well, if I help you, then it will take less time before you’re there in the cave to protect us. Besides, once I’m in that hole in the rock, my observations will be limited. I came here to collect information.”
Her gaze was intense, and the mud caked on her face made it seem even more intimidating. “The moment we bridged and your friend broke his leg, this excursion was no longer about you collecting information.” She took a step toward him.
He held his hands up as if surrendering, although he had no intention of changing his mind. “I understand that. But you and Razor saved our lives. I’m not leaving you alone up here while all three of us sit in that hole.”
She glared at him for several more seconds. “Suit yourself, tourist.”
“I’m not trying to make your job harder, I just—”
He was interrupted by a shrill whistle. They both turned and looked down the hillside to the tree line.
A group of creatures had emerged from the trees. Several of them had stopped and were staring up at the humans. The one in the lead made another whistling sound, and they all stopped, at least a dozen of them.
Desmond stared, his throat tightening. The bird-like creatures had the same basic body plan as the other large animals they’d seen—two legs, small arms, a coat of fine hair or feathers, and a beak. But there was one glaring difference. Each of these creatures was laden with tools or weapons. They gripped short spears in their hands. Thick coils of rope hung from the necks of some of them, while others bore strange devices that could have been some kind of crossbow.
“Our plans just changed again,” Infinity muttered.
8
Contact
Infinity cursed silently. She should have forced the tourist to get into to the cave. She should have put him out with a chokehold, tied the rope to his feet, and pushed him over the side. The creatures now watching them from farther down the slope were bad news. She had known that after taking one look at them.
Bridgers 1_The Lure of Infinity Page 8
