It took us another hour or so to push through the thick jungle down the slope, and I lost track a bit of where exactly we were on the peninsula. The ground eventually leveled out though, and I figured that we were near the base and could probably find a beach if we went two hundred yards in either direction, but instead of doing that, we continued north a bit to see if we could find a grove of trees that might work for wall material.
“Okay,” I said as soon as I felt like we were at the bottom of the land mass. “So, the river we just crossed is about a hundred yards through the trees that way, and fifty or so of those yards is the beach.”
Emerald nodded at my words.
“To the east,” I said as I pointed the other direction, “it looked like we had about a hundred yards of jungle, and then we would hit the beach. Yeah?”
Emerald nodded.
“So this place is kinda awesome,” I laughed. “The jungle is really too thick for large predators to get through, we’ve got a natural incline for defense, we are near a river for fresh water and fish, and there is plenty of space up top for our dinos to graze.”
Emerald’s grin grew larger, and she softly clapped her hands together.
“We are also really close to the copper and iron ore,” I continued. “And we can probably make it there, mine some, and make it back in a day once we get the route figured out. I guess crossing this river will be hard weighted down with ore, but we can figure that out, too.”
Emerald nodded.
“But let’s talk about the other challenges,” I said. “It’s going to be pretty hard to build a wall on the north side of the peninsula. First of all, there is a lot of perimeter to cover, I’m guessing we’ll need a quarter of a mile of wall, maybe even closer to a third of a mile. Second, it’s also going to be a pain to get the lumber for the wall, since we’ll need to haul it from the other grove. Third, we’ll have to do all this without any sort of protection besides the thick jungle. I think we can still make it work, but the first week or so here will be nerve wracking because we could get attacked by large predators at any moment.”
Emerald shrugged and then she gestured to Nicole.
“Yeah, I’ve been doing well against them, but that doesn’t mean I want to go looking for fights.”
Emerald’s grin twisted into a smirk, and then she pushed her fist into the palm of her hand.
“Okay, well you like looking for fights,” I laughed, and then she winked at me.
“We are also going to have to clear a lot of the jungle,” I said as I gestured to the surrounding trees. “Or, we’ll at least have to cut a path. Ideally, we will clear the trees, or else our enemies might be able to get over the wall, sneak through the trees, and then ambush us in the camp.”
Emerald nodded, but then she raised her arms over her head kind of like a roof.
“Yeah, good point, we can use the jungle to build our huts, so we’ll have shelter really quick.”
Emerald shrugged at me again and lifted her palm up in the air and beckoned to me as if she was asking me to continue listing problems with the site.
“The only other major issue is those assholes at the camp,” I said as I nodded to the east. “We aren’t going to be able to co-exist with them, so we’ll have to kill them. Agreed?”
Emerald nodded, and her smile took on a predatory visage again.
“Let’s walk a bit more north before we head back to your clone,” I said. “I want to see how dense the trees are and get a feel for where we can build a wall.
Emerald nodded, and then I directed our group of dinosaurs to continue to push in that direction. I guessed that we were further north of where we had first entered the jungle by the beach river, but the tree line kind of seemed to rise in this direction again, and I wondered if there was a cliff face over here that would provide something for us to set the wall against.
That was when we discovered the waterfall.
It was actually a small river offshoot that tumbled over a series of ledges and cascaded down into a clear pond that was maybe half the size of an Olympic sized swimming pool. The water only looked to be waist high everywhere, and it was surrounded by thick strands of bamboo.
“I don’t see any tracks around,” I said as I glanced at the edges of the water. “I’m wondering if the thick jungle kept the big beasts away.”
As I spoke, a few birds flew down from the trees, dove into the water for a quick bath, and then frantically flapped their wings to get lift off again. They almost looked like parrots, but their beaks were a little too large for their heads.
“That water looks really clean,” I said as Emerald slid off Nicole’s back.
The green-skinned beauty walked toward the pond and casually pulled off her white blouse. When she got to the edge of the water, she shimmied out of her tight black pants, and then she jumped into the water without a moment of hesitation.
Then Emerald stood up in the pond and beckoned to me as the water ran down her perfectly proportioned body.
“I guess it’s time for a break,” I said as I jumped down from Nicole’s saddle and walked toward the pond.
I had seen Emerald’s breasts and nipples bare when she washed herself after we had killed the giganotosauruses, and then I’d seen them through the fabric of her wet blouse, but I still felt my breath catch when she took off her shirt. They were a C cup, with a pert globe shape that seemed to have lift even without a bra. Her waist was narrow, and I could see the small lean muscles of her stomach before the slight flare of her hips.
Her vagina was bare, and the light muscles of her legs gave an easy avenue for the water to slide down her body. Her white eyes stared at me as I approached the edge of the pool, and they once again looked like the eyes of a predator.
“Soooo, uhhh, do you come to this watering hole often?” I smirked at her.
Emerald didn’t smile, she just raised a finger to point at my pants, and then she ficked her fingers as if ordering me to take them off.
“Well, I’ve never wanted to disappoint a beautiful woman.” I reached down to unbuckle my belt, but when my eyes were downward, I heard a massive splash, and I flinched away as my heart leaped inside my chest.
Then I groaned when I saw what had happened.
Grumpy had decided he wanted to take a dip. He filled up pretty much the entire pool of water, and Emerald actually had to get out of the water so that he could slide his tail in where she had been standing.
“Dude!” I shouted. “What are you doing?”
Grumpy rumbled like a diesel engine.
“You are hot? All of a sudden? Dude!” I gestured to Emerald. “She was in the water.”
Grumpy turned his head toward me and then let out a long groan.
“What do you mean she can swim with you if she wants? There is like only three feet of space when you're in there.”
The massive purussaurus actually seemed to roll his eyes, and then he dunked his head under the water.
“Oh no you don’t!” I shouted as I stomped down to the water’s edge. “I’m not done talking to you, mister!”
Grumpy blew a bunch of air bubbles, and they sounded like laughter when they broke the surface.
“Ugh, I’m sorry,” I said to Emerald.
She shrugged, leaned in close to me, and then passionately kissed me. I actually hadn’t expected her to do that, but I wasn’t about to let an opportunity pass, so I slid my hands down her slick back, and then slowly began to caress her tight bare ass.
Grumpy’s head came out of the pool, and he blew a jet of water in our direction.
“Oh, get a room?” I groaned. “Really? We had a pool we were about to-- but then you-- ugh. Dude. Dude. Dude!”
Emerald tapped me on the shoulder, and I turned to find her giving me a sweet smile. Then she pressed her hand against her chest above her bare breast, pointed at me, and then pointed at the pool.
“Yeah,” I sighed. “You are right. I shouldn’t get mad.”
Emerald nodded,
tapped her chest again, and then gestured over her shoulder to where her clone was still keeping watch.
Then she pointed to me.
I guessed what she was hinting at, but I didn’t want to say it out loud, so I just gave her a wink, crouched down to get her clothes, and then handed them over to her.
“Well,” I sighed as I looked over my shoulder at Grumpy. “We’ll leave him to his spa treatment. Let’s go see what your double has found out about these assholes.”
Chapter 13
It took us another ten minutes to return to the first clearing where we had left Emerald’s clone. The sojourn was easier this time because we were able to find the three-ish hour old path that I had earlier cut with Nicole, but the jungle was still super dense, and many of the trees the big trike had pushed aside had managed to spring back.
“This is both good and bad,” I told Emerald after we had made it back to the small first clearing. “The dense jungle means it’s really hard for anyone to see through, so I bet we could start a fire twenty yards in and no one could see it through the trees.”
Emerald nodded, but then she made a cutting motion with her hand and gestured to the trees.
“Exactly,” I laughed as we began to walk east from the clearing toward the cliff where her clone was stationed. “It’s going to be a bitch to clear out all this stuff. The second larger clearing has plenty of space, so maybe we won’t have to chop down all of this, but I’m thinking about it.”
We made it through the last of the thick trees and then crept along on our bellies to the clone’s side. She gave us both a smile and then gestured down to the camp she was watching. She held up ten fingers but then closed all but one and pointed to me.
“You’ve identified the leader?” I asked.
She nodded and then tapped on her temple before she pointed at Original Emerald.
“And you figured out his power?”
She smiled and nodded.
“Awesome,” I said.
Clone Emerald pointed at the sky, wiggled her fingers, then pointed at the skin on her arm. Then she gestured to her hair and pointed down the cliff at where the river met the ocean.
“He has black skin that is speckled like the stars and long blue hair?” I asked.
Clone Emerald and Original Emerald’s white eye both opened wide, and then they nodded.
“I’m getting the hang of talking to you,” I chuckled. Then I glanced into the camp and quickly located the man.
It was hard to tell his exact height from the distance, but I guessed he was close to seven-feet tall. He wore a pair of rough looking gray shorts, but his chest didn’t look that muscular. Emerald had been right about his skin, though. It did kind of sparkle and glimmer like the stars in the night sky. His long blue hair hung over his shoulders in an unkempt horse mane, and his eyes flashed a mean looking yellow when he glanced at the other men in the camp.
After I studied him for a few minutes, it became apparent that he was the leader. Most of the other men had more muscles, or claws on their hands, or tentacles for limbs, but they all bowed their heads to the star-skinned man when he walked near them.
“So, what is his ability?” I asked Clone Emerald after I couldn’t figure it out in a few minutes.
She gestured at Original Emerald with her palm opened, and then the other woman froze with her arms out, and her mouth opened wide in horror.
“Holy shit,” I gasped. “He can freeze people?”
Clone Emerald nodded, but then she picked up a small rock from the ground, tossed it up in her palm of her right hand, and then motioned with her left hand at the rock. It fell back into her palm, but then she moved it up with her left hand and left it suspended in the air above her right palm.
“Holy fucking shit,” I groaned. “He can stop time in a small area?”
Clone Emerald nodded.
“Damn,” I sighed as I turned back to the camp. “That… Shit. I don’t know. That’s crazy powerful. Maybe Kacerie could take him out, but what if he just stops time around her or all of us? Do you have any idea about the limitations of his ability?”
Clone Emerald shook her head.
“The woman who ran really fast gave us some clues about what they do, so I’m going to guess the one with the long blond hair and the wings on his feet is the one who can fly for short distances,” I said as I pointed through the trees and down across the water. “The guy with the tentacles for limbs seems obvious, and she said they grow back.”
Both Emeralds nodded.
“How about the one who can turn into gemstones?” I asked as I looked down at the group of men. “There is one with the body that kind of looks like clear quartz. Is that him?”
Clone Emerald shrugged, so I guessed that she hadn’t seen him do anything yet.
“What about the one who shoots nets out of his hands?” I asked.
Clone Emerald pointed behind us up in the sky where the sun was setting and then tapped her hair.
“The guy with the orange hair,” I said as I focused on the guy. His arms were long in relation to the size of his chest and legs, so he almost dragged his knuckles across the sand when he walked.
“So we know five of the ten,” I continued. “But I’m going to guess that the head dude is significantly more powerful than the others.”
Original Emerald raised an eyebrow.
“Well, like I said, it’s just a guess,” I chuckled. “In groups of bullies and thugs, the head guy rules through intimidation of his followers, and the strategy doesn’t work if they can all just join together and kill him.”
Both Emeralds nodded.
“We have to figure out what to do about them,” I said as I continued to watch them get ready for their evening. “Part of me wants to just go back around them, return to our camp, get our friends, come back here, and then kick their asses, but that’s kind of risky. For one, it means we’ll be out in the wilderness longer without any sort of fort to protect us from dinosaur attack. For two, they might be able to see a larger group of us coming. For three, we don’t know exactly how powerful this leader guy is. He might be able to manage to cover a large enough area to stop time to where he can stop our whole group at once. I don’t want to risk everyone’s life.
Original Emerald shook her head and then lightly pushed on my chest.
“Yeah,” I laughed. “I’m fine risking my own life, but I don’t want to risk anyone else. That’s part of being a man. I’m supposed to protect the women that I love.”
Clone Emerald tapped her temple, looked at me, and shrugged.
“Plan? We probably need to watch them a bit lon--” I started to say, but she shook her head and tapped her temple again.
Then she pointed at a flower that was blooming on a nearby vine, then she gestured back toward where she probably guessed Nicole was parked in the clearing.
“The flowers you gathered a few days ago?” I asked. “The ones that make people horny?”
Both Emeralds nodded, and then Clone Emerald pointed at herself and then down into the campsite. She gestured to her groin, and then Original Emerald pointed at herself, me, and then drew a line across her neck.
I stared at both of them for a few seconds and then took a long breath.
“No,” I finally said.
Both Emeralds seemed confused by my refusal, but before either of them could ask me why, I continued.
“I’m not going to let them rape you as a distraction. That’s fucked up.”
Clone Emerald waved her hands, pointed at herself, and then shrugged.
“No, you do matter,” I growled. “You both remember what happens to the other when she dies, right?”
They both blinked at me and then nodded.
“So you’ll remember her getting raped?” I asked Original Emerald.
She took a deep breath and nodded.
“Even if you didn’t, no fucking way,” I growled.
Clone Emerald gestured to the flower again and then made a loopy motion a
round her temple before she gestured angrily at the camp. Once she finished, Original Emerald nodded and then pressed her right fist into her left palm.
“No,” I said again. “I don’t care if you think this is the easiest way. I’m not going to let a bunch of assholes rape you so I can kill them easier. I’ll figure something else out.”
Clone Emerald shook her fists, pointed at me, and then tapped her temple. It was actually the first time I think I’d ever seen Emerald look frustrated, but the sinking feeling in my stomach kept me from pointing that out to her.
“Because I care about you. I have feelings for you. Emerald, you are my woman, and I’m not going to let other men rape you just to win. There are lots of other ways to do it, and both of us are smart. We can figure it out. The easiest way isn’t always the answer.”
Both Emeralds opened their eyes wide at my words, and they stared at me for a good ten seconds.
Then my Eye-Q flashed.
I wanted to blink the interface open, but both of the green-skinned women were staring at me still, and they would have been able to tell I was doing something with my eyes.
“Look, we just need to figure out how to isolate the leader,” I started. “He’s gotta go to the bathroom sometime; probably first thing in the morning. We’ll get the troodons to--”
Original Emerald slid against me and clamped her lips over mine to stifle my words. Her tongue pushed into my mouth, and I let out a moan when I tasted the sweetness of her lips.
Our kiss ended, but Clone Emerald was now laying on the other side of me, and she pulled my shoulder so I rolled over to lay on my back. Her lips gently pressed against mine, and her tongue explored the roof of my mouth slowly.
“We are a bit close to the edge of the cliff,” I panted as soon as Clone Emerald broke her kiss with me. “I don’t think they can see us, but if--”
Both of them grabbed a leg, and I let out a chuckle as they dragged me a few feet away from the side of the cliff. There was actually more grass here, so it was a bit more comfortable to lay on my back.
Tamer- King of Dinosaurs Book 6 Page 21
