G-War looked over the group from McCullough, selecting the women and half the men. They joined the others behind the wagon. The rest looked upset, but only briefly.
“There’s no shame if we don’t pick you. This could very well be the hardest thing you’ve ever done and chances are good you won’t return. I wish I wasn’t going, but I have to because Micah, my partner, is going. We will meet her and the others in the rainforest. That’s our plan anyway, so no, no shame in not getting selected.” G-War picked five more from the remaining group which gave them twenty additional people who would travel with them.
Braden shook his head as he realized he was taking a small army with him. He needed more wagons, carts, and Aurochs. He’d have to beg Brandt to stay for just a little longer.
When he realized he was mumbling to himself, he looked up and found his new soldiers looking at him. They needed a pep talk, and he needed to find a place to hide. He took a deep breath and began by telling them the truth as he saw it.
“The Overlords are the original Lizard Men. They are old, surviving from the time of the ancients. They control the creatures of the rainforest, cold-water crocs, sharkfish, Bat-Ravens, and other Lizard Men. They have an army arrayed against us, and we’ll have to fight our through until we find them and kill them. I’ll admit that I originally thought we could let them live, but no longer. They don’t seem interested in talking with us, as they are doing everything they can to kill us. I say we kill them first, but we’ll have to fight our way through their people and their creatures. By raising your hand, you have just made that easier for us. For that, I thank you. We will meet Akhmiyar at the road into the Amazon. That means we need to leave at sunrise. Get what you need to live on the road for a week. Only bring what you can carry as we will be walking most of the way.”
They departed with a purpose, each preparing to get their affairs in order. They looked determined, but G-War had already figured that out. He only picked the ones committed to the freedom that would come with victory. Others tried to join because of their friends, or they thought they had to save face.
Braden wondered how many he’d be able to bring back. He rested his hand on his blaster, wondering how well it would recharge when it wouldn’t see the sun during the endless rainforest downpours. He had to be judicious in their use so he didn’t run out of power when he needed it most. That meant hand-to-hand fighting. He had the most faith in the women from McCullough because he knew how hard they trained. In battle, there was no time to think, only fight. Akhmiyar and his warriors had been blooded too many times. He remembered watching the Amazonian fight with a spear in his leg, and then run for freedom after they recovered the villagers from Bliss. He had no doubts about Akhmiyar and was happy to have him join the group.
Bronwyn arrived with her parents and stopped briefly to scratch both Rabbits behind their big ears. They leaned into her hands and touched the young girl, who wasn’t much taller than them.
Braden looked at Bronwyn’s parents. Her father offered his hand and Braden took it. He looked the older man in the eye, but his tongue was frozen in his mouth. He wanted to tell them she’d be fine, to put her parents’ minds at ease, but he couldn’t. He was so averse to lying that he found he could say nothing at all.
They both looked at him hopefully, and then hung their heads as they pulled their daughter in for a hug. When they stood up, Braden stammered, “I’ll do my best.”
“We know you will,” Bronwyn’s mother replied with a sad smile. Before Braden arrived, the other villagers thought something was wrong with Bronwyn, that the voices she heard were only in her head. After Braden and Micah, everything changed. Their little girl was gifted in a way the rest would never understand. Bronwyn helped bring about the evolution of acceptance. She changed the way people thought about the other creatures with which they shared the planet. She was special and once again, they had called on her to help. They couldn’t deny Braden even if he told them the truth. They appreciated that he didn’t try to lie to them.
Braden watched Bronwyn’s parents depart. “They’re sad, you know,” the little girl said, knowing that Braden preferred speaking out loud.
“I know,” he replied. “I can’t guarantee that I can keep you safe. They understand that, and they are letting you come along anyway.”
“It’ll be okay. My friends will help protect me,” she said, half singing as she skipped away to talk with the Hawkoid Zyena. Braden shook his head. G-War curled up inside the wagon and went to sleep. The Wolfoids wanted to look around as it was their first trip anywhere. Braden walked with them, showing them the forge, introducing them to the people, and looking at the various places of Dwyer. He was silent for a long time.
‘What is causing you such grief?’ Loper asked over their mindlink.
“Right here is where three brothers died. Over there in the field, about the tenth row in, that’s where the fourth brother was killed and two of his friends. There’s been so much bloodshed here.”
‘I see only what it’s become, and the people here take great pride in their village. The others were holding them back. You’ve set these people free,’ Sunny Day added. It was the same thing that Braden told himself.
He shook off the unhappy memories and grabbed a handful of Wolfoid neck fur. “You are right, Sunny. I stand corrected. This is where the first day of the new Village Dwyer started. From this point, they stopped looking backward!” he ended with a flourish and a bow.
He walked with the Wolfoids to the river where they relaxed to the sound of the running water. ‘Like home,’ Loper said, leaning against his mate as they listened. ‘There are many strange smells, too. It’s so different from home, but I like it better. The sky is real and the smells are fresh. Look! What’s that?’ Loper pointed his snout at the water.
Braden looked into the river as a school of small fish chased water bugs. “Fish. They are good eating once you clean them up and throw them on a fire. G-War, Aadi, the Hawkoids, and the Lizard Men all love fish. I’ll make sure you get to try some before we leave. I just hope they’re cooked.” He slapped Loper on the back, laughing at his own joke. Loper and Sunny didn’t understand. They cocked their heads sideways as they looked at Braden.
“I need to make sure we have enough wagons and Aurochs to get our fast-growing army to Bliss. Enjoy the area and relax,” Braden told them as he walked away.
Race to Bliss
When the sun hit the horizon, Braden yelled at the group to move out. They had three wagons packed almost full with humans and creatures. Brandt joined the caravan to make sure they made it as far as Braden needed them to go. The King delayed his plans to recover the remaining Aurochs, but only by a couple turns. After dropping off those who would venture into the Amazon, he’d bring the Aurochs and the wagons back to Dwyer. G-War rode on Brandt’s head, his favorite place from which to look down at the world and what he perceived as his minions.
The first southern Free Traders, Candela and Tanner, rode along to help with the harnesses and wagons, but they’d return to Village Dwyer with Brandt. They weren’t warriors. They were traders and for that, Braden was proud. There were four separate traders who plied the southern trade route using carts or wagons pulled by Aurochs volunteers. They were all waiting, hoping the group that left would make the trade routes secure once again so people could go back to their normal lives.
Braden missed the sweetened pork that was unique to the Village of Coldstream, but those villagers weren’t making any while they were refugees even though they brought their herd of pigs and boars. Maybe they couldn’t get the sweet syrup from the eastern trees like they could in Coldstream. Or maybe life as a refugee wasn’t motivating enough to do the extra work required to smoke and properly sweeten the meat.
He couldn’t blame them. The war had been hard on all of them. Braden already missed his family. He knew Zyena felt lonely, too, so he asked her to keep him company in the wagon where they could be together while being alone. It didn’t mak
e sense, but that’s how Braden felt.
The largest of the Aurochs leaned forward, grunting as they started the heavy wagons rolling. The people inside were wedged in tightly. Each person carried a pack stuffed with food and at least two flasks of water. The original casks that Braden bought in the north accompanied them as well. They’d carried them through the desert and if not for those two water casks, they would have all died. All the companions had a role to play in how they made it across the desert, but none of it would have mattered without water.
Braden reached next to him where Zyena perched on the buckboard and absently scratched her neck feathers. Bronwyn sat on the other side of the Hawkoid, singing quietly to herself.
Zyena looked at him oddly. “I suppose you can hear me thinking?” he asked.
‘You do it rather loudly,’ she said apologetically. The young girl nodded in agreement.
Braden started to laugh, then louder until he cried and choked. “I think too loudly. Yes, I guess I do. Micah said as much. Do my children think so?” Braden asked, expecting a G-War type answer.
‘They say that they are able to keep your thoughts in the back of their mind while they talk with others. Your mind brings them comfort as does the mind of their mother. They always talk, you know. Ten heartbeats don’t pass without one or the other saying something,’ Zyena explained. The revelation wasn’t surprising. Braden nodded and coughed a couple more times to clear his lungs.
‘I think we’ll need you to fly ahead to look for the Lizard Men and then we’ll need to see a clear route all the way to Bliss. We’re going to travel fast. Once the Amazonians load up, it’s a race to the west. We have to do everything we can to get in front of the Overlords and their forces. The Lizard Men will know that Akhmiyar travels with us, but will they be able to get word to the Overlords before we get there? That’s why we have to hurry,’ Braden said over the mindlink.
Zyena nodded and launched herself into the air, diving to the side of the wagon as she beat her wings and heading west toward the road into the rainforest. Her eyes focused on the rainforest as she flew, but saw nothing out of the ordinary.
The first part of the trip was uneventful, for which Braden was thankful. Those stuffed into the back of the wagons wanted to get out and stretch once they stopped. Braden was surprised that Akhmiyar wasn’t waiting for them. They had to enter the rainforest at Bliss with the next sunrise.
Timing was critical.
Bronwyn started walking toward the rainforest, Braden close behind with his hand on the grip of his blaster. The other humans were milling about the wagons when the leaves rustled, and Akhmiyar appeared. Bronwyn ran to him and gave him a hug. He patted her head, comfortable with her, but he couldn’t understand the human need for physical contact. Braden approached and put his hand on the Amazonian’s chest.
“We are pleased you were able to come,” Braden said, smiling as more Amazonians materialized from the trees. Bronwyn helped them to carry on the conversation, turning from one to the other as they talked.
“Akhmiyar would have it no other way and appreciates the help from the Free Trader and his companions,” Bronwyn said after a period of silence where she and Akhmiyar talked how only they could hear. The Amazonian considered this to be their war. He also knew that they couldn’t win it alone.
“We are in a hurry. We need to get to Bliss by nightfall,” Braden informed him. The young girl interpreted and waited for Akhmiyar’s reply.
“Akhmiyar wonders where Aadi and the Lizard Men from the ship are. I already answered him that they are part of Micah’s group coming from the south,” she said.
“I think you will like Pik Ha’ar and Tup Dal. They are good people. I hope you will see them soon, if everything goes like we planned. Well, mostly according to plan,” Braden added.
The Amazonians found space in the wagons. They decided that they’d take turns standing so everyone would fit. Braden looked back at the mass of creatures, both human and other, crushed together as the Aurochs pulled them all to war. Two Wolfoid snouts were pressed against his back while the Rabbits rode up front on the buckboard with him. They would have gotten stepped on had he left them in the back.
Zyena flew ahead and backwinged to a landing on a high branch where she could watch the wagons and the road ahead. The Aurochs struggled mightily to get the wagons going and then pulled harder and harder to pick up speed. Once the wagons were rolling, Braden feared that they wouldn’t be able to stop without running over the great beasts helping them. He passed his concerns to Brandt, who said he had a plan. Braden didn’t want to know what Brandt had in mind, but expected it would be spectacular and result in at least one wagon getting its wheels ripped off.
They pushed forward, hard. Braden hung on with both hands as Brandt ran back and forth between the Aurochs, encouraging them. Lomen was replaced by a much larger Aurochs when they picked up the Amazonians. He ran with Brandt while three from the original Earthshaker Herd showed what they were made of.
Zyena watched the rainforest closely as she flew ahead, staying in front of the Aurochs’ ground-eating strides. She saw a movement and raced toward it to get a better view. A Bat-Raven took to the air as she approached, attempting to fly into the rainforest away from her. But she was already flying fast when he jumped from the tree. Sensing she was closing quicker than he could gain speed, he started to swerve between branches. She was younger and more nimble than Skirill, even though she was a little larger. She rammed into the back of the Bat-Raven when he made a predictable turn. She grabbed him in both claws, dipped her head, and ripped through the thing’s neck with her harshly curved Hawkoid beak.
She dropped the body and watched the head spiral downward after it. She turned to fly from the rainforest, running head first into two other Bat-Ravens. They unfolded their claws and both tried to rip across her head, but she dropped and spiraled through the air, knocking one of the Bat-Ravens away, while the other veered off. She regained control and dove to gain speed. She zipped in between trunks and finally burst into the open, beating her wings hard to gain altitude.
Braden had seen her shoot into the trees and watched intently for her to emerge. G-War’s thought voice yelled into their minds, ‘Bat-Ravens!’ Braden felt helpless because the wagons could go no faster. He couldn’t jump down to help her, so he pulled his blaster and hoped for a shot.
The Rabbits readied their laser pistols. The passengers, as one, watched every movement. Time seemed to slow as they watched Zyena burst from the rainforest, flying hard and trying to climb. Two Bat-Ravens emerged behind her, gaining quickly. She turned in mid-air to face them, hovering for an instant as they both crashed into her, seeking her neck with their fanged mouths. She twisted and dropped toward the ground, barely able to flap her wings. The watchers held their weapons, hoping the Bat-Ravens would let go, but Zyena continued to plummet.
Brandt tore up the ground as he raced ahead at breakneck speed. G-War crouched on his head, ready to jump. They met Zyena just before she slammed into the ground. G-War flew from the King’s head and twisted in the air as he was flying past to hook claws in the backs of both Bat-Ravens. His momentum shifted their descent so the bundle of fur, skin, and feathers hit the ground sideways and rolled. They group broke apart, G-War was first to his feet and with a vicious pounce, slashed a Bat-Raven nearly in half. The other mutant bird hopped up and attempted to get away, but Zyena flapped a wing and knocked it over. G-War was on it, holding it down while it screamed at his face.
The ‘cat’s eyes locked on the thing, and it quit screaming as he attempted to wrest secrets from its mind. Bronwyn cried in anguish as the Aurochs angled the wagon away from those on the ground. They couldn’t stop. The wagon rattled past, followed closely by the other two. All eyes were on the ‘cat, the Hawkoid, and their captured prey for the few heartbeats they were near enough to be seen.
When G-War was satisfied, he nodded to his large friend. Brandt carefully reached a hoof past the ‘cat and held the Bat-Raven
down. G-War stepped away while the King of the Aurochs crushed his arch enemy into the dirt.
Braden was frantically trying to communicate with them over the mindlink as the wagons raced away.
‘I need some of your attention, Master Braden,’ Zyena said. ‘But I can fly.’ She jumped into the air and slowly flapped to gain speed. It wasn’t long before she flared to land on the front of the buckboard. Bronwyn was first to give the Hawkoid a hug, getting blood on her from the wounds on Zyena’s chest and neck. Braden applied numbweed, then added a couple stitches, which was a risky prospect since the Aurochs kept running, bouncing the wagon over the rough road.
When Braden finished with the two rough stitches on each of the bite marks, held tightly with a small strand of Max’s tail hair, Brandt and G-War had returned and ran alongside.
‘The creature did not know much, but he knew enough. He’d been to the place where the Overlords live. It confirms what the clones told us,’ the ‘cat said without preamble. ‘I also saw four different Overlords. They are ancient, but they live. They have some Old Tech, but it meant nothing to the Bat-Raven. I don’t know what they have.’
“They use Old Tech devices that the survivors thought were communications devices of some sort. The thing didn’t see a blaster or anything like that?” Braden asked, more comfortable talking aloud.
‘Would it have been better had it seen a blaster, so you could worry even more than you already are? No. It is a good sign that the creature didn’t see a blaster. There are more Bat-Ravens, but not many. There were five watching us. Two have escaped,’ the ‘cat shared.
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