by Corin Cain
I’ll put hot lead through its throat instead.
I’ve got nine shots in the gun and one clip to reload. It’s not much, but as long as it can get me to the mountain home of the Aurelians, it will be enough. I haven’t been here in thirty years and yet everything is the same. I touch the ground, feeling the familiar softness of the densely-packed, yet moist dirt through the grass.
There are a million predators out here, and I probably won’t make it to the Aurelians mountain home.
But I’m here. Oh, God, I’m here!
I start walking in my boots, holding the grip of the pistol tight as I make my way towards the mountain in the distance.
One thing is different. Vast swathes of the ground are burnt. Naked and devoid of plants and vegetation, and I shudder as I realize that dragon must still be alive and terrorizing the planet. I might be able to survive an attack by one of the great golden eagles or one of the wolves – but if that dragon sets his sights on me, I’ll be a goner.
A warm breeze touches me, and I breathe in deeply – tasting the freshness of the air. It feels like there’s more oxygen and less gravity on this beautiful, dangerous world. Every breath fills my lungs completely. Every step is bouncing.
I’ll have to find a way to tell them the gray in my hair is not real!
Facing such danger, I laugh as that’s the first thought crosses my mind. I know Stryker, Haleon and Brigg will not have changed at all. I just hope desperately that they haven’t completely forgotten about me.
Something in my primal mind – my deepest, most basic senses – warns me that danger is near. I dive down, pressing myself against the grass. I peer out between the long stems, looking for a glimpse of whatever caused my senses to tingle.
My jaw drops as I see a magnificent tiger striding past me.
It stands as tall as a one-story building, its haunches moving powerfully as it creeps through the grass. The beautiful predator is the length of a few city blocks away from me, and walking in the other direction. The breeze passes through the grass, rippling and creating a beautiful rustling sound as I watch the majestic beast. Thankfully the wind is blowing towards me, so my scent isn’t brought towards the huge tiger’s nostrils. Instead, I watch with fascination as the beautiful tiger walks away.
This is all real.
The thought makes me giggle, then smile. It’s all real. I just witnessed something no one else on Earth will ever get to see. I just saw a beast that could feature in a movie – but only if it was computer-generated!
No one else alive gets to see these things! No one – and yet I do.
I keep walking at a trot, the mountain grower ever larger and larger in my vision. I’m breathing heavy by the time I get to the base of it.
I look up at the towering mountain, my heart pounding as I realize how close I finally am. Then my eyes go wide as I see the brutal scars marring the side of the towering rocks.
The dragon must have been hunting these grounds too, and that means he might come for me. Burns have levelled trees and scorched the rock of the mountainside in long swathes; more obvious and devastating than I’d seen thirty years ago.
I start climbing, and halfway up the mountain I hear a snarl that makes my blood run cold.
I freeze up, turning to find an enormous mountain lion – and I mean enormous, the size of a moose from back on Earth - just fifty feet away.
Long, lithe, and dangerous, it covers the ground in massive leaps and bounds; traveling at a speed that’s truly daunting.
I don’t have time to think.
I raise the pistol and fire. I fire until the gun starts clicking and I’ve burned through an entire clip.
The mountain lion staggers to halt, confused and in pain. It whimpers, and then staggers to the ground.
My heart pounds as I stare, wide-eyed, at the mountain lion. It’s huge and bleeding – yet still so majestic and elegant. The dying beast breathes with wide, uncomprehending eyes, blood pooling from its jaws.
I’m suddenly wracked with guilt at what I’ve just done. This beautiful, elegant creature was merely doing what nature designed it to do – and I just ended it.
I can’t bear to see the beast in such pain. I’ve already shot off the loud, powerful gun nine times, and I know that I’ve already called attention to whatever other animals are lurking on the mountainside.
As I watch the beautiful, dying beast, I see that an old burn runs from flank to shoulder across the lion’s long body. It’s a deep, old scar. Clearly, the beast survived an attack from the brutal dragon…
…yet, it didn’t survive me.
I know I shouldn’t spare another bullet on this beautiful, majestic, tortured creature – but I can’t stand to let it die in agony. I reload my last clip, and nervously advance as close as I dare to the dying beast.
I look into its tortured, frantic eyes and raise the gun.
One more shot echoes out across the mountain – right through the lion’s eye, ending the animal’s suffering instantly.
Eight shots left.
I continue up the mountain, shuddering as I see more burn marks scalded deep into the rocks.
Apparently, the dragon has been rampaging close to the Aurelian’s home. They escaped death against that beast once – and I hope against hope that they haven’t confronted it since.
I’m nearing the summit, and so impatient that I sprint.
It seems to make sense. I’m so close now, and I can’t afford another mountain lion attack. I was lucky that the last ambush came from far away, instead of getting snuck up on in close quarters.
I guess when you’re a small, slow-moving target, predators don’t think of you as much of a threat. The last time I was on this mountain, I wasn’t. I even had bare feet.
This time, though, I’m prepared with boots and a gun – and my feet pound against the rocks as I scale the mountain, higher and higher, until I finally get to the cave.
I gasp as I see the same boulder covering the entrance, even after all these years. My eyes widen as I see a tiny opening in the side.
The three Aurelians have left just enough space for me to squeeze through. After all these years, they’ve still left the door open for me, metaphorically speaking.
Hope surges through me. I can barely believe this is happening – after twelve years of thinking I was insane for my memories of the day and night I’d spent here, and twenty more of fighting desperately to make it back. All the political manipulation, the wheeling and dealing, the things I did and promised to get into a position of power just so I could follow up on the slimmest chance of finding and using an Orb...
An entire life I’d built, in pursuit of this moment. A life I simply threw away to get here again; and one I know, deep in my heart, that I’d trade again in an instant.
I squeeze in through the crack in the rock, my heart pounding. Most of the beasts of this planet are oversized and could never fit through this narrow crack. Maybe a baby, I guess…
I shudder for a moment, imagining the cubs of the mountain lion I’d killed earlier. They’d be the size of a cougar on this world; but still as comparatively helpless as kittens.
I push the guilty thoughts out of my mind. There’s no turning back, remember?
“Stryker? Haleon? Brigg?” I stagger into the cavern, and my voice echoes emptily down the long tunnel.
There’s no response, so I hurry into the darkness, trailing my hands against the smooth rock to guide me.
The cave open up in front of me – but it’s empty.
No furs remain. No torches hang on the walls. Only the stone table and chairs are there to show that, once upon a time, three brave alien warriors lived here.
Before I can sob from the loss, I see that there’s a strange glow emanating from the table itself.
What the hell is that?
I step suspiciously forward, towards it. My finger is on the trigger of my stolen pistol, not sure what to expect on this alien planet – but knowing I must be ready f
or anything.
The table has a ring of luminescent algae growing on it, obviously cultivated to illuminate the carving.
It’s a map. There is a detailed representation of the entire mountain, and the portal that once brought me here.
Far north on the map, there’s a drawing of a huge volcano, with a dragon perched on the top. It’s carved with such incredible detail I can see every sword-sized tooth in its gaping black maw – even the intense, burning hatred in the dragon’s intricately-carved eyes.
I shudder and look down at the arrow pointing from the mountain home of the three Aurelians, back towards the jungle where I’d first been brought here with them; thirty years earlier.
The jungle map shows the entrance to a cave, as well as a second, smaller cave close to the first one. A larger arrow points to the smaller cave system.
They have a new home.
Perhaps their new home is far enough away from the dragon to offer them some safety. I take a huge breath in. I thought if I could only get up to the mountain, I’d be reunited with the three, gorgeous warriors and finally be in safety.
Instead, I’ve got another long battle to face.
There’s something else glowing under the table, so I crouch. I find a small bag under there, which I pick up and put on the table, opening it. There’s dried meat and the hilt of a weapon in there…
I gasp. An Orb-weapon – with a tiny shard of shimmering, blacker-than-black Orb in it.
My hand freezes as I witness an Orb. I just watched one tear apart a guard and wreak havok on a room. This Orb sits patiently in the hilt of the weapon, as though it has only one purpose. I stare suspiciously for a moment, then grab the hilt and hold it up.
How do I get this thing to work?
I squeeze the hilt, feeling foolish. Then I remember that the Orbs are somehow intelligent, even the shards of the small ones.
Turn on, please.
The Orb-weapon suddenly snarls to life, emitting with a low, dangerous hum.
The shimmering black-blue blade is a foot long, the perfect size for me. It ripples and glows with that eerie blue light, and I almost feel like it’s been waiting for me; that it longs for me to take it in my hand and feed it…
Feed it in blood.
I shiver, and feel the power of this Orb-weapon resonating through me.
The Aurelians left me just enough so that I could have a chance to survive back on this alien world.
Now I’ve got a choice. I can wait here, and hope that they come back before my rations run out…
…or I can rush to them, and finally be reunited; whatever the danger I might face in doing so.
I swallow hard, realizing I’ve already made my choice.
I turn and set off immediately – leaving behind the safety of this cave; the one I’ve fantasized and dreamed of coming back to for so many years.
No turning back – that’s the promise I made to myself, when I struck that bargain with the Orb back on Earth.
“Haleon. Brigg. Stryker. I’m going to get back to you. I’m so sorry I ever left.”
I’m talking to no one in particular – just wishing that the cavern I’d returned to had still been filled with the warmth of torches, and the voices of the three gorgeous men who once protected it.
I push my bag of supplies through the crack they’d left me in the boulder entrance, and then sling it over my shoulder. My left hand holds my pistol steady, while my right holds the Orb-blade they’d fashioned for me.
If something comes for me – and I fear it might – I’ll be ready for it.
I walk fast, clambering down the mountainside as quickly as I safely can, knowing that the less time I spend out here in the open, the better my odds of surviving.
The oversized, glowing sun is already lowering. Soon, it’ll disappear beneath the horizon and those two, twin moons will climb into the shimmering, star-filled sky.
I shudder, as I remember that the dragon hunts in darkness.
I make it down the mountainside, my legs burning with exertion. There was no ambush by mountain lions this time. Perhaps they’d seen what I did to the first one who tried to test me; and realized I wasn’t such an easy dinner.
Then I hear it.
That sound… The sound that’s as vivid to me as the rest of the memories of this place.
It’s a snarl of pure hatred and rage. I quickly jump behind a boulder, making myself as small as possible as I peer out towards the source of the sound.
From the north, I see it. The dragon is swooping this way, beating its huge wings, rushing forward towards the jungle. Now I understand why I was able to get down the mountainside without attack. Any beasts hunting me are hiding away, sensing the oncoming attack of the winged devil.
I stare out from behind the rock, squinting to try and make out the green hue of the faraway jungle. If I can only get there alive, I’ll be reunited with the men I’ve spent decades longing for.
A war horn sounds, and birds – tiny and colorful from this distance – erupt from the forest, swooping up and away from the foliage.
They do so just in time. The dragon has reached the edge of the jungle and sweeps over the towering, lush trees – shooting off a long trail of scalding magma into the verdant greenery.
It’s like those old documentaries of the Vietnam War, when American planes would pour hundreds of gallons of scalding napalm across the jungle to clear out the brushes where the Viet Cong lurked.
I shiver, watching as the swooping black dragon dives down into the flaming foliage, before grabbing something and soaring back into the sky overhead.
My heart pounds as the dragon swooshes over me, and I see in its claws an Aurelian, still kicking and struggling.
I squint, filled with momentary horror, but I quickly realize that the unfortunate soul is not one of my three loves. I’d have felt it if it were.
But my relief instantly turns to horror, as the dragon pulls upwards, gaining incredible height, and then drops the Aurelian.
The flailing figure falls screaming through the air, before splattering against the rocks below, killed instantly. The dragon did not even want to eat the Aurelian. It just wanted to kill.
All I want to do is hide. All I want to do is just curl into a ball and whimper.
No.
No. I will not be afraid.
The thought is resolute. I stand up, drawing myself to my full height and gripping my weapons with white knuckles. I didn’t come this far to get spooked; even by a massive, fire-breathing, Aurelian-slaughtering dragon….
I set my face with determination and set off.
There is danger everywhere, and I know I won’t be safe until I’m finally back with the three men who once seemed like they’d die to protect me.
Will I even be safe with them? I just watched one of their species get turned into a fucking splatter by that dragon.
Oh, God – what have I gotten myself into?
I shake my head. I don’t push the thoughts of fear down. I simply let them flow through me, until all that remains is me. I chose this path. I will walk it.
It’s funny. Because of that single night I spent here, three decades ago, I’ve been irrevocably altered – seemingly unable to age.
But while I might not look like I’ve changed, I’m so far from the person I was when I first arrived on this alien world.
I remember the me from thirty years ago as I stride forward. Back then, I had this stupid plan. This idea that I could create a life that I never even wanted, all because being a lawyer somehow made me feel like I had some semblance of control. When I was in the courtroom, I was the one who made things happen.
Deep in my heart though, I was still that scared little girl who’d once cut her thighs.
I weep for that girl. I feel pity for her. But she’s not me anymore. I’ve eagerly chosen terror and danger over comfort and stability; and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.
I chose love. I just wish it hadn’t taken thirty years to se
e it to fruition.
I trot towards the jungle, keeping a steady pace, glad that the grass only reaches to my knees. No huge lion or wolf could hide in these plains.
But once I reach the jungle? That will be a different story. I’ll have to be constantly looking over my shoulder for beasts that might stalk, ambush and attack.
I make it that far – to the jungle – without any additional horrors befalling me. I think back to the map for a moment. I’ve always been blessed with a strong sense of direction, and I know exactly where to go to the get to the smaller cave system. I push through the brush in the right direction, until I get to a clearing nearby.
Then I freeze. My mouth drops open as I see a disgusting sight in front of me.
Three huge… creatures are dragging a dying panther through the jungle. They drop their bloody burden as they see me.
So far, every creature except the dragon has had a human counterpart – the mountain lions were over-sized versions of the ones back on Earth. The same with the tiger, and that enormous eagle.
But these things?
They look like a horrific mix of reptile and man – grotesque beasts with cunning, red eyes and huge, pincer claws – like some kind of over-sized lobster. I remember back to the Orb that granted me passage to this jungle planet. It showed my triad sacrificing something to the Orb God of the jungle. The head of the thing they sacrificed looks like a massive version of these creature’s faces.
Darting over their heads are long tails, tipped with barbs and dripping a glowing, green venom that looks exactly the same color as the tribal tattoos adorning the magnificent bodies of my beloved Aurelian warriors.
The creatures suddenly run towards me, crossing the space between us with superhuman speed. I barely have time to raise and aim my weapon before I see movement to my left. With horror, I see two more of these hideous, hybrid creatures rushing towards me.
I try desperately to swing my gun to the left to take them out – but I already know it’s too late…
“Aubrey!”
My name emerges as a roar. I turn and see three shirtless Aurelians burst from the jungle, weapons drawn.
My Aurelians!
Stryker cleaves the head off the first scorpion beast, and the bloody skull spins in an arc through the air. Before he’s even paused, Stryker is spinning in his own deadly circle – slicing a deadly wound through the second monster; sending it gurgling back with blood gushing from its chest.