Caveman Alien's Rage

by Calista Skye

  I take off my precious glasses and gingerly place them on top of my dress, and then I take Dar'ax's big hand. It feels like steel in a dry sandpaper glove.

  Then I gingerly step into the stream. The water is cool, but not too bad. My nipples stiffen, but I don't mind that too much, either.

  The bottom is sandy and I walk further out to where the water reaches to mid-thigh. I have to stretch my arm pretty far to be able to hold on to Dar'ax. And he doesn't seem like he wants to let go.

  “Come in water,” I suggest. “Not cold.”

  He looks over his shoulder, as if worried that someone might see him, and then he takes a step into the stream, still wearing his fur kilt and sword. He's so serious that I'm tempted to splash him, but I think that would violate the kidnapper/abductee code that I decided on yesterday. So instead I squat down into the water to get good and clean. Of course there's no soap, but I scrub myself as well as I can, and the feeling of the cool, clean water all over me is as good as any coffee would be. It's the first real good bath I've taken since I came to this weird planet.

  My mood improves a lot, and I take the wet, lower edge of Dar'ax's kilt between two fingers and tug at it. “Dar'ax take off. Clean like Heidi.”

  He draws breath to say something, but before he can speak he whirls around and draws his sword so fast I squeal and fall right on my butt with a splash. I don't even have time to find my footing on the slippery rocks before I feel an iron grip around my wrist and I'm yanked completely out of the water.

  “Hey, what the hell-”

  I'm still rubbing the water out of my eyes when I hear meaty thuds close by, and I realize that Dar'ax is fighting someone. But I can't see who they are before he unceremoniously throws me over his shoulder and runs so fast I realize that I had better just hang on. But I'm also conscious that I'm still naked.

  “Deadbites,” Dar'ax growls through clenched teeth.

  I twist around to try to look behind us. And a cold panic settles in the pit of my stomach. We're being followed by someone. Or rather, something. Because that's a mass of living movement. A big, dirty brown mass that's coming after us fast, and the only sound I can hear is an insane cacophony of clicking noises, like a million crabs snapping their claws right behind us.

  My skin is creeping and I cling to Dar'ax's immensely strong back. Right now, he feels as strong as an ox and as fast as a cheetah.

  But that's still not fast enough, I think. Because the brown mass of pursuers is catching up with us.

  “They close!” I yell, to let him know the situation.

  He runs in among the trees and zigzags around thick trunks, and then he sprints right at a tree and heaves me four feet into the air.

  “Oof!” The impact with a thick branch nearly knocks the breath out of me. And before I know it I'm hanging double over it, with my legs on one side and my torso on the other, and my bare ass straight up.

  I wiggle to a more secure position closer to the tree's trunk, so I can see what's going on below me.

  Dar'ax is fighting the brown mass, and now I can see what they are. They're not ordinary dinosaurs, but some kind of overgrown turtles with eight legs and a huge shell each. Oh, and three big, snapping beaks that protrude out from under the shell on snake-like heads without eyes. Each creature is the size of a dining table, so kind of small by Xren standards. But there are so many of them that they more than make up for it in sheer numbers. The whole meadow along the riverside is now just a living mass of these things, and my skin crawls even further.

  Dar'ax is holding his own with his long sword, and already several of the creatures are lying dead on the ground around him or limping away with cleft shells and seeping wounds where their terrible beaks used to be.

  The ones closest to him are starting to pull away, probably realizing that this one caveman is defeating them all pretty badly. Their parrot-like beaks are still snapping at him as they retreat, and the noise they make is so terrible I seriously consider letting go of the branch with one hand just so I can put it over one ear, at least.

  Then I yelp as I hear the hard click of a snapping beak right beside me. One of the things has jumped onto a lower branch, and now it's recoiling all three heads, aiming for my face with its terrible beaks. I'm stuck on this branch and can't get away.

  “Dar'ax!”

  He spins around and immediately sees the danger. His eyes flash in vivid yellow, he roars so furiously the whole tree shakes, and then he's right beneath me, there's a glimmer of swift steel and my attacker lies on the ground, its three now beak-less snakeheads dripping green fluid and writhing uselessly.

  But Dar'ax isn't done. Again and again he roars in fury, lifts the long sword and chops at my attacker, slicing through its hard, thick shell with powerful whacks and turning the whole deadbite to a shapeless, sickening mass of green and red and gray and brown. It has long since stopped being a threat or even alive, but still he's showing no sign of stopping. He seems blinded by fury.

  “I think he's dead now,” I try with a thin voice, but still he goes on slashing, completely mincing the dead thing as if it was a very personal vengeance, roaring furiously. I've never seen such rage, and I hope never to see it again.

  “Dar'ax!” I yell, because now he's starting to scare me. “No more!”

  He glances up at me, and then it's as if he wakes up. He freezes for a moment and stares at the wet blob of slime and goo that used to be his adversary. Then he spins around again and his sword glints as he slices the beaks off another two predators.

  But when he went off on the one that attacked me, he gave the others time to catch up and to get more organized. And now they're crawling up on each other's backs and coming at him as a wall five creatures high, closing in from three sides. And whenever Dar'ax slices through one, two others appear in its place. He can't win this.

  “We go!” I scream, because the panic isn't far away. He gives me a quick glance from the corner of his eye, and somehow I understand perfectly what he's thinking. I jump down from the branch, and then he whirls around, takes my hand and we run together through the forest.

  11

  - Dar'ax -

  I could run faster if I took Heidi over my shoulder, but that would make it hard to keep my sword ready. But this will do. Before the deadbites can run, they have to disentangle themselves from that wall they had formed. That will take time.

  Heidi's hand is small and soft in mine, and even in my current state I notice that she moves with quick steps and a fetching swing in her hips.

  I was completely taken by surprise by the deadbite swarm. I've heard of such things happening, but normally they only move in packs of five. This was thousands of them, all coming straight for us.

  Normally a deadbite is only dangerous if you're unarmed. Their shell is hard, but their necks stick out as if asking to be cut off. Still, this many of them was a true threat.

  Especially to Heidi. When that one attacker snuck around the tree and tried to bite her from below, the Red Fog suddenly descended on me and I had no choice but to give in to it. It took control and I seem to have chopped that sneaky deadbite into very fine chunks. I just couldn't stand seeing her in danger.

  Well, it deserved it. But I spent too much time on that one enemy, and then the others had a welcome chance to enter their strongest formation. That wall of deadbites is also something I've never seen before. I had no idea they could do that.

  I throw a glance over my shoulder once in a while. They're still coming, a flood wave of clicking deadbites in a swarm.

  I didn't have time to call Gerk, but I did just manage to snatch the bag with the precious contents I found on Bune. Everything else we left behind.

  To call Gerk here now I'd have to stop. I can't make that special sound while running. And I'm not at all sure how he'd react to find himself in the middle of a wild river of angry deadbites. He's huge and immensely strong, but he has good instincts and tends to avoid obvious danger. If I called him now, I doubt he'd come here.<
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  It was definitely a mistake to run across the meadow and not just stay in the river. I've never heard of deadbites swimming. But when I saw them, I panicked. Not so much for myself, but at the thought that Heidi might be in danger. It seems that's one thing I just can't stand.

  Her breathing is coming harder, and there's a wheeze in it now. We're running uphill, because I hope we'll find some kind of tough incline or cliff where the deadbites won't be able to follow.

  But even if we don't, and we have to make a stand against our pursuers, then I will defend her to the last.

  I hear a crashing sound from the trees ahead, and my heart sinks in my chest. If that's not Gerk, then it's another Big. And those are usually not friendly.

  12

  - Heidi -

  I'm so out of breath I could collapse at any moment. I never did much running. In fact, it would be fair to say that I've always done my best to avoid anything more than semi-fast walking.

  I regret that very deeply now. Because while I want to outrun those creepy attackers that are still chasing us, I'd also want to not be too much of a burden to Dar'ax. Yeah, it's a weird thing to think about your kidnapper. But right now, he's the only thing between me and a pretty bleak future as a breakfast for a bunch of nightmarish creepy-crawlies.

  “Far ... to ... run?” I gasp as I bend double on a steep incline and use my hands to help propel me up further.

  But Dar'ax doesn't reply. He stops on a patch of bare rock and looks tense as he scouts this way and that, both behind us and in front of us.

  Then I understand why. Something is coming towards us the other way. Something big. Something that makes the ground tremble. Of course I'm not a leading expert on how to survive in jurassic jungles, but I'm guessing that another deadly dino is not what we need right now.

  The deadbites behind us are still coming up the hill, a disgusting and chilling flow of red beaks and brown shells.

  Dar'ax calmly puts his sword back in his belt, and then he takes my hand again. “We'll try to get the Big to fight the deadbites. When you see the Big, run straight towards it and under it if there's room. If not, pass beside it as fast as you can. Get the Big between you and the deadbites.”

  My heart is banging in my ears and my breath sounds like thunder, but his words send another pang of cold fear through me. He's so calm, but there's worry in those luminous eyes.

  The ground is shaking and the clicking noise from the ocean of deadbites is loud. I itch to run away from this, despite being so badly out of breath.

  “And Dar'ax?”

  He straightens and looks past me. “Dar'ax will keep Heidi safe.”

  I think I can tell what that means. He'll stay here and distract the attackers, trying to get them to fight each other. It will be tough for him to escape, even I can see that. But he's a caveman and he's lived in this jungle all his life. He might have a plan for this. If anyone could do it, he could.

  I impulsively go up on tiptoe and kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”

  And then I run again, right towards the sound of crashing bushes and vegetation. I've taken maybe five steps when the dinosaur comes out from the trees and blots out the sun as it towers over me.

  I don't take the time to check it out any closer, because I'm pretty sure the sight would paralyze me. So I aim between its two massive legs and keep running.

  Then something grabs around my waist and carries me to the right, around the dino, and before I know it I'm halfway up its side and I can feel Dar'ax's scent in my nose.

  He holds me tight as he climbs quickly up the dinosaur's steep flank, and then he sets me down on top of it.

  “This your Big,” I pant as I set my naked butt down on the rough skin on the T. Rex's back and feel the smell of decay it emits. But right now, I don't mind it at all.

  Dar'ax makes the familiar, deep growl and grabs the control stick, and the dinosaur turns sharply to the left and breaks a couple of tree trunks in the process. “Gerk isn't mine. But he lets me ride him.”

  “'Gerk', huh?” The name suits him. It's a very cavemanish word.

  I look down. The deadbites are still coming, probably thousands of them, and I realize that even a T. Rex might have trouble getting through that wall of snapping beaks in one piece.

  But now we're traveling away from them, much faster than we could run. I hold on to the tough skin as hard as I can, because now our insanely mighty steed is probably running at close to top speed. It crashes through the woods, crushing trees and bushes under its mighty clawed feet, its powerful tail high in the air behind it. The movements are violent, and I cling to the dino with white-knuckled fingers, just trying to stay up.

  Then I feel a heavy hand on my shoulder. Dar'ax stands steadily behind me, feet far apart, with one hand on the control pole and one on me to keep me from falling down. He looks more than ever like an ancient sea captain, and his long, golden hair streams in the air behind him.

  We run like that for maybe thirty minutes, putting the deadbites far behind us and coming down the other side of the hills. Then the T. Rex slows down and walks normally. Its skin is hot to the touch now, and I realize that for a thing like this to run, it has to expend huge amounts of energy.

  I'm suddenly very conscious about the fact that I'm not wearing anything at all. Well, Dar'ax has seen all of me now, but still I feel really exposed. I never thought I'd miss that ugly and stiff dress of mine.

  But I settle in for the ride, leaning back against Dar'ax legs again.

  We go on like that for hours. Once in a while Dar'ax will steer Gerk towards a tree, so that he can reach out and take a bunch of berries or a sour fruit or a juicy leaf. He gives it all to me, and while it's not the best cuisine I've had, it both quenches my thirst and sates the worst hunger.

  After a long time Dar'ax turns around and looks behind us, shielding his eyes against the setting sun. Then he makes a new growl in his throat and the T. Rex slows down and comes to a halt. It does an unsettling thing where it turns its huge head half around so I'm two feet away from a giant, yellow eye that reveals no emotion. I've never felt more vulnerable, and even though I should be grateful that the beast has let me ride on it, it makes my blood run cold. I should never forget that this is one hundred percent a predator.

  Dar'ax climbs down with the one sack he was able to bring with him from our camp site. He hangs it very carefully on a branch, and then he climbs back up.

  “The deadbites have given up. We left them behind. Now Gerk has to rest.”

  “Okay.” He supports me as I climb down from the heaving, steaming dinosaur, and I can't help but notice that there's a very large and very interesting bulge in his furry kilt. And I'm not that used to such obvious male appreciation, so I feel flattered. And turned on, of course.

  I stand a little aside and break off some leafy branches from a nearby bush, so that I have something to kind of, almost cover myself with.

  Again Dar'ax stands underneath Gerk's huge mouth and touches it, just like he did before. I mean, I can understand wanting to stroke a horse on its muzzle after a nice ride, but a dinosaur? I wish he wouldn't do it. It looks incredibly dangerous. He must feel that the creature could turn on him at any moment. It radiates ridiculous amounts of deadly danger.

  Then the ground trembles again as the giant dinosaur turns away and trundles off, as if Dar'ax gave it permission. A sigh escapes me. Fine, what he did is insanely dangerous and probably irresponsible. But he's in control of that thing, and it impresses the hell out of me.

  Dar'ax looks me up and down, and of course I feel my cheeks heating up. I both like it and feel embarrassed.

  “Getting a good look there, caveman?” Again I'm counting on the tone to convey the meaning.

  Then he takes a step closer and frowns. He points to his own eyes, then to mine. “Where are Heidi's pebbles?”

  Yeah. That. I didn't leave just my dress behind back by the river, but also my glasses. They're miles away now, in a place swarming with deadbites. I
n the excitement of running and the thrill of actually surviving, it seemed like an insignificant thing. But now it doesn't. Without glasses, how will I spot deadly dangers in this jungle? A dactyl could be diving at me from six feet away, and I'd never know before I was being broken in half between its teeth.

  And right now I can't even see Dar'ax's face clearly, which suddenly makes me sad. “At river,” I sigh.

  He looks back the way we came and scratches his chin. “Far away.”

  “Far away,” I agree as the seriousness of that problem starts to sink in. Now I can't make fire, and anything that's further away than ten feet will always be a green blur to me.

  Dar'ax turns his back and walks in among the trees, and I somehow feel even more vulnerable naked and alone than naked with my kidnapper. He still hasn't tried anything, although he's been showing a pretty constant boner since I lost my dress.

  Well, I've been a cavewoman myself for weeks now, and I've learned some tricks. One of them is how to weave a simple sheet from certain leaves. I find a suitable bush and get busy, and when I'm done I'm at least partly covered in the front. My ass is a different issue, but I don't think there are enough leaves on this planet to cover it anyway.

  Dar'ax quietly builds a little hut from branches and leaves, and again I'm astounded by how fast he works with the primitive materials and his multi-purpose sword.

  I don't want to just watch, so I gather dry wood and build a fire in front of the hut's opening. Dar'ax lights it with a stone and the flat side of his sword, and then we're sitting there, grilling pieces of turkeypig he's caught and watching the stars come out above us.