by John Corwin
It sat like a human and bit the bush, tugging on each branch and stripping it of leaves. Max went down on his stomach and wormed closer for a better look. He peeked up over a root and got a clear glimpse of the beast. It wasn't eating the leaves on the bush, but berries.
His stomach rumbled noisily and the bear's ears perked. It looked at him for a moment then went back to eating.
Max's mouth watered at the thought of the berries, of their sweet juices running down his throat. Some sort of insanity took hold, and he considered ways to attack the bear with his rocks. Better yet, maybe he could kill the bear and eat it.
That's crazy!
But he really wanted those berries.
Max decided to try something. If it failed, there were plenty of trees to climb. He stood up and hefted the sharp rock in one hand. If he threw it correctly, he might hurt the bear and scare it off.
The bear looked at him. It huffed and jumped to all fours. When Max cocked his arm to throw the rock, the bear turned tail and ran.
"You'd better run!" Max shouted. He ran after the fleeing creature and watched as it bounded into thicker foliage and vanished. "Well, that was easier than I thought." At least some creatures didn't want to eat him. The bear looked big enough to swallow him whole, but maybe it was only interested in plants.
Max turned to the bush and began plucking blueberries from the untouched branches. The first bite drew a moan of pleasure. Sweet, but with a touch of tartness, it filled his mouth with delicious juices. He greedily ate until there were no more berries left. His stomach wasn't full, but it wasn't complaining as loudly.
He studied his surroundings and found several more similar bushes. One of them bore purple berries, and another red ones. Curious, he plucked a red berry and put it in his mouth. Just as he was about to bite into it, he noticed that this bush seemed almost unmolested, whereas the blueberry bushes had been munched on by the wildlife. Why hadn't this bush been touched?
What if the red berries were poisonous? Max spat the berry on the ground and hoped he hadn't already swallowed toxins on the skin of the fruit. He knelt next to the bush and studied it. The leaves looked similar to those on the other plant but were waxy and slick to the touch. The red berries weren't as plump. That didn't mean they were poisonous, but Max didn't want to test the theory. He picked one and crushed it between the rocks. Green, gelatinous guts with small brown seeds spurted out.
Max studied the other bushes and determined the one with the purple berries looked untouched as well. If he wanted to survive leopards and poisonous plants, he would have to hone his observation skills. This part of the forest offered a better view of any encroaching predators, but there were plenty of other dangers to worry about. He reckoned there were animals he'd never seen that would eagerly rip him to shreds, and probably just as many that could kill him with a single bite.
Using the sharp rock, Max carved an arrow in the trunk of an oak and pressed onward in the direction of the clearing he'd seen. He'd covered about a hundred yards when the branches far above rustled and leaves drifted down. Max scurried behind a tree and looked up. He spotted shadowy figures swinging on vines and tree limbs. As they drew closer, their chattering grew louder.
Monkeys.
Plush gray fur adorned the small creatures. They were too high for Max to make out more detail, and didn't look like a threat so he pushed onward. A dull roar reached his ears as he neared the clearing, as if all the noises of the forest erupted from somewhere head. The sound of rushing water, birds singing, monkeys chattering—too much for his mind to filter.
Several tree markings later, he reached the edge of the forest and cautiously pushed through the foliage for a look. Water rushed off a cliff and poured into a deep blue pond. Black boulders rose near the clear center and reeds grew in the shallower areas where mud from the hooves and paws of the animals clouded the water.
Pink birds with long legs and beaks strutted in the shallower waters near the banks. A flock of brown goats lapped at the water, and hundreds of colorful birds perched on the cliff and the black boulders.
Max could hardly believe his eyes. Animals he never knew existed frolicked about the banks or lapped at the water. It was like something out of a fairy tale his mother had once told him. Sunlight sparkled off the pond's surface, creating a surreal scene he could never have imagined.
The muddy water exploded into froth. Birds took flight and the land bound creatures scattered. In the blink of an eye, something huge and green, a lizard with massive jaws clamped onto one unlucky goat and dragged it into the water. He realized belatedly it looked just like the crocodile on display at the science campus zoo.
Max gasped and stumbled backward. The fantasy was gone, replaced by the brutal reality of this wilderness. What looked beautiful one moment could kill in the next. He centered himself back on the task at hand. There was water, but how safe was it to approach and drink? He certainly didn't want to be a crocodile's lunch.
His stomach grumbled a reminder that the berries wouldn't hold it for long and his parched throat cried for relief.
"Even if I kill something, how will I cook or clean it?" Max murmured. Much as he disliked the notion of eating raw meat, he might have no choice. He was thirsty and ravenous. Going without food would only weaken him into easy prey.
Max peered through the bushes. The birds had already settled back down to the rocks, and the other pink birds once again dipped their beaks into the shallow waters. The herd of goats gathered even as the blood of their former companion stained the pond surface. A leopard padded up to the pond and began to drink, but neither the birds nor the goats seemed worried about the killer in their midst.
Maybe they knew when the big cat was hungry. Maybe it was safe to approach the water. The predator's nose lacked the white patch of the leopard that had chased Max earlier.
Remaining behind cover, Max circled away from the leopard just in case. He emerged closer to the waterfall where the water ran clear and deep. No plants grew in the sandy soil on this bank, so he was plainly visible to the other creatures of the forest.
A few regarded him curiously, but seemed otherwise unconcerned by his presence. Max set down his rocks, knelt, and cupped a handful of water. He sniffed it then touched his tongue to the liquid. It lacked the chlorine bite he was accustomed to and tasted sweet like the rain. Max gulped greedily until his dry mouth felt moisturized.
The leopard looked up from the water and regarded him for a moment, then padded back into the forest. Some of the hooved beasts wandered from the water and chewed on the leafy plants or grass. Max looked into the lake and saw small fish swimming near the surface. The water was clear enough that he could almost see the bottom. The large reptile was nowhere to be seen.
Plenty of edible options presented themselves, but Max might have only one chance to snare a quick meal. Having visited the fish farms in City 7, he knew how difficult it was to grab a fish barehanded. The birds would be nearly impossible to catch. The goats were small enough to tackle and seemed like the easiest prey, so he decided to test his luck with them.
Max walked slowly toward his next meal. One of the goats at the edge of the herd raised its head and stared at him, but didn't appear poised to run, so he crept closer. Another goat bleated and stomped a hoof.
"Don't worry about me," Max said in the coaxing voice he'd used with cattle during his ranch training. "I just want to eat you."
A white billy goat burst from the bushes in a full gallop. Before Max could react, horns smacked into his thigh and sent him tumbling into the shallow waters. He rolled through mud and felt the bank fall out from beneath him. Water filled his mouth and rushed into his feeding suit and something brushed against his leg.
Max's screams turned to gurgles as he sank.
Chapter 23
Something rushed past Max and a tail slapped against his ribs.
Shouting in terror, Max thrashed and gripped a handful of reeds. He felt something poking his feet. Images of the
carnivorous reptile flashed through his mind. He imagined those powerful jaws clamping around his ankle and dragging him into the depths.
Another scream gurgled from his mouth. He jerked on the reeds and pulled himself back into shallow waters. The billy goat bleated and stomped a hoof, but Max would much rather take a bruising than lose a leg.
He splashed water at the belligerent goat and shouted, "Back off, fucker!" The beast backed off a few steps and watched him warily.
Something nibbled on Max's leg, soon joined by the sensation of small forms bumping up against him. He didn't know if it was fish, or something worse. Crying out in terror, he pulled himself up to his knees in the mud and ran. The billy goat bleated and chased after him.
His legs felt heavy from all the water trapped in his feeding suit. Though the uniform was skin-tight it had expanded to allow the water in, especially where the leopard had torn it open at the chest last night. Horns rammed into Max's butt and he flew forward. Mud smacked into his face and blinded him.
Goats bleated and hooves stomped.
Max wiped mud from his face and turned around in time to see the billy goat charging him again. He'd dealt with unruly calves before. This damned goat was no different! Max gripped the goat's horns and twisted to the side. The beast flopped over with a surprised bleat. Max punched the goat in the face and instantly regretted it. Pain jolted his knuckles.
"I'm going to eat you!" Max shouted. He slogged over to where he'd left his rocks and turned to face his adversary.
The goat got to its feet and stomped a front hoof. The other goats lent their bleats to the war cry of their leader's, some of them screaming and making awful hissing sounds. The billy goat charged. Max raised his rocks and unleashed a battle cry of his own.
"Come get me you bastard!" Max backed up as the goat trotted toward him.
The beast reared up on hind legs, lowered its head, and rammed. Max sidestepped and let the goat slam its head against the rocky cliff. The impact didn't seem to faze the beast, but Max slammed his big rock against the side of the goat's head. It stumbled sideways. Max hit it again and again. The goat bleated in pain.
Hot blood sprayed onto Max's face and the goat went limp. His followers bleated and called, but none of them charged. Panting, Max leaned back against the cliff and nursed his aching arms. If this was what he had to do to survive in the wild, he almost wished he could return to the city. But the people there were little more than sheep, led easily to the slaughter. At least here he could fight and live—or die.
Now Max had plenty of food and water, but he had no canteen to store the water, or fire to cook the food. It seemed he'd have to eat it raw. That raised another issue. How was he supposed to cut through the hide and get to the meat? Even the sharpened stone would have a tough time of it.
He sighed and looked around for his meager cutting tool, found it half-buried in the sand nearby. The sharpened side failed to slice through the goat hide when Max bore down on it with his weight. He knelt and resorted to hacking at it, both hands gripping the stone. By the time he'd cut through a strip of hide, his suit was covered in blood and his hands ached. If not for the gloves he would have terrible blisters.
Max ripped up the hide to expose a haunch of bloody red meat. His gorge rose at the thought of biting into uncooked flesh. Unless he figured out how to make a fire, he didn't have much choice. Thankfully, he'd helped butcher cows before, so the thought of cutting the goat didn't bother him too much. The stone did a poor job butchering the meat. He resorted to digging in with his hands and jerking on the flesh.
Wet and slick with blood, the meat tore loose with the sounds of popping tendons and rending flesh. Despite his butchery experience, it was enough to make his stomach turn. Finally, a slab of crimson, dripping meat rested in his hands.
A deep-throated rumble caught his attention. He turned and saw golden eyes staring intently at him. The white patch on the leopard's nose left little doubt it was the same cat that had treed Max last night.
"Son of a bitch." Max held eye contact with the beast and slowly rose to his feet.
The cat's nose wrinkled, lips peeled back to bare fangs. The leopard hissed and crouched, muscles coiled and ready to pounce. A low rumbling like distant thunder rolled from its throat. Max's bowels nearly let go. He had nowhere to go but the water where he might face the deadly crocodile or one of its companions.
Even then, the cat might leap in after him. Max had learned to swim at the fish farms during his aptitude training, but that had been over ten years ago. In the dome, water was for drinking, not swimming, unless you lived in Luxville or worked on the fish farms.
Max looked at the dripping meat in his hand and realized he had only one good option. He threw the haunch of goat at the leopard. The cat snapped it out of the air with its teeth. Max backed up until he felt the cliff behind him. The leopard stared at him for a moment, then dropped the meat and began tearing at it with its teeth.
"I hope you choke on it," Max muttered. He glanced back at the cliff. The rocky face provided enough handholds for climbing, and he'd prefer to be up there instead of in another tree while waiting on the leopard to leave. It was only about thirty feet tall. When he reached the top, he discovered the cliff ran about a hundred yards to either side before ending in the forest.
Patchy grass and shrubs poked through cracks in the black rock. Water pooled in a small basin a few feet from the waterfall, fed by a burbling stream emerging from a cave. Despite his complaining stomach, Max was instantly curious. He'd seen pictures of caves, but they didn't exist in City 7. He stopped outside the dark entrance and looked in. The stream filtered through a thick metal grate a few feet inside. Beyond that, Max saw the smooth insides of a pipe.
He wrinkled his forehead in surprise then just as quickly rolled his eyes. "Of course there's a pipe, stupid. The founders made this place like they made City 7." It was hard to think of such a wondrous place as artificial.
Max looked down the cliff and saw the leopard finish off the haunch of goat. It looked up at him with glittering golden eyes then locked its jaws around a leg of the dead animal and dragged it into the forest.
"I'm going to kill you next!" Max grabbed a loose stone and threw it after the cat, but it hit a tree and bounced away, startling the goats into a cacophony of bleats. He groaned and sat down next to the cave to assess his options. He had an endless supply of water and the cliff seemed like a safe place, though he'd have to survey it to be sure. With so many animals counting on the pond below for water, it made finding prey easy.
Killing and butchering the animal would be the hard part, as evidenced by his sore hands. The gloves on the feeding suit were already wearing thin from hacking at the dead goat. Max didn't think they'd last for much longer. He also desperately wanted to shed this extra skin and let it dry. His feet made squishing noises every time he walked thanks to the trapped water.
Despite the inconveniences it seemed he was better off than he had been this morning. After a few moments of sulking, he got up and walked along the plateau, following the ridge into the trees. It ended in a straight drop just beneath the canopy of an oak. The branches were thick enough to support him if, for some reason, he felt compelled to join the monkeys.
Max backtracked to the opposite side of the ridge and found the end there as well. All four sides looked steep enough to keep the big predators away unless Patch, the leopard, was smart enough to climb one of the neighboring trees and use a branch to reach it. Without an axe, there wasn't much Max could do to prevent that.
His only two weapons remained at the base of the cliff where he'd left them in his haste to escape the leopard. With a full meal in its belly, Patch might leave him alone for the time being, giving Max time to find his own food. After surveying the area for several minutes, Max clambered down the rock face. A different herd of hooved animals warily approached the watering hole. They looked similar to deer, with golden hides and white bellies but sported long straight horns instead of
antlers.
Max didn't care what they were. At this point he'd eat anything.
Nostrils flaring, steps cautious, the deer stepped closer to the water. They didn't seem to mind Max's presence, but were skittish around the muddy shallows. Two pink birds flapped their wings, splashing water at each other and some of the deer hopped high into the air and bolted. Max reckoned they'd tangled with the crocodile before.
After picking up the rocks, Max walked slowly around the pond until he was at the farthest point from the waterfall. The water here was muddy but calm, and the deer stood only feet away. Some of them raised their heads and stared at Max with big brown eyes. His hip still hurt from his encounter with the billy goat and he was eager to avoid making another mistake like that. Every one of these animals had horns and could probably butt him into the water or even gore him if they aimed right.
Max sidled closer and closer. Moments later, he was close enough to reach out and touch one. He tensed and prepared to pounce. The surface of the calm water vibrated, spreading small ripples. Max tensed for another crocodile attack. The deer raised their heads in unison and looked back into the jungle, nostrils flaring. The sound of cracking limbs and bushes echoed from the forest.
An unpleasant chill ran up Max's spine. What new challenge was coming to ruin his day? The answer came seconds later. Massive gray monsters thundered from the forest. The leader was the biggest of all. A grotesquely long nose hung between curving white horns, and its ears were nothing but huge flaps of skin on the size of its boulder-sized head. Max had seen pictures of these monsters. What were they called—elephants?
Legs weak with fright, Max backed away.
The lead elephant's nose curled up and blasted a challenge. Deer scattered, and birds took to the sky. The horn of a panicked deer caught on the tear in Max's uniform and dragged him to the ground. He fell right in front of the charging monster.