The nap she had taken had refreshed her, but now she found that she was hungry and suddenly very thirsty. Maria unconsciously licked her dry lips. She looked longingly at the water below and wondered if she should risk a trip down. It would require breaking cover and another long hike back up to her hiding spot. She licked her lips again and carefully examined the canyon, looking much longer at the way she had come.
Finally, when she could still see no obvious threat in either direction, her thirst overcame her fear and she cautiously left the cover of the rocks and started toward the water. The hill was steep, and she had to carefully watch her step in order not to trip and roll to the bottom. When she was only halfway to the water, Maria sensed movement. She instantly dropped to her knees behind a small rock, trying her best to hide behind it. She was so panicked that she couldn’t even be sure where the movement had come from. She only knew that she was suddenly not alone along the river. If the lizards had returned, she was certain to be discovered.
Maria finally dared to look up and over the small rock that now served as her completely inadequate hiding place. The rock was not much bigger than her body. There was no more obvious movement, but she was sure she had seen something.
How could they have possibly found me, she wondered despairingly. I crossed the water three or four times and stepped carefully to avoid creating any tracks. One thing is for sure, I will not be taken again, she resolved. She began to think of ways she might kill herself in the absence of any weapons.
Maria looked behind her location and back up the hill. Nothing. As she turned back toward the canyon, she could see something moving and coming upriver out of the corner of her eye. Maria sank lower so that her eyes were just over the rock. On the other side of the water, obscured by the tree line . . . wait . . . was it her imagination? A human?
She watched—her eyes glued to the shadow that moved between the other shadows of the trees. It was a human! A female? Maria blinked her eyes several times to be sure she wasn’t seeing things. Yes, she thought—as the shadow emerged briefly into the sunlight—it is definitely a human and definitely a woman. The mysterious female continued coming upriver, stopping often, as if she were examining the ground looking for something. Maria looked for signs of other companions.
Surely she is not out here on her own, she thought. There must be others. Maybe I am saved.
Maria was careful with that thought. There were other tribes of humans, but most were not naturally friendly to the others. It was an odd fact that, despite the vast and relatively equal availability of resources and an endless amount of space, various tribes often warred with one another seemingly for no apparent reason—sometimes brutally. She realized that she might be in just as much danger being discovered by a hostile tribe as by the reptiles. But she also knew she was out of options. She would have to risk it. Anything was better than being recaptured and most likely tortured and eaten by the giant lizards. Yes, much better to take my chances with humans, she resolved.
Maria continued to look closely for any companions the woman might have following her, but she could see no others approaching. She was just about to rise up and signal the female when something else moved. This time the movement was from the opposite direction. She watched only long enough to clearly see that it was one of the two-legged reptiles, moving swiftly. Her heart skipped a beat. She sank back down behind her poor hiding place and tried to make herself as small as possible.
After a short time, she dared a look once again. The beast was almost to the human. They were heading directly toward one another. Should I try to warn her? The thought crossed Maria’s mind but was countered by fear. There was no way and no time. If she tried to signal the female, she would be forced to reveal her position. The lizard would probably spot her before the female did.
Maria searched upriver for any sign of other beasts but could see none. Surely they would travel together, she thought, praying that there weren’t other lizards sneaking up behind her as well.
She watched anxiously until she could see the creature almost upon the female.
Za’at paused. He took a big sniff of air and flicked his tongue. Several times along the way he had again lost track of the uman’s scent and then regained it later on. After a while, he figured out that the female had been periodically crossing then recrossing the river.
Clever. Very clever, he thought. He sniffed again and was rewarded with the freshest scent of the female he had so far encountered. But there was something different about it. Za’at stayed perfectly still and continued to test the air with his nose and his tongue. Definitely female, he concluded, and definitely close.
He bent and placed his palms to the ground. The vibrations in his fingers told him she was close and getting closer. How odd, he thought, wondering why the female would suddenly change direction. The creature must be doubling back. Perhaps she is trying another trick to throw me off her scent. He smiled inwardly, rose up, and sprang toward the source of the strong ground vibration.
* * *
Alex looked around the canyon, then back down at the ground in front of her. Several times she had lost the Arzat’s trail on hardpan or rocks, only to find it again by persistently following the water and scouring the dirt. Alex knew that she had strayed way too far from the camp, but as she kept discovering more tracks, she found it somehow impossible to stop following them.
Tom will be furious if he comes back to camp and I’m not there, she thought. She looked at the sun. Late afternoon. They couldn’t possibly have returned yet, could they? I just want a glimpse of him, she finally admitted, really knowing that any Arzat was sure to detect Alex before Alex detected him. Or her, she thought, could be a female. Just a few more steps and then I will definitely turn around, she said to herself for the millionth time.
Alex once again pondered the question: How had any other Arzats possibly found their way into this new world? The discovery of Mot and Ara had been a miracle in itself. Had the other clans frozen some of their youth as well? Had the arrival of this recent asteroid triggered a thaw of some sort that had allowed them to escape their own long sleep?
Whatever had happened, they were here all right—of that Alex had no doubt. Their tracks were the proof. And, if these particular Arzats had resurfaced shortly after the asteroid strike, there would have been several hundred generations of them by now. In fact, she reasoned, there could potentially be hundreds or even thousands of them living right in this vicinity! The thought made her shudder.
She scanned the ground, having once again lost the Arzat’s trail, and reluctantly decided to head back to camp. Perhaps Mot or Ara can help me pick up their tracks in the morning she thought. One thing is for sure: this is going to be very big news to them—and to Tom! I’d better hurry. He is going to be so pissed.
She spun to head back. When she turned, she found a large Arzat standing before her blocking her way, his eyes bloodshot and crimson—and it was definitely not Mot or Ara.
She did not see the Arzat’s hand sweep out and knock her unconscious.
CHAPTER 17
MISSING
Mot and Ara were doing their best to assist Tom in gutting and cleaning the buffalo calf with the one and only knife they had while Tom racked his brain trying to remember the basic formula for forging metals. As he cut, he was already planning ways to produce better weaponry.
He ran the tip of his blade up the belly of the calf from its hindquarters and then reached in and proudly presented the animal’s still warm liver to Mot and Ara. Tom knew the Arzats preferred their meat cooked, but he could also tell they were famished and would probably welcome the immediate nourishment. He cut the liver in two and encouraged them to try it raw. The Arzats sniffed and flicked their tongues over the bloody pieces and then tentatively tried them.
As he carved up the rest of the carcass, Tom noticed that both of the Arzats made short work of the liver, devouring it with relish, despite the fact that it was uncooked and bloody. “How was it
?” Tom asked, turning to Mot and Ara when he noticed they had finished.
“Interesting,” said Ara. “It is not anything like the meat I am used to.”
“I think I would have preferred it cooked,” Mot added. “But I was very hungry, Tom Pilot. It was delicious.”
“The Indians supposedly loved it that way.”
“What are . . . ‘Indians’ Tom?”
“Oh, Native Americans. Humans who lived here for centuries before . . .” Tom suddenly realized he was about to get into a history lesson he wasn’t sure he was qualified to give. “Alex can explain better,” he quickly added, “but they were the first people to live here before the settlement of North America.”
“Sorry, Pilot, but I believe that our people were here long before these Native American Indian humans you speak of,” Ara said matter-of-factly, watching Tom closely as he continued to cut.
Tom laughed, “Touché, my friend!”
“Tom, what is ‘touché’?”
Jesus, Tom thought to himself, now you’ve done it again! This line of questioning is never going to end with these guys!
“Who is this ‘Jesus’ you keep referring to, Tom Pilot? We are just trying to understand?”
Tom laughed again. Ara was totally reading his mind.
“Ara, will you please teach me to block?” Tom asked, ignoring the original question.
“Perhaps when we get back to camp, Tom Pilot,” Ara said, suddenly anxious about Alex. Something wasn’t right. The female Arzat felt an unpleasant sensation in the back of her mind, but she could not pinpoint the reason. Was it the vague presence of another Arzat? she wondered.
Ara lifted her head and looked around, discreetly sniffing the air and flicking. There was nothing much she could detect aside from the strong aroma of blood coming from the dead beast before her. Ara glanced back at Mot, but he was busily watching every move Tom made, obviously trying to memorize the process of preparing one of these strange creatures to eat. If there were something else in the air, Mot would have sensed it as well, wouldn’t he? she thought. Ara watched her mate carefully, but he seemed to be only focused on the Pilot.
“Just wait,” Tom said happily, as he continued cutting, “by the time we get back to camp, Alex will probably already have a nice fire going, and I’ll cook you one hell of an all-meat dinner. Boy, is she going to be surprised!”
“How will she start it?” Mot gave a nervous pat to the side of his loincloth where he kept his precious flint and steel and was happy to discover it was still there.
“Good point, Mot. I forgot we just about lost everything in the ARC.” Tom shook his head and continued cutting the buffalo into manageable sections. “Alex is pretty resourceful though. You never know.” Tom was also eager to get back and check on Alex, always worried about the trouble she might get into. Mot’s question had reminded him of her propensity to find it.
I’m sure she’s okay, he reassured himself. He shook his head and smiled thinking about her. Always up to something, that girl! Then, he felt a shadow pass over him and he immediately looked up, as did the Arzats.
“What are those, Tom?”
Tom observed the action overhead as a dozen or more vultures circled, quietly riding the waves of warm air. The vultures were close enough that he could actually see them looking down and watching them. One of the birds cried out a long, mournful shrieking sound that signified death.
If the vultures had survived along with the buffalo, he wondered again, what other kinds of predators or scavengers had also endured the cosmic holocaust? I should never have left Alex alone, he realized, as a shiver traveled up his spine. The more he thought about it, the more his uneasy feeling about her intensified.
He quickly finished cutting the choicest pieces of meat from the buffalo’s back and freeing the two hindquarters loose from the carcass. This was all he believed that the three of them could possibly carry. It was an unfortunate waste to leave the rest of the animal, but Tom now felt certain that with the help of the Arzats, they could manage to hunt down another one when the need arose. He planned to jerk a good portion of what they had, which would last them for at least a few days. In the meantime, he had big ideas about trying to construct a decent bow and showing Mot how to use one.
He wiped the bloody knife-edge clean on the leg of his pants and carefully placed it back in its scabbard. Until we are properly armed, losing the knife would be like committing unnecessary suicide, he thought. He reminded himself to be very careful with what—for the moment—constituted their entire arsenal.
“Let’s get back and find Alex,” he said to the two Arzats.
Tom picked up the back strap and threw the meat over his shoulder while Mot and Ara each managed to do the same with the animal’s two enormous hindquarters. They turned and started back for camp. When they had walked about a quarter of a mile, Tom ventured a look back. The sky was empty. The vultures had already descended on what was left of the calf’s carcass. He could see them squabbling and flapping their huge wings, picking the animal apart. The dark birds seemed to be screeching with delight at their sudden good fortune. The sun had slipped about halfway to the horizon.
Already late afternoon, he thought. It’s going to be really late by the time we get back. When he turned around, he could see that the Arzats were already far ahead of him, cutting through the tall grass as if it were no hindrance whatsoever. Man, I wish I could keep that kind of pace, he marveled, watching them. He wrestled his load of meat into a better position and hurried to catch up.
“I am worried about Alex,” Ara said to Mot, carefully blocking the thought from Tom, though she was certain he was out of range of hearing the thoughts in her head anyway. “I think she is in danger.”
“What danger, Ara?” Mot asked, suddenly concerned, the scales rising on the back of his reptilian neck. He had been so busy concentrating on retracing their way back to camp and dreaming of a large portion of the meat he was carrying—roasted and ready to eat—that he had almost completely forgotten about his lone female friend.
Since they had originally met in the caves, Mot and Alex had both had occasion to save each other’s lives several times. And, despite the fact that she was now obviously the responsibility of her mate Tom, Mot had never lost his own sense of responsibility for her wellbeing. Alex was, after all, the sole reason he had been resurrected, since the other human scientists had originally missed his sarcophagus in the caves. Had that not happened, he might still be sleeping there.
It was an odd thing, these feelings he had for the human Alex, daughter of Simon—feelings which Mot carefully withheld from his mate Ara, though he really didn’t know why. It was silly. Alex was a human and he was an Arzat—and Ara was his chosen mate.
“I no longer sense it. But there was a moment before . . .” Ara hesitated. “I thought I actually felt the presence of another Arzat.”
And you need not try to hide it, Mot, son of Url, she continued to think—momentarily blocking her mind from her mate. I know all about your strong feelings for this human, Alex, daughter of Simon.
Ara had to admit that when she had first become aware of the strange bond Mot had formed with Alex, she had been troubled and even somewhat jealous. But later, as they had spent time with Tom and Alex in the ARC, she realized fully that this . . . “love,” as the humans described the emotion, could be manifested in many ways.
The Arzats had never developed such a term, though the feelings one Arzat might have for another could be much the same. Duty—loyalty—obedience—these were all concepts that came naturally to Ara and were a mainstay of the Arzat culture, particularly when it came to one’s mate. This “love” that the humans seemed to sometimes possess for one another was new to her, but she could certainly detect such emotions between Tom and Alex. Perhaps “love” was, after all, what she herself felt for Mot the Hunter.
Never mind the term, she thought, smiling inwardly with great satisfaction. It is I, Ara, daughter of the great Hunter Zan,
who carries the offspring of Mot, son of the great Hunter Url. Ara took a short moment to once again pray to the Great Creator for a son. While she could already sense the presence of her offspring in her belly, it was much too early in the gestation cycle for her to judge its sex. Soon, she thought, soon I will know. Oh please, please, let it be a male!
Mot stopped and sniffed the air, flicking his tongue in the process, trying to get everything out of it. He knelt down, carefully balancing the hindquarter on his shoulder with one hand while he placed his other on the ground. He was only somewhat relieved when he detected nothing of a threat. But they were still a good distance from where they had left Alex and Ara’s senses were very acute—perhaps more so than even his own. It suddenly seemed absurd to him that Arzat females had been confined to the caves and hadn’t been allowed to hunt.
He rose back up and turned to check Tom the Pilot’s progress. Though the two Arzats had been walking at what they considered to be the pace of a serpent, Mot noted that the Pilot had fallen back. He was several paces behind them and struggling to keep up. At this rate, he thought, it will take forever to get back to the camp.
“Go ahead Mot,” Ara said, reading her mate’s mind.
“Are you sure you can find the camp, Ara?” Mot asked, knowing the answer.
“Yes, Mot, I will find the camp easily,” Ara said, becoming slightly irritated. “Go. I will stay with Tom the Pilot and lead him back.”
Ara watched as Mot quickly disappeared in the canyon’s direction where they had left Alex. She paused and waited until Tom had completely caught up to her.
“Where did Mot go?” Tom asked, as he approached.
IN NATURA: a science fiction novel (ARZAT SERIES Book 2) Page 12