"I thought so! Damn it, Major, when I ask for a report—"
"Beg your pardon ma'am, you didn't ask for a report. You asked if I was okay, and I am okay."
There was a moment's pause, then Kathy asked, "Is there any permanent damage that will require replacement parts?"
"I have a loss of sensation which may indicate damaged nerve relays."
She was quiet as they continued running. After a few moments, she said softly, "I thought I'd lost you."
"Well, you did. but I—"
"No, Dave…I thought…I thought we had lost you. I’m…pleased you're back with us."
"Well, I'm happy to be back."
"I'm sorry I snapped at you, Dave. It was just a release of nervous tension."
"Oh, ah, yeah…I've been a little tense myself."
Kathy looked into Dave's eyes. "Have you?"
Dave would have swallowed had he been able to. His gaze shifted back and forth between her eyes, which in this vision mode looked like two slightly glowing orbs. He became aware of the length of time that had passed. "Of course," he said weakly, "tomorrow will be my third day out here. I feel like I'm defying the laws of probability." Fool! You should have just said yes.
"Oh," Kathy replied.
See! A one-word response speaks volumes. Now she thinks you didn't notice. Wait a minute. Notice what? What have you inferred that wasn't there? You're reading into her words and demeanor things that aren't there…again.
○O○
"To be honest with you," Kathy commented, "I need you with me, Dave…on this mission, I mean. We have a better chance of success together."
There was an uncomfortable silence for several seconds, then Kathy said, "Excuse me," and she ran forward to the E'meset man.
They all kept running between the trees following the tall Indig. Kathy was now running by his side. She noted that he displayed no sign of fatigue.
"Say," Kathy inquired, "you know our names but we don't know yours."
"I am called Illat Tieya. Illat will be the name you call me."
"Well, Illat, we owe you our lives so, thank you. Can you tell me where we're going?"
"Le'ha wishes to see the one of name Dave."
"Who's Le'ha?"
"She is the leader of hunt clan Tattal Vatsa and the best hunter among us."
"She is, is she?"
"She knows Dave did not reach the metal city, which is where he was going to try to stop the Ukse at Blood City. Without this, there will be war. Le'ha likes Dave much and knows his heart."
"Is that a fact?" Kathy dropped back a little. As she ran along, her mind wondered about Dave and this Le’ha. She was surprised to find her mood shifting and she began to question her attitude. As a result, she was not paying attention, and tripped over a fallen branch and hit the ground.
She had not stopped rolling before Dave was at her side. "Are you, all right?" There was genuine concern in his voice that did not escape Kathy's attention. But then, why should he not be concerned? There are but six of us, we can't afford the loss of even one of our number. Besides, we're both in the same unit of the CDF, and…we're friends, or at least friendly. Of course, I am his commander and as such, must remain professionally aloof.
Dave extended his good hand. She looked up at it a moment, then grasped it, and he aided her to her feet. For the first time, she noticed the warmth in his hand.
"Thanks, Dave," she commented as she stood. "I understand you've become friendly with a local woman, Le'ha?"
"Yes. She will be of great help; she wants to avert war, too."
"Well, Illat here is taking us to see her. It appears she's worried about you."
"His name is Illat?" Dave asked.
Kathy nodded.
"And we're going to see Le'ha? Great! She's a leader in her tribe. I think you're going to like her, you and she are both no-nonsense people."
When Dave said those words, 'no-nonsense', it shook Kathy a little. Well, we're definitely in a no-nonsense situation. But that voice in the back of her head spoke up again. Sure, honey, but you know there's another implication here; that we're never light-hearted, we never let our hair down. Perhaps ole Dave sees us as rigid and unapproachable, eh?
As they resumed their run, she glanced over at Dave by her side. The shy, demure fellow she was only barely aware of on JILL had certainly shown colors she was not aware he possessed.
"Well, I think it's important I meet our new ally," Kathy commented. "Making contact with the Indigs is the mission, after all."
Dave ran along, cradling his right arm in his left to prevent it from flopping around.
"Dave, does your arm hurt?" The instant Kathy asked, she knew better.
"No, I've shut off the sensors. I just hope nothing happens that I might need it."
During the course of the night, Illat stopped twice, to drink and eat just a little. It was during the second halt that Kathy grabbed everyone's left hand, thus connecting sensors and allowing her to directly read the power indicators of the other SUBs. They were generally down only by ten to fifteen percent. Everyone would submit to a mandatory recharge upon their return.
This time of year, nights were short. This night lasted merely ten hours. During that time, the rains ceased and the clouds cleared. At dawn, they stood on the top of a long, high cliff, reminiscent of the cliffs of Dover in southern England. These cliffs ran for many kilometers to their north and south with no end in sight.
Below, at the base of the cliffs, roared a great river and beyond, two sets of jagged mountains running east and west formed a magnificent valley. Through it ran a river to rival the Amazon. The land was heavily forested, but with an entirely different kind of tree than what they had become accustomed to.
These trees, also quite tall, closely resembled palm trees; however, each possessed only four to five large flat leaves which sprouted from the pinnacle. These leaves ranged in color from dark blue to an eggplant purple. Their thick trunks were gray and covered with patches of blue and orange moss.
Below these trees, there lived another forest, this one of giant black ferns, like some prehistoric thing that had fled Earth to take root here on another world in another color. Adding to the primordial appearance of this forest, low clouds and mist drifted everywhere, low to the ground weaving like an angry spirit between the trees.
Somewhere below them a rushing, roaring sound reached their ears. Farther on, toward the south, they discovered the source of this cacophony. There were four great waterfalls cascading down into the valley. They varied in height from 700 to 1200 meters. The tallest one, and the one farthermost from them, actually descended in four great steps. Each step was a huge ledge in cliff covered with massive stones; only where the water had been pounding for centuries was the step clear of stones.
It took them several hours to clamber down into the valley below. Here, they found a massive stone bridge that appeared to be centuries old and in dire need of maintenance. From the base of the cliffs, the bridge took them over the great river that Illat called the river Hau. They walked now along the north bank of a smaller river that led from the base of the waterfall and into the great river named Yo'Envil.
○O○
"Will we have to cross that?" Zolna asked, looking at the great river.
"Yes, we must cross the great Yo'Envil, but not here," replied Illat, and he turned to follow the river toward the east.
As they walked along the water's edge, a movement caught Zolna's eye out in the river. He took a look, but all he could see was a slowly dissipating wake…a disturbingly large wake. He slowed and approached the river to get a better look. About 50 meters out, just under the water, some dark object was swimming against the obviously swift current with no problem at all. It moved back and forth, up and down the river several times. Then in a flash, it made a wide swing toward him and was gone before Zolna could react. The thing moved so fast he could not make it out. It resumed its underwater pacing, but much closer to the shore now.
Zolna took one last glance out into the waters of the river. The thing was gone. He hurried to catch up with the others. They had stopped inside the wood line some 200 meters from him and were waiting, so he ran the distance to join them. As he stopped, Illat approached him. The tall Indig looked toward the river and shouted for all to hear, "Do not linger by the waters." He turned and walked on.
Kathy neared Illat as they continued their march. "We have stopped running," she said to him. "Are we close?"
"We do not run because the Tipoika will come. He is a friendly thing, but he is large and heavy. He likes to play, and will kill you as he does. He does not know he harms, he is but a beast, and he plays."
"Damn, even things that want to play kill you here!" Zolna shouted.
"You are in Kus can sa die," Illat swept his long arm before him, "the forest of the long waters. Here has Lu'aya smiled on Eya'Etee Ki Kee. Here there is much food and much water. Ukse once came here seeking…med eye sin."
"You mean medicine. Most of our medicine on Earth was derived from plants."
"But Lu'aya protects her secrets, and so Kus can sa die has many guardians. The very large Tipoika is one, another is tooy Palo Kualowma. He is a Vee ka, you see many every day. They walk low to the ground with many legs."
"An insect, a bug?" Webster asked.
"Yes, bug. He, the tooy Palo Kualowma, is a great evil whose bite is death."
"A poisonous bug, great!" Zolna lamented.
"Relax, hero, poisons don't hurt us, remember?" Webster reminded him.
"What I am saying to you," Illat explained, "is that should Lu'aya desire that you not enter here…you will not."
"Seems we're already in, doesn't it?" Zolna commented flippantly.
"Then pray, Ukse, that Lu'aya approves your leaving."
Chapter 13
The Great City of Vortain Val Leasa
Kathy and her companions continued to follow the river for another three hours. Ahead, Kathy could see the river pass between two tall, nearly vertical, and heavily vegetated hills. From the top of the near hill to the top of the hill on the opposite side of the river, she could see that three large vines had been stretched.
There was no path up the steep hill; rather one had to climb it. Following Illat was difficult. He was taller and his arms very much longer than those of the SUBs, and his strength and stamina seemed to have been equal to theirs.
Kathy climbed in very close proximity to Dave who had to negotiate the hill with one arm.
Illat waited for them at the top. They followed him to the side of the hill facing the river to discover that the three thick and living vines were arranged like a triangle, two above, and one below.
"It's a three-rope bridge!" Cassie exclaimed. Every member of the armed forces was familiar with this rudimentary construct and had been made to build and negotiate one at least once in his or her career.
"Yeah, but we have a problem," Mitch pointed out.
The way one crosses a three-rope bridge is to walk along the lower rope and use the other two for balance. The problem here was the size of the E'meset people. With his arms extended Illat was perhaps three and a quarter meters tall. Each of his arms was well over a meter long. None of Kathy's people could reach the upper vines.
But Illat was not concerned. "When we must walk the sky here with burdens, perhaps a fresh kill, we use the Trava aver kokh," he held up what looked like a handmade cargo net.
"Oh, you have got to be kidding me!" Zolna exclaimed.
Kathy advanced to Illat and asked, "How does it work?"
Illat attached the net to the upper vine on their right. There were two very long rope vines attached to the net. He attached one to a tree on this side, and tied the other to his waist and started across the bridge. The river at this point was rather narrow. Still close to five hundred meters wide it nevertheless formed a natural choke point, so the water, a hundred and thirty meters below them, was raging.
Illat reached the other side without a problem. There could be no doubt he had done this often. Everyone understood that, one at a time, they would have to climb into the net and be pulled over by Illat.
Kathy turned and looked at everyone. They knew what she was going to say, but before she could say it Zolna spoke up, "I'll go first."
Kathy and Dave helped Zolna into the net. "Zolna," Kathy asked, "why do you want to go first? That's rather uncharacteristic of you."
"All this weight on these vines," he looked over his head, "Sooner or later something is going to snap. I don't want to be in it when it does."
"I should have known," Webster remarked. Kathy gave the high sign and Illat began to pull. Zolna's eyes grew large but he made it across just fine. Mitch then pulled the net back across.
With Zolna's concern still ringing in her ears, Kathy watched the vine closely. It showed no sign that the repeated dragging of the net back and forth was affecting it.
At last, only she and Dave remained.
"Ladies first," Dave offered.
"You're kidding, right?"
"Just holding with an old tradition."
"Here's a tradition for you…it's called an order. Get in."
Dave gave her that knowing smile, the little smile he made when he knew better than to argue. He nodded and climbed into the net.
Kathy gave the signal and with a jerk it started across. Just then, it began to rain. It was not a heavy rain, but it was persistent.
The rain added a considerable amount of weight to the net, which was made from the same vines as the bridge, except, of course, the vines of the net had been cut and were dead. With the water, the dead vines began to swell and to soften. The net's loops, that went around the living vine of the bridge, did indeed begin to fray.
Kathy watched Dave being pulled away from her. He grew smaller and smaller. She noticed that he was watching her. His eyes never left her. This fact oddly comforted her, provided her a warm sensation. Dave was a good guy, I like him, she told herself. He's smart, decisive, a damn good soldier. She wondered how she was able to detect kindness in artificial eyes.
Just then, the cargo net jerked to a stop.
○O○
Dave watched Kathy through the rain as he was pulled away from the hilltop by the powerful arms of Illat. He was watching her face. She was staring right back at him. He let his mind go blank as he soaked in her appearance. The wind was blowing her hair about, despite it being wet. He noticed how, in the strange light of the red dwarf, her eyes seemed even bluer. As he looked at her, he noted there was no smile on her face, no expression at all really. Dave watched as a drop of water ran down the side of her face. Funny, he thought, they make us so real, but still we can't cry.
After about 250 meters the net stopped moving, followed by a sharp jerk as Illat tried to pull it along. Dave looked at the loop that held the net up. He could see the problem; the cluster of vines that made up the loop was unraveling. He was going to fall. He had one option. Get out of the net and grab the vine overhead. His strength and unlimited stamina would save him. But with his damaged right arm, he'd not be able to hand over hand the rest of the way. He ripped the top of the net open, reached up and grabbed the vine above. His fingers were not yet completely closed around it when he heard a crackling sound from the loop, then a loud snap and the heavy rain soaked net fell away as if yanked down buy some unseen giant hand.
○O○
Kathy saw the net stop then zoomed in on Illat, who yanked hard on the line. Illat could see the net was stuck so he wisely stopped trying to pull it.
Kathy refocused on the net. Dave was ripping the top of it apart with his one good hand. Then he jumped up and grabbed the vine just as the net fell out from around him. Kathy was shocked. Had she been a breather, she would have gasped. "Dave!" She cried out, knowing full well he would not hear her at this distance with the river roaring below him.
She knew
Dave was without the use of his right arm, so she instantly understood what she had to do. Without hesitation, she leapt up and grabbed the vine and started to hand over hand her way out to Dave as fast as she could. The farther out she got, the more she had to slow down, her movement was causing a wave affect in the vine that was bouncing Dave up and down. She could not eliminate this effect but she could minimize it by slowing down. As strong as Dave might be, he was still trying to maintain a grip on a wet, swinging, bouncing vine.
When she finally got to him, she spoke first. "Are you this much fun on every date?"
Rather casually, Dave responded with, "I'll have to take you on a real date, and then you can tell me."
In her brain, she felt all her synapses slam shut simultaneously. She experienced a nanosecond of consternation, but none of it translated into her voice or features. Without missing a beat, she replied, "The only thing I can think of is for you to put your good arm over my shoulder and hang on as I get us to the other side."
She did indeed possess the strength for this task, but it was, nonetheless, decidedly dangerous. Dave nodded. She moved up very close to him. "Dave, start by wrapping your legs around my waist, then release the vine and throw your arm over my shoulder."
He brought his legs up and around her waist then locked his ankles together. Their cheeks were only millimeters apart.
"Sorry," Dave whispered.
"Sorry for what?" Kathy asked. "Just don't fall."
He let go of the vine and threw his left arm over her left shoulder and clung to her back. She started heading for the others by sliding one hand, then the other.
The rain worsened. It was falling so hard that they could not see the other hill. Kathy kept moving.
"I'm sorry about this, ma'am," Dave remarked.
"About what?"
"If I'd not gotten injured, you wouldn't be in this situation."
"You couldn't help getting hurt, Dave. And besides, this situation ain't so bad."
"Ah…what do you mean?"
The Vampires of Antyllus Page 18