by G. E. Stills
Peering down on him, she saw that indeed his clothing appeared to be a manufactured type of shirt and pants. His shoes were made of some type of rubber-looking substance. The stranger was unconscious. The man had dark, shoulder-length hair. From what she could see of his face in his prone position lying on his belly, he had about two or three day’s growth of beard. There was an empty holster belted to his hip.
The spear was still buried in his shoulder and an ominous pool of blood was soaking into the ground at the front of him. He still breathed, although it appeared to be labored.
So what should I do? she thought. Maybe he’s the bad guy and I killed the good guys. Doubt about that possibility, surged through her mind. The ones she had killed had not appeared to be the good guys. I should probably just let him die. I might not be able to save him even if I tried.
“But you won’t,” Grant said. “You have other traits besides being aggressive and feisty. Emotions such as compassion and curiosity. Besides, you’re lonely and he may be able to talk to you if he survives.”
“Humph,” she snorted even though she knew Grant was right. Survival is paramount and if killing is required then so be it, but…
Grasping the spear, she eased it from his back. Not the ideal thing to do, she admitted, without checking the type of tip it had, but gazing around she wondered if the five savages had friends. “I’d rather not have further confrontations. It would be best to be gone from here.”
Kneeling down, she rolled the man to his back. The gash in his temple told her immediately why he was unconscious. When falling, his head had struck a rock.
Shrugging her pack from her shoulders, she opened the first aid case. She sprinkled the powdery contents of a bottle on his shoulder wounds front and back, then his head wound. The bleeding slowed and then stopped altogether. Next taking up a tube, she squeezed a paste like substance into her hand. She smeared it over his wounds. The paste dried quickly, forming tan colored bandages that adhered to him like skin.
“Okay now what?” she asked. “How am I supposed to move him? He’s half again my size.”
“You could always use the litter in your pack. The one you intended to use for carrying a wild pig back to the cave.”
Gina grimaced at the thought of trekking over the plain while dragging the litter behind her, but shrugged her shoulders and set about assembling it. Next, she rolled the stranger on it and tied him in with vine rope. With a grunt, she lifted it and set off toward her cave. Before she got to the small trail that led down from the plain, she was soaked in sweat and breathing heavy.
“You better be worth my effort, mister,” she said to the unconscious man. “You better sing like a damn bird and keep me entertained.”
Inside the cave, she lowered the litter and rested it on the floor. She stretched and flexed her muscles, glad to be relieved of the weight. Gathering wood, she lit her fire near the cave entrance. “Well no hunting today, leftovers for me.” Tearing off a chunk of raw meat, she stabbed it with a wooden skewer she had fashioned and placed it over the fire to cook.
While it roasted, she studied her new guest. He had thick lips and a narrow nose. She judged that he would tower over her five feet by a foot or more. His arms and legs were well muscled. She also noticed that each of his hands had six digits, five fingers and a thumb.
I wonder where he’s from?
Crossing to him, she knelt and removed the ropes around his chest and waist while leaving his arms and legs secured. “It wouldn’t do for him take me by surprise while I slept.”
She left the cave, climbed one of the large boulders in front and sat down. She gazed up at the stars as she often did. “I wonder if my people are searching for me. I wonder if they even know I’m alive.”
“I monitor for signals as far out as I can,” Grant assured her.
“I know and I thank you. Finding me in all of vast space is like trying to find a speck of dust in a two-mile wide haystack. Not much chance, especially with the pod at the bottom of the lake and not sending out a distress beacon any longer.
She was certain Grant could sense her melancholy.
“Don’t give up hope,” he said. “I have confidence you will be located.”
Gina stood, yawned and stretched. Fatigue from her strenuous day had set in long ago and now she was getting sleepy. In the cave once more, she spread out her furry sleeping mat against the back wall while leaving the stranger close to the fire. She sprawled out on her mat.
“I’m going to sleep, Grant. Keep alert and if our guest regains consciousness wake me.”
“Sleep well and do not be concerned. I will watch carefully.”
****
“Gina,” Grant’s voice purred in her mind. “He’s awake.”
Rolling on her mat as if still asleep, she turned to face him and cracked her eyes open. The flickering light from the flames illuminated the caves interior dimly. From his position near the fire, the man was clearly defined. For a moment, he struggled against the bonds that secured him, then finding he could not get loose, he gazed around. From her position in the shadows of one wall, she was certain she was just a darker shape.
Rising from her sleeping mat, she moved into better light. Surprise at not being confronted with a hairy savage washed across the stranger’s face. “And what would your name be?” she asked when she squatted a few paces from him.
He answered in an unintelligible string of words.
“I’m can’t understand you and I’m certain you can’t understand me.”
“Grant.”
“Keep him talking and I will start the process of learning his language.”
Pointing to herself, she said, “Gina.” Then she pointed at him and arched an eyebrow in question. After repeating her actions several times, he seemed to understand.
“Joren,” he said.
“Well, Joren, what am I going to do with you?” Coming closer, she checked his bandages while continuing to converse with him, even though she knew he couldn’t understand her. Joren initially tried to draw away from her examination of his wounds, but after discovering she was not going to harm him, relaxed. His ice-blue eyes followed her every move.
“The bandages appear to be working. The healing process is already started. I think maybe you’ll be okay, Joren.”
He spoke back in several sentences she could not understand. Using her knife, she cut off a chunk of meat and warmed it over the fire. Slicing off a piece, she offered it to him. He refused until she tore off a bite, chewed it and swallowed. “It’s not poisoned. I wouldn’t have lugged your ass all this way just to poison you.”
When she offered the next piece, he opened his mouth and accepted. While she fed both of them, they continued to speak to each other.
“I’m starting to understand a word here and there,” Grant told her. “Keep talking.”
“I’m going to free your hands for now, Joren.” She untied the vine-rope and moved back.
He flexed his hands, grazed them over the bandages and gave her a look of appreciation and wonder. The lengthy process of learning each other’s language continued. After several hours, she was able, with Grant’s help, to understand some of the words he spoke.
She untied his legs and let him stand to stretch. The sun dipped beneath the horizon and they ate again around the fire while Grant continued to teach her Joren’s language. The evening wore on and she began wondering what to do about Joren while she slept.
“Joren,” she said in broken words of his language. “I’m going to leave you untied. Don’t even think of trying to overpower me while I’m sleeping. I’m a very light sleeper and will hear you if you approach. If you try to attack me, I will kill you.”
Grant will give me plenty of warning, but I’m not going to tell you about him or my other abilities.
“I’ve decided that I’m not going to keep you he
re against your will so if you wish to leave,” she indicated the cave entrance, “Go ahead. Don’t think you need to wait until I’m asleep.”
“And where would I go?” he asked. “Unarmed and wounded. No, if you don’t mind, Gina, I’ll take my chances and stay here with you.” He smiled and added, “Unless you want me to leave?”
“I would like it if you stayed.” She could not believe that she had admitted that out loud.
“Then sleep in peace, Gina. I won’t disturb you.”
She retreated to the wall and curled up on her sleeping mat, glad that the extra packs containing the other pistols and knives were with her.
CHAPTER FOUR
Gina rose from her mat and stretched. The soreness of her muscles had faded overnight. She glanced toward the entrance and saw that Joren had kept the fire fed through the night. He was seated in front of it, his elbows on his knees and his chin resting in his hands. Apparently, he was deep in thought. She crossed the floor and sat a few feet from him.
“So what are the plans for the day?” he asked.
“I need to hunt, then gather berries and tubers if we are going to eat anymore.” For the first time in months, she chuckled. “That’s what I was doing when I came across you.”
“I’ve been waiting until we were better able to converse before asking, but what happened to the savages that were chasing me. Do you know or did you just come across me after they left?”
“They weren’t going to leave before you were dead. I stopped them.”
Joren’s gaze traveled over her. He was obviously studying her petite size and measuring her ability to face the five men that were chasing him. “You stopped them? As in drove them away?”
“Don’t let my small stature fool you, Joren. I’m very capable of defending myself. I didn’t drive them away. They attacked me and I killed them.”
“All five of them?” he asked incredulously.
“Yes,” she stated with a snarl and changed the topic. “Care to tell me why those savages were chasing you?”
“They were trying to kill me, they did kill the rest of my crew. Why, I don’t know. I guess because I…we were not from their tribe or because we looked different.”
“You said your crew, as in the crew of a ship. Why didn’t you just sail away? Were you shipwrecked?”
Joren didn’t answer right away as if considering how and what to tell her. “Not shipwrecked, crashed.”
“Crashed? So your ship was an aerial vehicle? A plane? Are you from a different continent of this planet because from what I’ve seen the conditions around this part are primitive and your attackers were savages.”
Again he hesitated, then plunged into an explanation. “Gina, I don’t know if you will believe me.” He gazed at her apparel. “Despite the clothes you’re wearing, I think maybe you’re from a civilization further advanced than the primitives that were chasing me, so I will say, I’m not from this planet. My ship was a spaceship. Do you understand outer space?”
His revelation floored her and left her speechless for a moment. She smiled. “How ironic. What are the chances?”
“I don’t understand.”
For a second she hesitated and then launched into her own explanation. “Joren, I’m not from this planet either. I crashed here too. I’ve been living here for months.” She shook her head. “We could have crashed anywhere on this planet. What are the chances that the two of us came to meet up with each other?”
It was his turn to gaze at her in wide-eyed disbelief. He grazed his hand over the bandages and nodded. “That explains a few questions I have.”
“We have a lot to talk about. A lot. First though I need to get us more food and fire wood. We can talk later.”
“I’m not armed, Gina, but if it is all right with you I’d like to go and help. I can gather wood, berries and tubers for us.”
“I notice you have an empty holster on your hip. Gun?”
“Yes. I dropped it when I was fleeing. It was out of ammunition anyway.”
“Okay, Joren, you can go with me. I’ll protect us both and put you to work.” She smiled.
“Fair enough. I’ll work hard.” He smiled back.
****
Joren gathered while she helped some and kept her eyes peeled for any sign of danger. Although their communication was focused on what they were doing and not on lengthy conversation, Grant identified new words in Joren’s language on a regular basis. Her vocabulary increased dramatically. To her delight, Joren, was learning the English word equivalents she repeated.
“I don’t think we can carry anymore.” She gazed down at the litter loaded with firewood and the two spare survival packs that were full of berries, nuts and tubers.
“Aw, are you feeling weak, little one?” he teased.
“If you call me little one once more…”
“Little one. Little one, little one.”
Their better communication also brought his strong sense of humor into play.
“Humph.” She turned her back in pretended aggravation and smiled. Joren was quickly becoming a friend rather than just an acquaintance. Our arguments are a form of play.
Walking back to the cave, she took the front position and rested the poles of the litter on her shoulders. He brought up the rear with the poles held at his waist. The angle formed by this position shifted most of the weight on him. This arrangement was not an accident on his part. She protested this, but secretly appreciated his thoughtfulness.
“You just make certain to keep careful watch,” he said, “I don’t like the thought of losing a chunk of my ass to one of the fierce beasts we’ve seen around here…little one.”
“Humph. Your ass would probably taste so bad they’d spit it out,” she returned with a grin. “And stop calling me little one.”
Nearing the cave, they rounded an outcrop of boulders and came face-to-face with one of the huge bear like beasts. She dropped the litter while digging for her pistol and started to dodge to one side. He released his end at the same time and one of the poles tangled in her legs.
She tripped, falling to her knees. The bear stood and roared, towering over her. From the corner of her eye, she saw Joren dash to the side waving his arms madly and screaming at the top of his lungs. It worked. His antics switched the bear’s attention to him. It dropped to all fours and charged.
With her heart racing, but displaying much greater calmness than she felt inside, she drew a carful bead on the bear’s head and pulled the trigger. A red beam of light flashed from the pistol and pierced the beast’s eye. It stumbled and crashed to the ground, spewing loose gravel in every direction and raising a cloud of dust. The dead beast skidded to a halt at Joren’s feet.
For a moment they stood in silence, each catching their breath and she letting her heart drop back from her throat. “That was the most stupid damn stunt I have ever seen in my life,” she said harshly.
“A simple thank you would suffice, Gina.”
Ignoring his words, she continued, “You’re not even armed. What did you think you were going to do?”
“I felt I had to do something. When you dropped to your knees I didn’t think praying to the beast would work.”
“Praying!” she exclaimed. “I tripped.”
“I know,” he admitted. “I hoped you would recover in time to shoot the thing before it got me.” He glanced at the dead animal lying his feet. “Nice shooting by the way. What type of gun is that anyway? It doesn’t fire projectiles or make noise?”
“I don’t know all the details, just that it fires a concentrated beam light that is intensely hot.”
He glanced down at the bear and the hole burned through its head. “You are very good with it.”
“I’m damn good at a lot of things.”
“Such as?”
“Never mind. You could have b
een killed.”
“But you didn’t let that happen did you?”
“No, thank goodness.”
“You could have been killed too. I’m glad you weren’t. I don’t relish the thought of digging a hole without a shovel to bury your sweet ass.”
In spite of herself, she giggled. “Damn you, Joren. It’s not funny.”
“Then why are you laughing?”
They both burst out in a riot of laughter.
“I guess we won’t have to go out hunting after all. Bear steaks for us.”
They knelt beside the beast. “If you’ll trust me with your knife, I’ll start carving while you keep watch for his friends.” He added, “That is if you trust me and aren’t afraid I’ll stick you for the heck of it.”
She handed him the knife, handle first. “Be careful and remove the hide the way I tell you to. It’s time you had a bed and this is going to be it. You could stand some new clothes too. The rags you’re wearing aren’t covering much.” She winked, “Not that I’m complaining, I’m enjoying the view.”
He gazed up at her. “I’m sorry my clothes are in bad shape. When I was running away from those savages I wasn’t real concerned about them getting ripped and torn. I certainly approve of the clothes you made for yourself. They are deliciously revealing.”
She slugged him in the arm playfully.
“Ow,” he said in mock pain. “What was that for?”
“Because I like you, ya big oaf.”
“Damn good thing you don’t love me. I shudder to think what you’d do if that were the case.”
“Love! I barely like your ugly ass, don’t push it.”
Their banter continued as they carried the hide and steaks up to the cave.
****
Joren paused in his stirring of the bear’s brain matter mixed with white ashes from the fire to watch. Gina hiked her skirt and peed in a wooden bowl. Although he enjoyed the view her bare ass, the thought of her pee being used to cure the hide for his sleeping mat he found disgusting. Just as disgusting as the mixture he was stirring. Using flat rocks, they had scraped animal’s hide and it was stretched out to dry outside.