by Chris Hechtl
They quickly worked into a routine, hunting in the morning, then gathering gear and returning it to the fortress in the afternoon.
Elsa worked with her gather group in order to create a test farm. Quinn had made a pair of plows for them, but they had to use human power to drag the things along. They managed to get a half acre done, but the crews that did it were weary and sore afterward. They also flat-out refused to do it again.
~~~~~O~~~~~
Gunny Usher had awakened from the jostling trip to the cave and consulted with Klinger on the base. With fresh water and shelter readily available, they planned what to do next for the other priorities. Harris and Simmons were on guard duty or running supplies in. The skipper was doing his best to coordinate the groups. “We need the expert in on this,” the gunny said. “It's his plan,” he said. “I think he's at least one or two steps ahead of us.”
Klinger agreed. He'd seen what the professor was capable of on his own or with minimal help. He'd heard some of the stories of some of the things, even small things the man had done in camp to improve their lives.
He consulted with the weak engineer, who showed him his plan on the laptop and on the pieces of bark paper. Klinger nodded, but knew he was no expert. “Hang on, let me get some people,” he said.
“Don't stress him too much,” Jane Dask warned.
Klinger snorted. “Somehow, I think worrying about the situation is stressing him more. Besides, he's got the constitution of a bull. He'll be fine. We'll just have a pow wow here for the time being,” he said.
“Well, keep it short,” the nurse urged. The corporal nodded grudgingly.
Klinger pulled in the architect, Nima; Hadji; Lita; Quinn; Wilson; and Morse, who was a contractor. Morse had a broken leg so he'd been sidelined in the camp for the past week. But now that Doc had pronounced the break was healing, he'd agitated to do something. Quinn had rigged him a pair of crutches, and he'd gone about trying to help and usually getting in the way. He did have good ideas though.
“Here,” Roy said weakly.
Nurse Dask slapped his hand gently and got his pile of bark papers and computer. “What are you after?” she asked.
“The map,” Roy said. Roy pointed out there was a limestone deposit a half mile north by northeast, and a supply of chalk nearby, as well what looked like rock salt crystals.
Morse realized what he meant and chuckled. He turned to the others with a grin. “I see what he's getting at now,” he said. He went and explained that with limestone, clay, and sand they could make mortar, brick and cement...even concrete. Lita nodded confirmation. “These materials with native rock will be much better against the native wildlife than wood and palm fronds,” he said.
The architect agreed with a nod and relieved grin. That immediately set the others back with smiles of relief. She looked over the plans and immediately recognized them as a fortress. “This is good, just what we need. He's right. The cave is a bit moist. We'll have mold issues, but hell, this will work,” she said. “It's much better than being out in the open where those aliens and Raptors can get at us,” she said.
Klinger nodded. “A defensive position,” he said. “I like it.” Morse nodded as well, looking over Nima's shoulder to point out one feature or another.
“Running water we can pipe in from the falls. He's right, we can do hydroelectric too or at least water wheels for grinding or running stuff in the forge,” Quinn said. “We can run wiring for lights, maybe fans and pumps…” he nodded.
Gunny Usher came in from checking on the group outside. He hobbled over, and then sat heavily on the stone Nurse Dask vacated hastily for him. He smiled his thanks. Nima turned to show him the map and laptop as Klinger and the others took turns filling the gunny in. He noted with approval that the raised site had a commanding presence in the area, with interlocking fields of fire near the entrances, while still keeping the beauty of the waterfall. “Yeah, this will work a treat, if we can do it,” he said, tapping his finger on the bark. “You're right, our resident genius is…well, a genius,” he said.
“Well, we need to get everyone on board then,” Klinger said. “We've got some people wanting to move on further inland. We haven't explored that area. This is the best base I've seen for miles around,” he said.
“At dinner then,” Usher said. “They'll all be there and all have full stomachs,” he said. The others nodded.
~~~~~O~~~~~
Cookie seemed happy; she had a better kitchen now with rocks and slabs of wood as chairs and counters. It wasn't the Ritz she said, but better than nothing. She bustled about making pots of hearty stew. “Just what the doctor ordered after the move. Something to fill everyone's belly,” she said. She grinned. “I put some of that salt in it too,” she said.
Elsa was excited; at the nightly dinner, she gushed about some of the plants sampled from the nearby field were primitive grains. She showed them a sample; it was a grayish powder she had made from grinding with a mortar and pestle.
Eliza wrinkled her nose. “Why is it…that color? Contamination?” she asked.
“Without the chemicals to bleach it, of course it isn’t white like Earth flour,” she explained patiently.
Betty came over and checked the sample. She nodded. “Looks good,” she said, giving her thumbs-up.
“Having some grains will go a long way to balance our diet,” the nutritionist said.
Cookie looked up and then nodded. “With that we can bake stuff. Well, crackers. We'd need something to leaven the bread, baking soda or yeast,” she said.
“Leave it up to the professor or Elsa here,” Chloe said, patting the botanist on the arm. “They'll figure something out soon enough,” she said. That earned a smile of appreciation from Elsa and a few others.
“As most of you know, we came here looking for the professor. He's stable, and doc expects him to recover,” he said. He paused when many in the group applauded. After a moment they settled down and he waved a hand.
“The professor has been after me to move us here for a while. Apparently when I didn't move fast enough, he started on his own,” he said wryly. That earned a chuckle from some. “And our recent eviction made it necessary to find another home, one safer. This one is pretty safe. We've gone over it in a couple surveys, and we're confident the professor's plan is sound.”
He waved a hand. “By now you all know the four essentials of survival. Shelter,” he indicated the cave, “A bit moist and we've got some creepy crawlies to deal with, but otherwise a good place to rack up once we make some changes and improvements,” he said. “Water,” he said, indicating the waterfall. That earned a nod.
“Though for some of us, the constant sound makes us have to go pee all the time,” Quinn quipped. That earned a laugh.
“Seems like a personal problem to me,” Klinger said, earning another chuckle. “FYI, bathrooms are off to the left,” he said, pointing in the indicated direction. Quinn waved a dismissive hand. “Fire, we're working on,” Klinger said. “And food you know about,” he said. “We're in a much better position to hunt from here,” he said. Klinger went on to tell the group about the professor's plans, and that they were undergoing refinement.
Morse came forward gingerly and explained about the limestone and other ingredients needed to make concrete, bricks and cement. “With that we can turn this place into one hell of a fortress,” Morse said. That earned a cheer.
The group agreed to the base with an almost unanimous agreement not to spoil the natural beauty as much as possible. Klinger detailed the usual teams to hunt and gather, but a second team to rotate gathering gear from the old camp and materials from the surrounding area. With predators on high alert, they would be restricted to daylight ops. Since the predators were most active at dawn and dusk, he ordered a curfew be enacted.
Gunny Usher detailed a home guard to watch over the back of the cave as well as the front entrance. Once that was done, they held a meeting right after dinner in the main cave to get everyone on board wi
th the plan. Wilson settled Dennis in his lap. Wendy had one of her armadillo pets. She cradled the ball, petting it, but it refused to come out of its shell.
They explained about how the cave would be outfitted as a natural fortress. “Why didn't we do this earlier?” Shawn Roberts demanded.
“First you bitch because you didn't want to leave; now you bitch because we took our time? Man, some people,” Allen said in disgust, shaking his head.
“We're already working on rebuilding the forge here,” Quinn said. “With more parts from the plane, we can make a cart or two as well as more tools, shelves, brackets…” he waved a hand. The others nodded, smiling. “The professor planned this out pretty well, even electrical power,” he said with a grin. There was a murmur of disbelief over that. “We can rig lights like he did back at base. With the alternators from the engines, we can make generators for electrical power,” Quinn pointed out with pride. “It'll take a lot of work, but I'm game,” he said firmly.
“How?” Chloe asked, sounding confused. “Don't they need fuel?”
Quinn shook his head. “We didn't have much power back at the crash site, just the solar blanket and batteries. But with the waterfall,” he turned to point to the curtain of falling water nearby. “We can rig some hydroelectric water wheels like the professor said. That will let us set up the fridge, microwave, and freezer…if they are salvageable,” he stated. That made some people perk up.
“We had plenty of fish and stuff coming in from the sea. Why, I saw more parts wash up on shore from the crash!” Captain Grumby pointed out. “We shouldn't just give that up damn it!” he said, thumping his fist on a rock. Then he swore softly, shaking his hand. That earned him a chuckle of sympathy.
“Yes, we need all the food we can get. We're running low again,” Klinger warily agreed. “Can you work with the salvage team though? You'll have to travel with them, at least to get there and then come home in the evening,” he asked. “They'll need your help getting stuff back here,” he said. “You'll need them to guard your catch,” he warned. The skipper nodded.
“I don't like the long commute back here though. You don't suppose we could make something at the crash site? I don't know, I mean, turn the wreck into a fort of some kind?”
Quinn shook his head. “We've done too good a job tearing it apart,” he said. The skipper's face fell. “I know the professor was looking into a tower, I saw the plans on his laptop, but he had notes saying it was a bad idea. I think he gamed them out,” he said.
Gunny Usher nodded. “Exactly. A tower would allow the predators to surround the base trapping the people inside. And those animals can jump. I for one wouldn't want to be treed by one.”
“Damn,” the skipper sighed.
“Rocks and metal,” Quinn said. “Let's focus on getting this place set up. Then we can use the clay and rocks and work on some sort of cabin or small fort at the crash or near where you need it to be. I know you go east for fishing,” he said, looking at the skipper.
Slowly the captain nodded. “That's right! There are a lot of rocks around that headland we use! We could do something there I suppose,” he said, voice picking up as he thought the idea over. “We'd have to haul fresh water in though,” he said. “And the rocks are heavy,” he said, voice dropping.
“Don't get too down now. We'll break it down into smaller more manageable tasks when we can. Until then, let's worry about this place for now,” Gunny Usher said. “We need to make it our new home, and as comfortable and solid as we can manage,” he said. The others nodded.
~~~~~O~~~~~
A few days later the doc was getting increasingly frustrated over the infection in some of the wounded. She moaned for a microscope, waking Roy. “Doc, quit bitching about what you don't have and do something about it,” he urged. She turned on him. “Get a flashlight, a piece of glass for a slide, and the binoculars and improvise,” he said wearily. She jumped on that idea.
Roy had been consulted by Quinn about the waterwheel plan and had pulled up his plans. There had been some debate about over or under water power before he explained that over had more efficiency and torque. He also showed the welder his plans for a welding rig using oxygen bottles, batteries and cables from the plane.
Quinn was excited and made plans to gather the materials as soon as he could. He'd relocated the forge near where the professor had indicated was a good spot, a cave with a natural chimney a hundred yards away from the geode cell. It was open to the elements on one side though, so the group was a bit wary about working there.
Gunny Usher was in charge of the base while Klinger was out. The old gunnery sergeant sat on a rock in the main cavern, propped up by pillows. He had put Quinn and the smiths on building a door for the main entrance, as well as stairs and other things.
Quinn had handed part of the job off to Hadji. They worked together to cut down logs and then drag them to the caves. Then they split the logs, peeled them, and then used the green wood for everything from stairs to framing for the door.
“Not quite what I had in mind, but I suppose it works,” Usher said, inspecting their work. They had clad the door in metal plate from the aircraft, with firing slits through it in strategic places. It swung on a pivot hinge anchored to a post that was anchored to the wall with cement and pieces of metal.
“It's not perfect, far from it, but it should help,” Quinn said. “With it up we can secure the other entrances and then work on other projects. Eventually we'll get back and rebuild this,” he said. “The green wood won't last long,” he cautioned.
“Long enough,” Usher said, nodding. “Good work. All of you, good work,” he said. Quinn and the others nodded. “What's next, the forge?”
Quinn nodded, but his stomach rumbled. He made a face. Roger snorted. “I think next is lunch. Then we'll work on the forge. I know Harris has been after us to finish that crossbow. I think we can work on that in between whatever we need here,” he said waving a hand. Usher and the others nodded.
“Corporal Klinger wants that radio up ASAP,” Allen said. “I think I can handle most of that. The professor picked out a perfect spot for it. We'll have to set up a tower though for the antenna.”
“Go to it then, men,” Usher said and then hobbled back to the main cavern. He passed doc on the way. “I'm going, I'm going,” he grumbled. She opened her mouth and then closed it. He shook his head and went back to his spot.
~~~~~O~~~~~
Several days later Simmon's hunting team was out on the edge of the field testing the new crossbow when some weird cloud-like apparition covered the eastern horizon. Animals stampeded in the opposite direction, some in full panic. She radioed a report to Klinger.
Using his binoculars Klinger noted that it was a cloud of flying jellyfish, hovering with their tentacles above the grass. The things were blown about, but somehow they avoided the tree line and moved across the field. He saw a bull mammoth get touched by the tentacles and go down. Pursing his lips he whistled as more animals swarmed the carcass. They rippled and pulsed, making him wince.
He turned and ordered his team to pull back, then called in everyone else outside. “Get to shelter if you are too far away from the fort. Don't screw around, drop what you are doing and get under cover. Real cover, now people,” he snarled, waving his team on. His team was across from the field from the caves, too far away to get to safety in time. He realized they would be caught out in the open if they kept going. Instead he turned about and trotted to the tree line. “What is going on?” Tim, one of the hunters asked.
Klinger started to respond, glancing over his shoulder to nod to the cloud. “We need to get the hell away from that,” he said. He saw that a jellyfish had somehow oriented on the group and was bearing down on them faster as the winds shifted. “Run!” he ordered as he broke into a jog and then full run. His team did the same, looking back over their shoulders to the monster and then picking up speed.
They made it to the tree line just as one of the creatures touched Chlo
e. She screamed in agony and went down. Tentacles wrapped around her, dragging her away. Klinger shot the creature with his crossbow. He grimaced when it collapsed onto the girl. He wasn't sure if he deflated it or if it was merely feeding. Another creature arrived and tore into the fallen one.
The other hunters wanted to help the girl, but Hetty shook her head. “She's dead. Poisoned,” she said face twisted in grief. Tim started to object, but Hetty angrily pointed across the field to an Apatosaurus trying to crash through the dense tree line. A jellyfish got smashed out of the air by the tail, but the tentacles of another brushed the giant animal's back, and it stiffened with a bellow and collapsed. The other humans shuddered.
“At least it's quick,” Hetty murmured. “It must be like the box jellyfish or something,” the girl murmured, face streaked with tears. Klinger gripped her shoulder. She nodded and murmured she'd be all right.
“We'll have to circle around, try to get as close to the fort as we can. If they stick around, we'll camp; if not we'll run for it,” Klinger said. The others nodded grimly.
~~~~~O~~~~~
On their way back, they encountered a young woman who was treed by a creature that looked like a cross between a croc and bulldog. Klinger killed the animal with the crossbow and lance. The girl came down, at first distant, before sobbing in relief at being found. She hugged them, each in turn.
They waited patiently, watching the skies with wary eyes for the things. A few tried to get through the trees at animals, others hovered up, lifting themselves higher. Those that did were picked up by the winds and disappeared.
“Should we chance it?” Tim asked. Klinger shook his head no. “Don't want those things to drop in on us from above?” Tim whispered. Klinger nodded. “Talk about death from above,” Tim murmured just as a shadow loomed over the tree they were under. They looked up in time to see tentacles dangle through the branches, picking their way through them towards them.