by Saxon Andrew
Linnae said, “What do you know about this Utah Raptor?”
“They’re big, fast, deadly, and work in packs. They also possess extremely high intelligence compared to other dinosaurs. I suspect those Allosaurus could scare them away when they had ten working together. When we killed half of them, the survivors knew they were no match for the flock of Raptors.”
Joshua said, “Flock?”
“Yes, flock. Raptors are one of the earliest ancestors of birds. You’ll see feathers on them if you get a close look at some of them.”
Maxus said, “So what do we do now?”
Andy blew out a breath, “Do you see now how the women can help us in the fighting.”
“I do.”
“Then for the next four weeks, everyone trains on firing the bows. I understand the food leaders say we have enough food stores to last us a long time.” Joshua nodded. “We continue our language lessons and Linnae, Arashi, and I will start training everyone on how to fire the bows. Once everyone is trained, we’ll be able to take on that flock. We’ll clear the area around the cave of predators and start planting crops.” Andy looked at Ayo, “How many different seeds do we have in the farm cave?”
“About a hundred.”
“We have a good water source and we can clear some land near the river. We have to build a place for us to live outside.”
Akira said, “Why can’t we just stay in here?”
Andy smiled, “We could…if our numbers remain constant. What happens if our little community starts growing?”
Akira looked at Arashi and then turned back to Andy, “You’re right. However, this will be a good place for children to be born and a hospital to be set up.”
Andy smiled, “I agree. However, first we learn our language and how to use the bows.”
The community broke up and many of the women surrounded Linnae. Andy was amazed at her composure during the fight against the Allosaurus. She made a one in a thousand shot that killed the one that attacked them from behind. She was born with a lot of natural ability, but her bravery was inspiring. He chuckled; she also spoke her mind and held nothing back. You never had to wonder about where you stood with her. Linnae finally joined him at the wall and laid her head on his shoulder. Andy put his head on hers and said, “I don’t think I need a year.” Linnae lifted her head and looked at him. “What I really need is for you to be sure that I am the one you truly want to be your mate. I already know my answer.”
Linnae smiled, “We will still take a year before we have the ceremony.”
“Why?”
“It will set an example for our children; they will need to learn patience and our example will show them that if we could do it, so could they.”
“I think you’re right. Let’s introduce this idea to the community this evening. I am going to tell them that we are bonded together while we make this decision.”
Linnae smiled, “It’s called engaged, Andy.”
“Sorry, from now on it’s going to be called bonded unless you have a way to come up with a process to manufacture rings.”
Linnae was surprised; she hadn’t even thought about that. “You’re right. We also need to decide what the final bonding ceremony will look like.”
Andy chuckled, “I suspect the women in the community can come up with something.”
Linnae smiled, “I imagine we can.”
Chapter Four
Andy sat at the wall and thought about why humans had been brought back into the past. He had been troubled by the idea since the beginning. Someone wanted humans to start a civilization ninety million years earlier than it did; but why now?
He heard cheers coming from the women’s target room and he guessed someone had hit a bull’s eye. Linnae was taking on the lion’s share of training the women and she was doing a good job. One benefit was that her constant training improved her speed and accuracy light years ahead of where it was when she went out and confronted the dinosaurs. She was probably as good as he was now.
The group that surprised him with their bow prowess was the Vikings. They were so big and strong that when the bows matched up to their strength, it became a truly formidable weapon. Their speed was incredible. The back handed pull that was necessary to quick fire was easy for them. They were anxious to go out and face the dinosaurs. Truth be told, the dinosaurs would be in trouble if they charged the Vikings. The Vikings and Samurai were constantly competing against each other in the target rooms and they were quickly becoming close friends.
The Romans weren’t as good as the Vikings and Samurai but they were incredibly organized. They timed their quick fire volleys so that a constant wall of arrows left their formations. It was really fascinating to see them firing in this synchronized manner. He knew the community was going to have to go out soon and take on the Raptors. Everyone was starting to speak Latin and most of the time and they worked hard to help each other to learn the vocabulary. The Romans made corrections whenever they heard a mistake but they did it with smiles. Andy saw Maxus coming his way and wondered what he wanted. Maxus smiled and sat down, “Good Morning, do you have a moment?”
“I always have a moment for you.”
“I heard you talk about planting crops.”
“Yes, we have the seeds to do it.” Maxus nodded and stared at Andy. “What’s on your mind, Maxus?”
“I asked Joshua if any of those giant creatures ate plants.”
Andy stared at Maxus and then it hit him, “Oh my God, you’re right.”
Maxus shrugged, “Joshua tells me that the long necked one in the river eats plants. How could we prevent it from destroying what we planted?”
Andy shook his head, “I don’t know if we could.”
“Is there anything that monster fears?”
“It fears the big meat eaters.”
“So if we chase off or kill the meat eaters…”
Andy nodded, “We open the door to the really big plant eaters. If they come in, just one of them could decimate any crop we plant.”
Maxus stared at Andy for a moment and said, “You don’t think the arrows will bring one down.”
Andy chuckled, “Oh, we could bring one down by hitting it in the head. However, what do you do with the hundred thousand pounds of rotting carcass if all the meat eaters are gone? Plus, the smell of rotting flesh would pull new carnivores from miles away.”
Maxus tilted his head and shrugged. “Have you thought about a wall?”
“Maxus, one of those giant plant eaters could knock any wall we erected over in a moment.”
“Not if it was a porcupine.”
Andy stared at Maxus, “I’m not sure what you mean.”
“You saw all the swords against the wall. There are rooms full of them and they’re not being used for anything at the moment. We could build a wall using the swords as a kind of pointed defense.”
“Do you mean that we should build a wall with thousands of swords sticking out of it?”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
“It would have to be tall.”
“We have to clear land to plant on it. We could use the trees we cut down to build the wall.” Andy put his hand on his chin and thought about the idea. Maxus said, “We could build a place on top of it for our archers to man the walls. They should keep the carnivores away and the swords will stop the larger plant eaters from getting to our crops.”
“Do you honestly think you could build a wall strong enough to withstand fifty tons of dinosaur?”
“Joshua tells me that many of the structures we built in Rome and across the barbarian lands were still standing in his time. We know how to build sturdy structures.”
“What will it be made of?”
“Wood initially but then we’re going to cut blocks of stone out of the cliff and roll them on trees to where they will be laid. We’ll cut slots in the stone to insert the blades and also put them between the blocks as we stack them.”
“Do you have the tools you need
to do this?”
“Come with me for a moment.” They stood up and Andy followed Maxus to a room across the cave where the Romans had settled. Maxus entered a room and picked up a dark blue sword that appeared to be made from crystal. He went over to the wall and held the sword up to the light that was shining at the ceiling. The sword started glowing and Maxus stuck it into the stone wall and moved it to the left. The sword easily cut a twenty inch channel into the stone.
“Allow me to see that.” Maxus handed Andy the sword and Andy turned it over and saw a plate on the handle. It had something written in a strange language.
Maxus said, “I think it will operate better out in the sun.”
“How many of these swords do you have?”
“There’re fifty boxes of them.”
Andy started nodding and said, “So putting us here in this cliff wall was perfect for a source of stone to build with.”
Maxus nodded, “And only a hundred and eighty yards from a free flowing river that we could dam to build irrigation canals, is another bonus.”
“Someone put some thought into this.”
“They also put a lot of time into building this place.” Maxus paused, “Why did they do it?”
“I honestly don’t know.” Maxus raised his eyebrows and Andy said, “I’m not withholding anything from you anymore. If something happens to me, you will have to take my place. You need to know everything in the event that happens. I honestly don’t have a clue.”
Maxus stared at Andy for a moment and then said something that sounded true, “I suspect we will never find out. We’re the ones charged with getting our new world off the ground. It will be our descendants that will find out what this is all about.”
They head a muffled roar that instantly grew to a loud intensity as the stone wheel at the entrance tilted in slightly and then fell back against the opening. Andy shook his head, “It looks like the big boys are back in charge outside.”
Maxus nodded, “It’s a good thing only one of those beasts can fit in the entranceway.”
Andy smiled, “Someone did a good job of planning.”
Maxus laughed and patted Andy on the back, “We’re ready to go and remove them. When do we do it?”
“In two days. We’ll set up our strategy this evening and discuss it with the warriors to see if anyone has suggestions to as to how to improve our plans. We’ll get everything set up tomorrow and then go out and kick some dinosaur backside the next day.”
“You need to think of a way to stop the plant eaters from coming into our fields.”
“I’ll work on it. Maybe there’s something in one of these rooms that will help us.”
Maxus looked at the wall and shrugged.
• • •
Two days later, the warriors that had passed the archery training gathered in the corridor at the entrance and waited for the large stone wheel to be rolled back. The Samurai and Vikings would go out first behind Andy, Arashi, and Linnae. They would set up a skirmish line and attempt to hold off any attacking carnivores. The Romans would follow the first warriors and set up their formation at the center of the skirmish line. The women that had passed the archery training would follow the Romans out and set up inside their formation and attack targets of opportunity.
A hundred of the other people would act as transporters of arrows from the cave. They would move behind the lines and refill quivers that were running low on arrows. More than three hundred of the community were taking part in the operation. Joshua and the Indians were held in reserve to fill in any part of the line that was in danger of being overrun. They were in two small groups next to the cliff wall to make sure there were no more surprises that came charging in from either direction. Andy saw the stone clear the entrance and he ran to the edge of the opening and looked out. What he saw surprised him. All of the dinosaurs that were killed in the last encounter had been removed from in front of the cave. He leaped off the edge of the cave’s opening and continued to search for the remains and finally saw several of the large Allosaurus’ skeletons at the edge of the forest. The Raptors must have devoured most of the meat and then pulled them out of the open land to the forest. The Allosaurus must have then pulled the dead Raptors to the forest as well. As soon as Andy jumped to the ground, he heard the roars from the forest. He rushed forward and stared at the edge of the tree line expecting a charge. In less than a minute, the Vikings and Samurai had formed up on the three archers and the Romans were marching forward in formation. The forty Romans arrived at the center of the line and formed two offset lines with twenty soldiers in each. The front line knelt and the back line remained standing. The Roman women moved in and filled the gaps in the formation. Andy looked around and saw there was a half-circle formed around the opening to the cave. No one had pulled an arrow yet. They waited and watched the lush forest a little over a hundred yards away.
The pack of Allosaurus’ were just inside the edge of the forest and weren’t sticking their heads out. Their roars were so loud it was difficult to communicate. Maxus leaned in and yelled, “It appears they remember what happened last time.”
Andy sighed, “It looks that way.”
Maxus yelled, “We need to impress that memory on them.”
Andy looked at Maxus and knew what he had to do. He walked forward and Linnae grabbed his arm, “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to introduce myself.”
“Not alone, you aren’t.”
Andy looked Linnae in the eyes, “Do you remember when you said you had to go out and confront those monsters?” Linnae nodded, “Now it’s my turn.” Andy kissed her on the cheek and walked out of the formation and advanced forty yards toward the forest’s edge. The roars from the forest doubled in volume. Andy stood out in the open and waited.
Linnae was beyond fear and her anger was starting to get the better of her. Arashi walked up beside her and said, “Come on.”
“Where?”
“We need to be able to get a clear place to shoot.” Linnae followed Arashi through the Roman formation and moved a few steps beyond the front rank. Arashi said, “If more than one of them emerge from the forest, “I’ll take the one on the left; you take the one on the right.”
“What if only one emerges?”
Arashi smiled, “Then it is a fair fight. We will stay out of it.”
“Are you crazy? I’m not going to stand by and watch him die.”
“You will not take away his honor by interfering.”
Linnae started to tell Arashi that he was full of more crap than a Christmas turkey but Maxus said next to her, “He’s right.”
“What do you mean?”
“We have to teach those monsters to fear us. It looks like the first meeting has taught them to respect us; we have to make them fear us.”
“Just how do you think this is going to do that?”
Maxus smiled, “Have you ever been stung by a hornet?”
Linnae’s head went back and she said, “I have; what does that have to do with this?”
“You’ll go out of your way to avoid a nest of hornets.” Maxus looked at Linnae, “Would you go out of your way to avoid just one hornet?”
“You bet that polished helmet I would.”
“How much bigger are you than a hornet?” Linnae just stared at Maxus. “We have to teach them that we can sting them where it hurts.” Linnae looked at Arashi and he slowly nodded.
Suddenly a giant Allosaurus burst out of the tree line and charged in on Andy. Linnae’s heart went into her throat but it was over before it fairly started. Andy hit both of the huge dinosaur’s legs and it fell forward into the ground. Andy fired another arrow and he didn’t miss. It went through the monster’s eye and the giant’s roar ended abruptly. Andy walked forward and climbed on top of the dead dinosaur and screamed at the forest. There was loud crashing as the pack of Allosaurus ran quickly to the north. Andy climbed down off the dead monster and ran quickly back toward the ranks. From on top of the Allosaur
us he saw several Raptors two hundred yards south of the fleeing Allosaurus suddenly disappear back into the tree line. They had to be scouts. Andy yelled as he arrived at the front line, “GET READY. IT WON’T BE LONG!!”
Maxus yelled, “ARCHERS….PULL ARROWS!” All three hundred people in the semi-circle pulled an arrow from their quivers and knocked it to their bows.
Andy stared at the tree line and Linnae saw the concern on his face, “What did you see?”
“I saw several Raptors just outside the tree line two to three hundred yards south of here. They had to be scouts to warn the flock if the Allosaurus started moving their way. They saw the Allosaurus run away and they disappeared into the tree line. They had to see the Allosaurus I killed and know there is fresh meat for the taking.” Linnae looked down at the forest and saw the tops of tall ferns were moving; there was no wind. Andy looked with her and saw that the numbers moving through the forest were large. The flock had grown bigger. The large numbers killed in the first meeting must have brought many more Raptors to the area. Now they smelled blood and were getting ready to charge.
Maxus also saw the movement in the forest and said, “Steady, soldiers. You know numbers don’t mean anything against disciplined warriors. Keep your hearts true to the work before us.” The first Raptors began sticking their heads out of the forest and ducking back in. Maxus said, “Arrow handlers; move to your stations.” A hundred people ran forward and spread out behind the lines of archers. Each of them had six quivers belted around their waist where they could pull a load of arrows out and drop them into the archer’s quivers.