by Saxon Andrew
Andy looked at the motion of the trees and said, “I think this flock was coming to attack the Allosaurus.”
Arashi nodded, “They were too close to just be doing nothing.”
“How many would you guess?”
“Three hundred.”
Andy smiled, “That’s one for each of our archers.”
“Some aren’t really ready yet.”
Andy nodded, “We have them scattered in our ranks. They need the experience.”
“We need them to be ready.”
“You and I will handle their load.”
Arashi smiled.
Maxus watched the tree line and yelled, “PULL!” All three hundred archers pulled back on their bowstrings and a moment later the tree line erupted in hundreds of Raptors rushing at incredible speed toward the human’s ranks. “FIRE!!!
Three hundred arrows flew into the front of the charging Raptors and another three hundred followed less than a second later. The entire front of the charging Raptors fell to the ground. The Raptors behind them leaped over the dead and dying reptiles on the ground and were shot down before they advanced more than ten yards. Yet still the Raptors came rushing out of the tree line.
Andy picked his targets and every time he shot an arrow, a Raptor fell. He continued shooting and said, “I thought you said three hundred.”
Arashi double fired two arrows and said, “Oh, did I say three hundred? I meant five hundred.” He shot a Raptor that had come close to the Viking’s line and it fell and slid to within four feet of them. The Romans were incredible. A constant wave of outgoing arrows filled the air in front of their ranks. The Raptors were no longer trying to attack the center of the line but were moving to the sides. Maxus yelled, “Ranks, move forward left and right.”
• • •
The Vikings were getting the worst of the Raptor charge. The Raptors that were charging the middle of the line veered away from the Roman barrage and rushed in toward the Vikings who were left of the Romans. They found themselves facing more than a hundred Raptors that were charging in at incredible speed and ferocity. Three Raptors came running up and leaped on top of a dead Raptor and then leaped into the Viking’s line. The Raptors grabbed a Viking and used the hooked claw on their hind legs to rip into the Viking’s chests. The Vikings standing next to the three with Raptors on their chests fired at point blank range into the Raptors and killed them but the momentary change allowed more Raptors to rush in on their lines. They were close to being overrun when ten Indians rushed forward and shot eight Raptors flying through the air toward the Viking’s front rank. All eight were hit in the head and fell to the ground dead. One fell on a Viking and broke his left arm pinning him to the ground. No one could stop long enough to remove the huge reptile; he could only lay on the ground and watch the massive fight taking place around him. Ten more Indians rushed forward and the Raptors were being held off, barely.
Linnae looked back and saw a Raptor leap high over the Viking line and spin around to attack from them from the rear. She fired an arrow so fast that the Raptor had barely completed its turn and was hit in the neck. The Raptor screamed as the arrow went through its neck and embedded in its back leg cutting through the main tendon. The Raptor screamed again as Linnae’s second arrow went into the side of its head and dropped it for good.
One of the Roman lines moved forward and turned to the left while the other turned and went to the right. Andy, Linnae, Arashi, and five Indians moved up the center of the two lines as they separated and killed anything that tried to enter the space between their lines. Many of the Raptors were down but not dead and were struggling to bite the archers as they passed. The archers pulled an arrow and shot any that were still moving in the head.
Andy heard a loud high pitched scream from the forest and he looked at the tree line and saw a Raptor that had to be thirty feet long. It was almost as tall as an Allosaurus and had to be the flock’s leader. Andy, Arashi, and Linnae all quick fired an arrow at the giant and it went down with a scream. Every Raptor in the clearing stopped when they heard the scream; they suddenly turned and fled toward the forest. Of the hundred that ran away, half of them were dropped before they arrived at the tree line.
Magus yelled, “Stop shooting!!” Maxus watched the tree line and yelled, “Form ranks and move forward; Arrow gatherers, retrieve arrows.” The Romans formed a long line and spread out. They began slowly moving forward as the other archers pulled their swords and began cutting their arrows out of the dead Raptors. It was dirty bloody work, but the arrows were too precious to waste. They were going to have to last for many generations to come. After three hours, the work was done. Suddenly, a loud roar came out of the forest to the north. Maxus looked at Andy, “They smell blood.”
“We need them to come and clean up this mess. Get the people back in the cave.” Maxus turned and started yelling. The Vikings, Samurai, Indians, and support teams turned and began moving toward the cave’s entrance. The Romans held their formation and moved toward the cave one line at a time. The front rank would turn and retreat twenty yards and the second rank would then turn and pass them. Andy shook his head at all the dead dinosaurs in the small clearing. He wondered if the giant Raptor at the forest’s edge had been killed. He looked back toward the forest and saw a giant shadow pass over the clearing. He looked up and shook his head, “Maxus, get them moving faster!” Maxus saw Andy looking at the sky and he looked up as well. The giant reptiles flying overhead were enormous. They were silent until they saw Maxus looking up at them and they started screaming. Maxus started yelling and the warriors began trotting toward the entrance. By the time the last Romans arrived, the huge Pteranodons were beginning to dive at the warriors and pull up at the last moment. Maxus started to order his Legionnaires to fire on the giants but Andy stopped him.
“Why?”
“We need them to help clean up this mess. I wondered how the bones on the first dinosaurs we killed were picked so clean.” Andy looked up. “It had to be them that did it.”
Andy and Maxus were the last two that entered the cave’s opening. Andy looked out at the tree line and saw a huge Allosaurus poke its head out and look around. Andy pulled Maxus out of sight, “What are you doing?”
Andy smiled, “I want to see if they’ve learned anything.” Andy and Maxus stepped around the corner of the opening and waited. Thirty minutes after they hid, “Two Allosaurus stepped out of the trees and began feasting on the dead Raptors. Ten minutes later they were joined by thirty more. The smell of blood must have drawn the huge carnivores from a long way. Andy waited until they were all eating and he stepped out in the open and yelled. Fifteen of the Allosaurus jerked their heads up and rushed out of the clearing as fast as they could run. Twenty others watched them flee and looked at Andy. Andy took two steps toward them and the rest of them turned and ran into the trees. Andy started laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“It appears they’re smart enough to follow the other’s example. I think we’ll have nothing to worry about after a few more encounters. It’s the Raptors and Pteranodons that we’ll have to keep an eye out for.”
“That name means flyer with no teeth.”
“They don’t have teeth…but that beak is incredibly sharp. Biting or stabbing; either way can kill you.”
Maxus nodded and watched the giant flying reptiles start landing on dead Raptors. “Let’s go clean up.” Andy nodded and walked into the cave and felt Linnae’s arms come around his neck as soon as he stepped inside. He kissed her on the cheek and whispered, “Have arrangements been made for the Vikings that died?”
Linnae sighed, “They have. They really want a Viking funeral with the burning boat. Are we going to be able to do that?”
“I don’t know. We’ll have to see if the community agrees to take the risk.”
“Andy, if we bury them, you know their bodies will be dug up and devoured by those dinosaurs.”
“Linnae, do we want to lose three or four mo
re to do this?”
“I’ll stand guard over the ones involved.”
“But we’ll have to go into the forest to do it. That’s a different order of danger.”
“The Vikings say they’ll do it alone if they must.”
Andy sighed, “We can’t force anyone to do this; but I’ll be with you in the forest. We’ll ask for volunteers.”
Linnae smiled, “I knew you would. I just wonder how they can build a boat to make it happen.”
Andy thought for a moment and smiled, “We’ll make it happen.”
• • •
The entire community decided to go and attend the funeral. Andy didn’t like the idea but didn’t know if he could prevent it. Maxus stood beside him at the evening meeting and shook his head, “Some of them aren’t ready to go out.”
“We’ll have to make sure of their safety.” Maxus sighed. “You and I and the Vikings are going out in the morning to build the boats for their funeral.”
“Just how are we going to do that? You’ve seen how huge those trees are.”
Andy smiled.
Chapter Five
The next day, the Roman archers were in formation at the edge of the forest and the Vikings and Samurai Archers were gathered at the trunk of the closest giant tree. Andy looked up at the giant and heard the roars of Raptors and Allosaurus to the north and south of their location. He looked toward the cave and saw the Roman women that had passed the archery training moving downhill toward them carrying a blue object in an additional quiver over their shoulders. Linnae was walking with them and she smiled brightly when she saw Andy. Andy was amazed that her feelings were genuine. She really did care for him. Maxus said, “I guess we’ll find out if this works.”
Andy looked up and saw a clear sky with the sun directly overhead, “Lay them out on their quivers and let them absorb some rays.” Maxus nodded and went over and began telling the women what to do with their loads.
Linnae walked over to Andy and said, “What are those things?”
“I’m hoping they’ll cut down a tree.”
Linnae looked up at the giant tree they were standing under and looked into Andy’s eyes, “We should be done with our learning period by the time they bring this one down.”
Andy laughed and said, “It won’t take a year if it works.”
Linnae looked back up and shook her head, “We’ll see.”
Andy went and picked up one of the blue swords and went back to the tree. He raised it and stuck it into the giant tree’s trunk; it easily penetrated. Maxus shrugged and said, “If you’ll replace the archers in my formation, we’ll start notching out the trunk. It’s going to take a while.”
Andy went and asked the women to move into the archer’s ranks and they were pleased that they were being trusted to stand with the Romans shoulder to shoulder.
Cutting into the giant trunk was slow going. The blue sword’s blades were only three feet long and it was going to take a huge number of cuts to notch out a section of the trunk for it to fall. Andy saw one of the archers standing with the Vikings shaking his head as he watched them. Andy recognized him as one of the thirty that did not have an interpreter. Andy went over and said, “Why do you find this amusing?”
The archer stared at Andy and after a moment said, “We’ve been arguing about whether or not we should trust you.”
Andy stared at him and said, “And by extension, everyone else as well.” The archer nodded. “What has happened to cause your mistrust?”
The archer looked over at Maxus, “The first thing he did was kill another man.” The archer looked over at the Samurai, “One of them was lining up a shot at you.”
Andy nodded, “And I killed two people.”
The archer nodded, “Exactly.”
Andy stared at the archer and said, “Your group has never made it clear when you came from.”
“I know.”
“And you’re not going to tell me, are you?”
“No, I don’t think I am; you could torture me and force me to answer.”
Andy shook his head, “No, that is not something we’ll ever do with each other. If you really don’t feel safe with us, once we get our community started, we will give you what you need to start your own and help you build it.”
The archer stared at Andy, “Why would you do that?”
Andy smiled, “It would increase the possibility of humans surviving in this dangerous place. I also don’t want your group having to constantly look over your shoulders in fear.”
The archer stared at Andy for a long moment and then sighed. He walked over to the Romans cutting the trunk and held out his hand to one of them. The Roman looked at Andy who nodded. The Roman handed the archer his blue sword and the archer gripped the handle and pushed on the hand guard. It moved slightly forward and the sword’s blade increased ten feet in length. He pushed again and the blade grew until it was twenty two feet long. The archer pushed the base of the handle and the blade disappeared. He handed it to Andy and said, “You can use two of these to cut that tree down.” He turned and went back to his place in the line of archers defending the workers.
Maxus watched the proceedings and said, “What’s going on?”
Andy continued to stare at the strange archer and said, “I don’t know.”
“Are you going to find out?”
Andy looked at Maxus and shook his head, “No, he’ll tell me when he’s ready. I won’t force him.”
Maxus looked at the archer and shrugged, “I guess this is another reason you should be in charge.”
Andy looked at Maxus, “You need to learn to treasure everyone here and work hard for them to trust you have their best interests in mind.”
“Why?”
“Because you don’t know how many of them have weapons that could kill all of us in a moment’s time. What do you think would have happened if that archer had come after your formation when you originally attacked with three of his group armed with those swords?”
Maxus tilted his head and smiled, “Rome would have fallen again.”
Andy smiled, “Let’s get this tree down and cut the trunk into equal lengths.”
Maxus turned and went back to the tree. Andy saw Linnae staring at the strange archer and wondered what she was thinking. Did he have a rival? Was she after the one with the most power? He didn’t want to doubt her but he was glad he had a year to make sure. Until that moment, he wasn’t. Linnae turned and saw him staring at her. Her eyes narrowed and she knew what Andy was thinking. She started to walk over and join him but he turned and went over to Maxus and watched the Romans making short work of dropping the giant tree. She knew they had some things to discuss.
• • •
Suddenly there was a loud roar and five Raptors charged through the bushes at the Samurai. Arashi dropped two of them and the other three were killed a moment later. Their dying screams filled the forest and the Romans at the tree snatched up their bows. The Roman holding one of the long swords saw three more Raptors charging toward him and he swung the twenty foot long glowing sword at them. All three were cut in half. Andy rushed over to the tree and heard the low brush being pushed aside as numerous animals ran away from the tree.
Maxus and Andy looked at the three dead Raptors and shook their heads. They had a new close up weapon to use against the dinosaurs.
• • •
The tree was notched and dropped into the clearing in front of the cave. The branches were cut away and the Romans used two blades to cut the trunk into three equal sections. Andy looked at the huge trunks and wondered how they were going to get the boats cut out of the trunks to the river. He felt a tap on his shoulder and he saw Reif standing behind him. “If you will show us how to use that cutting device, we will cut the trees into boats that we can move to the river.”
Andy nodded and looked at Maxus. Maxus issued orders and the Romans handed the swords over to the Vikings. Andy saw the strange archer watching the proceedings and Andy motioned h
im over. Andy saw the archer wasn’t happy but he reluctantly moved over to the group. Andy said, “We are doing this to honor three of our community that gave their lives in its defense. Will you assist our friends at using the swords to fashion out a boat from the tree?”
“I’ve already shown you too much.”
“Yes you have. I won’t attempt to deceive you and offer arguments about it being the right thing to do. But our brothers here have lost three of their number they loved. We now know the capability of the swords and showing them how to use them won’t really make a difference now. I will promise you that after this is done, I will turn all of them over to your group for safe keeping.”
Maxus said, “Wait a minute.”
“Maxus, it belongs to them. They should have them.”
Maxus stared at Andy and looked at the archer, “Will you use them to harm anyone?”
The archer sneered, “We weren’t the ones that killed an innocent man.”
Maxus stared at the Archer and shook his head, “You’re right.” He turned to Andy, “Give them to him.”
Maxus walked away and the archer watched him leave. Andy said, “You didn’t expect that, did you?”
The archer looked at Andy, “No, I didn’t. You saw how blood thirsty the Romans can be when they killed that man.”
Andy nodded, “New times, new places, new enemies; people change or die. I think the Romans are learning.”
The archer continued to stare at Maxus and then looked at Andy, “I’ll help them prepare for their ceremony.”
Andy smiled, “Thank you.”
Andy walked away and the archer stared at him. “May I have a word with you?”
The archer turned around and saw Linnae behind him, “What about?”
• • •
Andy arrived at the Samurai’s archers and looked back and saw Linnae talking with the archer. He took a deep breath and blew it out. He moved into the Samurai’s line and looked at Arashi, “Do you mind if I join you?”
“No, we can always use a good warrior.”