by Saxon Andrew
“What you won’t see or hear will be the Raptor coming at you from behind. When the others roar, it will rush forward and jump the underbrush around you and land on your back. It will grip your shoulders with its claws and rip you apart with the foot long hooked claws on its back legs. The others will come in and finish consuming your body.”
The Outsider stared at Andy. Andy said, “If you don’t believe me, take a walk into the woods south of here and see how long you last.”
“And what would happen with that Indian?”
“He would go into the woods reading the clues that Raptors were present. He’d see the tracks, bent branches, snapped twigs, pressed down undergrowth, and most of all, he would smell them. He would back away and look for another way into the forest. If he were surrounded, he would retrace his path back in and once he saw them moving toward him, he would go up one of the large trees.”
“Then he’d be trapped.”
“He’d go up with his bow. Any Raptor that was under him would then be visible in the underbrush from overhead. He’d have a clear headshot at them and after the first four or five fell, the others would run. Those Raptors can jump fifteen feet, your swords wouldn’t harm them if you went up a tree. You are the one that would be trapped.” The Outsider stared at Andy and after a moment Andy said, “Who is the superior human now? You think you are because of things you made. He is because of who he is and what he knows.”
“Why wouldn’t he just go up the tree to start with?”
Andy smiled, “He would. I just wanted you to see that he possesses skills that would allow him to survive. You don’t.”
“You offered to assist us to leave and build a community of our own. Were you setting us up to die?”
“No, I was offering to assist you in committing suicide. You wouldn’t last a week.”
“You sound like you want us to leave.”
“I don’t want you here working at cross purposes to the welfare of the community. I’d rather you leave than have to confront the issue in a harsh manner. If you choose to leave, we’ll part company as friends.”
“And if we choose to stay?”
“You will determine what follows.”
The Outsider smiled, “Do you honestly think you could win?”
“I just know you’d lose.”
The Outsider stared into Andy’s eyes and saw something that frightened him. It wasn’t what Andy said; it was the certainty in his expression that concerned him. Reif walked up and said, “I need you to help me cut some logs to roll the boats on.” The Outsider nodded and left with Reif. Andy watched them go and now knew the Outsiders were not from the future. He thought hard and something played around in his subconscious but he couldn’t get it out. He heard a yell and saw Linnae at the cave entrance waving for him to come. He looked at the Outsider again and thought about taking slaves. They were going to be a problem. He turned and moved up the hill. Linnae looked like something was bothering her.
• • •
The community’s first funerals were a very solemn affair. The Outsiders cleared out the underbrush on the clearest path to the river the afternoon before. The Raptors and Allosaurus stayed clear of the area; it appeared they feared this new deadly creature that moved into their world. The Vikings placed the bodies of their three warriors on the three boats and slid them into the river. Once they were all side by side, they pushed them away from the shore and they moved out into the current and slowly started drifting away. Three Indians had fashioned arrows with tar covered cloth on the heads and an Outsider set them on fire with a cutter. The three Indians fired the arrows into the stack of tar covered wood the bodies were on and they immediately caught fire. The tar covering the floor of the three longboats started burning and the three boats ignited into a giant blaze as they moved out of sight down the river. The Community moved out of the forest and heard loud roars to the south as the boats moved downstream. Reif said, “They are on their voyage to Valhalla. They died a glorious warrior’s death. Their afterlife will be filled with many joys.” Reif looked around and said, “My family thanks all of you for your help in doing this. It really means a lot to all of us.”
Andy saw the last edge of the sun above the horizon and said, “We should all get back in the cave.” The community began walking back up hill as the archers fanned out around them and faced the forest. They arrived at the cave and within thirty minutes, everyone was safely inside. Andy was the last one to enter and he saw Linnae across the cave in front of a room. He looked at the Outsiders and saw them talking among themselves; he saw they were arguing. He looked back at Linnae and nodded. She went into the room and the door closed. Andy looked back at the Outsiders and saw the short leader walking his way. He kept his eyes on the others and saw the women move to the wall as the men started to spread out. He shook his head and knew the moment had come.
• • •
Ronar walked up to Andy and said, “Do you mind if we talk about some issues.”
“I was wondering when you were going to make your move.”
Ronar’s eyes narrowed, “What do you mean?”
“Your men are spreading out and they’re trying to conceal the cutters they’re carrying. I suspect you are going to try and take control.”
Ronar smiled, “You appear to see much.”
“Say what you have to say.”
Ronar pulled a cutter and activated the blade. All around the cave, other cutters ignited and Ronar shouted, “Everyone will put their weapons on the floor!” The cutter’s blades extended to more than twenty feet and everyone saw they could be killed with one swing. The Romans had two cutters confronting them.
Andy yelled, “Do as he says.” Everyone reluctantly put their swords and bows at their feet.
Ronar looked at Andy, “That includes you.”
Andy looked at Ronar and shook his head. He took his bow off his shoulder and tossed it a few feet away. Ronar said, “We are going to take control and you will do as we say. We will hold your women hostage against your following our commands!” Ronar looked at Andy and smiled, “What, you have nothing to say?”
Andy stood up and looked out at the drama taking place in the cave. He looked at Ronar with disgust on his face and then yelled, “I know that some of you are not in agreement with this. I’ve seen you change as you’ve watched our community become a family. I will not kill you if you will turn off your cutter and put it on the floor.”
The Outsiders looked around and wondered how Andy could possibly harm them. Ronar laughed loudly. Andy shook his head, “You will be the first to die.” Ronar’s laughter immediately stopped. “I’m giving you one more opportunity to join us and this will be your last chance.”
Jenak yelled from across the cave where he was holding a cutter in front of the Vikings, “Andy, can you kill all of us before we can harm anyone?”
Andy looked at the strange archer and nodded. Jenak looked at Ronar and yelled, “You tried this the first time and you failed. It’s time we tried another way.”
Ronar yelled, “YOU WILL FOLLOW MY ORDERS!!”
Jenak stared at Ronar and looked across the cave at his wife. She was in tears and he knew what he had to do. He turned the cutter off and threw it to the floor. He yelled at Ronar, “He knew you were going to do this. He will kill all of us if he says he can do it.” Immediately, ten more cutters were turned off.
Ronar screamed and ten cutters remained activated. Andy looked at Ronar and shook his head, “You had your chance.”
“You can do nothing!”
Andy looked at Ronar and smiled, “Where are the Indians?” Ronar looked around and realized he didn’t see any of them. They kept to themselves away from the community and he never noticed they weren’t present. His eyebrows went down a moment just before an arrow hit him in the head and dropped him. The ten Outsiders still holding active cutters were all killed within a second of each other and they all collapsed to the floor.
Andy looked out at the C
ommunity and sighed, “I didn’t want to do this. I was hoping they would communicate and allow us to come together in peace.”
Jenak said, “This had to happen.”
Andy looked at Jenak, “Why?”
“This is the second time we’ve been placed in one of these caves. We failed the first time and this time would be no different. Ronar was senior and he refused to accept anyone else as a leader.”
Andy looked at the Outsiders still alive and said, “What are you going to do?”
Jenak looked at the others and said, “We will join you and try to have a different outcome.” Jenak looked around, “How were you able to kill them?” Jenak suddenly saw an Indian face appear two feet in front of him. There was no body, just a face.
Andy said, “I’m very good at hiding things.”
Jenak looked at the smiling brave and said, “It appears you are.”
Andy yelled, “Roll the wheel back and toss these bodies out. They don’t deserve a funeral. Afterwards, we will have a community meeting with the Outsiders in the center.” Andy looked at Jenak, “Be prepared to answer our questions.”
Jenak looked at Andy, “We will remove the bodies. It’s our responsibility to do so.”
Some of the Outsider Women came rushing forward and wailed at their dead husband’s bodies. Jenak looked at them and said, “They would have caused all of us to die. Go back to the wall and weep for something worth crying about.”
Andy walked down and said, “Give them time to say goodbye. Losing the one you love is never easy and they deserve the time.”
Jenak looked at Andy and nodded. Two hours later, the bodies were thrown out of the cave. They were gone the next morning.
• • •
Harvey walked up to Andy, “We really like these new uniforms.”
“I suspect any good scout would love them. You’re impossible to see.”
“How does this material work?”
“I have no idea, I’m just glad it does.”
“Can we keep them?”
“If you agree to take them off when you’re in the cave?”
“We can do that.”
“They were put here for you. I suspect others will wear them for safety reasons when they’re outside but they are a tool for you to use to go out and scout what’s out there. Thank you for your help in handling this situation.”
“We knew it was coming. I suspect you did as well.”
“I would have never allowed them to pull the cutters if the Camosuits didn’t exist. They allowed me to let them declare their intentions and see who among them was worth saving.”
Harvey nodded and walked over to join the other Indians.
Suddenly Andy felt two arms around his neck and he jumped; then he said, “One of the things I like best about you is how beautiful you are.” Linnae pulled the skull covering off her head and kissed Andy.
Chapter Seven
The community was in a circle and Andy was glad to see that they no longer stayed in the original groups. Since learning to speak the same language, they began to sit with friends from other groups. The surviving Outsiders sat in a group in the center of the circle and Andy saw their sorrow at their lost friends. Andy sighed and said, “I am sorry it came to killing some of your group.”
Jenak said, “You really had no choice. I told them you were honest to a fault. I knew that when you told us that you could kill us all that it was true. They just refused to accept it.”
“Where did your group come from?”
“Atlantis.”
Andy was shocked at the response. “I thought Atlantis was just a myth.”
“No; it was real. We were on a continent in the middle of a giant ocean. Our society developed at an incredible rate and in less than three thousand years we were using aircraft and nuclear energy.”
Andy nodded, “My society went from bows and arrows to nuclear energy in a similar time.”
“There was a source of highly radioactive material on the continent and it allowed us to build a highly advanced civilization.”
“One of you mentioned that you took slaves.”
Jenak looked surprised, “I’m staggered that one of us would tell you that.”
One of the Outsiders said, “I’m the one who told him. I felt he needed to know what he was up against in the hopes he could persuade Ronar to take a different path.”
Jenak looked at the outsider and shook his head, “Ronar would never accept another leader.”
“I know, but it was worth the effort. I trust these people.”
Andy smiled, “Are you now willing to join us in building a home here.”
Jenak looked at the still weeping women and said, “Some of us may have difficulty forgiving the loss of their loved ones but I think as a whole we are ready to try another way.”
“Why did you take slaves?”
“Many of the primitive societies resented us. They would launch boats and come to attack us. They failed, of course, and we initially released them back to where they came from. That proved to be a mistake; the attacks grew in numbers and severity.”
Andy nodded, “However, taking slaves ensured they would always try to come and save those that you held in captivity.”
“After the fact, I can see you’re right. We felt like we couldn’t send them back and we didn’t want to kill them; slavery seemed like the best alternative.”
“What happened to Atlantis?”
“We blew it up.”
“What?”
Jenak sighed, “We should have expanded to other continents but we had barely settled the one we were on. The main reason we didn’t leave was that the material we used to power our nuclear devices was only located on that land mass. All of our technology was based on batteries that were charged by the reactors. When the continent went up, all the devices failed.”
“The cutters worked in sunlight.”
“They were tools used by our slaves doing manual labor. They disappeared with the continent.”
“They’re here.”
Janak shrugged, “So are we. I can’t explain how either of us were brought here.”
“How did you destroy Atlantis?”
“Some idiot scientist came up with the idea to just tap into the source of the radioactive material and put a massive charger above it.”
Andy shook his head, “They set off a chain reaction?”
Jenak nodded, “Most of the major city at the site just ceased to exist in an instant. Since the material was a mile underground the entire base of the continent blew out from under it.” Jenak looked at his group and said, “We were in a small village away from all of the major cities and we saw the mushroom clouds and felt the ground start shaking under us. We started running away from the distant cloud and suddenly the land split a mile in front of us and hot magma came rolling out. We turned and saw the land toward the mushroom cloud start collapsing and a giant wave was washing across the land toward us at an incredible speed. It had to be thousands of feet high. An instant later, we woke up in the first cave.”
Magnus interrupted, “Do you understand anything he’s saying?” Andy nodded. “What is nuclear, radioactive, aircraft, batteries…”
“They are devices that future civilizations use. There was nothing like them during most of your times.”
“But they existed in your time?”
“They did. If you’re really interested, I’m sure Jenak will describe them to you.”
“Will we ever use them?” Andy shook his head. “Well, I’m not that curious.”
Andy turned back to Jenak, “What happened in the first cave?”
“The same thing you saw here. Ronar attacked the others and took power. It eventually turned out that most of the others would slip out of the cave and run away. I don’t think many of them survived. At the end there were just us and a few others. Once they escaped, we were left alone to fend for ourselves. One night we went to sleep and woke up in this cave with all of you.”
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Andy leaned forward, “Is this the same cave?”
“We initially thought it was but quickly realized it isn’t; the water flowed in a different direction and the entrance was slightly different.”
Andy nodded and said, “It’s a shame you had to attack all the others.”
Togawa said, “We would have done the same thing except for that bow of yours.” Andy looked at Togawa. “What would have happened if you hadn’t stopped the advance of Maxus’ troops?”
Maxus said, “We would have all fought to see who would take possession of the cave.”
Reif nodded, “I suspect that fighting is what would normally happen first. You are the one that caused us to see the situation and start working together.”
Jenak said, “We almost pulled the cutters but when you stopped the others with your bow, Ronar ordered us to wait. He knew you could hit us with an arrow before we could take you out. Afterwards, he waited to see what would happen before he acted.”
Linnae said, “That explains all the different weapons along the wall.” Everyone turned to her. “I suspect whoever put us here anticipated that there would be fighting and they provided the weapons that all of us were accustomed to using. They wanted to make sure whoever won had a chance of surviving.”
Andy looked at Linnae and was surprised at her insight. Then she said something that shocked him, “I wonder if all the doors to the other weapons would have closed once the ones who used them were eliminated.”
Jenak nodded, “That’s exactly what happened. We only had access to the cutters at the end. Even the rooms with food closed and only those in our area of the cave remained open.”
Linnae looked at Andy, “Why do you think that is?”
Andy loudly sighed, “So they wouldn’t have to restock the cave if the survivors of the fighting failed.”
Everyone in the room stared at Andy and Joshua finally said, “It appears someone is trying to create a rather violent civilization that is born in blood.”
Andy nodded, “And we are not cooperating with their plan. All of our doors are still open because all of us are still here.”