by Adam Carter
“You know,” Arowana said, “it could be just my sandwiches.”
She was lying on her side, head propped on one arm, her elbow on the rock. She still looked weak, but no longer at death’s door. I had not realised it, but I figured a lot of time had passed since I had bound her injuries. I noted she also did not look as annoyed as I would have expected.
“Can’t blame me for being curious,” I said.
“No.” She continued to stare at me and I could tell she was deep in thought about something. I turned my attention to the lagoon, feeling uncomfortable under her gaze. “I want you to trust me about the case,” she said.
“Trust goes both ways, Private.”
“It does.”
Out the corner of my eye I could see her scoop up her gun. I tensed and wished I had thought to remove the weapon from her reach while I had the chance.
“Here,” she said.
I looked at her with a frown. The gun lay in her palm, the barrel pointing more towards her than me.
“What?” I asked.
She smiled tightly. “Someone who saved my life once told me trust goes both ways.”
I blinked, wondering whether she was trying to be funny, but not taking the gun would have been stupid. So I took it, and once I held it I realised I had the power at last. I was the one who could make her walk ahead of me; I was the one who could give all the orders; I was the one who could give out the snide verbal abuse whenever I felt like it.
“Thanks,” I mumbled, shoving the gun into my belt.
Arowana lay back and closed her eyes.
While she slept, I returned to the lagoon to fetch fresh water and perhaps even to find something we might be able to eat. While I searched, I kept an eye on Arowana, in case any opportunistic crocodile should drag her back to its lair. She slept so peacefully, so soundly, that it was almost as though she truly did trust me. She had little choice, wounded as she was. That had to be the answer, because it was the only answer that made any sense. Unless the shock of the situation had turned her incredibly rude and she was only now mellowing back to her old self. Not having the first clue as to what her old self was like, I could not say, but if she was going to be more of a pleasant travelling companion I was hardly going to argue.
I guessed I was just going to have to wait and see.
CHAPTER FIVE
“People have been coming to Ceres for years,” Arowana said while we ate. I had managed to gather some berries and had wrestled a turtle as long as my arm, smashing it to pulp on a rock. Arowana had assessed the berries, discarded the ones she said were unsafe to eat, and had offered to help cook the turtle. I was almost insulted by the offer and built the fire by myself just to spite her. The turtle turned out to be a great find because it heated nicely in its own shell, the rich scent of cooked meat filling the lagoon-side. Having added the berries, I had been able to produce a fine stew, if I do say so myself.
Her comment about Ceres threw me somewhat. I sat cross-legged, eating with my fingers, and frowned. “How exactly do you know people have been coming here?”
“Records.”
“It’s illegal to come here. Why would people keep records?”
“People keep records for all sorts of illegal activities. Drug dealers have to plan their distribution, protection money needs to be marked as unpaid, even prostitutes quite often demand card payments just so they can keep a record.”
“Is there anything you don’t know?”
“I don’t know how to make a berry and turtle soup. This is amazing.”
I scooped up some more to hide my reaction; I’ve never been good at taking compliments from women because I’ve always found them veiled. There was only one turtle shell from which we were both scooping meat, however, so I could not place the shell before my face. Glancing over to her, she seemed oblivious to my reaction. Sitting cross-legged as well, she had pulled her vest up in order to reset the bandage. There was still blood showing through, but I did not think it was bleeding any more, although the vest was sticking to the injury where it was hanging down. I was tempted to suggest she take the vest off for a while. It was the logical thing to do, but she was a woman and women didn’t like to sit around topless in front of strangers. To be fair, I could personally have done without seeing her topless, so I kept silent.
“Records,” I said, keeping us back on track. “Who’s been coming here, then?”
“All sorts of people. The Church of Themisto, for one.”
“The Church of Themisto?”
“You’ve heard of them?”
“Sure. Themisto’s such a small moon the entire place is devoted to one religion. They’re fanatics because they don’t have contact with outsiders so never entertain opposing viewpoints.”
“They’re also violent and seem to think they’re Knights of the Round Table or something.”
“What have they been coming here for?”
“Prayer. They think Ceres is God’s way of giving up on the Earth He created. He’s made a new world, a second Earth, because the original population of Earth left to go to other worlds.”
“Anyone else been here?”
“All sorts. More than we know, since there won’t be records for all the random people. Governmental records, though, tell us more than we need to know.”
“Which government? I thought Ceres was quarantined for political purposes, because everyone and their auntie claims to own the place.”
“Yep.”
“So, which government’s been here?”
“At some point, probably all of them.”
I could not believe what I was hearing, but Arowana continued eating as though the news did not have massive ramifications for the entire solar system. But then I supposed it was not news to her.
“Is this why they’re trying to kill you? Because if you went around telling everyone what you knew, it would spark another solar war?”
“No, they’re trying to kill me because of the bio-tech.”
“Silly me, I forgot.”
“They crashed a plane once,” Arowana said casually. “A passenger jet. Killed everyone aboard just so they could get some readings on this place.”
“That’s … That’s terrible. And no one did anything?”
“No one knew. And that’s not the worst of it. Research into viral weaponry, genetic experimentation, studies into heightened aggression. It’s awful what they do here.”
“Anything else?”
“Sure. But it’d only give you nightmares. There are bases round here, too. No idea where, but most of them are underground. If you’re constructing an illegal base, the best place to do it would be where no one can see you.”
“This is a lot to take in.”
“It is. It’s good you believe me, though.”
Strangely enough, it had never occurred to me to not believe her. “If we’re looking for an underground base, which government are we talking about here?”
“Probably best if I don’t tell you all the specifics.”
“I’m not used to having women looking out for me.”
“Nice to think I’m someone’s first.” Her quirky smile vanished as she realised what she had said and it was her turn to hide her face in some quickly scooped turtle meat.
We finished our meal without much further talk. I washed out the turtle shell and kept it, for it would prove a useful implement for transporting water if we ever needed to. Also, assuming we could find some more food along the way, I could use it again as a handy pan. While I was at the water, I pretended not to watch Arowana as she raised her top further so she could peel away the bandage. She winced as it came off and she set to cleaning the wound in an efficient and careful manner. She would be stiff for a while, but the injury could have been a lot worse.
I was not quite certain why it was I did not want her to catch me looking at her. I was her companion and we had just formed a truce of sorts so I was allowed to be concerned for her welfare. It was only as she set a
side the bandage and struggled into her top, wincing all the while, that I realised what it probably was. Arowana may have been my kidnapper, but ever since she had shown the weakness of injury I had seen her as a human being; and now that I had contemplated Arowana taking off her vest I had even begun to think of her as a woman.
She looked over to me and I turned my head quickly, embarrassed, to scrub furiously at the inside of the turtle shell. As she approached me, she was testing her limbs and gave no indication that she had noticed my chagrin.
“I’m set,” she said.
“Right. Good.” Slinging the shell across my back, I tied it about my chest with a strong reed. The shell was coarse against my back, but I had by this point put my own shirt back on, minus of course the arms I had torn off to form the bandages.
We walked away from the lagoon, reluctant to leave the area but knowing we had to move on. Arowana was still not telling me anything of our destination and I had long since ceased asking about it, knowing she wanted to keep such information to herself. We had hardly left the area of concentrated vegetation, however, when we stopped, for there was a whole herd of dinosaurs before us we had somehow not noticed.
There were probably somewhere in the region of twenty adults, with juveniles running about their legs and frolicking as all young do. The creatures were large and bulbous, with four thick and stumpy tree trunks for legs, the rear ones being slightly longer and more powerful. The limbs held the beasts so far into the air that we could have just about walked beneath them and not scraped our heads on their undersides. The remainder of their bodies were formed of a massive, thick tail on one end and a lengthy snake-like neck on the other. A dim-witted and dull-looking face swivelled about at the end of the neck, so far into the sky the creatures likely did not even notice us. I would have had to have stood on the shoulders of three men just to reach their heads, while it would have taken eight or nine men lying on the ground to equal their length. Of anything I had thus far seen on Ceres, it was these creatures which impressed me the most. And the best thing about them was I could show off to Arowana about them.
“I know what these are,” I said. “Diplodocus.”
“Close. Brontomerus.”
“No, they’re diplodocus. You can tell because they look like them.”
“They do look a bit like them, yes.”
“You’re being patronising.”
“I’m trying to be diplomatic.”
“Diplomatic? Is that a joke as well because I’m saying they’re diplodocus?”
Arowana shook her head and some of my anger vanished. I had it in my head that she had been putting me down at every turn, but her resigned expression told me she was not like all the other women in my life. Not that she was in my life, per se, but for the present I accepted she was.
“All right, fine,” I said. “Tell me something about the brontomerus.”
“Tell you something about them?”
“You seem to know something about everything; I figured you’d know a few things about these dinosaurs no one’s ever heard of. What does the name mean?”
“Thunder thigh.”
“I’ve known some of those women in my time.”
“Anyone ever tell you you’re disgusting?”
“My ex might have mentioned it once or twice.”
“Why am I not surprised you’re divorced?”
“Don’t get your hopes up. I’m not in the market for another wife.”
“That’s fine with me. I’m only interested in men.”
I was about to ask her when exactly our relationship had drifted into friendly banter, but the brontomerus herd was becoming agitated at something. I could not imagine the things had any natural predators, but supposed a strong enough pack could pick off the youngsters or something. Their long necks were twisting to see something in the sky, however, which made me remember that pteranodon I plastered to the windshield earlier. It was as I heard the dull hum flowing through the air, however, that I realised what the problem truly was.
“Move,” Arowana said, grabbing me by the arm and running with me towards the herd.
I looked over my shoulder to see a dark form streaking through the air, two more jets flanking it. Not needing any further encouragement, I ran with Arowana, but the herd was becoming agitated by the jets and I wondered when she intended for us to break away and find cover.
“There is no cover,” she said, reading my mind. “We have to get under one of the big ones.”
“Under?”
“It’ll hide us from Taylor.”
“It’ll kill us.”
“Maybe that too.”
The adult brontomerus were gathering their young, placing them beneath their massive bodies in precisely the place we intended to be. Arowana selected a large brontomerus which did not have any calves about it and together we ran. It was a stupid idea, but I did not have a better one. If Captain Taylor caught us out in the open she would shoot us down in seconds.
The massive dinosaur was even larger up close, its great form towering over us and swaying as the beast reacted nervously to the oncoming jets. Its tail swung murderously close and I instinctively ducked, even though the dinosaur displayed no interest in killing us. Its attention was focused so much on the sky it had yet to even notice we were there.
We practically slid under the behemoth and Arowana clutched tightly to my arm as she looked up, timing our movements to keep us directly beneath the animal as it moved. I allowed her to seize control of the situation, never before having been involved in anything even remotely similar. Arowana’s body was tense, her grip upon me was iron, but her face displayed a calm resolve as she timed our movements, as though she had covered that very scenario in training.
The screech of the jets blew past, but we were beneath the shadow of the brontomerus so I could not see anything. I tried to listen for the jets returning, but the bleating and braying of the animals was deafening as the herd descended into panic. The beast we were beneath broke into a run and Arowana dragged me in the right direction almost even before the creature itself had begun to move.
After a while, the herd began to calm down and I reasoned the jets had passed on.
“We’re OK,” Arowana said. “For now, anyway. I think the fighters came down.”
“They crashed?”
“No. They must have seen something interesting so they landed.”
“All of them?”
“Maybe it was very interesting.”
I could sense by her agitation that she was not telling me the whole story, but it was not the time to press the issue. “If they’ve come down,” I said, “we need to be headed in the opposite direction.”
“We need to get away from these dinosaurs first.”
“That’s easy enough.”
“The jets are gone, Hawthorn. That means the herd will be looking to their young, making sure they’re all right. And that means looking down.”
I looked around to see several long necks were already bent low to nuzzle against their young in reassurance.
“I should also say,” Arowana said, “the brontomerus are called thunder thigh because of their incredibly powerful thighs, the muscles of which are thicker than our bodies.”
“I’m afraid to ask why that’s relevant.”
“Fossil records indicate they tended to … kick their enemies.”
“Kick them? Powered by muscles thicker than our whole bodies?”
She shrugged sheepishly.
“You, missy, are going to be the death of me.”
A cry went up from one of the brontomerus and I looked across to see it was rearing at the sight of us. Arowana was dancing, attempting to keep beneath our creature so it would not see us. I understood her reasoning: none of the other beasts would try kicking at us if we were under one of the herd, while the one we were under could not completely understand what was happening if it could not see us. Unfortunately, it was not a strategy which could last indefinitely.
“What are you going to do?”
“I thought we were trusting one another now.”
She bit her lower lip and narrowed her eyes, but I could tell she had no better idea.
Unstrapping the turtle shell from my back, I heaved the thing over my head. It would not entirely conceal me, but was large enough to confuse the dinosaur, at least. I was just about to run when Arowana grabbed my arm again.
“This is your plan?” she asked.
“At least I have a plan.”
Breaking free of her, I ran out from cover. The beast above us started in surprise, but did not kick out at me. Perhaps it recognised the turtle shell, perhaps it was trying to figure out how I was moving fairly quickly over land, perhaps it was attempting to ascertain what kind of animal I was. Whatever the cause, it did not attack and I shouted back to Arowana to get a move on. Looking more annoyed with me than ever, she turned and bolted. The herd reacted in shock, bleating as the small animal darted about them, but all attention must have been on me because Arowana fled through them without being killed.
I saw her clamber up another tree – which was amazing considering they were fairly scarce. It seemed hiding in trees was becoming a habit for us.
The momentary confusion allowed me to attempt my own escape. Still with my shell over my head, I ran away from the creatures, taking especial care to steer clear of their young, and described a great circle to head for Arowana’s tree. The brontomerus were so confused they made no move to attack, and as I reached the tree I discarded my shell and leaped. Arowana was hanging onto a low branch with one hand, her other extended, and my fingers clasped hers.
The world shook and I fell, impacting with the ground and rolling onto my belly. One of the brontomerus was raising itself on its hind legs and was slamming down with enough force to shake the ground. Arowana held firm in the tree with both hands, leaves flying wildly under the impact. The dinosaur did not appear to be aggressively coming at me, but was merely stating its point, so I rushed to my feet and ascended the tree as quickly as I could.