Neo Jurassic Smashwords 11-17-2014

by Carolyn McCray

  Durnag would be happy once they were done with the creatures. They smelled, squawked, and had an awkward gait. None of the soldiers complained though. They had ridden the entire way without a word.

  Until now. One of the soldiers lifted his arm and pointed to the east. “A storm blows in.”

  He checked his internal barometer and found the same results he had gotten the last time he checked. There should be no major weather patterns moving into the area for a few days. Yet there were the bruised skies.

  The first cry told him what they were facing. Quetz. Or more accurately an entire flock of them.

  The only bright spot was that maybe the clan had been taken out by the flock. Making his job all the easier.

  The Quetz flew with an odd gait. Their heads bobbed up and down with each stroke. Their necks twisted into a fold. He knew from the historical documents that it was similar to the old world crane.

  Their beaks were long and sharp. He knew from personal experience. He had faced a flock of these within the first year of traveling into the wilds. As he remembered it, they weren’t all that fond of electric shock. Funny how that was pretty much a universal dislike. Except for him. Give him a jolt any day and he would be happy for it. It was one of the few pleasures he allowed himself.

  As the birds swooped down, Durnag braced himself and when the first Quetz attacked, he jumped from his ride, allowing the winged dinosaur his meal. The other soldiers followed suit. Durnag lay on the ground, keeping as low a profile as possible as the Quetz swooped in, chasing after the fleeing Ornithomimids. A worthy sacrifice. They weren’t going to last long anyway.

  * * *

  Appie clung to the sheer rock face. They were nearly there and by some great luck, most of the flock had taken off. Drake climbed more quickly above her.

  “Hurry, before they get back,” he urged.

  Chimmus did not seem to need encouragement. She was glued to the old world teen. It was like they were becoming one person. Appie wasn’t quite sure why that bugged her so much. She should be happy for the two of them. Bonding was one of the most important events of one’s life. Why wouldn’t she be happy for them? However she was not, that was clear as her cheeks heated up as Drake helped Chimmus up onto the next ledge.

  They had intentionally climbed a bit higher than the rookery so that they could rappel down into the nest if Robertum was salvageable. Appie checked the compass that Lavla had given her. They were headed in the right direction that was for sure.

  Drake extended a hand to her, helping her up as well. She hoped he didn’t expect to bond with both of them. She was not into sharing.

  “There,” Chimmus stated pointing down to the poor Robertum. Or at least what was left of Robertum. The baby Quetzes, about the size of a dog, were picking him over pretty good. After the fire the synthetic had very little flesh so the babies were really digging in to get each and every tidbit.

  Two fledglings squawked over his arm, one of them ripping it off, scurrying away with his prize. If they didn’t get down there pretty fast there wouldn’t be anything of Robertum to save. And the worst part? The synthetic was conscious. He would try to crawl away on what limbs he had left and get pulled back into the center by the babies.

  Appie tied the rope around her waist. “Is the oxygen tank ready?”

  They had brought a small one along to act as a bomb of sorts. Funny they’d used oxygen more as a weapon than a lifesaving gas so far on the trip.

  Drake nodded and cranked open the valve, the hiss of the gas leaking drew the attention of two of the adults left to guard the rookery.

  “Now!” Drake said, using Chimmus’ lighter to spark the oxygen, but instead of trying to keep the bottle still, he tossed it into the pit with the fledglings.

  The tank flew through the air, banging against the rock, then ricocheting in other directions. As Appie and Chimmus rappelled down the rock and landed near Robertum, the babies panicked, flapping their useless wings, screaming for help. The adult Quetz tried to fly down to their aid, but the oxygen bottle left a trail of fire behind it then exploded mid-air, sending the adults reeling off the side of the mountain.

  Appie got an arm under what should have been Robertum’s shoulder and tried to haul him away, but he was too heavy even missing an arm and a leg.

  “Chimmus!” Appie hissed to find the girl rushing over.

  “Sorry, I thought he might want his arm,” the girl said, tossing the limb onto Robertum who grabbed it, clutching the appendage to his chest.

  With Chimmus’ help, they got Robertum hooked up to the pulley line. From above, Drake pulled Robertum up as Appie and Chimmus climbed alongside.

  “Oh crap,” Drake said, pointing to the sky. The black cloud had turned back to the rookery. There were about to be hundreds of pissed off Quetz over their heads in a few minutes.

  Appie scrambled up onto the ledge with Drake helping him pull Robertum up. Chimmus joined them, hauling the synthetic up before the adults returned.

  “Dude, I am so sorry,” Drake said. Appie wasn’t sure why until Drake pulled Robertum’s other leg off. It had only been hanging on by a thread, but still. “You are too heavy to carry whole.” Drake handed Appie legs. “You carry this and Chimmus you carry his arm. We’ll make it down so much faster.”

  Appie couldn’t argue with the logic especially after it was already done. She strapped the leg onto her back and helped Drake secure what was left of Robertum’s torso onto his back.

  “We’re just going to have to rappel as fast as we can,” Appie said, double checking her rope.

  Drake nodded, turning up the music again as they jumped off the side of the ledge, in the direction opposite the rookery.

  The babies were still panicking, squawking and crying pitifully.

  Appie did not have all that much sympathy for them after watching them play with Robertum like that. She had a leg on her back to prove it.

  Letting the rope slide between her gloved fingers, she bounded down the mountain side. They still had a long way to go and that cloud was getting closer and closer.

  The music didn’t seem to be doing as much good as it had on the plains. They adults were too worried about their offspring. They wouldn’t be put off by a little high pitched singing this time.

  The cloud split in two. They were close enough now that Appie could see that some of the adults had prey, it looked like some Ornithomimids . What was a flock of those doing on the eastern plain? The Quetz with prey were heading to the rookery while the other half was heading straight toward Appie’s position.

  “Hurry!” Appie screamed as she tossed aside any technique in her downward path. Rope flew through her fingers as she plummeted downward. They had to reach the level of the caves or all was lost. Had Mattu been right? Was this too great a risk for a Syn that had just joined their clan?

  Then she saw the look of gratitude on Robertum’s face. Yes, it had been worth it.

  Unfortunately, the last of her rope slipped through her fingers. She no longer had any control over her descent. She would soon die, crashed upon the rocks.

  Then a metallic hand lashed out and caught her by the jacket. Appie crossed her arms, keeping the jacket on as she swung beneath Drake and Robertum.

  “In here!” Chimmus cried, flinging herself into a cave.

  Appie had no way to get there though. That was until Drake pushed off the rock swinging them both out into the open air.

  “Dive!” Drake yelled as Robertum let loose of her jacket. Appie flew through the air. She was going to miss the cave and splat onto the rock, but then tucked into a ball, throwing her weight to the side. She bounced off the edge, but landed in the cave.

  Then Drake, carrying Robertum, entered the cave.

  The angered Quetz weren’t going to be thwarted that easily. Within a blink the cave entrance was darkened by the great beast’s bodies. There were at least a dozen blocking the exit.

  “This way!” Chimmus yelled as the Quetz began peeking and thrust
ing their long, sharp beaks into the cave.

  The girl had found a small hole at the back of the cave. Appie had no idea where the small tunnel let to, but it had to be better than here.

  She scrambled back from an exceptionally aggressive beak and crawled after Chimmus into the dark. Her only beacon was the occasional grunt and curse by the younger girl plus a few pebbles on her head. Her fingertips were becoming bloody as she used her fingernails to grip onto the slick rock. The going was slow to say the least, but hey, if she wasn’t being pecked by a Quetz, life was good.

  Drake had the worst of it though. With the added width of Robertum’s torso, the metal scraped as Drake climbed.

  “Sorry, dude,” he mumbled.

  “Do as you must,” Robertum said, his words a bit slurred. No surprise there. The synthetic was in pretty bad shape. Appie hoped this wasn’t all for naught.

  Was that a sliver of light up ahead? Most of it was blocked by Chimmus rather voluminous dress, but that was some light. Her hugely dilated pupils pinched in response.

  Chimmus stopped climbing for a moment then ducked back down.

  “We are above them, but they aren’t going anywhere for a while.”

  They couldn’t be caught out on the smooth rock.

  “We’ll wait it out here,” Appie announced, pushing her back against the rock and bracing her feet. As her muscles shook, Appie tried to ignore them because she hated to tell them, this was going to be a long wait.

  * * *

  Lavla nursed the baby as they drove up the mountain. They hadn’t heard from Appie and the rest for hours. Ironically she was riding with Lik. Her SUV had been trashed. So had several others, but there was still enough room for everyone.

  Now she worried that she’d sent Appie out on a suicide mission. Had she risked the others in the vain hope for Robertum? She could barely hold back tears.

  Perhaps she should have chosen another car as Lik refused to look at her and had gone back to his mumbling. Right now his lips were moving rapidly but no sound came out. Ahead, Mattu backed up and redirected. The higher up the mountain the harder it was to find the old road. Lik backed up as well, mumbling even louder.

  Lavla had learned to tune it out. She rocked the baby as he stopped sucking. She brought the newborn to her shoulder and gently patted his back until he burped. As a new parent that was perhaps the most wondrous sound you could hear. She noticed that even Lik glanced over, grinning, then his expression hardened and he went back to staring straight ahead.

  She breathed out a sigh of relief for the clan. They finally crested the mountain. They had a beautiful view of the eastern valley. It was still lush green, however very shortly it would be dusted with snow.

  Behind them a storm, a real winter storm far more dangerous than the Quetz, was building on the horizon. Once it got speed, it would descend upon them like a white fury. They had to get down from the mountains before that happened.

  And Mattu was certainly setting the pace for it.

  He didn’t slow as he popped his truck over a boulder and headed downhill.

  Lik shifted into a lower gear and followed.

  The wind was whistling now, giving them a preview of what was to come. She wrapped little Hesper tighter in his blanket. The car shielded them somewhat and there was an amazing tool called the heater that blasted warm air into the car. But what if the car stalled? Where would they be then?

  She had crossed this mountain pass many times. And many times they had been trapped by a blizzard. Lavla did not like to think about the clansmen that had been lost on those journeys.

  Lik slammed on the brakes, throwing Lavla forward, she protected the baby’s head with her hand.

  Lavla was about to complain when she saw the reason for the convoys halt. It was Appie, Chimmus and Drake. For a moment her heart sank, there was no sign of Robertum. Then Drake turned slightly to the left and she saw Robertum’s charred torso. But just his torso and one arm. Appie had his legs and Chimmus appeared to have his other arm.

  She handed the baby off to Lik whether he was in the mood or not and rushed out of the car to the trio.

  “Robertum!” Lavla yelled as the synthetics head turned to her. Despite everything he still had a smile for her.

  She wrapped her arms around his dismantled torso squeezing him tight.

  “You shouldn’t see me like this,” Robertum argued, but really didn’t have any way to force her back, now did he?

  “Just to see you is enough,” Lavla sobbed. She turned to Drake and gave him a hug. “Thank you, thank you all.”

  Mattu came from behind her. “We need to get moving if we are going to beat that storm.”

  “Of course, of course,” Lavla stated. She’d already done enough to endanger the clan, she could do no more.

  “Where is Tin?” Appie asked.

  Lavla nodded to the green SUV. He is riding with Pipo and Salvve.

  “Perfect,” Appie stated. “Have Salvve switch with you and we’ll have Tin work on Robertum.”

  Tin wasn’t exactly a specialist in synthetics by any means, but he was the only one of the clan that liked to tinker with mechanicals and even would find odd spare parts and make functional toys for the children.

  If there was anyone who could help put Robertum back together from their clan, it was Tin.

  She raced back to her SUV, took the baby from Lik, who seemed a little reluctant to give up that little scrunched face, and got into Tin’s SUV.

  Robertum was loaded into the back as Salvve took over driving.

  She clung to Robertum’s hand as he was lowered down.

  Her little family was back again.

  * * *

  Appie watched as the SUVs pulled out following Mattu. Whoever had been driving the second truck had left it idling. Guess whoever it was had gotten tired of driving. She didn’t blame him. She could still feel the rattle of the wheel up her arms and into her shoulders.

  Still, she climbed in and shifted the big truck into gear. Her leg muscles still complained about that hour plus wait in the tunnel. She could see the strain it took on both Drake and even Chimmus, even if the teen wouldn’t admit it.

  “I can drive if you want,” Drake offered but Appie shook her head. He’d had to carry Robertum the whole way. If anyone deserved rest, it was he.

  Appie found she had to sit on the brake more than the gas as they snaked their way down the switchback road. As tired as she was, she was buoyed by the sight. She could see the little shelter of trees above the riverbank where they would overwinter. It was a good spot. A perfect spot actually and now with abundant supplies? Winter could come.

  The gathering was only a few months off, a time to pick everyone’s spirits up. And perhaps celebrate a few nuptials as well. Appie found her eyes sliding over to Drake whose head was leaned back against the glass.

  It had been assumed by the clan that she would choose a mate at this gathering. To wait another year risked her stature as Shawnee. Part of her responsibilities was to have a mate and begin filling the ranks of the clan.

  Was it wild imagination to believe that man might be Drake? Or had he already committed to Chimmus? Chimmus certainly seemed committed to him.

  The brakes squeaked and more than one of the tires slid as the temperatures plummeted. What had started out as a pleasant morning was descending into a frigid afternoon. The clouds had rolled over the plains and crested the mountain top and they were only half way down. Lightning crackled overhead, sending booming thunder chasing after them.

  Safety was so close. They couldn’t be thwarted now.

  But the first few snowflakes danced in the air, colliding with the windshield in a little cat paw print pattern. Appie turned on the windshield wipers as the snow’s pace accelerated. For now the snow wasn’t sticking, but that wouldn’t be that way long.

  Climbing down the mountain in snow was difficult enough, she could only imagine how precarious it was in the truck.

  The skies darkened to the poin
t she had to turn on her high beams to see the path ahead clearly. Okay, not so clear as the snow came down in sheets, making it nearly impossible to see the road or even the tire tracks left by the car ahead.

  “White out,” Drake said beside her.

  Appie cocked her head.

  “It is a condition when you can only see the snow,” he explained.

  For a moment Appie feared she had ventured too far and gone over the edge, but then all four tires dug into the snow and the truck lurched forward. She hadn’t driven off a ledge they had finally reached the valley floor.

  Over the storm you could hear the hoot and hollers from the clan. The camp wasn’t far at all and Appie felt like she could find it in either light or dark.

  “We really made it,” Chimmus said laying her sword over her lap.

  Yes, they really did.

  * * *

  Durnag changed the spectrum of his vision, but it didn’t help much. They had been so close. They had crested the mountain and could see the clan heading down the hill then this blasted storm hit, slowing even the synthetics. The flakes confounded their vision making their descent a precarious one. They had already lost one of the soldiers over the side of the mountain. Which had forced Durnag to slow their march.

  He had never quite hated humans as much as he did now. Meddlesome. Arrogant. Tough like cockroaches, though. Always scrambling and hiding.

  Even without orders he would hunt this clan down just to punish them for the losses he had suffered. He wanted to go home. He wanted to be in the city where there was order and precision.

  No more flying dinosaurs harassing him. He wished to sit and contemplate the three great truths. His time in the wild was coming to an end.

  Durnag had ideas for a next generation of synthetics. They would become the perfect human killers. He would carve out any sympathy for their creators from this version. They would destroy the flawed race once and for all.

  That would be his legacy.

  If he could get out of the snow bank, that is.

  CHAPTER 13

  Drake helped Chimmus down from the truck. He turned to do the same for Appie, but she had already gotten herself down. Kind of Appie’s MO.