by CJ Davis
“Did you see the size of that guy?” Reese asked Rajiv. ”I’d love to see him drafted by the Chicago Bears.”
“Yes, I see the Big Foot family,” Rajiv replied sarcastically. “How could I not? They don’t appear that they will attack us, especially if we keep our distance. Let’s just hurry past them as quick as we can, and don’t make eye contact.”
When they picked up the pace and finally ran by them, Kate’s heart skipped a few beats.
After a few more moments the group finally reached the bottom of the mountain, and the outskirts of the Raptor jungle. They stopped to collect themselves.
The bushes, trees and other plants from the jungle towered twenty feet straight up in front of them. It was a giant ominous wall of fauna and darkness. It reminded Kate of the stone wall guarding Asgelot. The jungle was so thick that there could be a velociraptor standing ten feet from her, and she wouldn’t even know about it.
The exotic noises of the jungle were coming from so many different areas, that it was difficult to pinpoint any particular one. In the far off distance, they heard an enormous roar. Rajiv despairingly looked at Kate.
There was no doubt that it was the sound of some sort of Jurassic apex predator by the galorim pool. A tightness gripped Kate’s chest. She took a big breath and looked determinately at Reese and Rajiv.
“All right, this is it,” Reese said. “We have finally arrived. In front of us is our destiny.”
Kate was reminded of the many marathons she ran in her last life on Earth. She felt like he just reached mile twenty, and as most marathon runners would tell you, the race doesn’t start until mile twenty.
“Yeah, only a couple more miles to go,” Rajiv said with enthusiasm. “It’s too bad, it’s by far the most dangerous part of the Centennial.”
Reese stared blankly into the thick jungle.
“Maybe we should consider completing our Inseparable powers,” Reese murmured.
Kate rolled her eyes. “You don’t know when to give up Reese.”
“You know they will definitely help us survive this jungle and defeat the Reds,” Reese added stubbornly.
“I’m just not sure you’re ready Reese,” Kate replied. “Remember your power will come with a potentially unbearable emotional connection to me. Nobody knows how you’ll react. It’s too risky.”
“It might be our only hope,” Reese said. “I mean this place is called the Raptor Jungle.”
“You just don’t get it,” Kate declared.
“You saw how fast I moved back there with the bear,” Reese insisted. “What if I had complete control of that power? How much would that help our chances of winning?”
“It’s just too risky,” Kate said, once again giving him her final answer. “We’ll just have to win without your powers. Have faith in the abilities you’ve already got.” She stepped away from him and surveyed the thick vegetation for a suitable entrance spot.
Reese walked up behind her, grabbed Kate, spun her around and kissed her passionately. She didn’t even have time to be shocked before their souls connected, and a huge flash flooded her mind.
After a few seconds, she stammered away and put her hand on her forehead.
Reese stepped back in a daze, and almost fell to the ground. Breathing heavily, he spread his arms wide, as though to balance himself and allowed himself a cautious look at Kate. She was there, all there. Memories and the love. Oh god, there was so much love it nearly drove him to his knees. Reese stumbled towards Kate and embraced her tightly, burying his face in the curve of her neck.
“Kate I missed you so much,” Reese said. It was good, so good.
"I can’t believe you just did that!” Kate cried, struggling to free herself. “I should…”
“Shut up and kiss me,” he commanded, then gave her no choice.
“I am so mad at you,” she continued not missing a beat when she finally pulled away. She was laughing and crying at the same time.
“You know I’m going to buy you a mojito after this is all over?” Reese said.
“I can’t even be mad at you,” she said, but her voice was trembling. “Do you even know where you are?”
“Of course I do,” he replied. “I know exactly what’s going on. I remember what I did too, and I don’t regret it. We need our powers.”
Reese stepped away from Kate and unsheathed his sword. He swung it in a figure eight. He looked the same way he did when he attacked the bear, but this time he was moving even faster.
“I finally have my full Inseparable ability, and it feels great!” he exclaimed. He sheathed his sword and strode to Kate and embraced her again.
“I’m sorry, I just had to feel your warmth again,” he said.
Kate leaned into the embrace. “You always did make me feel safe,” she admitted. “Next time lets choose a different rendezvous. Nothing fancy, just a quite place void of any Reds or prehistoric beasts.”
A disturbing raptor scream came from deep within the jungle shattering the moment. The ugly truth remained.
Reese held Kate firmly in his arms. “Don’t worry. I can protect you and defeat the Reds.”
Kate shook herself loose. “That’s what I mean!” she cried. “You said protecting me before defeating the Reds! You are on such thin ice, Reese. Your arrogance may have just ruined everything.”
Chapter 34
The Centennial approached the fortieth hour, and despite being in the arena the entire time, most of the audience in the Great Coliseum was still alert and focused.
Two Centennial warriors had been destroyed, and neither group had a significant advantage going into the Raptor Jungles. It had been a thousand years since a Centennial had been this close, and the audience was lapping it up. Many in the stadium were dancing and singing together.
After watching Reese get his Inseparable power moments ago, Morkel sat fuming. With his new power, Reese was moving faster than any Centennial warrior he had ever seen.
“Somebody tell me how he’s able to move like that?” Morkel asked to his Red Council members sitting around him. They all managed to avoid direct eye contact with him.
“What am I missing?” he said directly to Ghengis.
“The Blues must be cheating,” Ghengis replied. “That’s the only reasonable explanation. There simply wasn’t enough time during their training for Reese to have developed such an advanced ability.”
“I doubt it,” Morkel replied. “Cheating would go against everything they believe in.” He let out a sigh.
“I need answers, and I need them now,” Morkel said to his entire council. “All of you go and scour every document in the archives that you can find.”
“Right now?” Ghengis asked.
Morkel glared at Ghengis.
The entire Red council stood up and hurried toward the exit.
Morkel sat staring blankly at the crowd. Breathing deeply, he carefully replayed everything he knew about the Blues and Inseparables.
***
The heat and moisture of the steamy jungle felt like a sauna to Kate. Between the screams of beasts echoing through the canopy, and the intermittent sounds of rattling leaves ahead of them, she was glad Reese led the way.
Progress through the jungle was slow. The knives and blades that were so good for hunting proved to be almost useless in the thick undergrowth. Safety slowed them, but the threat of losing the Centennial pushed them on. It was a tenuous balance.
“You know, without the raptor screams, the jungle sort of reminds me of Mexico,” Reese said to Kate.
“Sort of,” Kate replied with a questioning tone. “But, it looks pretty different to me.”
Reese chopped at a thick vine with long three inch spikes coming out of it.
“Um, yeah, you’re probably right,” Reese said. “It’s very different from Mexico.”
Rajiv scanned the path in front of them. “We’ve been lucky so far,” he said. A bush shook directly ahead of Reese and he signaled the others to stop.
The
re was a squawking bird like noise that emanated from the bush. Reese raised his sharp weapon and took a step toward the danger. A dark snout of a large scaly dinosaur rustled out from high up of the thick bush.
“Oh crap,” Reese said with urgency. “It’s a raptor. Rajiv, can you see any more of them around us? They rarely hunt alone.”
Kate’s eyes widened and she crouched, pointing her blade at the bush.
“I cannot get an exact count, but I can tell you that they’re hunting in a very large pack,” Rajiv said with certainty. “And, they have us surrounded.”
Kate and Rajiv looked suspiciously in the surrounding jungle. The vegetation began shaking all around them. The creatures were calling to one another. The sound they made pierced Kate’s ears making it hard to think.
“We should probably keep moving,” Rajiv said, scanning the area.
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” Kate replied, rubbing the sweat from her forehead.
“It’s too late,” Reese cried. “We’ve got to fight!”
A moment later, two fierce velociraptors attacked the warriors. Instinctively, Kate threw up a cone shaped force field that pierced into gut of the larger of the beasts, knocking it to the ground. The dinosaur flashed into thin air. The other raptor smashed into the force field repeatedly, inches from her face.
“I can’t hold him!” cried Kate.
Rajiv reacted quickly, driving his weapon deeply into the chest of the stunned dinosaur. He winced at the brilliant flash that followed.
Reese heard a noise and swung around only to find himself within striking distance of a large meat hook of a claw, connected to a scaly leg the size of a tree trunk. He tipped his head up, trying to get a feel for the size of the beast, but quickly gave up on the idea as the monster screeched and began running after him on two legs.
Two more raptors joined the attack. Kate trembled from the effort of igniting the force field that knocked down all three wild beasts. As soon as the creatures fell Reese and Rajiv quickly hacked at their necks. They were dripping with raptor blood by the time they were done.
“We can’t stay here and keep on fighting each one that comes after us,” Rajiv said. “This is exactly what Menelik warned us about.”
“He’s right Reese,” Kate added. “We have to stay focused on the race. There are too many of them, and they’ll bog us down for sure.”
Reese nodded as he squared up to two raptors approaching him. As they positioned themselves for an attack, Reese buried his heel deep into the ground, preparing for a counter strike.
“Let me at least focus on destroying the closest ones,” Reese yelled. “Keep on moving through the jungle, and kill anything that gets close to you. I will make sure too many of them don’t gain up on us.”
“What are you going to do?” Kate said frantically.
“I’m going to thin the heard,” Reese said confidentially with a cavalier smile.
Kate grinned. “I sure did miss that damn smile,” she said.
When the next raptor charged at Reese, he sped toward the creature with his blade drawn. With his new ability, Kate could barely see him when he attacked. His target was engulfed by Reese’s blur, followed by bits and pieces flying in every direction flashing brilliantly into oblivion.
As Reese continued his slaughter, the flashes continued, sparkling in vibrant hues in every color of the rainbow.
“Better than the fourth of July,” said Kate, scrambling to catch up with Rajiv, who had set off at a sturdy pace.
“I fully intend to beat the Reds to the temple,” said Rajiv, storming through the underbrush seemingly oblivious to the heat and humidity.
Rajiv paused and looked back at Kate who was some ways behind him. “You’ll have time for ogling your man when this is over,” he said.
Kate blushed and scrambled to catch up. “I was a fool to keep Reese from his abilities,” she huffed. “But I do worry what will happen when Cyrus finds out.”
Rajiv extended a hand to help Kate over a fallen log. “Borrow trouble if you like,” he said. “But I think we’ve got plenty to think about right here and now.”
Kate’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by two crazed Raptors dropping from a ledge, landing between Rajiv and her. The raptors were too close for Kate to use her force field. They were snapping their razor sharp teeth at Rajiv and Kate; their snake like eyes were filled with lust for their energy.
“Kate duck!” Rajiv screamed as he performed an acrobatic defensive roll away from her and the attacking dinosaurs.
Kate ducked as the Raptor’s long tongue slid across her head. She twisted and managed a single blow that only served to enrage the animal.
“Reese help!” Kate cried. “Rajiv and I are separated!”
She was not sure if Reese could hear her. She smiled grimly. Time to work on her own.
Before she had a moment to think, a third and fourth raptor joined the others. There was no way she could take on this many at once.
Kate tried to run quickly away, but was intercepted by even more who pushed her further into the jungle. It was a perfectly executed pack-hunting tactic. They were separating one of their prey from the herd.
She ignited her force field when two raptors charged at her, deflecting them at the last moment. She sliced at one of them, opening up its chest cavity. The dinosaur rolled on the jungle floor in agony. She realized she was now far away from Rajiv and Reese, and several more raptors were closing in on her.
“Reese!” she screamed. “There are too many of them. Help!”
“Aaah!” Kate yelled like a wild animal. She deflected another raptor attack, and sliced the head off the largest one in the group. Its blood sprayed across her face.
“Jump, Kate! Just do it!” snapped Rajiv as he caught sight of her, almost lost in a crowd of voracious lizards.
Kate looked up and saw several vines high above her head. “Do it now Kate,” Rajiv yelled again as the deadly creatures closed in on her.
Completely exhausted and with no other options, Kate lit up one more force field blast and jumped as hard as she could towards the hanging vines. She propelled crisply through the muggy jungle air. Her fingers came within inches of the vines, but never reached them. Time seemed to stop as she realized her fate. Her eyes widened, and fear flooded inside her.
She let out a terrible scream as she fell.
Seconds before being snapped out of the air by a ferocious raptor, she felt two strong arms catching her, holding her and easing her to the ground. There were a series of ‘pops’ as raptors flickered and then vanished. When all was still, Reese’s figure slowly appeared from a blur.
The sound of the three of them breathing heavily, absent of any ear piercing screeches, was like music to Kate’s ears.
“That may have been the last of them,” Rajiv said. “I don’t hear or see any more.”
“I think you’re right,” Reese said. “I guess the party’s over.”
Kate sat up, the damp floor soaked through her pants. Visions of gory reptiles swirled in Kate’s mind as she rubbed the raptor remains off her face. The sight of blood made her stomach twist. It might’ve been her blood if Reese didn’t have his ability.
“You saved me,” Kate said. She looked at Reese in disbelief. “If they got to me, you could’ve been paralyzed, and Rajiv would be facing the Reds alone right now.”
“But they didn’t,” he replied. “And that’s all that matters.”
Kate shook her head. She grimaced as she got up.
“You OK?” Reese asked.
“I’m very tired, but I’ll be fine.” Kate replied softly. “I don’t have enough energy to even ignite my force field and I can barely stand, but we don’t have time to spare, so let’s keep moving.”
“At least we have less than a half mile to go until we reach the galorim pool,” Reese countered.
“And no raptors in our way,” Rajiv said. “So let’s go.”
“All right,” Kate said. She mustered up as muc
h energy as she could and hobbled after them.
Menelik was gone, she was nearly destroyed, and now they were close to their goal. All that was left was facing a super predator, that will make these raptors look like child’s play, and fighting one of the most powerful Red Centennials warriors of all time.
Chapter 35
Arshan sat anxiously with Svante and Horus in the Great Coliseum. He rubbed his tired eyes. Like most people he hadn’t stopped watching the holovision since it started.
“This is insane.” Svante shook his head in frustration.
“It really is hard to believe,” Horus replied. “I cannot recall a time where both teams were virtually tied this late in the race.”
The men studied the large map displayed in the arena. The blue dots and red dots representing the respective warriors were converging on the galorim pool at the same pace.
“I hope the Reds are enjoying their nice stroll through the jungle,” Arshan said.
“Yes, it reminds me of the second Centennial,” Horus replied. “Cyrus was clever to wait for the Blues to attract that herd of raptors before entering the jungle.”
“Fighting fair was never Cyrus’ strong point,” Svante said. “I hope Reese destroys that traitor.”
“We can’t afford another loss,” said Arshan. “Cyrus was once my friend. He has fallen so far. I can only wish justice upon him.”
“I’ve been very impressed with Reese’s fighting ability against the raptors, but Cyrus is certainly not a mindless beast,” Horus said. “I’ve seen him kill many great warriors in his time, both Blues and Reds.”
“None of them were as fast as Reese though,” Arshan retorted.
“But many of them were much stronger, and had a lot more experience than Reese,” Horus replied.
“You’re right,” Arshan added. “Reese’s experience will play a major role in this final fight. He’s not used to fighting a master swordsman. I fear it is likely Cyrus will exploit this somehow.”