Kyle and Gustavo got their way point coordinates, just as they reached the top of the ridge in less than five minutes. They went over the top and quickly started downhill. When they had reached below, the two Marines were running parallel to the two retreating demons, who were on the other side of the ridge crouching to take cover and slowly retreat to the sea. Kyle and Gustavo expected to overtake the two demons, who by necessity had to make a slower retreat if they wanted to stay behind cover.
The strangely shaped rocks and mounds of the Badlands of Cappadocia were famous around the world. Those pillar like rocks created a labyrinth of passages where the uninitiated could easily get lost. The ridge ended abruptly in such a labyrinth, which wasn’t too big or elaborate – just a couple of passages running zig-zag. Behind the labyrinth was the beach and the sea! Adnan and his men were exiting the northern exit of the cave system, which was unconnected to the labyrinth. They planned to enter the labyrinth from a very narrow crack between two of the natural pillars and fight the demons inside the labyrinth. They hoped that the constrained space would cramp the larger demons, while being big enough for humans to fight freely.
Almost all the resistance fighters carried a gun, but it was strapped securely to their backs. They didn’t intend to use it unless there was no other option. Their primary assault weapon would be their spears. There were spears of all lengths being carried by the fighters. Long spears for the initial charge to hold off the demons, and shorter spears with thicker stems wielded by the more skilled fighter for trying to cause damage. The spear tips were equally varied. There were blunter tips to try and inflict blunt force trauma or simply deflect momentum. Some were hammer shaped to try and cause damage laterally to their shells. Others were sharp titanium edged ones, which a skillful pike man could wedge between the overlapping plates and cause some real damage, or try and find a soft spot and do some damage to the cartilaginous underbelly.
All the fighters carried a sword, but humans rarely got an opportunity to be close enough and the demon distracted enough to use it. The target of choice for a sword were the eye stalks, or if the wielder was really strong, then he could dare go for the neck or the tips of the limbs, which were the only parts of the anatomy which had any chance of being damaged by the sword.
Under no circumstance did a seasoned fighter try his gun as the first-choice weapon on a demon. The rule was simple. If you don’t shoot the demon with a gun, then the demon doesn’t shoot its gun. The demons usually carried three of them. One each strapped on to their front limbs, which they could point and shoot, and a third larger gun mounted on their back on top of their shelled carapace, which was more like a turret mounted gun. The turret mounted gun was controlled by electronics and could independently swivel 360⁰. It was their primary point defense system, which could spew out heavy caliber munitions. With the demons’ electronics fried, the top turret gun was probably not functioning, but the gun strapped on their front limbs was good enough to kill all the fighters in moments.
Those guns were manually aimed and fired, and shot out something that the humans called ‘needles’. Very few humans had ever actually seen a ‘needle’. This was because once a needle was fired, it simply punched through its target, usually leaving a hole in the target but no sign of the needle itself. It just seemed to vanish into thin air. The only reason that humans knew that those bullets were like needles was because once in a while, very rarely, a single demon would be trapped all alone by the humans and killed, usually after paying for it with many human lives, and then have enough humans still alive and enough time to hack off body parts and take it away to a safer location to study them.
When they studied the hacked front limbs with those guns still strapped on to them, they could get an opportunity to study those guns. The guns didn’t have a mechanical trigger like human guns. Humans couldn’t operate them. The guns used some kind of biochemical trigger, which only a live demon could provide. The disassembled guns did give the humans their first look at the ‘bullet’ used by those demon’s guns. They were thin and about the same length as a large hypodermic needle. No one had a clue about the technology, or what kind of explosive the needle used, but its effect was known to everyone. It is said that a needle makes a hole on striking the human body, large enough to see through. That is an exaggeration, but not by much. The hole is large enough to push an adult fist right through the body. Needless to say, that any human struck by a needle is very dead instantly.
In the end, all the preparation for battle and martyrdom by Adnan and his fighters was unnecessary. As Fast Current and Rising Tide went past the ridge to enter the labyrinth, even their lousy sense of smell could detect an odor that most Bodars had grown familiar with. It was the odor of human excrement. More specifically, it was the odor of human liquid excrement, which the humans called urine. It was one of the strongest odors near most human settlements, especially if those settlements were temporary or created in a hurry. It was an odor that most Bodar hunters had internalized as a tracking trick to hunt humans. Fast Current turned one eye stalk in the direction from which the odor was emanating. She couldn’t believe her luck.
No more than ten long leaps away were two humans. The humans had their backs towards the Bodar sisters, blissfully unaware. They were excreting their urine on the wall of the rock pillar, laughing. The two humans were lightly armed. These two were not armored and not geared to assault a Bodar. They were most likely scouts or lookouts. These two wouldn’t be too much fun to hunt and kill, but it was better than nothing. The humans hiding in the caves are unlikely to come out in the open and fight with the sisters. Humans avoided fight in the open for obvious reasons – they usually got slaughtered. They preferred to try and ambush from far, like they had done earlier. This was the only action that the sister would have the fortune of seeing today, before they had to go back and report to the base. Might as well make the best of it. Something was better than nothing.
Kyle was feeling weird. Here he was standing facing the wall in front of a dark parabolic shape he had marked on the wall with his pee. He had zipped up and was now simply making forced laughing sound next to Pvt. Perez, who was doing the same in front of his own created parabola. He had been worried that he would not be able to pee on demand, but his misgivings were misplaced. Either it had been a long time since he had peed, or he was shit scared. The liquid flowed freely from his bladder. The brighter side was that he wouldn’t have to stop for a pee during the long and grueling run.
He constantly stole a look behind. This time he saw what he had hoped to see, and yet somewhere deep his self-preservation instincts hoped he wouldn’t see. Two demons standing less than two hundred meters, who couldn’t have missed seeing him and Gustavo. Dana had said that a running prey stimulated a predator even more than a frozen prey. In most Earth predators, the sight of a running prey pumped adrenaline inside a predator and gave them a bigger buzz. The demons should have a similar reaction, if evolution works similarly everywhere. The best chance of luring the demons to chase them was to start running immediately. “Now, Gustavo!” Shouted Kyle.
The demons had never been observed to run faster than the fastest humans on plane ground. The operative words were ‘fastest humans’. The demons had been observed to sprint at close to thirty kilometers an hour, about the same speed of sprint that a fit human could achieve. Normally though, a demon chased its prey at about twenty kilometers an hour. This was the average speed of a very good long-distance runner, although most humans would not be able to keep up that speed for very long. A fit soldier could possibly keep up that speed for twenty to twenty-five kilometers before he started slacking. Only an exceptional runner could keep up that speed for longer, like in a Marathon.
Kyle knew that the demons would sprint initially, trying to catch their prey quickly. Unfortunately, the demons succeeded with that tactic most of the times. Only when they chased fit humans who could match their sprint speed, did they slow down to their normal chase speed. Then it be
came a test of endurance, which the demons eventually always won. The only advantage that a human had was when running through uneven and rough terrain. The demons had evolved as beach runners, and their anatomy was not particularly suitable to running through hilly or rocky terrain. Human bipedal anatomy was much better suited for such terrain. Humans could usually maintain their speed through such terrain, while demons fell back. If the terrain became too uneven or rocky, the demons usually ceased chase. If the human was still within the visual range of the demon, it simply shot the human in such a situation.
Kyle had to put some distance between himself and the demons, using the natural advantage of the slightly rocky terrain, and yet not get into too much uneven terrain that the demons gave up the chase and shot him. He was equal to the challenge. Thus, began the epic chase where the lines between the hunter and the hunted were blurred, and the humans were going to test the limits of their own endurance against those of the demons. Needless to say, the humans planned to cheat!
–XXX–
“Hey that’s cheating!” Dana protested as Özgür jumped down over three meters off a small ledge to increase his lead over Dana. The two of them were having a friendly contest over who could reach a particular observation point on a mound. There they intended to stop for a few seconds and try and observe the demons following them, take stock and make a strategy for the rest of the run.
“This is a fair move Dr. Çalık. You can choose to run on any path, there is no rule against it! That pill you popped a few minutes ago, that is cheating!” Özgür retorted.
“You are welcome to pop one too… although I am sure you know that one of the side effects of the pill is decreased potency and sexual performance.” Dana teased Özgür.
“Ha. Ha. Big difference it would make in this place. It is not as if I am going to be performing the act any time soon, unless you are suddenly in the mood Dr. Çalık.” Özgür looked back and gave her a smirk, indicating that he was getting the better of their verbal sparring. Then he changed his expression to normal and said. “No thanks. I don’t need it, I am doing fine for the moment. I try to avoid those pills as far as possible.”
“That is smart. You should avoid these pills unless it is absolutely necessary. I needed them. Despite my bravado to Lt. Hanks, this is a toughest run I have ever done.” Dana replied. She more than most, knew the harmful long-term effects of performance enhancing drugs. She had worked on many research patients. Since the twentieth century, performance enhancing drugs were a social taboo primarily because of its use in sports being considered as cheating. The military on the other hand used it regularly since the First World War. One could argue that opium and other such drugs have been used by the armies of Asia, since the beginning of organized warfare.
“We are almost there at the observation point Dr. Çalık.” Özgür replied encouragingly.
Özgür was first to the top of the mound and took out his field telescope from the pocket. By the time Dana reached him, he was scanning the horizon frantically with the telescope. “What’s the matter?” Dana asked.
There was more than a hint of panic in Özgür’s voice as he replied. “I don’t know… I can’t find them! They seemed to have disappeared! That is simply not possible in this open landscape. I mean, there are a few boulders scattered here and there and the demons were moving in and out of our view all the time, just as I am sure we must have been moving in and out of their sights all the while through the chase, but I should have spotted them by now if they were chasing us.”
Dana scanned the horizon. From the top of the mound, she shouldn’t need a telescope to see two large demons chasing them a few kilometers away. Özgür was right. There was no sign of the demons. “Did they give up the chase?” Dana asked.
“Even if the demons gave up the chase, and this would be the first time I have heard of the demons giving up a chase of their quarry, we should still have been able to spot them. I had checked on them a few minutes ago, while we were climbing the mound, and at that time they were behind us chasing. Even if they gave up the chase after that, they should have been in our sights.” Özgür replied.
“They might be hiding somewhere, may be trying to sneak up on us.” Dana muttered, more to herself. As sense of dread creeping into her.
“That is what I am afraid of, but realistically in this open land there is no way to creep up on someone. We are on top of the mound, and can see in all directions for miles. Two large objects moving side by side should be very easy to spot from here.” Özgür replied.
Something that Özgür said got Dana thinking. Maybe she should not look for two large objects moving side by side. Maybe she should look for single objects, perhaps not even moving. “There that piece of rock out there. It looks a bit out of place.” Dana moved closer to Özgür, so that he could closely follow the direction of her fingers to the place she was pointing.
Özgür pointed his telescope and exclaimed. “You are right Dr. Çalık! That is a demon! It is… it is… sitting! I have never seen a demon sitting in that position before! We have always observed demons standing on their feet. Here… take a look.” Özgür handed Dana the telescope. Dana had never seen a demon in that position either, not even in any photo. The demon seemed to have folded its four walking limbs and let them go limp, so that its underbelly was resting on the ground. There was something odd and clumsy about the way the demon had folded its legs to sit. It was sitting rock still. Dana could not detect the slightest movement except for the eye stalks, which seemed to be moving almost imperceptibly.
Dana took her eyes off the telescope and noticed that Özgür was now scanning the landscape even more wildly. “What’s the matter Özgür?” She asked.
“This could be a trick Dr. Çalık.” Özgür replied in a tense voice. “It is a classic hunting maneuver – let one of the chasers stop and be visible to the prey. This puts the prey in a false sense of security, sometimes even mesmerizing them as they watch their chaser intently, while the other pursuer sneaks in from another direction and attacks.”
After Özgür had said those words, Dana could find some of his panic creep into her. She started scanning the horizon with equal earnest. As luck would have it, she was the one to spot the second demon as well. “There!” She shouted and pointed to Özgür, who trained the telescope on the object Dana pointed.
“Good spotting Dr. Çalık! It is the second demon, sitting in the same position. What the hell are the demons doing?” Özgür asked.
Dana replied with more hope and joy than she dared to entertain. “I think I know. At least I am hoping and praying that this is what we had expected would happen. Özgür, I think the demons have finally exhausted themselves and collapsed! It is time to break the radio silence!”
–XXX–
The silence of this cursed landscape was becoming unbearable. The only sounds that Fast Current could hear were the sounds of the breeze over the flat plains. She could not fully comprehend what had happened to her. Her lack of comprehension was partly due to her brain, which has suddenly and inexplicably stopped functioning properly. This had left her confused, only foggily aware of where she was and what she had been doing. Her confusion and lack of comprehension were also partly due to the fact that she had never experienced a brain shutdown before. Yet some part of her brain kept projecting the image of a hunting instructor telling her about the effects of overheating. The hunting instructor looked familiar, until Fast Current realized that the hunting instructor was herself!
She could hear herself instructing juveniles, who had not yet formed their final adult shell the myriad dangers of a long hunt on land. She kept reminding the juveniles to keep a sharp watch at their bio monitors, especially at the core temperature when on a long hunt on land. She had warned them that their body would get no advance warning. There would be no adverse effect, until the entire body would seem to lock up. It was a symptom of the body core overheating. The neural transmitters were the most sensitive to temperature variance,
and they would be the first one to fail. As a result, the instructions of the brain would not reach any of the limbs or other body parts. The entire body would effectively lock up and the Bodar would seem paralyzed.
Fast Current’s bio monitors had fried due to the EMP blast. She couldn’t have monitored her core temperature, but that fact did not excuse her lapse. She should have known that she would overheat eventually. Fast Current knew the cause and the effect intellectually. She had however never experienced it viscerally – until now. All her life she had been not just a good hunter, but a very methodical and diligent hunter. She had always done things by the book as far as hunting techniques was concerned, and had never faced this situation before today.
At that moment she realized that the effect of overheating on the body was far worse than her own instructors had ever let her know. Perhaps her instructors themselves had never faced such a situation, so they had never experienced it viscerally. Most Bodars rarely faced overheating as an issue during hunts, so only the symptoms visible to another Bodar had been told to Fast Current, which was that the body locks up. If she ever got out of this sticky situation alive, she would update those instruction manuals to reflect the true travails of overheating.
Not only had her body locked up, but she was could neither think clearly nor recall simple things, like who else had been with her. She recalled that she was in this hunt with someone else. That other Bodar was tantalizingly familiar to her, she knew that and could almost form an image of that other Bodar, and yet not recollect who that other Bodar was. Fast Current knew that her hunting partner, whoever she was, was also nearby somewhere. Where was her partner? Why wasn’t her partner helping her? Fast Current had even lost control over the muscles of her eye stalk, which was really frustrating. She could rotate her eye stalk and search for her partner. She could not contract the length of her eye stalk to focus on things. All she could see was the blurry image of the vast Badlands in front of her. Fast Current found that if she tried really hard, she could move her eyes just a bit to pan her vision slightly.
Game Reserve: Earth (Shaitan Wars Book 5) Page 7