“No.” Elijah answered simply. He and I laughed raucously and she scowled in response.
“So do you think we'll see a penguin?!” Penny asked excitedly.
“I'll bet we could.” Brynna replied, and she was smiling again.
“Did the lion try to attack you?” Alice asked her.
“No. We looked at one another for a long while and then she allowed me to pet her. It was definitely surreal, though. As is that impossibly enormous frog.”
“Now, we shouldn’t go near it, guys.” Penny warned us, “It’s tongue is probably so big and sticky, it will grab us and eat us in one bite!”
Brynna beamed again and looked at her. “You are right, wise Penelope. Come, let us retrace our steps back through the woods to avoid this treacherous river and all its terrible beasts entirely.”
“Why would we go back into the woods? Why don’t we just swim across? Look.” Violet pointed up to the top of a cliff that rose eerily out of the trees. There at the top, we could just see one of the military tents from the ship. It was our campsite.
Brynna cleared her throat and pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear as she turned to Violet.
“First of all…”
“Here we go…” James muttered and he ran his hand over his head. “Brynna, come on. There's no time...”
“No, she is going to hear this in its entirety, James Maxwell! Do not try to stop me!” Brynna shot at him in a fury that the situation did not merit at all. “First of all, Violet, at this point in time, you are the only one out of this merry band of survivors to make a disgustingly foolish decision that almost ended your life. Secondly, that monstrous amphibian seated so serenely on that rock is more than likely just one beast that lives in this water. Third, you pointed upwards to the top of a sprawling, gargantuan cliff. Therefore, you must be aware, given that you were the one that pointed up, that it is quite high and more than likely, impossible to climb without proper rappelling equipment. Have I gotten my point across yet or must I continue?”
Violet sighed heavily and ran her fingers through her hair.
“I am so done fighting with you,” She muttered irritably in response to Brynna's points. “Sure. You win.”
“Not necessary, Brynna.” James snapped as he pointed his finger at her.
“Absolutely necessary, James.” Brynna pointed at him, her eyes blazing.
“Just out of curiosity, is everything that I say going to met with your typical bullshit?”
“Oh, stop the presses, more profanity!” Brynna laughed as she held her hands up to the sky. “That really dissuades me from criticizing you further. Penny, do not let me hear that word escape your mouth. Understood?”
“I don’t say potty words.” Penny replied as she defiantly narrowed her eyes at Violet. “That’s not nice, Vi! It’s rude!” She pointed an accusing finger at her and James turned his head away, trying to suppress a chuckle.
“Do you hear that, Violet? It’s rude. She’s absolutely right.” I told her jokingly, and she smiled.
Wow. She was really beautiful. I don’t know how, being a guy, I hadn’t noticed it before. But now, with the afternoon sun at her back, casting an otherworldly, almost holy glow over her light brown hair, illuminating her skin, casting a shadow perfectly to accentuate her body…
Oh, boy. I looked away immediately upon feeling Alice’s eyes on me. But then, why did I care what she thought? Violet hadn’t killed anyone, at least as far as I knew. Alice had. I looked back at Violet but she had turned away to look up at the top of the cliff. Then, she looked down to one side of the river and up to the other end. I did the same, seeing that the trees continued along its banks for as far as the eye could see.
“I thought you said you knew where we were going, guys.” Violet scolded Nick, Elijah and James.
“This is why we need to start navigating.” Alice told her.
“And setting up camp.” Violet added.
“And rationing the food.” Alice agreed.
“This is going to turn into some sort of ‘girl power’ moment, isn’t it?” I asked them with a roll of my eyes.
“It already has.” Alice replied coldly. “Alright, I’m going across. We’ll have to hike all the way in that direction to run parallel with the cliff. Remember how the campsite was surrounded by a marsh? Well, I think that was on the other side.”
“How did we loop around the river?” Violet asked, “The forest is huge.”
“Exactly,” Alice replied, “We wouldn’t have realized it if we went around. We’ve been walking for days. We’ve walked over water. That water was probably run-off from here.”
“I think we should just try to loop around again.” Nick suggested.
“That will take far too much time.” Brynna informed him curtly. “The people who went south will be long gone by the time we get to the campsite to track them. No, Alice’s actions are necessary and very courageous. Lead the pack, darling.”
“Was that a term of endearment?” Alice asked with a grin. “Wow. I'm kind of honored.”
“Yes. It surprised me as well.” Brynna replied sardonically.
“You’re not swimming across.” I told Alice, “Are you kidding me?”
“No, I'm not. You got a better idea?” She raised her eyebrows at me, “Once I’m across, I’ll look and see if there’s any way up.”
“The people who went west probably came through here. They’re probably making camp close by here because it’s a source of water.” Elijah suggested. He was trying to dissuade her further but she was already shedding her jacket and handing it to Brynna.
“Oh, for the love of Homer...” Brynna heaved a huge sigh of resignation and handed Alice's jacket to James. “I will not let you do this alone.”
“You don't have to come with me. If anything happens, you have way more to lose.”
“We both have four limbs, a torso and a head. If there are any creatures lurking in the water looking to rip us to shreds, I will lose the same number of body parts that you will.”
“That's not what I meant.”
“I know.”
“Brynna, are you insane!? Seriously, have you completely lost your mind?” James demanded after grabbing her hand to stop her from going into the water. “We don't know what's in there. Besides, it's not like the rivers at home. Look,” He pointed down, “You can't even see the bottom.”
“Please do not fret for my sake, James.” Brynna replied with little care in her voice, “This young girl has volunteered to venture onward with little thought of her own safety. It is a selfless act meant to further our group's mission. For once in my life, I am playing the wing-woman to an act of heroism. This is a big moment for me.”
“I know you're being sarcastic right now but you forget that we...”
“Shh!” Brynna exclaimed as she reached forward to touch his lips, “That statement lacked any semblance of sarcasm, for your information.”
She looked into his eyes for one long moment, wanting to kiss him, but Elijah was watching them closely. In her mind, she believed that he could have no suspicion based on the careful distance she and James were keeping from one another. But I knew better. He was beginning to sense that there was more to their relationship than just friendly antagonism.
Brynna and Alice walked forward slowly, cringing at the touch of the water.
“Oh my God, that's cold...” Alice gasped out as they walked a little further.
Once they cleared the rocks they were walking on, they were in water that was over their head. From the shore, the current had looked so weak but now, they were fighting to swim straight ahead. It was strong enough to send them sideways.
“Brynn!” Elijah ran to jump in the water but Violet grabbed his hand and held him back.
“Look!” Violet screamed and she pointed at something surfacing in the water. First, it appeared to be a tentacle belonging to perhaps a large octopus. What an octopus would be doing in freshwater was irrelevant. We were on Pangea,
not Earth. We didn't know which animals inhabited which habitats here. We were all staring, wide-eyed, as the frog on the bank of the river rolled backwards, end over end, in order to face the woods. It hopped away in bounding leaps, croaking frantically. Just as the frog reached the treeline, the “tentacle” reached out and wrapped around it. The frog's massive weight was pulled with ease.
Right beside Alice, a massive head erupted out of the water. Its eyes were black and empty like a shark's but it's snout elongated like a dog's. In its mouth were fanged teeth. Those many sharpened daggers pierced into the frog's head and pulled backwards to rip it clean from its scaly body.
“Swim, Alice!” Brynna's voice shouted even though they were already kicking and paddling with everything they had. The current was moving around the beast, pulling them closer to it's huge body. Another tentacle sprung from the water and headed straight for them.
“Duck! Go under!” Brynna screamed again and without hesitation, they both plunged under the water.
The creature ducked its head under to search for them. It turned backwards and disappeared beneath the current.
“Run along the river. Meet us wherever it ends.” James told us hurriedly before diving into the deep part where Alice and Brynna had begun their swim.
“We're not getting separated again. Penny, hold onto me.” Elijah ordered quickly, “Can you swim, man?!”
I realized that he was talking to me. I could only nod in response as I stared at the violently churning rapids and the long tentacles rising out of the water several yards downstream.
“I don't want to go in there... I don't want to go in there...” Violet was muttering to herself.
“Let's go!” Elijah threw Penny onto his back and jumped in the water, too.
I followed suit, thinking of nothing but those black eyes. I pictured hundreds of them looking up at me from the bottom of the river that was so far below me. The thought snatched my breath from me. Even though I was finding it harder to breathe, I swam faster as that fear took over me.
Soon, we had no need to paddle. The current picked up as we were carried downstream. I was rolled and tossed by the water with no mercy. Twice, I slammed into rocks; the pain was horrible but when I went to gasp, I only took in huge mouthfuls of water. I didn't know how I hadn't drowned yet. I was barely breathing. I couldn't swim. The water was pulling me further and further into its depths. I hated imagining that huge aquatic beast swimming rapidly up towards the surface below Alice and Brynna, its black eyes alive with hungered glee...
“Grab him!” A voice screamed, “Please! Don't let go! Don't let him go!”
A hand grasped my ankle tightly. Or was it one of those tentacles? I was being held under the water, or was I being pulled down into its black depths?
I had never seen a river beast, though I remembered the stories about “Nessie” on Earth. My oxygen-deprived brain tried to remember which body of water she had supposedly lived in. I couldn't even remember the names of the oceans... Everything was slipping away.
I hated Pangea. I hated all its hidden dangers and its weird creatures. I wished that I had stayed behind to die because at least my untimely end would have been quick and mostly painless.
My lungs were filling up, stopping their given function like they were electrical machines suddenly doused in water. Circuits were spraying sparks like Fourth of July fireworks. I was dying slowly.
I had heard that drowning was only painful and scary for a few minutes. Then, you simply drifted away. I would not just sink to the depths of that river, never to be seen again. I was being pulled into its depths by that fanged, terrifying creature as water rushed through my ears and flooded my brain. More sparks exploded wildly
“QUINN!” Alice's voice shrieked in terror for a quick second. My head was under the water. When it resurfaced, I heard her again.
“...HIM! DON'T LET...”
I blacked out.
XXX
“It's all very simple. Twenty-three chest compressions that remind the lungs of their function while simultaneously expelling the liquid. Breathing into the victim's mouth in order to refill the stores of oxygen they have lost. This is First Aid 101.”
I had never been so happy to hear the voice of Brynna Olivier. I opened my eyes and saw only the darkening sky overhead. The dark purple was calming for my eyes that were hazed over with river water. The orange clouds hurt, though. I squeezed my eyes shut again to block them out.
“It was like a hydra! Do you know a hydra?” Nick was asking in a trembling voice, “But it had those tentacle things!”
“I wonder if we were to cut off its head if more would grow back? If two more heads would grow back...” Elijah mused seriously.
“I don't know!” Nick replied, “But I'll bet that two more would grow back!”
“Perhaps you two should try to behead that serpent and see what actually does occur? At the most, the Biblical symbolism of such an act would surely be discussed extensively by all those that heard your valiant, noble tale. At the least, it would be a thrilling event to witness for myself and your fellow comrades.”
Well, I was so glad that my almost-death was such a thought-provoking and exciting experience for them. I sat up quickly but immediately fell backwards again into someone's arms.
“Quinn!” Alice's lips were on mine quickly. Her hand was rested on my face. I forgot everything that had happened since I found her in the process of killing that native. I only knew that our whole fight had been so stupid, so I kissed her back.
“Strong woman you have got there, good sir. Completely unfazed by complete emotional and situational chaos. Even the thought that you might be done for could not sway her nobility.” Brynna came into my view behind Alice. “I am a little wary of mouth-to-mouth resuscitation so be happy that your erstwhile girlfriend was here to administer it.”
I was laughing through my fit of coughs. Alice waited until I was done, watching me the entire time with such relief on her face. I didn't know if it was just water dripping down her face or tears.
“I'm sorry.” I grasped her face. She shook her head before kissing me again.
“I love you.” She replied.
“I love you, too. Are you okay?” I asked, “ Really stupid idea, Allie.”
“It was. It was so stupid!” She laughed through what I knew were tears for sure now. “I almost got all of us killed.”
“It was a valiant effort. But yes, we can all blame our near-death experience on you. We can all blame our nightmares filled with aquatic beasts on you, as well.” Brynna replied and I watched her duck behind a tree, pulling James with her by the hand.
“I don't want to swim anymore.” Penny was telling Violet as she shook her head back and forth with wide eyes.
“Me neither. Not around here, anyway. When that thing popped up...” Violet giggled half-hysterically now as she shook with adrenaline.
“I think if I had had to pee, it would have happened right there...” Elijah replied.
“You're telling me.” Alice responded, “I'm surprised Brynna and I didn't fall over dead at the sight of it.”
“This is some place, isn't it?”
“Guys, come here!” Nick called from a few feet away. We followed his voice.
We found him standing, surrounded by the mouth of a cave; apparently, we had run parallel to the cliff as we floated downstream. I didn't want to think, even for a second, about having to climb up the steep slope.
“Well, it's either walk all the way back up the river and climb or try it this way.” Elijah told us grimly.
“Try it through the cave?!” Alice exclaimed in shock.
The trek back would be long and tiring. We had no way to camp now, as we had lost our supplies in the river. We also had no food again. However, once we arrived at the campsite we could look for rations boxes. Going into the cave didn't guarantee that we would end up where we needed to be, though. I was not looking forward to exploring the darkness inside.
Ju
st as I went to voice all of these concerns, the noises of the forest silenced suddenly. We were all on edge; everyone except for Penny was looking around with white eyes. I looked up with my own, smelling the air and observing the thick, light gray clouds that blocked out the brilliant blue of the sky.
The natives were coming straight for us.
“You made peace with them, didn't you?” Elijah whispered to Brynna and James hurriedly, and we all looked abruptly in the direction where we had just seen a flash of movement.
“No. He healed her but he never said he would leave us alone.”
“But he let you leave the city!”
“He likes the chase, Eli. How many times must I explain this to you?” Brynna barked back in a furious whisper. We jerked our heads in another direction simultaneously.
“How do we know he's even coming for us?” Violet asked, “Maybe there are others around that they're after.”
“Everyone make sure that you can see in the dark. The sun is setting.” Alice instructed us quickly.
We all stood perfectly still, awaiting their first move. Maybe we would hear screams in the distance. Maybe Brynna and James had inadvertently made peace with them. We couldn't be sure.
A scream sounded, high-pitched and girlish, behind us. We all whipped around to see Penny being dragged into the cave by hands that had suddenly appeared from inside of it.
“PENNY!” Brynna screamed, darting forward as the others descended on us.
I picked up a thick stick covered in thorns, barely wincing as my hands began to bleed. A man was running towards me, hissing and roaring with spit dripping from his large, lion-like fangs. I understood now. I understood why Alice had to do what she had done. That man, given one small chance, would kill me without a single blink or a second of remorse. If it was possible, he would rip into me while I was still able to process the pain. It was kill or be killed, a very old notion generally used to justify the taking of a living being's life. In this case, it really was the only way. No justification was necessary on Pangea.
The Shattered Genesis (Eternity) Page 43