by Lori Beery
Feeling a little more confident, I turned my attention back down the rise. I shifted forward into a kneeling position and let my eyes scan the rock. Nothing – the spinners had fallen silent. I strained my ears. In the silence, I could hear my heart thudding rapidly in my ears. Slowly and as quietly as possible, I deepened my breathing in an attempt to calm myself.
A spinner erupted in a loud burst of sound about twenty meters straight down the slope. I saw nothing, and my mind concluded that the follower was an invisocat. The creature should be right in front of me. I couldn’t confirm it – or could I? A feline shaped shadow slunk up the rock toward me.
I drew to anchor, aimed at a spot a meter and a half above the near edge of the shadow. I released, and the arrows sprang away from me, the attached spinners screaming. I studied the shadow while my fingers nocked the two remaining spinner-loaded arrows.
The shadow had frozen when the spinners started screaming. It grew in length as a roar split the air. Some part of its whole reached out and struck forward. There was a snapping sound as the body part returned to the main mass. Then there was a thwacking sound instantly followed by another roar and a hop to the left. The shadow had shortened and bulged to the right. One of my arrows stuck straight out of the shadow a little left of center and – hung in empty air?
Despite the odd visuals, I did not delay. I let the other two arrows fly so they would straddle the one protruding from empty air. As the arrows screamed to their destination, my stuck arrow vanished from my sight. The sound of crunching and snarling filled the air, and my arrow fell in pieces to the rock.
Moments later, my second wave of arrows struck the creature. A loud howl filled the air and echoed off the rock. My arrows jutted from the shadow as I had intended. The dark smudge contorted wildly. After a few seconds, a loud thump sounded as the shadow shrank and darkened.
I waited anxiously, twirling the fifth arrow just below the fletching, its point turning on the rock. Minutes dragged by, and the shadow remained still. I heard nothing further — not even the faint sound of breathing.
I nocked my fifth arrow and rose cautiously to my feet. Still, the shadow didn’t move. I began to creep toward the creature. Before I had gone four meters, Carl joined me. Together we continued to advance on the invisocat.
When we were three meters from my arrows, I paused to take in the visual puzzle before me. The fletching of my arrows jutted away from me, pointing diagonally up toward the western sky. The heads buried in – the air? – with a purplish liquid welling up around the shafts, pooling in a small puddle before dripping down to the rock of the slope at my feet. The liquid darkened the stone and ran diagonally down the slope to the right as if it flowed along something. After traveling about a meter, it pooled up the slope like it had hit a dam.
I shifted my gaze to the left and noticed the fletching of my arrow that had been broken. I knelt and reached to retrieve it, but unsurprisingly I held only the fletching and a small bit of shaft. Coming to my feet, I walked to the left and down the slope. When I turned to check on Carl, the view had all changed! I froze, shifting my eyes to the fletching of my arrows. The air had become rock jutting from the slope and engulfing the heads of my arrows. I shook my head, but the image didn’t change.
I dropped my eyes down the slope and came face to face with the creature. Its lifeless eyes returned my regard. Its tongue spilled out between large white fangs. I heaved a heavy sigh feeling relieved and glad to be alive. But, at the same time, I felt sorrow for having had to kill this animal.
Carl stood beside me. “What an impressive imitator this creature is – even in death!” he announced in an awed voice.
“That it is,” I echoed.
“How did you know where it was?” he asked, his expression twisted in puzzlement.
“I watched the shadow,” I told him, gesturing to the odd dark shape that looked nothing like the rocky outcropping. “We should get back to the others.”
Chapter 21
He nodded, and we turned as one. We trudged up the rise with arrows still nocked. Our steps were slow and silent. Neither of us felt the danger was gone; there was still too much silence. Were there more invisocats nearby? Had the one I killed called others? The feeling of imminent danger grew as we approached the lip of the valley and didn’t see any sign of the others. Where were they? Were they alright?
Carl and I shared a concerned look. We knew X-tee had led our people to the left, which was north, away from the valley chasm toward a jumble of boulders. We turned to follow. I allowed myself a tight smile as a breeze rushed into my face. I paused to listen to whatever sounds the wind might be carrying but detected nothing. The breeze also ensured that neither our scent nor the sound of our footsteps would precede us.
We moved as quickly and silently as we could. When we were about thirty meters away from the boulders, a small sound of dismay escaped me. The sunlight cast strong, short shadows on our side of the rocks. As the sun rose higher, the shadows would get smaller. Would we be able to recognize the invisocat’s shadow in time?
Carl lightly touched my shoulder, and I looked up at him. He leaned close. “What’s wrong?” he whispered in my ear.
“I don’t think the sun will be our ally. Its position makes the shadows dark but very close to what shapes them,” I breathed into his ear. He nodded, paused, and then cupped his ear, pointing to the boulders.
I stilled myself and listened. Beyond my rapidly beating heart, there was the sound of heavy breathing. It had a panting quality to it. Did this sound come from another invisocat? Was it injured or just hot and tired? I pushed the thoughts away and concentrated on listening. While I tried to pinpoint the sound’s location, I heard more than just the panting. The timing made me think there were at least two of the creatures upon the rocks further east. I squatted and made a crude map on the ground of where I thought the beasts were. When I gestured to the drawing, Carl nodded and added the position of a third beast. He put it further north than the two I had located.
I pointed to the southwest edge of my map and pantomimed climbing the rock and firing on the position of the beasts. He nodded and then gestured back and forth between himself and the northern creature. With our plan, such as it was, set, we made our final preparations. I had six arrows left. I snapped the special spinners to each one and replaced all but two in my quiver. I nocked those and pushed myself to my feet.
Carl had more arrows than me. He finished a little bit after I stood up. He nocked one arrow and rose. We shared a look before advancing as stealthily as possible to the southwestern edge of the boulders.
At the base of the rocks, we paused to listen. The panting sound persisted, and it was definitely accompanied by the breathing of another beast. Both these creatures seemed to be on the far side of the rock pile. From where we stood, I was able to hear and locate the northern creature. That one seemed more restless. Its growling breath changed positions as if it paced back and forth along the northern rocks. What held its attention there? Whatever it was, I was grateful. Two of these creatures, my mind identified them as invisocats, were two too many for me already.
I began to make my way onto the boulders. I was two-thirds of the way to the top when a growl froze me in place. The sound seemed to echo through the spaces between the rocks. When it died away, I released the breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and I paused to listen. I sighed in grateful relief. The felines hadn’t changed their location.
Once atop the rock, I stayed low, scanning my surroundings with both my ears and eyes. There were small, dark shadows, but the ones I could see matched the jagged edges of the rocks they outlined. The panting and growling breath forced my eyes east. Before me lay a huge, hairless feline that was entirely visible. It rested with its back close to the edge of a narrow crevasse, which ran east to west. Its head was up as if the cat rested on its elbows, but its hindquarters reclined on its hip. I could see its face in profile. Its mouth gaped open, and it seemed to fight for each bre
ath. I didn’t see any wounds, but my vantage point didn’t allow me to see all of its body or the rock on which it lay.
A blurred movement drew my eyes beyond the uncamouflaged cat. I saw a rock out-cropping with blurring triangular shapes near the highest stone. A second blurred motion flicked near the visible cat. This hidden feline seemed to lay along the crevasse as well. It appeared very interested in something within the cleft.
I glanced to my right. Carl knelt with his bow up but not pulled to anchor. He nodded and began to his draw. I did the same, aiming at the creature I couldn’t see. I released just after Carl. The scream of his arrow quickly became a trio. While the arrows screamed away, I nocked two more.
My first flight hit the rock left of center. The impact was a wet thunk instead of the ping one might expect from hitting a rock. As the arrows sunk into the creature’s flesh, the feline let loose a roar which reverberated off the ridge. Its rocky form collapsed forward, uniformly rose and spun. Great, now it’s facing me! It growled, bunching itself to spring toward me. It looked like an oblong, massive rock with eyes had just launched itself at me.
Instinctively, I drew to anchor, aimed at the oncoming face and released in a single fluid motion. Then, I threw myself to the right and crawled between two boulders. Rock shielded me from the northeast and southwest, but I still felt pretty exposed. I was surprised to note my bow was still clutched in my hand. I wasn’t sure I had enough room to use it in my confined shelter.
I put my back against the northeast rock and listened. I blew out and sucked in air in long, steadying streams as I forced myself to calm down. Finally, I could hear more than myself. There were stealthy movements like carefully placed feet. There was breathing mixed with soft growling and sniffing. Over that, I could just make out the panting of the visible cat. I didn’t hear spinner sounds. Had I killed the one that came at me? What about Carl’s target?
Peeking around the boulder, I came face to face with a living beast that, unsurprisingly, looked like a pile of rock with eyes. Its eyes locked onto mine while vague triangular shapes blurred into its stony head as if it had just flattened its ears back. It let out a loud hiss as it struck at me with a stone club that ended in long, sharp looking blades. I propelled my head and torso away from the beast as quickly as I could, pulling out one of the throwing knives that I wore at the small of my back. The creature’s talons grazed my upper thigh. Clamping my mouth shut, I stabbed at the club. Miraculously, I sunk the blade into the underside. Warm, purple fluid flowed over my hand while the cat roared and hissed. It jerked its club back. Somehow, I managed to keep ahold of the knife even though the handle was slick. I yanked the weapon down. I felt the passage of the tips of its claws just above my skin. I knew I had barely escaped being carved. I allowed a small sigh of relief and, then, stuffed my emotions into the back of my mind. Clearly, this engagement was not over.
My hand immediately shifted the knife into a throwing position. When the cat shifted to get a look at me, I let the knife fly. The blade embedded itself into the creature’s eye. The feline drew back, roaring and shaking its head. It used its club-paws to withdraw the knife and let it fall. Purple, watery liquid flowed from the wound. The cat leapt to the top of the boulder up and across from my face. It fixed me with its gaze, crouching down to free up its dangerous club-paws.
I toppled over, trying to increase the distance between me and the feline. As I lay on my backpack looking up at the cat, I realized I might be able to use my bow. My hands instinctively moved to position the bow and nock a spinner-ringed arrow. The cat tracked every movement. It growled deep in its throat and pushed itself upward into a sitting position at the slight sound of the spinner. At that moment, I anchored and released. It was a desperate shot, but one I hoped would drive off the creature or put it down.
I barely had a breath to wait before the arrow thwacked home. The fletching bloomed from the creature’s other eye. It roared, pushing itself up onto its hind legs. The powerful movement set the spinner screaming. There was a loud thump, and all went dreadfully quiet. I waited, too afraid to move, straining my ears to their limits. I heard the panting of the visible cat. It seemed louder. Had it moved? Or was it that everything was that much quieter?
After some minutes, I collected myself enough to change my position. I checked out my injury. I was amazed to see it was not deep and had stopped bleeding on its own. I made a mental note to have Carl take a look after we found our people. Finally, I ventured out of my hiding place. Laying to the right and left of my boulders were two very still piles of rock. Both piles sprouted my arrows. I carefully checked their faces. When I saw them, I knew the creatures were never going to rise again.
I paused to pick up my throwing knife. After cleaning the blade, I sheathed it. Sighing, I nocked my last arrow and surveyed the area. The panting, visible cat still lay near the crevasse. It had not moved from its spot.
I turned north. At first, I didn’t see Carl. Worriedly, I continued my visual search. When I located him, he lay sprawled on his back near his original position. I hurried to his side. Thankfully, he was not drenched in blood, but his breathing sounded labored and shallow.
“Carl, are you OK?”
He groaned, curling into a fetal position before pushing himself up into a sitting posture. “Yeah,” he said, panting. “A big pile of rock plowed into me.”
“Is that all?” I replied teasingly.
“Yeah, help me up,” he said.
“Not yet,” I told him. “Let me see your chest. Your breathing is too shallow and panty to blame it on having the air knocked out of you.” He complied. Deep purple bruises covered his chest. Fearing fractured ribs, I dug out the necessary bandages from my pack. As I set aside my pack, my mind took me back to my boulder shelter. I silently marveled that laying on my well-provisioned pack had created enough distance between the cat and me for me to use my bow. Breathing a sigh of relief, I turned back to Carl with the bandage roll in hand. “Let’s get this wrapped around you for support in case there is more wrong with you,” I suggested. “Hold tight. This, most likely,won’t be pleasant.” It seemed like a long time before I was able to get his chest wrapped. I hoped it helped him enough to make the pain of getting it on worth it.
“You ready for that hand up now?” I asked.
He took my proffered arm without comment. I steadied him as he eased himself to his feet. Letting me go, he shuddered and looked about us. “Where are the invisocats?” he asked hoarsely.
“Dead,” I told him. “The visible one over by the crevasse is the only one left.”
He stared at me for a moment. I couldn’t tell what was in his eyes – shock, awe, guilt, relief? I didn’t know, and I didn’t ask.
I turned toward the cleft. Those creatures had been there for a reason – and we needed to deal with the remaining cat.
We approached it along the rock that would crack to form the crevasse, moving as stealthily as we could. When we closed to almost four meters from its hindquarters, it was easy to see it was a male.
He had rolled his upper body back onto his shoulder. His massive head rested on his cheek against the rock. The panting sounds coincided with the shallow rise and fall of his chest. As I looked him over, I couldn’t see any injuries. There didn’t seem to be any of the purple liquid on or around him either.
Leaving Carl’s side, I padded as close to the cat’s head as I dared. His big eyes fluttered opened, and he fought to focus them on me.
“What happened to you, big guy? I don’t see any wounds. Are you too old to camouflage? Why are you dying?” I couldn’t seem to stop asking the cat questions. The words just tumbled out of my mouth. And as inane as it sounds, I was hoping it would answer. But instead his eyes drifted shut, and his breathing slowed and - stopped. I started to cry. What an idiot I am! I can’t do this now when I don’t even know where my people are.
I struggled to my feet, wiping the tears from my eyes. I blinked my vision clear and carefully stepped around the c
at to the crevasse. Could my people be down there? After fumbling my flashlight out of my shoulder pocket, I shinned it into the cleft.
The rocky fissure traveled east, becoming deeper as it went. A short two meters away, the surface rock was undisturbed. Did the cleft submerge and become a tunnel? Or did it just end in an underground ditch?
Realizing I had not tried my comm, I tapped it and asked, “X-tee, do you read?” I waited as long as I could – probably less than five seconds – before repeating my message. After the fourth attempt, my comm crackled with static. Were those words? “Please repeat your message,” I directed, hope blooming in my voice.
Chapter 22
“I read,” my comm relayed X-tee’s voice amid spurts of static. “Ky, come in.”
“I’m here,” I replied happily. “Where are you? Is everyone safe?” As I spoke, Carl joined me. He looked as happy as I felt. Anxiously, we waited on X-tee’s reply.
“I’m in a subterranean cave on the east side of the boulders,” he replied. “Is Carl with you?”
“He is,” I answered. “He got knocked aside by a cat. He’s sore but seems OK.”
Before I could say more, Carl tapped his comm. “X-tee, what’s the situation?”
“Nathan is hurt pretty bad. An invisocat mauled his shoulder. Ross got raked by its claws when he went to help Nathan. The rest of us are a little battered but overall okay.” After a brief pause, he continued. “Ezra, Derrick, Lloyd, and Marta are not with us. They got separated from us when we got here.”
Carl and I exchanged a knowing glance. “We have a good idea where they are. Do you want us to come to you or can you come to us?” I asked. “We are at the crevasse opening.”
“Nathan and Ross need Carl to come down here,” he told us.
“On my way,” Carl announced into his comm.
“Any cats down there?” I asked with a touch to my comm.
“If there are, they're very quiet,” he told us.