Daphne and Fred stayed around the star-specked time-freezer as he continued his walk, and he soon came to the corpses of his two tribemates. I watched through Daphne’s eyes as he kneeled down to study their corpses again, and I saw him move over to look at the drag marks I’d left in the dirt when I carried Agg away.
My heart hammered in my chest as I watched the man study the ground. On one hand, I didn’t want him to follow the trail in my direction, since I hadn’t quite figured out how to kill him yet, but on the other hand, getting him away from the rest of his tribe would give me the opportunity to try a few different things to see if he only had one use of time-stop globe, and I’d rather kill him first if I could.
A few tense moments passed, and then he stood up to his full height, turned southward, and continued his trip through the jungle and around the perimeter of his camp.
I let out a long exhale, even though I hadn’t really been in immediate danger, and then I ordered Daphne and Fred to continue following Aytron. The time-freezer spent the next five or so minutes walking through the jungle, but instead of exiting the trees when he reached the southern tip where it met the beach, he turned around and doubled back northward. I still made Daphne and Fred shadow him, and he stopped once again at the corpses of his two tribemates.
Then he crouched down once more and stared at their corpses.
“Are you watching me?” I heard him say, and my heart almost jumped out of my throat when I realized I could hear through Daphne’s ears and that the man suspected what I was doing.
“You haven’t come to feast on these bodies yet,” Aytron continued. “Why not? Did you get your fill from Agg’s corpse? Are you waiting for a better moment? Here I am. Alone. Come and attack me. I am easy prey.”
I realized he was just speaking out loud rhetorically, and he actually didn’t know I was really watching him. It was still a bit unnerving though, and I mentally patted myself on the back for figuring out his strategy before I fell for it.
Finally, Aytron let out a sigh of disappointment, stood upright, and continued through the jungle north. Daphne and Fred followed him, and he continued to loop around on the other side of the camp instead of going back to his hut.
I was a bit worried he might see Emerald, but there was a good two hundred yards of jungle between their camp and the edge of the river where I expected her to be waiting, and I also sensed that they were still making their way down from the hillside through the thick jungle, and my women and dinos wouldn’t really be across the river for another ten minutes or so.
So, all I needed to do was watch and wait for this guy to go back to sleep so I could kill his friends.
Aytron completed his patrol on the other side of the camp and walked back up to his hut. I half expected him to keep going and make another loop over to where the corpses of Snakhay and Loukar were, but he turned in the jungle right about where his hut was, exited the trees, and then returned to his home.
“That was close,” I whispered to Scoob, Shag, and Velma.
I kept Fred and Daphne at their location just in case Aytron decided to come out again, and then the rest of my troodons and I moved through the jungle and toward the edge where we could see the campfire. We were soon back in our position watching the men, but their conversation hadn’t really transitioned past the topic of finding women to rape and complaining about standing watch while Aytron slept.
So, I waited until I knew that the Emeralds, Nicole, Grumpy, Bevis, and Butt-Head had made it across the river and were in position. Bruce was still drifting over the air above us, and I willed myself to see his aerial view of the campfire. It took a few tries to get the feeling right, but soon Bruce’s vision was semi-imposed over mine, and I was able to focus solely on it while I pushed my own vision to the background.
The view from the cliffs above the camp and across the river had already given me a good feel for the layout of the land, but I could easily see where the rest of my team had crossed the river. Grumpy was already trudging south across the beach to get into position inside of the ocean waves, and I saw one of the Emeralds reach into Nicole’s trunk area and pull out the flowers.
I shifted Bruce’s focus back to the campfire and saw the men sitting around it talking. This wasn’t much of an update from what I saw through my own eyes, but as I glanced eastward across the beach, I saw a moon-lit figure kneeling on the sand and looking in the direction of the campfire.
Bruce swung around in that direction as I told him to look closer at the figure, and I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw it was the muscular-legged woman I had met the other day and not a new challenger. She must have been a quarter of a mile away from their camp, and I wondered why she was watching them.
“Maybe she’s worried they are going to catch us?” I whispered under my breath to my troodons, but they didn’t know any more than I did, and they didn’t want to hoot a reply for fear of giving away our position to the men we were about to kill.
I pulled my vision away from Bruce and studied the six men standing around the campfire as I returned to my earlier problem of trying to get the flowers in the fire. I still didn’t know what the bald guy did, but the obvious threats to Bruce doing a dive bomb flower delivery were the net-guy, Farkar, and the light-saber-gladius guy, Zibum. There was a chance that Bruce could get captured and then killed if they reacted quickly enough, so I needed some sort of distraction. Then Bruce could plant the flowers safely, Emerald could make her run, and the men would chase after her.
And I’d have an easier time killing them if their leader just stayed sleeping inside his hut.
I could order Nicole to bellow, but then the men might stand up and move to the opposite side of the fire. It also ran the risk of waking up their leader.
I could have Emerald bundle up the flowers and then have Bruce drop them from way up high, but he might miss his drop, or the men might see it and move away from the fire.
I could send some of the troodons, or maybe a pachy, in to attack them and create some chaos, but I risked my dinos getting caught in the net or killed. Also, the noise might wake up their leader.
The puzzle made me realize that I wasn’t quite the one-man, or one-man plus dinosaur platoon, killing force that I was starting to think I was. Yeah, I was getting really good at using my dinos to take on other dinos, but the other Dinosaurland survivors were a completely new challenge that I really needed help from my women with. If Sheela or Kacerie were here with me, three of the fuckers would have been dead in a split second, and if Nomi was here, the leader’s powers could be disabled. Then my dinos could come on in here like a bottle of bug spray and destroy these cockroaches. As it was, I had to be really careful of their powers, and every move I made needed to be well thought out.
I glanced back at the hut and then began to sort the various risks and rewards in my head. Aytron was obviously the most powerful, but just like a queen in chess, was it worth going after him if I could take out two or three of the less powerful pieces instead? The next most deadly after him was either Farkar with his nets or Zibum with his gladius sabers. Crumble was also dangerous, but he seemed to just punch or kick things, and didn’t really mention he had any other weapons. I was sure the other men were strong too, since our overlords seemed to be picking the most powerful specimens from every planet, but they didn’t seem as powerful as the three men I’d already picked out.
Was it worth waking up Aytron if it meant that I took out both Farkar and Zibum? I glanced at the two men as the gears in my brain continued to whirl. They sat on opposite sides of the large campfire with Farkar on the west side facing east toward where I hid in the jungle, and Zibum on the east side facing west toward the river and Emerald’s location, and I guessed that the distance between them was about ten feet.
Then a plan finally clicked into place in my head, and I took a deep breath. It was risky, and Aytron would probably wake up, but best-case scenario I’d be able to take out all three of the powerful men.
&nb
sp; However, worst-case scenario meant that I might lose Bruce, Bevis, and maybe Fred and Daphne.
I took a deep breath and thought through my plan again. There were a few holes in it, but I knew it had a better chance of success than just trying to get Bruce to drop the flowers from up high or just sending the troodons in.
I moved my thoughts over to Bruce, and the pteranodon drifted down toward where Emerald had finished prepping the flowers. As soon as my buddy landed and hopped over to her, she placed the flowers in his mouth and then both of her bodies gently stroked his head for a few moments. Then the flying dino hopped up into the air, circled to gain some elevation, and waited for my order.
Meanwhile, Bevis jogged southward away from the group and in the same direction that Grumpy had taken. He didn’t go to the ocean though, instead, the pachycephalosaurus circled around to the east and moved about twenty yards outside of the circle of light that the campfire threw out.
Then I commanded Velma and Fred to sneak to the east side of the hut just in case Aytron did wake up and step out. I was still worried that this would leave my troodons too exposed if he turned toward them, but I wanted to test out my theory that he could only maintain one of the time-stopping globes, and I also wanted to mitigate any risk to Bruce and Bevis. If Aytron did wake up, walk out, and then use his ability on one of my dinos before they had a chance to execute my plan, Fred and Daphne were going to act like insurance and take him out.
At least, that was the hope. If he could keep the globe around his body and then send an additional one out, then I was going to be fucked.
“Okay,” I whispered. “No more negative thoughts. We can do this. Let’s go guys.”
As soon as I finished speaking, Bruce twisted his body in the air, aimed himself at the back of Farkar, and dove.
I didn’t know exactly how much my pteranodon weighed, but he was as big as a horse, so I guessed he was two or three hundred pounds. It also helped that he was diving from about sixty-feet up, so when his feet collided with the unsuspecting orange-haired man’s back, there was a loud celery-snapping sound as his spine bent back and his body was tossed forward across and over the campfire.
Zibum let out a shout a half an instant after Bruce sent Farkar flying, but then the swordsman’s voice was cut off when the other man’s body slammed into him like a wrecking ball. They both tumbled back away from the flames, and then Bruce threw out his wings to stop his forward momentum.
I told Bevis to charge, and the pachy’s wide feet tore into the sand as he sprinted across the beach and into the light of the camp. The other four men were focused on Bruce’s sudden appearance and weren’t even looking at the new arrival, but I could see Zibum struggle to roll out and untangle himself from under Farkar’s prone body.
Bruce’s feet set on the ground, and he dropped the flowers in the fire just as the blond man, Crumble, Serrn, and the floppy-eared dude shouted. Then my pteranodon gave them a comically polite nod before he frog-hopped westward away from them and started to flap his wings so he could take to the air.
“What the fuck!” some of the men shouted in unison, but everyone seemed too dumbfounded by the flying dino’s sudden appearance to even move.
Except for Zibum.
“Kill it!” the silver-haired man cried out as he finally crawled free from Farkar’s limbs and started to stand.
Just in time for Bevis’ arrival.
The pachy ducked his helmeted head down low as he charged, and the spiky rim of his bowled noggin collided with Zibum as he was coming up. There was a crack that sounded like a gunshot, and the swordsman’s neck snapped at a ninety-degree angle while his cranium also broke open like a watermelon filled with firecrackers.
Blood, skull pieces, and brain flew everywhere, and the four men turned away from Bruce and then screamed when they saw what had happened to Zibum.
Bevis continued running north through the east side of the camp, past Aytron’s hut and the two troodons hidden from the group of men on the east side, and then disappeared into the jungle. The pachy made a ton of noise when he tramped through the thick forest, but it didn’t matter at this point, he’d accomplished his mission, and the enemy tribe was down their most deadly warrior.
“What the fuck just happened?” the blond man cried out as his head spun around the camp.
“We are under attack!” the floppy-eared man shouted as he glanced up into the sky, but Bruce was in the air now, and one of the Emeralds was riding on Butt-Head south along the river so that she could play her part in the next stage of the plan.
And I guessed the next stage was going to happen soon, since the flowers were producing a bunch of smoke that was about to rise up and hit all four men in the nose.
“What are you idiots yelling abou--” Aytron shouted from inside his hut, and a second later the star-skinned man’s head popped out, and his mouth hung open when he saw both Farkar and Zibum’s bodies.
“Two monsters attacked us!” the blond man yelled as he pointed into the jungle.
“Zibum is dead! Dead! Dead!” the bald man shrieked.
“I can see that!” Aytron shouted as he walked out of his hut. “What about Farkar? What exactly happened? Where did the monsters go?”
“One out of air!” Crumble grunted as he pointed in the same direction as the blond man. “Other from beach!”
“They both hit us at the same… wooooo…” The blond man’s words kind of trailed off, and he started to blink his blue eyes and sniff deeply.
The smoke had reached all four of their noses, and the instant effect it had on them was obvious. I could actually see them pitch tents in their tattered pants and shorts, and they all just kind of began to sway slightly on their feet.
“Fuck. I need a woman bad.” Crumble reached down to his crotch, and he started to press his hand into the mound there. “Real bad.”
“Yeah,” the floppy-eared man panted as a bit of drool started to drip out of the side of his mouth. “I need to fuck.”
“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Serrn echoed.
“What is wrong with you?” Aytron hissed as he walked toward the rest of them, but then he seemed to notice the smoke, and his feet skidded to a stop on the sand. “What are you breathing?”
Aytron’s back was to Fred and Daphne, but I could see the first tendrils of smoke from the flowers creep across the ground toward the time-stopper. It was easy to see that his power was engaged because the fog just hung in the air some ten feet away from him, so I kept my troodons in check while I waited for Butt-Head to carry Emerald into the light of their camp.
“Nothing is wrong with us--” the blond man started to say, but as soon as he started talking, Butt-Head skidded to a stop at the south side of their camp just at the edge of the light.
Then the pachy snorted to get the men’s attention, and Emerald casually waved at them before riding south toward the beach.
“A woman!” the four men screamed in unison, and then they started to chase after Emerald like eager zombies.
“Stop!” Aytron shouted. “Stop! I order you to stop! This is a trap! Don’t go after her!”
The men didn’t listen though, so Aytron raised his hand and his four tribe members froze in place.
“Bingo,” I whispered, but then my heart sank when I saw that the smoke around the time-stopper’s feet still hadn’t moved.
Fuck. He could keep up a globe around himself and also send one out.
“You all need to stop,” Aytron seethed, and his hand started to tremble as he held it out toward them.
I couldn’t quite see his face from my position, but his voice sounded strained, and I guessed that, while he could do two globes at once, it was difficult for him to maintain.
My suspicion was proven correct a few moments later. Aytron continued to hold his shaking hand out, but he stepped backward away from the smoke. As soon as he was ten feet or so away, he let out a long exhale, and his arm stopped shaking.
“There is something strange goin
g on!” he yelled at his men. “Why are you all running after that woman? Why did we get attacked by those monsters? Why did they just attack Zibum and Farkar? You all need to calm the fuck down and start thinking about what exactly is going on here.”
As Aytron spoke, Fred and Daphne crept from their hiding spot on the side of his hut. My heart pounded in my ears as they got within twenty feet of him, and then I held my breath as they reached fifteen feet.
Then I gave them the signal to attack, and the two troodons leapt toward their unsuspecting prey.
“This is why I’m a god, and you all are mortal idio--” Aytron continued, but somehow he spun around at the last second, shouted, and tumbled backward away from my two troodons.
Fred and Daphne instantly froze in the air as if they were paintings, and the other four men screamed as they broke free of their leader’s time-stop globe.
Then they continued chasing after Emerald.
“No! Stop!” Aytron shouted over his shoulder as he crawled backward away from Fred and Daphne’s air-born bodies. “It’s a trap! Stop you idiots!”
As he moved, Fred and Daphne began to float toward the ground as if they were on marionette strings. For a second, I didn’t quite understand exactly what was going on, but then I realized that they had reached the edge of his globe, but as he crawled away, the momentum of their leap kept catching up to it. That caused them to freeze in place again with their mouths open and talons extended. The troodons seriously looked like little murder machines, so I could understand why Aytron was trying to get away from them, but I realized he was making a huge mistake, since as soon as they were out of his time-stop globe, I’d be able to retrieve them, and then we’d just dash onto the beach and kill the rest of his friends.
Of course, Aytron probably hadn’t quite put together I was controlling my dinos, so I couldn’t really call him an idiot for his current actions. It’s totally what I would have done if I was him, and if anything, I was surprised at how quickly he’d managed to put together everything that had happened in his camp so quickly and figured out it was a trap.
Tamer- King of Dinosaurs Book 6 Page 27