She might wish to breed with them. It would make sense if her species does not mate for life like mine does. You are right though, I did not see another man or woman walking around their camp with wings, so it does seem like a waste of their only flying member.
“You said you saw seven women that weren’t in cages?” I asked as I tried to recall the specifics of the last conversation I had with Emerald about her capture.
Yes, and then someone else yelled about having ‘Eighty-six’ mouths to feed, while he was carrying a basket of fruit past my cage. So while I didn’t see exactly eighty-six individuals, I believe that number is accurate. There might be more women I didn’t observe, though.
“So, they weren’t raping all the women,” I said. “But the cages next to you did have women in them?”
Yes. There were six cages. Three others had a woman in each. They appeared to be drugged, since they didn’t move much, and muttered dream addled words. That is what led me to kill myself. After the two men finished their conversation, the one with the red-white hair said I needed to be ‘treated’ so that I wouldn’t be able to escape. I feared he might have possessed a power that would prevent me from controlling my mind, but I didn’t want to eliminate that body before I learned all that I could.
“Then what happened?” I asked after she paused for a moment.
The man with the red-white changing hair told the winged man to go get ‘Haillar.’ The winged man left while the other watched me. He said that he knew I wasn’t unconscious, so I stopped pretending and sat up. He tried to engage me in conversation and ask about my camp, our numbers, and our abilities. He especially wanted to know if we had any strong males, but of course, we had issues communicating. I expected him to give up and leave after an hour or so, and he did seem to wonder where this ‘Haillar’ was, but it also seemed like the red-white man could not leave my presence.
“Maybe he had an ability like Nomi that can keep someone from using their abilities?” I asked.
That is possible, but it did not work on me, and I was able to observe more of his camp. I still did not see their leader, but everyone who walked by my cage glanced toward the building that I guessed housed their leader, instead of looking at me. I found that strange since they were keeping the women to rape. So, I would have expected more men to give me hungry looks.
“Did anyone specifically say they wanted to rape you?” I asked.
Yes, when the winged man and the red-white haired man were speaking. It became apparent that was what they wanted to do with the women in the cages.
“What happened next?” I asked. “Did this Hailler show up?”
Another man with blue hair ran to the man watching me to give him a plate of food. I don’t know how many hours had passed, but the sun had set, and they were distributing meals. At that point, the red-white haired man asked the blue-haired man where Haillar was, and the blue-haired man replied that he had been on a mission for ‘her’ outside of the camp. Then the man who had been watching me all day said that I needed to be ‘broken’ soon, or he was going to get a headache. Now I guess that you might be right, and he had a method to eliminate or dull abilities, and he had been using it on me as soon as I arrived.
“But you said that didn’t work.”
Some time later, I saw the winged man walk toward the cages with another man. I guessed this was Haillar, and since I worried that he might use his power on me, I decided to eliminate that body so that I could pass my memories onto the existing one. That was the end.
“I see,” I said as my mind chewed on her story. “And you said it was an hour or so fly time there?”
Yes. I would guess it is still farther from our original camp than the new location we have just picked. You were right with your earlier strategy. Taking a war to them would be foolish at this point. They are too far away, have too many members, and are more advanced than us.
“I still wonder how that one guy knew my name,” I said. “Do you think someone read your mind?”
The red-white haired man asked me questions. It is possible that was his ability, but then it wouldn’t have made any sense for him to ask me anything. No one else in the camp paid me much attention.
“With eighty-five people, they might have someone who can just scry on us.”
Scry?
“I mentioned it to Liahpa when we returned from our trip. We have various games we play on my world and stories we tell each other about imaginary people with powerful abilities. One of those is called ‘scry.’ It’s kind of like how I can look out of Bruce’s eyes, but someone doesn’t need a dinosaur. They can just pick a spot on a map or an individual and watch them.”
That would be a useful ability, but how would they know to identify you or that area. All they could know was Quwaru’s tribe location, and the location of our fort.
“The black-winged asshole who took you could have told them.”
There is still a problem with that logic. The winged man had not seen you when he took me. Then he took you from the bridge at Quwaru’s salt-cave fort. You said Grumpy killed him in the river after you both fought. Then, when you returned to the cave later with Liahpa, the men knew your name at that point. The winged-man was already dead, and could not have told them what your name was.
“Huh, I guess you are right,” I said. “But that still doesn’t mean that they don’t have someone who can remotely view or listen in on our camp.”
If that is the case, then leaving our current fort will not help us. They will just know our new location.
Her words echoed in my head, so I closed my eyes and gently rubbed the bridge of my nose.
“Fuck, you are right,” I finally sighed. “We might be moving for nothing.”
I still agree with your decision to move. I am just bringing up all the possible enemy strategies with you. They might not have someone watching us. Or they may, but their ability might be tied to land. Or they could have gleaned the knowledge of your name through another means, and they might not have any idea where our fort is actually located. We don’t know for sure, but the points you made earlier to the rest of the tribe about abandoning our old fort are still true. It is too hard to defend from all sides, especially from other survivors that might know our location. The new spot you have selected is more strategic in all aspects. It is farther away from our enemies, has access to water, and the open beaches to either side will allow us to see anyone coming for us. The jungle to the north is extremely thick, and opponents will have a problem passing through it. Even if this distant tribe of eighty knows where we have fled, the new location will make it much harder for them to attack us.
“Well, now I don’t feel like such an idiot,” I chuckled. “Thanks for the vote of confidence. I’m just worried about the other tribe, and honestly, your story didn’t relieve any of my stress. Somehow, the leader has some ability powerful enough to terrify all these men into serving her, and they know my name.”
Perhaps she just knows your name because she wants powerful men?
“What do you mean?”
The winged man was supposed to bring her a powerful man. You said he was taking you to meet her. Perhaps her ability is somehow tied to that. You are the most powerful man on this planet.
“I’m not so sure I’m the most powerful,” I chuckled, “after all, we are running from a dude that can kill all of us easily. I’m probably the luckiest, though. I’m alive, and I have you and the rest of our tribe beside me. I probably should have died the first minute I came here, but I got lucky again and again and again.”
There is always some luck, but you also make your own, Victor. If you saw yourself as the rest of your women see you, you would not have such thoughts. Do not worry though, I will help you become the conqueror you are destined to become. All who challenge you will die or kneel, and you will possess all the females required to bear you thousands of powerful offspring.
“Well, the first step of that is getting back to our fort with this asshol
e close behind us.” I gestured over my shoulder with my thumb, and then I checked with Bruce to make sure that Aytron was still behind us.
He was, and he still hadn’t slowed down. The guy had called himself a ‘god’ to his other tribemates, and while I didn’t believe that at all, he was still a fucking machine, and I guessed he must have had a crazy high Stamina rating on his Eye-Q.
Is he still behind us?
“Yeah,” I said. “Let’s just hope we can keep him there and no dinosaurs attack us. This is going to be one long and stressful ride back.”
Chapter 18
Three virtually sleepless days later, we crested the last hill and entered the southside of our valley. I wished I could say I was excited to be back on my home turf, but exhaustion, nerves, and terror had continued to chip away at my brain.
My luck held out again, and we only had a few close encounters with larger predators that we saw from a distance but never had to engage. It was great that we didn’t have to waste time fighting, but I was still worried that we were too late to get back home, and I worried that the enemy camp led by the powerful woman had taken or murdered my friends. I worried that Aytron would catch up to us before we made it there, and he’d murder the Emeralds and I when our exhausted attention was frayed past our breaking point. Lastly, I worried that we’d lose the man somewhere in the wilderness, and he’d ambush our fort at the worst time and kill all of us.
It ended up that my last worry was ironically misplaced.
The fucker just didn’t stop moving.
He never ran. He never walked. He just kept up that same half-way pace for the entire three days. He never fucking slept or ate either. He just kept going like a Terminator on a mission to kill me like I had ‘Connor’ for a last name.
I didn’t know if it was another bonus to his time-stop ability, but it seemed like the guy just didn’t get tired. Grumpy still outdistanced him during the day, but because Aytron never stopped, we could only sleep a few hours every night before he started to get within a mile of us. It only got worse as Grumpy, Bruce, Nicole, the pachys, and my troodons began to get exhausted. We ate when we could, and grabbed small pieces of sleep, but my dinosaurs sensed my uneasiness, and they rested as fitfully as I did.
Still, my dinos were troopers. They knew how important this mission was for us, and not even Grumpy complained. In fact, his entire attitude seemed to have flipped a one-eighty since I told him not to sacrifice himself for us, and he was normally the first one up and ready to go after our short rest periods.
Still, even with a great attitude, the going was tough, and the days of rushed travel seemed endless.
I just prayed that nothing had happened to anyone at the camp.
How close is he?
The Emeralds were both looking back as we trotted down the hill, and I forced my vision to Bruce.
They had asked the question of me probably four hundred times in the last few days, but it didn’t annoy me. I understood why they were concerned.
“About a mile,” I grunted through chapped lips. “It’s funny… well… okay. It’s not funny, but remember how I worried we might lose him? Turns out that was dumb.”
You didn’t know. We are almost back. Nomi will deal with him.
“Let’s hope her power works,” I said. “I’ve never seen her use it.”
I am happy you are worrying about that now, instead of worrying about the other tribe attacking while we were gone.
“Oh, I’m still worried about that.” I tried to laugh, but it just came out as a dry cough.
Fuck. I was so tired of being chased. Every muscle in my body ached worse than it had a few days ago when I thought I was coming down with the flu. I just really needed to eat and sleep and then repeat that for a few days until I recovered my strength.
The hours passed, and we reached the small river where we had fought against the giganotosauruses. I couldn’t even remember how many days ago that had been, since my mind was so fuzzy, but the corpses were long gone, and only a few picked clean bones remained on the side of the beach by the small grove of palm trees.
“We found the flowers on the rocky hillside up here,” I commented as we continued to ride north, and then I saw a flash of movement on the top of the rocks.
“Did you see that?”
As I said, Bexcee has experienced a taste of your power. Her body wants to be inseminated by you so she can produce your offspring. That is why she is following us. It is just a matter of time before she submits to you.
Both of the Emeralds nodded, and they wiped their sleepy eyes with their hands at the exact same moment and with the exact same motion. Seeing them double like that made my head spin for a few moments, but then Nicole tripped a bit, and my attention had to focus back to keeping the big trike on her feet.
“Almost there, sweetie,” I said as I patted her crest. “I know this has been hard. Just a bit more to go.”
The troodons, pachys, Grumpy, and Bruce didn’t look much better than Nicole, but they weren’t carrying us or supplies, so their feet and wings didn’t feel that heavy.
Ugh. I was starting to think I was feeling their limbs now. I was so tired.
We trotted past the spot where Emerald found the sexy-flowers, and then we threaded through the narrow pass that led to the larger river. It had rained the day before, so the flow was quicker and more bloated than what I was used to, and I worried that Nicole might not have the strength to make it across.
But she had to.
“You got this, sweetie,” I coaxed the trike as we angled to the narrowest part. “You should be able to ford this just like last time. There might be a few spots that are deep, but you can do it. Bevis and Butt-Head, I need you guys to swim behind her and give her a bit of a push.”
The pachys grunted, and then Nicole gave out a snort before she tiptoed into the water, but then Grumpy let out an annoyed grumble, gently nudged his body so that he pushed Bevis and Butt-Head out of the way, and then set his snout up against Nicole’s rear so that he could push her across the water if he needed to.
Nicole knew better than to snort at his nice gesture.
The water is moving really fast.
“I know, but it’s not that deep,” I huffed, but then one of the Emeralds reached up to massage the base of my neck.
It will be okay.
“I know,” I whispered. “You gotta stop doing that, or I’m going to fall asleep in the saddle.”
I will help relax you after we kill this man.
“Those are sweet words,” I said as Nicole moved her chest into the water. “But I know you are exhausted, so--”
No, Victor. You are very tired.
“I’m doing okay,” I lied.
The past few days have drained you. I can see the changes on your body. You have not rested or eaten enough, and you have not had time to pour your seed into me. A conqueror who will dominate the world needs such activities to improve his stamina.
“Just let me focus on Nicole,” I said as the big trike started to swim.
The current was super-fast, but Nicole had a bit of practice swimming across the slow-moving river, so she kept upright on those few times that she had to wiggle her feet to move forward. Grumpy also pushed on her a bit, and that helped, but we ended up drifting a few dozen feet off course before we pulled out on the other side of the river.
“There is the rotted tree,” I said as I nodded to it. “Never thought I’d be so happy to see it.
How far behind us is he?
“About half a mile,” I said. “I don’t know how he is going to handle the river, but we’ll leave deep tracks here. I wonder if he knows that we know that he’s following us.”
Has he looked up at Bruce?
“Nope,” I said. “At least not when I’ve been watching him, but there are lots of things flying in the air, and I don’t think this asshole had a chance to see Bruce after he threw the flowers in the fire.”
We continued through the redwoods, and
my heart started to hammer inside my chest as we approached our fort.
Please be okay.
Please be okay.
Please be okay.
Then the forest parted, and I saw the massive redwood in the center of our fort and the thick walls. There didn’t seem to be any damage to them, and I saw the light colored smoke rising from what I guessed was the kiln.
Then I heard a voice cry out my name, and I almost sobbed with joy.
“Victor!”
It was Trel’s voice in the far distance, and I saw her scurry down the trunk of the massive redwood like a drop of water sliding down a piece of glass.
A minute or so later, we were at the front of the fort, and Liahpa and Sheela lifted up the gate so that we could ride on in. Most of the women met us at the door, but Trel pulled me down from Nicole’s back and into her arms as her plump lips showered my face with kisses.
“It’s been too many days!” the spider-woman hissed between kisses. “You can never leave us like that again. Do you know how miserable all these women were without you?”
“Was your mission successful?” Sheela asked as she pulled me out of Trel’s arms and gave me a kiss.
“Yes, did you find us a better place?” Kacerie wrapped her arms around me from behind while Sheela still hugged me, and my pink-haired lover planted her lips at the base of my neck in a way that sent electric shivers down my spine.
“Yes, but we have a problem,” I said as soon as I turned around to return Kacerie’s kiss.
“What’s wrong?” Liahpa was hugging me now, but Kacerie and Sheela still hadn’t let go, so I found myself in a three-woman sandwich.
That would have been awesome at any other time, but I cleared my throat and gently pushed them all away. I actually wanted to scream at them and tell them we needed to get fucking ready to kill this Aytron asshole, but I realized that all my nerves were just frayed, and my lovers were all happy to see me.
And I was more than happy to be back. I couldn’t see Nomi or Galmine, but Quwaru, Emta, Zoru, Youleena, Urka, Adella, Tannin, and Keefaye all gave me quick hugs and asked rapid-fire questions about my adventures to find us a new home.
Tamer- King of Dinosaurs Book 6 Page 30