Chapter 28
– Theodora –
The jungle is getting brighter. It’s not a great improvement, but at least now I’ll see any deadly monster right before it gets me.
I sometimes hear the men pursuing me. They don’t care about being quiet anymore, so they chat while they walk. They’re not even running, and still they gain on me.
I’m not running, either. I’m exhausted and feeling hopeless, hearing the men coming closer and having no plan for what I’ll do if I get to the clearing, except grab Aker’iz, get into the saucer, close the hatch, and then just hope they can’t break it down.
It can be hard to see where the hatch is if you don’t know.
There’s more noise behind me, cheering like old friends meeting each other.
Yeah, there are probably more than one gang chasing me.
And I’m not hard to chase—with my lack of experience, I must leave a trail like a bulldozer through the jungle.
I keep stepping on twigs, and I get tangled up in vines and roots.
Finally, I hear the distant roar of the ocean. By some miracle, I must at last have been going the right way.
Using the last of my energy, I speed up. The beach is nearby, but then there’s the problem of finding the saucer. It could be miles away—
I stumble over something and fall headlong in the undergrowth. The unusually smelly undergrowth…
There are bones and pieces of dinosaur skin, as well as a big, brown gape full of teeth. Except some of them have been pried off the jaw…
I scramble to my feet. Yeah, this is the carcass of the raptor that Sprisk killed weeks ago. And that means that the saucer is very close.
I scramble over the barricade and into the clearing. The saucer is right where it was supposed to be. My heart sinks when I see that the hatch is fully open. That is not how Kenz’ox would have left it with Aker’iz inside. But she’s not in her playpen, and she’s not in her cradle.
Steeling myself for what I might see inside, I stop ten feet away and peer in.
“Aker’iz!” I exclaim as I run up to the saucer.
She’s sitting on the metal floor, her little face full of fruit compote that’s spilled out of an upended pot.
Her whole fist is in her mouth, dripping with the sticky stuff.
Right next to her is Otis, tail curled protectively around the baby, his huge eyes focused on me.
The baby’s little face scrunches up when she sees me, ready to scream in protest at being left alone for so long. But I can’t have her make that kind of ruckus now. From the outside, I hit the button to close the hatch before the siren starts.
Seeing her well cared for ignites new energy in me. And there is that thing I have to try. I run into the jungle again, but this time in a different spot to get something I saw last time, when I retrieved the nuts.
The thing is heavier than I thought, with a denseness to it that means I have to carry it with both hands.
Hurrying back to the saucer, I hear the voices of the tribesmen that are following me. They could emerge from the jungle at any moment.
I carefully put the object down outside, then open the hatch. Aker’iz has her mouth full of compote again, and it will take her a few seconds to gather herself for what will definitely be a piercing scream.
There’s movement at the edge of the jungle. Several men are coming into the clearing. There are so many that it has to be the whole tribe. Yes, there’s the chief and the shaman. And the useless Dex in his basket.
They’ve been able to follow me the whole way. Not just a couple of them, but all of them. That’s how much faster they could travel through the jungle. For me, it was a desperate run; for them, it was a casual stroll.
Aker’iz screams with shrill fury, fueled by the sweet boiled fruits, but dampened by Otis’s tail loosely coiled around her mouth.
I stare, hoping to spot Kenz’ox.
“I can’t see him,” I tell Otis. “But they must have killed him. And now my job is making sure they don’t get hold of his daughter. Or me.”
The griket uncoils his tail and saunters out to the middle of the clearing, tail pointing straight behind him.
“Otis! Come on!” I lift the item I got from the woods and take a deep breath. If this doesn’t work, Aker’iz and I may never be able to leave this saucer.
I step up onto the metal floor and into the craft.
Immediately, I fall on my face as the floor straightens and becomes level. The light intensifies, and there’s definitely a much louder hum coming from the walls. It’s as if the whole saucer comes alive around me.
I leave the big Plood-shaped mushroom on the floor and steady myself on the wall. The whole saucer feels like it’s floating an inch above the ground.
Aker’iz goes quiet.
“It worked!” I exclaim, despite the danger. “It just needed a Plood alien—”
“Dorie!” comes a bassy yell from outside.
What the hell? Is that—
“Kenz’ox!” My heart jolts as I lean out. And there he is, running across the clearing from the beach side. But he’s not running to the saucer—he’s going for the tribesmen, sword in hand.
“Come here!” I squeal, horrified that he’s going to fight a hundred cavemen instead of coming to safety inside the saucer.
His tribesmen hesitate, seeing the new threat. Kenz’ox lifts his sword as if to attack, then feints and runs straight for the chief. Damn it! He wants revenge.
“Oh, come onnn…” I lean out and grab one of the spears leaned up against the saucer. It has no iron tip, just a sharp end that’s been hardened with fire. It’s better than nothing, but only barely.
Two of the cavemen decide I’m an easier target and come straight for me. For a moment, I lose track of Kenz’ox, except that there are roars and metallic clangs of a swordfight.
My hand hovers over the button that will close the hatch. If I have to do that, Kenz’ox is dead. If I don’t, I’m dead. He can’t win against a hundred cavemen. I have maybe three seconds before I have to hit it.
Something whistles through the air, flashing in the sunlight… thunk. The closest man falls forward with a sword sticking out of his back. Because this is not a fun game of tag. This is deadly serious.
The second man runs on, eyes wild as he stares at me. Yeah, this can’t be good.
“Breeeeeeeep!” A terrible noise pierces my ears. It’s like torn metal screaming through a throat that should not exist on this side of Hell itself, much worse than Aker’iz’s wildest cries.
I clench a hand to one ear—the other is holding the spear, and I can’t give up on it. The approaching caveman stumbles in surprise at the horrific noise and turns to look behind him.
Kenz’ox is running hard toward the saucer, carrying Dex.
It’s the drone that makes the noise, and it looks like it makes light, too.
The ground around Kenz’ox is illuminated by dots of color, like impossibly bright lasers that leave scorched lines and little wisps of smoke where they pass across the grass.
The closest man yelps and lifts his hand to his eyes, but it may be too late—those lasers must be absolutely blinding.
Kenz’ox sprints as fast as he can, but carrying the drone, he struggles to pull away from his pursuers. First among them is the chief, who runs surprisingly fast for someone so fat.
“The woman is mine!” he bellows, slashing his sword at Kenz’ox’s back and missing by a half inch. His headdress drops off and crashes to the ground.
“Get in here!” I yell. “We’ll close the hatch!”
As Kenz’ox closes the last ten feet, the chief suddenly hurls his sword low. It skids across the ground and snags Kenz’ox’s ankles, sending him crashing forward. Dex tumbles from his grip, buzzing wildly as he ricochets into the saucer. I duck on instinct.
Kenz’ox hits the ground hard. The chief is already on him, snatching up his sword and lifting it overhead like an axe, ready to split Kenz’ox’s skull.
Fury blazes in me. “Stay away from him!” I act without thinking and throw my spear at the chief as hard as I can. It hits him in the side and ruins his movement before he sags to his knees with a pitiful little groan.
Otis jumps in, and then Kenz’ox makes a pounce for the hatch. I grab one huge hand in both of mine and drag him inside, then hit the hatch button.
It closes with a soft zup and sucks itself shut in a way I’ve only seen it do once before, sealing itself off from all outside sounds.
Kenz’ox embraces me hard. His whole body shakes, and he’s breathing heavily. “Sweet Ancestors. You’re here. And Aker’iz!” He lifts the baby, holding her tight. “Oh, my dear loves…”
I squeeze him back, noting that he’s got several wounds all over him. “Otis watched over her and gave her food,” I explain, not yet daring to believe this is over.
There are hard bangs on the hatch of the saucer. The cavemen have finally reached it, and now they want to get inside.
“Dex, can you fly this thing?” I ask.
The drone runs his propellers with a soft buzz, but can only lift one side of himself from the floor. “If someone takes me to the control room.”
I lift him, noting that he’s incredibly light. In the control room, there are many lights on the consoles, and the glow is a bright blue. “Where?”
“Set me down on the main console,” he says with his broken voice. “I see you got it working again.”
There are sharp bangs all over the saucer now, and it sounds like all the cavemen are hammering on it with their swords. I wonder how much it can take.
I put Dex down and stand back. “It was missing a Plood,” I explain. “And it doesn’t seem to care if the Plood is actually alive or just in mushroom form.”
Dex connects to the saucer in the way I remember him doing back when we first came to Xren. “That would make sense. There was a Plood inside when I first hijacked it. But I threw him out. Ah. It responds.”
The saucer shakes softly. I hold on to the wall. “Okay. Can you deal with this?”
“I’m not sure we dare fly yet,” the drone says. “But I’ll see if this thing has any weapons on the outside.”