25

- Sophia -

There are soft skins and a pile of food and even clothing of the same kind that Jax'zan made for me, except these have been colored blue. Probably they were made for a young boy of the tribe.

I'm so disappointed I bury my face in the skins and cry for a good while.

Damn. I really thought they'd help. Or at the very least that Jax'zan would take a stronger stand in my favor. He's supposed to be the chief. You'd think he could pull some strings.

Well, he spoke forcefully, but he was clearly outvoted and I guess he had no choice after that. But still ...

I punch the skins a couple of times and calm down. I'm supposed to be the happy-go-lucky one, the cheerful one who always thinks everything will turn out okay. This is probably as good a time as any to practice what I preach. I think it will feel better than to just give in to black depression.

I examine the cave more. I can't see any guards, but the reason is obviously that I can't escape in any other way than jumping to my death. The waterfall in the back of the cave also gives me no way to climb up or down.

I have to escape. I have a feeling there's no time to lose. If these guys get to the girls before I do, then the girls will be surprised and may well give in to the demands if they think I'll die otherwise. Then they'll be stuck in what sounded a lot like sexual slavery. I have to get there first so the tribe doesn't have that hold on them.

We'll defend ourselves as well as we can. I still have the gun. And I've learned a few things about this planet from walking through the jungle alongside Jax'zan.

I lie down on the skins again, curl up and yawn. It's been a long day. There's not much I can do in the darkness. I'll just wait until morning.

A sharp noise from the cave entrance startles me awake. I get hold of my gun and tiptoe over there.

Hm. Someone's put a ladder up to the ledge above, the one that the two young warriors hoisted me down here from. I shake it, and it doesn't rattle much. Seems stable enough.

Is it a trap or is someone helping me escape?

Well, I can't get any more trapped than I am right now, so there's not much for me to lose.

I climb up to the next level as quietly as I can. It's a deserted ledge with no cave opening. But there's another ladder leading further up. I climb that, then the next and so on until I'm on the top of the cliff and the whole village is underneath me.

Huh. That was easy.

I can see the flickering firelight from some of the caves. Jax'zan's is dark. Asleep after our strenuous walk through the jungle?

No, of course not. Someone put that ladder back, and while I'm not the smartest person alive, even I realize that it had to be him. He's probably close by, and he's probably watching me right now.

An insane part of me wants to go to his cave and get him to come with me. I have a feeling he might want to. But he would lose a lot if he did. I think that shaman asshole has a better grip on the tribe than he does. Being that much younger than the other authority figures is probably a weakness, even for the chief.

Jax'zan probably did what he could. But I can only guess that in this tribe, acting on his own is out of the question. Being outcast on a planet like this, having to always fend for himself against dinosaurs and huge centipedes and not-dactyls and I don't know what, is certain death. Despite everything, I absolutely understand how tough that would be. I can't force him or guilt him into that.

This is the kind of thing he has to decide for himself. He knows I'd need him for a thing like this. If he's not here now, it means he's not coming.

I have no illusions about my abilities to make it back to Bune and the tuna can alive. There are so many dangers in this jungle, and I've probably not even seen half of them.

I take the gun into my hand again. Well, I know which way to go. And I know I have to do it. I owe the girls that much.

Hey, I'm the happy-go-lucky one. They usually make it to the end.

Sometimes.

I take a deep breath and walk into the jungle.

- - -

There seems to be much fewer animals and dinosaurs around now. Maybe they're less active at night. And the going is much easier, like I've stumbled across a much-used path in the jungle that happens to point pretty much straight back to Bune and the girls.

At least I completed my mission. I tried to get help. And the answer was 'no'. Now we know.

The stars and a weird, blue moon in the sky give me enough light to see by and I'm starting to feel better about this whole thing. Maybe it won't take several days this time. I might be able to get there in about one whole day.

The thing that scares me the most is ... well, centipedes, of course. And dinos. But I worry the most about other tribes. I got a little too close to being sacrificed on a stone altar, and I'm thinking once is probably enough for one lifetime. It was never on my bucket list in the first place.

The sun rises and I notice that the winding path I'm walking is not really a path. The ground looks just as overgrown as everywhere else, and there are no footprints anywhere. Still it's clearly much easier to walk, as if the worst of the branches and bushes have been cleared away. Maybe this is what passes for a highway in the jungle.

I must have walked for ten hours when I come to the waterfall with the clear pool. The memory of the great times I had here with Jax'zan not that long ago send a sharp barb to my heart. Because I miss him and -

Yes, fine. Because I still love him. I do. He's the best man I've met. By far. Totally responsible and calm and masterful in this super tough environment. Considerate and warm and honest. I just know I could live the rest of my life with him and be happy. Even here. Even on this jurassic planet. It would be tough. But it would not be unbearable. And at times, I could be happy.

So he isn't helping me anymore. Can I really expect it of him? It would be like expecting someone back on Earth to do something for me that would get him sentenced to death. No one can expect that of someone else. I understand him. This whole thing was sprung on him just as much as it was sprung on me.

He's done okay. I mean, that Mother of Xren thing seemed pretty important to him. And he has given me up even when he didn't have to.

I drink my fill and take a short dip in the cool water to freshen up. It's a good sign that I'm here already. I'm making good progress, and I'll probably be by the tuna can late tonight. If I survive.

Now I can follow the same path that Jax'zan and I came here by from the other direction, and since he cleared the path for me back then, I can still walk pretty fast.

I'm looking around more, keeping the gun ready. This is the area where the rekh dino got me.

But I don't see any of them this time. In fact, I hardly see any wildlife at all. It's like they're keeping away. I hear some noises once in a while, but mostly it's just leaves rustling in the breeze or some smaller rodent-like things going about their business. Even the worst of the insects seem to be asleep.

I'm sweating a lot, but the dinosaur skin clothing seems to absorb it. Maybe that's why the dinos keep away? Because I smell like one of them and they're afraid of what I might turn out to be?

Or maybe they've learned to associate the sight of me with some of them dying horribly. Jax'zan did dispose of a whole bunch of them last time they saw me.

I keep walking, always looking around. It's becoming second nature.

My confidence collapses when I hear a horrendous roar from in among the trees in front of me. It's a deep roar with screechy undertones, like what you'd expect from a really big monster. The ground shakes and I realize that something seriously huge is approaching from straight ahead.

I go into a crouch and hold the gun out away from me, painfully aware that if this thing that's coming is as large as it sounds, I might as well shoot it with spitballs as with bullets.

I wait and feel the ground rattle with each step the dino takes. It roars once more, and I wince and expect a huge shadow to fall on me at any time.

Then the ground shakes one more time, really hard, and I know my last moment alive has arrived. I hear tree branches break and thick trunks being splintered, and a deep, unearthly groan rattles the leaves on the trees close to me.

Then there's only silence.

I stay down for several minutes after. I don't trust this damn planet further than I can throw it, and this seems just like the kind of trick it'd try to pull. But then I start to feel silly and I straighten up. Still nothing happens. It's just silent. Not a sound.

I take a few steps forwards and peer in among the trees. Nothing.

I venture a few more steps, expecting to see a giant gape full of teeth at any moment.

But nothing happens. The jungle is as peaceful as ever.

When I finally find the monster, it's lying on its side on the ground, having crushed a whole glade of trees when it collapsed. It's immense, easily the size of a house. And I can't help but notice that it looks a lot like a T-Rex, giant mouth and tiny forelimbs and all. Except this one has two tails and dirty white feathers all over it. I can't help but retch at the smell of it. It's rank.

I can't tell how it died. But it's definitely dead. It would have major problems getting back upright from that position. It died right before it would have seen me and done what these things usually do when they see defenseless alien university chicks.

I scratch my head and look around. Maybe it saw a glimpse of me and was scared to death? I know that elephants are sometimes afraid of mice, and I've seen large dogs scared out of their minds by much smaller animals. And I've heard of certain sheep that just faint and fall over where they stand when they're startled.

I prod the tough, feathery skin with a stick. No movement.

Maybe it had some kind of heart condition.

I can't figure it out, so I walk a large circle around the beast and find the path again.

I walk for more hours, pacing myself and walking just slow enough to be able to keep good lookout in every direction. I'm getting pretty confident in my ability to survive in this jungle, and I start thinking about what the girls might have been up to while I was gone.

I probably shouldn't get my hopes up. When I left they already had to walk pretty far to find more fruit to eat, and I don't think it has rained more than one night, so water is probably scarce, too. I should probably prepare myself to see the girls not doing well when I get there. They may even be dying already.

Would sexual slavery be better than starving to death? Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

I shake my head. I think I know the girls. And I know myself. We have our integrity. We're not going to give up. But I suppose I should let the girls decide for themselves.

At least I know more about what kind of plants are edible now, so that should help. But still ... being happy-go-lucky may not be enough.

I enter a clearing in the jungle and see that the mountain called Bune is right ahead. Maybe three hours more and I'll be there. I clear my head of thoughts about the future and concentrate on being on my guard against attack.

But I'm not attacked. Not for my entire trip. Not by other tribes, not by centipedes and not by dinosaurs. I often hear rustling and distant roars and screeches, but I never see any movement except for little rodent-like things. Maybe the planet realizes that it owes me a break.

The sun sets as I climb up on Bune and find the stream, then walk along it until I can see the metallic sheen of the tuna can in the distance. I'm completely worn out, but still I feel butterflies of excitement in the pit of my stomach. I can't wait to see the girls again. I don't bring anything they want, not even good news. But at least we'll be together again.

I walk unsteadily to the tuna can on legs that feel like jelly. My knees could give out at any moment.

I knock on the door and hear the tinny sound reverberate through the tuna can. “Hey, guys. It's me. Sophia.”

I can hear movement inside.

The door slides open.