26

- Sophia -

“Sophia! You're back! Ohmigod, we were sure you were dead! Again.”

Caroline comes out and hugs me tight, then drags me inside. The door slides shut and I realize it's still light inside. There's a cozy fire burning and the inside of the can looks much better now. It's almost cozy. It smells good, too.

I quickly count. Six including me.

“You're all here!” I sob as the sudden relief overpowers me. I hadn't even dared think of how many of the girls might be left. I'm totally exhausted and my emotions are close to the surface. I'm not playing my cheerful role too well right now, but nobody can be happy-go-lucky all the time.

“Now we're all here,” Aurora says firmly and wipes her eyes. “We've been worried sick about you. You keep taking these insane risks.”

They all come to hug me and they give me water and fruit and sit me down by the pretty cozy little fire they've got going while we're all sniffling and grinning through happy tears of reunion. The smoke goes to the ceiling and out through an interesting system of pipes made from tree bark, and the fire smells nice and spicy.

The girls look good. Or at least better than I had feared. They're not too skinny or sick looking. They seem to have made themselves new clothes from a rough fabric, and they look clean enough.

“You've done well,” I state as I gratefully lean back against the wall. “This place looks much better than when I left.”

“We've been busy,” Emilia explains. “We took one whole day to just sit down and pool all our knowledge and resources, and we brainstormed and thought and came up with a list of things to do. Turns out that between us we can do a whole bunch of things, when we think about it. And we became a little more adventurous about trying out the plants and stuff around here. None of them have been all that toxic so far. And we can hunt now. The pig-like turkey thing you showed us. Not our favorite thing to do, but it helps.”

“Some of the things grow fast, too,” Heidi continues. “We won't lack food anymore. We found roots and leaves and different kinds of fruits. And we made a system for catching water without having to collect it manually from leaves. It's pretty handy. But how about you, Sophia? You've been gone for days! When Delyah came home and told us that you'd gone away to get help, we thought you'd die or that at least you'd find your alien hunk and forget about us.”

I take a sip of water and give them the short version of everything that's happened. They're totally stunned, even before I get to the end and the ransom. “And I guess that's a decision we have to make now,” I finish. “Become sex slaves and breed for a tribe or ... well, not. Whatever that will mean.”

The tuna can is silent for a few heartbeats while the girls react in their own ways. Emilia gasps dramatically, Heidi goes red with anger, Aurora gets up and starts to pace back and forth under the low ceiling, Delyah taps her lips thoughtfully with one finger and Caroline frowns with cold anger and asks a practical question. “Will they attack us?”

I shrug. “I don't know. I didn't get the impression that they will. They wanted to hold me as a hostage for ransom and then blackmail you. Maybe it's because this is a forbidden zone for them. But they also seem to think that the animals here will kill us sooner or later anyway.”

Aurora puts her hands on her hips and snorts. “Do they really? We can probably survive by ourselves just fine by now. The dinosaurs have stayed away, mostly. I think they're afraid or something. The food situation is taken care of. We can weave fabric from some of the plants. And we have shelter right here. I think we can make it work just fine.”

“Until the not-dactyls return,” Delyah adds quietly. “Or the other dinosaurs get over their skepticism. They're coming closer all the time. That's the main danger and always will be. In addition to the other tribes here. We don't know if they consider this mountain a forbidden zone. They might not, and they might have no problem coming here. Things are looking better than before, but we still need the tribe's help. Or a tribe's help, now that our first choice turned sour. We need it pretty desperately.”

The tuna can is silent again. She's right. But unlike the first day we were here, and we all just wanted to cry our eyes out, this time I see resilience in all the girls. The planet has hardened us fast.

I hide a yawn behind my hand. I've been up for well over a whole day straight. “Well, I suggest we take one danger at a time. First we'll defend ourselves against the tribe if they try something. We still have the gun. Maybe we can negotiate something. I assume the messenger or whatever they send will be here tomorrow evening.”

Emilia clears her voice. “There's no chance in hell I'll ever agree to sexual slavery to anyone. They want to breed me, they'll have to use my dead body.”

“Damn right,” Heidi agrees. “I'll never give in to that.”

We all agree, and then I hold my hand out like I've seen in some movies. “We'll never surrender. Freedom or death.”

They all put their hands on top of mine. “Freedom or death.”

I smile. “And screw that tribe of losers. We can handle this. Girls, this will work out just fine.”

I fall asleep with a smile on my face. I'm starting to get the hang of the happy-go-lucky thing.

- - -

The next morning we're all up and outside when the not-dactyls finally attack.

Emilia sees them first and yells to warn us all. “Dactyls!”

There's panic in her voice, and I don't blame her. Because while the first not-dactyls came in a flock, this is a legit swarm that darkens the sun and fills the sky. There has to be a thousand of them, and they start screeching from pretty far away.

We all drop everything and run in a panic towards the tuna can. I get there first, so I stand beside the door and count the girls in. One, two, three, four.

I count again, itching to slam the button that closes the door. Four. Plus me. We're one short.

“Shit, where's Delyah?”

The girls look at each other. “Didn't see her.”

I take a step out of the door. “Delyaaaah!” I yell, now closer to panic than I've been for a good while. “Dactyyyyls!”

The flying dinosaurs with the long beaks and the sharp teeth are coming closer fast, zooming straight down from the blue sky with an obvious menace that makes me want to crouch down. Their screeching freezes my blood and I'm shaking hard. “Delyaaaaa-”

My voice breaks under the strain and it all comes out as a squeal. Only seconds left now.

I hear something crashing through the undergrowth, and then I see Delyah come running. But she's still fifty yards away, and I can already see the details on the nearest not-dactyl. It has brown blood stains around its jaws and reptilian eyes with no emotion behind them.

“Come ooon!”

Delyah runs fast. Much faster than I ever could. She doesn't bother looking up to check how close the attackers are, just jumps over bushes and rocks and tries to run in as straight a line as possible. Her black hair flows behind her and her fists are tightly closed as she pumps her arms hard. She's looking straight at me while she runs. I've never been this tense in my life.

She's not going to make it. The leading not-dactyl is on its final dive, casually setting up an attack with a laziness that's probably elegant, but which just pisses me off.

I take three steps towards Delyah and raise the gun, aiming for the not-dactyl. “Get the fuck away from her!”

I pull the trigger and the gun jumps in my hand. I don't notice the bang – I guess I have enough to focus on. I pull the trigger again. And again. One of the shots hits the not-dactyl and it breaks off its attack, flaps its wings fast to stop in mid-air and then focuses on me with its lifeless eyes.

It hangs there for a couple of seconds. Then it comes for me.

I raise the gun again, distantly aware that Delyah runs past me and yells something.

The not-dactyl is a little less elegant as it dives for me with its long, pointed jaws wide open so I can see the multiple rows of teeth. Large, flat teeth that look like short knives.

I have just enough self-control to pull the trigger again. And again. And again. But the gun stays calm in my hand and doesn't jump.

I'm frozen in place as the not-dactyl grows very big very fast. It's the center of my whole existence and I'm too scared to even crouch. I just stand there and stare at death coming for me.

Then two things happen at the same time. A shadow passes between the not-dactyl and me, and suddenly it's falling straight down. It no longer has a head. And then I'm looking at the ground from very close up with the wind knocked out of me.

I feel arms around me and then I realize that Delyah is dragging me with her. “Come on, girl. Back inside the can,” she wheezes into my ear.

The dead dactyl hits the ground with a wet thud. And then it's like I wake up. I stumble after Delyah as she pulls me along, and then we're inside the tuna can and I turn to look outside, gasping for air.

The sky is black with huge not-dactyls diving in. Their leader is lying dead on the ground and they all screech in fury.

And someone is standing there, ten yards away; a large, calm figure with strong legs and a broad chest and red tiger stripes all over him. He has a huge sword that's dripping with dactyl blood, and he's looking right at me with a very alien smirk on his face. His smouldering red eyes look straight into my soul and I can feel the love he sends me like a physical force. Then he raises his sword slowly to his face in what has to be a formal greeting.

My knees go weak and I sag to the floor. “Jax'zan!”

It comes out as an anguished shriek. Because the dactyls are diving for him, screeching like a million giant nails on a chalkboard, and I know they will kill him.

Someone slaps the button and the door slams shut.