B008IFNJZM EBOK (34 page)

             
“Oh that reminds me, Elizabeth said Tom got a call on his cell phone.”

             
Tom’s head spun around.

             
“Who from?”

             
“Some psychic you and your sister know.  Oh yeah, your sister went back up to the command tent.”

             
“What did that woman say?”

             
Willie turned to the women smiling.

             
“Apparently now that the next full moon is only a day or so away, she said she can see that all three of the women will find their true love in this moon’s cycle…  You know ladies, if I was younger I certainly would want to take a whirl to help you in that quest.”

             
The two women smiled back at Willie.

             
“Anything else?”

             
Willie looked back at Tom.

             
“Yes.  There was something about helping a Meeratt to insure you find a cure.  You will have an opportunity to do that and that act is your way into their camp.”

             
Tom looked at Crosley.

             
“I have got to phone that in to the men.”

             
Crosley kept flashing a light signal button to the headsets of Platt and Berdy to see if he could get that message through.  The signal flashed a light on the neck and it would be seen by the other member of the two man team.  They would know that there was someone wanting to talk to them.  Willie talked for a few more minutes about the cats getting up and staggering and really not paying any notice to the men and their roller cages on the other side of their tunnel.

             
Nathan figured that because Tom was no longer in the valley, the cats had no further interest in the rest of the party.  The females were now up and about and offered no threat to the remaining members in the first valley as they stood guard to the entrance of the second cave.

             
Platt kept walking farther away still pressing the signal button.  A voice came over the headset as he looked up at the bottom on one of the mushroom hats over his head.  He figured it was about the same height above him as a basketball hoop would be or around ten feet.

             
“Platt here.”

             
“Ah lieutenant, how is it going?”

             
“Our young Meeratt is now back by the females.  He appears to be cutting some fur off of their bodies while they are sleeping and putting in a pouch.

             
“We just got some information from some psychic Tom and Elizabeth knows and it may involve the young Bigfoot you are monitoring.”

             
“I’m sure I believe in all the stuff.”

             
“Before we came down here, I am sure I wouldn’t have believed any of that either, but now…”

             
“What did this psychic say?”

             
“She said there may come an opportunity for us to save one of them and that if we could, it would be our ticket into their village.”

             
“Anything else?”

             
“No just that.”

             
“We were planning to keep him alive and find out how he plans to travel back to his village.  I guess, if the opportunity to save him comes up, we’ll take it.”

             
“Thanks.”

             
“I’ll have
Berdy ring you back in as soon as well can see what it intends on doing.”

             
The radio went dead and Crosley was about to turn around when from behind him he heard a snort.  Crosley froze and ever so slowly began to pull his rifle down from his shoulder. Just then, he heard a large slap.  He pulled his gun down and saw Chelsea slapping this large female
Diprotodon
on her backside.  She reared her head and shook the ground as she trotted off.

             
Chelsea smiled as they watched the huge creature rumble away in the direction of her herd.

             
“I can’t leave you alone for a minute.”

             
Crosley put his rifle back up on his shoulder.

             
“It’s not my fault, I have this animal magnetism… females of all kinds find me irresistible.”

             
Crosley kissed Chelsea.

             
“Well she is just going to have to take a number.  I saw you first.”

             
The pair walked back to the base of the steps as Willie entered the cave and left to join the others standing guard at the other end.  Suddenly a message came over the radio and off in the distance shots were being fired.

             
It was Platt’s voice.

             
“We are sending up smoke.  We need backup now!”

             
Chelsea and Hadiya took a pair of the tranquilizer rifles and dropped their knapsacks and shot off in front of the others now all racing to the distress red cloud of signal smoke.  More shots rang out as everyone raced behind the women in the lead.  Jerrick carried the two fifty caliber weapons thinking it might have been a bad idea to make their mercenaries go out on a scouting mission into unknown territory without their heavy weapons.

             
The girls and those following them kept losing site of the red smoke because of the thick umbrella-like blockage from the mushroom tops overhead, but Chelsea and Hadiya were so far out in front that they could hear some commotion and between that and the rifle shots came to a small opening. They found that a mushroom top had collapsed around its stem and reminded the women of someone the closing an umbrella.  They could see someone struggling under the covering and the two men were firing darts into a herd of
Diprotodon
s that were charging the men from different angles.  The women ran around to flanking positions and kept firing their rifles as the men finally had to act like matadors and using their rifles to push the attackers to one side or the other as the closest creatures charged at them.  Platt was hit and hurdled high into the air and fell back down rolling around in pain to retrieve his rifle.  It was obvious that one of the herd had hit him in the right side and he was fighting the pain to get back up on his feet.  Soon several of the females were dropped and Crosley and the others kept their focus in on the ones closest to the men who were still attempting to dodge the large beasts by trying to keep the closed mushroom as their only shield.  Everyone was firing and yelling as if they were trying to herd cattle in the days of the old west.  Soon a dozen of the huge beasts lay on the ground and the smaller ones began retreating because of the noise and loud shots fired at the others.

             
Crosley could see a bloody area on the side of one of the females as they ran to the two men.

Platt was definitely hurt in the attack and Berdy appeared to be bruised and in the process of reloading.  Chelsea and Hadiya ran back watching the retreating prehistoric wombats.

             
Jerrick bent down to look at Platt’s side.

             
“We’ll be alright… help him!”

             
Platt pointed to the closed mushroom and to the figure still struggling under the closed green top.

             
“It’s the Meeratt, here is your opportunity to help one of them just like that psychic predicted.”

             
Jerrick pulled out his machete.  Crosley took his out as well and looked at Jerrick.

             
“Dear God above, guide our blades so we can free your creature without taking off a limb.”

             
The two men began to chop at the green barrier using very powerful blows to cut across the Meeratt at a spot they calculated to be higher than its head.  Several deep gashes developed that showed them that they were cutting above the creatures head.  The women with their supernatural strength began to strip the sections down toward the ground.  Nathan and Tom began to try to free the creatures’ arms from the tentacles of the pulled down sections once the girls exposed his limbs.  Chelsea stopped and with a smile, petted it on the head.

             
“Don’t worry, we will free you and you can be on your way.”

             
She didn’t think the creature understood her, but it did seem to calm it down as the men now began to cut the tentacles from its body.  The Meeratt moaned at the pressure of the vines squeezing his body.  The tentacles seemed to wrap his entire body and looked like the Meeratt’s body was covered in a coating of red spaghetti.  Chelsea and Hadiya very carefully began cutting the blood sucking vines from the back of its head and Chelsea kept gently nudging its head foreword as more were cut. She kept a pleasant look on her face and the Meeratt continued to stare back at her.   Every once in a while a vine would grab someone by the arm or the leg but without a group of them having enough time to restrict those doing the cutting, it would easily be cut out of the way and their work continued.  Soon, the arms were free, the men pulled him forward and others started cutting the vines off his back as well as those around the front of the young Bigfoot.  Once his hands were free, the Meeratt did not move them and Nathan came over and gave it the Meeratt’s pouch to hold.  It was full of
Diprotodon
fur.  He looked at the eyes.

             
“I think you must have cut her a little too deep my young friend and drew some blood.  That was probably why she woke up in a such bad mood..”

             
The Meeratt held the pouch tightly and said nothing.  He remained still and did not try to attack anyone in the group.  Once the creature was free, the group moved back as it watched them for a second and then took off running in the direction of the Meeratt village.

             
His movement frustrated Platt who was still on the ground.

             
“Damn, now we will never know how his kind gets from down here to up there.”

             
Tom bent over Platt.

             
“We’ll figure it out, but right now I’ve got to get you to my sister and have you checked out.  Can you walk?”

             
“If I lean on my weapon, I think I can.”

             
Nathan came forward.

             
“I’ll take him back Tom.  You need the others to continue on and make contact with that creature’s village.”

             
Platt leaned on Nathan and the pair started the journey across the valley.  Nathan never realized how heavy Platt’s gun was, but he would be ready to use it if necessary.

             
“You got another one of those smoke grenades?”

             
“Here.”

             
Platt handed Nathan the device and he stopped long enough to set it off.  He knew that it would be seen by Willie or whoever was scanning the valley.    As soon as Nathan could get in radio distance, he would get the help needed to take him topside.

             
Berdy Hahn pointed to the far side.

             
“Along that wall there is a rocky area at the base of the side.  I think we should use that as our path and get out from under these things and make better time instead of us sinking with every step in this mud.”

             
Everyone agreed and followed their mercenary across the valley and on to the rock ledge.  They only got off the ledge when a section of it was missing.  As soon as another section started they were back up on the rocks.  They never saw any sign of the Meeratt they had helped to free.  Hahn stopped the group for a second and used his rifle barrel to pick up a sunbathing snake and pitch it off of the rocks.  They continued on, closer and closer to the plateau.  They could finally see the waterfall off in the distance and eventually could hear it.

             
Crosley stopped.

             
“Damn!”

             
“What?”

             
“In all the excitement we left the rubber raft and the climbing equipment back at the foot of the steps.”

             
Chelsea looked at him.

             
“Do you want Hadiya and I to shoot back and get it?”

             
“No.  First we must see if we can find the way the Meeratts use to get up there.  Maybe later we will be forced to cross the channel and need that equipment.  I don’t want to waste the time to retrieve it if we don’t need it.”