IN NATURA: a science fiction novel (ARZAT SERIES Book 2) (28 page)

CHAPTER 42

BACK DOOR

Abraham tied the last bit of oily cloth to one of a dozen arrows he had prepared to shoot into the cave’s entrance. The other warriors had done the same, carefully checking their weapons, making sure that the rest of their arrows and spears were ready.

  Trying to set fire to the entrance was a bad and dangerous plan and Abraham knew it. He had no idea how many lizards occupied the cave or what their fighting capabilities were. And, if the caves were deep enough, the fire might not be enough to push them out. One thing was certain—this was the only way Abraham could come up with to lure the monsters into the open. If they didn’t come out, then he and his warriors would attempt to storm their way in. His only other option was to simply walk away, and he was not about to do that.

  Moses had just returned after using the rest of the light of day to survey the entire area. The sun had disappeared and the sky was rapidly darkening.

  “What did you find, Moses?” Abraham asked, hoping his tracker had discovered another way into the lizards’ stronghold.

  “I have been all around the mountain, Abraham. If there is another entrance, then I cannot find it. There are some openings, but they are blocked with large boulders. There is a narrow path that leads from the bottom of the cliff to the cave’s entrance. It was well disguised and hard to find.”

  “That’s good then. As the creatures emerge, we will have ample time to kill them as they try to climb down. If they do not come down, then we will go up.”

  “Scaling the cliff will be difficult at night, even using their path. It would be better to wait for daybreak,” Moses said. Although he couldn’t wait to get the killing started, Moses was cautious. Something in his gut warned him that the lizards would have a distinct advantage in the night.
Hadn’t all of the previous attacks on humans occurred at night?

  “Yes, of course,” Abraham replied, painfully aware of their poor battle plan. “But I fear that if Maria is still alive, she will not be by morning. What about movement? Have you seen anything?”

  “I left Manto to watch the entrance. When I last checked with him, he had observed nothing more than the two lizards guarding the cave. I do not think they know that we are here.”

  “Let’s hope. Then at least we will have the element of surprise.”

  Abraham called all of the warriors into a group and explained the attack strategy and its pitfalls.

“If any of you have doubts, you are free to return to the tribe. But, regardless of what happens here, this will not be the last time we hear from the lizards unless we are able to wipe them out completely.”

  “We are ready,” Remos said quietly.

  The rest of the warriors nodded in agreement. Once they had killed the cave’s defenders, they would attempt to scale the cliff and storm the entrance to try to find Maria.

  “Let’s kill them all,” Manto said. He was the least capable with a bow and arrow or a spear.

  “Manto,” Abraham ordered, “you will watch the horses and keep them ready in the case of retreat
.
The rest of you follow me.”

* * *

Three strong Arzat Hunters removed the last of the giant rocks that blocked their way and cautiously stepped out into the night air. It was an exit that was seldom used and primarily served as a vent for the lower portions of the caves.

  The three hunters flicked and sniffed and checked the ground for movement as they emerged. When they were sure there was no immediate danger, they signaled a long line of other Arzat Hunters to follow.

  Za’at was one of the next to exit. He, in particular, was ready to slay some
umans.
The number he was able to personally kill in battle might provide his only chance at redemption with the Elders. He was determined not to fail. The Arzat Hunters significantly outnumbered the
umans,
so Za’at knew he would have to be quick if he wanted to slay any significant number of them.

  Sa’te, who had been given overall command by Ta’ar, ordered one of the other hunters to run ahead and check on the smooth-skins while the rest prepared for the attack. The hunter quickly returned bearing the bleeding remains of a
uman
head.

  “The
umans
have moved,” he reported. “They are on foot, heading toward the base of the cliff. This one was left to guard their beasts.” The young Arzat proudly held the smooth-skin’s severed head high. Despite the dark night, most of the hunters could clearly see his trophy, all secretly envious that he had been given the opportunity for the first kill.

  “We must stop them before they can scale the wall,” Sa’te said. Only a handful of hunters had been left to protect the main entrance.

* * *

Remos, one of Abraham’s best archers, rolled some red-hot embers out of a thick piece of animal hide and threw sticks of dry wood into the center of them. Almost immediately, a fire sparked and the warriors had flames with which to light their arrows. They were far enough away from the cliff to give them the proper angle but close enough to be just within range. He lit one of his arrows, placed it into his prized bow, and drew back to the bow’s limits.

  The firelight sparked the curiosity of the lizards on the ledge and several peered over. One of them was immediately skewered with a flaming arrow. As the beast fought to pull the fire from his chest, he lost his footing and plunged over the edge, falling hard on the rocks below.

  The rest of the warriors, encouraged by Remos’s excellent marksmanship, sent a volley of flaming arrows behind the first. It was a long, high shot to reach the ledge and many of the arrows missed, but the warriors stayed with it, shooting arrow after arrow. Gradually, they began to see a fire building in the cave’s entrance.

  Abraham suddenly noticed several other lizards moving quickly down the cliff’s face, almost impossible to see in the low light. He took careful aim at one of the shadows, though it moved like lighting, and managed to hit one of the beasts in the side of the head. It toppled, joining the other dead lizard that had already fallen onto the rocks below.

* * *

Za’at and the other Arzat Hunters quietly circled the
umans
, amazed by their weapons and the fire they were able to shoot toward the cave. They had seen the Arzat sentries falling from the cliff and wanted to immediately join the battle, but Sa’te had been insistent that the hunters not attack until they had the
umans
completely surrounded. He was determined not to let any of them have a chance to escape.

  Now, they were almost in position, and ready to strike.

* * *

Mot watched from a vantage point that was close but downwind of the action. In addition to his sharp eyes, he was using his nose and the vibrations through the ground to determine what was happening. Tom was with him but could only make out the lines of fire that were flying toward the cliff’s face. It was already too dark for him to see much else.

  The scales on the back of Mot’s neck rose when he realized what was actually occurring. There were only a handful of Arzat Hunters guarding the entrance and only a few had come down from it, yet there were at least eight by eight of them on the ground, preparing to attack.
They
had
to have come from another way,
he thought! The humans were going to be trapped and slaughtered.

  Of course,
he finally realized
. The Arzats have cleared one of the vents! That is the only explanation and my only chance,
he thought, trying to recall exactly where he had located the vents on the backside of the mountain earlier. 

  “Tom, I am going to try to find Alex,” Mot said. “You must go now to Maria and Ara. If I am not back soon, take them away from here as far and as fast as you can. The Arzats will almost certainly prevail in this battle, and they will scour every part of this mountain afterward looking for any remaining humans. If they find you, you will not be taken captive.”

  Tom was going to protest, but he thought better of it. Mot obviously knew what he was talking about. “Be careful, my friend.”

  The Arzat was gone before he finished the thought.

* * *

By the time Tom made his way back to Ara and Maria, he was shocked to find Maria breathing hard and sweating profusely.

  “What’s wrong with her Ara?”

  Ara was squatting next to Maria, watching her closely. “I think she is about to give birth, Tom Pilot.”

  “Now?”

  “Yes, Pilot. Right now.”

* * *

Alex awoke suddenly. The female Arzat was standing over her, looking down at her in the dim torchlight.

  Earlier, she had lead Alex through the caves to an area of running water and had stood by as Alex had gratefully relieved herself in its fast flow. This was exactly the kind of public latrine that Mot and Ara had described to her before. The Arzats cleverly used the lower portion of the underground stream for defecation and the upper for fresh drinking water.
Very Roman,
Alex had thought.

  Later, the female had brought her back to her living quarters and had given her some charred meat that was so dry it was almost jerked. It tasted like venison. Alex was so hungry that she hardly cared what it was. Afterward, she sat, with the female staring at her.

  Ma’ar had just heard rumors of what was occurring outside and so far the news was not good. Two hunters had already fallen and the battle was just beginning. She was worried about her mate. If anything were to happen to him, both she and her soon-to-be offspring would be in for a tough time. She wondered if the story was true.
Could the umans be here solely on account of this skinny female?
The idea of it seemed preposterous. The Arzats would never risk so much to recover one of their own.
Perhaps I should take her and throw her off the cliff myself,
she thought.
Perhaps then the umans would leave us. Oh, Great Creator, please watch over Sa’te.

* * *

It had taken some searching, but Mot had found the entrance to the caves that the Arzats had opened. As he approached, he had sniffed out another Arzat guarding it. The guard had sniffed Mot almost at the same time and was surprised when this strange male—who he had never before encountered—immediately approached him.

  “Who are you?” the guard nervously demanded.

  Mot could tell that the Arzat was young—very young—and probably quite inexperienced. He noticed that the youth hadn’t even yet pulled his killing stick from its scabbard. He felt bad about what he needed to do, but it was the only way.

  “I am Mot, son of the Great Hunter Url,” Mot said, still approaching the youngster without breaking stride. “Who are you?”

  “I am Ne’o, son of the Great Hunter and Elder Kaz,” the Arzat said with as much authority as he could muster, “and I demand that you . . .”

  Mot lunged at the youth’s jugular with the pointed end of his killing stick, only slightly more slowly than he would have had he actually intended to kill. The youth dodged just in time to avoid the blow and moved just as Mot had predicted. Mot immediately shifted his killing stick in his hands and swung the blunt end directly at the side of the Arzat’s head. It connected, knocking the youth senseless but not off his feet. Mot swung again, this time at the back of the skull with just the right amount of force, and the youth collapsed, hitting the ground with a dull thud.

  He bent over the Arzat. He was still alive but quite incapacitated.
I should probably kill him,
Mot thought reluctantly, but he felt confident the hunter would be out for some time. He would just have to hope it was long enough.

  Mot turned and entered the cave. Initially, there was no torchlight whatsoever, so even he could not see. He had to proceed by his instincts and his sense of smell. He knew he had to be cautious in the unfamiliar terrain. Fortunately, the Arzats appeared to have left the interior of the tunnels unguarded, so his progress further into them went unchallenged. But, Mot knew, it was likely that he would be discovered at some point as an intruder, just from his own distinctive scent.

  I just need to find Alex before that happens,
he thought, carefully making his way along. So far, there were no sign of Arzats. Clearly, he was still in a lower section of the caves that they didn’t normally use.

  The tunnel suddenly rose sharply. Steps had been carved into the stone floor. Finally Mot was moving higher.
Good,
he thought, sensing that most of the tunnels probably converged in the upper caverns. The closer he got to the center, the better chance he would have at detecting Alex’s presence.

  He stopped and sniffed deeply, flicking his tongue and searching. The distinct aroma of many other Arzats filled his nostrils, but he could detect no sign of his human friend. There was a slight movement of air past him, originating where he had entered, heading deeper into the caves.
This is not good,
he thought, recognizing that he was essentially up-wind of every Arzat in the place. He continued to move deeper and eventually began to pass sleeping chambers along the way—all eerily quiet.