Finding Monsters (21 page)

T
he jackals broke camp after two day’s rest. The cabayo appeared rested but showed signs of fatigue due to the constant running. One had a small limp while the other lagged behind.

“We’ll move slow today and camp again a mile outside the reptile territory. Everyone walks but the human. We need the cabas fit for running tomorrow,” Saal said as he gave instru
c
tions to Kell and the other jackal. Missy tried standing but her leg would not hold her as it started to throb. Saal quickly pulled her off her feet and set her on the cabayo.

“Your leg will not heal for many moons. Stay off it unless you want it not to heal at all,” he said as he handed her another leaf for the pain. Missy put it under her tongue without arg
u
ing. They moved at a leisurely pace through the high grass country that lead to reptile territory. Missy wondered how far away any rescue party would be. Kell scouted behind while the other jackal searched ahead of the party. They would venture out in intervals always coming back with an all clear. Dozer held the reins on the cabayo Missy rode. He absently rubbed the a
n
imal’s mane and Missy reached out and touched his hand.

“Do you think they will find us?” she sent to him.

“Not in time, little human. At the rate we’ve been moving, they will not get to this spot for another week or two,” Dozer sent back. He still moved his lips but he tried to hide it. Missy patted his hand before releasing it.

The jackals hunted often, storing up enough food for a several meals. Saal came by just as often to give Missy berries or nuts. He made her eat, even if she didn’t want it. By the time they made camp, she barely had room for a handful of berries. It became Saal’s habit to take Missy to his tent. He carried her in and put her down on the cushion he designated as hers. He made sure she stayed warm and had enough to eat and drink.

“Why are you doing this?” she finally asked him. “You plan to turn me over to Anukhan, why the special treatment? Tie me outside with Dozer.”

“I don’t know what Anukhan has planned for you. I will give you to him in the best possible health.”

“Even if he plans to kill me?” she asked.

“We don’t know that,” Saal said.

She watched him in silence until he voiced his opinion.

“I imagine he will use you as bait,” he admitted.

“I will not help him lure in more bulls. I will fight him every step of the way. In the end, he will have to kill me,” Missy said.

“He is powerful and he will get what he wants from you.” Saal spoke in a casual manner, sure of the outcome.

“He will try,” she said just as convinced. Saal smiled at her and shook his head. “So how long after we clear reptile country is it to jackal territory?” she asked.

“Not far. We will reach the outer territory tomo
r
row.”

“And then?” she asked.

“You ask too many questions. Get some rest and prepare to get through the reptiles first. If you don’t make it, then you don’t have to worry about afte
r
wards,” Saal said.

Missy took that as conversation over. She shifted her weight and winced. She hoped Saal didn’t notice but he had. He came over and handed her another leaf.

“I’m fine,” she said refusing the medicine.

“You are in pain,” he said.

“I just turned wrong. I’m fine.” Missy lay down, keeping a straight face, something she’d practiced doing, what seemed a lifetime ago.

Saal scowled, unconvinced. “Don’t make me force you,” Saal added, snarling the words.

“Why do you care?” she snapped back. “I’ve dealt with worse. Just leave me alone.” She laid there tense, waiting for him to force her to eat the leaf. He didn’t. She only heard him rise and leave the tent. Missy blew out a sigh and tried to sleep.

Saal woke Missy early the next day. He said not
h
ing as he presented her with breakfast and left the tent. Missy ate what he put before her, even the med
i
cinal leaf he knew she needed. He came to retrieve her ten minutes later, carrying her out and placing her on the cabayo. The other jackals broke down the camp and were ready to go.

“We walk for half a mile, and then we ride hard all the way through,” Saal said. He led the caba Missy rode while Kell led the other one, keeping a close eye on Dozer. When they reached the half-mile point, Missy could see the jungle-like terr
i
tory ahead. She also saw creatures moving in the distance.

“What do we need to look out for?” Missy asked.

“Anything that moves, and if you fall off the cabayo and hit the ground, lookout for snakes,” he said.

“Snakes? Poisonous?” she asked, swallowing hard.

“Deadly either way.” Saal looked at his crew. “Get ready.”

Dozer climbed onto the other cabayo while the two jac
k
als took positions on either side of him. Saal climbed on behind Missy. “If for any reason we are s
e
parated, do not stop. Your job is to get the bull through. I will make sure the human makes it. Ready your weapons.” Saal pulled the shotgun out and made sure it was loaded. The others did the same and on his cue, they started full gallop toward the jungles of re
p
tile territory.

They broke through the dense jungle, surprising the i
n
habitants, who scattered. They crashed through more dense f
o
liage. Missy saw strange reptiles almost as large as the cabas they rode. The creatures attacked from all sides. The jackals r
e
sponded with gunfire. Several beast fell in their path but more appeared to chase the strangers.

“Not good,” Missy said as more reptiles of all sizes co
n
verged on them. Saal reloaded his shotgun. He aimed at a snar
l
ing brute that charged them from the left side. It had the look of a Komodo dragon with longer legs and deadly fangs. The scaled skin seemed to shimmer an eerie iridescent green. It jumped at the cabayo just as Saal fired. The caba skidded to the side to miss the collision. Saal shot a second beast closing in on the other caba. Still the strange reptiles kept co
m
ing.

“I think they are attracted by the sound of the guns,” Missy yelled.

“Quite possibly,” Saal admitted. He tried reloa
d
ing but lost his grip on the gun as the caba changed direction quickly to avoid the snapping jaws of another strange creature, who’s fangs dripped with fresh blood from a recent meal.

“Now we’re in trouble,” Saal said.

Missy looked ahead and saw the other jackals were not fairing any better but she had an idea.

“Get me in front of them,” Missy yelled. Saal looked hes
i
tant. “Trust me!” she added.

Saal kicked the cabayo into another gear and they ove
r
took the lead jackal. Missy concentrated on the dragon’s fire and hurled several fireballs against the advancing reptiles. She cleared the path and frig
h
tened several away from the chase but more reptiles continued to attack, even as Missy used her fire on them. Saal held tight to her as she continued launching fir
e
bombs.

“We’re close to the end,” Saal told her. “Keep it up.”

She tried but there were too many. One caught the back end of their cabayo. It pitched forward and flung Missy and Saal to the ground. The caba kept running only to be taken down a few yards away by a creature with teeth like an alligator. It tore into the caba’s flesh, ripping huge chunks away even as the a
n
imal fought and struggled. Missy landed against a tree. She sat up and screamed. Saal scrambled to his feet and turned in the direction of the sound. Missy sat terrified against the tree as a monstrous snake coiled around her. In seconds, only her shou
l
ders and head appeared over the sleek scaly green coils. Panic and the crushing weight of the snake caused her to breathe shallow. She wanted to scream again when the beast’s head flashed down like lightning and sank it’s fangs into her neck. Then Saul was there. Pulling a knife from his waist, he stabbed the snake without much e
f
fect. The snake lunged its fangs at Saal, keeping his coils tight around his victim. Missy felt numb, her mind fogged as it began shutting down. She gathered her fire for one last burst then let it go. Flames ignited the snake’s shiny black and green-splotched scales. It uncoiled and fled into the jungle. Missy couldn’t feel anything, she couldn’t speak, she couldn’t run. Saal snatched her up into his arms and held her close as he ran through the jungle. He ran past the fallen cabayo who had become a meal to several large predators. He ran past other animals drawn into the feast by the smell of fresh blood. Some lunged for him but he ducked and dodged them. He ran past the second c
a
ba and one of the jackals, also dead before he burst through the end of reptile territory. He ran another half mile before he spotted Kell and the bull co
l
lapsed beside a small stream surrounded by large water plants. Saal dropped to his knees and gently laid Missy on the ground. Her brain panicked and she tried to talk but she had no voice. Only a gurgling sound e
s
caped her lips.

“Do not try to speak. The venom is not poisonous but it is paralyzing. Try to relax,” Saal said as the others joined him. Dozer bellowed in frustration, helpless to stop the bleeding on Missy’s neck. Kell moved Saal aside. He pulled thick leaves from the nearby plants to act as gauze, and he ripped the bottom from Missy’s tunic to keep the bandage in place.

“It should hold until we get back to our lands,” he said. “But we need to hurry.”

Saal scooped Missy up and they headed for home. After only a few miles, though, he realized they wouldn’t make it b
e
fore dark. Kell and the Bull could barely walk. They swayed from exhaustion and limped along unsteady. Saal kept the lead but at a slower pace. Missy’s bandage soaked through twice and had to be changed, the constant motion disturbing the wound more than necessary. Kell found a suitable place to camp but there would be no fires or tents. Kell stood watch while Saal made another bandage for Missy as she lay alert but immobile. Tears flowed down her cheeks. Dozer looked pained at her mi
s
ery. Saal tried to calm the girl but she was truly scared now. He cradled her to his chest and rocked her until she fell asleep from sheer exhaustion.

T
here was no pain to gauge how she felt. She had no way of knowing the damage she’d sustained in reptile territory.
More broken bones, internal bleeding, nothing registered. She lay awake frustrated and frightened. Saal still held her in his arms. Surprisingly, she felt safe there. He would protect her, she knew, at least until he turned her over to Anukhan. She tried her voice. Her breath came out in a sort of strangle noise. Saal stirred but didn’t awaken. He rubbed her arm and back absen
t
ly. She wanted to relax and fall back to sleep, but fear of tomo
r
row stole away the night and the tears of frustration wouldn’t stop. Missy was still awake, scared, and exhausted when dawn broke over their camp. Kell looked groggy from the night’s watch but he woke the others early.

“Saal, the first village is less than ten miles. We need to get moving,” Kell said

Saal nodded and rose slowly, still holding onto her. Missy caught Dozer’s eye. He pointed to his head and mouthed, ‘talk to me’. Missy tried to sense him.

“Dozer,” she thought.

“I’m here, little human,” Dozer sent back.

“I’m so scared.”

“I know.”

They entered the jackal territory a few hours la
t
er. Missy gazed around at the provincial setting. Small handmade dwel
l
ings, not like the natural stone dwe
l
lings of the Bullclan but they resembled country villas from her world. Saal made his way toward one of the first dwellings with Kell and Dozer b
e
hind him. The door opened immediately and a female appeared. It was the first female of the jackal clan that Missy had seen and she wondered why it surprised her.

“Come in, brother,” the female said.

“The human needs attention, Paloma,” Saal said as he came through the door. She led them to a large living space with minimal furniture. She pointed to a pile of woolen throws and pillows. She arranged them into a make shift bed, then Saal set Missy down.

“Anukhan has been anxious for your return, brother.”

“I will go to him today with the bull we captured,” Saal told her. “But the human received a severe bite wound from a snake in reptile country; she needs help.”

Paloma felt over Missy’s body probing for injuries. “She has several breaks in her leg, and a few cracked ribs. The snake coils cracked the ribs but the broken leg bones,” she trailed off, “You, Brother?” she asked.