IN NATURA: a science fiction novel (ARZAT SERIES Book 2) (12 page)

CHAPTER 16

MISTAKEN IDENTITY

Alex bent down and closely examined the strangely familiar footprint, still not believing her eyes. But these were not the footprints of
her
Arzats—Mot or Ara. Of that she was sure.
They hadn’t even been down this way,
she thought, racking her memory of the earlier events around their camp. It made no sense. As far as Alex knew, Mot and Ara were the only Arzats who could possibly be on the
entire
planet. Hell, in the entire universe for that matter. Certainly, they were the only ones that had ever been found. No, this absolutely made no sense whatsoever. A line of chicken skin ran up Alex’s back.

  The only ones ever found, Alex?
the voice of her dead father echoed in her head.
Maybe they are the only ones
you
ever found?

  Her heart skipped a beat when she thought about the implications. Had other clans known about the ancient cryogenic formula as well? Had other Arzats been frozen and survived? Even if other Arzats had been similarly preserved, how or who or what would have released them from their sleep? Did the asteroid strike have something to do with it?

  Alex continued to follow the tracks, which sometimes disappeared over rocks then reappeared in softer material alongside the creek. Her curiosity grew with every step.

  At one point, she discovered more of the same footprints, but they pointed back in the camp’s direction. Alex turned and followed those as best she could and ended up back where she had started. She was no tracker, but Alex was one hell of a paleontologist, which was the next best thing. She concluded that the Arzat responsible must have come her way and then stopped for some unknown reason.
Maybe it was hunting; maybe it was just out scouting,
she thought, but an Arzat had definitely been here and turned back in the direction from which it had originally come.

  Alex went back to the footprint she had initially discovered in the mud. She instinctively knew the tracks were fresh.
But how fresh?
she wondered. Alex got to her knees and looked closely at the dark, wet earth. She watched for some time and noted the print very slowly filling with water from the saturated material around it. Her heartbeat quickened. Whatever had made the print had been there just a short time ago.
I just missed him,
she thought.
We just missed him.

  She stood and looked back down the canyon to the camp and up the rise that Tom and the two Arzats had gone over. There was no sign of them. They had already been gone for what felt like a couple of hours. She imagined that they must be coming back soon, but who knew how long it took to hunt a damn buffalo.

  Alex remembered her promise to Tom that she wouldn’t stray from camp, but this was an entirely new development.
You should go find him,
she thought, as she studied the ground. At least leave him a note.
Hah
, she thought,
like I have a pen and paper.

  She glanced up at the sky. The sun was still high, early afternoon at most.
I have plenty of time,
she thought, as she began to follow the footprints again.
I am just going to go a little way,
she resolved,
then I’ll come right back.

* * *

Za’at had been running at a swift trot since he had left the other hunters, stopping only occasionally to sniff the area and have a small drink of water. After several
torches
of time, he began to recognize the terrain that he knew was taking him close to the
uman
camp. It had been easy to find his way back—he had simply retraced his own hunting party’s tracks and strong scent.

  As he neared the camp itself, a new scent filled his nostrils and he stopped suddenly, flicking his tongue, his ears tuned to the area.
Var
had invaded. Za’at could clearly hear them, yelping and growling. He could imagine them fighting over the
uman
entrails that the Arzats had left for them.
If the female had been stupid enough to remain around the camp,
he thought,
then she was probably part of their dinner.

  But, for some reason, Za’at did not think so. If the
uman
had been smart enough to escape from the Arzats, certainly she was smart enough to have avoided these beasts.
If nothing else, she could have climbed a tree to escape them
, he thought, carefully listening.

  Za’at was not afraid of the
var
, but he knew he had to be cautious. They were not dangerous to Arzats as a rule, but when they were in the midst of a feeding frenzy, they could be as unpredictable as Arzats. He decided to skirt the camp, staying well clear of the beasts, to see if he could pick up the female smooth-skin’s scent somewhere outside its circle. With any luck, he might avoid them entirely.

  Za’at moved quickly and without a sound around the far perimeters of the camp, stopping often and trying to catch the specific scent of the
uman
female without getting upwind of it. A
var’s
sense of smell was almost as good as an Arzat’s. Even if they had just eaten, they might dispatch a few of the males to investigate Za’at’s presence if they detected him. Fortunately for Za’at, the slight breeze was coming from the other side of the water. He realized he was getting a full whiff of the four-legged creatures, so it was almost certain they were getting nothing of him.

  When he was far past, he returned to the creek and sniffed the edges carefully. He could detect nothing except the other predators. He followed a game trail along the water’s edge for almost a torch but was still unable to capture the
uman’s
smell
.

  His hopes started to fade. Time had begun to dull the scent of anything but the
var.
If the female had lived, he knew he should have been able to catch a fresh whiff of her by now.
Perhaps I was wrong,
he thought.
Perhaps she did drown or stayed in the camp and was eaten.

  Za’at looked to Qu’aa and could see that his face was now beginning to drop toward the horizon. There was still considerable light left, but if he didn’t return to the hunters soon, he would be forced to travel alone in the night. This, he was well aware, even for an Arzat, was not a good idea. He also knew it would not be good if the hunters reached the caves before he rejoined them. He shrugged his shoulders and tried to give up, but something in his mind would not allow it.

  Za’at looked over the water and noticed an easy crossing.
I will try the other side for half a torch and no more,
he resolved. As he waded in, he stopped and squatted in the current. The cold felt good on his tired feet. He sipped some fast flowing water that he had cupped in his hand and refilled his water sack, then swung the sack back over his arm where it rested beside the scabbard that held his prized hunting stick.

  Perhaps I should slay one of the fanged beasts just for the fun of it,
he thought, fingering the haft of his weapon, looking back in the direction of the
uman
camp.

  He rose from the water and continued to the other side. As he climbed the bank, he suddenly caught the female’s scent. Za’at stopped and flicked his tongue to be sure and then studied the ground for any sign of her. Sure enough, in the soft earth, he could see the strange footprints that the
umans
created when they wore animal skins on their feet. They headed away from the camp and downstream.

  Hah, I have you now, little female uman!

  Za’at sniffed the air again, enjoying her strong and recent scent, and headed off at a swift trot in the footprints’ direction.

* * *

Maria awoke suddenly, aware that she had foolishly drifted to sleep again and sure that the reptiles had returned for her and would pounce on her at any moment. Had the ground moved? Something, it seemed, had shaken her from a deep slumber.

  She slowly crept to the edge of her hideout and peered carefully over the edge of the high rocks. From her vantage point, Maria had a good view of the canyon in both directions. She scanned the terrain upriver and back in the direction of her camp, looking for any sign of movement. To her relief, she could see none.

  She glanced back behind her and noticed that her clothes were still laid out on the rocks where she had left them. Thankfully, there was little trace of the blood and gore they had been covered in before she had washed them. She beat her leather blouse and pants lightly on the rocks to knock the stiffness out of them and pulled them on. Her moccasins were tight, but she managed to tug them on as well. When she was dressed, she turned and looked back down the canyon.

  The day had drifted into afternoon and the sun was now casting long shadows that tricked the eyes, but nothing of significance appeared to be moving. The water of the creek danced in the remaining sunlight, dark and flat in some spots, white and rushing in others. The trees seemed to change color as a light breeze blew through them, rustling their leaves, but she could not detect the movement of anything that might threaten her.

  The nap she had taken had refreshed her, but now she found that she was hungry and suddenly very thirsty. Maria unconsciously licked her dry lips. She looked longingly at the water below and wondered if she should risk a trip down. It would require breaking cover and another long hike back up to her hiding spot. She licked her lips again and carefully examined the canyon, looking much longer at the way she had come.

  Finally, when she could still see no obvious threat in either direction, her thirst overcame her fear and she cautiously left the cover of the rocks and started toward the water. The hill was steep, and she had to carefully watch her step in order not to trip and roll to the bottom. When she was only halfway to the water, Maria sensed movement. She instantly dropped to her knees behind a small rock, trying her best to hide behind it. She was so panicked that she couldn’t even be sure where the movement had come from. She only knew that she was suddenly not alone along the river. If the lizards had returned, she was certain to be discovered.

  Maria finally dared to look up and over the small rock that now served as her completely inadequate hiding place. The rock was not much bigger than her body. There was no more obvious movement, but she was sure she had seen something.

  How could they have possibly found me,
she wondered despairingly.
I crossed the water three or four times and stepped carefully to avoid creating any tracks. One thing is for sure, I will not be taken again,
she resolved. She began to think of ways she might kill herself in the absence of any weapons.

  Maria looked behind her location and back up the hill. Nothing. As she turned back toward the canyon, she could see something moving and coming upriver out of the corner of her eye. Maria sank lower so that her eyes were just over the rock. On the other side of the water, obscured by the tree line . . . wait . . . was it her imagination? A human?

  She watched—her eyes glued to the shadow that moved between the other shadows of the trees. It
was
a human! A female? Maria blinked her eyes several times to be sure she wasn’t seeing things.
Yes,
she thought—as the shadow emerged briefly into the sunlight—
it is definitely a human and definitely a woman.
The mysterious female continued coming upriver, stopping often, as if she were examining the ground looking for something. Maria looked for signs of other companions.

  Surely she is not out here on her own,
she thought.
There must be others. Maybe I am saved.

  Maria was careful with that thought. There were other tribes of humans, but most were not naturally friendly to the others. It was an odd fact that, despite the vast and relatively equal availability of resources and an endless amount of space, various tribes often warred with one another seemingly for no apparent reason—sometimes brutally. She realized that she might be in just as much danger being discovered by a hostile tribe as by the reptiles. But she also knew she was out of options. She would have to risk it. Anything was better than being recaptured and most likely tortured and eaten by the giant lizards.
Yes, much better to take my chances with humans,
she resolved.

  Maria continued to look closely for any companions the woman might have following her, but she could see no others approaching. She was just about to rise up and signal the female when something else moved. This time the movement was from the opposite direction. She watched only long enough to clearly see that it was one of the two-legged reptiles, moving swiftly. Her heart skipped a beat. She sank back down behind her poor hiding place and tried to make herself as small as possible.

  After a short time, she dared a look once again. The beast was almost to the human. They were heading directly toward one another.
Should I try to warn her?
The thought crossed Maria’s mind but was countered by fear. There was no way and no time. If she tried to signal the female, she would be forced to reveal her position. The lizard would probably spot her before the female did.