Riley's Journey (10 page)

“Those are Megaceros, I believe they are called. I call them moose, but if I remember right, they are actually deer.” Nathan explained. “They can stand ten feet tall and have an antler span of eleven feet. Pretty impressive! Now look to the right! Can you see them?”

Maneuvering around, the others were obviously planning to attack the herd and had positioned themselves in readiness.

“They’re actually going to attack those huge animals?” Riley gasped. The others seemed so small in comparison to the behemoths. She watched as the drama below unfolded.

“They’ll try to force one of the smaller ones away from the rest and then they’ll coordinate the kill.” The others certainly seemed to be following this method of synchronizing their attack. Several others were distracting the lead animals while still others were forcing a smaller animal away from the herd. After several minutes of this concerted approach, the huge animals, realizing they were under attack, formed a defensive circle with the largest animals facing outward and the smaller ones inside for protection. The enraged animals charged the others repeatedly, trying to ram or stomp them to ground, all the while protecting those inside the safety of the circle. The young animal selected for slaughter managed to avoid capture by the others and ran back to the herd.

“The others will probably give up now. Once the animals form a circle, there’s very little chance that they can take one. Generally they try to take one while they are spread out, but it’s almost impossible once they circle up. The moose will fight like crazy to protect the younger herd members, and the others just don’t have the ability to break through their line. Moose can be pretty ferocious when protecting their young.” He paused for a moment. “From what I’ve read, it’s believed the Megaceros were hunted to extinction by man.”

Though the food chain was a fact of life, Riley was happy that the animals would be safe for now. They were a wondrous thing to see, and she had no interest in seeing any of them die. “Have you ever hunted them?”

“A few times, but I wasn’t successful. I think there’s a better chance when there’s a group going after them. They’re pretty tough to bring down. Are you hungry?” Nathan handed her some jerky while he chewed on a piece. Riley took the strip of smoked meat, barely avoiding Demon’s quick snap.

“Aha!” She yelped triumphantly, “think you’re pretty fast, don’t you?” She waved the meat slowly back and forth, teasing the dog unmercifully. Demon watched the piece of jerky, his jaws salivating as he imagined the taste. Relenting, Riley broke off a piece and tossed it to him. “What will the others do now? Will they give up?”

“They’ll back off for now, but I suspect they’ll keep near the herd until they can take one or more down. There’s too much meat there to pass up.”

“Do they hunt every day or only when necessary?” Food gathering took on a whole new level of importance when there wasn’t a grocery store in the picture.

“From what I have seen, they mostly hunt every day, but I know they have provisions stored as well. I’ve watched their encampment a lot, just to observe their habits, that sort of thing, and there’s always a group that goes hunting each day if the weather permits, as well as those who fish on a regular basis. Food gathering is the central core of their existence.”

Riley nodded; a lot could be endured over a full stomach. “This picnic would be better if we had some homemade bread, fresh fruit, and a bottle of wine,” she mentioned unnecessarily, “and where’s the ants?”

Nathan laughed softly, his dark eyes sparkling as he snapped his fingers. “I knew I forgot something! Next time I’ll bring some. I’m sure the ants these days are big enough that two or three would be able to walk off with the entire meal.”

“Great!” Riley grumbled. “Is anything small around here?” She tossed another piece of jerky to Demon, just for future good relations.

“We should start back,” Nathan commented, “if you’re ready.” Without waiting for her answer, he turned and plowed along the same path as they had come. Nathan avoided looking at her as she stumbled a few times again, but she thought she saw his shoulders shake. Bite me, she thought, tripping again. These stupid snowshoes weren’t on her list of favorites.

“Keep your eyes open,” Nathan warned, “with a herd that size so near, many of the larger predators will be in the area as well.”

Immediately, every tree and bush became a thing to be avoided, providing cover for any evil skulking in their wake. Riley veered away from any large rocks, trees or brush, slowing their retreat down, her meandering path covering twice the distance of Nathan’s.

By the time they had covered half the distance to the shelter, Nathan was grumbling at her slow progress. “For Pete’s sake, quit worrying about every little tree or bush, Demon would let us know if anything was close.”

“Are you sure?” Riley nervously questioned. “What if he misses something?”

Demon took that moment to stop and stiffen up, his eyes focused on something unseen to Nathan or Riley, his nose quivering as he inhaled the scent. Nathan watched the dog closely, taking his cue from the dog’s bearing. Her heart stopped, or at least she thought it did, and then it began pumping furiously as adrenalin flowed through her limbs. Demon crouched, growling softly, a subtle warning of some unseen danger. Nathan grabbed Riley’s arm and pushed her behind a nearby rock and motioned for her to be quiet. She could neither see nor hear anything, but every instinct screamed that they should flee. Growls rumbled softly from Demon’s chest, his entire body stiff and tense.

Nathan scanned the direction Demon was focused on, hoping to catch sight of whatever caused the dog’s warning. Below them, and upwind, a large saber toothed cat moved stealthily along the tree line, working its way towards the herd of giant moose. Behind it, four more huge cats were following his lead, stalking their enormous prey. Demon slowly relaxed as the cats moved away, unaware that they were being observed from above.

“It’s okay,” Nathan mouthed. “They’re not paying us any attention. At least not right now. We’d better get back to the shelter while their attention is focused elsewhere.” He helped her to her feet and brushed the snow from her behind.

“I suppose you’re telling me nicely that they would find us quite palatable as a dinner choice,” she grumbled, her knees shaking from the near encounter.

“Yeah, I hate to say it, but they would. That’s the first I’ve seen so many hunting together. It must be because of the herd. Most of the other ones I have seen were alone or with perhaps one other. Weird.” He watched the cats disappear into the distance.

Riley had to agree and the remainder of the trip went a lot faster than the first half. Imagining what those huge cats could do to them added impetus to her momentum, even with the snowshoes on. She quit worrying about the unseen dangers and worried about the real ones. They finally reached the cave and Riley flung herself inside, falling face down as one snowshoe caught on the uneven floor. She landed in a heap, banging her nose in the fall. Nathan rushed to her side, helping her to stand, his eyes sparkling as he fought to keep from laughing. Outraged that he would laugh at her, she jerked her arm free, glaring at his insensitive humor. Nathan was immediately contrite as blood dripped from her swollen and discoloring nose.

“I’m sorry,” he apologized, “I didn’t realize you were hurt.” He tried ineffectively to stop the bleeding as she slapped his hand away.

“Justh quit! You’re making it worsth,” she intoned nasally, as she leaned back, pinching her nose. “Thith ith your fault, you know!” she complained.

“My fault! Why is it my fault?”

She dropped her hand, glaring at him. “I wouldn’t have fallen if you hadn’t scared me!”

“I unintentionally scared you this morning. The cats scared you this afternoon, so why is it my fault?”

“Just forget it! Forget I said anything.” Reaching down, she took off the offending snowshoes and threw them against the wall of the cave, and stalked over to the inner door, waiting for him to open it. As soon as he did, she stomped into the shelter, clearly annoyed with him and everything else. She plopped down on a chair, tilting her head back to stop the flow of blood. Nathan brought her a cold compress and pressed it to her nose and forehead.

“Thanks,” she said, accepting his care, “Sorry, I snapped at you. I don’t take being hurt well. Everyone knows that.”

“I’ll remember that,” he grinned, “for next time.” The blood slowed and finally stopped.

“Is my nose horridly swollen? Do you think it’s broken?”

He carefully examined the injured organ. “I don’t think so. It’s not too bad—really!” Nathan was careful not to let on that the area around her eyes was going dark. She was beginning to look like a raccoon and would have two nice shiners by tomorrow. He doubted she would be pleased with the comparison. Good thing he didn’t have any mirrors around.

“You’re looking like you want to laugh again,” Riley commented suspiciously. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing,” he lied. “I was just thinking about how you looked when you went down—before I knew you were hurt, that is,” he hurriedly explained. “Maybe you’d better lie down and rest for awhile, just in case.”

Resting did sound like a good idea and she went willingly. She was still not totally acclimated to the new environment and was easily tired, and it had been a long day. She was asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

CHAPTER TWELVE

H
aving made his decision, the time following Jonas’ forceful extraction of Nathan and Riley’s whereabouts from Miles was filled with activity. Specific members of his former Black Ops team were contacted and, if they were willing and met his criteria, were instructed to proceed to the Montana facility as soon as possible, where he would be awaiting their arrival. In the meantime, he contacted the Council of the nearby Blackfoot Indian tribe to put forth his plan. After receiving their approval, he carefully made his selection of those willing and physically able to become a part of the venture, choosing only those in their mid 20’s to late 30’s, an equal number of each sex, and each having some specific craft or skill in which they excelled, such as bow stretching, flint knapping, arrow fletching, tanning skins, weaving, tracking, ancient weaponry or the like—crafts which would aid their survival in a hostile environment. By the time he had completed this selection process, sixteen men and women, including himself, had been chosen to take part.

They were all gathered at the facility, awaiting departure. After briefing them on the “mission” as he called it for want of a better name, all were nervous but none had opted out. They were as eager as he was to step into the past. It was an exciting prospect and none were willing to be left behind.

Miles had been forcibly taken to the lab and one or more of the Black Ops team were always inside the lab with him as he worked on the necessary calculations, oftentimes long into the evening hours each day. He was watched carefully and his every move questioned. Jonas was anxiously awaiting the final result, growing more restless with each passing day.

Supplies were readied, and informative classes into the animal and plant life they would perhaps encounter were held each day. Those members who were not previously with the Black Ops team were also instructed on hand-to-hand combat and use of the available weaponry. By agreement, only weapons which were historically available to early humans would be taken. They all forced themselves to excel in everything; it might be a life or death situation and no one wanted to be the weak link on the team.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

A
week later, another winter storm blew in, more violent than the previous one, drastically dropping temperatures and showing no signs of letting up soon. Cold air seeped through every crack in the shelter, and even with the fire going round the clock, the temperature inside the cave area was cool. The wind whistled piercingly outside the confines of the shelter and the air was rent with the sounds of breaking and crashing tree limbs. Snow blew in gusts, swirling and churning as the storm progressed.

Venturing outside was out of the question, visibility was limited to only a few feet and getting lost in the storm was a very real possibility. Worried that the firewood would not last until Nathan was able to replenish their stockpile, they kept the fire small and Riley, who was cold all the time in any event, was forced to dress in several layers to stay warm even inside the cave. Though insulated from the worst of the storm, unless they could bring in more firewood soon, the prospect of freezing to death was a very real concern. Fortunately, Nathan had been able to take care of his livestock before the worst of the storm hit and, unless the storm lasted longer than he expected, they would survive until he was able to get through to feed them.

Riley shivered in her bed, not generating enough heat to warm up the skins and because she was so cold she couldn’t relax. She could see her breath misting in the air inside the sleeping chamber and the tip of her nose felt frozen. Demon, the traitor, had deserted her to cuddle up to Nathan—apparently he was warmer than she was—leaving her to try to keep warm alone. She pulled a skin over her head, her teeth chattering in response.

“Are you cold?” Nathan’s voice softly whispered.

Riley lifted up the skin, just barely enough to reply. “I’m freezing over here.”

“Demon and I are really warm, almost too warm,” he lazily replied. “I’d forgotten how much heat he puts off.”