“Ooooohhhh,” exclaimed Lee, stretching as he took in a deep breath of the new morning’s crisp air.
Reaching down, he cupped some of the cool creek water within his hands and generously splashed it all over his face. He blinked his eyes rapidly, shuddering as the cold water trickled down his face, neck, and chest. The vibrant feel of the chilly water was instantly invigorating, melting away the lethargy that had still clung to him long after he had opened his eyes to the new day.
Clasping his hands above his head and arching his back, he again stretched, endeavoring to rid himself of the lingering rigidity in his body that had formed as a result of sleeping for hours upon the hard, unforgiving ground. A few cracks and pops sounded as he worked his back and limbs.
“Body stiffen up, old man?” Ryan asked, chuckling as he came up to stand at Lee’s right side. In his right hand, he held both his and Lee’s sharpened stakes. “Accommodations not good enough around here? Didn’t you request extra pillows?”
Lee shot Ryan a bemused glance, a last few drops of water dribbling off of his face and hair. “Very, very funny, and good morning to yourself. But if you could talk to the cook, I’m starved. Or, maybe you can fix something up? Whip something together. You know I’ve taught you a few things.”
“Supplies are low, and the wok is currently under repair,” Ryan retorted with a half-hearted grin.
Lee could see right through the teenager’s facade of humor. The young man was feeling very grim about their meal prospects. The topic was the greatest worry weighing down upon Lee’s mind, ever since morning had arrived and confirmed that the previous day was no dream.
“Then we need to take care of it,” Lee replied firmly.
“What the hell can we do about it?” Ryan queried in a voice laden with frustration. He handed Lee’s stake over, adding in a lower, tense tone, “And here, we probably shouldn’t walk around without these real close at hand.”
“What can we do about it? Take some risks. Let’s go see what we can find,” Lee responded, sounding more confident than he felt, feeling the stout, bark-covered haft of the crude weapon. He glanced down at the stake in his hand, and then over at the one in Ryan’s. “We have something to work with, at the least.”
“What about the ladies?” Ryan asked.
“I’ve already talked to Lynn. She was the first to get up today, evidently. Took over early from Erin’s last watch. I told Lynn to stay and watch the camp, and that we’d go and see about food. If we don’t succeed, we can switch teams whenever Erin gets up. They can give it a try,” Lee said, stepping to the brim of the creek’s bank.
He looked across to where the water trundled along the brim of the far bank, gauging the distance.
“I’d bet it’ll be awhile before that girl gets up,” Ryan remarked sarcastically.
“I’d bet too. Which is why we should go now, while we are ready and rested,” Lee responded.
With a leap, he hurtled the span of the creek. His feet squished into the soft footing on the opposite side, splattering a little mud and water all around.
“Coming?” Lee inquired of Ryan, turning back towards the youth.
Ryan tensed, took a step, and propelled himself across, his youthful spring and longer legs taking him a little farther than Lee. Lee winced as Ryan descended, fully resigned to being amply covered with splotches of mud. Fortunately, Ryan landed upon a more solid swathe of ground, and did not spatter Lee with the impact of his landing.
“The question really is, are you ready?” Ryan asked Lee, sparks of excitement reflected in his eyes. “Hmmmm, old man?”
Lee was glad to see the flair of youthful adventure within Ryan’s face, as his own mind was more oriented upon the very troublesome concerns regarding their unfamiliarity with the immediate environment and its denizens. He wished that he could embrace it all more like an adventure, and was not about to do anything to dampen Ryan’s current spiritedness.
“Yes, yes, the old man is ready,” Lee replied with sharp sarcasm.
Ryan took a step away from the bank. He pointed the sharp end of his stake towards the depths of the woods beyond, while looking back at Lee.
“Then shall we?” he asked, with raised eyebrows and a grin.
“Just remember, use gestures from here on out,” Lee said, holding his finger to his mouth as he stepped by Ryan. “We make enough noise moving. Let’s try and not add to it.”
Ryan nodded as they set forth together. The two of them stepped softly, both careful in their efforts to remain as silent as possible.
Lee did not want to wander very far from the camp, as the last thing that needed to happen was for them to become lost. He took great care to make several mental notes of their surroundings. He pinpointed their pathway as best as he could, cataloging distinctive landmarks in the forms of certain trees, as well as some uniquely shaped rocks. Committing them to memory, he knew that the natural signs would be their lifeline on the way back.
He had no idea of what he and Ryan might come across on the excursion in the forest, being that he was no experienced outdoorsman. Theirs was to be a foray of sheer opportunism, delving into the unknown.
On the gathering side of things, their miniature quest remained a dismal failure, as they failed to locate any nuts or berries of a recognizably safe nature in the general vicinity of the camp. Anything they found turned out to have a very questionable appearance, and Lee was not about to chance a possible threat to their health. If any of them were to get sick, the prospects of treating the illness were very remote at best.
They had an altogether different experience in regards to hunting. About an hour and a half into their sojourn, Lee heard a couple of high-pitched screeches coming from deeper within the trees and brush, somewhere directly ahead of them. He signaled immediately to Ryan, to duck down and take cover behind some nearby trees.
Situated close together, Lee and Ryan waited in crouched positions, poised in a state of keen alertness.
Several minutes later, a group of four apparently flightless birds, each at least three feet tall and heavier of body, came into sight. Spread apart at staggered depths, they stalked slowly forward as their eyes swept through the area.
The heavy-bodied birds had large, and sharp-ended, curved beaks at the ends of their sizeable heads, which provided conspicuous evidence that the creatures were predators to be respected. Their stout bodies rested upon pairs of long, powerful legs, equipped with sets of horrific-looking talons. They had a very limber, muted step, and their purposeful movements gave off the appearance that they were ready to explode into rapid motion at any moment. The creatures also possessed two very undersized wings, readily confirming their flightless nature.
It was quite clear to Lee that their darker plumage was very advantageous to moving stealthily amid a world of shadows, brush, and earthy colors. They blended extremely well with the background, and it was plainly fortuitous that the area that Lee and Ryan had been trekking through contained only sparse, patchy areas of undergrowth.
To Lee, the creatures looked like they had emerged right out of a far distant past. He was simply glad that they were the size that they were, and not like some of the monstrosities of a very similar type that had walked the prehistoric ages of his own world.
While Lee realized the dangerous nature of the predatory birds, he also recognized a prime opportunity at hand. Though the large birds were themselves hunters, they were now about to become the hunted.
Lee gestured for Ryan to remain idle, while he kept his eyes riveted upon the approaching quartet of birds. The birds continued to methodically step through the area, fanning out broader as they looked about for smaller game.
Holding his position behind the tree, Lee waited patiently while he slowly brought his stake up in both hands to a level plane. When his arms came to rest, the sharp end was pointed towards the nearest of the birds. He kept a strong, firm grip upon the stake, the muscles of his arms, back, and shoulders tensing in readiness.
About a minute later, one of the other birds stepped over very close to where Lee was hiding. Lee carefully shifted the point of the stake to align with the advancing creature. It had just started to pass by the trunk of the tree, and in another stride or two would be in a position where it would not fail to discover Lee.
Lee was not about to let that transpire. Having kept rigidly still, he remained poised, a serpent coiled to strike. The very instant that the bird poked its head by the tree that Lee was behind, it found itself abruptly impaled with a powerful thrust of the makeshift spear. His robust strike was well-executed, bringing his body’s weight and momentum fully behind it, and driven all the more forcefully by Lee’s growing hunger.
The blow landed squarely in the bird’s body, the sheer force knocking it backward and slamming it down into the ground. Spiked and grievously wounded, it made a loud squawk of dismay, which instantly roused the others of its group.
Lee yelled loudly at the birds, hoping to startle and scatter them. Instead of taking to flight, the others three birds recovered quickly, spreading out as they started towards Lee. Lee’s heart sank precipitously, seeing their aggressive intention.
Secondly, and even more worrisome, Ryan was nowhere to be found.
“I need some help here, Ryan!” Lee shouted in panic.
His voice echoed off into the woods, without any reply other than the sounds of the predators encroaching upon him.
Lee yanked the crude pike out of the bird lying before him, raised his leg, and stomped down as hard as he could upon the creature’s neck area, feeling his heel crack bone. The bird underneath him thrashed once more, before falling entirely still.
The other three continued to close in upon him. Lee raised his spear up, and readied in desperation to fight them.
Ryan entered the fray at that moment, yelling at the top of his lungs as he rushed out and skewered one of the incoming birds, taking it completely by surprise. The blow did not land as flush as Lee’s had, but it knocked the bird off its talons and to the ground.
In burst of adrenalized vigor, Ryan hurled himself forth and threw his weight fully upon the end of the stake. His efforts drove the wood through further, and effectively pinned the writhing bird to the ground.
The two remaining birds were momentarily distracted and confused by the sudden attack of the shouting newcomer, enabling Lee a prime opportunity to strike cleanly and formidably. He focused and delivered another solid strike with his crude spear.
Yet another thrashing bird hit the ground, expiring a moment later after Lee had moved in and landed a couple of vicious kicks to its head, the last one crushing its skull.
The lone remaining bird, seeing the violent fates of its comrades, and no longer finding any strength in numbers, whirled about with a resounding cry, and bounded briskly off into the depths of the forest. Its body melted into the shadows and brush, vanishing in just a few strides.
“A lot harder than I thought,” Lee remarked between heavy breaths, looking towards the depths of the forest that had engulfed the surviving bird’s fleeing form. “Didn’t think they would attack us. I hate surprises.”
“Yeah, it was alot harder,” Ryan agreed, then adding with a grin, “But at least we got something.”
“And you took long enough,” Lee retorted accusingly, with a grin that was only half in jest. His heart was still racing from the uncertain moment when the three birds had stalked him.
“Timing is everything,” Ryan responded without hesitation. “Worked too, didn’t it?”
“Okay, I’ll give you that,” Lee conceded, though not entirely assuaged. “But you still took your sweet time.”
The three slain birds were now fully motionless, hard-won prizes for Lee and Ryan’s efforts. Lee pulled his spear out of the dead creature that it was currently lodged in. He took a few moments to walk around and make certain that the other two fallen birds were indeed dead before trying to handle them. Lee knew that just one slash delivered from one of the powerful talons, or a lone, hard strike from the creatures’ sharp beaks, could quite possibly cripple or kill him.
Each of the creatures weighed somewhere between sixty to seventy pounds. “We’ll have to settle for two on one trip, it looks like,” Ryan said, straining to heave one of the carcasses up and over his right shoulder.
Lee shrugged. “We’ve got more than enough here, and we don’t have any place to store the excess.”
“I hate wasting it, since we killed it,” Ryan stated, looking over at the third bird. “Maybe we should come back for it.”
“I think the meat will be made good use of, long before we can get back,” Lee said, looking up into the surrounding trees. His eyes remained fixed on the branches above them. “They aren’t going to be upset if we leave the bird. And I don’t think they’ll wait very long when we are out of sight. In fact, you and I are probably now heroes to them.”
“What?” Ryan queried, before following Lee’s glance on up into the boughs of the trees. He flinched in surprise at the sight.
A number of small, rodent-like creatures were cautiously emerging into sight on many of the upper branches.
They were chittering in high-pitched, squeaky voices, and their long snouts vigorously sniffed at the air in apparent excitement, likely emboldened by the sight of the three dead birds. Were it not for their prehensile tails, anchoring their dark-furred bodies to the tree limbs, Lee would not have doubted that their raised level of fervor would have caused more than a few of them to tumble out of the trees in the expanding commotion.
Lee understood immediately what the lay of the land was.
In more usual settings within this new world, it was creatures such as those above that were eaten by the carnivorous birds now lying below. Caught foraging on the forest floor, before they could reach the refuge of the trees, the creatures that Lee now saw all around him would be very easy prey for the large, predatory birds.
In what was probably a most glorious moment among their furry little race, their great nemesis’s body would now be serving as a feast for their own kind.
Lee surmised that with the killing of three out of the four birds, he and Ryan had effectively decimated the rodent-like creatures’ main threat within the area. If the small tree-dwelling creatures had been able to speak a succinct language, Lee would not have been surprised if they acclaimed the two humans as saviors.
Ryan grinned as he stared at the odd little creatures. “Yeah, we probably are heroes to the little guys. And you know what? I don’t mind that. Nature’s not really a very friendly thing, you know?”
“In reality it can be pretty brutal, and the tables aren’t often turned, so they should celebrate it while they can,” Lee remarked. He slung a bird carcass over his own right shoulder, with a grunt accompanying the exertion. “But we gotta survive. And so do they. So that’s that. Now what do you say to getting some breakfast going?”
“And making up for a few other meals… but you clean it,” Ryan replied as they started on their way back. “And I’m not watching. I prefer to get meat already cut and readied.”
“I thought you young people were afraid of nothing,” Lee chided, laughing. “Well, you can be happy that we landed birds. I’ve prepared chicken and duck more times than you can count. This will be on a bit of a bigger scale, but I’m sure the approach is not too different. But you are not off the hook. While I’m on this, you work on a fire.”
“Don’t know how,” Ryan said.
“I’d bet one of the women might still have a lighter in her pocket,” Lee said with a wink. “Didn’t you notice Erin’s coughing?”
“Good point,” Ryan replied.
In time, they reached the campsite and set about their tasks. As Lee had suggested, Erin was a habitual smoker and did indeed have a lighter in one of her pockets.
In another moment of fortune, it was discovered that Lynn had one as well. She half-reluctantly confessed that her uses for it went further beyond tobacco. She also had a small pocket-knife in her possession, which Lee enthusiastically borrowed to help with his immediate tasks.
Ryan helped Lee get the carcasses carried over to the creek. Ryan soon disappeared as Lee started attending to the job of preparing the newly acquired food. The process was not as hygienic as Lee would have liked, as well as being much more awkward, but with some effort he finally accomplished his task.
When he finally came back, lugging several cut sections of meat in his hands, Ryan and Lynn had a small part of the ground cleared, and demarcated with a ring of stones. A fire was burning steadily inside a hollowed out area located within the stone circle.
Fashioning some rough spits, Lee soon had the meat cooking. The flames licked at the fresh meat, as the juices hissed and crackled in the heat.
In minutes, the scents wafting off of their cooking breakfast inundated the air. Lee’s mouth watered in anticipation, buoyed by his gaping hunger, but he noticed that Erin was looking very sullen and hanging far back from the fire. Erin quickly saw that Lee was staring at her, and apparently recognized his puzzlement with her demeanor.
“I’m not eating that,” she remarked edgily, her nose turned upward. In a tone that sounded like a judgement being delivered on all the others, she stated curtly, “I’m a vegetarian.”
Lee chuckled openly, unable to hold back his amusement given their stark circumstances and options.
Ryan evidently could not hold back his incredulity either. “Oh, your kind really amaze me. See these? They are called canine teeth… C-A-N-I-N-E! They are used for eating meat,” Ryan said in a patronizing tone, as he pointed at the sharp teeth in his own mouth.
“And what about it?” she snapped back hotly at him.
“Herbivores are not equipped with them. Omnivores and carnivores are,” Ryan replied in the same condescending tone. “Oh, and did you know that your jaw moves back and forth, and also moves up and down? That’s what a natural omnivore’s jaws do.”
“So what?” Erin replied irritably, her face now a hard scowl.
“Oh, and guess what else? Large brains in humans came about because of meat consumption,” Ryan continued, clearly deriving some amusement from her vexation by that point. “I won’t get into what that implies for the future of vegetarians, other than your brains will probably shrink over the generations, but you had better consider yourself real lucky that we can eat meat. Otherwise you would have had to continue starving.”
Lynn half-heartedly moved to defend her friend at that moment, interrupting Ryan abruptly, “Take it easy on her now. She’s been that way for years. Not my thing either, but it’s what she wants to be. And we really do need to find some other food sources around here, eventually.”
“And I will find something else,” Erin added obstinately. “We’ll find something soon enough.”
Lee shrugged, but was not about to change his plans. “Have it your way then, but I’m going to eat now, and I’m eating what we manage to find. There’s no menus out here. Just reality.”
“Makes two of us,” Ryan commented with a glare at Erin.
“I can’t deny it either,” Lynn said, with a sideways grin to the two men, out of Erin’s line of sight, which showed that she understood their mystification at her friend’s obstinacy.
They were able to satiate their hunger easily, for there was an overabundance of food for one meal with what Ryan and Lee had procured. Even with the crude manner that Lee had been forced to use to prepare it, the meat was surprisingly good. It had a tender, juicy quality that was not unlike well-prepared turkey, a quite pleasant surprise in the midst of the wilderness.
Erin watched the others eating from a few feet away, with a series of disgusted, sullen looks parading upon her face. Her juvenile display was almost to the point of being obnoxious, as far as Lee was concerned.
If she had intended to ruin Lee’s enjoyment of the meal, it was to no avail. With each and every bite, Lee felt stronger, and more revived, while he knew that she was left lightheaded with an expanding hunger, by her own stubborn choice.
Finally, Erin got up with a curt exhale and stomped off into the forest. Lee was incredulous at the highly immature response of the young woman, especially from one whose life had hung by a precarious thread just mere moments after her entrance into this dangerous new world.
“No time for philosophical debates,” Lee said. “We have to live. A starving lion wouldn’t have any problem making short work of her.”
“Exactly,” Ryan said. “Neither would a shark.”
“Which brings me to another point,” Lee said quickly. A scowl crossed his face as he stared off towards where Erin had disappeared. “After what I’ve seen, there’s no place for childish tantrums and stomping off into these woods alone.”
He looked over to Ryan.
“True enough, I’ll keep an eye on her, and try to talk her back here,” Ryan said, getting up, picking up his stake, and setting out after Erin.
“Do it quickly,” Lee called after him.
Ryan paused to pick up Erin’s own makeshift weapon, which she had left behind in her ire.
“She gets impulsive,” explained Lynn with an apologetic air, watching Ryan heading onward after her friend.
“Impulsive can mean getting killed here very quickly, I’m afraid. We don’t know much about our whereabouts,” Lee said. “I just learned a very good lesson, almost a very hard one.”
He proceeded to tell Lynn more detail about their earlier encounter with the predatory birds, emphasizing the unpleasant surprises that had manifested. Lynn’s eyes widened as the full tale was told, as Lee quickly discovered that she had only heard the basic elements from Ryan upon their return.
Erin appeared back at the campsite several minutes later. She was bearing a couple of branches loaded with berries, a petulant look fixed upon her face.
Ryan emerged into sight behind her a few seconds later, shrugging his shoulders at Lee with a look of exasperation. He was still carrying her makeshift weapon.
Erin looked towards Lee, and her face beamed with a look of triumph. Sitting down, she picked, chewed, and swallowed a mouthful of the berries. She then held out the branches towards Lee.
“See, this is called persistence,” she declared acidly.
She took off a few more berries and ate them.
“She wouldn’t listen to me,” Ryan said. “I don’t know about those. You and I both were worried about whether or not those were safe to eat.”
Lee grew concerned as he watched her, as she had already proceeded well past the point of caution. The berries that she was eating he had indeed seen on his recent foray, and he had deemed it best to avoid them entirely.
His caution was affirmed a short time later, when Erin’s haughty smile swiftly faded, her face growing very pale. Dropping the remaining berries, she clutched at her stomach and started to heave.
Lee, Ryan, and Lynn jumped up immediately and ran over to the stricken young woman, reaching Erin as she violently regurgitated her recent findings back onto the ground. After a few more heaves, when nothing more was coming out of her mouth, her breathing slowly settled back down.
The others gently helped Erin lay on the ground, easing her down carefully. Once Erin was prone, Lynn darted off towards the creek. She returned shortly with a piece of cloth that had been torn off of her own shirt, dampened with water. Kneeling by her friend, she wiped Erin’s brow and patted the cloth lightly about her face.
The next couple of hours were filled with tension. Lee silently stood by the others with Erin, a great apprehension taking hold of him regarding the nature of the berries that she had consumed. He felt both anger and concern as he peered down upon the young woman, knowing that her suffering was wholly unnecessary. Her breathing was short and rapid, and her face reflected considerable pain as she cradled her stomach in a fetal position. The most bothersome aspect of it all was that Lee had no idea as to the outcome of her folly.
Only time would reveal the full answer.
As the moments passed, Erin went through another couple bouts of dry heaving, her stomach already having been thoroughly emptied. Her pallor continued to be troubling. Yet just when Lee had begun to dread the worst, her physical signs appeared to stabilize, and then slowly began to improve. Her breathing became more regular, and her face slowly showed less strain.
“Don’t ever do that again,” Lee remarked firmly, when it finally became abundantly clear that she was not mortally poisoned.
Erin’s reaction to his words demonstrated that her constitution was returning in full. She did not give him the courtesy of a verbal reply, simply shooting Lee a hardened, annoyed look, as if to say that she absolutely refused to concede anything to him.
“Pride isn’t going to get you very far under our circumstances!” Lee fumed with exasperation, throwing up his hands and tromping back towards the center of the camp.
Ryan shook his head and trotted after Lee.
Behind them, Lynn helped Erin back to a sitting position, and cautiously pulled her back up to her feet. She slowly guided Erin across the campsite, assisting her back under the shade of the shelter that they had fashioned.
“She’ll rest better out of the open. So what now?” Lynn asked the other two, after she had emerged from the shelter and returned to join them. As if to answer their unspoken queries, she stated, “What she did was completely idiotic. I’m not supporting her stupid choice, but she’s my friend.”
“And we’ll stand by her too, Lynn, as we’re in this mess together,” Lee replied without equivocation. “Even though I won’t hesitate to point out when she’s being a total fool.”
“I’m with Lee, on both counts,” Ryan added.
Lynn nodded to both of the males, “I appreciate all of that. She filters me out often enough, so it’s good that you two are blunt with her. Maybe something will eventually get through her thick head.”
“So what do you suggest we do now?” Lee asked, changing the subject back to the decisions imminently facing them. “Your guess is as good as mine.”
“Try and find somebody, or something,” Lynn answered. “It’s all we really can do, when we have no idea where in this world we are.”
“If there even is somebody out there,” Ryan commented ruefully.
“We’ve got to at least look,” Lynn replied.
“Then let’s start doing it right now,” Ryan said impatiently. After an extended pause, his next words took on a tinge of anger and desperation. “Let’s get on it!”
Lee knew that the sharp edge just exhibited in the young man was stoked by the torrent of worries swirling within him. He could not blame Ryan for his great trepidation. Lee shared it too, and was simply a little better able to stifle his own worries, packing them deeper down inside.
“After a minute or two,” Lynn stated firmly, steadily meeting Ryan’s heated gaze. “Whether her fault or not, let Erin get a little of her strength back.”
Ryan sat down with a huff, rolling his eyes. “Then I’m sitting.”
Lee replied gently, “We will wait, Lynn, but we need to learn everything we can about this world. And we need to learn very fast, if we are going to have a chance to make it very far. Now we know of those aggressive birds. Now we know about those berries. Two steps on that journey.”
As if to accentuate his point, Lee walked over and picked up Lynn’s stake where she had set it down. Returning, he handed it over to her.
“And you keep this near you, at all times,” Lee said adamantly.
Lynn set the end of the stake into the ground, gripped in both of her hands as she lowered her eyes to the ground before her. Lee said nothing more as he turned and stepped over to Ryan’s side. He lowered himself down, patting the youth reassuringly upon the shoulder as he took a place by him. Lynn sat down with them a few moments later.
Few words passed between the trio, as time marched relentlessly onward.
After about another hour had passed, Erin came out from the shelter and broke the impasse, indicating that she felt that she could handle some slow hiking. The group gathered its belongings together and left the campsite behind. Setting off at an easy pace, they halted sporadically, mainly to allow Erin to rest for a few moments.
While clearly not feeling fully well, Erin proved to be capable of handling the rather leisurely rate of travel without major incident, or sign of undue strain. A few times Lee considered urging her to press herself a little harder, but he bit back his impulses, simply grateful that she was cooperating without an acerbic display of attitude.
The landscape that they traveled through remained largely unchanged, as the litany of trees, hilly terrain, wide forest creeks, and narrow streams continued.
Majestic oaks allowed considerable sunlight to reach the forest floor, resulting in the flourishing of ferns, violets, and other types of plants low to the ground. Tall beeches, with their smooth gray surfaces, heralded the presence of minimal undergrowth beneath their ample, thick-shading canopies. Beautiful hazel trees with their dangling, cylindrical flower clusters, hardwood ash trees, and great pines were just some of the other types of woodland sentinels populating the area that they walked through.
The signs of animal life were minimal, confined primarily to a few more sightings of the strange, tree dwelling mammals that seemed to be prevalent to the region that they were traversing.
There were also a number of rather ordinary birds, of kinds much more familiar to Lee’s eyes. The diminutive sparrows emitting their sustained chirping, the blackbirds with their eyes ringed in yellow, and a few warblers, grey-backed with reddish undersides, were all witnessed by Lee as they hiked through the woodlands.
The birds were largely resting among the branches of the trees, sending their various calls out through the peaceful forest air. Lee passed the time by watching a few of them alighting upon, or taking off from, the living roosts. He watched them dart and glide amongst the trees, with some lifting out of sight on a climb skyward.
The afternoon slowly dissolved as the shadows lengthened, announcing the approach of the early stages of evening. By that time, it seemed to Lee as if his body was being sapped of energy with every passing moment. He had begun to envy Ryan and the two girls, who possessed natural, extra reservoirs of youthful stamina.
Yet despite the youth of the other three, all things were not equal in relation to their various conditions. Ryan and Lynn were holding up to the trek very well, while Erin now appeared to be toiling just to keep moving forward.
Just as Lee was about to call for an extended halt, for both his sake and Erin’s, they finally came upon a break in the trees and brush. They had just skirted around the base of yet another one of the ubiquitous, forested hills that dominated the region that they were passing through. The denser foliage gave way fairly abruptly, as an entirely new, magnificent vision was unveiled before them.
A series of very low, grassy hills undulated in what was essentially a broad, rolling plain, broken up only by pockets of brush strewn randomly about. The low waves in the sea of windswept grasses spread out to the farthest edges of their vision.
“Progress, I hope,” Ryan remarked, as the four of them looked out over the markedly different terrain.
“And maybe danger,” Lynn quickly returned, not looking very confident at the significant change in geography.
Lee could not blame Lynn’s apparent misgivings, as the new territory offered its own set of daunting concerns. It was considerably more open and exposed, especially if they were to try to walk out into it.
They would easily be visible for miles around, especially to any eyes watching from a higher vantage point. It was not lost on Lee that all four in the group had already witnessed formidable flying entities traversing the skies of this strange world.
Yet there was no imminent threat in view, or even a remote sign of danger. A very large, heavy-bodied bird with a substantial wingspan, chestnut-breasted with a white underside, flew calmly over the grassy surface, showing no apparent urgency in its easygoing flight.
Erin slumped down to the ground at the edge of the trees, breathing heavily as the others hesitated. Her body had been taxed to a much greater extent than the others had been. She looked to be genuinely grateful for the stop, rather than for any notable change in geography.
Lee stood silently, peering off towards the distant horizon, looking carefully to both sky and ground. He slowly dropped to one knee, and placed his hand upon the ground.
He had intended to simply brace himself, resting a little as he stared out over the open expanse. Yet something tugged at his instincts almost instantly, as his palm connected with the land.
He felt that there was something faint under his hand, like a barely perceptible tremor, though it was not strong enough for surety. A frown crossed his face, his expression swiftly growing pensive. There was not enough in the feeling coming from beneath his palm to convince him, but the foreboding sense prevented him from dismissing it outright.
“Let’s go!” Ryan said from behind Lee, taking a couple of steps forward.
Lee shook his head curtly, snapping his hand up to get Ryan to halt when the youth had reached his side. The young man was just a couple of steps away from leaving the cover of the trees.
Lee said emphatically, “There’s something here. Let’s pull back behind the trees for now… at least while we rest.”
Ryan groaned in frustration, as the others walked back a few strides, deeper into the cover of the trees. They waited in silence, hungry and tired, for nearly an hour.
Even if Lee could not say exactly what it was, he was increasingly certain that something was amiss. All of his instincts screamed out to him to heed his caution and stay away from the open ground.
Lee continued to feel the vibrations in the earth beneath, soon perceiving that they were growing stronger. It was clear from their moods that Lynn and Ryan were becoming quite restless, although Erin was still weary enough to value the extended respite. Lee had just begun to ponder whether his mind was playing tricks on him in his fatigued state, when their eyes were all suddenly drawn towards one of the low, grass-blanketed hills off to the right.
A light thumping sound, in a conspicuously galloping rhythm, filled their ears and grew steadily louder. Lee gestured urgently for all of them to get down and press their bodies to the ground.
There was no argument from any of the others as they hurriedly lay down flat upon the hard earth. Lee’s heart leaped and pounded, and he doubted that any of the others had a slow heartbeat in the sharply heightened anxiety of the moment. The rumbling beats swelled, the vibrations under Lee becoming ever more prominent. His eyes remained locked on the plains before them.
About a minute later, a number of mounted riders burst into full view.
Lee drank in the startling sight, spellbound at what he saw. Stunned, Lee stared at the throng of figures, taking in their strange appearances.
The riders were sitting in wood-framed saddles, astride horses of a strong, muscular build. Most of the riders were armed with long lances, the spear-blades featuring iron lugs at their bases that jutted straight out to the sides.
Near to the lead of the group was a rider bearing a special lance, to which a wedge-shaped pennon was affixed. The pennon was of alternating blue and gold stripes, with a fringe of red tassels lining the curving outer edge. It flapped vigorously as it cut through the air above the galloping riders.
All of the riders wore long cloaks, pinned at the right shoulder. Round shields of various colors were slung over their backs, suspended from leather straps. Iron bosses glinted in the daylight where they protruded from the middle of the large shields.
The riders’ heads were protected in a variety of half-helms. Some were of a rounded type, with chain mail aventails affixed to extend the wearer added neck protection. Others were of a more crested profile, protruding slightly in the rear. A few were crafted of segmented iron plates, with descending nasal guards in front.
The riders’ upper bodies were clad in coats of mail, and a few wore chain mail chausses, providing additional protection on their thighs down to the tops of their knees.
A bearded rider just ahead of the pennon-bearer suddenly raised his sword high, drawing Lee’s attention. Sunlight gleamed off the golden inlay on the hazelnut-shaped pommel and short, straight quillons. Long locks of dark hair whipped around from where they flowed out from the base of his half-helm, as the sword-wielder cried out loudly to the others, eliciting a spirited shout in response.
This warrior had additional protective elements, distinguishing him from the rest of the riders. Unique among the group, he possessed a pair of splinted iron greaves that protected his lower legs, echoing similar vambraces encasing his lower arms.
The horses were being spurred forward with a desperate urgency, driven at a full gallop as they pounded swiftly across the open ground.
Lee ripped his gaze away from the remarkable sight, and glanced quickly over to the others with him. Wide looks of amazement were exchanged among his companions, before they turned their full attention back towards the oncoming cluster of riders.
Loud cries, and a flurry of sounds resembling growls and barks, then filled the air, as the throng of horses was swiftly brought to a halt. The riders bore looks of utter surprise, as they looked up into the sky, right in the area over where Lee and the others were hiding.
Lee’s heart thundered more furiously at the new chorus of sounds, which were directly over his position.
The riders scattered in all directions, as a number of dark shadows sped across the ground towards them. Lee saw the deep, racing shadows from the first moment that they broke out along the surface of the grasses. He looked up into the sky, just as a horde of stunning forms burst into full view.
Lee had never seen anything like the flying entities now soaring low over the grassy plains, conveyed forth by sweeping sets of dark, membranous wings. They were entirely unique to his experience, giant, four-legged creatures. Even more incredible, they were bearing armed riders.
The winged creatures themselves had a slightly sloped frame, rising from their lower hips to the frontal portion of their bodies. They had large heads, with short muzzles that harbored broad, powerful jaws. Large, triangular ears rose up on each side of their heads, positioned near to the crown.
Covering the backs and sides of the flying creatures was a shaggy mass of long, coarse, dark brown fur. Around their wide necks and chests, from the backs of their upright ears to the tops of their shoulders, they displayed a distinctive, light yellow mane.
Four legs, lean and sinewy, were tucked underneath their bodies, the limbs ending in broad paws that were each equipped with a set of sharp claws. The short fur covering their legs held a distinct coloration pattern, with alternating light and dark rings running from their wide paws on up to their undersides.
As Lee caught his first clear glimpses of the profiles of the riders upon on the winged steeds, time screeched to a standstill. They were undeniably inhuman.
Lee’s mind scrambled to recover from his initial shock, as the fliers guided their winged steeds directly towards the scattering horsemen with exceptional skill, and a deadly grace. Nearly fifty of them had now swept into Lee’s view, racing towards the dispersing horsemen far beneath them. At first, they drove the horsemen farther away from the forest’s edge, forcing a few that had been charging directly towards the trees to veer away just a short distance from reaching the woods.
Several of the fliers curved about, as if seeking to corral the dispersing horse riders closer together. In the process, they presented Lee with a full, frontal view of their forms.
Lee’s mouth dropped agape.
The considerable size of the winged steeds was wholly necessary to bear the imposing riders aloft, while still retaining agility, maneuverability, and speed. The warriors had thick, powerful chests and torsos, complimented by broad backs and shoulders, and long, brawny limbs.
Their strong upper bodies were clothed in knee-length, earthen colored tunics, which were worn underneath protective hide jerkins. Leggings, or perhaps woolen trousers, completed their primary attire. Their hide shoes or boots were set firmly into bronze stirrups of a simple, stout design.
The fronts of many of the outer jerkins were richly decorated, exhibiting a variety of designs that contrasted with the darker color of the hide. Many of the fliers were also wearing amulets around their broad, muscular necks.
Thick, very long locks of dark hair flowed out copiously from underneath boiled leather caps, or simple iron half-helms, buffeted about vigorously within the winds.
Their faces were fully exposed to Lee in the broad daylight, displaying the most striking features of all. Their non-human visages contained a protruding muzzle, one that had a thick-set appearance short in length, and broad in width. Opening their jaws wide to emit their deep, sonorous war cries, they showed off the extensive canines contained within their considerable maws.
Many of the beast-men were carrying extensive lances, fitted with broad, elongated spear blades unmistakably suited for slashing as much as thrusting. Others bore a formidable-looking, sword-like weapon, which had a quite lengthy, heavy blade. It had no cross guard above the short hilt, or pommel beneath. The weapon’s broad, protracted blade had a gently curving, saber-like profile to it, singled-edged, and ending in a wickedly sharp point.
A few of the fliers bore a particularly fearsome-looking, long-hafted weapon. A two-handed weapon, its single-edged blade was both longer and heavier than that of the sword-like weapon, while being of a generally similar profile. It was not a spear, but rather a cutting weapon, able to be utilized like a great axe.
Several fliers pursuing the horsemen held short javelins in overhand grips, while a handful of others were clustering in a hovering pattern, bearing great longbows fashioned of a single stave of wood. Arrows fletched with large, black feathers were being set to the bowstrings as the archers searched out targets below.
Many of the airborne warriors bore rectangular shields, crafted of wooden planking faced with plain hide coverings. The shields were suspended by thick leather straps across their shoulders and backs, keeping their hands freed up. The warriors’ left hands held onto the reins of their sky steeds tightly, while they brandished their weapons in their right.
As Lee looked out upon the developing melee, the first of the sky riders swooped downward at a high speed that was a challenge to follow with the eye.
The iron-helmed flier at the lead of the attackers roared a furious battle cry, bringing its steed swiftly lower with a few others diving in its wake. Wielding one of the sword-like weapons, the lead warrior kept its arm forward of its steed’s wings, holding the blade angled back. The sky rider adroitly guided its steed to come up on the shield side of a horse rider that was racing just ahead.
The winged steed stretched its wings out and glided through the short remaining distance, closing quickly as it allowed its rider to bring the blade back farther for a powerful attack. The sky warrior did not strike at the horse rider, but rather slashed viciously at his mount, blood spraying in the aftermath.
Crumbling to the ground with a hideous scream and a mortal wound to its neck, the horse threw its rider off. The man flew forward, and cried out in pain as he slammed hard into the unyielding ground just a few strides ahead of his horse.
The rider had not even regained his feet when a second flier swooped in, bearing one of the long-hafted weapons with the extensive, heavy blades. With a frenzied battle cry, the sky rider whipped the great weapon through the air with both of its heavily muscled arms. The blade cleaved right through the man’s head, the headless body wavering for a moment before slumping to the ground. The flier shook the bloodied weapon vigorously, uttering another loud war cry as the winged steed carried them onward.
The horse riders were continuing to spray outward, into all directions, perhaps hoping to confuse the attackers that so greatly outnumbered them up above. If so, it soon became apparent that their efforts were in vain, as the fliers swarming the area were gradually singling out horse riders, honing in on them with lethal intent.
The fliers who had long bows were now loosing arrows from their hovering mounts, the missiles streaking towards their intended targets. The ones with javelins were jettisoning their own missiles, by robust throws from steeds kept to a slow, steady glide.
Outnumbered and confined to the ground, it soon became quite clear that the horse riders were at a great disadvantage.
Using their long lances, and in some cases resorting to javelins themselves, the horse riders did whatever they could to repel and frustrate the attacks, at least whenever their assailants came close enough.
Lee saw one horseman come to the aid of another whose assailant was closing in fast. Racing his horse up alongside the gliding enemy warrior, the human sent a javelin hurtling to lodge in the body of the attacker, just as its long blade was about to arc down towards the other human rider.
The victory was short lived, as the javelin-thrower did not see the thrust of the spear from another non-human warrior coming from behind him, impaling his own body scant moments after he had interceded for his comrade.
A bloody, furious struggle evolved, though the horse riders were steadily whittled down in the relentless, overwhelming assault by the aerial attackers.
Lee could not help but be impressed at the incredible skill of the non-human warriors. Even their winged steeds were living weapons, working in close harmony with their riders.
In a couple of instances, Lee saw the sky steeds utilize their powerful claws effectively, lowering their legs and viciously raking humans right off the backs of their galloping horses.
The sky riders continued to work in close concert with each other. Several endeavored to herd the beleaguered horse riders back in, while others rushed in immediately to finish off the dazed and injured riders that had been knocked from their mounts.
On occasion, such as when a horseman whirled to present lance and shield to the flying attacker, there was a firm attempt to continue the attack. Yet more often than not in such instances, the assailants from above merely banked their steeds away from their approach before the horseman could have any chance to inflict damage.
Lee did witness one horseman who was able to get in a lethal thrust against one of the attackers. The horseman’s spear rushed up from a strong, overhand grip to meet the forward momentum of the incoming sky rider, the force of both movements converging to spike the attacker. The horseman immediately had to let go of his deeply lodged weapon, as the beast-man’s body was blasted right from its low saddle.
The triumph was temporary, as another sky-borne warrior dove in to avenge its fallen comrade. Before the horseman could unsheathe his own sword and bring it up to fend off the assault, he was beheaded by the heavy blade of the attacker’s sword-like weapon.
Cries of agony were filling the air, coming from horses, humans, and a few of the inhuman assailants and their unusual, flying steeds. The end of the battle was approaching from what Lee could tell, and the result looked inevitable.
Several of the skyward warriors began to land their steeds upon the ground. The massive riders leaped off of their mounts with astonishing dexterity, especially given their considerable size. Readying their weapons and shields, they charged with a raging fury at the surviving human warriors that had been unhorsed. Their sharp, long teeth were bared in a feral mask of maddened frenzy as they brandished their weapons.
The dismounted human warriors responded with a fiery resolve of their own, several drawing swords out to meet the onslaught from their fearsome attackers. They showed no outward signs of fear, and now that the fighting field had been more leveled, proceeded to acquit themselves better.
They shouted out their own raucous battle cries, the words seeming to charge them with impetus and tenacity.
The sounds of clashing steel were added to the chorus of the fray, along with the thuds and cracks of heavy blows upon the thick wooden planking of both round and rectangular shields.
The awesome strength of the inhuman attackers was made very apparent, as round shields held by the defenders were broken asunder. Chunks of wood exploded out in showers of shards and splinters, fracturing under the heavy blades of the beast-men’s sword-like weapons, and the even more unique, long-hafted ones.
There was no give on either side. The attackers roared with a deep, wrathful vigor, and the men shouted angrily back in response, each side matching the other’s mettle.
Lee’s heart grew heavy as he watched the combat, knowing that the fates of the human defenders were almost certainly sealed. Gradually, a small remnant of the surviving horsemen was herded together by a encroaching circle of the bestial warriors. With no route of escape left, the humans were forced into a last stand against their relentless oppressors.
Weapons clashed fiercely, flesh and muscle was pierced and slashed, and bones were crushed. Casualties were incurred upon both sides during the last, frenzied moments of the fighting.
The last of the men to fall was the apparent leader of the horsemen, the one wearing the vambraces and greaves that Lee had witnessed riding close to the standard-bearer at the onset of the fight.
Lee was a little surprised that the beast-men took any risks with the lone remaining human, trapped as he was without hope of escape. The archers among the sky warriors could have taken him down with little difficulty, but those that still held their bows had lowered them, and held no arrows in their free hands.
The valiant human fighter undoubtedly understood his dire situation, but if he felt any fear, it did not show. His blade flashed in the sun as he wielded it adroitly, bringing down one of the beast-men after deftly avoiding the cleaving blow of a long-hafted weapon.
He did not hesitate as his mortally-stricken opponent stumbled and pitched over to lie still, already lunging towards another tall enemy warrior. Delivering a gash to the thigh of the enemy fighter, the man held his ground as his bleeding attacker gave way and backed up a step.
The man then straightened up and got into a balanced stance, as one particular sky rider shouldered past its comrades to confront the fierce human warrior. A terrible scowl was on the face of the new challenger, and the other sky warriors, including the one that had just been wounded, stepped back a couple of paces to give the two combatants a wider berth.
It was the sky rider that had led the attackers out over the plains, the first one of them to descend. Lee deemed that the warrior was the human’s counterpart among the airborne force.
The sky rider was a very mighty specimen amongst the inhuman warriors. Seen close to its comrades, it was quite evident that the warrior far surpassed the exceptional stature and mass inherent in its kind.
The human fighter staggered as the clang of the first blow echoed loudly across the grassland, having barely blocked the first strike of his towering opponent. With a loud cry, the human used his shield to barrel directly forward, driving his much larger opponent back a step as their shields collided.
Shuffling back quickly to create some space, the human fighter set himself again, taking up a balanced position and coldly eyeing the beast-man. With a roar, the sky rider stomped forward and raised its sword-like weapon up to strike again.
The human warrior acquitted himself well in the ensuing fight, but was finally hewn down after a rabid exchange of blows with the brawny, iron-helmed warrior.
Wielding the huge, sword-like weapon with amazing speed, the sky warrior finally found an opening in the human’s defenses after a few previous attempts had been capably blocked by the horseman’s own blade and shield. The sky warrior’s blade raced into a slim gap of space as the human’s sword was caught on the other’s large shield.
Lee felt a pang of sadness as the brave human warrior dropped to his knees in the wake of the devastating slash, before toppling over to the ground, dead at the feet of his slayer.
Curiously, after the human leader had been felled, and the field of battle had fallen eerily silent, the savage posture of the inhuman warriors dissipated rapidly. The fighting over, it was as if the blood-lust that they had exhibited suddenly released its grip upon them.
The huge sky warrior knelt down upon one knee at the side of the horsemen’s slain leader. With a massive hand, the sky rider picked up the fallen warrior’s sword, from where it had fallen from his grasp, and carefully returned it to the dead man’s grip. The sky warrior, who had only recently been a tempest of martial ardor, looked uncannily gentle in its movements.
There was a respectful aspect to the purposeful gesture, and Lee could not help but think that the hulking warrior was honoring the skill and fortitude of its fallen opponent.
No more than seven or eight of the attacking war band had been killed in the fighting, with a few more wounded, in comparison with every last one of the horse riders being slain.
A few horses had died as well, though a great majority had made it through the battle without serious injury. Several of the rider-less horses were wandering aimlessly nearby, or cantering farther off in continued fright, with nobody left to guide them.
The victorious attackers proceeded to systematically check the corpses littering the area, and to Lee’s eyes they appeared to be making sure that the humans were indeed dead. No human survivors were discovered, but there were a few critically injured horses in the vicinity that still had breath in them. Without hesitation, and without any sign of pleasure, the inhuman warriors quickly put the beasts out of their misery with focused, singular blows.
The bestial faces of the warriors, and their absolute ferocity in battle, were quite unsettling, in a primeval way. Yet Lee observed that these warriors were not simply animalistic barbarians. Their complex nature was acutely reflected in the way in which they went around the fallen humans, and attended to the mortally wounded steeds.
A couple of sideways glances revealed that Lee’s companions were similarly spellbound by the sights and frozen in place, with nary a breath to disturb the air and invite discovery.
As Lee continued to observe them, the creatures spoke to each other from time to time in a guttural language. Though rough in manner, it was very clear that the warriors were highly disciplined and well-organized. Watching their exchanges, Lee was left with no doubts that the huge one that had felled the human leader did indeed hold the primary authority over the entire group.
The extraordinary winged steeds that the beast-men rode lingered in patience for their masters, a few emitting low whines or barks. A couple of the ones situated closer together nipped and snarled at each other.
When the riders were completely finished with their inspection of the battlefield, the huge leader shouted to all of them. At the leader’s call, there was a little spark of hesitance, which flared suddenly into reticence among the others. The leader seemed to be expecting the reaction, speaking sharply as the others cast glances about at the fallen humans and those of their own race.
At first, Lee had been sure that the taciturn response had something to do with the fallen non-human warriors, but the more that he watched their deliberate glances include the human warriors, he was not quite so sure.
The leader shook its great head emphatically from side to side, in an unmistakable negation to the unvoiced objection that the others were clearly referencing.
The leader then spoke again, its tone changing and lowering in volume, as its next words came out slower. Lee was positive that the leader was addressing the unspoken desire within the others in a more sympathetic fashion.
The leader glanced around at the corpses, shook its head again, and finished its address with a few words that took on a more authoritative timbre. The other warriors seemed to be largely assuaged from whatever issue had initially troubled them. A few of them hurriedly went over to their fallen brethren, carefully removing amulets and other small objects from the bodies of the dead beast-men.
Before standing back up, the living warriors bowed their heads, some laying their massive hands upon the shoulders of the prone bodies. Lee could see their lips moving as they uttered last words at the sides of their comrades.
The few sky steeds that had carried the fallen among the beast-men were then wrangled and brought together with the others. Lee took note that these had not strayed far from the vicinity of the rest of the steeds. All of the warriors eventually proceeded to stride back to their winged steeds and mount them.
The huge leader was the last one into the saddle. A few moments later, after a loud cry from the prominent warrior, the riders spurred their exotic steeds into motion. The creatures spread their wings, lurched into a short, bounding run, and leaped towards the sky. With powerful, snapping flaps, the mounts carried their riders up into the air. The steeds with empty saddles followed the cue of their brethren, as if trained, pursuing the others off of the ground and up towards the sky.
Lee watched the steeds beat their wings vigorously as they climbed towards the heavens, gaining height steadily on a sharp incline. In a loose formation, the great steeds finally leveled out, as they carried the throng of menacing sky riders across the rolling plains, heading into the distance towards the west and the setting sun.
Lee and the others remained motionless long after the riders were just mere specks on the far horizon. Nobody so much as moved or spoke, until those specks had completely disappeared from view.
“Don’t ask me,” Lee commented at last, his eyes slowly lowering to gaze upon the garish collection of corpses strewn all about the grounds ahead of them.
His heart sank.
A predatory, bird-like creature, like that faced by Erin and Lynn upon their entrance into the new world, was one type of danger. Bands of well-armed fighters, fully equipped with iron weapons and riding upon incredible winged steeds, was another level of threat entirely.
“Maybe we could use some weapons, from out there,” Ryan then suggested, pointing out towards the dead warriors. “These stakes aren’t going to do us much good, especially if we run into either of those who were in the fight.”
Lee was impressed by Ryan’s proposition, especially the fact that he had not assumed that the humans would automatically be receptive to their group. It reminded Lee to maintain a better wariness himself, and to presume nothing about the things of this new world, no matter how familiar they might look at first.
“I think that’s an excellent idea. We should take advantage of it while we know that the area is clear right now,” Lee concurred.
“I’m not going out there,” Erin stated flatly. “No way. If those things come back, there is no way we are going to get away. If a couple dozen armed fighters on horses can’t survive, then how the hell will four of us?”
Without saying a word, Lynn got up with a somber expression and started forward. Just a few strides carried her out of the shelter of the forest, and out under the open sky.
She paused for a moment, and turned back to the others. Her eyes fixed solidly upon Erin.
“We can’t just wait for the trouble to find us. This might be a chance that we won’t have again, or anytime soon,” she stated. “We have to try and be prepared somehow, and I would rather do it with what those dead men were carrying, than with the sticks we have now.”
Lee got up and trotted out after her. Ryan finally got to his feet and jogged to catch up with them, after some initial hesitation.
“Let’s get it done quickly,” Lee remarked to them.
Erin remained behind, clearly not willing to budge from her hiding place.
Lee reached the first of the dead human fighters, one of those who had taken part in the final stand. His heart raced, and he momentarily shivered as he looked down upon the dead man’s inert face.
The man’s glassy, lifeless gaze stared back up at him. A gaping wound had been opened in his chest, where a large spear blade had been lodged and then ripped back out. Blood soaked the ground around the body, though the flow of it had ceased.
Lee glanced towards Lynn, who was standing by another fallen human warrior. A few tears had come to her eyes, as she stared in an almost mesmerized fashion into the stark visage of death beneath her.
Taking a deep breath, and struggling to regain his composure, Lee forced his eyes back to the slain human underneath him. The man looked to be in his early twenties, his weathered face unable to mask the youthful luster that still lingered underneath the hardened edges.
The light of life was entirely absent, but the man’s face had settled into a peaceful expression that conflicted profoundly with the brutal violence of his demise.
Lee had to pause again, as this experience was something that he was not well prepared for. The males in their twenties that he had previously known were normally busy with school or work, their concerns related to careers, relationships, or entertainment.
Lee certainly did not come from an environment where bodies were left torn and broken under an impassive sky, sprawled right before his very eyes.
He was not so naive to think that his own world was immune from such horrid things. Terrible sights occurred frequently, indeed every day, in the far corners of that world. It was simply that he did not encounter such awful visions so closely, and intimately, in the world he had left behind. He was certainly not steeled for what he was now seeing all around him.
Lee glanced again towards Lynn.
She had averted her eyes from the warrior’s face, turning her head to the side as she picked up a sword that was lying near to the fallen man. She gripped the hilt and raised the weapon upward, the flesh of her hand pressed against the short, straight cross-guard.
The blade was long and straight, double-edged with a broad fuller running down its center. The hilt had a tightly-wound leather grip, and a multi-lobbed pommel.
As she lifted the sword, Lee saw that it was a little heavy for her to lift in one hand. She then gripped it in both hands, taking a hesitant, awkward swing through the air with the blade. With two hands, Lynn demonstrated that she held enough strength to swing the weapon with some purpose.
Lee then picked up a sword from the man at his feet, very comparable to the one that Lynn had taken, except for its hazelnut-shaped pommel. He kept the sword with him as he walked onward, feeling the considerable weight of it tugging at his arm. He proceeded a little farther out, striding over to another fallen warrior, whose horse’s body lay nearby. Eyeing the dead horse, he moved over to it, to see what might be found attached to the saddle and harnessing.
He searched through the man’s equipment, discovering a strung longbow and a quiver that was almost full of arrows.
“We could use that, for sure,” Ryan stated, from where he was strolling close to Lee.
Lee glanced up to him. “See if you can find some food on the slain horses. And remember to keep up a lookout. Any sign of anything whatsoever, and we bolt immediately for the woods. Got it?”
Ryan nodded, looking back up the sky and sweeping his gaze slowly across the horizons.
Lee did the same, and to his great relief the skies were empty of everything save for some drifting clouds and a descending, reddish sun. He shortly resumed his search, pausing occasionally to take appraisal of the horizons.
Among the corpses of the horses and men, Lee, Ryan, and Lynn found some leather pouches that held a small quantity of dried, salty meat, hard bread, and a little fresh water that was contained in leather skins.
Lee also took an interest in the large, single-edged daggers that many of the men had carried, claiming one of them for himself.
In addition, he gathered up all the small silvery coins that he came across among the possessions of the slain men. While most of the coins were fully intact, a portion of them had been cut into halves. A quick look at the half-coins told Lee that they were of the very same minting as the rest of the coins, though he wondered as to why they were not complete.
Knowing that the small silver coins held more hints about the world that Lee was now in, he examined several of the fully intact ones very closely. He turned them over in his hand, and held them up to bathe in the still-ample sunlight. Lee ran his ringers slowly over their edges, as if he could somehow absorb what the little silvery pieces had to tell him.
The coins were all of the same size, roughly a little smaller than the size of Lee’s thumbprint. They did not have a smooth surfacing, even in the areas without an image or letter displayed.
The obverse facing of the coins showed the side profiles of male figures, with lettering running around the circumference of the entire coin. The reverse side held more similar lettering around the edges, with a spear-shaped symbol occupying most of the inner surface.
Most of the coins, including all of the coins in the best condition, held the image of one particular man, who possessed a strong chin, nose, and full beard. Lee wondered who the man depicted on the coin was, assuming him to be a ruler or leader of the realm that the horse riders were a part of.
He also wondered what the prominently displayed spear shape symbolized, figuring that it was more iconic in nature than merely a simple representation of a common weapon.
The images, and Lee’s inability to read the lettering, created a little more frustration in him. Lee could not decipher anything specific from them. Having taken more time than he intended to with the coins, he placed them all back into his pocket. The questions that he had would have to be pondered at a later time.
When they finally finished gathering up foodstuffs, weapons, and other items, Lee and Ryan had each procured a bow, quiver with arrows, and a sword. Ryan had also taken up a hand axe, whose edge had been honed incredibly sharp.
Both had ended up leaving the long lances born by the horsemen where they lay about the ground.
Lee had taken a moment to consider the spears, with their sizeable iron blades and flaring wings of iron near the sockets. Though feeling reticent about the choice, he had opted not to take one.
They were most certainly solid weapons, and they could be used to keep an opponent at a distance. Yet there was no question that they would be entirely too cumbersome for Lee or any of the others to carry along, and he did not have any training in how to properly use them.
Lee and Ryan also claimed a couple of the very few remaining undamaged round shields, with their raised iron bosses set within the center. Lee looked at the narrow protrusions extending from the apex of the dome-like bosses, instantly realizing the potential of the shields as weapons themselves.
Ryan’s shield was solid red, with a yellow line around the rim, while Lee’s had broad, swirling segments of alternating red and blue upon its facing.
The shield was heavy, with a grip in the center placed just behind the iron boss. Lee was grateful for the thick, buckled leather strap on it, which he used to suspend and carry the shield over his back.
Some of the better items uncovered were small iron objects that were kept with pieces of flint. That alone promised to solve one looming problem that Lee saw coming, of what to do when they no longer had access to the fire-making implements from their former world. The two women’s lighters would not last forever.
Almost as an afterthought, he and Ryan added a couple of small, single-edged knives to their expanding collection of items. Lee surmised that the knives would come in very handy as tools, and would certainly be much more efficient in the shaping of wood than using the edges of rocks.
All the while, the dead bodies that they searched among continued to bother Lee’s conscience. The apprehension and misgivings that he felt mounted with each individual that he came across.
Even so, he could not help but continue to marvel at the nature of the fallen warriors’ equipment and appearances, as if they had stepped right out of the mists of time. His fascination was tempered by the stark reality of what had recently happened, as he found himself increasingly saddened by their terrible fates.
For the most part, Lee tried to keep the haunting feelings at bay, while going about his chosen task. He paused several times during the search, taking a moment to closely regard more than one of the individual men. He wondered what kind of men each of them were, and what kind of society they were a part of.
He wondered whether they were good men at heart, or whether he and his companions would have had something to fear from them. His thoughts lingered and dwelled with each new face that he came upon, and he felt a deep pang of regret as he knew that they would not be able to bury the men, or even burn their corpses.
Every one of the dead men had a mother, something that Lee pondered deeply as he thought of his own elderly mother. He thought of how traumatic something like this would be if it had happened to him, abandoned to rot out on some empty, windswept plain.
Lee bit back a swell of great frustration as he thought of the men’s family, friends, and others who would long wonder what had befallen the warriors that had been a regular part of their lives.
Lee wished dearly that he could do something for the men, but survival demanded cruel indifference. He accepted that he and his companions would be unable to attend to the men in any significant manner. It was unavoidable that their bodies would be left behind as simple fodder for carrion, and the drawn-out decay of the elements and time.
The utter helplessness of the situation pained Lee immensely, especially as he thought of everything in a much more personal sense, but there was really no choice. Each time the waves of sad regrets came over him, he clenched his jaws and went back to searching the bodies with a single-minded resolve.
The humans were not the only ones to cause him distress, as the bodies of the larger race of attackers proved to be another matter entirely.
Lee finally worked up enough nerve to examine a couple of the dead beast-men. He shuddered as he peered down at their inhuman visages. Up close, he saw that they had the broad, powerful jaws of a large canine, with huge, sharp teeth to match. Their pupils, staring lifelessly towards the sky above, were also similar to those of a dog or wolf.
Carefully, Lee removed one of the leather half-helms from one of the daunting creatures. He flinched in surprise as he saw that they had pointed ears, which were placed a little higher up on their heads, and oriented more forward, than were those on a human.
The removal of the half-helm also revealed the wide, high foreheads that the creatures had, with a hairline raised much higher than that of an average human. Their dense, thick locks of hair framed their faces and heads, looking much like a dark mane.
Yet as bestial as their intimidating forms were, so were they unmistakably human-like. Two arms culminating in massive, five-fingered hands, two legs, and several other aspects were akin to a human’s features.
Up close, Lee felt more than a little fear as he looked upon their bulging, corded muscularity. These were undoubtedly extremely strong creatures, an observation confirmed when Lee tried to heave up one of the intriguing long-hafted weapons with the equally lengthy blades.
Lee could lift the weapon up, but only slowly, and with great effort. He certainly could not wield it for its intended purpose.
It was no surprise that the weapons of these creatures were quite useless to Lee, or to anyone else within his party. Lee watched as Ryan came to a similar conclusion, as the young man had to use two hands just to heave up one of the beast-men’s sword-like weapons.
It took Lee only one attempt to realize that using one of their great bows would be impossible. He could not pull back the string more than a little, despite putting a tremendous effort into the endeavor. Ryan tried himself, and, though he strained immensely, could do little better than Lee.
All the while, Lynn had kept largely to herself. She had retained the initial sword that she had found. In addition, she had acquired a couple of the larger daggers with the broad, single-edged blades. Both daggers rested in well-crafted sheaths of leather and wood, reinforced with multiple bronze rings set near to their mouths, with bronze chapes capping the bottom.
One of the final things that Lee examined closely before departing the open ground was the pennon borne at the forefront of the contingent of horsemen. The haft that it was attached to had been severed through during the fighting, cleaved just below the curving pennon by one of the heavy blades of the attacking warriors.
Lee held the pennon gently in his hands, looking down at the tasseled fringe and the alternating blue and gold stripes of the ensign itself. As with the coins, he knew that the pennon held in its very hues and patterns some more information about the lands of the horse riders.
Setting down the pennon respectfully, Lee turned to look for the others and finish up their task.
Once all were laden down with their newfound items, and had satisfactorily concluded their exploration of the area, they returned together towards the safer harbor of the woods. Night was now falling over the forested hills and the rolling, grassy plains, twilight having settled in full upon the land as the sun sank beneath the western horizon. Lee looked about in the violet hues, and grimly realized that he and his companions probably would not be able to tell if any sky born threats were approaching.
While gaining the cover of the forest was imperative, Lee was simply glad to leave the grisly scene behind him. At the end of it all, he felt drained, and somewhat guilty. He loathed the great necessity of requisitioning the items off of the corpses of the valorous men, while leaving their bodies entirely exposed to the outer elements and hungry scavengers.
His mind told him otherwise, that there was no good choice, but that ultimately proved to be of little comfort in his very wearied state of emotional turmoil. Lee could only hope that in time he could fully reconcile with the dire needs of his group’s immediate situation, and that the troubling images bombarding him during the search would not often assault his dreams at night.
When they returned to the woods, and were under the thickly foliated boughs once again, Lee and the others found that Erin was still crouching right where they had left her. She was glaring at them, with a deep frown etched upon her face.
“Thanks for the help,” Ryan remarked sarcastically, as he drew near to her.
Lynn was evidently in no mood for Erin’s disposition either, as she glowered at her friend. Without saying a word, she slowly withdrew one of the large daggers that she had found out of its sheath, and shoved its hilt towards her stubborn friend.
“You might want this,” Lynn said curtly. “This should do a lot better than sticks if we run into more creatures, and can’t outrun them.”
Erin gingerly fingered the offered weapon. Surprisingly, she made a grimace as she took it in her hand and looked at it. She made no gesture of gratitude to Lynn for having thought of her in procuring the weapon, a response that instantly annoyed Lee.
“What, are you against this too?” Ryan inquired aggressively.
Erin shot him a hard look. Her tone was flippant. “So I don’t fool around with weapons much, or really care for them either.”
“Well, you’d better start right now, because I sure as hell don’t think that the things that we’ve seen can be easily reasoned with,” Ryan snapped. He gestured behind him, up towards the darkened skies. “Not the thing that flew after you, not the things that were just flying out there, and I doubt those beast men that were riding them. And who knows about the ones on the horses? Humans can be dangerous too.
“It’s pretty clear that this isn’t our world, and it definitely is like being in a whole different age. You’d better start caring real quick, Erin, about the rest of this group. If you choose not to eat, and continue to be stupid about that, that’s your problem. But you’d sure as hell better help us defend ourselves, because that’s my problem too… and if you don’t like it, you can take a walk right now.”
Erin looked entirely incredulous at the open berating by Ryan. More distressing, Lee could see the defensive hardening of resolve in her eyes.
Whether or not there would be any appeal to logic was no longer of a concern to Lee. The moment was degenerating quickly, into something that none of the group needed.
“Ryan, Erin, everyone!” Lee interjected firmly. “We’ve all gotta stay clear-headed, no matter how upset we get at anything.”
“We do,” Lynn then concurred in a low voice, nodding to Lee. She turned her head and looked with a stony expression towards Erin. “We can’t let emotions get in control. Lee’s right. We’ve gotta use our heads.”
Lee was immensely relieved. He knew that while he had some influence with Ryan, Lynn had the greater insight by far into her recalcitrant friend. There was little doubt that Lynn’s words were directed right at Erin, as much as they were also a reinforcement to Lee’s response.
Ryan took a long, slow breath, though not before shooting another angry, darting glance at Erin. He finally stated in a tense, low voice, “I guess so.”
“And things are a little better. We do have some more proper food now,” Lee said, holding up one of the leather pouches that he had taken from the saddle of one of the slain horses. “That’s some good news, at least.”
Erin stared at the large pouch, and then looked back to Lee. After a tense delay, she finally nodded, which was about as good as Lee believed that he could hope for.
Lee, Ryan, and Lynn then proceeded to occupy their time with dividing up the rest of the items. They continued until everyone had some type of pouch to carry things in, along with food rations and weapons.
Not all of the food rations were designated for storage.
The salty, tough dried meat could well have been the most succulent of roasts to Lee’s starved palate.
All four of them wolfed down some chunks of the hard bread, not complaining for a moment regarding its texture, and thorough plainness. Lee improvised, using some of the water from the skins that he had found to soften up his own piece. It was a tactic emulated rather quickly by the others.
Even Erin’s spirits lifted somewhat as they consumed some of the food together. The peaceful sounds of an undisturbed forest returned to reign all around them. The evening air cascaded down with an increasing coolness, seeming to accompany the gradual relaxation of Lee’s own emotions.
The gentle ambience, caressing winds passing through the leaves, chirping insects delivering their timeless forest song, and the soft blanket of evening serenity were healing salves to Lee’s body, mind, and spirit. They were most welcome conditions, especially after the furious, desperate sounds and sights of battle, and the investigation of the bloodied field in the fighting’s aftermath.
“Never thought I would be that enamored about the noises of insects,” Lynn remarked, echoing Lee’s own thoughts as she chewed on her last morsel of bread. Reaching down, she tenderly massaged the area around her knees, slowly kneading her skin and muscles with her fingers.
Lee, seated a few feet to her right, leaned back against a tree trunk and stretched his legs outward. He closed his eyes, letting out a sigh as he lowered his hands to rest in his lap.
“It feels good just to relax for few a moments, without a hungry stomach,” Lee replied after a few moments. “I just wish we could call it a day right now.”
“But we can’t… I bet you were about to say that, weren’t you?” Ryan queried dourly.
“At least we can take a break for little while, can’t we?” Erin interjected with a plaintive tone. “Days and nights seem so long in this place anyway.”
“It would be nice, wouldn’t it?” Lee responded. He then shook his head regretfully, and his voice took on an equally melancholy timbre, “But there is a little more to the situation right now. There’s something I just realized.”
Lee could not believe that until that very moment he had completely overlooked the thought that was now foremost in his mind.
“So what more can there be right now?” Erin spat out, her ire rising once again. “I want to rest!”
“Rest for a few more minutes,” Lee replied rather gently, in response to her vitriolic tone. He greatly desired rest himself, and his sympathy outweighed his ongoing irritation with her attitude. “But I was just thinking that we don’t really want to stay at the site of recent battle. You never know what kind of attention it might bring. Wild… or intelligent.”
His logic and tone evidently caused Erin to choke back any further responses, as she held her tongue and stared off in sullen silence.
“Lee, you’re right. I didn’t think of that,” Lynn said, as a look of grave concern emerged swiftly within her eyes. She cast a nervous glance off in the direction of the grassy plains.
“And no argument here,” Ryan muttered.
“I still think we can risk taking a few moments, to settle ourselves and recoup our strength a little bit,” Lee said. “We just need to be out of here when daybreak comes.”
Taking the sustaining night sounds as a comforting sign, and letting his eyes close again, Lee implored the tightened muscles in his body to relax. He concentrated upon his sorely taxed, stiffened muscles one group at a time.
As the tightness in his physical body gradually eased, he thought about an interesting comment that Erin had made regarding the days and nights seeming long. The days within the new world did indeed seem to be lengthier, but whether that was because time was truly different, or instead a perception shaped by their unfamiliar circumstances, Lee could not yet tell for sure.
Whatever the case was, he did wish that they could afford to take a longer rest than was possible. Yet Lee knew that they needed to be vigilant, and vacate the premises well before dawn. Added to that was the need to locate another favorable area to settle down in.
Lee was not looking forward to setting up another makeshift shelter, beginning to dread the idea that it would soon become a regular practice. He let out another extended sigh, and reminded himself that very little in his life would be the same from that moment onward. At the very least, they now had some decent weapons and supplies in their possession.
He had almost fallen entirely asleep after his body had relaxed, but he was somehow able to hold onto the edge of his focus. After roughly an hour had passed, Lee judged that they had delayed long enough.
He got up and roused the rest of the drowsy group. Exhibiting varying degrees of reluctance at having to cease their rest, the others joined Lee in gathering up their newly procured items as they prepared to press onward.
The dual moons provided just enough light to see by, though Lee was not altogether pleased by the necessity of traveling through the forest at night. Keeping the grassy plains on their right, and the shadowy depths of the woodlands on their left, they marched in weary silence for several hours before finally halting. The moons had trekked across a fair span of the night sky overhead when they drew to a stop, and Lee was satisfied that they had put a considerable distance between themselves and the scene of the fighting.
Though very tired, none of others complained at having to erect another rough shelter, as the prospect of sleeping fully bared to the elements was very uninviting. The effort was made a little easier with the sharp iron implements now at their disposal.
Also easing the stress of the moment was the availability of a bit of dried meat, bread, and a few drinks of water. The rations of drink and food staved off the biting feelings of hunger that had arisen during the long hike, if not erasing them completely.
With the tree-covered expanse of hills to one side, and the broad, grassy plains to the other, Lee and his companions at last settled down for a truly extended rest.
This time, with a little luck, it would not be interrupted until the break of day.