Early morning chill gave way to oppressive mid-day humidity, causing Mac and Kim great discomfort inside their standard issue flight suits, which were designed for much colder temperatures. Mac needed water and none of the team had been drinking much of it since waking from hyper sleep. He and Kim would need to drink soon to prevent extreme dehydration, and then his thoughts turned to Stephanie and he wondered if she was being given water, or at least kindness while in captivity. Like the flashbulb of an ancient camera, visions of the victims he tortured for their visions into space-time during his tenure in the catacombs, flooded his thoughts and he wanted them to all go away. Had things gone so wrong for his crew because of his sins in the past? Mac thought of Stephanie’s daughter forty light years away, patiently awaiting the reappearance of her mother, ignorant of the possibility that she may never see her again. His own children might have been just as anxious to have their father home. He could not bear to let them down.
Long dark shadows fell like demonic fingers through the deep forest as sunlight fought its way through the thick canopy above. The forest was alive with the screeching mating calls of birds, and buzzing of insects as the trio marched toward Dante’s village. They were pursued by biting mosquito’s and gnats flitting about their faces like tiny winged ninjas.
“These bugs are awful. How do you stand it, Dante?” Kim asked.
“I’ve got this fur and don’t notice them at all. The little creatures may be curious about you newcomers. Oh, you also might run into a sprite while in these woods and they can be quite helpful, or, if you anger them, tear you apart with their magic. I would take care in what you choose to slap at, because gnats and sprites are too similar in size to tell until you learn their ways.” Dante said.
“Sprites?” Mac asked. With each new revelation from Dante, Mac only had more questions.
The forest opened to a clearing with a convergence of four paths, each one winding its way through the trees in different directions. There were four wooden road signs crafted in the shape of directional arrows; words were etched upon them with a fine instrument. They were pointing each direction of the compass and written on them were the words North to Draxford, West to the Open Plains and Bog Lands, South to the Fairy Lands, and East to Wasatch Village and Pyradrones.
“What is a pyradrone?” Mac asked.
“They are the energy centers of our continent and exist beyond our forest along the coast of peace. Magical and ferocious constructs have been placed on every continent in our world. You might have seen them when you were passing over.” Dante said.
“They look a lot like the pyramids we have back home, only ours were destroyed a long time ago.” Mac said.
“They are a mysterious construction to us, built long ago by our distant ancestors, but their energy makes this land enchanted. I’m not sure we’d be living in the same world without them, but their power has weakened over the years and we don’t know why.” Dante said.
Mac thought for a moment about his encounter with Jack that morning as he ran down the ramp of their ship. His mind’s eye saw the frozen death mask on Jack’s face and watched his gaping mouth twist out the words “Why did you let this happen to me?” There had been too much loss in Mac’s life all at once for his beleaguered mind to cope with, and he was less enthusiastic about this brave new world than he had been at the outset of their mission in New Mexico.
“If you had been doing your job and not disobeying orders you’d be alive.” Mac whispered.
“What’s that, sir?” Kim asked.
“Nothing, sorry, just talking to myself.”
He felt a strong desire to turn around and hunt down those responsible on his own, but he had a number of things working against him. One, he had no idea where they went. Two, he could tell from the size of the trident sticking out of Jack, that these were powerful, big creatures. With conscious effort Mac, put the death of Jack and Neal to the back of his mind and concentrated his thoughts on Bobby and Serena instead. He was going to get that star gate back if he had to gun down an army of centaurs; his kids were counting him to succeed.
“I’m sorry about your friends, the man murdered by Yawl and the female that was taken, but you must have something Yawl wants or they would have killed her already. Centaurs give no quarter to their enemies.”
“That’s comforting.” Mac said.
Dante’s eyes widened and he snorted with realization.
“You’re part of a prophecy spoken of by my people for three hundred years. My father has told me many times that people from a distant world would come to aid us in a great battle against a terrible enemy. And that enemy is the centaur tribe.” Dante said.
“I don’t think we’re part of any…” Mac began.
“Gregor described your craft in his visions. He said it would be a disc shape, and it would come from the clouds, so when I saw you coming from out of the sky I decided to follow your ship just in case. I almost couldn’t believe it myself, but there you were.” Dante said.
“But how did he know we’d be coming?” Kim asked.
“Gregor is very wise and has great knowledge passed down from our ancestors. He was told as a child you would arrive, and his father before him, and his father before him.” Dante answered.
Mac began to feel the reality of their new situation sinking in. He was millions of miles from home, there were no more people from earth with them, and he was walking through the woods with a giant talking werewolf. They were now on a quest to meet his tribe. Mac took a deep breath and looked over at Kim, who shared a similar expression of uncertainty. He suddenly felt the desire to sit down for a moment as the stress of their day swept over him.
“How far is your village, Dante?” Mac asked.
“At the pace we’re going about two days. We’re making good time though.” Dante said.
“Do you mind if we sit for a minute? I feel light headed. I think I need to take a few minutes.” Mac said. His heart beat faster, breathing became a laborious task and his mind raced.
“You don’t look so good.” Kim said.
“Suddenly, I feel…odd.” Mac said.
“Your face is pasty white; I think you’re having an anxiety attack.” Kim said, as she looked at him with concern.
A larger rock surrounded by tall grass stuck out of the ground to his left. He stumbled over to it as his vision wavered. He was hyperventilating, sweating profusely, and his movements were out of control. He climbed up and sat down on the rock as Dante turned around and Kim rushed over to steady him.
“Thanks, sorry I just…don’t feel like myself today. I think it’s this heat.” Mac said.
“It can’t be more than sixty-five degrees Mac, are you OK?” Kim asked.
“Here, have some water, and watch out for that cursed rock!” Dante said. Mac took an animal skin water pouch from Dante’s outstretched hand. He lifted the skin to his mouth and as the first cool drops entered his mouth he was startled by a strange noise.
“You there, what are you doing?!” Said an old woman’s voice.
“What?” Mac said.
“Well, you’re on my head and had better get off before I bite you on the behind!” The voice was angry.
He looked down to see two hollowed out eyes looking up at him and a horizontal crack opening in a scowl.
“Aaaagh! What the…” Mac shouted.
He hopped off the rock with lightning speed, slamming his head into a tree beside him. Mac hit the ground and was knocked unconscious by a very cross rock who frowned, grumbled for a moment and then, went back to sleep. When Mac woke up a few minutes later, he was resting below a tree with a bough of soft leaves under his head. He found that he was no worse for wear, but felt hazy. Inside his mouth was the taste of sulfur, or garbage, or something else, and he spat a wad of brown sludge onto the ground.
“Ugh, that’s gross. Sorry, I think I must have fallen asleep.” Mac said. He was groggy and slurring his speech. Little bugs had been using his face as a landing strip since he hit th
e ground and headed for friendlier ground when he stirred.
“Fallen asleep? You slammed your head into that tree you’re sitting under, Mac. That rock over there barked at you and then you smashed your head.” Kim said.
“We sat here getting to know each other while you slept though, after I put some cama herbs in your mouth to stave off a concussion.” Dante said.
“It was nice to have some down time.” Kim said.
“I agree. A word of warning though: be careful in this forest. These woods are old and while there are many beautiful beasts during the day, demons lurk about after dark.” Dante said.
As if on cue, a large black bird swooped down from the top of a nearby tree, startling Mac and Kim. She was larger than an ostrich, and her onyx feathers shimmered in the morning sun as she disappeared behind a pile of fallen trees in the brush. A moment later there was rustling in the leaves, some grunts and then the bird was flapping her powerful wings again, rising above the rotting pile of trees. In her talons was a pig-like creature about the size of a mule. The beast squealed and thrashed in the talons of his more powerful adversary, realizing he was trapped, but refusing to submit. The giant bird gave a triumphant squawk and vanished above the treetops carrying her prey, leaving the trio in silence once more.
“What was that?” Mac asked. His eyes were wide as saucers.
“I’ve never seen a bird that big before, outside the museum of natural history anyway.” Kim said.
“That was a narand hawk, and the animal she flew away with was a kiney. I’m glad she got to it before it got to us; those kiney are very dangerous. They knock you over as a herd and then stomp on your head until you pass out or die. Then they eat your body. A full grown kiney, like that one, can consume two animals your size in a single feeding.”
“So, avoid the kineys and live longer.” Mac said.
“They’re not all bad. They actually taste quite good, raw or roasted.”
“What about the hawks?” Kim asked.
“They don’t taste that great, and feed mostly on carrion and the occasional kiney, or muskgot bull, but you’re new here and I have no idea what they’d do if they found…” Dante stopped to think for a moment. “What are you?”
“We’re humans, from the planet earth.” Mac said.
“Right, I have no idea if they’ll add humans to their diet, but you have weapons and can fight them off, I assume.” Dante said. Mac did not know Dante well enough to understand that he was joking.
Mac heard running water to his right, and it reminded him again of how thirsty he had become. The canteen issued him was empty and he needed a refill.
“Can we go to that water? I’m parched and I need to fill my canteen.” Mac said.
“Sure, no problem.” Dante said, he shrugged and led them in the direction of the running water. Mac got up and sauntered after them, slightly dizzy but able to move well enough.
“Looks like the flora and fauna of this forest have been extinct on earth for millions of years.” Kim said. She had been silent as they trekked, but drawing on her knowledge of botany, Kim had begun to recall her classes from college, and was amazed to realize these plants had once been on their home planet. “There are ferns and flowers here that I’ve only seen in rocks dug up from archeological dig sites and documentaries.”
“These trees are enormous, too.” Mac said. Dante turned and nodded.
“Good shade and protection from enemies. The forest can be an endless maze of never ending bushes and trees, a trap for those who don’t know how to navigate it. These woods are so thick in places that if you went in to them, you might never find your way out. Skeletons litter the ground from travelers who divert from the road and wander too far. The trees of Wasatch forest are our protectors from harsh weather and warn us when trouble arrives.” Dante said.
“You speak to the trees and they speak to you?” Kim asked.
“Yes, we have a relationship with nature that is symbiotic. Is this not the same on your planet?” Dante asked.
“No. Even if we had the insight to converse with nature in the past, it was lost by our people a long time ago.” Mac said.
The three had been walking uphill for some time, brushing against tall ferns, and rhododendron trees, when Dante pointed out that the creek was over the next hill, and down past an area populated by large boulders and fallen trees. The sound of water was closer now, but Dante placed a hand on Mac’s chest as he sniffed the air.
“What?” Mac asked.
“Shhhh, there’s something near. Stand here and ready your weapons, you may need them.” Dante said.
He crept down toward the sound of rushing water, and although they had been told to stay put, Mac motioned for Kim to follow him and raised his plasma rifle to the ready. They stayed within a safe distance of their host, never letting him out of their sight,.stopping about fifty feet from Dante as he gazed through the trees, Mac could not see further. Dante looked back at the two earthlings, rolled his eyes while shaking his head, and motioned for them to join him. Mac and Kim walked with slow, deliberate steps toward Dante, with the object of his concern just beyond the tree line. When Mac and Kim reached him, Dante put a finger in front of his mouth for them to remain quiet and pointed to the creek, which was almost big enough to call a river.
Thirty yards from their vantage point milling about in the water were six five-foot tall porcupine men who seemed to be hunting something below the surface. Draped down their backs were three-foot long quills. They were growling at each other in a language that Mac could not understand.
“Libmocks.” Dante whispered. “Very dangerous, let’s go. We’ll get water further up the stream.”
Dante was turning around to go when they saw the head of a tiny man resembling a mole and no taller than three feet pop his head above the water and gasp for air.
“A mole man?” Mac said.
Dante’s turned back, eyes widening, and he bared his teeth.
“Rasp!” Dante yelped.
The libmocks descended upon the little man as Dante pulled the crossbow from off his back and nocked a bolt. He fired into the crowd, dropping one of them into the rushing water as his bolt ripped between the quills and severed the libmoks spine. He nocked another bolt and sprung from his hiding place, running toward the surprised porcupine men.
“What are you waiting for?! Come on!” Dante yelled at the humans.
Dante fired again toward the five remaining libmocks, but this time his shot went wide and he missed. They turned on him and scowled, their quills sticking out in wide fans across their backs as they each pulled a quill free, holding them outstretched toward Dante, like a fencing foil. The tiny forgotten mole man swam away from his attackers to the other bank. Mac was not sure exactly what was going on, but he knew Dante was probably his only chance to get Stephanie and the TSA-2056 back, so he knew it was in his best interest to help. He raised his rifle and fired a round at the libmock closest to Dante, marveling at the cannonball sized hole that opened up in the creature’s chest. The libmock barked a cry of protest and fell dead on his face into the water.
“Watch the quills; they’re filled with a deadly poison that kills within hours of contact. Our people have formed immunity to the venom, but other creatures might die if infected.” Dante said.
He rushed forward, his claws like knives at the tips of his fingers, and dived under their quill swords with the expert movement of a ninja, impaling two of the libmoks through their midsections. As he lifted them high over his head, one of the libmoks lunged forward with his quill and nearly caught Dante in the ribs. Had it not been for the quick reflexes of Kim Cross, he would have been stabbed. She fired a plasma round at the libmok, erasing its hand in a spray of green blood and bone splinters. It let out an earsplitting bellow as the quill that had almost pierced Dante dropped to the ground at his feet. Kim fired again and this time she knocked the libmok to his knees. The creature died a moment later, floating downstream, face staring up toward the clea
r sky. Dante held his two libmoks aloft with iron strength as if they were deranged hand puppets, and then easily tossed them like cordwood into the flowing water. The remaining libmok turned on Mac, and as the colonel was aiming to fire another burst of plasma, the libmok chucked his quill like a javelin. As the round left his rifle, the tip of the quill went deep into Mac’s right leg, and the head of the offending libmok exploded like a pumpkin dropped from the top of a tall building.
“No!” Dante screamed.
Mac gave him a confused look, muttering, “It hit me,” and stumbled once as he tried to walk, and then fell unconscious to the ground.
“Colonel MacDonald!” Kim screamed. She ran to him while looking to see the tiny mole man on the other side, running into thick undergrowth. “That little man is running away!”
“Mole men are our friends, and Rasp was returning from a mission up in Moktar. We have to get Mac to Wasatch village before he dies from this venom.” Dante said. “Climb on my back.” He said.
Dante knelt down and ripped a sleeve from Mac’s flight suit. He tied the sleeve around Mac’s leg, above the wound, to slow the poison, and picked up the unconscious, dying earthman as Kim climbed onto his back. She felt the rippling muscles of Dante’s back running across his shoulders and back as her hands got a good hold. This man is enormous, she thought. When Kim had wrapped her arms around him, Dante stood and began to run through the forest, carrying his human cargo.
“We have little time. The poison is running through his veins at a rapid pace. The tourniquet has slowed it down, but not for long.” Dante said.
“You said we’d die if we were touched by those quills. Can you help Mac?” Kim said. She was amazed at this wolven’s speed and felt like she was on the back of a living locomotive. She was also terrified at the thought of losing her commander.
“I will do what I can.” Dante said.
In an hour they reached a clearing and entered a log cabin village that was surprisingly large, Kim thought. The houses were constructed with timber from the forest and blended in so well, that if you were not looking for the city as you walked through the woods, you would never see it. Kim could not remember seeing the town from above as they flew over upon arrival. Dante ran as his tribesmen stopped what they were doing and turned to watch him run by with the strange hairless little people in his arms and on his back. Kim could see the tops of the pyradrones far from town, rising above the trees. There were three of them she could see, the two smallest were red and black, but the largest pyradrone was ivory white and reflected the sun like a brilliant land-based star. Her mood was suddenly lighter as she looked at it and Dante drew closer. There was some kind of spiritual energy coming from those structures and she began to weep with an overwhelming sense of happiness. The charge coursed through her body like an electrical storm, lessening her cares and worry.
Kim shook her head and looked around at the modern houses, shops, apartment buildings and streets lined with cobblestones. She felt as if she had been transported to a wealthy pioneering town from the 1800s in America, but the large scale and depth of this city was unparalleled. Dante had misled them when he used the term village, Kim thought. He ran with them to a large house at the end of a cul-de-sac. This house was of log and stone construction like the rest, but had prismatic crystals hanging from the porch and the strong odor of patchouli drifting out to greet them. The scent was so strong that it managed to escape a closed wooden door and invade Kim’s nostrils like an advancing army.
“Ugh, patchouli.” She muttered. “I can’t escape it, even forty light years from earth.”
“You have this wonderful plant on your planet as well? We concoct elixirs and perfumes from the oil.” Dante said.
“Yeah, it’s great.” She said. Dante stopped at the bottom of the stairs and knelt down so that Kim could climb off.
“Gregor will help Mac. His magic is strong and he knows much about the circulatory systems of a great many creatures. If anyone can save Mac, it will be my father.” Dante said.
“I hope so; we have to get Stephanie and the star gate back and I don’t want to have to do this alone.” Kim said. They walked up the grand staircase together.
“You will have my aid at the very least, and that of my brother, Ramos. I’m sure he’ll help, he loves a good fight.” Dante said as he opened the front door and carried Mac inside.
He took Mac into an adjacent room off the living room and a moment later they were joined by a smaller, hunched wolven man in a maroon robe. He wore silver and gold earrings, with a solid gold hoop through his nose. The robe he wore had been woven with gold thread and it was decorated with planets and stars. As he passed by her, Kim could see that one of the planets on the back of his robe resembled earth with such exactness that it could have been a photograph of her home planet.
“Welcome home, son. I see you’ve brought visitors.”
“Gregor, these humans landed in the plains outside Wasatch forest. One of them, a woman, was kidnapped, the other killed by centaurs, and this one was stabbed by a libmok quill when we rescued Rasp from a group of them in the sandy creek.” Dante said.
“Hmmm, strange indeed that I should see humans in my lifetime, and what fortune! Dante, the prophecy is coming to pass; we must save this man’s life. Please get me the syringes and tubes from my medicine bag, it’s in the observation room. We don’t have much time.” Gregor said. His voice was gruff and serious as he looked upon Mac with concern.
“Yes father.” Dante said. He raced away and Kim could hear him rifling around in another room of the house. She stood above Mac, quietly breathing with her arms folded.
Mac was moaning as the veins in his neck turned a dark, sickly green under the skin, the libmoks’ poison was working through his circulatory system so fast now that they could see it moving toward his brain, like the tendrils of a monster inside his flesh.
“What happened?” Gregor asked. His eyes met Kim’s and his fuzzy brow was furrowed.
“Dante was helping a little furry man get away from those libmok things down by this river, and we had killed almost all of them when Mac was hit with a quill.” Kim said.
“I’ll have to give him some of my blood.” Gregor said.
“Do you have any idea what your blood type is? I mean, if you give him the wrong type he could die.” Kim said.
“He is going to die anyway if I do nothing, and our blood has formed immunity to the libmoks poison. We wolven have been genetically treated to destroy their toxins should they get in our blood.” Gregor said.
Dante came back into the room holding some clear flexible tubing and a small wooden box which when opened revealed two medium-sized steel needles.
“A blood transfusion.” Kim whispered. Gregor took the needles out and connected them to the tubes. One end went into Mac’s right arm and the other needle was inserted into Gregor’s left.
“Dante, please go find your brother. Ramos went out to kill some deer for the gathering of chiefs tonight.” Gregor said.
“Yes father, I’ll see you later.” Dante said.
“Welcome to Eritria, what’s your name?” Gregor said. He was seated beside Mac as his side of the flexible line slowly replaced the poison in Mac’s blood.
“I’m Kim Cross, the team science officer, and that’s Colonel MacDonald, Mac. He’s our commander. Our medical officer, Stephanie Brandt, was kidnapped by a centaur named Yawl.” Kim said. Her words felt strange as she described their experience.
“Was there something else he took with him? Perhaps a metallic device that you brought with you from your home?” Gregor asked.
“He and his men stole our star gate.” Kim said.
“You’d planned to use this to open a doorway to your dying planet, correct?” Gregor said. Mac was beginning to stir and the beads of sweat that had broken out on his forehead were drying.
“How did you know that?” Kim said.
“Let me show you something.” Gregor said and pointed to the wall b
ehind her. Mac opened his eyes and grunted as Kim turned around.
There was a mural etched in wood, depicting several scenes in four separate quadrants. The first quadrant showed a disk-shaped craft with a dead humanoid man on the ground just in front of its ramp, and centaurs standing over him with a rectangular device in one of their hands, while another centaur had a smaller figure from the craft slung across his back. In Quadrant two, two humans were entering a village of wolven. In quadrant three, in the lower left hand corner, the humanoids and an army of wolven and Minotaur were beset on all sides by an army in battle. In the fourth quadrant, the most interesting, Kim could see the humanoids standing before a great ring of light and the front of a modern-looking earth vehicle coming through.
“Oh my god, that’s us?” Kim asked.
“That was carved three hundred years ago by my ancestor Biminum when he went into a trance one afternoon.” Gregor said.
“A prophecy...” Mac grumbled.
“You’re awake. The transfusion worked; you had me worried for a moment.” Gregor said.
“I saw that same wood carving in my dream...and a great war.” Mac said.
“Your arrival here was not by chance, my friends. My name is Gregor. I am the chief and medicine man of this village.” Gregor removed the needle from his arm and the one from Mac’s and placed a small bandage on each puncture mark as Mac sat up slowly on the elbow of his good arm. “Is that us?”
“You tell me. Who else could it be? I have to admit, I was skeptical I’d see the prophecy fulfilled in my lifetime, but now I realize the time has come.” Gregor said. “You’ll be our honored guests while you stay in the village. You’re more than welcome to walk around town; we have a great bar that serves goat shish kabob with rice and beans.”
“Do we get a guide?” Mac asked. His head was swimming from the poison but there was something else as well, a sort of anxious anticipation and restlessness. “I feel strange.” He said.
“You should, my blood is inside you right now and it’s a miracle that you survived the transfusion.” Gregor said.
“Will it pass?” Mac asked.
“I don’t know, I’ve never tried it before on an earth man. You look OK to me. Dante will be back in a little while, and he’ll show you around. I have a dinner gathering to attend with all the chiefs from the other tribes. It is held once in the spring and fall. I’ll visit with you later. We have a lot to talk about.”
“We have to get our friend back, Gregor. They also took our star gate, but if they think they can operate it, they have another thing coming.” Mac said. He pulled the controller out of his pocket and waved it in the air. “Because, it won’t work without this.”
Gregor nodded. “Well it won’t be an easy task. Your friend has been taken by emissaries of Asura, a demonic lizard from the Fire Lands. This will take a coordinated effort by our wolven tribes and possibly the Minotaur clan. I dreamed about a happening much like this the other night.” He shook his head as if troubled. “When Dante gets back he’ll show you around town.” He said, and turned to leave the house.
The front door opened and closed leaving the two humans alone in the mystic’s house.
“We have to get out of here and go get Stephanie.” Mac said.
“You heard Gregor, there’s some kind of lizard demon. I don’t know about you, but I have no idea what that entails. Besides, he mentioned a strategic attack. I’m not so sure the two of us can do this without them.” Kim said. She was chewing her bottom lip.
“I know, but we may have no choice. Time is ticking and I need to get to my kids. I had the most horrifying dream when my body was being invaded by the libmok’s poison. I dreamed that a tsunami washed over them while I was absent and all I could do was watch helplessly. Kim, there’s something happening to me, a change of some kind, and if I’m going to die here I need to get my children off that dying ball of dirt.”
“That dying ball of dirt was, is, our home, sir.” Kim said.
“It was, before the lunatics began to run the asylum. I didn’t want to mention this, but I’m not so sure the people who funded this little project have our best interests at heart either, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” Mac had a sour look on his face. The General got Jack killed, he thought. “Nah, he did that himself.” Mac muttered.
“What sir?” Kim asked.
“Nothing, never mind.” Mac stared at the carved mural and shook his head. “This all seems like a dream.”
“I know, nothing seems right. This is nothing like I expected, with Neal and Jack getting killed, and now Stephanie missing. It all feels like it’s gone wrong. I don’t know how we can do this without them.”
Dante walked in about a half an hour later as the two were exploring the eccentric décor of Gregor’s large house. He had collected skeletons of various animals posed in fighting positions, some of them facing each other like undead combatants. One of them looked like a badger, another a squirrel.
“I was told to show you around town, and lucky for you it’s half price steak night at the Angry Bear Inn. You can also get a room there. Gregor’s paying for all of it since you’re our honored guests, besides, you don’t have any money.” Dante said.
“That’s true.” Mac said. He was nodding thoughtfully, another aspect he had not considered before leaving home. The people of this planet would not accept earth currency.
“Let’s go, I’m starving.” Dante said. As they walked out the door, Kim could not help but feel like she was playing the part of Red Riding Hood and instead of one big wolf, there were thousands.
As the sun set, Dante walked ahead of his guests, standing much taller than the humans. To Mac he looked like a walking, fur-covered building. His head was still shaken up, like the bubbling fizz in a soda as the carbonation escapes. The cobblestone streets were laid out in ornate patterns that resembled detailed nature scenes, and Kim found herself staring down at them as she walked into a light pole with a small rectangular box attached to the side. Before she knew it, she had landed on her bottom staring up at the sky.
“You OK?” Mac asked. “I thought I was the one with issues.” Her fall elicited some laughter from a few wolven children playing with a ball in the street. They shook their heads and went back to playing. Dante stopped walking and turned around, looking down at her with concern.
“No, sorry. Yes, I’m fine, I was spacing out at the streets. They’re beautiful.” Kim said.
“Each one of those rocks is a different kind of stone from around the planet; there is no paint.” Dante said.
Mac helped her up. “That was pretty good, but I’d advise you keep your eyes up from now on lieutenant.” He said and smirked.
They approached The Angry Bear Inn and entered, passing by a group of wolven men standing around the door. Their faces were crossed with suspicion as the humans followed close behind Dante.
“What’s the matter? You never seen any humans before? Mind your own business.” Dante said. The men turned their gazes elsewhere and pretended not to notice the strangers.
It looked like Dante had some serious sway over these people, Mac thought and felt more comfortable being around him. As they entered, the bar was crowded with men drinking some kind of brown beverage from glass mugs. Dante led Mac and Kim to a table where a wolven man, somewhat larger than Dante, sat drinking the same beverage. The wolven man looked down at Mac and Kim with the same eyes as Dante’s.
“Mac and Kim from Earth, meet my brother, Ramos.” Dante said.
“Welcome to Eritria. So, you’re the ones the prophecy foretold of, huh? You’re small, and hairless. How are you supposed to do away with Asura and his legions of undead?” Ramos asked them.
Mac’s first impression was that Ramos might have fit in well with any rough biker gang back on Earth. He had gold earrings lining his pointed ears, and on his shoulders were tattoos of skulls from some strange animal that he figured existed only on this planet. He wore a leather vest and had a diamon
d ring on his right ring finger that was cut in the shape of a set of bullhorns.
“Have a seat, I’m half drunk, and you all standing around is making me nervous.” Ramos said. He slammed his glass down on the table. “Rathgar! Three more barberry juices for my brother and our new friends!” Ramos yelled.
A beleaguered looking wolven man who had been wiping down the bar looked over at Ramos and gave a big thumbs up. The drinks came minutes later from a young wolven woman with large breasts and a brown suede leather skirt. Mac had to use his imagination, but she looked a lot like the girls from his local bar back home, and it frightened him. Ramos nodded approval and tipped her with a silver coin as she placed the drinks on their table.
“Shannon, run away with me into the night.” Ramos said.
“Honey, you’ll probably run into a tree and knock yourself out, just like last time. Have fun, and don’t start any fights or Lem is gonna’ kick you out for good. He said he don’t care who your father is.” Shannon said.
“I promise, I’ll behave. What could happen? I mean look, we’ve got the two humans here and they’re guests.” Ramos said.
“I was going to ask you about them, Dante. Who and what are you? I have never seen your like.” Shannon said and touched Kim’s hair. “You’re pretty.”
“I’m Lieutenant Kim Cross, and this is Colonel MacDonald, he’s my commanding officer. We’re from the planet Earth.”
“Yeah, and please, call me Mac.” Mac was looking at Shannon with curious eyes.
“See something you like, sugar? I’ve never had the opportunity to sleep with an earth man.” Shannon said. She laughed, but there was something naughty in there. Mac felt an attraction to her, but his mind was still working through the strange occurrences of the day.
“I, uh, I guess it’s been a long day.” Mac said.
“Yeah, he almost died. This guy took a quill to the knee from a libmok. I almost didn’t make it home with him.” Dante said.
“Wow, that’s amazing. You know it took us about a hundred years to build resistance to their toxins. You’re lucky Gregor got to you in time, Mac.” Shannon said and shook her head. “Take it easy on that liquor, my friend. It’ll twist you.”
Mac nodded and took a sip of his first barberry juice.
“Whoa, this tastes like strawberries and peaches. I want two more of these.” Mac said.
“Easy hero. Let the first one sink in for a few minutes. You’re smaller than us, and two of them are about my limit. Any more than that and I’m out back howling at the moon and breaking stuff.” Ramos said.
Mac could not remember a time in his life when he needed a drink more than right now. Ramos was just about to suggest they play some drinking games, when the door slammed open and in walked a large black wolven man adorned with a skull necklace, silver earrings and wrist bracers crafted with the broken teeth of what Mac could only guess had been this man’s enemies. An ominous dread sunk deep into Mac’s stomach as this frightening new stranger sauntered into the room, sneering.
Ramos’ eyes narrowed and his fists clenched. “Double Head.” He said.
CHAPTER 9