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Masters of the Arches

By: lucsmith



This story was posted a few years ago on another site under my pen name of mandil.

*

Money had always been the main preoccupation in Vincent Manning's life. How to earn money, how to make more money and of course how to keep it, which is sometime more difficult than making it.

Ever since he was young, everything he did or thought about had to do with his goal of becoming a millionaire before he was forty. When he decided to attend university and get a degree in administration, it had been in his mind that such a degree would greatly increase his chances of earning that first million.

He had started his own business in the import-export sector soon after he graduated and women had no place in his life since he was much too busy taking care of his growing business.

It was therefore a tremendous shock to him when he found himself completely ruined one day. Before that fatal day things were going very well. He had twelve employees working for his company and he was almost half way to his first million dollars. Besides the fact that he owned a big mansion in a well-to-do district of Montcalm, he had a country cottage in the Adirondack Mountains. Of course, he didn't go there very often since being in his cottage took too much of his time away from his business, but when he did, it was mostly for hunting and fishing. Since his summerhouse was over 150 miles from Montcalm, he usually went there to hunt and rest for a few days at a time. Vincent enjoyed living in close contact with nature. He especially loved the tall trees of all kind on his land and the abundance of wild life all around his place. Had it been at all possible for him to live in his cottage while at the same time being able to take care of his business, he would have gladly done so. But his export-import business had to be situated in the city since his clients and their money was there. He therefore had no choice on the matter of where he had to live.

Before the incident that took away his business, he had a very high profile in Montcalm. He was a member of the local Chamber of Commerce and he also sat on the board of directors of the Montcalm General Hospital.

Yes, life had been sweet for Vincent until that day when they found over two pounds of cocaine well hidden in his imported furniture. From that day on, his luck changed for the worse. In less than six months he lost everything he owned except for his cottage and a few thousand dollars that remained in his bank account when everything was over. Even then, he had barely managed to escape from serving time in prison. It was only the fact that he had hired the best lawyer and that he also paid the stiff fine that kept him from spending a few years in jail.

Of course, he knew nothing about the drugs. But still, someone or a group of people had been using his business to get the stuff into the country without any risk to themselves. Being the sole owner of the company, he had been held responsible for the trafficking and therefore he was suspect number one.

When everything was finally settled, and after paying the hefty fine plus the court and lawyers fees, he was left with five thousand dollars and his country cottage. Everything else he had owned was now gone. On the verge of depression and broken in spirit, he packed his used car with foodstuff and the few possessions he still owned and he drove north to his cottage in the Adirondack Mountains.

The stone house was situated three-quarters up the crest of a tall peak and the view of the valley below was fantastic, to get there he had to drive on an old gravel road for five miles after getting off the paved road. The closest neighbors was five miles away and he had refused to pay for the installation of the phone poles since it would have cost over ten thousand dollars and of course his cell phone didn't work in such a wilderness. Even so he loved to be there since he could forget all about his problems and truly relax. 

As for electricity, well the hydro line did not go that far into the wilderness so he had installed a generator and he was happy with that arrangement. Once a year he would have the fuel truck drive there and fill his five hundred-gallon tank with fuel for his generator as well as heating oil for his furnace. Whenever he was there he felt like a different man. In other words, he was in his 'milieu', and he often wished that he could remain there forever.

He had been living as a hermit in his cottage now for over a week and he was still very depressed. Whereas before the unfortunate incident that had ruined him, his only goal in life was to get rich very fast, he no longer had such aim. The events of the last six months had taught him the futility and fragility of his old ambition.

It was while he was in his usual depressed state of mind that one day he went for his daily walk on his three hundred-acre property. Upon returning to the cottage that day, he observed a fox running into a bush at the foot of a vertical rock formation not far from his house. The rock wall was part of an extremely large bolder. Such a rock wall was very common in that part of the mountain.

He was an expert hunter and even though he was not in a frame of mind to engage in such a sport at that moment, curiosity got the better of him. Therefore, he went to investigate the bushes where he had last seen the fox only a moment before.

As he approached the spot where it had last been seen, he saw the beige animal dive away on its right and run away into the edge of the wood a few hundred feet away. At the same time he noticed a small opening or crack-like fissure in the rock wall. After stepping on the lower growth and bending a few saplings, which were growing everywhere and were still hiding much of the hole, he was soon standing next to an almost circular opening through the rock.

He bent over and touched the edge with his hand. It was a hole indeed but judging by the discoloration of its sides and also by the moss growing over the rock all around it, he could tell that it had been there undisturbed for a very long time. No animals were living in there since the constant rubbing against the side would have scraped away the moss and there also would be a visible trail leading to it.

He got on his knees and he looked inside. He couldn't see much except that it went into a sort of cave-like opening and he threw a small rock inside. Judging by the sounds it made, and also from its echo, he was able to tell that there was a large cavity inside the rock wall.

Having nothing better to do, he went into the house and got a flashlight. When he sent the beam of light into the hole, he was able to see the interior of a large cave and where the light fell on the opposite wall; the beam was reflected on something very shiny. He could tell that it was something either metallic or even made of glass.

Judging from the reflection of his light beam, it was a half-circular band of polished material embedded into the rock wall. It was about seven feet in diameter and didn't seem to have been affected by the humidity inside the cave since he couldn't detect any sign of rust on it.

There was no way for him to enter through the hole since it was much too small for his body to squeeze through. The following day, he returned with a metal bar and he began to chip at the rock to enlarge the hole. He was able to break away a few small rocks at the base but still the entrance was not wide enough to let his body through. With another hour of hard work, he managed to dislodge and roll away a large stone that had been part of the circular hole. Once it was well off to the side of the opening, he was finally able to squeeze himself inside.

The interior of the cave was cool and very damp. He immediately went to investigate the cause of the circular reflection that fascinated him so much. It was some kind of archway that had been smoothly cut from the stone. Deep into the rock and going all around it, was imbedded the circular band about three inches wide and made of a silver-like metal. The metal band went from the rock floor on one side in an almost circular pattern back to the floor again with a height of at least seven feet in the middle.

Someone and taken great care to carve the rock wall for a depth of about two feet past the silver band of the portal. From all evidences it was a portal indeed.

Where could it lead? Nowhere it seemed, since after a depth of a couple of feet there was the rock wall. The same rock that made up the rest of the cave.

"Who would go into that much trouble to built an archway leading to a flat wall?" thought Vincent.

On closer inspection, he discovered that the floor under - and also a few inches in front of the arch - was some kind of synthetic material. It had all the appearance of hard rock but when he actually placed his hand on the smooth surface, it felt like some kind of hard rubber.

After deciding that it would indeed support his weight, he stepped on the rubber-like material so as to get a better look at the flat stone wall, which made up the wall of the arch.

The instant that his feet touched the floor plate, he experienced a numbing sensation throughout his body and the next instant the wall in front of him was gone. He was now facing a doorway where just a few seconds earlier was the wall of the cave.

Of course, he remained frozen on his feet for a long time. His mind had a lot of difficulty adjusting to the impossible feedback that his eyes were registering. What was happening to him was something impossible. The flat wall of the cave that had been there just a few feet ahead of him was now gone and in its place was an opening. He couldn't believe the information that his eyes were sending to his brain.

As soon as the initial shock was over, he began to look beyond the newly created opening of the portal. He could tell that there was another cave on the other side, a cave much larger than the one he had entered just a few minutes earlier. Straight ahead, into this larger cave, he could also see daylight filtering through some kind of break in the far wall. Partly covering the break on the outside of the cave, he could see plants growing and hiding the opening. There were vines and small trees also and the light from outside was filtering through the numerous leaves.

He was still greatly shaken by what had just happened but even so, without thinking any further, he stepped ahead through the portal and entered into the large cave. He walked straight ahead until he reached the spot where he saw the daylight, he then pushed the vines and leaves aside and he looked outside. He was stunned and frightened at the same time with the sight before his eyes.

From his position, he could tell that he was extremely high above a grass-covered valley. Far below on his left he could see a river that curved here and there until it disappeared in a tropical forest of tall trees. There were no rivers on his property, and furthermore the closest river was at least fifty miles away. Vincent kept telling himself that he was dreaming and that at any moment he was going to come out into reality.

But after many long minutes while he examined the scenery below him, he finally had to admit to himself that he was not dreaming and the landscape below him was quite real. Still, this was not the land around his cottage and that grass valley bellow; the winding river as well as the tropical forest didn't belong in the Adirondacks. Where was he? More important still, how did he get here?

These thoughts soon made him panic and he ran back into the large cave. The silver half-circle on the archway was still there but a rock wall now blocked the open portal. Panic and fear were now his main emotions. His way back was now blocked.

As his fear began to increase his desperation made him bolder; he stepped on the rubber-looking plate under the archway. Again, he felt the same numb sensation throughout his body. Next he found himself facing the small hole, which was the entrance of the smaller cave. The same hole he had worked on for over an hour to enlarge so that he could get into the cave. He was back in the smaller cave where he had first entered.

The familiarity of his surroundings didn't help a great deal to calm him down and he got on his hands and knees and crawled out into fresh air as fast as he could.

As soon as he was on his feet again he hurried to the cottage and poured himself a large drink. Then as he sat in his favorite armchair, he began to review in his mind the strange events of the last hour.

He remained in the house for the rest of the day while the events of the morning went on playing back again and again in his mind. Still, the more he thought about it the more he felt himself the victim of his imagination. For one thing there was absolutely no explanation whatsoever to justify what had happened. Worse still, even if there was a possibility for him to accept what he had witnessed, it meant that there was practically no limit as to what could be out there in this new place he had seen. 

The following morning, even though he had slept just a few hours during the night, he finally made up his mind to prove to himself that he was not going crazy. He still had a lot of doubts about what he had seen and in the back of his mind, he partly believed that the tremendous strain of the loss of his export-import company was responsible for the visions he had seen the previous day.

When he squeezed himself back into the hole early that morning, his eyes rested on the same silvery metal band and he was both relieved and a little distressed at the same time. The fact that he was once again seeing the same things as the previous day was a relief to him since it confirmed that he wasn't going out of his mind. But at the same time, accepting what his eyes were registering implied such gigantic possibilities that it was scaring.

More than once, as he stood there in front of the arch, he was tempted to turn back and leave the cave, thus forgetting the whole matter. But curiosity, plus the fact that he wanted to prove to himself that he was not going crazy, drove him on, he finally stepped on the circular plate of the arch once again.

He experienced the same numb feeling again for a few seconds, and as expected, as soon as he opened his eyes he was facing the entrance of the larger cave. The flat, solid rock wall which had stood in front of him a few seconds earlier was now gone. Even though he was not as shaken as he had been the previous day, he was sweating all over and still reluctant to move forward thus stepping off the plate. It seemed as if his mind didn't want to accept what his eyes were registering as facts. At last, after willing himself to move, he slowly walked toward the daylight that he could see coming through the dense vegetation partly shielding his way to the outside world.

With his heart beating very fast, he stopped just behind the curtain of vines and small trees that were hiding the entrance. He pulled aside the vines as he had done the previous day but this time he noticed that there were great quantities of big green grapes hanging on them. Never before in his life had he seen grapes of that size. They were as big as golf balls.

He did pluck one and took a small bite in it, being ready at the same time to spit the contents of his mouth out if it turned out to taste bad. The grape was succulent, very juicy and just a little sweeter than he expected. So he took another bite and soon he had eaten half of it.

With the grape still in one hand, he pushed the tall vines further aside until he had enough room to step out into the open. Once again, he proceeded to examine the winding river on his left and the rich plain sloping down toward the river. Everything was as he remembered from the previous day. The scenery before him was still a great shock to him but at the same time he felt a certain amount of relief, it was quite evident that what he was now seeing was not the product of his imagination or of a sick mind.

Still, the series of strange events that had just occurred was enough to make his legs shake and he went to sit on a rock that was on his left just outside of the entrance. He remained there a long time, thinking and looking around at the beautiful sight before him. It gradually entered his mind that all of what he was seeing was very real, even though his mind couldn't explain any of it. One minute he had been standing in a cave near his home and the next minute he was somewhere else, some place that he couldn't even begin to guess where he was. The mental pressure on his mind -- which had to accept and process the inexplicable -- was once again getting to him, at the same time it was also sapping his physical strength.

When he felt strong enough -- he couldn't say how long he remained seated on the rock -- he got up and went inside. Without any hesitation whatsoever he stepped on the plate and he was soon in familiar surroundings within the small cave near his cottage. After crawling out of the came he slowly walked back to his house, trying not to think of the arch and the scenery. Then as he entered the house it occurred to him that he had used the power of the arch to get back to his own world without a second thought. His mind now accepted the fact as to what stepping on the plate of the cave implied and didn't try to explain how it was done. Vincent had used the power of the arch as it had probably been done for countless of years before this day.

That night while in bed he thought about the events of the day. He came to the conclusion that the plate and the arch were some kind of transportation device -- a doorway to another part of the world, or more probably to a completely different world. The latter was probably the case judging by the large grapes he had found there and also because of the strange landscape, which he knew was no part of his world. Nowhere on earth were there grapes as big as those that he had seen and tasted in front of the entrance, of that he was certain. As for the winding river, the tall grass plain and the dense tropical forest farther back, these were too exotic and strange to be a scenery belonging to his world. He had never seen the like of those before, either on television or in magazines.

The following morning he was back in the cave. This time he crossed over to the other world without any hesitation whatsoever, he did so as if it was the most natural thing to do. How surprising he told himself -- as he stepped on the plate -- that he was no longer afraid to use the arch.

Much to his surprise, he found himself in complete darkness. With the help of his flashlight that he still had in his hand, he walked out of the cave. It was just starting to get brighter in the sky on his right, so he sat on the same rock that he had used on the previous day, and he waited. While he sat there he examined the stars overhead and he tried to identify some of them. But they all looked strange to him; even the numerous constellations were unfamiliar, as each and every formation of stars was new and unknown to him. This only helped to reinforce his theory that he was no longer on Earth.

As soon as the first rays of sunlight felt on the valley below, he got up and proceeded to look around once more. After a couple minutes of carefully examining his immediate surroundings, he noticed a path leading downward and away from the ledge on which he now stood. The trail-like pathway was covered with all kinds of growth but if he was careful enough he could easily walk on the five-foot wide trail. He thus slowly began his descent down into the valley. The trail went winding downward and the further down he descended the less steep it was. Finally, after almost two hours of descending he was standing at the foot of the mountain peak from which he had arrived into this world.


Masters of the Arches Ch. 02



This story was posted a few years ago on another site under my pen name of mandil.

*

That night Vincent dreamed about the mysterious girl that had saved his life near the river. In his dream he saw her voluptuous breasts and her shoulder- length hair as she ran on her long slim legs with only a small piece of animal skin covering her lower body. He wasn't able to see all of the details of her face in his dream but he knew that she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

He got up at nine the following morning. As soon as he was shaved and dressed, he prepared himself a generous breakfast of eggs and bacon. After that he proceeded to prepare himself for his next visits to the mysterious world of the arch.

He got his knapsack out of the closet then he proceeded to fill it with the things that he figured he would need for a trip of a few days. Since he had no dehydrated food in the house -- which would have been perfect for such a trip -- he had to make do with half a dozen cans of foodstuff and two bags of dry biscuits that were in his cupboard.

Next, he filled a large plastic bottle with water and this, along with his hunting knife, he added to the contents of his knapsack. With the experience he already had with outside living, he knew that he was going to need matches and ammunition also, so a box of wooden matches and a box of 303 cartridges were added to his backpack. Folding his sleeping bag in a tight roll, he then attached it on top of it all.

At ten that morning, he left the house with the knapsack in one hand and his rifle -- with a telescopic sight -- in the other. Dressed in beige jeans and a brown windbreaker he crawled through the tight hole then he walked straight to the transmission plate. He didn't even hesitate a second. He stepped on it as soon as he was in front of it.

This time he made the trip as if it was the most natural of things in the world. A minute later he was emerging out of the cave into this other world, wherever it was, with complete confidence in himself. Judging by the height of the sun in the sky, he figured it most have been early morning on this beautiful world, this fact told him that the length of a day in this land wasn't the same as what it was on Earth. It was probably shorter by a few hours.

He had been very confident when he exited the cave. Why should he not be? After all he had a rifle in his hand and he considered himself an expert hunter. He also had a few days of food in reserve and more important still, it was a long time indeed since he had felt as good as he was feeling at that moment.

He immediately undertook the descent down to the foot of the mountain and as soon as he reached the flat plain below, he began to walk in the direction of the river. The minute that he stood on the exact spot where he had jump into the river the previous day, he proceeded to look for the footmarks of the woman who had save his life. The prints were still there, very visible in the clay. Then farther ahead, downstream, he saw other prints of the woman, those were leading toward the forest. He figured that she must have gotten out of the river somewhere at this point and walked over to hide into the forest after she had warn him about the charging beast.

After reaching the line where the plain and the forest met, he came upon a well used trail which seemed to go on for ever curving here and there in- between the tall trees. He followed the well-marked trail for half an hour, as he did so he noticed that most of the trees were unfamiliar to him and all would be considered giants on Earth. Some did look like palm trees but were much higher and thicker than anything he had ever seen. Even the underbrush looked very different from what he was used to see on his world. The great variety and abundance of fruits that were growing everywhere was surprising, even in the shade he could see strange fruits and flowers growing everywhere.

After a few miles, the trail separated into two different branches. Not knowing which one to take, he stopped and took the opportunity to rest and eat a little. Ever since leaving the cave he had been walking on this world and this was almost four hours ago now and he was hungry. Of course, he was too much of an expert hunter to stop in the middle of a well used trail, he was aware of the danger of coming face to face with whatever animals were using it. It would have been just about the same as stopping his car in a middle of a well-used road on his world. After all, he knew nothing about the fauna that had been responsible for the creation of the trail, there could be many dangers involved in stopping to rest right in the path and in full view of whatever beast was using it. He still had in mind the incident of the previous day when he had just barely escaped with his life from such an unknown beast.

He thus turned on his left and he got off the trail. After walking a couple hundred yards perpendicular to the trail, he found a spot under a tree with low branches. He sat comfortably on the thick grass and proceeded to open a can of meatballs. He ate his food cold of course, making a fire would imply smoke and he didn't want to attract any attention to his presence in the forest right now. As he ate he looked around and he thought that he could identify a few plants, but the great majority of the flora that he could see was completely new to him. Even the grass he was sitting on was thick and soft and very different from what he was used to see on his world.

All of a sudden, he heard a series of sharps snapping sounds that he couldn't identify. A few seconds later, he was able to tell that someone or something was approaching and what he was hearing was the sounds of feet that were breaking small dead branches that had fallen on the hard ground of the trail. He reached for his rifle immediately and he threw himself flat on the grass. A few seconds later he heard voices or deep grunts, but he couldn't really identify the language or whether they were male or female voices.

He quietly remained hidden where he was, figuring that he was at a safe distance from the trail. While his heart was beating fast he congratulated himself for having taken the precaution of getting off the trail. He was well hidden where he was behind the low branches of a tree and completely invisible from the trail and unless those that were coming purposely got off the trail, they wouldn't see him.

His eyes were focused on the spot where he knew the trail to be. Then all of a sudden he saw four ugly creatures coming on the left fork, which was the branch of the trail that was closest to him.

They were humanoid in general appearance, but human they were definitely not. They were over seven feet tall and each of them must have weighed at least three hundred pounds. Their long, thick arms were hanging at their side and they all held a long wooden spear in one hand. As they got closer, he noticed that most of their body was covered with thick black hair, with only a small portion of their faces being hairless.

They were creatures out of a nightmare. With their low foreheads, which came down to the bridges of their flat noses and their dull gray eyes, they were a strange and scary sight indeed. None of them was wearing clothing and as they approached closer to his hiding place, he thought that he could actually smell them. This was soon confirmed as a foul odor of unwashed fur and rotten meat assailed his nostrils.

But the thing that attracted his attention the most as they got closer to him, was the bundle that the two creatures in the middle were carrying. On their shoulders was a thick pole from which hung a human female. The pole had been placed along the length of her back and both of her hands and feet were tied to the pole, she was thus hanging with her face toward the ground.

Vincent knew that it must have been very uncomfortable for her to be carried that way since her weight was pulling her shoulders together at her back. Was it possible, thought Vincent, that they had chosen that position to tie her so as to make her suffer? They probably had done this on purpose, he told himself. As soon as they were on the section of the trail that was the closest to where he was, he recognized the woman. She was the same one that had saved his life the previous day.

At least her general body features were that of the same woman and so was the color of her hair. Hanging the way she was with her hands and feet tied to the pole, her breasts were pointing down. Furthermore she had lost the only piece of clothing she had been wearing the previous day. She was completely naked now and even though she must have been in terrible pain Vincent didn't hear her make a single sound as she was roughly being carried away.

He couldn't wait any longer; he knew that he had to save her. So, taking aim at the first of the creatures, the one that was ahead of the group of four, he fired. The noise of his shot was extremely loud in the forest, and long after the echo had died down he finally saw the giant begin to fall to the ground on the side of the trail.

It did remind him of a tall tree that was being cut down as gravity slowly had its effect on it. Before the giant had completely reached the ground, the two that had been carrying the woman dropped her to the ground and went to investigate what had happened to their companion who had drop his spear and was no longer moving. Rifle in hand, Vincent got up and he advanced toward the remaining three. 

"Release her at once." He said to them as he pointed his rifle in the general direction of the trio.

His boldness seemed to surprise them. It was also evident that they were now afraid of him after having witnessed what had happened to their dead comrade. They remained motionless for a few seconds, as if their slow brains were trying to process the information that their senses were registering.

Suddenly, one of the remaining three, the one closest to Vincent, began to charge him with his spear which was raised above his head almost ready to throw. As soon as he was twenty feet from Vincent, he threw his spear. It missed him by only a couple of inches as the stone tip imbedded itself in the bark of a tree next to Vincent. The strength behind the spear must have been great indeed since Vincent could see that the stone tip had disappeared at least two inches into the bark of the tree.

Once again, the forest resounded with the noise of his rifle and the daring giant felt to the ground with a large hole between his eyes. The third one also came rushing down toward Vincent a few seconds later and he went down like the two others before he had a chance to throw his spear.

Vincent looked in the direction of the last ugly creature and slowly began to walk toward him. The hairy primate simply turned around grunting angrily and he ran away in the direction from which they had just come.

Before going to investigate to see if the girl was hurt, Vincent waited a few minutes. He looked in every direction around him to make sure that there were no more of these smelly brutes coming on the trail. Satisfied that there was no longer any danger, he went to his packsack and took out his knife. Then he went to the girl who was now lying on her side with the pole still along the length of her back. She was staring at him, but he could tell that she didn't seem to fear him. She had probably recognized him and by now she must have figured that he was her friend.

Vincent immediately got busy cutting the leather strips that were binding her hands and feet to the pole. She had a lot of difficulty standing on her legs and Vincent could tell that moving her legs and arms must have been causing her a lot of pain. He did help her to walk a few steps and he then had his first good chance to examine her. She was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen. Her facial features were perfect. He supposed that she was twenty at the most. The fact that she was completely naked was making him nervous and he couldn't prevent himself from looking at her perfect breasts. After a while he did manage to keep his eyes off her breasts but then he noticed her triangle of brown hair.

All of a sudden, as if an invisible signal had been given, she began to talk in a strange language. Of course he couldn't make out a single word that she was saying, and he reacted exactly as she had done when he had first spoken to her a minute or so earlier. He just stared at her, but as he did so, he couldn't prevent himself from admiring her beauty as well as her voluptuous body.

Her breasts, even though they would have been considered size C on his world, were high on her chest and not sagging in the least. As she stood there completely naked in front of him it didn't seem to bother her in the least.

She was trying to tell him something but there was no way for him to understand what she was trying to convey to him. When she realized that she was getting nowhere with her talking to him, she took Vincent's hand in her own hand and she began to pull him off the trail.

They stopped to pick his knapsack and she led him in a perpendicular direction to the trail, and soon they were deep in the forest until they were about half a mile from the trail. Vincent was not too worried about getting lost since he could still see -- whenever the forest was not too dense -- the mountain peak from where he had appeared in this world.

They continued to walk off the trail in the same direction for the rest of the afternoon and as they did he kept on enjoying the sight of her naked body. Her face was very exotic and exceedingly beautiful and there was no doubt in his mind that on his world she would be considered a very beautiful woman indeed. She had large green eyes and high cheekbones; a mouth made for kissing with thick sensual lips. Her complexion was light and her long brown hair added to her graceful way of walking -- very straight and with a foot in front of the other -- reminding him of an Egyptian queen as she walked very straight next to him. She was almost as tall as he was and while he held her hand, he tried to imagine how the people of Montcalm would react if they could see him now walking hand in hand with this naked beauty.

Every time that she would turned her head toward him and realized that his eyes were on her breasts, she would smile teasingly at him. There were no longer any doubts in Vincent's mind that by now she had noticed the bulge at the front of his pants and he knew that she was aware that her nakedness was exiting him.

She was still leading him when they came out of the forest and found themselves over rocky ground covered with very little grass and a few smaller trees here and there. There were large boulders everywhere to be seen and the trees became less dense as they moved ahead. The further they went, the higher were the boulders. Some were even the size of large houses.

They went up a path between two large rock formations until they were standing in front of a small cave-like depression that went about fifteen feet deep into the rock. This shelter had been used before since the floor was littered with bones of all kinds. While Vincent sat on a rock in front of the wide entrance and began to unpack food from his backpack, the girl went deeper within to clean a space for them.

Using his knife, he opened two cans of meatballs with sauce. He gave one can to the girl and he began to eat from the other one with the help of his knife. She watched him eat for a few seconds then she examined the can in her hand. The metal of the can as well as the bright colors on the paper around it seemed to fascinate her. She turned it around a couple of times, and she even tried to press it with both hands. But hunger won out over her curiosity and soon she dipped two fingers into her food and she began to eat eagerly.

Vincent watched her eat while he finished the contents of his own can. Judging by the rate at which she was shoving meatballs into her mouth, it was evident that this was her first meal in a long time. When both cans were empty, and the last trace of gravy had been licked from the cans, he took the bottle of water from his bag and offered her a drink. It wasn't the first time that she drank from the transparent plastic bottle and once again she seem fascinated by the fact that she could see the water inside the bottle.

They then both sat on the same large rock in front of the shelter and he tried to communicate with her. He was able to learn by using his fingers and pointing at her, that her name was Nika. Then by mean of different signs, she was able to make him understand that the ugly humanoids, which he had killed, were called Arons. He next taught her to pronounce his own name as well as a few other English words.

Before they fully realized it, the sun was down and darkness was gradually setting in on them. With the sun gone, Vincent could tell that it was getting much colder and since Nika was completely naked, he began to gather wood to build a fire. But the girl prevented him from doing this. He figured that she knew more about the dangers in this place than he did and he gave up on the idea of lighting a fire. Since there was nothing else to do, he therefore proceeded to unroll his sleeping bag. After stretching it on the floor in the spot that she had cleaned previously, he tried to make her understand that he wanted her to get inside. But she refused to comply.

Finally in desperation, he removed his windbreaker and placed it on her shoulders. Then he crawled inside the sleeping bag to show her what he was expecting of her. As soon as he was well inside the bag, Nika stretched herself near him and she finally tried to crawl next to him inside the sleeping bag.

Even though it was a one-place bag, he made room for her as best as he could. Because of the fact that the girl was rather slim they were both able to cuddle inside. But Vincent did feel very uncomfortable since he felt her naked breasts pressing against his side. However, since they were both very tired, they soon felt asleep.

He was the first one to open his eyes the next morning. During the night they had moved a little and Nika was now lying half on top of him while he was on his back. He couldn't recall having ever sleep so soundly before. He felt rested and also very cozy at that moment. But now that he was awake, he began to feel very embarrassed. He now had a huge erection and he realized that as soon as Nika would come out of her deep sleep she would notice this. Furthermore, even if his organ was still inside of his pants, it was being pressed in-between Nika's lower body and his own thigh, which did not help matters.

The minute that he saw her opening her eyes, he made her understand that he wanted to get out of the sleeping bag. When he slipped past her once the zipper was opened all the way, he saw her examining the front of his pants and he knew that she couldn't fail to notice the bulge there. It was an extremely ill at ease Vincent that walked toward the bushes to urinate. But while he was emptying his bladder, Nika walked next to him.

She was still completely naked, after a few seconds she squatted next to him and she began to relieve herself without the least embarrassment whatsoever. He could even hear her jet of piss as it hit the ground. When he looked at her, she once again smiled at him with that naughty look on her face.

Victor supposed that in her society, which was one of extreme closeness with nature, it was probably the most normal of things to do to be relieving oneself even if others were staring. For Nika, there was probably nothing to be ashamed in doing this. Beside, she went about naked all the time, so why should she care if he did see her doing this most natural thing.

He gathered the few possessions that they had and they both prepared themselves to walk again. She wanted to continue in the same direction they had been going the previous day, but it was almost in the opposite direction from the mountain from which Vincent had arrived in her world. They were thus getting farther away from the only way back to his world.




Masters of the Arches Ch. 02



He did try to make her understand that he wanted to go in the direction of the mountain which was toward what he figured was the north -- in relation to the movement of the sun -- but each time she would take his hand and point southward in the direction they were already going. Vincent figured that she wanted to get as far away as possible from the Arons. This was probably why she always seemed to insist also that they should move as fast as possible.

They walked for a couple more hours as she led him on. The ground was still covered with small rocks but the number of trees was increasing now. Later she stopped under a large tree and picked up a fruit from one of the low branches.

It was the first time in his life that Vincent was seeing a fruit like that. It was the size of a grapefruit but it had a hard brown bark that could be peeled away quite easily. He watched her removing the peel completely, then she proceeded to eat the inside.

When she realized that he was not eating, she picked another fruit from the same branch and she offered it to him. He did exactly as she had done and he removed the peel of the fruit. He then took a small bite. It did taste delicious and soon he began to devour the sweet pink interior. The texture was that of an apple but the taste was like nothing he had eaten before.



Masters of the Arches Ch. 03



This story was posted a few years ago on another site under my pen name of mandil.

*

For the last half-hour they had been walking in a region covered with small rocks with just a few trees growing here and there. They then crossed a small creek and soon they stood at the limit of an another forest. The minute that they entered the relative darkness and coolness of the forest, Vincent could detect a definite increase in the humidity of the air. Everywhere he looked he again saw enormous trunks covered with thick and scaly brown and black bark. The deep green leaves growing on the lower branches were the size of a large pizza.

The look of the place didn't reassure him at all. He told himself that he was going to penetrate only a few miles inside this sinister forest then he was going to turn back and return toward the high peak mountain leading to his world which was no longer visible now. This he was going to do with or without Nika.

Their progress was much more difficult once they entered the gloomy forest. They had to walk around the big trunks or climb over the mounds of soil that the growing thick roots had created everywhere around them. For those reasons it was impossible to walk in a straight line for any length of time. To make matters worse, the ground was littered with dead branches and sometimes a giant, fallen tree, would block their path completely.

After about an hour of difficult progress within the forest they suddenly heard the sound made by the breaking of small branches far ahead of them. He did recognize the sound for what it was. Vincent knew that there must have been many feet, to produce these noises. It was very similar to the sound that he had heard when he first encountered the Arons the previous day. Both he and Nika heard it at the same time and as soon as they did they looked at each other with apprehension written all over their face. They definitely didn't want to make contact with these ugly creatures again. Judging by the noise they could now hear very clearly, there must have been a large number of them coming their way.

They both immediately took cover in the low foliage near one of the tall trees, crouching low next to the enormous trunk they remained motionless. Soon, not more than fifty feet from where they were hidden, a group of twenty to twenty five of the Arons as Nika called, appeared as they walked in a single file.

They were walking in a northwesterly direction, heading almost in a straight line in the direction from which Vincent and Nika had just come from. The group was entirely made of adult males and aside from the noise they made while walking, none of them was talking, grunting or whatever. Soon their smell reached the hiding duo and once again it reminded Vincent of the smell of rotten meat.

They disappeared into the dense growth of the forest as quickly as they had appeared. But before Vincent or Nika had a chance to get out of their hiding place, a second group appeared. This time it was made of females and young ones. Except for the noise made as their great weight broke the dead branches on the ground as they walked, Vincent was surprised at how quiet they were while moving so fast. 

As with the previous group, there was no talking, no laughing of course no unnecessary noises. Even the children seemed very used to this kind of walking as they remained in a single file keeping pace with the rest of the group.

It occurred to Vincent that if they were on the move all the time as it seemed to be the case, their survival did depend on strict discipline and of course in paying a lot of attention to their surrounding when they moved from place to place. The fact that they were trying to be as noiseless as possible did tend to prove that they certainly had enemies. Had it not been because of the unavoidable sound that their feet made as their great weight broke the small dead everywhere on the forest floor, Vincent and Nika certainly wouldn't have heard them until it would have been too late. 

They both remained carefully hidden for another ten minutes so as to make sure that there were no more of them coming their way. Finally, they went to the spot where they had last seen the Arons and they discovered a well-used path in the forest. It went between the trees turning here and there, and by its appearance it had been in used for a great many years judging by the depth of the eroded ground of the trail in some places.

That did it for Vincent. There was no way that he was going to go further without being better prepared and knowing more about the dangers to be expected in this place. For one thing he wanted to ask Nika questions about the topography of the terrain ahead of them, but he didn't understand her language at all and he couldn't think of a way to communicate with her. Also he had no idea as to where she was trying to take him. This plus the fact that he only had three dozen bullets left for his rifle, didn't reassure him. As for the food, it was almost all gone now except for half a bag of biscuits and two remaining cans of meatballs.

When they reached a small clearing where the trees were not as numerous, he took her hand and he pulled her gently toward the general direction of the north making it very clear to her that he wanted to go that way. He could see shock and fright written all over her face as she began to talk very fast. But the only word that he recognized was ‘Arons' which she used a couple of time. Vincent could tell that she understood that he wanted to go back the way they had come but still she refused to follow him.

She kept on talking in her language and he could tell that it was not only the danger of the Arons that was frightening her. Of course, there was no way for him to understand what she was trying to tell him but it was quite evident to him that she wanted him to follow her in their southward original direction.

Finally he knew that there was no use in insisting, he released her hand and he began to walk northward on a path parallel to the direction they had watched the Arons come. Even though he could hear her shouting at him, she was probably pleading with him, he didn't bothered to turn or look back. He just kept on walking ahead. After a couple of minutes, he did glance back to see where she had gone, but she was walking behind him. She no longer protested and she quietly followed him.

They proceeded toward the mountain leading to Vincent's world by a different path, one that was well off the trail of the Arons. That night they both slept in his sleeping bag in a place that was well hidden by a couple of large rocks. 

While they were in the sleeping bag together Vincent could tell that Nika was doing all in her power to arouse him sexually, but he was much too tired to pay attention to her advances.

When he woke up the next morning, he had one of his arms around her while at the same time his other hand was pressing her left breast. Somehow he had moved his hand over her bare breast while sleeping but he couldn't recall when he had done so. Now, fully awake, he became extremely aroused as she still slept in his arms. Vincent had never married – being too busy trying to make money – and even though he had taken quite a few women to bed when he was a young man, he hadn't a lot of experience in dealing with the opposite sex.

At that very moment, while he could still feel the warmth and softness of her breast against his hand, he was tempted to take her pinkish-brown nipples into his mouth and then make love to her. After all, she had given him many signs that she was willing to let him have his way with her but he couldn't get over the fact that she was barely twenty while he was forty-four. Why would she want to make love to a much older man?

They ate the last of the biscuits that morning – Nika was crazy about them – and they drank water from the bottle he had filled from the small stream that they had crossed the previous day. They were just about ready to leave when Vincent noticed many small fragments of stones sparkling everywhere on the ground. Had he been on his world he would simply have dismissed them since he would have concluded that they were broken glass pieces. But there was no glass here. At least he hadn't seen any yet.

Bending down, he picked up a few of the shining stones. Much to his surprise, he realized that they were unpolished diamonds. Some were as big as peas. There must have been thousands of them lying there on the ground just a few feet in front of the big rock where they had chosen to stretch their sleeping bag. Before leaving he did gather a few dozes of them and he shoved them into his pockets.

Nika watched him in amazement as he did this. She couldn't understand why he was saving those stones.

Around noon of that day, they were almost at the foot of the high peak that hid the cave leading to his world. Nika was very nervous by then. She kept repeating over and over the word "vopa" as she pointed toward the solitary mountain-peak ahead of them. Then by late afternoon they were both standing in front of the entrance leading to the cave where the arch was hidden.

It then occurred to Vincent that he was going to have a problem with Nika. It was his intention to bring her to his world, but he didn't want to frighten her to death in the process. He intended to return again with her to explore her world but first they had to rest for a while in the safety of his house and he needed to get more food and especially ammunition for his rifle. Beside, during the coming few days it was also his intention to teach Nika a few words of English so that she could explain to him what were the dangers that they could expect to encounter when they got back to her world.

They ate the last of their food in front of the hidden entrance of the cave. There were still many grapes on the vines that hid the entrance, Nika seemed to be familiar with them and she did eat a couple of them. While they rested and ate, Vincent thought of a way to get her across to his world without frightening her too much.

As soon as they were finished eating, he removed everything from the knapsack and he placed the empty sack over her head. She didn't protest in the least and he could tell that she had complete confidence in him. He then guided her inside the cave. 

It surprised him to see how submissive she was, she trusted him with her life. But at the same time, he could tell by the way that her body was trembling that she was scared to death of this mountain. Still she let him guide her inside the cave.

She was willing to place her life into his hands and he felt a surge of love for her at that moment. Once inside the cave, he held her in his arms for a long minute and he was tempted to touch her nakedness but he knew that this was not the right place or time. She was still shaking in fright when he gently led her toward the plate of the arch. He next lifted her in his arms and he stepped on the plate with her.

As soon as the sensation of numbness died away, he walked off the plate while still holding her in his arms. He then gently let her step onto the floor of the cave and he slowly removed the knapsack from over her head. After kissing her gently on her forehead, he guided her toward the small exit near the floor.

Judging by the expression on her face, he could tell that she was stunned when she saw his cottage and her new surrounding. After a few minutes, as they walked to his cottage, he noticed that she was no longer trembling as she kept looking all around her. Probably the fact that she found herself in a surrounding where the forbidden peak was no longer there was enough to reassure her. But she kept pressing herself against him even after reaching for his hand.

As soon as they got inside the cottage, Vincent went to look around so as to check if everything was as it should be. Once he was satisfied that everything was as he had left it, he sat in his favorite chair and by means of signs with his hands he invited her to sit on the couch that was next to him.

His wristwatch indicated that it was now almost eleven in the morning. When they had eaten last in front of the cave on Nika's world it had been late afternoon judging by the height of by the sun. Of course, once again it was one more proof that her world was in a completely different star system than the Earth was. Even if the sun shining over this other world was very comparable to his own sun, the planet's period of revolution around it was not the same since the length of a day on her world was definitely shorter than it was on his own world. Judging by the two days that he had spent there, and the difference in time that his watch was indicating, he estimated that the length of a day in her world was approximately twenty hours. This of course, was the ultimate proof that the arch had been transporting him to a completely different world in a completely different star system also. 

As soon as he felt rested enough, he went in the shed attached to the back of his cottage and he started the generator. Then, taking two frozen steaks from the propane freezer, he cooked a good meal for both of them. His freezer and stove were gas operated so it was not necessary for the generator to be on all the time. Thus whenever he was away from his house for more than a couple of hours, he would always stop it.

While he was cooking their meal, Nika was busy examining and touching all that she could see in the house. Everything was so strange and mysterious to her. But it was the ice cubes in her glass of water that fascinated her most of all. She couldn't help herself from taking a cube of ice in her hand and laughing loudly as she felt the ice melting on her fingers and hand. It was thus evident to Vincent that she had never seen ice before.

But seeing her going about completely naked in the house made him feel uncomfortable. He went into his room and he got her one of his white T- shirts and a pair of beige shorts that he used to wear when he was much younger and thinner. She was so pleased with both garments – which she probably considered as a gift of love – that she ran into his arms and she began pressing her lips all over his face.

They ate in silence, and as soon as their meal was over he proceeded to teach her a few words of English. First he began by touching and naming different parts of his face and body. He next did the same thing with some of the things that he knew that they were going to need when they would be going back on her world. Things such as his rifle, water, knife, and so on.

He was pleased to discover that once she had learned how to say the name of an item, she would never forget it afterward. He was also very surprised by the speed with which she learned to pronounce each word properly. He did try to learn a few words of her language, but it was a very difficult process for him since some of the words would end with a high pitch pronunciation. He discovered much later that the same word in her language had different meanings depending on the intensity and pitch that it was pronounced.

A couple of hours after they were done eating, she was able to compose a few very simple sentences.

That night they both slept in his bed since, Nika insisted on sleeping next to him. He tried to make her sleep in the spare bedroom, but she wouldn't stay there by herself and a few minutes after he would leave the room, she would come back to his bed and curl next to him.

At last, he gave up and they both spent the night together.

The following morning while they were sitting around the kitchen table he once again taught her new words. As they ate breakfast, he would make her repeat the words he had taught her the previous day and he also added new one to her increasing vocabulary. She was learning much faster than he had dared hope, and having now learned a few verbs, Nika could make complete sentences.

They even went outside where he started a small fire using matches so as to teach her the word for the process of burning as well as the words for sticks and matches etc. His teaching went on for the rest of the day. By early evening of the second day on his world, he was able to learn from her that the peak that they had climbed to get to the arch was "vopa", which probably meant sacred. Also it seemed that it was the house of the gods. Each and every time that he would refer to the mountain he would see fear in her eyes.

(to be continue)



Masters of the Arches Ch. 04



This story was posted a few years ago on another site under my pen name of mandil.

*

The reserve of food that he had on hand in the house was not enough for the next trip he intended to take. It was evident that he was going to have to go to Pinehill to get the supplies he would need. It was the closest town to his cottage even if it was a twenty miles drive to get there.

But there was a question that came into his mind then, what was he going to do with Nika while he drove there. Should he bring her with him or should he leave her in the house to wait for him?

After giving the matter much consideration, he decided to let her stay in his house while he went to buy his supplies. The sight of the town with its people would probably be very frightening for her. There were too many things that she could not understand there, and most of them she would consider as magic. Beside there was the ride there that he had to consider also. How could he predict her reactions while she rode with him?

That evening he made up a list of all the things that they were going to need. On the list he included a sleeping bag for Nika, ropes, boots, field glasses and of course a good compass and plenty of ammunition. But when he checked into his bank account, he discovered that he didn't have enough money left to buy all the supplies that they were going to need. He then remembered the diamonds that he had picked up on his way back from Nika's world. Yes, that was going to solve his money problem, provided that he could find a way to sell a few of them in Pinehill.

As soon as it was light outside the next morning, he explained to Nika that he had to go somewhere and that she was to remain inside the house and wait for his late afternoon return. It did take much patience and almost half an hour to make her understand that he wanted her to wait for him while he was away. But by the end of that time, he felt relatively sure that she knew exactly what was expected of her.

Before leaving, he opened a can of soups and a can of meatballs that she had enjoyed so much when they were on her world. He explained to her that she was not to leave the house under any circumstance while he was away. He then gave her a kiss on her forehead before leaving -- this sign of affection seemed to please her enormously -- then he got out of the house quickly.

Once in Pinehill, he went to the "Gold Boutique" which was the largest jewelry store in town, and he asked to talk to the owner. He already knew him since he had already done business with him the previous year when he bought a wristwatch there. Being an old miser, the white hair man's eyes went very wide when Vincent took out of his pocket two of the smaller diamonds that he had taken from Nika's world. Of course, the old man wanted to know where they came from. But Vincent simply explain to him that they had been in his family for over a generation, his grandfather had brought them home from a trip to Africa a long time ago.

Since the diamonds were uncut and of course not registered, their value was greatly reduced. They settled on a price of five thousand dollars cash for both diamonds. Victor knew that they were worth five times more than that, but under the circumstance, it was the best price he could get for them. What was important to him was that he was getting cash for them, and the fact that no more questions would be asked as to where the stones came from. Beside, he knew perfectly well that he still had more diamonds in his pocket and he could also get a lot more of them if the need was to arise.

After leaving with five thousand dollars in his pocket, he went to the gun store. He bought a five hundreds rounds of ammunition for his 303 rifle as well as two identical handguns with leather holsters and plenty of ammunition for them also. He then got two good nine-inched hunting knives and two pairs of boots, one pair for himself and one for Nika.

He next went to the local Wall Mart where he bought a good supply of dehydrated food such as soup, rice, macaroni and meat sticks. To that, he added plenty of canned goods as well as half a dozen bags of biscuits that Nika loved so much. He then visited a few of the other stores in town getting the clothing and other items that he wanted.

By the time that he had everything on his list, it was late afternoon and he hurried back to his cottage. Upon getting there, he immediately rushed into the house. He found Nika sitting in his chair shaking like a leave in a storm. The minute she saw him entering the house she threw herself into his arms and began to talk very fast. Since she was talking in her own language, Vincent couldn't understand what she was trying to say to him.

After a while, when she realized the futility of using her own language in trying to make herself understood she began to use the few English words that she knew. This and with the aid of her hands, she tried to explain to him as best as she could, why she was afraid.

"Big beast. Nika see beast."

"Where? Show me?" Vincent quickly reacted to her claim.

She took him by the hand and guided him to where she had been pointing. He looked through the window, which had fascinated her so much, that first day recalling the fact that she could see through the window had intrigued her so much.

"There, see." She was now pointing toward his car. He had parked it in front of his house instead of driving it in the garage where it had been previously.

"That is not a beast, it's my car."

When he left the house earlier, he had taken the precaution of not driving in front of the window so that she wouldn't see his leave. Since he had insisted that she remain seated when he got out of the garage, she had done exactly that and had not seen him drive away. But after an hour or so she must have started to walk around the house. So later when she saw his green, two years old Ford approaching on the dirt road leading to his cottage, she probable thought of it as some kind of animal. After all, if it was moving of its own it had to be alive.

He tried to explain to her that the car was not dangerous and to prove it to her, he went outside while she stood in the doorway watching him. He touched the car and then opened the door and took a box of foodstuff out of it. Even then, she was not quite convinced, and he decided that it would be better for her if he did not force the matter anymore.

Once all of the supplies that he had bought had been carried inside the house, he cooked a good supper of pork sausages, potatoes and freshly cooked bread. All of these were part of the foodstuff that he had just bought in Pinehill.

They both ate wholeheartedly. Vincent knew that it was the last big meal that they were going to eat for a long time since they were leaving early the next morning.

As soon as the dishes were done, they got busy loading the two knapsacks. His own, and the one he had bought for Nika while in Pinehill. In each bag, he placed half of the ammo and half of the matches as well as a few other indispensable items. If one of them should happen to loose his or her knapsack, they would still have a little of everything in the other one. In his own bag, he added the medical kit and the field glasses.

While in Pinehill he had bought a bow and a couple dozens metal tipped arrows. He knew that Nika was familiar with archery since she had tried to make a bow after their last encounter with the Arons. Only because of the fact that she had no animal sinew on hand for the string forced her to abandon the project.

He gave her one of the knives and one of the handguns with the holster and a belt to carry both around her waist. He next took the new beige shorts that he had gotten for her and he explained how to fix the belt, and handgun, as well as the knife around her waist.

Next he went to retrieved a pad and pencil from a small desk. With Nika looking over his shoulder, he quickly did a crude sketch of an Aron. Over the Aron he superimposed the front and rear sight of the pistol. He next placed the unloaded revolver in Nika's hand and pointing to the sights, he showed her on the drawing how to align pistol and target.

While placing his hand over hers, he pulled the trigger. As the hammer fell he shouted, "BANG" and jerked the pistol upward. She gave him a questioning look, trying to understand. Out of an unpacked box of pistol ammo he took several rounds and dropped them in his pocket. He then went to the sink and filled an old gallon glass container with water. Taking Nika's hand, he took her outside into the twilight. He loaded two rounds in the pistol and with her watching, he fired the first round into the hillside.

As the noise of the fired shot and the visual picture of the pistol recoiling reached Nika she immediately understood what he had been trying to tell her. Then taking the water filled container about twenty feet away, he made an exaggerated show of aligning the sights and he fired the second shot. As the bullet hit the glass container it exploded, thus breaking the container and showering water everywhere.

From the look on her face he knew she understood the power of the pistol. He loaded one more round and getting behind her, he placed the loaded pistol in her hand. He took her other hand and he cupped it under the hand holding the pistol, thus showing her the classic two hands pistol hold. Slowly, he then applied pressure on her finger and he felt her begin pulling the trigger. The pistol fired and her grip was firm enough that it did not get away. They went back inside and he was confident that she knew enough to use the weapon if the need came. As he sat at the table wiping the pistol with an oiled rag he looked at her.

Even thought she was wearing the beige short he had bought her, she still had her breasts bared in the house, having taken off the shirt he had given her. Could it be that she found it too hot with the shirt on, or was it simply that she had trouble getting used to wearing it. Vincent couldn't figure why exactly she had done that, but one thing was certain, he really did enjoy watching her boobs spring and sway as she walked around in the house. He therefore didn't insist that she put her shirt back on again.

At the jewelry store, he had managed to convince the owner to throw into the deal, a gold chain with a white tear-shaped pearl. When he hooked the chain around Nika's neck, she jumped around in joy and she threw her arms around his neck. Before he could stop her, she was kissing him smack on his lips.

They were now both ready to undertake an exploration expedition to her homeland. The more that Vincent thought about it, the more he became convinced that her planet was situated in a far away solar system, possibly in another galaxy even. On his last trip there, he had been able to observe the stars at night. But as hard as he had tried to identify any of them, or any formation of stars, he hadn't been able to do so.

As for the plant and animal life of her world, the great majority of it was new to him. Those plants that he was familiar with could have come from seeds that had somehow crossed over with the aid of the arch. He felt pretty sure that the farther away he was going to travel from the arch on her world, the fewer of these familiar plants he was going to encounter.

There was the problem of how the arch could do what it did. Transporting someone or something from one place to another across thousands of light- years of distance. He had no clue whatsoever how it did that. He only knew that it did work since he had already experienced it.

What sort of beings could have built such a wonder? Judging from the height of the arch, the only sure thing was that they must have been about his height. They certainly had to be aliens since no scientist on Earth had the technology to construct such a marvel of transportation.

The arch had been there in the cave for a very long time. Vincent had no doubt about that. The thickness of the coating of dust on the floor of the cave was proof of that. Besides, had anyone discovered the arch before him, the news would have either been in the papers or he would have observed indications of people using it. The fact that both entrances -- the one on his world and the one on Nika's world -- were well hidden, was another clue pointing to the fact that their existence was most probably unknown.

How many centuries had gone by since they had been used last? He had no answer of course, and he knew that he would probably never know the answer.

When they got in bed that night, he felt very attracted to Nika. As soon as she cuddled next to him, he kissed her lips and that was all she needed to climb on top of him.

She was naked of course, while he had only his jockey shorts on. Soon he became very hard and as soon as she found this out, she reached over with her hand and she began to fondle him. At last, he found enough courage to place his hand on her breasts. After having watched her going around naked for the last few days, he was very eager squeeze those half spheres that had attracted so much of his attention. Then in a matter of minutes, she was guiding his erection within her and they made love for a long time.

Afterward, when she has fallen asleep in his arms, Vincent lay awake for long time thinking. There was no way that she could be so experienced in the art of pleasing a man without having had a lot of practice. Furthermore, she had shown no restriction whatsoever while they had made love. She even taught him a few tricks that he didn't know and he realized that he could very easily become addicted to her lovemaking.

(to be continued)



Masters of the Arches Ch. 05



Early the following morning, they ate breakfast and then left. As soon as they were out of the house, Vincent noticed that the weather was cold and rainy. Nika was very surprised when she experienced the cool and humid morning air. Vincent figured that it was probably because of the fact that she was not used to such cold temperature where she lived.

With both of their knapsacks fully loaded, Vincent was carrying his rifle by the strap over his shoulder while his handgun and knife were around his waist. Nika also had her handgun and knife on her waist while her bow hung around her left shoulder. She had tied a couple of arrows around her neck in case of an emergency while the rest of her arrows were neatly stored with her sleeping bag.

Vincent had insisted that she wear a shirt with the beige shorts he had bought for her. But when he tried to convince her to wear the boots, she refused. She had walked barefoot all of her life and Vincent figured that there was no use to force her to wear boots now. 

To an observer watching them, they would have made a strange sight indeed as they slowly walked toward the rock wall where the cave was. He with his rifle in hand and she with a bow and barefoot.

As soon as they were inside the cave, he managed to roll back the large stone so that it would block the entrance to the cave almost completely thus hiding it from men and beasts. Since he didn't know for how long they would be gone, he didn't want to have anyone coming to his cottage looking for him and discovering the entrance to the cave. 

Once this was done, he made her close her eyes and he guided her on the flat plate of the arch. They both stepped on it at the same time and held her in his arms while they waited for the arch to take them to Nika's world.

The minute that they stepped out of the cave on Nika's home world, they immediately experienced the warmth of the air. The sun was just rising outside and the temperature was very hot already, even inside the cave it was quite warm.

Nika still had her eyes closed as Vincent helped her to step out into the bright sunlight. When she was told to open her eyes she became very agitated once she realized that she was standing on top of the sacred mountain. She began to talk very fast and she was able to make Vincent understand that it was her wish to get away from this place as fast as possible. 

But before they got moving, Vincent took out his compass so as to take out his bearing. Previously he had been uncertain as if the compass would work on Nika's world since he had no way to know if the planet had a magnetic field or not. He was greatly relieved when he saw the needle oscillate back and forth and then always stopping with the tip in the same direction. 

He was also glad to discover that the direction that they had been exploring the last time they had visited this new world had indeed been in the general direction of the south in relation to his present position. Whereas the mountain had been his only point of reference before, he now had his compass to guide him.

Since he didn't want to be travelling again in the land of the Arons, he told himself that this time they would explore Southeast. Of course, he had no way to predict what he would find there and there was always the possibility that they could encounter worse dangers than the Arons. But he was now better prepared than the last time and after all he was visiting Nika's world to explore it.

The walk down toward the foot of the mountain went fairly fast. Nika was in a hurry to get as far as possible from her sacred mountain and it did contribute a lot to the progress they made. By noon, the terrain was only a gentle grass-covered slope and when he stopped to look back toward the mountain, he heard Nika once again repeating the word "vopa". It was her way of telling Vincent that the mountain was a sacred place and bad things could happen to them if they didn't get away quickly.

The surface of the land was changing gradually as they moved forward and the grass was getting much taller now. There were bushes everywhere and most of them were loaded with berries, but most of them he couldn't identify and thus he didn't dare to taste any of them.

They went on for another hour, and then they stopped to rest near the bank of the river. The last time Vincent had come near the river he had been walking on a southwest course, now they were moving in an easterly direction and the land was completely unfamiliar to Vincent. 

They made use of the pause to eat some dry meat and a few biscuits. He figured that they were about ten miles downstream from the position that he had been the last time he had been near the river. It had been going in a southerly direction then, but now it was blocking their progress southward as it went in an easterly direction.

They walked along its bank for a while in the hope of finding a place where they could cross but it was too wide to swim across, especially with all of their equipment. On the other side he could see that the grass was even taller and growing everywhere. He was thankful for the face that on his side of the river the grass was shorter -- even if it was knee high -- since there was no way to predict what kind of animals could be hidden in that tall grass. 

Gradually, as they kept on moving parallel to the river, the topography changed again and they came to an area where trees were growing here and there with plenty of tall grass growing in-between them. 

It was a perfect place for an ambush and Vincent was very reluctant to move forward. The grass was growing as high as his head in some places. It did remind him of cornfields that grew on his world. The green blades of the high grass were as wide as those of corn plants. The one big difference being that the grass plants there had grown much thicker than corn would. 

The river went straight through the tall grassland and he could see that it covered both sides of the river, since the river was not as wide now. On their side of the river there was a sandbank covered with debris of dead wood from upstream, but on the other side the impassable grass grew right to the very edge of the river. It was clear to Vincent that with the grass being so tall and thick it would be almost impossible to move through it, not to mention the danger involve in trying to do so. 

Of course he had to make a decision. Either they could go on and try to make their way through that sea of grass while at the same time walking parallel to the river - which was again flowing directly south - or they could try crossing the river and walk on the other side in the hope that they could find some sort of a trail or clearing. Either choice implied that they would have to move through the grass for a while and he didn't like it.

The river looked so calm, reminding him of a highway through an impassable land. As Vincent studied their position, he thought how much easier it would be if they had a canoe.

Since the sun was getting low in the sky they made camp for the night in a clear area on the bank of the river. He still recalled Nika's reluctance to make a fire the last time he had been in her world and he chose to do without one.

While they were quietly eating, he looked around. There was still enough light to see, and he noticed the abundance of dead trees and branches everywhere around them on their side of the river. The river that had gone through the forest upstream had carried these debris.

He suddenly had an idea that could make their progress easier. Since the river was moving in the direction that they wanted to go, why not build a raft and let the slow current of the river carry them southward? The river was moving in that general direction and it was certainly not the lack of logs that was preventing him from doing this since he could see many of them just nearby. 

He figured that they could tie four or five logs together with the ropes they already had and let the river carry them. If the logs were dry enough, the raft would have enough buoyancy to float them downstream. The water was calm and the current was very slow therefore the project was quite feasible he told himself.

The next morning he did build a fire. For one thing, the flames were much less visible than they would have been in the evening, beside he figured that they weren't going to be very long in the this place, they would be gone long before anyone - men or beast - came to investigate. He used very dry wood, of which there was plenty, and thus reduced to a minimum the amount of smoke produced. 

Another reason that Vincent wanted a fire going, was his habit of drinking coffee in the morning. Ever since he has been sixteen, he had always begun his day with a cup of hot coffee. He had brought a good supply of it from his home and since they had all of clear water they needed from the river, he saw no reason for changing his habit.

While Nika cooked dry bacon slices that they had brought with them and boiled water, he went to work on building the raft.

It didn't take him long to slide and roll five thick logs parallel to one another until they were at least a third of the way into the water. He wanted the raft to float partially before it was completed. Of course when the logs were going to be tied together it would be impossible to roll them since they were then form a single unit and therefore the whole raft would have to be move as one unit. He soon had the five logs securely tied together at both ends so that they would remain in place and not start rolling once they would be floating in the water.

Before leaving on their new raft, they ate breakfast and they talked a little. He took the opportunity to teach Nika a few more words of English while she made him understand that she wanted to go south since her village was in that direction and many members of her family were living there. 

Once the fire was extinguished and everything they owned was packed and tied on the raft, they undertook the task of pushing it into the river. This was done with much difficulty and a lot of sweat from both of them. But half an hour later they were all set to leave. As soon as it was floating and free to move, they both climbed in the middle of the raft and with the aid of the two long poles that he had already prepared, they began pushing the craft further in deeper water.

It proved to be very adequate as far as buoyancy was concern, but impossible to guide once they were in deep water since the poles couldn't reach the bottom of the river then. The current of the river was flowing at about the same rate as a fast walker would go on solid ground and they made good time without much effort.

A couple of hours went by and the grass on both side of the river remained as tall as ever but then they noticed that the trees were getting more numerous and also taller. Once, Vincent thought he detected movement between two trees on the left bank, but he couldn't tell what it was or if he had simply imagine what he had seen. Anyway, it didn't matter he told himself, anyone trying to follow them would have a very hard time to keep up with them while walking in the grass. As long as the raft remained far enough from either bank, he felt they were safe.

By the middle of the afternoon, the raft came to a junction where the river merged with a smaller river. This smaller river was about half the size of the one they had been on and as both rivers became one, it made the river much wider. At the junction where both rivers met, there was a large clearing on the right bank, they could see many grass eaters eating or drinking from the river. 

The slow current carried them ahead of the junction for half a mile then they came to a small island of sand that had formed very close to the side of the bank on the side they were moving. The island was mostly made of sand and in the shaped of an egg but in many places it was covered with shrubs. 

Vincent decided to anchor the raft on the sandbank of the island. They both needed to stretch their legs and he figured that it would be a good idea to do a little hunting to increase their food supply.

While Nika was watching him, he slowly moved toward a boar-like creature that was busy drinking from the river and before it could charge him, he shot it right between the eyes. The animals in this part of her world were probably not used to seeing humans being and he had been able to get very close to it before it reacted and he had no difficulties shooting it dead. 

He learned from Nika that the animal he had shot was called a "rom" and that it was a grass eater as well as a flesh eater. It did look like a boar from his world except that it was a lot bigger and like its counterpart on earth, it had a short temper since it was preparing itself to charge him just before he shoot it.

They both immediately got busy with the butchering and smoking of the best cuts of meat. Vincent figured that the island was a relatively safe place to spend the night, -- even if the water was only a foot deep on one side -- so they made camp there for the night while letting much of the meat smoke slowly over the fire.

On the second day that they had been floating downstream, they noticed that the grass on both sides of the river was much shorter. The assortment of trees -- which were more numerous -- became different also, the great majority of them, even Nika couldn't recognize. At noon, they tied the raft to a low branch from one of the gigantic trees growing close to the shoreline. Again they built a fire and ate some of the meat from Vincent's kill of the previous day. 

After eating, Nika took the opportunity, to practice shooting with her bow. As Vincent watched her, he was fascinated with the accuracy of her shoots and it became clear to Vincent that she was very familiar with a bow. Had she been in his world he knew that she would have been a champion, so good was her marksmanship. 

The metal tipped arrows that he had bought for her were a source of excitement for her. By now Vincent had realized -- judging by the way she had reacted the first time she had touch the metal of a can -- that she had never seen metal before. 

While she was aiming at a tree that was at least thirty yards away, every arrow was a true hit in the middle of the tree. When he managed to ask her -- using a mixture of words and signs -- how fast she could send arrows; she made her point by sending three arrows in the tree in less than ten seconds.

By mid afternoon Vincent figured that they had traveled about seventy miles downstream since they had set off on the raft. Of course, there were many bends and turns in the river, therefore in a southerly direction that distance was much less of course. 

Many times they saw game on both sides of the river, most were grass eaters of all kinds but all were different from those on Vincent's world. At one turn of the river where much of the great trees had been replaced by short grassland, he saw hundreds upon hundreds of four legged black furry creatures. They were as tall as big horses with a fat belly and their long black fur went down on each side of their short hind legs almost touching the ground.

So far they had managed to keep the raft close enough to the right bank so as to be able to guide it with the two poles poking the bottom of the river.

Having nothing better to do while he was on the raft, except of course to guide it once in a while when it got too close to one bank, he continued to teach Nika new words. At the same time, he was able to learn a few words of her language but progress was slow in that direction.

With a lot of patience, he was able to learn that she had escaped from a village where she and her two sisters had been held as slaves. The chief of the village, whose name was Gromo, was a cruel man and he had ordered a raid on Nika's village some time before that. Both of her parents had been killed in the raid and half of the people of her village had either been killed or made prisoners.

They had been taken to Gromo's village after many days of marching and once there they became slaves. During the day they would work long hours in the fields where they tilted the soil and took care of the tuber-like plants that she called 'malka' which made up a good part of the diet of Gromo's people. At night the female slaves slept together in a large building located in the middle of the village. But more often than otherwise they were called upon to spent the night with any of the males of the village that had a fancy for one of the slaves.

Vincent was both shocked and horrified to hear this. When he asked her if she had ever been called upon to serve such duties, she replied without any hesitation whatsoever that she had done so more than half of the nights that she had been a prisoner. As a matter of fact, she said she had been one of the slaves that had been the most in demand to serve on these night duties. 

Considering the bad ordeal that she had underwent, it didn't seem to have affected her much as she told all of this to Vincent. To hear her tell about her night activities, it didn't seem to be much more important to her than her working in the field. Still, as he listened to her telling him all that she had had to endure while she had been a slave, Vincent wished sincerely that he would meet this Gromo and these villagers one day so that he could teach them how to treat women.

Later she explained to him how she had been able to escape. One day while she had been working in the field with the other slaves, a large animal came roaming near the field where she was working. By her description of the beast, Vincent figured it must have belonged to the feline family, something resembling a lion or a tiger, but it must have been a good deal taller judging from her description. Could it be a big cat in the category of the saber- toothed tiger, he asked himself? He certainly hoped it wasn't since he doubted very much that his 303-calibre riffle could stop one if it should ever come charging at him.

While most of the villagers went to chase away the predator, only four guards were left to watch the slaves in her field. There were at least fifty slaves with her, so the first chance that she got she hid herself in a bush until the slaves were sent back to the village for the night much later. For half the night, she then ran in the direction of the forest toward the north. She wanted to get as much distance as possible between herself and the village before they discovered that she was missing. She knew that if she was caught, she was going to be tortured to death in front of the whole village. They had already done this to Slad sometime before. He was one of the male slaves who had tried to escape and had been caught the next day.

She knew that her only chance of escape was to reach the forest before they found out she was missing. Once in the forest she figured that she would be safe from them since they were afraid of the forest. They had all sorts of stories and superstitions about the strange creatures that lived in the forest and they never ventured near it. Nika had no such restriction about the forest since her people had been living near a forest and they often went hunting there for games and to gather wood.

After many days following her escape -- Vincent couldn't figure out how many days she was trying to tell him -- she came to a grass plain where she saw the tall peak of the sacred mountain that led to his world. From the many stories she had heard and the carvings that she had seen in her own village, she knew by the shape of the strange peak that it was not a good place to be and she did change direction so as to get away from the sacred mountain. That was the day that she had saved his life by warning him about the "rom" which was about to charge him.




Masters of the Arches Ch. 05



She was then careless the following day, she lit a fire to cook a bird she had been able to hit with a stone and that was the day that the Arons captured her.

She explained that the Arons ate anything that moved and if they caught someone, it was a certainty that he or she would be a source of food for them. The day that Vincent set her free, they were taking her to their village. 

(to be continue)



Masters of the Arches Ch. 06



On both sides of the river, the landscape was now gradually changing again. Boulders with plenty of grass in between them were replacing most of the trees. The bank on each side was also beginning to slope higher and steeper. In some places it rose as much as five feet. It seemed that the river had eaten the rock over the ages and had carved its way through the bedrock.

Still the abundance of animal life was surprising. Many groups - and so many different kinds - of grass eaters could be seen that after a while, Vincent finally gave up in his attempt to try to identify some of them. A couple of hours later they were slowly moving through a region where there were no trees at all on both side of the river. Only boulders and short grass was covering the land now.

They agreed to stop as soon as they could find a place to anchor the raft around a rock near the shore. There was no way that they could pull the raft partly up the bank since it now consisted of rocks that stood a couple of feet above the level of the water of the river

Soon the sun was below the horizon and it became urgent that they stopped for the night. As soon as they found the right place to anchor the raft, Vincent tied it to a rock then he got a fire going before it became too dark. Of course he knew that the bright flame from his fire in the darkness of the night could be a beacon for the predators. But on the other hand, the fact that there were no trees anywhere around them and that the grass was relatively short, met that anything getting too close to their camp fire could be detected relatively easily also.

The instant that the meat was cocked and the coffee was hot, they put out the fire and ate in the darkness. That night they slept on the raft since it was safer. They placed their sleeping bags close to one another - they each had their own sleeping bag now - but before falling asleep, Vincent did make love to Nika. He did it with much eagerness and with a passion that he never though he still had. 

While making love to her that night, he was extremely shocked to discover her complete lack of inhibition while taking her pleasure from his cock. He had had sex with at least a dozen different women up to now, but Nika was in a category of her own. Nothing was out of bound to her and she was willing to do anything he would propose to her. The fact that he was able to continuously have sex with her for well over an hour did surprised him since his body was showing a level of virility the he never thought possible. 

This was the first clue that he detected which pointed to the fact that Nika's world was having an effect on his body.

The following morning, he felt extremely good and he was glad to be alive, he had this "joie de vivre" that he hadn't experience in years. As a matter of fact, he hadn't felt like this since he had been in his twenties. His back was no longer hurting - not a day had gone by in the last few years without his experiencing some kind of back pain - and even his stomach ulcer was no longer bothering him.

He began to suspect that something was happening to him. Later that morning, as he was checking the raft so as to see if the logs were still secured together, he saw his reflection in the calm water. He was shocked to see that new hairs were growing well in front of his receding hairline. Even the scar that he had on the bridge of his nose, a scar that he had lived with since he was a teen, was almost gone and he definitely looked younger.

After washing themselves in the river they ate breakfast then they got all their things onto the raft and they let the river carry them downstream once again. The river continued in a general southwest direction and the further they went, the greater were the changes in the landscape. Very far in the distance, to their right, they could now see a low range of mountains. It could have been a part of the same range of mountain of which the tall peak where the cave containing the arch was, but he had no way to be sure of that.

Both banks were still much higher than the level of the river and everywhere they looked they saw grass covered plains where stags with towering racks of antlers were grazing. In other places, there were hundreds of deer or deer- related animals with their skittering fawns on long thin legs, and all were eating peacefully. On another part of the plains, on the left bank, he noticed a group of antelope-like grass eaters along with woolly looking bison-like creatures, each group being very near one another. But from their position on the river, they also saw a pack of dire wolf and other predators that he couldn't identify. All were roaming on the edge of the herds while trying to hide in the taller grass.

But what actually struck Vincent most of all was the tall mammoths. They were of all ages and sizes; some were no more than a few weeks old. The older ones had reddish brown thick woolly fur while the very young tended toward the yellow or gold. There could be no mistake about their being mammoths, their thick trunk and long circular tusks were proof enough of that. Numerous birds were following them and some could be seen actually resting on their backs. A few of the great woolly beasts could be seen in the river ahead and as they went by, barely a few hundred feet from the closest of the noble animals. The passage of the raft near them didn't warrant more than a glance from one or two to the great beasts.

A thought then occurred to Vincent, it there were mammoths in this world, then there was no reason that there shouldn't be saber-tooth tigers also since on Earth they were living in the same era. It was probably a saber-tooth tiger that Nika had seen roaming near the field when she had been held prisoner.

Over their heads could be seen circling, hawks, eagles, and great condors. All of them much larger than he could have imagined. He knew that hunters and also biological experts from Earth would give plenty to be allowed into this place to hunt or to study the wild life.

But there were many dangers here also he realized as he watched a couple of wolves bring down an antelope that had been caught grazing a little farther than the rest. To cross this plain on foot would be a very foolish thing to do he told himself. There was no place to hide here except in the grass, and even in there, it was certain that snakes and other dangers were waiting.

Everywhere he looked the land was flat, except for the mountain far away on his right. They were able to see for miles in every direction since there was no pollution or smog to hinder the view.

By late afternoon, they stopped on the left bank of the river in a spot where it made a sharp turn. At that particular place, the bank was barely four feet high and was not as steep as it had been everywhere else. More important still, there was a large rock half in the water and half on the bank and they used it to anchor the raft. 

Because of the many predators they had seen that day, Vincent decided that it would be much safer if they didn't light a fire and to spent the night on the raft again. With the raft tied to the rock with a long rope, it was completely surrounded by water; this would give them an extra edge against the numerous hunters of the night. Beside if they had to leave in a hurry, it would be much quicker that way since all they would have to do would be to untie the raft and let the current take hold of it.

It did prove to be a very wise decision later. In the middle of the night they were awakened by the sounds of growling and of splattering water. When Vincent looked carefully, he was able to see in the dim starlight, the outline of five or six of the tall wolves that he had previously seen that day. Two of them had even managed to climb on the rock to which the raft was tied and they were preparing themselves to jump aboard when he saw them. At the time, the only thing that seemed to prevent them from jumping was the four or five feet distance from the raft to the rock. Either they were afraid of the water or they were very prudent. In all evidence it looked as if they were trying to make up their mind whether to jump on board or not.

But then he saw something that chilled his bones; he realized that they were much more intelligent than their counterparts on Earth. One of the two wolves that were on the rock began to chew on the rope as if it understood that once the raft was set free without guidance, the current would push it against the bank where others were waiting.

It took the fiery-eyed creature less than a minute to go through the nylon rope and before Victor had time to reach for his rifle, he felt the raft moving in the darkness; they were no longer tied to the rock. 

Putting his rifle away, he reached for one of the long poles and he told Nika to help him to push the raft away from the shoreline. For the next few minutes, the raft came as close as ten feet from the place where the other members of the pack were waiting.

It took all of their strength to keep the raft away, and as soon as they stopped pushing with the poles it would come near the shore again where the wolves were following them along the bank. But as soon as they were well past the sharp turn of the river, the raft remained well away from the shore without the need of any steering or pushing.

During the rest of the night, he or Nika remained awake in case the current of the river would propel them near the bank again. As soon as the first light of dawn was on them they were able to see six of the wolves with their pointed ears and glittering teeth, following them on the now much higher bank of the river. 

He was about to shoot a couple of them so as to scare the rest away, after all with the scope on his riffle it would be impossible to miss, but on second thought he then decided against this. If they were as intelligent as he first judged them to be, he figured that it would be wiser not to show them the deadly accuracy of his riffle. 

There was no doubt in his mind that at this range he could probably kill two or more of them, but the rest would simply move further away and continue to follow the raft while remaining out of range of his bullets. Beside there was also the chance that the noise of his shooting would attract more of them.

By noon the current of the river was much faster and the wolves were now in a half run trying to keep up with them. Nika seemed to know a lot about the wolves and she explained to Vincent that they would simply not give up their pursuits and would stay with them as long as they could. In the middle of the afternoon, the embankment on both sides of the river was now over ten and twelve feet high and it was a solid rock wall on both sides of the river which had also become much narrower now. 

In all evidence the flow of the water had eaten away through the solid rock throughout the ages and it had made a channel by eroding the rock out. They had seen no traces of the wolves for the last hour probably due to the fact that they had been moving too fast. But now that they had gotten rid of the wolves they were facing another danger. It was impossible to stop the raft, the current was much too fast and they were also moving between two solid walls of rock with no place to anchor the raft or even climb ashore.

That night they had to remain on the raft while the fast current was carrying them almost in a straight southerly direction. They took turns staying awake and watching but Vincent knew that there was nothing they could do to stop the raft or even guide it now. 

Then before noon of the next day, he heard the noise of rapids ahead of them. Before they had time to react they found themselves in extremely fast water and a few minutes later, they were at the head of a waterfall. The raft was being sucked toward it and there was nothing they could do about it. A couple hundred yards before the water went over the edge, the river separated in three different channels with the main branch of the river going over the fall.

The volume of water going over the edge was tremendous and even in their situation of eminent disaster, Vincent found himself thinking about the number of kilowatts such a fall could generate with this combination of height and volume.

All of a sudden the raft struck a rock that was splitting the water between the central and the right channel. It stopped there and remained in equilibrium as if it had a mind of its own. At that instant of extreme danger the position of the raft reminded him of some of the clients he used to know when he still had his business. Just like the raft that was in a very unstable equilibrium, it seemed that it was always impossible for these people to take a decision whenever it was time to do so.

Vincent used the pause to tighten the ropes that held their supplies to the raft, he then tied a length of rope around his waist then tied the other end around Nika's waist. Only then did he take the time to examine the right channel.

The amount of water going to that smaller branch of the river was only a fraction of what was going over the fall and instead of falling straight down as it did in the main branch, it cascaded down into a series of rapids. He knew that even if they were to guide the raft so that it would follow that branch of the river, the chances of making it alive through those rapids would be small indeed. He could see rocks everywhere sticking out of the fast moving water and if the raft were to hit any of them, they would almost certainly be crushed to death.

But they had no choice now, over the fall it was certain death for them while if they went through the smaller branch, their chances were just a fraction better. He took one of the poles and he indicated to Nika to take the other one. They pushed against the rock so as to change the static equilibrium of the raft. But the swift current was pressing them against the rock and the force they were exerting was not great enough to unbalance the raft.

By mean of signs with his hand - since there was no way that he could be heard above the maelstrom of noises that the falls were creating - he was able to make her understand that he wanted her to drop her pole and to help him push with the one he had. With the two of them pushing at the same time and on the same pole, they had only one points of contact with the rock and all of the force of reaction on their feet against the logs of the raft was not partly spent in canceling the push of the other pole. 

Nika did as he asked and after a few seconds, the raft – while scraping the side of the large rock – slowly began to move in the direction of the smaller channel. Then as soon as the current took hold of it, they began to move fast on the turbulent waters of the smaller river.

When it reached the first rapid, the raft began to spin around and it tilted left and right many times then it almost overturned completely. Had their supplies not been well secured with ropes, they would have been thrown overboard. Vincent estimated that their speed was near thirty miles per hour and it was putting too much strain on the ropes holding the logs together. At first they were lucky and they didn't hit any of the many rocks that stood here and there in the middle of the rapids.

After they had gone through the first section of turbulent water they came into calmer water for a short time. But there were no places to stop since the shoreline on each side was well above their heads. Beside they were still moving too fast to even try to stop the momentum of the craft. A couple of minutes later they were in the next section of rapids.

The water there was not as turbulent as the previous rapids but it went on for a long stretch of time and on many occasions the raft did make contact with rocks and a section of rope holding the raft together did break under the strain. But the remaining two ropes did their job of holding the raft together.

After what appeared to Vincent to be an eternity, they were again floating on calm waters. But it was only a reprieve for what was lying ahead. The noise coming from downstream was far worse than anything they had heard so far. Then Vincent saw a beautiful rainbow in the sky just over the river about a hundred yards in front of them. It was as if the river ahead of them had disappeared all of a sudden, he then realized that they were being sucked toward a fall and there was no way for them to avoid it.

He placed his arms around Nika's shoulders and he looked her in the eyes. She knew that it was his way to say farewell and she gave him a weak smile in return as she threw her arms around his neck. All of a sudden, the raft was pulled out from under their feet and they were in free fall. Everything then went black for Vincent. 

(to be continued) 



Masters of the Arches Ch. 07



"I was big afraid. Me thought Vincent dead."

The voice came loud and clear into his ears and he was able to tell -- even with his eyes closed -- that it belonged to Nika. He then remembered the raft, the rapids, and the falling sensation. How could they be still alive after that fall he thought? Was it possible to survive such an ordeal?

"What happened? Where are we?"

"We are on big, big river. I thought you dead."

He focussed his eyes on her then he slowly turned his head to look pass her, everywhere he looked there was water. They were on a large body of water either a lake or even a sea.

"Tell me, does the water taste salty?"

"Water is bad, not good for drinking. Nika did try and was sick."

"No, you mustn't drink that water, we are on a sea. Why didn't you push the raft toward the shore before we got so far out on the sea?"

But he didn't give her a chance to answer. He tried to move but he felt a jolt of pain in his right leg, which made him shout. Touching his leg, he asked her if it was broken.

"Yes, leg broken. Very bad". She went on to add. "But Nika fix it, you will be well soon."

With her help, he managed to get into a sitting position with his back resting against the rolled sleeping bags. The pain was almost unbearable. When he looked down at his right leg, he saw that it was broken indeed, the bone just below the knees must have pierced the skin since there was a long ugly gash there.

Nika had reset the bone and using half a dozen arrows around the broken part she had wrapped a section of rope over them and around the broken part of his leg. Of course, under the circumstance there was nothing else she could have done for his leg. It might heal properly given time, but he doubted very much that he would ever have enough strength in it for him to ever walk properly again.

With her limited vocabulary Nika tried explained to him what had happened after he had passed out. It seemed that both of them had fallen off the raft before they reached the bottom of the fall. It was probably because of this fact that they were both alive now. Otherwise they would have struck the logs of the raft and death would have been instantaneous. 

When her head finally came out of the water, she was within arm reach of the raft, which had miraculously fallen right side up with their supplies still mostly intact on top of it.

She then noticed that their raft had partly broken in two parts and it had now only one rope holding it together as two of the five logs had opened up thus creating a wide separation. This created a real danger for their supplies since they risked falling through the opening thus created.

After a lot of effort and because of the fact that the water was now calm she was able to reach for the end of one of the logs and hold on to it. She rested for a minute while holding to the log and after realizing that she wasn't seriously hurt, she managed to pull herself onto the half-broken raft. 

But while doing so, she felt the rope around her waist pulling on her. Remembering that he was still tied at the other end she immediately began pulling him toward her. Then at the expense of a lot of her energy, she was able to pull him partly onto the raft after many long minutes of great effort.

Their supplies were her next preoccupation. Since they had taken the precaution of tying them securely, everything seemed there but in great danger of falling through the ever-increasing crack caused by the separation of the two logs. It took her a while to tie both halves of the raft together and close the gap. When she checked to see if anything was missing, she discovered that all of their smoked meat was gone but everything else was there. Only then did she pay attention to Vincent's leg.

*************

Before she could do anything about it, the raft had emerged on the large body of water and the current quickly carried it further away. Having lost the two long poles to push it, she was helpless and gradually she lost sight of the shoreline. All this had happened a day and a half earlier.

It was now in the middle of the afternoon, and Vincent although in great pain, was still realistic enough to understand how precarious their situation was. There could be all sorts of danger on as well as in this sea, from high winds to underwater creatures. That was not taking into account the winged creatures such as the giant condors they had seen earlier.

It was clear that they were in great danger and the sooner they could get to land, the better their chances of survival would be.

Throughout the night, his fever was very high and he became delirious. The fever persisted for most of the following day also. When he became conscious again, it was dusk of their second day at sea. He noticed that Nika looked very tired and upon talking to her, he learned that she had been awake during all that time so as to keep an eye on him. She said that twice he had almost rolled overboard while being delirious with the fever. That is why she needed to keep a constant eye on him

As soon as he realized how exhausted she was, he told her that the fever was now gone and that he was much better, then he made her lie next to him. Barely a few minutes later she was sound asleep.

His leg was still hurting him a lot and he thought that it was a good sign, had there been no pain it could have meant that there was gangrene developing.

The sea was calm and a very light wind was blowing from the west, it was just enough to cool them and make the raft move slowly over the water. 

While Nika slept on the half-soaked sleeping bag, he examined her beautifully voluptuous breasts in the starlight. She would have been a beauty queen on his world and while she was breathing regularly next to him, he let his hand stroke her hair.

In the middle of the morning, they were both pulled out of their sleep by a spray of cold water over their half naked bodies. The wind had greatly increased and the sea was responding to it with five and six foot waves. They immediately set themselves to the task of securing all of their supplies. Vincent even used the remaining rope to tie the logs of the raft more securely.

By mid afternoon the wind got worse and he was no longer sure if the raft would remain in one piece for much longer. But it did, and all of that night the wind blew and the waves pounded the raft and sent showers of cold water over its two occupants.

On the morning of the fourth day, the wind died down completely. When the sun came out, they both fell into a deep sleep since they had been rocked by the sea and sprayed by the waves for nearly fifteen hours now and they were both exhausted. They slept until past noon and they felt much better after that.

They had been at sea for four and a half days now and their water supply consisted of only half of one of the transparent plastic bottles he had brought. Before leaving his cottage he had filled from his well a couple of half gallon bottles that used to contain soft drinks and just before they got on the turbulent waters of the river he had refilled them again from the river. If they were very careful, what was left of the water would last two more days but after that, they would suffer from thirst and dehydration of course.

Even though his leg was still very painful, it did seemed to be healing well. But whether he would walk again on it remained to be seen, Nika had done a superb job of resetting the bone and if he ever walked again it would be because of her fast intervention. 

They watched the horizon for the following two days and there was always one of them awake during the night, but they did not see any sign of land. Then the last of the water was gone and they knew that the end would be near if they did not get to fresh water soon.

But that night it rained. The water came down in sheets and they were easily able to fill both bottles using a plastic gag as a collector. They remained on the raft for two more days before they finally saw land. Vincent figured that they had been at sea for nine days by then.

Judging by their rate of approach toward shore, the current was very fast, and it took them only an hour from the time they saw the land for the first time until they were able to set foot on solid ground with all of their possessions.

While they were approaching the land, Vincent noticed the numerous trees everywhere and even near the luxuriant vegetation grew everywhere. Far in the background, they could see a low range of mountains covered with trees. As for the growth near the shoreline, it consisted of completely unknown plants to him; even Nika didn't recognize most of them.

With the forward momentum of the raft, they came to rest on the white sand of the beach. The clear sea water was only a couple of feet deep there and it took Nika only a few minutes to carry all of their supplies on the splendid beach while Vincent got busy removing the ropes that were holding the logs together.

With Nika's help and while suffering much pain, he was able to reach the first of the trees where she had already deposited their supplies. When he looked back in the direction of the raft, he saw only five logs that were being scattered here and there on the beach by the movement of the waves. Anyone seeing them would only see a few tree trunks that had been washed ashore and would think nothing more of it, at least that was what he was hoping.

As soon as they were well under the cover of the trees, Nika went looking for a suitable place where they could spend the night. Neither of them had any idea as to what to expect in this land, and of course, they weren't willing to take the chance of remaining in the open during their first night in this strange place.

Even though Nika searched everywhere for a suitable place where they could lie down in relative safety for the night, she saw nothing but trees and rocks. After an hour of looking for a safer spot, the best she came up with was spot under a tree where there was a recently fallen tree trunk on one side and a small stream on the other side.

It was very painful for Vincent to walk there but he did, and he even carried his knapsack too. As soon as they were seated on the ground, they ate the last of the canned meat and soon then both fell in a deep sleep, being too exhausted to be on their guard for predators.

The following morning Nika went looking further away for a better place where they could wait for Vincent's leg to heal. She seemed very confident that his leg would soon be better and she did insist that he would be able to walk on it again. She came back in mid-afternoon carrying a big bird that she had killed with an arrow.

"Nika find place to stay, we go there." She was pointing in the direction she had just come.

"Yes we will, but first we will cook that bird and eat, if someone detects the smoke of our fire, we will be gone by the time they get here, I hope."

For the first time in a dozen days, they ate a warm meal and Vincent was able to make himself a cup of hot coffee something he had missed a lot in the last week. As soon as they were finished eating they threw sand on the fire and they then undertook the long walk to the place that Nika had discovered.

It was a couple of miles deeper into the dense jungle-like forest and it took them a few hours for them to make it there. Vincent had to stop often to rest his leg and whenever they had to climb over dead trees or pass around other obstacles Nika had to drop their baggage and help him over or around the obstacle. Then while he rested she had to return and get their backpacks. By the time they finally arrived there Vincent's leg was extremely painful. He had made use of a stick to help him support his weight but the repeated stress on his healing leg was not exactly helping it heal and he had to stretch himself on one of the sleeping bag as soon as they arrived.

The hideaway that Nika had found was a small space between two large rocks with a couple of trees growing closely on one of the open sides. On the other open side there was a fallen tree with dense bushes growing there. He wondered how she could have discovered that place in the first place since it was completely hidden from all sides.

Once he was stretched and had rested a while he began paying attention to his surrounding. He was stretched in-between two large boulder with one of them, the largest and highest one, having a deep dent on the side facing him. He then knew why Nika had chosen that particular place; the dent in the rock could act as a sort of roof over their head if it should rain. He knew that he was going to spent a lot of time in this place, until his leg healed well enough for him to walk on it and not be a constant burden to Nika as they move on. 

Nika went hunting every other day while they remained there. After 12 days, Vincent's leg was able to support his full weight for a short while and he could walk around without much pain. Even the scar where the skin of his leg had been punctured was completely healed and there were no longer any marks to indicate that the bone had perforated the skin. This fact Vincent couldn't accept, he knew that no herbs, no medications and no treatments whatsoever, could erase all the traces of a skin scar and do it so short a time at that.

It then occurred to him that there was something strange about this world. In the last couple of days, he had also noticed a bothering pain in his mouth. When he passed his tongue over his gums where he had a missing tooth at the back of his mouth, he discovered that there was the point of a new tooth sticking out. It was in the process of piercing his gum, just like it would happen to toddler. He had to know more about what was happening to him and since they had plenty of time to talk he began to ask Nika questions about her world.

It became plain to Vincent, after asking her questions for a short time, that she couldn't understand the concept of getting old. To listen to her, one would think that she had never seen anyone older than he was. At first, he thought that her relatives as well as the people she knew must have died before they had had the chance to get old and that was why she wasn't very familiar with old age, but even then she was bound to know or have heard of her grand parents.

He next tried to make her express how old she was. But he soon discovered that the concept of the time lap of a year was completely unknown to her. So far he had seen no indication that there were seasons in this place, therefore she was certainly not familiar with the length of time that a year represented. Furthermore he had never seen a moon at night in the heaven; thus, this method of measuring time was out of the question too. The only length of time that she knew was the day, so he got an idea. The ground where they were sitting was covered with big grains of sand, so taking single sand grain; he placed it in his opened hand he indicated to Nika to look at it.

"Each day that Nika has ever lived is a grain of sand. Now take some sand and place it in my hand so that there are the same number of grains as the number of days you have lived."

She looked at him for a few seconds, then she took a handful of sand and she let some of it slip through her fingers into his hand. She examined what was in his hand and again she let some escape. Vincent could see that she was trying to evaluate what he had in his hand. Again she did release more sand. Finally she looked at him and she pointed to his hand.

"There, Nika live one day for each grain."

When he looked in his hand he knew that there was a mistake. There were much too many grains of sands there; judging by what he had in his hand, she must have been a few hundreds Earth-years old. But worse still, he was tempted to believe her.

(to be continued)



Masters of the Arches Ch. 08



One morning Nika went to hunt for fresh meat like she often did. But by mid-afternoon she hadn't returned.

Even though Vincent was worried, he knew that lately she had had to walk farther than usual to find meat. Her constant hunting had already killed much of the small game around their camp. But when dusk arrived and she was not back, he really became worried. There was nothing to do now but to wait and hope that she was not hurt and had found a safe place to spend the night.

As soon as it was light enough the following morning, he took a few provisions and his rifle and he set out after her. His leg was almost completely healed by now and he was angry with himself for not having gone with her the previous day.

Walking was still a little painful but it was the lack of exercise in his leg that was causing most of the pain now, and of course he didn't let that stop him.

He followed the small stream in the direction she always took when she went hunting. She always went the same way since most of the game she killed were small animals that usually went to drink from the clear water of the stream.

He walked upstream for a couple of hours until he found himself in a small clearing. There was a single large tree in its center so he stopped there to rest a little and also to eat. He was getting ready to leave fifteen minutes later when he heard voices not far from where he was. It then occurred to him that he had made a mistake in choosing this place to rest and eat. There was nowhere for him to run now except to hide where he was.

The sound of the voices got louder and it became evident to him that whoever was coming his way was going to pass very close to him. He had no choice but to remain still and wait since running away would definitely attract attention.

A few minutes later, half a dozen men, completely naked with fluffy feathers tied to their manhood and with animal's figures painted all over their chest, appeared in the small clearing.

They hadn't seen him yet as they walked toward the lone tree straight toward him.

Then the one ahead, probably the leader, saw him and he froze in his track. Without saying a word, he began to shout to his companions while pointing in Vincent's direction.

What followed next happened so fast that Vincent could only remembered it vaguely afterward.

They all rushed on him before he had time to greet them or ask a question. He knew that he could easily have killed half of them before the rest got to him but he had no way to predict if they were friendly or not and by the time he was aware of their intentions it was already too late.

One of them hit him on the head with the wooden end of his spear and while he was half-unconscious, they bound his hands behind his back and tied a fibrous rope around his neck.

To reanimate him, they simply threw him in the cold water of the creek nearby and they took fun in watching him trying to keep his head out of the water. Once they were tired of this fun, the leader pulled him out of the water by mean of the rope around his neck and they began to investigate his belonging.

When Vincent tried to talk to them, he was hit in the face. It became painfully evident that these people didn't want him to address them in any way.

They seemed very interested in his rifle, but when they removed his knife from around his waist, all of their interest switched to the knife and they became still more agitated.

The leader and two others began to talk very fast in a language that was very similar to that of Nika. Vincent could understand quite a bit what they were saying. It seemed to him that they were debating what to do with him. The leader, the one with the most intricate drawing on his chest, wanted him kill immediately.

Finally, they were able to reach an arrangement. The leader of the small group was going to keep the knife and they would not reveal its existence to Haski who seemed to be their chief. But Vincent and all the rest of his things were going to be brought back to their village and given to Haski.

As soon as this was settled, they began to walk back the way they had come with Vincent walking in the middle of the file while the warrior immediately behind him holding the rope tied around his neck.

They were walking very fast and the fact that his hands were bounded behind his back put extra strain on his healing leg and soon he was experiencing much pain. He fell to the ground a couple of times, but each time they would kick him in the side and force him back on his feet by mean of the rope.

While he was walking to their village, he had a chance to observe them.

Their skin was darker, at least that part that which was not covered with paint. It was more of a pale brown color than it was black and their bodies were slim and tall. Their faces were handsome enough but they had so much paint on it that it was difficult to judge. As for their hair, they all had a single shoulder length tress of dark black hair tied at the back with a short leather rope and decorated with a few feathers. They seemed to take great care of their hair and every time that mud or dust would get into it, they would immediately wipe it off very carefully.

After a couple of hours of fast walking, they stopped to rest and they ate fruits that they had been carrying in a bag made of animal skin.

They rested for only a short while and they soon resumed their fast walking back to their village. It was almost dark when they arrived there. Judging by the number of huts that could be seen, Vincent figured that there must have been five to six hundred people living there.

The place seemed to be clean enough and there was a definite order in the way the huts were arranged in concentric circles around a number of larger dwellings in the middle of the village.

There were many cooking fires burning everywhere and the smell of food cooking reminded Vincent how hungry he was. They tied him to one of several posts not far from the center of the village. Then without any further concern for him, they went to a central fire where half a dozen females, who must have been waiting for them, served them food.

For the rest of the evening and for the whole night, Vincent remained tied to the post and not once did they come to give him food or water. In the morning, he could hardly feel his arms since the tight rope prevented much of the blood from circulating and it was only because of the constant moving of his wrists behind his back that both of his arms were not completely paralyzed.

As soon as the sun was up, a woman accompanied by two guards came to feed him. He was then brought to a hole near the edge of the village where he was allowed to relieve himself. Once again, he was taken to the same post and tied up.

The guards went away but the woman remained near a fire close by and she got busy cooking a stew in a big clay caldron. She had been kind to him when she had feed him and she had even smiled at him once, so Vincent make up his mind to try to engage into a conversation with her.

"Are you the wife of a man from the village?"

When she heard him speaking to her, she stopped what she had been doing and she came closer to the post but not near enough to attract attention. She began to pick up pieces of wood from a pile near Vincent.

"Be quiet." She whispered in an evidently nervous tone of voice. "Slaves must not talk to each other, if you are caught you will be beaten."

In a much lower voice, Vincent then added.

"So you are a slave also here, are there many other slaves?"

He was not expecting an answer but she did answer his question.

"Yes, as many as there are huts. Sometimes ago there were many more, but they did kill many of us who tried to escape."

"Tell me, is there a woman here by the name of Nika?"

"Yes she is here, they brought her here two days ago."

Upon hearing that Nika was still alive, Vincent's heart began to beat faster. He wanted to know more about her condition. But the woman moved away closer to the fire with the armful of wood. Two warriors were now approaching them.

They didn't say a word and they untied Vincent's hands and they pulled him by the neck rope. He was thus forced to follow them as they crossed toward the center of the village where he had seen the half dozen large dwellings the previous day.

As he walked with the two guards, he was able to distinguish the slaves from the citizens of the village.

The slaves were not permitted to wear any kind of ornament and their bodies were not painted. Whereas the females of the village - those that were not slave - were painted with intricate designs while the men had animals painted over their body. But all of them had either feather or decoration in their long hair.

Except for the feathers that the warriors wore, everyone in the village was completely naked. Even the women went around as naked as the day they were born.

Then something suddenly struck Vincent attention. He noticed that there were no old people in the village and only a few children could be seen. But on the other hand everyone looked healthy and in the prime of life.

The men would have been considered handsome if they had been on his world. And as for the women, slaves or citizens of the village, they were all stunningly pretty. They were rather tall and slim with dark black shoulder length hair that was tied at the back, much like the hair of the men, and all of the women had splendid breasts that bounced about as they moved around.

They walked between huts and mud houses. Then Vincent was a witness to a strange sight when they came upon a scene where he saw men having sex with women here and there. He even saw one male actually leave one woman and immediately go down on another who was waiting her turn. Of course, both women were slaves and Vincent tried not to think about what could have happened to Nika during the two days she had been in this village.

He was brought in front of a high wall made of long poles placed close to one another and tied together with ropes. The wall completely enclosed a very large house made of similar poles with the roof much like all the others roof of the village, which consisted of large leaves set one over another on a rack of sticks.

Most of the people of the village had been following them and this made him nervous since they were probably expecting a show of some kind. A show with him as the main participant.

When a man with many feathers sticking out of his hair and with many decorations painted all over his body, came walking out of the central dwelling, Vincent was forced to get on his knees. His right leg was still painful and he cried with pain as he fell on his knees. He was slapped on the mouth immediately by one of the guards standing next to him.

It was quite evident that the man that had just come out of the large house was the chief. Cruelty could be read all over his face and he smiled as soon as he realized that Vincent was in pain. His body was covered with beautiful drawings of animals and he had a long tress of feather hanging from his head.

He began to slowly walk toward Vincent with a cruel smile on his lips. In his hand, he was holding Vincent's rifle. Pointing to it with one hand as he held it in the other, he addressed himself to Vincent in a low-pitched voice.

"Where did you get this?"

Vincent was not certain if he would be permitted to answer. Would he be slapped again if he did? He decided to take a chance and he answered the chief.

"It is a magic instrument. I use it to keep away the bad spirits."

This seemed to satisfy the chief who then added.

"Where did a low worm such as you get that stick of magic?"

" It was given to me by a spirit, the man that will be responsible for my death will be haunted by this spirit until he kills himself."

It was a long shot but Vincent knew that his chances of staying alive were very slim if he didn't play on these people's superstitions. The chief, whose name he had previously learned from the warriors who had captured him the previous day, was Haski, seemed to think about this for a few seconds. He then added.

"Prove to me that it can do magic or I will kill you myself here."

"I must hold it in my hand to let the magic out of it."

He could see Haski debating in his mind as to whether he should let Vincent take the magic stick or not. Of course Vincent knew by then that the chief knew nothing of the deadly power of the rifle, otherwise he would have used it himself to kill him.

Finally, Haski, the chief, extended his arm and he presented the rifle to Vincent. Vincent had no intention of shooting his way out of the village. For one thing, he wouldn't have succeeded, even though he could have killed the chief and a few warriors. His main aim was to get Nika out of this place. No, he just wanted to scare the chief enough so that he would not kill him immediately.

Once the rifle was in his hands, he pulled the bolt in one swift motion thus feeding a cartridge into the chamber. He did this in such a way that the chief and the guards near him heard the noise but didn't see exactly what he had done.

The metallic noise was new to them and it did surprise all of those that heard it. Even the large crowd outside the wall of poles that was watching through the wide opened gates had heard it. There was a low mumbling into the crowd and many hands were now pointing at him.

Victor looked toward the crowd. Then among them he saw the warrior that had been at the head of the small group that had captured him. It was the same one that had insisted on killing him instead of bringing him alive in the village.

He was standing just outside the wall and watching everything. He had been cruel to Vincent; he had even refused to give him water or food on the way back. It was that same man also that had kicked him the most often whenever he fell to the ground.

"This magic stick has the power to tell me if there is a liar among your people. If I point it at a liar it will make a loud noise and thus indicate who he is."

Now Haski seemed very interested, he even took a step closer toward Vincent the better to see.

Adjusting the scope of the rifle for the fifty-yard distance to the leader of the group of six that had captured him, he aimed at the single feather in his hair. When he saw that the bullet would not hit anyone standing behind him, he pulled the trigger.

Before the loud noise had died down, the feather as well as half of the braid of hair where it had been tied, felt to the ground.

The crowd, Haski, as well as his guards reacted instantly with shouts of surprise and fear. Some people in the crown nearby actually ran away.

"The magic stick has spoken, it has pointed to a liar among your warriors. To know who he is, all you have to do is to seek the one with the missing feather."

Of course, everyone had seen what had happen and there was no doubt in anyone's mind as to which one among them the magic stick had indicated. But still the chief slowly walked into the crowd and he pretended to inspect the men there.

Then he came in front of 'broken feather'; he was still holding part of his braid and the feather in his hand. Of course, it was a great dishonor that he had suffered and only the instant killing of the offender would satisfy him now.

But before he could react, Haski told two of his guards to seize him and he was brought inside the fence to stand in front of Vincent.

"Yes he is the one." Said Vincent.

"What lie has he told?"

The warrior looked at Vincent with much hatred written all over his face, but he didn't say a word.

"It is not what he said that makes him a liar but what he did not say."

"Then tell me what he did not say which make him a liar."

"He did not tell his chief that when I was captured he took from me a magic knife and he still has it hidden."

The warrior's eyes began to show fear and his body started to shake when the chief looked at him. He then threw himself at Haski's feet and he began to talk very fast begging for his forgiveness and promising to give back the knife, which was now in his hut.

But Haski gave a signal to one of his guards and a spear was thrown through the warrior's chest killing him on the spot.

Haski quickly removed the rifle from Vincent's hands and without saying another word he turned around and left. Vincent was then taken to a small hut where he was given food and water by a couple of slave women.

As soon as he was finished eating, the same two guards who had been waiting in front of the hut took him to the field and he was made to work with other slaves. There were a few men in the group but by far there were many more women than men working there. All of them were busy tiling the soil with pointed sticks; it was hard work especially under the hot sun.

Vincent spent that night and many other nights that followed into the male slaves quarters. It consisted of a fence of circular poles very similar to the one around the chief's place, and inside of which was a low roof which stood on many poles stuck into the ground. It was simple but adequate since the weather was very warm and the roof kept them dry on rainy nights. There were eight other males sleeping there with him.

Their food was mostly fruits and some of the tasty white roots that they were cultivating in the fields. It seemed that the villagers were very found of these roots. Once boiled, Vincent had to admit that they indeed had a pleasant taste. Once in a while, they were given some half-rotten meat but Vincent always threw it away. It was very evident to him that the resident of the village considered meat a luxury and they fed the slaves only that part of the meat which they themselves didn't want to eat.

He did try to get information about Nika, but nobody seemed to know where she was. But on the tenth day after his arrival there, while he was picking roots in the field, he saw the same woman that he had met when he had been tied to the post on the day of his arrival in the village.

He recognized her the instant he saw her. She was very beautiful and her naked breasts seemed very firm and inviting to the touch. She began to work next to him in the field and it became clear to him that she wanted to tell him something. At last, when they were close enough while working, she whispered to him.

"I know where the woman Nika is?"

"Tell me then, where is she? Is she well? Please tell me."

He stopped working as soon as she began whispering to him; he looked straight at her. Then he noticed one of the guards looking in their direction and he quickly resumed working. Without lifting his head, he asked the slave woman to tell him more about Nika.

"She is here in the village. Haski has made her one of his women."

Vincent felt his anger and rage rising and on that instant he made up his mind that he was going to kill Haski before leaving this place.

"Tell me when I can see her?"

"Not now, it is impossible, but in two days there will be the ceremony of manhood in the village, then you will be able to talk to her."

"How is it that you know where she is while nobody else seemed to know her whereabouts?"

He didn't think that the woman was lying but it did seemed strange that she should be the only one to know. She didn't answer immediately since one of the guards was walking slowly toward them. Had he noticed that they were talking? Vincent didn't care for himself since he felt relatively sure that he could kill him and run away, but he didn't want to leave without Nika.

At last, the guard walked toward the end of the field where he emptied his bladder without the least concern as to whether he was being observed or not.

"My name is Verla," said the woman. "I know about her because I have to supply the chief's house with all the water they use. Every morning I make many trips to the river and I have to fill all the pots with water. Sometimes he is not around and it gives me a chance to talk to her."




Masters of the Arches Ch. 08



"Is she well?"

"As well as could be expected under the circumstance, but when he will get tired of her, he will send her with the other slaves and once there, she will have to obey any male in the village."

"You mean that she will have to submit to their sexual abuse?"

At this moment, he did recall some of the scenes he saw every evening as he and the other slaves walked through the village on their way to their sleeping quarters. Sometimes he would see two or even three men copulating with the same woman, and once he even saw a young warrior not more trying his luck with a very heavy-breasted slave while his father stood over them watching and making jokes.

"I will kill Haski soon, I can promise you this."

"Do not do anything before the feast since all the hunters are in the village now. You could try to escape during the feast when most of them will be drunk or wait after the feast. Once the feast is over, they will have to go back into the wood to hunt for meat since the supply of meat will be depleted then. Then you might find a way to escape with her since there will be many fewer warriors around."

It did make sense to Vincent but he only hoped that Haski would not tired of Nika too soon and thus make her available to the rest of the males of the village.

Verla then added. "You must promise to take me and Lomac with you when you escape."

"Who is Lomac?" Asked Vincent.

"He is my man and you will not be able to escape without his help."

She seemed categorical on this and he became eager to know why she was so sure of herself on that matter. In a half mocking stare, he asked her why her man was so indispensable to his being able to escape from the village.

"He is a tool maker and as such, he has access to the storage of the tools and weapons. He can get us all the weapons we will need for our escape."

Vincent also learned from her that the chief kept a reserve of weapons in one of the huts close to the walls of his quarter and Lomac was the only slave ever to go inside that hut.

"I will think about it and let you know soon."

He then remembered something he wanted to ask her, something that had been bothering him. He asked her why Nika hadn't shown up outside when she heard the noise from his rifle on the day that he explained to the chief that the rifle was a magic stick. She certainly did know that he had been the one that had fired the rifle when she heard the loud noise.

"She did try to run outside but Haski's two other wives prevented her from leaving the house. We will have to be careful about them, they know that the chief will never throw them out since they each gave him a son and he does treat them well."

This last remark of her gave Vincent something to worry about. Suppose Nika got pregnant from Haski? But then, another question popped up in his mind, suppose she was already pregnant from him?

(to be continued) 



Masters of the Arches Ch. 09



While Vincent was being confined with the rest of the slaves in the slaves hut a couple of days later; he heard from a fellow prisoner about a war that took place a very long time ago far to the south.

This man had been captured the previous year by Haski's people. He was one of eight males that undertook a trip north of his village in an attempt to capture a "weega" which was, from his description, a kind of three foot long reptile. Its bones, once ground and mixed with other ingredients so that it could ferment, had the power to produce dreams that were revelations of things to come.

Haski's people had attacked them and five of their group had been killed while the three others were taken prisoners. He also told Vincent about a tribe of strange people living much farther south of his own native land.

These people knew much about the 'war of the gods'. They claimed that the land in their vicinity was marked with the scars of battles. Fire and lightning produced by the gods as they engaged in war struck the ground had destroyed everything over large areas.

Judging by the slave's description of the widespread destruction of the land and the scars that were still visible there to this day, Vincent could only think that modern weapons had been used in this war. He decided that it would be worthwhile to investigate this place if he ever got the chance since these so-called gods could well be those that had built the arch.

At last, the day of the feast of manhood arrived and everything was prepared for the ceremonies. Most of the fires in the central portion of the village were lit and they all had clay caldrons hanging over them while in some cases whole carcasses of animals were slowly roasting over them.

At the back of the chief's living quarters were two small huts. One was used to store tools while the other was used to make and ferment the strong sour beer that the inhabitants of the village liked so much.

On that day, half a dozen female slaves - all the male slaves were locked away in the male's quarters - were busy carrying clay vases full of beer from this hut. Quite a few people were already in an advanced state of intoxication from the potent brew, even if the ceremonies had not yet begun.

The feast officially began in the middle of the afternoon with the killing ceremony. Each of the two boys that were to be initiated into manhood, had to kill with their bared hands a small deer-like animal no taller than a small dog.

To Vincent, who was watching from the confinement of the slave's quarters, it was unnecessary cruelty. When both animals were dead at last, they set them to roast over a sacred fire that had been especially prepared for this purpose.

Each boy was then given a leather necklace, then in a ceremony of magic signs and words, their weapons and faces were decorated by Haski. Once this ceremony was over the feast really began. There was much over-eating and drinking, soon almost everyone was in an advanced state of drunkenness while most of the women slaves were called upon to sexually serve the men.

Both young men that had been initiated into manhood were offered a female slave and in front of the whole village they were expected to perform and have sexual intercourse with them.

There was much cheering and laughter from the crowd and as soon as this deed was performed, and having now having become men, were offered a jug of beer.

The eating and drinking went on well into the night. During all that time, Vincent watched them through the vertical cracks between the logs of the slave's fence and more than once he was shocked by the villagers' lack of decency.

As the hours passed by, half of the men were too drunk to stand on their feet while the other half was were busy copulating here and there either with slaves or with women from the village. Some of the slaves were actually enjoying themselves while others were being forced to do things that Vincent hadn't even dared to imagine before.

As he was observing the feast in the dark, Vincent suddenly saw two women appearing out of nowhere. They were just outside the fence of the males slaves quarters.

They approached the pole fence nearer to him and he was soon able to recognize them. They were Nika and Verla. As soon as they were near enough, he signaled them with his hand through a crack between poles and he whistled at the same time so as to attract their attention. As soon as they noticed him, they walked toward him immediately.

"Nika, I am so glad to see you. Are you hurt?

"I though that I would never see you again," said Nika as she reached for his hand. She had tears in her eyes.

"Don't worry we will get away from this place, and very soon at that. As a matter of fact as soon as they are all drunk tonight we will get away."

He next turned his attention to Verla. "Are you still willing to escape with us? Will Lomac your mate come with us?"

"Yes we will go with you. We will do what you say."

"Very well then. We will escape in the night, when most of the people of the village are drunk, you must tell Lomac to prepare himself."

"Nika, do you know where Haski keeps my riffle?"

"Yes. I have watched him once as he was examining it. When he was done with it he then wrapped it in a fur and placed it in a hole under his mat. He believes it is strong magic and I can tell he is afraid of it."

" Do you know where are the rest of our things?"

"Yes the two knapsacks and everything we have is still in his hut. Even the food and the handguns are there; he doesn't dare to tamper with anything. I suppose he believes they have some sort of dark power. He does have my knife tied around his waist though."

"Before we leave we must take back everything that belong to us." 

"You must be careful Vincent, I have seen him kill a slave with your knife just so he could try it."

"Verla, you will tell Lomac to be ready to leave at anytime now. Since he knows where the weapons are stored, he will be in charge of distributing them to those that are willing to escape with us, tell him to destroy the rest"

"We mustn't be captured again" said Verla, "if we are taken prisoner once again, they will torture us a long time before killing us."

"They will not capture us, don't worry about that. Just be ready to leave when I tell you".

Nika then asked Vincent what was his plan of escape.

"In the middle of the night, when they are as drunk as they will get, I will climb over this fence here and meet you in Haski's hut. Make sure that you are alone with him. If one of his wives is with him, you must make sure that she is send away. Once I have my riffle in my hand they will not have much of a chance against us even if we are discovered."

Just then, they heard shouting as two guards approached the two women. They seized both women and brought them to face Haski.

Vincent could see them talking in the light of the many fires everywhere, but he couldn't hear a word since he was too far from them. Suddenly he saw the chief strike Nika across the face.

Both women were then tied with their backs to the ground and their legs well opened wide by mean of a stick tied to each ankle then their hands were tied above their heads to a small post.

To Vincent's horror, he then saw Haski climb between Nika legs and he proceeded to have sex with her. Many of the villagers stood in a wide circle around them cheering him on. When he was done with her, he went to Verla and he had sex with her also. He then got off and upon his signal half a dozen men rushed toward the women lying on the ground.

Although Vincent couldn't see very clearly what they were doing, he could well imagine it. This went on for over an hour. At last, only a few men remained near the women, the rest having lost interest in them.

Almost every one was now completely or partly intoxicated with the potent brew and Vincent decided that it was now time for him to act if he ever wanted to see the two women alive again.

As he climbed over the pole fence, a few of the male slaves watched him but they neither try to stop or help him. As soon as he was on the ground on the other side of the fence, he discretely hurried toward the two women still lying on the ground.

One man was still plowing his cock in and out of Nika. With much rage in his heart, Vincent got very close to them until he was standing just behind the male that was raping her. He was close enough now to see that Nika had her eyes shut tight and she was neither moving nor making any sound.

As soon as he was close enough, he hit the man on the back of his head with both of his fists. The man collapsed instantly on top of Nika and the sudden impact made her open her eyes.

At first she didn't recognize Vincent, but when she did at last, she managed to smile weakly at him. After rolling the unconscious man off her, he untied her. He then pushed the rapist into Nika's place on the ground so that if anyone happened to be looking their way, it would appear that there was a human form still tied to the post.

After freeing Verla who was not in a much better shape than Nika, he told her to remain lying as she was since he needed a body to replace her. He then quietly went to the nearest hut. He grabbed the ankle of one of the woman of the village that was sleeping in a completely drunken state and he quietly dragged her out of the hut. Before she had time to open her eyes completely, he hit her on the side of the head thus knocking her out completely; he then rolled her until she was lying in Verla's place.

Both Nika and Verla had some difficulties walking and he had to help them. As the three of them were walking away, he could smell the sweat as well and the muck, which was coating much of their bodies. Of course, there was no time for them to clean themselves since they had to get their weapons and possessions before escaping.

Vincent hadn't seen Haski anywhere since he had allowed his men to take both women. As they approached Haski's hut they say two guards sitting near the entrance of the fence enclosing the chief's house. Both seemed to be sleeping while each had his back resting on a post on each side of the entrance.

The trio had no difficulties passing through the open gate without disturbing the guards. Nika then lead them to one of the huts where Haski was expected to be. Once they were inside Haski's sleeping quarters, they were able to see two human forms on a straw mat at the far end of the large room.

On closer inspection, one of the forms did turn out to be Haski while the other form was one of his wives. Because of the light from the many fires outside which was filtering through the knitted grass strands of the entrance, they also saw Nika's knife in its sheath, lying on the ground not far from them.

Before Vincent could utter a single word, she ran to the knife and she pulled it out. Then in one swift motion she neatly slit Haski's throat.

The chief didn't even have time to get out of his deep sleep. He died there without even opening his eyes. Vincent couldn't really blame her for what she had just done. She had endured much from him and he figured that the chief got what he deserved.

They rolled the body of the chief away from the mat and they also moved the women lying next to him. She was completely drunk and she didn't give them any trouble and she just kept on sleeping.

Nika then removed the mat and with her still bloody knife, she began to dig into the soft ground where the mat had been. A few minutes later she extracted a package wrapped in a fur. Inside were Vincent's riffle with the extra clips as well as his knife still in its sheath.

For some reason, the chief had preferred to wear Nika's knife while hiding the other one with the riffle. Vincent immediately checked his riffle and he loaded it with a new clip.

Their knapsacks as well as Nika's bow and arrows were still in a neat pile at the other end of the hut. Vincent's and Nika's hand guns and holsters were also lying on top of the pile. Probably, because of the fact that they were made of metal, they had been considered magic to Haski. His fear of these strange objects made of metal had been too much for him and he had preferred not to touch them.

When they emerged from the chief's hut with all of their possessions, they saw one of the guards standing near the entrance of the fence. He was very awake now. It took Nika only a few seconds to fit an arrow to her bow and to send it through his heart.

As they passed near the body of the guard, Nika wanted to recover her arrow from the body, but Vincent was able to persuade her to leave it there. They were pressed for time, having to cover as much ground as possible before daybreak and now wasn't the time to waste any of it over such a triviality as a lost arrow.

They met Lomac at the back of the chief's hut, right in front of the small hut where the weapons and tools were stored. He was carrying many long spears and a bag made of animal skin. Before leaving, they went to the women's compound and they killed both guards there, then they opened the gates wide.

Half of the women prisoners were still inside while the other half were probably lying with a male of the village. Next they went to the men's compound and they freed them also.

Lomac then got busy distributing spears and other weapons that he had with him. Vincent was certain that more than half the slaves were willing to try their chance and escape, the rest being too scared of the consequences of being caught in trying to escape. He also knew that the success of their escape depended on their being quiet and also on speed.

Lomac and Verla wanted to travel southward since their home was in that direction. This being also in the general direction that Vincent had in mind to go, the four of them decided that they should stay together for a while. The more they were, the better were their chances of fighting off their pursuers if they should happen to catch up with them.

Many of the slaves - those at least that were willing to take their chance in escaping - went also in small groups in different directions. But there were many that were afraid of the consequences of being caught again and they did remain in the village.

Vincent explained to the rest of his group of four that before moving south they should all hide for a few days where he and Nika had been resting for the last three weeks while his leg was healing. They still had smoked meat hidden there and they could wait in safety until Haski's warriors got tired of looking for them.

They moved as fast as they could and when they finally stopped to rest near a small stream, the first rays of the sun were visible over the horizon. Once they had eaten from the little supply of food that Lomac had managed to bring, they rested for a while. Both women took the opportunity to bathe in the creek so as to remove some of the traces of the bad treatments they had had to endure the previous night.

When they resumed their walk, they went at a slower pace. Vincent reasoned that it was fair to assume that their pursuers would need at least a day before they organized themselves and reach this region. By that time he and his small group would have reached their hidden food supply. Once there they could rest a couple of days since the place was well off any trail and it was completely hidden on all sides.

Nika shouted with joy when she saw the two tall rocks between which they had spent so many days while his leg healed. By now, the sun was high over their heads and they were very hungry and exhausted.

They lived on their supply of smoked meat that Vincent had buried in a bag as the four of them remained there for three days and never once did they see any sign of anyone pursuing them.

When they began their trip south, they were all in a much better shape. They crossed the small stream and moved about ten miles east before turning south again. They did this just in case Haski's people did find their trail. If their pursuers came on their trail as they travel east, they would assume that this was the direction they were going and thus look for them in that direction.

As they traveled together, Vincent and Nika got to know their new companions very well. Lomac was the son of the toolmaker of his village, which was situated far to the south. He and Verla had been captured together while they were gathering berries. The way Vincent figured out, his had occurred a few hundred days previously.

The group of four traveled southward for ten days without seeing any other human. They ate well during that time since there was plenty of game to hunt. The region was free of humans and the animal population was not scared of them, they could get very close to their target before Nika took a shot at it with her arrow. Vincent preferred to use his rifle as little as possible since the noise from his shooting could attract too much attention.

On the third day after they had begun their march toward the south, Vincent shot a horned animal that looked like a cross between a deer and a goat. It was much taller than a goat but the two horns on its head and the brown and white fur gave it a goat-like look. Vincent had used his rifle to bring it down since it was running very fast and it would have been impossible to hit it accurately with an arrow. Lomac and Verla were both stunned by the power as well as the accuracy of his rifle.

The meat from his kill, once roasted over a slow fire was succulent and what they did not eat; they smoked over their campfire. They thus had a reserve of food for many days.

Not once was a word mention about the women's ordeal while they were in captivity. It became very apparent to Vincent that the morality rules on this world were very different than what they were on his own world.

The first few nights after their escape, Vincent didn't try to make love to Nika. For one thing, he was still disgusted with what the men of village had done to her and he had no urge to have sex with her at first. On the other hand, it did occur to him that she must also be disgusted with men in general by now after enduring what she had while a prisoner. So he figured that it was better to leave her alone for a while.

But on the second night after their escape, he plainly heard Verla and Lomac in a warm embrace right next to them.

While they were making love, they didn't even try to restrain their enthusiasm. That night, Nika did try to make him respond to her advances, but the thought of what had happened to her was still too fresh in his mind and he couldn't bring himself to touch her yet.

Finally his need for her became so great - this added to the noisemaking of Verla and Lomac near them as they made love- and his emotions became so fired up that on the third day after escaping from Haski's village, he fell into her arms and he made love to her as he had never done before.



Masters of the Arches Ch. 10



They were now moving through the region where Lomac had spent most of his life. They were thus warned well in advance when they came either to a river or when they had to cross a trail. But Lomac did find it very strange that up to now they hadn't yet met anyone from his village.

"Hunters from my village always come this far north in search of games. We should have met a few of them by now, I fear that something bad has happened."

Verla tried to reassure him by telling him that they hadn't seen any of her people either. She explained to him that the likelihood that a catastrophe had happened to both tribes was highly improbable.

But as they traveled closer to Lomac's village he became much more nervous since they didn't meet anyone on the trail and when they finally reached it on the tenth days, they were all in for a great shock.

The village was in complete ruin. Most of the houses had been burned to the ground and only a few huts here and there remained partly intact.

When they investigated the desolated village further, they discovered a horrible spectacle. Unknown attackers had murdered women and children, and many of the bodies were mutilated beyond recognition.

All indications pointed to the fact that the villagers had been attacked in the middle of the night since many of the deads were still lying on their sleeping mats. Also the fact that none of the cooking fires were in use when the attack occurred, tended to confirm this theory.

"I want to go to my village," said Verla. "Something bad must also have happened there since we haven't seen any trace of them yet. I am sure the men of my village would have come to help Lomac's people. The fact that we haven't seen any trace of them may mean that whatever occured here, must also have happen in my village."

They remained in Lomac's village for the rest of the day. They piled the few dozen corpses on a heap of logs and burned the bodies. Before nightfall they moved a few miles south of the village so as to spend the night away from the horror they had seen.

Early the following morning, they began their walk toward Verla's village. When they got there, it was in the afternoon of the following day and what they discovered was a replica of what had happen in Lomac's village.

Almost all the huts had been burned down, but there were not as many bodies to be found. The few bodies that they did find were not close relatives of Verla but still she did know each of them. She was very sad, she had a brother and two sisters living in the village and there were no traces of them.

Vincent was shocked by the way both villages had been systematically destroyed. It appeared to him that someone had gone to a lot of trouble to completely obliterate the whole population. The question that came to mind was whether it had been done to prevent the captured slaves from returning back to their village, or was it simply the result of jealous neighbors. He didn't bother to share his thoughts with anyone since both Verla and Lomac were extremely depressed by now.

The following day, they continued on their southward trek. Now that both Lomac and Verla had nowhere to go they decided to remain with Vincent and Nika in their journey south.

By Lomac's estimate, in five or six days they were going to arrive to a wide plain that was mostly a desert. He also warned the group that only a few of his people had ever tried to cross that plain since it was very dry and there were stories about all kinds of dangers to be expected there.

It seemed that only one man from his village had managed to cross the dessert and return to tell about it. Lomac had heard from that man that there were great areas of desolation in the dessert. But once across, there was a friendly tribe living on the other side.

They were near the beginning of the dessert when disaster struck them. They 

were walking in a single file in a dense wooden area, Vincent was leading the way in front while Lomac was in the rear while both women were waking between them. All of a sudden they heard a tremendous growling coming from behind them.

Vincent ran back toward the source of the noise, and he was just in time to see Lomac with his left arm pinched in the mouth of a saber tooted tiger.

The great cat was about five feet tall at the shoulders and was trying to carry his prey into the low foliage. Its large green eyes were full of anger and blood from Lomac's arm was oozing out of its mouth. When the large cat saw Vincent and the others appearing, it turned toward them and stopped motionless in its tracks. The great beast remained very still while staring at the trio as if trying to decide what to do next.

It took Vincent only a second to aim his rifle and shoot. There was no way for him to miss at this short range, but at the same time he had to be careful so as not to hit Lomac.

The shot hit the beast in the neck and it did let its prey fall to the ground. But its long teeth immediately closed again on Lomac, as if it wanted to make sure that his prey wouldn't escape while it turned his attention on Vincent. The sound of breaking bones reached Vincent ears and he knew then that this was the end of Lomac.

The second and third shots hit the great cat somewhere in the head and through the left eye, but still it didn't fall down. Blood could be seen pouring out of its many wounds and staining its brown-stripped fur. Under such pain and anger Vincent expected the cat to make a tremendous amount of noise, but not a sound could be heard. It then occurred to Vincent that the bullet that had gone through the neck of the great cat had probably severely damage its throat.

In one tremendous jump it soon was in front of Vincent as blood dripped from its wide opened mouth. Just as it prepared itself for a final leap on Vincent, he shot it right into its mouth.

The bullet probably severed the spinal cord of the enraged cat, since before it had time to leap on Vincent it dropped dead on the spot as the cat's momentum carrying it to Vincent's feet.

As soon as the great cat was down, the three of them rushed to Lomac, but it was only to discover that he was already dead. His chest was ripped open and much of his innards were on the ground next to him.

They buried him under a pile of rock not far from the spot where he had died. It was very sad to see Verla crying over his grave, while she mumbled incoherent words of farewell to her mate.

Within the last few days she had lost her family, and all of her tribe and now her mate was gone. But Vincent knew that the people of her world never gave up, even if things were really bad. He had discovered this while being held prisoner in Haski's village. Everyone accepted his or her fate. Nika and Verla had both done so when they had been forced to submit to the lust of half of the males of the village on their last night of captivity. So far, he has never seen anyone falling into a depressive state for very long. Probably the fact that they could expect to live an extremely long time had something to do with it.

Two days after the death of Lomac, they were standing right at the edge of the wide plain. It did resemble much more to a desert than a plain. In the far distance, they could see the horizon where the landscape melted with the sky and in between the topography of the land was all the same. Sand, rock and a little grass here and there.

Vincent now regretted that he hadn't questioned Lomac more about the plain. He would have like to know where they could expect to find water and how far it was between water holes. More important still, what were these hidden dangers that Lomac had been talking about.

They had two plastic bottles - which he had brought from his world - that could hold water and also two organic bags that he later discovered were the intestine of some animals. These bags had been picked up in one of the burned villages.

They spent the night on the edge of the plain. In the morning after a small breakfast, they filled the two bottles and the bags with water then they began their journey across the plain, always walking toward the south.

That first day, he figured they must have walked thirty miles or so. When they made camp for the evening, the sun was very low and the temperature was noticeably colder. Since small quantities of water were evaporating and leaking from the two bags, they had first used the water from one of the water bags and one bag was already half empty.

A simple calculation made him realize that provided they did not drink more water than they had on that first day, they would have enough water for about five or six days.

Food was not one of Vincent concerns; at the rate they were eating they still had two weeks supply of smoked meat. Beside he still had a few bags of biscuits and dry foodstuff that he had brought from his world. He figured that they would run out of water long before they ran out of food.

That first night in the desert plain, none of them slept well. Verla was still very sad over the death of Lomac while Nika and Vincent were both exhausted from the long hot walk and both were also sad to see Verla's suffer for the lost of her mate.

The land did not change much for the next four days. But the mood of the trio did change from one of eagerness to one of hopelessness. There seemed to be no end to the dry plain and they now had barely enough water for another two days.

Except for the lack of water, it was difficult to imagine what Lomac had met when he said that this place was full of hidden dangers. So far they had seen only snakes and all sort of insects.

On one occasion Verla thought she saw the shadow of a large bird but she was the only one to seen it. She did tell Vincent and Nika about it but at the time she had been walking behind them and when they examined the sky for a bird they didn't see any. Still Vincent figured that she must have seen something since after that she did stay very close to him and Nika.

In the middle of the morning of the sixth day, they were attacked. It was the day after Verla had seen the moving shadow of a bird. They had been walking toward a low mountain range that had been visible far to the southeast the previous day. It was at least another day and a half away.

As soon as they saw the mountain range, they change direction from straight south and they went in the direction of the first low hill. Their chances of finding water was much greater among the hills than on the flat plain.

Nika and Verla had both noticed the mountain range first since Vincent had been walking with his eyes partly closed since the brightness of the sun was painful for his eyes. At the time he felt very sorry that he hadn't brought his sunglasses from his world, but it was too late to worry about that now. For some reason, both women didn't seem to be bothered as much by the bright sunlight being reflecting off the white sand.

When an opaque object in the sky partly blocked the sun's rays, they were greatly surprise since there were no trees around and there was nothing higher than the small rocks lying here and there. The women cried of surprise made Vincent open his eyes wide as he turned toward them. Both women were looking upward toward the sky.

Vincent looked up in the direction where the women were looking and he was stunned by what he saw.

It seem that no more than five hundred feet above their head, flying very gracefully, were about a dozen brown and white-feathered birds. After a couple of seconds he realized that they were much farther away and much higher than he had first thought. The reason that he had judged them to be closer than they really were was due to their enormous size.

One of the birds was much closer to them than the rest were, it was enormous, Vincent figured that it must have been on the lookout for a possible prey. These were the birds responsible for the shadows that the girls had seen earlier. As the rest of the great birds got closer to the trio, he noticed that each bird had a lump on the back of the neck. It was now also clear that the birds were now aware of their presence below since they were all gracefully gliding toward them. They flew with the sun at their back and it was difficult to see them clearly because of the glare of the sun behind them.

Vincent lowered his knapsack to the ground and he held his rifle in both hands. The way the birds were approaching seemed very odd to him. It reminded him of dive-bombers he had seen in movies of WW II just before they would release their load of bombs.

They were in a single file formation with about two hundred feet of separation between them. Then the one in the front began to loose height and the others followed. Vincent was then greeted with a surprise. The lump on the back of the neck of each bird turned out to be a man sitting there. Each bird was being guided my mean of ropes tied to a harness over the bird's head and also to its legs.

He also noticed that in the huge bird's claws, was a sort of net filled with a load of some sort.

The use of the net soon became apparent when a shower of fist size stones began to fall around them. Nobody was hit but it was only a question of time before this would happen. To make matters worst still, he and the two women had nowhere to run or hide.

A second load was dumped on them. This time a rock hit Verla on her right leg just below her knee while she had been trying to run away from the deadly shower.

There was no question whatsoever in Vincent's mind now as to the intention of the birdmen. They wanted either to kill them or to capture them.

He aimed his rifle in their general direction and he fired.

The noise did scare them since the one closest to them dropped its load well before it had reached the trio. Then the great bird along with its rider simply glided to the right and away. The rest of the formation began to circle around the trio on the ground but they didn't come any closer.

Finally after a couple of minutes, one of the birds detached itself from the ring formation and made a diving approach. This time Vincent took his time, he aimed carefully at the head of the giant bird then he slowly pulled the trigger.

The angle of the decent of the bird changed immediately, it began to plunge downward carrying with it in its fall the struggling rider on its back. As soon as the bird and rider hit the hot sand, no movement could be seen from either of them and Vincent figured that both were probably dead.

For a few more minutes the rest of the attackers kept on circling high over their head, then two birds detached themselves from the formation and approached the trio on the ground in a similar dive. But they were coming from two different directions.

Nika had her bow at the ready while Verla who was an expert in the art of throwing a spear was waiting with her arm pulled well back.

But the women's help was not needed. With two more shots, Vincent sent both birds to the ground before they had time to unload their net of their content of stones.

The rest of the birds kept on circulation high overhead for another fifteen minutes and finally they left heading toward the south. But one of the them released its load of rocks and it remained high above the trio on the ground, probably to spy on them.

Verla's leg was not broken but it was evident judging from the swelling that she would not be able to walk on it for a while. But still they couldn't remain where they were since the birdmen could returned and attacked them again. Vincent realized that they had to find a place fast where they would be protected from these rocks coming from the sky. It was only because of the lack of coordination between the birdmen that they were still alive. Had they chosen to attack together Vincent knew that the outcome would have been much different.

"I think we should check for water".

He was pointing the spot where the first bird and its rider were lying on the ground.

"Yes I will go and see". Said Nika.

Before Vincent had time to react she began walking toward the dead bird a few hundred feet away. She slowly walked with her bow ready in hand and an arrow already aimed in the general direction of the fallen mountain of flesh ahead of her.

Before she reached her destination the bird flying overhead was upon her. In one low pass it tried to catch Nika in its claws. There was no doubt it could have pulled her off the ground since its wings span was at least forty feet long and its net was no longer loaded with rocks.

Nika's arrow buried itself into the neck of the bird only seconds before she was within its reach, this is probably what saved her. As the arrow hit its mark and plunged into the huge neck, the bird pulled away from its prey and its claws missing Nika only by a couple of feet.

A few seconds later Vincent fired at the bird while it was still in the process of gaining height. It then lost all control and fell toward the ground while its rider was trying desperately to make it climb again as he pulled on the straps tied to its head and feet.

Leaving Verla where she was, Vincent ran toward the recently fallen bird which was no more than twenty feet from Nika. Both bird and rider were dead.

The dead man had a dark brown skin and was rather small. There was some kind of harness and straps arrangement that went to the head of the bird and ropes were tied to each side of the cage-like net around its head. It was evident that these were used to guide the bird while the two straps tied to the bird's legs must have been used to make the bird climb or descend.

The rider had no weapon whatsoever and the only possession he had was a water bag made of animal skin, the bag hung attached to the harness next to the bird's neck.

"Take the water and bring it to Verla while I check the other three birds". Said Vincent

He didn't wait for a reply from Verla, instead he ran toward the nearer of the fallen birds and after checking that both, the birds and the rider were dead, he recovered the water bag. He did the same with the other two dead birds and riders.

When they check their inventory of water later, they had gained another three days supply.

"Let us get away from here as fast as we can, I think they will attack again and if they do that all at the same time we will not have a chance".

"But Verla can't walk, her leg is swollen". Said Nika.

"I will carry her if you can take care of the rest of our supplies".

He cut several strips of leather from one of the bird's harness. Then placing a section of strap under each of Verla's thighs with the other ends meeting around her back, he made her climb on his back. She was now riding piggyback with her weight being distributed between his shoulders and his waist.

Nika had both knapsacks on her back and she was trying to figure a way to add the four water bags on her already well-loaded back.

"Here place the water bags on Verla's back, she can hold them".

"But you already have her weight to carry".

"With the harness I can manage. Don't argue, just give us the water. We have to leave this place fast".

They began to walk toward the range of mountains ahead of them. It was very difficult to predict how far the nearest mountain was, when they stopped to rest an hour later, they did seemed to be a little closer to their destination.

The birdmen didn't bother them again that day and Vincent figured that they had another day of walking before they would reach their goal. Verla's leg was still swollen and she was in pain but she didn't complain. She did try to stand on her leg a few times but the pain was too intense and Vincent had to again carry her.

Even though he was very tired, Vincent could feel Verla's breasts pressing against his back and now that he paid closer attention to her, he realized that her breasts were a little larger than Nika's. She was very beautiful indeed and her being there on his back made him feel uneasy.




Masters of the Arches Ch. 10



At noon of the same day, the birdmen returned. This time they choose to attack while very high in the sky. They must have figured that since their own arrows would not reach that far up, then Vincent's rifle would also not reach them. He was able to downed two more of them before they realized their mistake.

Vincent and the two women made good progress after that. For one thing the ground was covered with much more grass thus making it easier to walk. He was also getting use to carrying Verla's weight on his back and they reached the first low range of mountains before it got dark.

They choose to make their camp on the side of a low hill. Verla's leg seemed to be a little better now and she could even walk on it as long as there was someone holding her to take some of the weight off her leg.

They slept at the base of a slope covered with thin grass and a few shrubs here and there. 

Vincent made love to Nika that night. Verla was close enough to hear them in the heat of passions, but Vincent didn't care since the tension of the day had to be relived somehow. Even tired as he was, his need had to be quenched. For her part Nika was more than happy to satisfy his sexual appetite since he hadn't made love to her since they had started their walk across the dessert plain.

Breakfast was later than usual the following morning and they took turns helping Verla walk as she insisted on not being carried. The first hill they climbed on was not too steep and they made good progress and reached its top by noon. Vincent estimated that the height of that first peak was about a thousand feet. From the top they were able to see a series of other peaks that were part of the same mountain range.

But what struck them most of all was the barrenness and desolation before them. In every direction the looked, they could see that whatever path they took it would be a very difficult route to travel.

Turning back was not an option since they would run out of water long before they reached their initial starting point. No, their only chance now was to go ahead and hope that water could be found somewhere.

It took them the rest of the day to get down the other side. They made camp on the downward slope and slept between tall rocks that were part of the sandstone formation of the mountain. They drank the last of the water while eating breakfast.

Once they reached the valley at the foot of the peak, they chose to walk in the narrow valley between the two peaks. Their progress was easier there and they knew that their chances of finding water were much better down there since any rain that happened to fall would accumulate in the valley.

The plant life was a little more abundant and there were more varieties of it, which was a good sign. By late afternoon they reached a wide flat area where a number of small trees grew. Verla went to sit in the shade under one of the trees while Vincent and Nika went in different directions looking for signs of water.

It was while he was in a narrow gorge that he heard both women shouting. He hurried back as fast as he could and he was just in time to see Nika being lifted in a net that was in the claws of one of the birds which was being guide by a birdman.

The giant bird had great difficulty lifting the combine weight of Nika and the rider on its back. But still Nika was slowly gaining height as the rider kept on urging his mount.

Vincent took aim, but before pulling the trigger he realized that killing the bird would be the same as killing Nika since they were a couple of hundred feet high by now.

His attention was then attracted by Verla's shouting and when he looked in her direction, two of the brown and white eagle-looking birds were waiting fifty feet from Verla's tree while their two riders were in the process of pulling her while she was stuck in a net.

Both men were dragging the net and its load. Their intention was very evident as they were moving toward the nearer of the two birds.

Vincent took no chances, he shot both birds dead. He then turned toward the still surprised men and he shot them also.

Verla was not hurt, but she had been a witness to Nika's kidnapping and she felt angry and desperate. As soon as Vincent got her out of the net, they both scanned the sky, they could still see a dozen or so birds moving away in the distance while Nika was being carried with them.

(to be continued) 



Masters of the Arches Ch. 11



That first night after Nika's kidnapping, Vincent and Verla didn't sleep at all. They remained on guard all night just in case the birdmen should come on foot and attack them again.

Morning found them in a depressed mood and after eating a little, they moved southward along the length of the gorge.

The temperature was cooler in the gorge and when they wanted to rest they could easily find shade under the small trees growing there.

It was during one of these rest periods - which were now very frequent since both had been without water for almost a day now - that Verla discovered a small hole between two large rocks lying against the steep slope. Since it was late in the day, they both figured that it would be worth investigating just in case it could provide them a safe place to spend the night.

Vincent threw a small rock inside the hole and he listened. They heard it rolled a while, then came back to them the distinct sound as it hit a wall or something hard. This was followed by an echo, which was an indication that there was a large space deep inside.

Vincent figured that it he tried hard enough, he could squeeze into the hole with some lost of skin probably, but since Verla was a lot thinner than he was, he let her crawl within to investigate. No sooner was she through the hole that she shouted to Vincent for him to push their knapsacks through and she asked him to follow her inside since she could see a very large room ahead. But more important still, she also added that the walls were coated with moisture.

Five minutes later Vincent had moved some smaller rocks out of the way and he gradually managed to squeeze his larger body through the hole. It had taken a lot of effort, but he was finally through. As soon as he stood next to Verla he found himself in a large rectangular cave. Even in the dim light which was coming through the small opening of the entrance hole, he could tell that the excavation had been man-made since the granite walls were much too regular for a natural phenomena.

True enough, there was much dampness inside and water droplets were coating the walls everywhere. They even found a few places where water was dripping from the ceiling, a few drops at the time. It took them only a few minutes to place all of their available containers under the dripping water.

Sleep came easily to both of them that night. It was the first time for many days that they had been able to swallow five or six mouthfuls of water at a time. Ever since they had undertaken the crossing of the dry plain they had never been able to fully quench their thirst. But now all of their water bags and bottles were full of the precious liquid and sleep was the most urgent thing that they needed now.

Morning came with some of its light filtering into their hiding place. Now that the problem of the water had been solved, and after a restful night, the memories of the previous days with the lost of Nika, hit them fully. But they both knew that they could not do anything about it. From now on, only her memory would live in their mind and at this moment that memory was evoking silent grief.

The previous evening they had been so preoccupied with the collection of water that they hadn't bothered to explore too much of the place they were in. So Vincent decided to have a look around, he took the flashlight from his knapsack and he proceeded to aim the beam of light everywhere. It was about ten feet high and close to twenty feet wide and much longer than it was wide.

One side consisted of a pile of rocks that reached to the ceiling and Vincent figured that the rocks must have fallen when part of the roof collapsed.

It was thus logical to expect that there should be something on the other side of the fallen rocks pile. He thus climbed to the very top and he began to roll aside a few of the larger rocks.

He soon had exposed a dark hole leading into another chamber. When he sent the beam of light through that new hole, he was amazed to see what look like a wide passage with a very flat surface for the floor and walls. In all appearances, it was a wide tunnel since his beam of light wouldn't fall on anything when he pointed it to his right. On his left a huge door of some kind blocked the tunnel while on his right the excavation seem to go on farther than his light beam could reach.

Where it led and for what purpose it had been constructed, he hadn't the faintest idea. It was all very mysterious to him and in the back of his mind he was inclined to associate those responsible for the construction of this tunnel with the ones that had built the arches.

He came down from the pile of rocks and he explained to Verla what he had just discovered.

"We must make a decision. We can make one of three choices." But before he had time to continue she said in a determined voice.

"We will do what you decide."

"No. Our lives might depend on the decision we take now, it is only fair that you have your say about it."

"I will go with you, whatever you choose."

She took a step closer to him and she took his hand in hers just like Nika would have done had she been there. Verla then added.

"It is not for a woman to question the decision of her man, but it is her duty to accept that decision."

Vincent then realized that she was proclaiming herself to be his woman and he felt very proud of her at that moment. With much emotion in his voice he said to her.

"Just the same, let me explain the three choices we have. First we can go through that hole and follow that tunnel, but there is no way to know what we will find at the end. Second, we can continue southward outside in the mountain in the hope that we could possibly find Nika. Thirdly we can take the water and turn back to the edge of the plain. With the extra water bags from the birdmen we could easily make it back there."

Looking at her while he let her think about what he had just said, he admired her beautiful gray eyes and her high cheeks bones. It took much of his willpower not to stare at her splendid breasts so close to his reach and so voluptuous in their appearance. Each sphere of flesh was topped at its exact center with a nipple as big as his thumb and he could feel the effect it was having on him as his hardness began to twitch in his pants. At last he said to her.

"If you decide to go back I will go with you until we cross the desert, then I will return back and look for Nika. I will not abandon her."

"I have already told you, I will go where you go. All of my people are probably dead now and so is Lomac. You are the only one left."

"Very well, if this is what you want then we will go into that hole and we will follow that tunnel. It seemed to be going toward the south and this is the direction that the birdmen went with Nika. We might as well travel south in the tunnel, for one thing it will be much easier and I think it will be much safer as well."

While he helped her pass through the hole he had just opened on top of the pile of rocks, he made contact more than once with her breasts and he couldn't prevent himself from finding pleasure whenever this happened.

Once they were in the main tunnel he had to use his flashlight and since he didn't have any spare batteries, he switched it on only a few seconds at a time and this only once in a while. Thus they had to walk in the darkness much of the time. He figured that the batteries were going to last much longer if he did this.

The width of the tunnel was at least twenty feet wide with a height that must have been ten feet. As for the floor it seemed level when they were walking on it but when he sent the beam of light far ahead of them he could detect a noticeable downward inclination to it.

Walking on a flat and hard surface was quite a change from the soft sand they had been traveling on for the last several days. Even though they were in total darkness much of the time, they seemed to be covering a lot more distance in the same length of time. Of course he no longer had to carry Verla on his back, but she still held on to his shoulder most of the time so as to take some of the weight off her healing right leg.

By Vincent's watch, they had been walking in the tunnel for a couple of hours now and still it was going deeper. Even if the angle of depression was small, it was still going deeper into the ground and its appearance was always the same with no exit in sight yet.

Now that the water problem was solved, - there was dripping water in many places - Vincent began thinking about their food supply. They had a few slabs of dried smoked meat remaining, half a dozen cans of food which he was keeping as a last resort, dehydrated eggs, biscuits and half a pound of coffee. It was enough to last them at least a week.

When they stopped to eat, he made use of this opportunity to examine more closely the material of the floor and walls of the tunnel. It was some kind of dark green plastic which was extremely hard; he couldn't scratch it even with his knife. He was aware that technology to produce this sort of material was certainly not known in his world and this help to confirmed his belief that the builders of the Arches and of this tunnel were the same.

They rested for an hour and then they resumed walking. He was now holding Verla around the waist to help her walk, soon he could feel the warmth of her body as one of her breasts kept rubbing against his shirt.

He soon began to experience a strong need for her. It bothered him to be subjected to these feelings, especially so soon after the lost of Nika, but he couldn't do anything about how his body was reacting and he had to cope with the guilt he also felt. He did realize though that sooner or later he was going to make love to Verla.

When they stopped for the night, they stretched on the floor of the tunnel and he did make love to her. As soon as she was lying on Nika's sleeping bag next to him, she reached for his hand. This soon led to Vincent kissing her and after a while he crawled on top of her. At last he was able to feel her breasts with his open hands, those same breasts that had been tempting him so much in the last couple of days.

They were fuller than those of Nika and when he got his hardness deep into her, she immediately threw her legs around his waists and he could feel the urgency of her need for him. Yes, she was so tight and yet so slippery and while he was pumping into her, he couldn't prevent his mind from thinking about the many different men she must have had in her long life and more important still, how old could she be. But despite the fact that she must have had numerous sex partners, - at least half of the men in the village of Haski had fucked her for one thing - she was as tight as a teenager on her graduation prom.

It then occurred to him that this must have something to do with the rejuvenation properties of this world. Beside the extremely quick healing of his broken leg a while back, he also had a new tooth in his mouth to confirm this fact.

While he made love to her, she declared to him that ever since the death of Lomac she had been hoping that he would make love to her. She even told him that after Lomac's death, Nika had offered to share him with her since it was very common in her world to share a man or a woman when it was necessary. Had they been less concerned about the dangers and the water problem she would have accepted her offer.

The next day, she could walk much better and they covered even more distance. His watch indicated that it was in the middle of the afternoon when they discovered that the floor was no longer slopping down but was now curving up a little.

"I think we are about to reach the end soon." Said Vincent.

"But the tunnel has been slopping downward for a long time before now, so it will probably take as much time for us to get to the level of the floor of the valley outside." She replied.

She was right of course but at least they could now see a possible end to the tunnel. They went on for two more days and still it kept on slopping upward. They were now using the flashlight less and less since the beam had begun to show signs of diminishing intensity.

Then on the third day after the floor of the tunnel had begun tilting upward, they began to see the shapes of things around them even if the light was out. This was true especially when they looked ahead where they could see a gentle curvature in the tunnel's walls.

Gradually it became lighter until the tunnel was perfectly lit. It was a diffused light that seemed to come from the walls and ceiling, but apart from that, they saw no other changes while the tunnel continued very straight ahead of them.

For the second night in a row, they slept inside the lighted tunnel. The temperature was quite comfortable and now the humidity also seemed to be controlled.

After a restful nights sleep, they both awoke full of energy. As soon as they finished eating a few slices of dried smoked meat and a couple of biscuits, they got under way again. As they progress further the light became even more intense and they began to see decorations on the walls.

It was nothing very elaborate since in consisted of a series of lines arranged into different patterns and in bright colors. Then the light itself seemed to be changing in color and in intensity as they went on further.

Then all of a sudden they came to a large room where the tunnel ended. It was as large as an Olympic pool and straight ahead, on the far side of the room they could see an immense rectangular door. It was very similar to the one they had seen at the other end of the tunnel. When Vincent tried to open the huge door, it wouldn't move in any way and no amount of pounding or prying would make it swing or slide open.

On the wall at their left, was another door but much smaller. It was barely high enough to allow a man of Vincent's height to go through, but that door opened of its own the second that Vincent stood in front of it.

It slid into the wall without any noise whatsoever and on the other side they could see a small room made of the same materiel as the tunnel. In the very center of the room was an arch identical to the two that Vincent had already seen. The one near his house and the other on this world where he had been transported from his own world. This was proof enough for him to confirm that the builders of the arches and those that drilled the tunnel were the same.

Verla had never seen any of the arches yet and she whispered to Vincent that she didn't like what she was seeing. She even suggested that they should go back into tunnel the way they had come.

It was as if an inner sense within her was warning her against the possible dangers of the arch she was now looking at. He later learned from her that in most of the tribes there were stories or songs that talked about similar circular arches. In the many stories or songs about them, they were always said to be things of evil and people were warned to keep away from them at all cost.

Of course Vincent knew that the instant that they were going to walk under its shiny contour they would be transported somewhere else. But the question that he could not answer was where would it take them?

It took him many minutes to discuss that matter with Verla. He tried to explain to her what the arch would do, but it was too much for her to understand. At last she agreed to follow him even if in her mind it did mean death for both of them.

As expected, the instant that they walk through the small door, the panel slid back into place thus blocking their retreat to the tunnel. He then placed his arm around Verla's shoulders so as to reassure her and they both stepped at the same time on the familiar plate of the arch with all of their baggages in hand.

While Verla was pressing herself against him he could feel her trembling, at the same time he also experienced the familiar tinkling throughout his body. A second later they were facing a dark wall; at least this is what he though it was at first.

It was almost completely dark where they were except for the light coming from two round holes in the wall high above them. It was not sunlight but more like the dim light from a big wood fire that was flickering with some of its light being diffused through both holes. But then he realized that he could hear chanting coming from the other side of the wall where the two holes were.

It took him many long seconds to recover from the shock and also for his eyes to adjust to the relative darkness. Right away he proceeded to climb up the rough wall so as to have a closer look through the two holes.

The higher he went the louder the chanting became and it occurred to him that the sounds of the chanting they were hearing was coming through the two holes above his head.

The wall was not made of the same plastic material as that of the tunnel, but was made of stones and the climb was not difficult at all. It became evident to him then that he was in some kind of a structure in which stones had been placed in such a way so as to make a sort of stair-way leading to the two holes.

Verla was following him up toward the two holes and as they got closer they realized that two holes were much bigger than they had first judge them to be. Each being at least five feet in diameter.

Just underneath the two holes, there was a long stone shelf about three feet wide going the length of both holes which were separated by a distance of about ten feet. Vincent and Verla each stood under a hole and at the same time they peeked on the other side. What they saw through the holes turned their blood cold. They were looking down from a height of about fifty feet and they had a perfect view of an immense room with statues and decorations everywhere. Just ahead at the far end of this enormous room, they could see sunlight coming through a wide opened, half-circular doorway.

But what attracted their attention the most was the large group of people just under them and what they were about to do. About eighty of the small statured birdmen were standing in a wide circle with their arms raised, they were chanting a monotonous incantation. Behind them, also chanting were a large number of men, women and even a few children. Everyone seemed as though in a trance and all had their hands over their head and were mumbling the same thing over and over again.

In the center of the circle stood two of the birdmen and they were holding a female by each arm. It was quite evident that the woman was more than reluctant to cooperate since she was struggling all the time. They were in the process of leading her toward an arch that stood in the center of the circle of men, it was an exact replica of all the arches that Vincent had seen so far.

The woman's body had been painted with numerous patterns and it was evident to see that while she was struggling, she was very scared. When she turned her face toward Vincent and Verla they were horrified to see that it was Nika.

Both Verla and Vincent recognize her at the same time. She was now just a few feet in front of the circular plate of the arch. Vincent knew that she was afraid of the arch since she knew exactly what it would do to her. She was certainly aware that she would be taken instantly to a place that she believed would be just like hell and she was doing all she could to prevent them from pushing her on the plate.

Vincent didn't dare to hesitate another second. He worked the bolt of his rifle and as soon as a cartridge was loaded in the chamber, he told Verla to get ready. He explained to her that she was to climb through the hole as soon as he had fired the rifle. She was then to follow him on the other side and into the large room.

He took aim at one of the men holding Nika and he pulled the trigger. But he saw to his horror that she had just lost the fight at that moment since she had just been shoved on the plate even as he was pulling trigger.




Masters of the Arches Ch. 11



As the noises of his shot ceased to resonate throughout the chamber, he watched her disappear from the plate of the arch. Then before the first man had fallen to the stone floor his companion had a hole in his head.

The noises of the two shots was deafening inside the large room and before the crowd had fully recover from their surprise, he was emerging from his hole.

He and Verla were now standing on a stone projection just on the other side of the two holes. It them became evident to them that these holes from which they had just immerged were the eyes of an immense stone statue of a bird. The polished stone on which they both stood was its beak.

It was plain that their descend would be much more difficult than their ascent had been when they climbed up the inside of the structure of the statue of the bird. The stone surface on the outside was smooth and polished. The only way to get down fast was to slide down the inclined surface on the back of the bird of stone.

He did loose some skin on his arms in the process, but he managed to land unharmed on the hard floor. As soon as he was on his feet again, he drew his pistol from its holster. He had arrived down so quickly that the people in the immense room had had no time to organize themselves yet.

Verla was soon standing on the floor next to him and she immediately threw her spear at the nearest birdman. She was in the process of pulling it out of his chest when she was seized by two of his companions. Once again Vincent fired two rapid shots, this time from his pistol. The two men trying to grab Verla collapsed to the floor.

What happened afterward was a series of pistol shots and much shouting while people were running everywhere in confusion. Most of the women and some of the men were trying to get out. But many others did remained inside and Vincent could see the anger on their face. It was quite evident that it was only a question of seconds before he and Verla would be captured and killed.

He had only one option now and that was to get away fast from the enraged crowd. He took Verla by the hand and his things in the other and they ran toward the plate of the arch. They both jumped on the plate at the same time, just as a dozen birdmen were about to reach them from different directions.

(to be continued)



Masters of the Arches Ch. 12



The first thing that they both noticed when they emerged into their new surrounding, was the brightness of the light. Whereas a second or so earlier, they had been standing in an extremely large and relatively dimly lit cave, they now found themselves in a much smaller space that looked sterile and was brightly lit.

Even though it was greatly smaller than the cave they had just came from, it still reminded Vincent to a gymnasium on account of its emptiness as well as its height. 

In one corner of the large room stood Nika. She hadn't yet recognized them yet and her arms were outstretched, with her knees bent as if she was getting ready to fight them.

When she did recognize them, her facial expression changed from one of a mixture of anger and fear to one of shock and joy. She immediately ran toward them with tears in her eyes. It took the three of them a couple of minutes before they could overcome their emotions. As soon as the hugging and kissing was over, they began to ask her all kind of questions.

Her story was very simple. 

After she had been captured by the birdmen, they took her to their village, which was situated many miles to the south. Once there, she was placed into a wooden cage. As a measure of security, they tied her hands behind her back and although she could walk inside the cage, she couldn't use her hands at all. Nika remained like that for five days. Her hands were untied twice a day when she was fed and also when she had to attend her body needs.

On the fifth day, she knew that something special was going to happen since the whole village was very excited and she could see them making preparations for a celebration. In mid-afternoon, they untied her hand and took her out of her cage. Then every man, woman and child was made to touch her. Later, she was forced to parade throughout the village. Then she was taken through large carved doors that led to the enormous cave inside the mountain.

Once she was in the depth of the mountain, she discovered that there were hundred of people already assembled there and she realized that they had all been waiting for her arrival. She soon figured out that she was going to be offered as a sacrifice in front of a very tall statue of a bird. But when she saw the arch near the tall statue, she got very scared and she knew what her fate was going to be.

The fact that she already believed that the arch was evil, did much to boost her resistance and she fought back. But at last, the physical strength of those holding her was too much and she was finally thrown on the plate of the arch. She next found herself in this room where they were now. All of this had happened just a few minutes before Vincent and Verla appeared.

Once the joy of being reunited was over and after listening to Nika's story, they began to pay more attention to their surrounding. The room they were in was large indeed; light was being diffused somewhere from the ceiling behind translucent panels high above their head. Some of the light seemed to come also from the higher portion of the walls. They couldn't actually see the light sources on the upper wall since it seamed to be coming from the paint or the colors of the material of itself.

There were two doors or panels in the far wall, while near the wall where they now stood, was the receiving end of the arch. As for the floor of the room, it seemed to Vincent that if it was made of the same plastic-looking material as the floor of the tunnel.

They slowly walked toward the two doors and examined them. Both doors were identical except for one small difference. The door on their right had a small hole in the middle as if a key could fit in. There was no such hole in the other door. A distance of at least thirty feet separated both doors and except for the small hole in one of them, there were no other mark whatsoever to distinguish them.

To Vincent who was familiar with doors, and also judging by the rectangular cracks along their contour, he could tell that they were made to open somehow. Either pivoting on hinges or sliding into the wall. But no hinges or knobs could be seen. They tried to push on each door, sliding it using the friction of their hands, but it felt as if the doors were part of the wall and they didn't even begin to move.

After many long minutes of trying all sorts of ways to open them, they finally gave up and they focussed their attention on the rest of the room. In one corner, hidden behind the arch they soon discovered a table-like altar made of the same material as that of the walls of the room. Resting on the table was a rectangular transparent box about ten inches long by four inches wide.

As soon as Vincent approached the table, he discovered that the tabletop in front of the transparent box was covered with small round buttons arranged in many rows. Each button was about half an inch high and they were arranged in such a way so as to form a triangular pattern. 

Starting from the top, which made up the first row there was one button only. Then two buttons in the second row and so on, up to twenty-two rows with twenty-two buttons in that last row. 

Inside the transparent box was a turquoise rod about six inches long. It appeared to be made of glass and it had an intricate design at one end while being flattened at the other end.

Vincent noticed that the round end with the intricate design could probably fit into the hole of the door. It thus became apparent to him - since he was familiar with doors on his world - that it was the key that could open one of the two doors. 

The only problem was that they couldn't open the lid of the box inside which the key was. Even when he hit it with the butt of his rifle he couldn't break the glass-like material. After a while he ordered the two women to stand behind him and he fired two shots at it.

When he examined the box afterward, there wasn't even a mark on it. The material from which the box was made was transparent, but it was certainly not glass or plastic since none of these would have resisted the penetrating capacity of a 303 high-speed slug. Worst still, without even sustaining a scratch.

Vincent next focused his attention on the round buttons arranged in rows in front of the box. When he pressed one, it did depress half way into the table and a soft musical note was heard coming from the box. It was a sound very similar to that made by a touch-tone telephone on his world. Then after what he estimated to be eight or nine seconds, the sound stopped and the depressed button lifted itself to its initial position. When he pressed another button, the same thing happened but a different note was emitted. He next tried pressing two or more buttons simultaneously. But each time he did that, only one note was heard; it appeared that the button that had gone in first, would be the one to emit its corresponding pitch. Pressing on any other button while this one was emitting a sound did not change the pitch of the note in any way. Finally he looked at both women and he said.

"It's some kind of code to open the box. The only problem is that we don't know what buttons to press or what sequence to use."

"Why do we need to open the box?" Said Nika.

She had probably never seen a key before and Vincent though that her question was very logical.

"You see that small rod inside the box, it will open one of the doors if we can get it."

"Then why don't we press all the buttons one after the other, then we are certain to get the right one?" Said Verla.

"No this will not work, I think that we are allowed to use only a certain number on buttons and they must be the right one."

"Then only a person that knows which one to press will be able to get the rod inside?"

"Yes this is the purpose of it. I think it was placed there as a sort of a test. After all, if the builders of this place wanted to kill us they could have done it in a much easier way than starving us here. Beside, there are no bones here and I am sure that these birdmen that pushed Nika on the plate of the arch are frequent senders of unwilling visitors here."

"You mean," Nika said in surprise, "that the birdmen capture people only to push them through the arch? But why do they want to do that?"

"I wish that I knew the answer to that, but it seem that this is exactly what they are doing. It could be part of their religion or belief or something else."

"But what is preventing us form going back the same way we came here?" Said Verla.

Vincent realized that she had a good point, but deep inside he felt certain that this arch would not work both ways. To test this, he took one of the knapsacks and he threw it on the plate of the arch. Nothing happened even after a ten seconds wait. He then stepped on the plate and still the arch didn't work. He then looked at both women and he said to them in a low voice.

"The only way we are going to get out of here is by breaking the code and using the key in the box."

For many hours after than, they took turn in trying different sequences with different rows of buttons, but the lid of the box never opened. At last Vincent thought of something.

"I think that I know why the box and the key were placed there. The person or group of persons that built this place wanted to be sure that only someone that came from a culture that has a sophisticated degree of technology would open one of the doors. That is why a proper combination is needed to open the box."

"But anyone that knows the right order could press the buttons." Said Nika.

"Yes, but that is the point, we don't know the right sequence and I am sure that this sequence is such that if you have the proper scientific background you can figure it out."

Nika stared at him for a second or so then she said.

"You do have such a background, you have all sort of machines where you live, I have seen some of them when I went to your house, so you should be able to open it then."

Of course Vincent knew that she hadn't met this as an insult, but like most of the people of her world she was used to say what was in her mind and he didn't take any offence. But deep down he knew that she was right. If any of them could break the code he was the one since he had the necessary background, Her saying this, increased the pressure on him. He had to solve this puzzle; he knew that their life depended on it.

He decided that they all should take a break for a while so that they could proceed later to examine the problem with a new frame of mind. They ate a little then they stretched on the floor for a couple of hours. Food and water were not a problem yet; they still had a few days supply left. But Vincent had a feeling that they should leave the place as soon as possible. The fact that there were no traces of the previous visitors was proof enough that someone or something did come into the room once in a while to remove these visitors or whatever was left of them after a fix length of time. 

He was perfectly aware also that if he, with all of his background from his so called more advanced civilization, - advanced at least compared to what he had seen on this world so far - could not solve the problem of the code, then it would certainly be impossible for any native of this world to do so.

He had a deep feeling that their time in this room was limited and if they didn't solve the problem soon, they would be forced out of the room somehow. That second door, the one without the hole, the one that could not be opened with the key, was most probably used for this purpose. He didn't bother to tell this to the women of course since there were no reasons to scare them. But still, the quicker they got the door open, the better it would be for them.

While he was having these unpleasant thoughts, Nika and Verla were busy pressing different buttons in front of the table and trying different sequences so as to get the transparent box open. Slowly Vincent walked toward them and while he was approaching them, the answer or at least part of it came to him.

Yes, he could see it now. Those rows of buttons represented numbers. All he had to do was to choose the row that contained ten buttons. He tried to explain what he had in mind to the women but since they had no notion of written numbers they had much trouble to follow his explanations.

"You see, that row of ten buttons here is for us. There is no use trying the other rows because we will never get the right combination using them."

"But why were they put there then?" Protested Nika.

"If they don't open the box then they are not useful?" She went on to add.

"They certainly could open the box, but we will never succeed with them since there is no way for us to get the right sequence with any of them. You see, different civilizations use more or less units as the base for their numbers. All the numbers then use a combination of these units. 

Where I come from, we use the same number of units as there are fingers on both hands, which is ten. All other numbers are then written as a combination of these fundamental units, which are 0 to 9. If your world is ever permitted to develop a technology, the chances are that they will also adopt ten units for their base numbers since like the people of my world you have a total of ten fingers in both hands. But there is no reasons to suppose that other beings from another world will have ten fingers like us, they could have two or eight or even twelve. This is why there are different sets of buttons with different number of buttons in each set."

He doubted very much that they could understand what he was trying to say, but they both seemed to be listening with great interest. Vincent then went on to explain.

"The builders of this place must have been expecting beings from different worlds to enter this large room. This is why they set up many rows with varying set of buttons. Since we use numbers based on ten units and multiple of these, we will concentrate our efforts on the row with ten buttons."

Verla looked at him for a few seconds, at last she said.

"Why bother with only this row if any row can open the box?"

"True, any row will open the box but for us it will be much easier to figure the right sequence if we keep on trying on that row of ten buttons. The fact that we have already solve the problem of choosing the proper row for us, mean that we have already overcome half of the difficulty."

They both looked at him with a strange expression on their face and he could tell that they weren't convinced at all, but still they seemed willing to accept his decision.

"It also means," went on Vincent, "that whoever made this place is not interested in anyone from a non-technical civilization. In other word only those with a mathematics oriented background will be able to open the box and thus leave this place."

"What happen to those that can't unlock the door?" Said Verla.

"Frankly I don't know. But I think it will be much preferable if we were to open it."

Then talking more to himself than to his companions, he went on.

"Let me see, the sequence must be a series of numbers that anyone from a relatively technically oriented civilization must know. Something such as the speed of light maybe."

Of course he was talking more to himself than to the girls. After all they certainly had no notion at all about what he met by the speed of light.

Since there were no markings at all on the buttons, he had to choose one end of the row to start and to suppose it had the value of zero while the button at the other end would be nine. He pressed on the 'one' then the 'eight' and 'six' then on the 'zero' three times so as to represent the speed of light in a vacuum, which is 186,000 miles per second. 

Nothing happened. He then tried the same thing starting from the other end. Still nothing. Of course, he told himself, why should it work? Why would the unit of a mile and the length of time of a second work? 

This test had been prepared so that any intelligent being from any specie could pass it. Not only humans from Earth that were using the mile as the unit of distance and the second as that of time. No it had to be a number that had no unit and that was universal. It had to be a constant.

By now, Nika and Verla were watching carefully what he was doing, both knew that he was in deep concentration and they didn't try to interrupt his train of thoughts by asking questions. 

Then, Vincent saw something in the box that gave him a clue. The key was resting on a flat surface that was covered with engraved circles of all sizes. It suddenly occurred to him that the number that they were looking for probably had to do with circles. His heart began to beat faster. Yes, there was such a constant based on circles. It was the constant 'pi' used to calculate the surface or the circumference of a circle.

He could still remember from his high school years what his mathematics teacher had proven to the class one day, using a length of string, a ruler and different cardboard circles. In fact he could still recall the words of his teacher saying - if you divide the circumference of any circle by its diameter, you will always get the same constant and the value of this constant is represented by the Greek letter 'pi'. 

That number 'pi' was an infinite sequence and thus it had an infinite number of digits after the decimal. Vincent still could see in his mind, how his teacher had written on sections of cardboard placed around the classroom, a couple dozens of digits after the 3 and the decimal representing the value of that constant. He now could even remember the first four digits after the decimal.

That value of 'pi' was 3.1416... but that did create a new problem. What about the decimal? How could he express a decimal in the sequence using only the ten buttons? He told himself that he would just forget about the decimal and press the buttons without bothering about it.

Beginning from the left, he thus proceeded to press the buttons in the sequence corresponding to the value of 'pi'. Nothing happened. Could it be, he told himself, that he needed more than five digits? Vincent certainly hoped not since he didn't remember more than the five he already had. He therefore tried the same five digits but this time starting from the other end of the row.

As soon as the last button was depressed, he expected the note they were hearing to stop, but this time it persisted until he saw the cover of the transparent box slide slowly until there was just enough room for his hand to reach inside for the key.

By then both Nika and Verla seemed mesmerized by what they were seeing and neither of them could move or speak. 

The transparent key was much lighter than he would have imagined it to be. He slowly turned toward the door on the right, the one with the keyhole. With the key held in front of him as if it was a trophy he slowly walked toward it, both girls were eagerly following him.

Before inserting the key in its proper place he looked at Nika then at Verla, he had a very serious expression of apprehension on his face. Then before actually pushing the key into the receptacle in the center of the door, he told his women to pick the two knapsacks as well as their weapons. 

Then with his riffle in his left hand, he slowly pushed the key into the hole. He didn't have to turn it, the instant if was inserted properly, he heard a low humming then he felt the door vibrate and slowly it retracted into the wall.

(to be continued)



Masters of the Arches Ch. 13



The trio entered into a small room which had another door facing them. This other door was opened and they could see the immensity of the other room through this door. The minute they entered the small room, the door behind them slid shut noiselessly. 

There was nothing else to do now except to walk toward the opened door. It was clear to Vincent that they were somehow forced by an invisible hand to move into one direction. It reminded him of experiments he had seen on television with mice or rats moving into a miniature maze. Now they were the rats in the maze of this underground compound. 

They slowly passed through the opened door ahead of them and they found themselves into an impossibly long room. Vincent couldn't even distinctly see the end of it. Beside being exceedingly long; it was so high that it was difficult to judge accurately its height. They were in a large corridor and on each side were machines of all shapes. Some were even humming with activity. He couldn't even begin to guess the purpose of all this equipment and whether they were electronic devices of mechanical one. 

They walked ahead for a long time along the wide path until the machinery was replaced by row upon row of tables having hardware of all kind on them. There were gadgets with dials and some with screens, while others had hundreds of hair thin wires sticking out of them. Some of the equipment did remind him of research materials he had once seen when he had visited such a facility in Boston. 

Yes he could tell that this immense room had been used at one time to conduct researches of some kind. As a matter of fact, he could still see the numerous chairs and stools near each tables. Everything seemed to be ready and waiting for the arrival of the occupants of the place. Even the floor was very clean, no dust could be detected anywhere and on the hundreds of tables everything seemed to me in order. It was as though whoever was in charge of the place could not tolerate untidiness or smeared glassware. 

For the next ten minutes they walked straight ahead until they came to the end of the room. They found another opened door leading to a brightly lit hall. At the end of the hall was a circular room and in its center stood a four foot high table which reminded Vincent more of an altar than a table. 

As soon as they entered the room, the light intensity diminished and a strangely dressed woman appeared, standing on the altar-like table. She was beautiful beyond description. Her hair was very black and it went down to her waist. While her complexion was olive in color, her face was sort of oval with wide green eyes having long eyelashes. Never before had Vincent seen such a woman. The high cheekbones combined with her thick moist-looking lips gave her a sensual look that was hard to resist. 

After looking at the trio for many seconds, she began to speak in a clear and high-pitched tone that reminded Vincent of the voice of an oriental woman. 

-- My name is Brumelle. I have been waiting for a very long time for someone to come here. You are the firsts to reach me in an extremely long time. You are now seeing a pictorial representation of how I used to look when I was alive. 

At this point Vincent realized that however real the woman appeared to be, she was not real. They were looking at a sort of extremely realistic hologram. A hologram infinitely more advance than anything he had ever seen or heard before. 

-- All the knowledge of my people and all the emotions I ever experienced interacting with everything and everyone I used to like and love as well as that which I hated and feared was placed in a computer program. The process is more complicated than anything you could ever imagine. I will not go into the details as to how it was done since it is not necessary for you to know that. All you have to know is that a machine is now talking to you. 

A machine that thinks loves and hates just as I used to do when I was a living creature. I will now explain to you why I need your help. If you choose to refuse to help me, no harm will come to you but you will be transported to another world with no possibilities of returning back. 

On the other hand if you do decide to help me, you will encounter many dangers but at the same time you will have a chance to save your world and many other worlds including the one we are now on. Do not interrupt me and listen carefully while I tell you my story. 

At this point in time, the woman ceased talking and she looked at them, each in turn as if she was trying to scrutinize theirs thoughts. When her eyes came to rest on Vincent, he felt a spark of passion for her and he realized that he could very easily fall in love with such a woman. But as soon as she began to talk again, he was shoved back to reality and he proceeded to pay close attention to what she had to say. 

-- A long time ago, my people used to live on a single planet. We were born on that planet and we worked hard. We experienced pain and joy as well as all the in-between emotions like all intelligent beings that have ever lived, and of course we also experienced death on that planet. As time went on, we evolved in our way of thinking and we also made tremendous advances in all branches of science. Drugs were discovered and medical techniques were introduced that made it possible for us to live longer and longer. The life expectancy of the average population doubled in a very short time. 

-- Then, there came a time when there was practically no more room for the ever increasing population. Immense efforts were made in new technologies and much research was done so as to find a mean to reach our nearest planet in our own system. 

-- Our solar system had nine planets, and beside the world we were living on, there was the possibility of establishing colonies on two of the others. Gradually those two planets were reached and colonized thus reducing greatly the pressure of our ever-increasing population. 

-- As time went on, many new discoveries were made so as to cure diseases and the life expectancy of the population increased even more. Soon all three worlds became overpopulated and we were back with our initial problem of overpopulation. All of our efforts were then focused so as to find a way to reach our nearest stars, but progress was exceedingly slow in that direction. Then in a stroke of luck, a group of scientists discovered the secret of displacing material objects through space by mean of intense gravity fields. It was the discovery of the Simultravel technology. 

-- This discovery was tremendously important for us, it was the greatest thing that could have happened to us since it allowed us to travel instantly to any of the three worlds in our solar system. Of course it did not solve our problem of overpopulation but it did help a great deal in solving our food shortage since the spaces that had been used to build roads could now be used for cultivation since travel within each planet could be done with the Simultravel. 

-- We had been working on means to build a faster than light star ships for a very long time but we were never able to reach a speed faster than ninety percent of the speed of light. After many generations and much effort in that direction, it was then proven without any doubt that it was an absolute impossibility for anything to travel faster than light. It thus met that our problem of overpopulation could not be solved by emigration to other solar systems. 

-- The closest planetary system to our own was so far away that even at ninety percent of the speed of light it would have taken two generations to reach it.

-- We then decided to take the next best approach so as to solve this problem. Many vessels were built and on each one of them we installed a Simultravel device. Then each vessel was sent in a different direction toward stars systems on which we were relatively certain that they had planets. On the way to these yet unexplored stars, the crew of each ship could be changed easily my mean of the Simultravel. The technology of transportation over great distance is not affected at all by either the distance or the fact that the Simultravel is moving when it is used.

-- You see, Simultravel technology will get you from one place to an other place with no lost of time at all. It creates a reality field that is outside of the dimension that we are now. When Simultravel is in synchronization with a similar field elsewhere, - even it the distance between the two fields is very great - everything enclosed within these two fields becomes common and both places then become one. When the field is shut down at the departing end, whatever is in the field will appears at the other end. So all we had to do was to wait until a ship reached a star system with an habitable planets. Then using the Simultravel on that ship, we could transport other Simultravel equipment to that new world and therefore create a suitable environment for the population of our overcrowded planets. 

-- As soon as each vessel arrived at its destination, more people were sent there and whenever there was one or more habitable planets on this system, these worlds were colonized also. More and more vessels were then sent from this new stars system and the process was repeated over and over again. A last we had a permanent solution for our overpopulation problem. 

-- The first vessel arrived at its destination when we were on the brink of collapse. All of our resources had long been used and people were dying by the millions for lack of food and also for lack of the minimum necessities of life. As more and more vessels established a foothold on other worlds, the pressure on our planet - because of the ever-increasing population - was greatly reduced and finally the problem no longer existed. 

-- This was the time of discoveries and exploration. It was the glorious age of my race and for a long time we prospered. It was during this period that the Rad virus was engineered in a laboratory. It is a virus that can be introduced in the body either by injection or by eating plants that were exposed to the virus. Once the virus is in your system it will take care of you. It contains the prints of the perfectly healthy human and it will work on your genes and order repairs to your body whenever and wherever it is needed. Diseases were thus completely eliminated and besides making the body perfectly healthy, it also made it immortal. The only way to experience death is by mean of an accident. 

-- The Rad virus was released on every world that we had already colonized and the population greatly increased. It did not worry us since we had all the room we needed for expansion. Then things began to deteriorate. Some of the worlds that were discovered were already populated by intelligent life forms and some of these aliens even made war on us. Of course they were easily beaten since they were all less advanced than we were technology wise. But it had been countless years since my people had not wage wars and now the old spirit of war mongering was rekindled once again. 

-- Two completely opposed and divergent opinions developed as to what should be done with these intelligent life forms that we encountered. On one side were those that were in favor of the complete elimination of all intelligent aliens while the other side demanded that we didn't touch these worlds where aliens life forms were discovered. 

-- These discussions and debates went on for a few generations and gradually our whole race became polarized on that matter. There were those in favor of the destruction of all the aliens and then there were those demanding that they be left in peace to live on their world. Finally, when it became clear that the question would never be decided with the mutual consent of both sides, those in favor of destroying the aliens proceeded to take matters into their own hand and they began the destruction of the aliens. 

-- The result was an all out war among my people. There were wars on all of the planets of the star systems that had been colonized. These wars went on for a very long time and the great majority of my race was destroyed. The planet that you call Earth was among one of the worlds that saw all its intelligent life form destroyed and so is the world we are on now. That war is still going on at this moment on this world, even if there is only one of the ancients left alive to keep it going. 

-- He is the last of the ancients left and he is engaged in trying to destroy all of the intelligent life forms he can find. He is not aware yet that all those on our side are dead and that the only opposition he now has is an artificial intelligence namely me. When I was alive, I knew very well this last representative of my race; you see he was my brother Valdo. 

-- Valdo became a general in the group that favor elimination. Those of us in my family that were not on his side, feared him greatly and to escape from him we all went into hiding in a ship orbiting a non-important planet. We were more than two hundred people on that vessel as we watched planet after planet being depleted of alien life form. He would kill all life forms, intelligent or not. 

-- All kind of weapons were used during this terrible war. Since diseases could no longer destroy us, devices that created tremendous amount of heat were used while on some planets an evil weapon was made use off, it caused a reaction on the surface of the planet and it removed most of the available oxygen from the atmosphere. While on other worlds, they simply introduced diseases that killed some of the plants life thus disrupting the food chain. In so doing it starved most of the population -- at least those that could not leave in time. With the Simultravel it was always possible to save some of the population before the ecosystem collapsed completely but in the end even that didn't work since new planets suitable for life were not being discovered fast enough. 

-- Things continued to degenerate and before we knew it there were only few dozens groups like us remaining -- and this on both sides -- that had managed to escape the war. Then, for a long time the war ceased completely, we even managed to introduce plants and animals life on most of the worlds that had been sterilized. Some people even went to live on these worlds, but these were too few in number and they soon lost contact with the rest while the technology that they once knew was soon completely forgotten after a few hundreds of your years. These people became very close to nature and finally they even forgot about the war. This is what happened to your planet Earth. 

-- At one time, all traces of life, whether it was plant or animal were eliminated from your world and when we introduced it back, it was mostly the same flora and fauna that had been on your original world. You are the descendants of our people, and so are the people of this world and many others. 

-- Since your Earth has been completely sterilized during the war, the Rad virus has also been destroyed there, but when people established themselves there they were still protected by the Rad virus in their body. But all the newborn were not protected. Two things prevented us from introducing the Rad virus again there. First the ecosystem had not evolved enough for the virus to take hold; second we no longer had the facilities to mass produce the virus so that it could spread of its own. 

-- Finally, a few of the descendant on both sides became aware of the existence of each other and war resumed once again. Instead of destroying whole planets in the process, the war was concentrated on the small groups of population that existed on them. When we realized on our side that soon both groups would be completely obliterated, we began the construction of a super artificial intelligence that I now represent. 

-- The technology-advanced population on both sides continued to decrease until we were reduced to a few hundreds on each side. About that time we made the recording that you are now looking at, we also placed Simultravel in a few places on some worlds that began to show signs of sustaining life. It was hoped that when a civilization did evolve on these worlds they would continue the fight for us. 

-- Valdo is now completely mad. Even though the Rad virus does keep diseases away from the body it does not work on the intellect of a person. My brother now lives only to win his war whatever the cost, he will never stop until he is certain that everyone on our side has been destroyed then he will set himself on the task of destroying all form of life everywhere. 

-- Since I am now talking to you it mean that there is no one alive left on our side to oppose him. Everyone, including myself have been destroyed. Before you were permitted to enter this place, you had to past a test. Since you are now standing before me it mean that you were successful in doing that. The test to enter this complex has been chosen in such a way so as to prevent the entry of those that would be of no help to our cause. Had you fail the test, you would all have been sent on a far away planet and no one would have ever seen you again. You see, only someone with a technology advance background can help our cause. 

-- Now if you have questions I will answer them and then you will be told what is expected of you if you decide to help our cause. But on the other hand if you choose not to get involve in this fight, no harm will come to you but you will all be transported on another world. 

Brumelle remained very still after the last words left her mouth, Vincent could see her eyes resting on him still. Even now he still had trouble accepting the fact that he was looking only at a hologram of what she had probably looked like a long time ago. For one thing, looked so real and she was so beautiful. Still the fact that she could answer questions did mean that she could interact with the present. Then somehow she had to be alive. 

Vincent's mind was still shaken by her story. He had trouble absorbing all that she had told them, but the fact that he was here in this world talking to a computer -- because that is just what Brumelle was even if he could see her -- was proof enough that the rest of her story probably had much truth in it. 

During all this time, Verla and Nika had not reacted. Even it the conversation had been in English, they both knew enough of the language to understand what Brumelle had said even if the technological part was too much for them. Both had an expression of exaltation on their face as if they had been listening to the words of a god. 

At last Vincent was able to regain his composure enough and he finally said.

"What will happen if no one stop Valdo, can he create more disorder and destruction than he has already done?" 

-- He now has access to no other world beside this one, but it is only a question of time, - of which he has more than enough - until he discoverer the Simultravel or the arch if you wish, that will permit him to reach Earth or other worlds even. If he is not stopped he will sooner or later discover these teleportation systems and then he will proceed with his dark design of destroying all life where they will take him. Since all of our Stars Vessels have been destroyed and also most of the Simultravel leading to other worlds, it thus leave him only with a possible access to only those worlds that he can reach from this planet. 

"Can he reach Earth yet?" 

-- No, but you already know that there does exist an arch on this world that will permit him to reach Earth, you have already use it to come on this world. I do know since that fact was recorded in my information bank each time you used the arch. This is why I know you came from the planet Earth. 

"If he is the only one remaining on his side, why is it so difficult to destroy him?"




Masters of the Arches Ch. 13



-- Yes he is the only one remaining. Because of his sick mind, he got rid of all those that did not think exactly like him, he is the only one left. Since I am a machine, as such I have no mobility whatsoever, therefore I can't run at his pursuit. On the other hand he has all sort of machinery and weapons he can use. Only someone who can understand how these weapons work has a chance to fight him. I have tried hundreds of times to send native warriors against him, but they were not a match against him. 

"But why do you expect me to succeed?"

-- Your success is not assured. At best you have only a slim chance against him, but it is the most that I can do, you are probably the last chance that we will ever have to get rid of him. 

Never in all his life had Vincent been in a situation even close to this. When he was in charge of his import-export company he never took chances. When he bought 500 statues or 1000 radios, he was always certain that he could sell twice that much. In that manner he was guaranteed of a good price and he knew that he wouldn't get stuck with unsold items. It was not in his nature to take chances. Now he was being asked to take the biggest gamble he could imagine, not only was he placing his life as well as that of Nika and Verla at risk, but also the existence of Earth itself was at stake. 

"I can't. You have the wrong person, you should wait a little longer, and someone much better suited for this job will show up, I am sure of it." 

-- No, I have been waiting for over six thousands of your earth years and you are the first one that really has a chance. You see, we must act soon because Valdo now know that I am on this planet, the only thing that prevent him from blowing this mountain is because he does not know where exactly I am. But recently he did come close to this place and it is more than certain that he is going to discover me soon. He has all kind of detectors to find me, and once he knows of my approximate location it is only a question of time before he destroy his only opposition. Once I am eliminated he will be free to proceed with his plan. 

"He wouldn't be able to reach Earth if you explain to me how to blow the arch to get there." 

-- You do not understand. To destroy a Simultravel arch you need a field capacitor than can collapse the field of the arch and there are none here. No one will ever be able to construct one since to do so one must understand how an arch function and how to built one. If you try to destroy it you will only reveal its location and thus permit Valdo to reach Earth earlier. 

To each of Vincent objections, she was giving him a better reason for him to accept her proposal. Even if he was to refuse now, he would still be in danger since sooner or later Valdo would get to him wherever he was, - after all he was a danger to Valdo also - then he would still have to fight him and this without Brumelle's help. 

He realized that there was no way out of it, either he accepted her proposal now or he would wait the end on a strange world. How long would he then have, he couldn't guess but one thing was sure, every minute that he would live there he would always regret his cowardliness. The though that he could have done something to save his home world would be an immense burden on his shoulders. 

At last he knew that he had to agree to be her legs and eyes and to fight her mad brother. Before informing her of his decision he said. 

"If I agree you must let my two companions here join me in my mission to destroy Valdo." 

-- It will be as you say. 

(to be continued)



Masters of the Arches Ch. 14



It felt wonderful to be under the sunlight again. Even though the temperature was very hot outside, they didn't mind the sweat on their skin. Having spent the last twenty days deep under the mountain, they were all experiencing a sincere pleasure to find themselves once again in close contact with nature, especially Nika and Verla. 

The grass under their feet, the singing of the numerous birds, the whispering of the breeze as it passes through the many trees and even the insects crawling and flying everywhere were a welcome sight.

Both women had a broad smile on their lips and a look of satisfaction could be seen on their face. Those long days under the mountain had been far worst for them than they had been on Vincent. At least, in his case he was used to spent much of his time in a room under fluorescent tubes in an artificial surrounding. His two women were not used to this kind of restriction since they had seldom spent more than a day at a time under a roof. 

But still, Vincent figured that the long stretch of time that they had remained deep underground under the constant guidance of Brumelle had not been a waste of time. 

He had been instructed in the use of the bow, how to throw a spear and also how to act like a native of this world. Even his skin had been darkened a little with a special lotion that Brumelle had shown him how to prepare. 

His hair-line which had been receding before he came to this world had now returned back to where it had been when he was twenty, his missing tooth at the back of his mouth was fully grown now and even the scar tissues on his right hand -- where he had once cut himself deeply on a piece of broken glass -- had completely healed and no trace of the scar could be detected. 

Vincent had even gotten used to walk without boots and he knew that his feet, although still sensitive to the pressure of small rocks, would soon acquire a protective callous thickness as he walked on them. 

To an outsider, he now appeared just like a native of this planet and this is exactly the impression he was trying to create of course. Brumelle had warned him that if Valdo ever learned that someone from outside of this world was on the planet, he would mobilize everyone he had working for him so as to discover his whereabouts and capture him. He would then make him talk so as to learn where the arch linking Earth to this world was located. 

She explained to him that once Valdo learned that he had arrived into his world by mean of an arch, it would only be only a question of time before he was captured. It was therefore exceedingly important for Vincent that he should look like a native of this world. 

After all, she told him, a stranger here mean that a Simultravel had been used somewhere and it also met a mean to find its location once that visitor could be made to talk. With the many drugs available to Valdo it would be an easy thing to make him talk.

Vincent didn't relish on the idea that as soon as he would be face to face with Valdo he was to kill him. His education had always been centered on the respect of human life, even animals lives were important to him. 

Of course he had often gone hunting while on Earth, but it was always his skill against that of the game he was pursuing. He never shot a deer or any other animal that had no chance of escaping him. More important still, once a hunted animal was wounded, he always made it a point of honor to hunt it down so that it would not die suffering from its wound. Leaving a wounded animals to suffer was not his way, even if it met tracking it down for several hours.

Never had he killed a man in cold blood. The only men he had killed were those he had shot in this world and even then it had been a question of his life or theirs.

He had been warned by Brumelle that the only way to kill Valdo was to get close to him and to act swiftly without mercy. If he should act in a chivalrous manner, she had told him, so as to give him an even chance, he would loose since Valdo had all sorts of hidden weapons that Vincent had probably never heard off. He had to get close to him and create at the same time the impression that he was ignorant of all the weapons he would see around him.

Many hours had been spent studying maps and the habits of the natives so as to help them with their search. They were to travel south until they reached the land of the dark skin people, then south again for a long time through forests and plains, going into the land of many different tribes until they would reach the cold White Sea, which was situated near the south pole of the planet. 

Because of the very small inclination of the planet on its axe of rotation, and also because of the fact that this world was a little closer to its sun than the Earth was, both poles were not as cold as their counterparts on Earth. 

Brumelle told them that Valdo was living on an island in the middle of the White Sea. It was a body of water half frozen most of the time and eing so remote, it was impossible to reach his island without being detected. Built on this large island in the middle of that cold sea was an immense structure where Valdo lived. During the war, it had been the headquarters of those who were on Valdo's side. Now he was still using it as his base and although he had no army left, he still had a great number of slaves and people devoted to him. They either feared him or remained loyal to him because of the promises of wealth.

Of course, Brumelle also explained that these men had a limited usefulness to Valdo since they had no knowledge whatsoever of the use of modern weapons and they were also quite ignorant of the past events that had occurred on this world. He mostly made use of them to gather information and for his protection. 

With the exception of his metal knife, and also Nika's knife, Vincent had left behind all of his weapons, -- as well as everything that also implied a modern technology -- he now had no compass and his only mean of guidance was the sun. 

It was in the middle of the morning when they emerge from under the mountain and since they had a very long way to go, they got started on their mission immediately. Both women knew what was expected of them, and they considered it a privilege to be able to obey and serve the goddess of the mountain. 

Beside, had Vincent forbade them to accompany him, he felt sure that both would have disobey him and would have followed his trail anyway. They now both considered themselves as his mate and the only way they would ever leave him now was for Vincent to break the tie with either or both of them in a ceremony. Of course this was the last thing that he wanted to do since he felt that he owed the fact that he was still alive to them and he would therefore prefer to die before parting with either of them. 

Five days after they had departed from the depth of the mountain where Brumelle was, they were walking on the bank of a river. They could easily see the other side which was about five or six hundred feet away. The river was barring their progress south and they knew that they would have to cross it somehow. 

By late afternoon, they were still following the river downstream in the hope of finding an easy place to get to the other side. On a common accord it was then decided that they would make camp for the night on its shore.

"I think we should stay here a day or two," said Vincent. "There is plenty of games around here and it would be a good idea to built up a reserve of smoke meat, we don't know what we will find ahead of us."

The two women were in agreement with him and they all got to work immediately setting up camp on the wide bank of the river. Before it got completely dark, he cut many length of small vines that were plentiful everywhere, and he set half a dozen traps so as to catch small games. 

That night they took turn to keep guard while the other two were sleeping. While one of his two women was keeping watch, he made love to the other, then in the middle of the night when they exchanged placed he once again made love to the other. Ever since he had set foot on this world, it seemed to him that his sexual energy and his craving for sex had greatly increased. 

He didn't expect any trouble from them because of the fact that he was regularly making love to both of them and they each were fully aware of that fact too. Neither of the two girls appeared jealous of the other, on the contrary they were good friends and there was genuine love between them. After all, it was very common in this world for men or women to have more than one mate. On Earth he knew that it would have been considered a pervert thing to do to make love to both women within the same night, especially with one of them still within hearing range of the copulating couple.

While the three of them had been under the protection of Brumelle, he hadn't dared make love to either of them since he couldn't predict how the lovely Brumelle would react. But now that they were free from the watchful eyes of the computer, he was getting carried away with his sexual ardor and he knew that he was quickly going to develop a taste for this sort of 'ménage a trois'. 

The next morning, while the women were preparing breakfast -- consisting of fruits and boiled roots -- he went to check his traps. He had two rabbits and a strange looking animal almost as big as a pig but with a black fur and dangerous looking teeth. 

While the women got busy cleaning and smoking the meat, he went to investigate ahead along the bank of the river so as to find out if he could discover a place where they could cross on the other side. But there were no suitable place in sight and he knew that they would still have to follow the river for a while yet. 

They remained all of that day resting and smoking the meat that they had, when they resumed their trip south the following day, they had a good reserve of meat which they carried on their back tied with flexible vines and wrapped in large leaves. 

The mountain from where Vincent had entered into this world was situated well into the northern hemisphere of the planet and their destination was completely at the other pole and it met that they had a very long way to go. They were still walking along the bank of the river and it became evident that the further they went downstream, the wider the river was getting. 

Soon, the bank where they were walking was nothing more than a thin strip of sand covered with boulders and rocks everywhere. The further they went, the larger were the boulders while the sand was getting thinner all the time. 

Once in a while Vincent would climb on a tall rock and look around so as to see if the topography of the land was changing ahead of them. But everywhere he could see it was the same. Everywhere he looked it was barren land with no trees in sight and very little vegetation, big rocks were everywhere to be seen and it appeared to him that the surrounding region was being flooded periodically by the river, judging by the lack of top soil. 

In the middle of the afternoon, the heat was almost unbearable, and when they finally stopped to make camp in a spot among a group of boulders, they were all very exhausted. Vincent didn't like the idea of making camp too close to the river. For one thing he didn't know what dangers to expect from the amphibian life of the river. So far he hadn't seen anything resembling an alligator, but still he didn't want to take any chance. 

Before going to sleep that night, they build a fire and ate some of the fresh meat - not smoked yet - they had been carrying with them. Early the next morning, they were back once again walking on the narrow bank of the river. 

After less than an hour it became quite evident that it would be just about impossible for them to travel along the now completely rocks covered bank for much longer. On both sides of the river the sand had all but disappeared, it had been replaced by rocks of all seize and even the river itself was narrower and moving faster.

They managed to walk still further. Now the river had dug a channel into the bedrock, making it absolutely impossible for them to move the way they had been going. They had only two alternatives. One was to get further inland and walk over the land for a while -- which he rather not do on account of the suffocating heat -- while their other option was to construct some kind of a raft and ride the river while at the same time they could cross on the other side. 

Vincent was not too keen about the raft option either since he still recalled the almost catastrophic end of his last trip on a raft when it had almost ended in tragedy for him and Nika. But the raft option was still more appealing to him than walking over the barren and suffocating desert land. 

After all he now had a fairly good idea where he was and what to expect ahead since Brumelle had explained to him the general topography of the country ahead of them. 

It took them the rest of the day to construct their raft which consisted of four logs -- there were plenty of dead wood on the bank -- tied with thick vines that grew almost everywhere among the rocks along the river. By mid morning of the next day they got on the raft and he pushed them by mean of a crooked pole until the river began to carry them downstream. 

They let the river take care of the raft for the rest of the day stopping only to make camp on a small island in the middle of the river. By the middle of their second day, they noticed that the current was carrying them much faster while the sandy bank of the river on both side was slowly beginning to reappear once again. 

Vincent figured that there would be no real advantage in leaving the raft now, even if it was moving in a southwesterly direction and not directly south. They were covering much greater distances than they would if they were walking, and this with much less effort. 

In the middle of the afternoon of the second day, the dense tropical forest had appeared again on both sides of the river. They knew from Brumelle's information that the river led to a large lake, which in turn did connect to another lake.

When they set up camp that late afternoon, Vincent told himself that they would have to abandon the raft soon since he had no intention of sailing the dangerous waters of the lake with their precarious embarkation. Even though Brumelle hadn't mention any special dangers, Vincent knew that he couldn't rely too much on her information since the last time anyone had fed any data into her memory bank it must have been many thousands of years earlier and a lot of things had changed since then. 

As for the natives living around the very large lake, anything could be possible and Vincent prepared himself for the worst. That night while they were lying under a partly cloudy sky, they heard the faint sounds of beating drums in the distance. 

The regular repeating and rhythmic sound that seemed to make the air itself vibrate, came from the south. When he got up to look at the night sky in the direction from which the monotonous sound came, he saw the deep red reflection on the low clouds from many camp fires. He figured that there was a large village situated directly on their path. 

Every one in the trio soon became edgy and nervous, and even though Vincent spent half the night keeping watch, the two women had trouble sleeping since the regular beating of the far off drums had a sinister effect on them. 

The following day, they left the lake and were once more moving downstream on the river. They tried as best as they could to maintain the raft as close as possible to the southern shore of the river so that if the need should arise for them to leave the raft quickly, it would be easier and faster to do if they were close to the shore. 

It was around noon when the river made a ninety degrees turn toward the west. Before they could stop the raft or push it toward shore, they were well on another lake. Previous to this sharp turn, the land on both side of the river had been covered with tall trees and judging by what he sat, the game seemed plentiful everywhere they happened to looked. 

One minute they were on the raft going downstream and the next after they turn the sharp bent of the river they emerged on the water of the lake. Vincent could barely see the other shore ahead of them while on his right as well as on his left he saw only water. Of course there were no traces of building anywhere to be seen. He was stunned by the beauty of this wilderness. 

Before they began to drift too far they proceeded to push the raft with the poll and they paddled with their hand until the raft began to approach the south shore of the lake. Many long minutes later and after much effort, they were able to reach the sandy beach of the lake.

"We will unload the bundles of smoked meat on the beach and we will hide them under the cover of the undergrowth, then we will cut the vines holding the raft together and release the logs, that way no one will know that we are here."

"Why don't we just pull it on shore a little. It might be useful later?" Said Nika.

"No. We mustn't leave any traces of our being here. I have a bad feeling about this place. Beside the drums we heard last night mean that there must be people around here."

"Yes you are right, I didn't think about this." 

Once the few possessions they had, including the smoked meat was hidden among the small bushes growing near the sandy beach, they got to work with the cutting of the vines holding the logs together. Vincent and Nika still had their metal knives that Vincent had bought on his world. As a matter of fact it was the only thing that they had from Earth, all the rest of their belonging had been left underground on the advise of Brumelle. 

Once the logs were free from the restraining vines, they pushed them one by one into the water of the lake. Next, they took a few branches and they erased their footprints from the surface of the sand. Vincent doubted very much that it could fool an experienced eye, but under the circumstance it was the best they could do. 

While Vincent carried the bundles of meat on his back with his knife within easy reach, they walked in a single file deeper into the forest. Nika went in front with her bow ready and half stretched with an arrow while Verla walked behind them with her spear in hand. 

Their progress was slow since they had to change direction often either because of the rough terrain or because of fallen trees. Much of the vegetation around them was unknown to Vincent. 

In the middle of the afternoon, they reached a small clearing in the middle of the forest. He was surprised to see both women rush to a group of small trees loaded with fist seizes pink fruits. Both girls seemed to know what the fruits were and they did not hesitated a second to bite into them. 

After tasting one, Vincent discovered that they were simply delicious. It occurred to him that he could make a fortune growing these fruits on earth. The inside was of a darker shade of pink and it was very juicy and sweet. 

One of the baskets that Nika had made with vines a couple of days before, was filled with the delicious fruits. When Vincent asked them the name of these succulent fruits, Verla said they were called "fruits of life" since they were usually found in the least expected places and on numerous occasions they had save the life of half starved travelers. 

They made camp an hour later near a small stream in a section of the forest where the trees were less densely pack. Of course no fire was lit that night and they had to eat their meat cold with some of the "fruits of life". 

As soon as it was dark, the air became filled with the sound of the forest with its many predators hunting. Then later in the evening they heard a chilling cry of pain that made their blood turn cold. 




Masters of the Arches Ch. 14



It was a human cry and it seemed to come from less than a quarter of a mile from their position. More screaming then followed the initial one and soon the beating of drums began again. But this time they could tell that it came from a place very close to them. 

There was no doubt in Vincent's mind that someone was being tortured. Once in a while they could also hear the cheering of a crowd and each time it was followed by the intense screaming. The cries of pain made Vincent half sick, especially when the screaming was that of a woman.

After long minutes, when no one dared to talk, he finally said.

"I must go and have a look at the source of these screams."

"Please don't go," said Verla, "they must have people on guard and they will capture you."

"No, I will be careful. I will not let them see me. That computer called Brumelle did teach me every skills in the art of moving undetected at night and even in daytime. Beside we must know what to expect ahead of us." 

"We don't have to move directly into their path. Tomorrow we could simply walk west for a while then turn south again." Said Nika.

"If we do that each and every time we come to a village or to a little danger, it will take us a very long time to find Valdo. Beside who knows, we might still get into greater danger if we go west for a while as you propose."

They both knew that he was right and they stopped arguing.

He didn't bother to take the bow or Verla's spear since it would be very difficult at night to send an arrow straight to its marks. Instead he took his knife and a short spear from Verla and he disappeared into the forest.

Only a couple of hundred feet from where they had established camp, he discovered a trail that led in the general direction of the screaming. He remained on the trail until the sound of the drums got nearer, then he got off the trail on his right where the forest was very dense. 

He figured that it was more than probable that this trail and any other leading to the village would be guarded. The ground was getting higher as he went ahead on a parallel path about a thousand feet off the trail, then he reached the top of a small hill on which grew many small trees and he finally discovered the source of the screaming. 

He saw about a dozen human forms tied to a line of posts. Each post being about ten feet from the next. A very large fire was burning in front of the line of posts and many smaller one could also be seen here and there throughout the village. The light from the big fire was throwing sinister shadows everywhere and it was illuminating many of the huts in the background.

There must have been four or five hundreds people standing in a half circle around the fire as well as around the posts where the unfortunate souls were tied. 

While most of the crowd was chanting and dancing, Vincent saw one of the man take a large stick from the fire and when he pulled it out there were flames burning at one end. 

All at once the crowd became very quiet. The man then performed a complicated series of steps then quite loudly he recited a few incantations. 

Next, with a wicked smile - which Vincent could clearly see from where he was hidden - he slowly approached one of the human forms tied to one of the posts, he then held the flame of the burning stick against the side of the human form.

(to be continued)



Masters of the Arches Ch. 15



Vincent watched the unfortunate soul jerking and bulking his body against the post that held him standing as he released a terrible shout of pain in the night. It was such a sinister scream that it made the skin on the back of his neck twitch in reaction to the plaintive sound.

The flame at the end of the wood stick was being held in contact against the prisoner's side for as long as he was conscious, then as soon as he passed out it was removed. It was evident that his assailants wanted to cause maximum pain on him. But at the same time they wanted him to remain alive for as long as possible so that more pain could be inflicted on him again. 

Vincent instantly experienced a deep hatred for these people who were capable of such cruelties on other humans. He also wished that he could do something for the unfortunate souls that were tied to the posts. But he was alone and he was fully aware that any attempt from his part to help them would only result in his being captured and being tortured also.

Beside, he had to think of his two women. It pained him to think what would happen to them if they should happen to fall into the hands of these barbarous people. 

While he was having these thoughts, he saw two men walking toward one of the posts where a woman was tied.

They roughly untied her and they hit her a couple of time. Then one of the two men got behind her and he penetrated her while the other one was holding her in a half bent manner and at the same time he forced her to take his erection into her mouth.

By the time that they were done with her, half a dozen men were waiting behind them so as to take their turn with the woman.

It was quite evident to Vincent that the whole village was celebrating an event or something and they were having a feast for that occasion. There was evidently a lot of food everywhere judging by the many fires having pots and roasting animals over them. 

There was also dancing here and there around the many fires and almost everyone was holding a clay cup that held some sort of beverage. Vincent figured that they had probably won a great victory and they were busy expressing their joy by over eating and over drinking and also by torturing some of the prisoners they had caught in that battle.

He then realized something that he had not noticed yet. Most of the villagers seemed to be intoxicated, probably on account of the drink that everyone was enjoying. Once in a while he would see someone go to one of the several large clay jars that were at the end of the line of posts. With the clay cup in one hand Vincent watched them dip it into one of the large jars and thus filled it with the potent brew.

For the next hour, he carefully watched them dancing and eating while they performed many others acts of cruelty on the prisoners. Before he finally decided to return back to his camp, he figured that about half of the prisoners were now dead -- some of them had been decapitated and their head was being paraded around at the end of long poles.

On his way back, just as he got on the trail, a guard discovered him. It wasn't really a fair fight since the guard was half drunk. The guard must have been sitting on the ground with his back to a tree right near the trail when Vincent went pass him. 

For the first few seconds the guard must have though that Vincent was someone from the village and he didn't react at all. By the time he realized that he was looking at a stranger, it was too late for him. As soon as he got to his feet and proceeded to take possession of his spear which was resting against the same tree on which he had his back against a few seconds before, Vincent threw his knife at him. The guard felt quietly to the ground with the handle of the knife sticking out of his neck. He was dead by the time he reached the ground.

Vincent pulled the body of the guard by both legs until he was completely hidden by the vegetation off the trail.

When he got back to his two women a short while later, they were exceedingly happy to see him. They had been expecting him much sooner and they were worried that something might have happen to him. 

He described to them what he had just witnessed, then he suggested that they break camp immediately and begin to walk south so as to be as far away as possible from the village while the villagers were all celebrating. He explained to the women that it would be far less dangerous to risk an encounter with a night predator in the forest rather than risking the possibility of being made prisoners by these cruel people. 

They immediately began walking. Instead of going west, they went directly south and on the same path he had taken only a couple of hours before. Nika asked him why they were passing so close to the village instead of making a wide detour around it. 

" For one thing, " said Vincent, " I doubt that at the moment we will have much trouble from anyone in the village. By now they are all drunk and sleeping, beside even if we should be discovered they wouldn't be in a condition to follow us. It will be much safer if we stay close to their camp for a while since the noise they are making will scare away many of the night predators of the forest." 

" I hope we do get to surprise a few of them, " said Verla " it will make me feel good to drive my spear in their cowardly heart." 

" Who knows, your wish might come true. There is a good chance that we will meet one or two guards on our way. So from now on let us make as little noise as possible and watch where you walk, if there are guards they will probably be half drunk and lying in the bushes." 

Soon they reached the spot where Vincent had killed one of the guards. Then out of curiosity, Vincent guided both women to the top of the hill where a few hours before he was hidden and observing the whole village. 

What they saw now was a much different scene. Everywhere they looked they could see drunken and sleeping bodies on the ground and the few that were still standing were drinking and were in the process of joining those already dead drunk lying everywhere.

As for the prisoners, there were only three of them that could be seen still standing while being tied to the posts, the others were lying in a lump at the foot of their respective post and some even had their head cut off. 

Vincent suddenly felt Verla's hand on his shoulder. She pointed in the direction of the last post to which was still tied a standing prisoner. There could be no doubt about it, the man was still alive. He lifted his head for a few seconds and tried to move but he soon collapsed after that effort. 

" I think that we might be able to rescue him, " said Vincent.

" Yes, let us try. The large fire is dying down and the light at that end is very dim."

" We will wait a little longer before attempting anything. No one is feeding wood into the fire and it will be darker still in a little while, beside it won't matter that much if we wait since they will all be drunk soon." 

Half an hour went by and by then there wasn't a single villager that could be seen standing anywhere. The huge fire was only a pile of smoldering red-hot coals now. 

As quietly as they could, they partly circled the village while all the time walking in the forest. When they were opposite to the last post, Vincent told the women to keep a sharp eye near the posts just in case someone or a guard should appear. He then left his hiding spot and he began to walk in a drunken manner toward the posts. 

As soon as he reached the first form lying on the ground, he picked the clay cup near the drunken body and he continued to walk while pretending to drink from the bowl-size cup.

He did fit perfectly in the decors and his women had to admit that anyone looking in his direction would mistake him for one of their own. 

As he kept walking slowly he saw drunken bodies everywhere lying on the ground where they felt dead drunk. There were as many women as men lying everywhere, some had actually passed out while they had been in the process of copulating. He was surprised also to see that a number of children were among those that were drunk. 

So far, on this world he had noticed that it wasn't common to see many children at the same time. Since people tended to live until they were very old - because of the lack of disease and of course because of the Rad virus that constantly repaired the sick and even those that had been injured - the only way people died was from an accident. So it seemed that giving birth to babies was not a desirable thing in the activities of the habitants of this planet.

For some reason that he still could not understand, it appeared that there was a controlling element present on the planet, children were being born only when the adult population began to decrease. But the fact that there were more children in this village than he had ever seen in any other village on this planet probably met that many of these people got killed while waging wars

By the time he reached the last post, he had a fairly good idea of the layout of the village and in the dim light he now saw the shaman of the village, dead drunk, lying on the ground. The same shaman that he had observed earlier torturing the prisoners. He was the spiritual leader of the village and he had encouraged his people to cause pain to the prisoners. 

As soon as Vincent reached the prisoner who was still moving his head, he cut the leather strips that bounded the man to the post and he held him until he was stretched on the ground. The man had a couple of burns on his body, but beside that he didn't seemed to have any broken bones or deep cuts

Vincent signaled to his women to come and join him. The two women took the wounded man with them and they carried him toward the forest.

Vincent then slowly walked toward the next post as he looked around and noticing a very disgusting scene. Everywhere his eyes felt he could see traces of the celebration, many had even defecated right there near the fire and they must have done this in full view or everyone else. Then he saw limbs and blood from the prisoners on the ground. He took his time to check the other prisoners, but all of them were dead. Some having their head cut off completely. 

All of a sudden, he felt a strong anger building deep inside. The more he looked at the dead prisoners, the angrier he became. He make up his mind to seek partial revenge and to give these inhumane people something to think about for what they had done to their prisoners. 

He took the shaman by the legs and he dragged him near one of the large clay pot that held their potent brew. He then lifted the man and threw him head first into the pot. There was a little resistance from the shaman when his head hit the liquid, but Vincent forced his head under until he felt his body relaxe and he knew that he was dead.

Next he went to the biggest hut that he could see in the village. It was much more decorated than the others and most of the round walls were covered with pelts. Vincent figured that it had to belong to the chief. He pulled aside the flexible animal skin in front of the door and he got inside. Lying on the ground, were four men and about a dozen women, all were completely drunk and unconscious.

With his knife he slit the throat of the four men then he piled their naked bodies one on top of the other. Both Nika and Verla had previously explained to him that it would be seen as a very bad omen in this world for a man to die with his genital in contact with another man. It met that his spirit would always roam the land in anger until he was avenged of this supreme insult. Worst still, if his own tribe didn't avenge him in as short a time as possible, very bad things would happen to them all.

Before leaving the village he took four of the decapitated prisoner's head and he tossed them in the other pots. He knew that what he had just done was bound to scare the hell out of the whole village. They would probably think that the spirits of the dead prisoners were responsible for the presence of their head in the pots. The same spirits that had killed their shaman and chief. After all, who else would do such a thing? 

For the rest of the night they walked, taking turn in carrying the half dead prisoner. Once in a while the prisoner did regain conscience and he was given water, but all the time he had to be carried since he was much too weak to walk.

By dawn they had probably covered less than seven miles. They rested for an hour at the end of the forest and the beginning of a plain while eating breakfast. Victor was anxious to cross the plain as soon as possible since he knew that once the villagers realized that one of their prisoners had manage to escape, some of them would begin looking for him. Even if the village was now without a chief it was more than probable that a few of the warriors would realized that the death of their chief and shaman was not the result of the spirits of the dead prisoners. They were bound to figure that the missing prisoner had probably something to do with it. These warriors, even if they would only be a few at first, would probably begin searching for them as soon as they became sober enough. 

Having walked all night carrying the sick man with them, they were very tired, but just the same they did moved on and they undertook the crossing of the plain. While Vincent walked on one side helping the now conscious man to walk, Verla was on the other side holding part of his weight.

Nika walked in front of them with an arrow in readiness in case they should run into a charging animal, which were everywhere to be seen. There were many different herds of strange looking grass eater all around them, hidden in the tall grass they could see predators also.

It took them more than an hour to cross the plain and to reach the edge of a forest on the other side. By now the burned man was able to put much of his weight on his feet and the fact that it had been easy walking on the plain did permit them to reach the other side much faster than predicted.

As soon as they reached the forest, Vincent looked back at the plain in the direction that they had just come, he could clearly see the pressed grass where they had walked. If they were being followed, he knew it would be easy to get to them now. Even though they were all very tired and in need of rest they now had no other option except to keep on moving further.

By noon they found themselves on the shore of the great lake once more. Vincent was pretty sure that they had traveled straight south ever since leaving the village, after checking on the position of sun he was relieved to see that indeed they had been moving south. It met only one thing he told himself, the lake had to be curving and therefore must be in the shape of a half moon. 

Even though it was in the middle of the afternoon, it was getting darker now and soon it began to rain. Vincent realized that he had to take an important decision now. Should they follow the shore of the lake or turn back into the forest where it would certainly be much easier to hide. On the other hand, walking on the sandy beaches of the lake was going to be much easier and they would be able to cover a greater distance in the same length of time even if they would probably leave tracks in the sand. 

But returning back into the forest in the exhausted condition they were at that moment was going to place them all at the mercy of the predators that were constantly following the many herds and hunting for preys. He knew that they certainly would have a lot of difficulties to defend themselves in the exhausted state that they were now. He finally opted for walking on the sandy beaches of the great lake for a while.

A short time later, they noticed an island about five hundreds feet from the shore of the lake. It only they could reach the island without leaving too many traces of their passage he told himself. He figured that it would be a perfect place to rest in relative safety for a few days until the prisoner they had rescue - whose name was Cold Wind - could get a little better.

The only way they could reach the island and take Cold Wind with them was to hold on to a tree trunk or a large log and paddle with their hand until they got there. He finally explained to his women that his intention was to cross over to the island and that they should look for a large piece of wood to help them get there. They were all careful to walk in the water of the lake so as to leave no foot-print in the sand. Finally they found what they were looking for.

It was a fifteen-foot length of wood that had once been part of a medium size tree. Its roots at one end were still floating in the water of the lake and it was an easy matter to push it further into the lake.

They then helped Cold Wind to climb on his belly on the log and Vincent tied a leather rope around his waist then he tied the other end to his own waist. While both women took charge of the weapons and the remaining food, they all pushed the log in deeper water until the water took hold of the log. 

As soon as they were on their way it began to rain in profusion. But since there was practically no wind, Vincent ordered them to continue to push the log until they were walking waist deep in the cold water of the lake.

The rain was most welcome now since it was going to erase their foot prints from the sandy beach. Soon their feet were no longer touching the bottom of the lake and they began to paddle with their hand and swimming while trying to push the log ahead of them. After ten minutes they were half way to the island but at the same time the current in the channel was taking them on a parallel path to it. They all knew that they had to move fast or risk missing the island completely.

The momentum of the initial push when their feet were still touching the bottom of the lake, had been enough to carry them half way toward the island, but now it was a tedious and exhausting process of swimming and paddling along with the log so as to reduce the distance to their destination. 

Then the wind began to blow and the sky was soon crisscrossed with lightning and there was even a perceptible drop in the temperature. Twice, Cold Wind slipped off the log and Vincent had to help him back on again. The waves were now beginning to hinder the progress of the log while the current carried them to the very tip of the island. Just as Vincent figured that they would miss the island completely, he felt his feet touching the bottom of the lake. Then the two women were standing on the bottom also and they began guiding the log toward the island.

No sooner was Cold Wind off the log that the current carried it away. 

Vincent then soon discover that it had been a wise decision to come to the island. The side of the island closer to the mainland was made up mostly of high rocks while the rest was covered with trees and grass. He knew that even if they were to walk around on the island in broad daylight -- as long as they remained behind the wall of rocks -- they wouldn't be detected from the mainland. 

There were many caves among the rocks and it was now their most urgent priority to get out of the rain, the temperature had dropped even further in the last ten minutes and everyone was shivering. They found a large cave with an opening facing away from the mainland. After Vincent checked it out to make sure that it was not occupy by one of the big cats or something even more dangerous such as a pack of wolves which were common in this world, they placed the now unconscious Cold Wind well inside the cave. They next began pilling rocks in front of the entrance to prevent any potential prowlers from getting inside just in case there were any on the island. 

For the next six days they remained hidden on the island. The little food they had with them lasted for the first two days then they ate raw fish from the lake. There was an abundance of aquatic life in the lake and some of it was dangerous as Vincent discovered one day while he was fishing.




Masters of the Arches Ch. 15



He had been busy pulling a fish out of the lake by mean of a bone hook hidden in a scrap of meat. As he hauled the still struggling fish out of the water, he was surprised to see the water of the lake at a distance of ten or twelve feet behind the fish starting to bubble. Then all of a sudden a monstrous head covered with thick scales broke the surface of the lake and it snapped the fish he was still holding above the water. Of course he did loose his fish and when he later examined the leather line, it was cut as neatly as if it had been done with a knife.

As long as they remained on the island there was no question of building a fire since the smoke would reveal their presence. Cold Wind's burned scars were healing very well and far faster than anything Vincent had ever seen. The Rad virus was doing its work well and all the damaged tissues were being replaced perfectly and not a scar would be left once the burned portion of skin would be healed completely. Vincent had been told that the Rad virus would even grow an arm or a leg if the need happened. 

Cold Wind was soon feeling much better and within a week he was well enough to walk without any help. He explained how he had been made prisoner when a few dozens men of the Krowla tribe had ambushed him and two of his companions. The Krowla had been using a sort of blowgun that could send very short arrows that had their tips coated with a paralyzing substance. 

As soon as a man or an animal had his skin pierced by the very thin arrow, he would become almost instantaneously paralyzed. The Krowla did not kill their prisoners immediately since they preferred to keep them alive so that they could torture them later. They believed that the pain endured by these unfortunate souls was that much less pain that their tribe would have to suffer later. 

On their way back to the Krowla camp, two other warriors from another tribe and their women had been captured also. Cold Wind had been held prisoner for over a month and every four or five days they would tie him with the other prisoners to a post in the center of the village and cause him pain either by mean of fire or by hitting them. He was awared of one prisoner that had been in the Krowla's hands for over six months, he had been killed the very night that Vincent had rescue him.

The whole Krowla tribe had been celebrating the god of the lake that night and since it was their most sacred god, the festivities had been greater than usual.

The more that Vincent heard about the Krowla, the greater he felt his dislike for these pitiless and cowardly people. It was the same with Nika and Verla, both women knew tribes that had been known to be cruel, but none of them even came close to the Krowla in this respect.

On the morning of the seventh day after their arrival on the island, they left their safe sanctuary since Cold Wind had almost completely recovered by then. 

Vincent was the first to swim across the narrow channel and after inspecting the beach and the surrounding area, he signaled his companions to cross over and join him. They all knew that they were taking a chance in swimming into the water of the lake. The incident of the fish that had been stolen by the scaled creature was still fresh in their mind but they had no other option if they intended to reach the mainland. 

As soon as they had all cross over, they began walking south along the beach once again. There was no use in trying to hide their tracks now and their best option was to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the Krowla's village. 

For the next three days they walked on the hot sand on the shore of the lake, stopping only once a day to hunt and eat. There were plenty of games -- only a few hundred yards away from the beach -- in the dense forest. To Vincent, most of the animal life -- which was in abundance everywhere -- was completely new to him and he was fascinated to the utmost by the different shapes and strange looking creatures that he saw.

On the first day, Cold Wind brought down a short-legged animal, -- he had made a bow and a dozen arrows while on the island -- that resembled a giant fox but being many times the size of a fox and with much longer teeth. They cooked it and its meat tasted like nothing Vincent has ever eaten before, even the raw meat was very palatable -- Cold Wind did prefer to eat it raw.

Soon they had a reserve of smoked meat and plenty of fruits and nuts. To Vincent it was evident that the forest around the lake was a real paradise for hunting. 

On the third day after leaving the island, they reached the southern tip of the lake. Cold Wind told them that he was now familiar with the country and that they were safe from the Krowla since they were in the hunting ground of his own people who called themselves the Taloona.

Cold Wind wanted them to follow him to his village, but it met that they would have to walk over fifteen miles north on the other side of the lake.

" I am sorry Cold Wind " but your village is not on our path, " said Vincent to a disappointed Cold Wind.

" But you will be treated with honor and the whole village will want to reward you for rescuing me. I am the only son of Round Stone who is our chief. My father will be very disappointed at me for not insisting that you follow me to our village. " 

" You must understand that it is very important that I go south, and I must do so as quickly as possible. If it were possible we would be more than willing to accompany you."

" Then I must go with you. You have saved my life and I can't return to my people if you don't come with me. "

"Tell me Cold Wind, " said Nika, "do you know many people from your village that have travelled far toward the south? "

" No. There are many bad tribes there; there are stories of strange animals living in the huge forest in that direction. Beside, all those that went there never came back. But we do have someone living with us who use to live in a land very far in the south. "

" Really, and for how long has he been living in your village? " Asked Vincent.

Cold Wind's face brightened when he realized that they might be interested in meeting Kowa who was the village sorcerer.

" You can talk to him if you come with me, he will tell you everything about the land far to the south. He is not from our people. Many years ago he came to our village with a strange box that talk to him. He can talk to the spirit within the box and when it answers back to him everyone can hear the voice inside. He is the greatest sorcerer in the world. "

" A box that talks, how strange." Said Vincent.

It was quite evident to Vincent that this box was the product of a higher civilization and he figured that it might be worth the trip to see and talk to this Kowa.

" Yes, you have convinced me Cold Wind, we will follow you to your village and I will have a talk with this Kowa. "

(to be continued)



Masters of the Arches Ch. 16



For the first two days after they had arrived in Cold Wind's village, most of their time was spent celebrating the return of the chief's son. Vincent and his two women were treated with honor and with much respect for having rescued and helped Cold Wind in escaping.

Round Stone, who was Cold Wind's father, gave to Vincent and also to both women, all sort of gifts including many arrows and pelts.

It had been a very touching sight to see father and son reunited and there was no doubt in Vincent's mind that these people loved and respected their leader. At the end of the festivities on the first evening, much to Vincent Surprise, Round Stone offered his eldest daughter to Vincent so that he could spend the night with her. 

At first Vincent didn't want to accept Round Stone gift, but Nika made him understand that it would be considered as an insult to both, father and daughter, if he were to refuse. Nika did urge him to accept as she explained to him that it was quite common to be offered such a gift, the chief was placing on him a great honor in offering him his daughter for the night.

He was to learn later that the chief's daughter had undergone a fertility ritual and it was hoped that she would get pregnant from Vincent, and thus perpetuate his presence in the village by mean of his descendants.

Indeed it was impossible for him to refuse such an honor and he discovered later that both Nika and Verla had also each been offered a warrior of the village to spend the night with. Much to Vincent's surprise they both had also accepted. It thus only confirmed what he already knew, mainly that the rules of morality on this world were quite different than what they were on Earth 

On the second day he was finally able to talk to Kowa in the middle of the village, even if it was only for a few minutes. Of course he had explained to the women before they entered the village that they were to remove their metal knife and hide them. He didn't want anyone starting to ask them questions about these metal knives since metal was unknown to the natives of this world. 

During these few minutes with Kowa, he became even more convinced that the sorcerer had something to hide. The first question that Kowa asked him was why he wanted to travel in the direction of the south. It was the sort of question one did not ask in this world. A man or a woman's business was a private matter and it was no one else affair. It was thus extremely unethical from the sorcerer's part to inquire about his reason to travel south.

But beside his curiosity, he was a very friendly person and one felt immediately at ease in his presence. He had a facility with words and this by itself was quite uncommon, this plus his being in possession of the magic box were probably the reasons that he had risen to the position of the village sorcerer in less than two or three years.

At last, on the third day, the village life return to a more normal pattern where groups of men went hunting while women got busy taking care of the few children, cooking and the making of garments. Vincent was thus able to walk about in the village and to observe Kowa more closely. After the chief, Kowa was the most important person in the village and everyone treated him with respect, it was also evident that many were actually afraid of his magic. 

In the middle of the afternoon Vincent got the visit from one of Kowa's women. She had a message from Kowa. She said that the sorcerer wanted to talk to him again about important matters and that he should follow her to his hut.

Vincent didn't like this sort of invitation that seemed more like an order than anything else, but he was anxious to talk to him again and this was his chance, so he did follow her. Of course before leaving he explained to Nika and Verla where he was going just in case something was to happen to him. He then followed the almost completely naked woman between the rows of huts until they were in front of Kowa's hut in the centre of the village. 

As soon as he entered the hut following the woman, he was able to make his mind about Kowa. On a small shelf made of thin sticks, supported by two thick branches, was a manufactured object of black plastic-like material and leather. Although Vincent was not familiar with the model, it was very evident that it was some sort of radio. There were three knobs in front and a tiny hand microphone which was hooked on its side support attached to the radio. 

For a few seconds Vincent's eyes rested on the high-tech electronic and before he was finally able to look elsewhere it was already too late since he knew that Kowa had already noticed him recognizing the radio. It then occurred to him that the radio had purposely been place there so that Kowa, who was sitting on an animal skin on the ground, could watch his reaction. It had been a test and he had failed miserably.

There was now no doubt in Vincent's mind that Kowa knew that he had knowledge of the use of the radio. His staring at the radio for these long seconds, then his fast reaction in looking somewhere else when he realized that Kowa was observing him, had plainly revealed the fact that he had previous knowledge of its use.

As soon as the woman left, the sorcerer invited him to sit on the fur in front of him. He then went right to the point. 

" My questioning you, the last time we talked, about your reason for traveling south must have seemed bad manners from my part and I apologize for this. The only reason I wanted to know is because I will soon be going in that direction also. My asking was only to let you know this and to offer you the possibility of us traveling together. But unfortunately I was interrupted by our chief before I could explain this." 

Vincent did remember indeed that Round Stone had seemed much displeased when the sorcerer had questioned him about his reason for going south, and he had interrupted the conversation by asking Vincent if he would follow him so that he could be introduced to the rest of his family. 

" You don't need to explain, no offence was taken and to answer your question, we are traveling south because we are looking for Nika's tribe. She was separated from them a while back and we were told that they did move into that direction."

" Well my offer still stands. If you wish it, we could be trekking together for a while at least, I have a good knowledge of that region and I do know what dangers are to be expected there."

" You mean you will leave your position here as second to the chief so that you can accompany us? "

" It is not the way it looks. I am leaving only for a while, I will return. My people live far to the south and I have not seen them in five years. Beside they might be able to help you find the tribe you are looking for." 

In his mind, Vincent began to debate whether he should accept Kowa's proposition or not. He now knew that Kowa's only reason to join his group was so that he could spy on them and also probably to report their progress by mean of his radio.

On the other hand, he reasoned that it would be preferable to have him traveling with them instead of having him follow them, this way he could at least keep an eye on him. Beside, Vincent wanted to find out who it was that he was spying for. The fact that he had an electronic transmitter in his possession surely met that Valdo was behind this, but still Vincent needed more proof of this.

It was then agreed that the following day, at dawn the four of them -- Kowa would be leaving his two women behind -- would leave by canoe. Kowa explained that they would save a lot of time and hardship if they were to travel on a river that emptied into the lake. The waters of that river were merging with those of the lake at its very southern tip. After entering the mouth of the river, they could go upstream for at least three hundred miles in a generally southern direction before it went east.

The following morning, most of the residents of the village were gathered on the shore of the lake so as to wish them all a safe trip and to thanks them one again for rescuing Cold Wind. Round Stone and Cold Wind said goodbye to them in the fashion of their people -- facing them each in turn with a hand on each of their shoulders -- and they bid them farewell while extracting from them a promise that they would return to the village as soon as possible.

The canoe, like other floating embarkation constructed by the people of the village, was made of plants fibres, which consisted of long strips of the bark of a particular kind of trees. The many joints were coated with a yellowish resin so as to prevent water from entering the delicate craft. As soon as the bottom of the canoe was loaded with their supplies of dry meat, fruits and nuts of all kind, their weapons were finally loaded.

As expected, Kowa had a bundle containing his private possession all wrapped in a pelt and Vincent was positive that inside was his small transmitter radio.

In a little more than two hours, with the four of them paddling, they reached the southern tip of the lake where the river emptied into the water of the lake. They had covered a distance of forty miles by then; it had taken Vincent well over a day to walk that distance though the dense forest on his way to the village with Cold Wind. 

Under the guidance of Kowa, they entered the mouth of the river that was to be their highway for the next three hundred miles. Their speed on the river was not as great as on the lake since they were going upstream and even if the current wasn't very strong, it did added a little on their paddling effort. They managed to cover another 20 miles before it was too dark. 

The following day they got another 40 mile or so upstream and as Kowa explained to them, they still could expect to travel on the river for at least another two hundred miles. Of course he did not use the mile as the unit of distance, but Vincent had no difficulties converting his unit of distance into his more familiar unit of distance. 

It was on their second night stop, with their camp established near the river, that Vincent discovered definite proofs of Kowa's true alliance.

Previously the sorcerer had insisted in taking the last shift of guard duty, it was just after Vincent's turn. The moment that Vincent pretended to be asleep, he saw him reach for his carefully wrapped bundle and he watched him through half opened eyes quietly walking away into the darkness of the forest.

No sooner had Kowa disappeared that Vincent got up and he quietly woke both Nika and Verla. After explaining to them what he had seen, he told them to remain where they were and to wait for him while he went in pursuit of Kowa.

Even though he couldn't see any track, he went in the general direction in which he had last seen him enter the forest and after a couple of minutes he did see his black silhouette against a gray boulder.

While being very careful so that he didn't make any kind of noises while walking, he went toward Kowa until he was about 30 feet from him. He then hid in the low foliages and waited.

Kowa had the radio in his hands and he was busy adjusting the settings by turning a dial. In the starlight Vincent could also see the outline of a small parabolic antenna that had been placed on a rock nearby. It was most probably connected to the radio my mean of a wire that Vincent couldn't see. It therefore met that there were satellites in orbit around this world and the small parabolic antenna had thus been previously aimed in the proper elevation as well as the proper angle so as to use one of the satellites as a mean of reflecting the radio signal to whomever it was intended for.

Vincent would have given a lot to be able to examine closely this compact device that was a manufactured product from a completely different civilization than his own.

" Tiger One this is Baby Nine. Tiger One this is Baby Nine."

A few second later Kowa began to talk again. Vincent couldn't tell if he was holding a microphone in his hand or not but it was evident that he had a hearing devise in his ears since there seamed to be no apparent answer from the radio as he stood very still for long seconds. Then once again he began to talk.

" My position is about ninety miles (given in units of distance of his world of course) up the White River. I am traveling with a man and two women and by the look of it I think that the man is an outsider. For one thing, he seemed to be ignorant of many of the things that we all take for granted here and further more he is in a great hurry to be getting south to some unspecified destination. But most important, he does know what a radio is and when he saw mine he had much difficulties hiding his surprise even though he did not ask any questions about it."

Again there was a pause, this time it was much longer. It became clear to Vincent that Kowa was receiving his instructions as to what to do next.

" Very well I will stay with them until the ambush. "

Another long pause.

" Don't worry, I will not keep them out of sight, you can depend on me. "

Once more he was quiet while he listen to further instructions.

" Yes I will contact you again tomorrow at the same time, and I will tell you our exact position. Baby Nine signing off."

There were no doubts now in Vincent mind, Kowa was a spy and he wanted to harm them. They were going to be ambushed, but the fact that he was supposed to signal their position again the following night met that the ambush was not going to take place on the following day.

But still it now became very urgent that they should get away from Kowa and also destroy his transmitter.

All of a sudden, his thoughts were disturbed by a sharp noise that came behind him. He did recognize the sound as that of breaking twigs under the weight of someone's feet.

Everything was quiet again for long seconds and this was what bothered Vincent since if the noise had been cause by a walking animal he would certainly have heard it again. Only a human being, and especially one that was trying to be quiet, could have made that noise since after that initial loud snap which had probably been an accident, nothing was heard again.

While in the process of packing the transmitter back in his bundle, Kowa suddenly stopped moving. Worse still, he was now looking directly where Vincent was hiding; the noise had been emitted from the general direction where Vincent was hidden. To Kowa, the noise must have seemed to originate just about where Vincent was hiding.

For half a minute everything was very quiet in the night, even the normal noises of the forest seemed to have ceased. Now Vincent had the strange impression that there was more than one presence behind him. Even though he could not hear or see anything at his back, he just felt that they were there and waiting for him to make his move. 

" Well, I will not walk right into their hands." He told himself, and he made up his mind to simply outwait them right where he was.

But Kowa did force him to move out of his hiding place. He saw his silhouette approaching toward his position in the foliages. Vincent knew that he now had only two options; one was to wait and let Kowa discover him while his other choice was to run away toward the source of the noise he had heard. He decided on his first option and he suddenly stood up and met Kowa coming toward him. At least he knew what to expect by walking toward him.

It was a mistake from his part. As soon as he was less than ten feet from Kowa and he was sure that the sorcerer had recognized him, he shouted at him so as to warn him of the danger behind him. But at the same time he saw that Kowa was holding some kind of hand gun in his hand, then all of a sudden his body became paralyzed and he felt to the ground.

He could still see and hear everything, but his body refused to move. Even breathing was difficult and he had to will his stomach muscles to dilate and contract so that air could enter his lungs. The act of breathing, which until then had been done without his thinking about it, was now requiring his complete concentration and even then his lungs were getting only the strict minimum of air. 

Even while struggling to breath as he was, he realized that Kowa was not aware that there was some kind of danger behind them since he didn't even look behind Vincent. He also didn't even bother to check how Vincent was. Instead, he went to pick his pelt bundle from the ground, he had already put away his transmitter inside and he now placed his hand gun inside the bundle. This more than anything else convinced Vincent that Kowa had not heard his warning; otherwise he would at least have kept his gun in hand to defend himself. 

Kowa then walked toward Vincent and with an evil smile on his lips he said to him. 

" I see that you have discovered what I am up to. But don't let it worry you because it only mean that we will wait here instead of having to paddle another day up the river."

His hand next went in front of Vincent's eyes and in the starlight he saw Vincent closing his eyes in a normal reflex. He probably wanted to make sure that the paralyzing hold on him was not too strong and thus have him suffocate, as soon as he saw his eyes flinch he seemed satisfied with this reaction.

" There is one other thing I must do now. Your two beautiful companions will have to be paralyzed also. I was ordered to take good care of the three of you, but nothing is wrong with my having a little fun with your women while we wait." 

" The Master want to interrogate all of you, then he will dispose of you in his favorite manner I suppose."

Even in the darkness, Vincent could see that he was smiling again; he was enjoying himself greatly and he was not trying to hide it.

He then disappeared from Vincent's field of vision. When he reappeared a minute later, he was holding his rolled bundle in his hand and he placed it on the ground at Vincent's feet. Again he went out of Vincent's field of vision. Less than ten seconds later Vincent heard a few branches cracking on his left and this was followed by a dull noise made when an arrow hit its marks. 

A shout of pain and surprise came to Vincent's ears; next there was the sound of a falling body on the ground. Everything was then quiet.

Finally he heard footstep coming toward him, next he saw a face just a few inches over his own face and it was joined by another face. Of course he did recognize Verla and Nika who were now bent over him and trying to figure out what was wrong with him. 

Both seemed relieved to see that his eyes were opened and moving but their joy soon changed to fear when they realized that he couldn't talk or move. 

Between the two of them they were able to move him back to their camp site and they stretched him near the fire. While the two women were moving him, he had a glimpse of Kowa's body with an arrow sticking out of his chest; it was evident that he was dead. 

He was glad to be near the fire since they now could hear the growling and moving of large predators in the forest. The smell of blood from Kowa's fatal wound was attracting night hunters from a radius of at least a couple of miles.

Both Nika and Verla examined him all over to see if they could find any trace of a wound. They seemed mystify by the fact that he could not talk of move, even though he seemed able to hear them and move his eyes. 

All through the rest of the night they kept hearing the racket made by the beasts of the forest as they fought for the remains of Kowa's body. Vincent was hoping that his women had taken the precaution of bringing Kowa's bag with them, but at the moment he had no way to know that. 

Of course they kept watch over him and they did place many logs into the fire so as to scare any predator that would venture too near their camp. By morning he began to feel the tip of his fingers and toes tingling as if they had been frozen and were coming back to life again. It was now much easier for him to breath and he could even turn his head slightly.




Masters of the Arches Ch. 16



After a while he did try to move his lips and say something, but he only managed to grunt a little. But this did please his women enormously since they now could tell that he was getting better. 

An hour later they were helping him to stand on his feet and he could talk fairly well. He explained to them what he had heard and seen Kowa do in the middle of the night and how he had paralyze him with his weapon.

He was pleased when he saw Kowa's bag nearby. After explaining to the women that they would all have to leave soon and that they should break camp immediately, he began to investigate the content of Kowa's bad. 

Inside, was the transmitter and also its small folded parabolic antenna. It also contained two hand guns, the like of which he had never seen before; next to the guns were two extremely sharps metal knives that had a strange curving shape. The seven inches blades had a cutting edge on both sides but one edge was a lot thinner than the other and while the thin edge could be used for delicate carving, the other could certainly be used for cutting more resistant material such as wood. Vincent knew that these knives would be very useful to them.

In the bag he also found something that greatly amazed him. It was a map made of extremely thin and resistant plastic-like material. It could be rolled and bent, and when it was completely folded it took less place than a wristwatch.

After unfolding the map he was surprised to see that its surface was over two square yards in area. But what attracted his attention the most about the map, was the small, red flashing point of light which indicated a spot near a river on the map. There were words and symbols written everywhere on the map, but of course he couldn't read any of them.

Then he did recognize the Great Lake, and at its southern tip he could see the river, which Kowa had called the White River. He then realized that the blinking red spot of light was indicating their present position near the White River. In the top right corner of the map, there was a flashing luminous red arrow; he became exuberant when he realized that it was some sort of compass.

Of course he had no idea how the compass worked or how the blinking red light could indicate their position on the map. As to where was the source of power for the position lights as well as the compass, he had no idea at all, but he knew that the map, the knives as well as the two hand guns would all be extremely valuable to them. 

By now it was evident to him that it had been a big mistake from Brumelle's part to advise him to leave his riffle and hand guns as well as his compass behind. After all, those working for Valdo were using sophisticated weapons so if he was to engage in a fair fight with them he needed similar weapons also. Had Brumelle made them leave their weapons behind intentionally so that they would all get killed or had she done it so that they could remain under cover for as long as possible as she pretended? He had no way to rally know.

He was now feeling much better and they still had over five hours of light left, so as soon as they had everything packed they got ready to leave. Before getting in the canoe Vincent destroyed the transmitter -- which did required a lot of effort since he had to drop a large stone many time on it -- then he threw the pieces into the river. 

Kowa's friends were expecting them to come by way of the river about sixty miles upstream and he explained to the women that their best chance of escaping them was to get as far away from them and as fast as possible. The quickest way to put distance between his group and those waiting to ambush them was to use the canoe and go downstream until they reached a small river that branched with the White River. He had checked on the map and there was such a river less than ten miles downstream. He still recalled seeing that small river emptying in the While River on their way upstream the previous day.

(to be continued)



Masters of the Arches Ch. 17



Just about two hours later, the canoe entered the mouth of a small river and again they were paddling upstream. Since the current was not that strong, they were able to make good progress in the general southwesterly direction. It didn't bother Vincent too much even if they were deviating from the exact south because it was much more important that they get as much distance as possible between them and the spot where they had spent the previous night and what was left of Kowla's body. He knew that those looking for Kowla would eventually discover his remains when they began looking for them. 

They kept on paddling upstream all day, stopping only for a short time to eat and to stretch their legs. Only once it was too dark to see where they were going, did they stop since it was then too dangerous and they had no other choice on the matter. The blinking spot of light on the map told Vincent that they had covered about forty miles since they had left camp that morning. 

All of them were much too exhausted to set any kind of camp on the bank of the small river. Instead, they slept in the canoe, which had been tied to a tree, that was close to the water. Beside, with the canoe still in the water it was much safer since they could not built a fire to scare away the night predators. 

During the next three days they continued paddling upstream on the river which was getting narrower the further they went, but still thus far they had been lucky since they hadn't yet encounter any rapids. Then their luck changed on the third day, the river became no more than a deep creek and often they had to walk beside the canoe since the water was not deep enough. 

But by then, judging by the map that Vincent had taken from Kowla, they had covered another ninety miles and he felt much safer now since whoever was after them, had much less chance of finding them, in the near future at least.

At no time since arriving in this world, had Vincent seen any sort of planes or flying devices of any kind. But during all that time that they were running away, he was half expecting to see something like that to appear in the sky. But still at the end of the forth day - after they had escaped from Kowla - he hadn't seen any man-made sort of flying device in the sky. This more than anything else convinced him that Valdo probably no longer had all the technological gadgets he must have had at one time in the pass. He felt sure that if Valdo had any sort of planes or flying machines, he would not hesitate a moment to use them to look for him. 

By now, Valdo certainly knew that Vincent had killed Kowla and that the trio were trying to escape. Further more he was probably aware also that Vincent was from outside of this world and the only way he had gotten on this planet must have been by mean of the Simultravel system. Therefore Vincent knew that he must be very eager to capture him so as to make him reveal the location of the arch. 

Yes it must be very frustrating for Valdo, thought Vincent. He still had many of the machines and gadgets of his civilization -- but not all of course -- and yet being the only one left from his race, he was the only one to really understand these devices and use them properly. 

Of course it was always possible for him to train some of the natives of this world in the art of using these machines, but nothing short of a decades of operating and understanding these gadgets and machines would change the natives way of thinking about theme. Even then they would still probably consider the power of the machine as magic even it they could learn how to operate them, and this would be a great handicap since it would then be only natural for them to fear what they were suppose to control. 

You can't force technology in a hurry unto uneducated and superstitious peoples. Before devils and monsters fearing people can accept and use new devises, it is imperative that they do understand perfectly how these work as well as the technology that make them work. 

When Kowla had used the transmitter, he was still afraid of it, even if he knew how to make it work. He had been taught how to operate it and not to fear it too much, but he still didn't understand how it worked.

On the fifth day, they had to abandon the canoe since the shallow water of the small river would not permit the canoe and its occupant to float without hitting stones on the bottom. After hiding it in the dense foliages next to a big rock that did serve as a repair point, - Vincent figured that if they should pass this way again they would be able to find it -- they proceeded on foot parallel to the river for a while then they turned directly south. 

Their progress was much slower now but on the other hand they were moving directly south. After checking his map, he estimated that they had another three thousands miles to go before they would reach the equator of the planet. After than they would still have to travel all the way to the south pole of the planet to find Valdo's domain. It was much too great a distance for Vincent's liking and he knew that their chance of reaching that far was not very good. 

Looking back in time, ever since he had gotten on the surface of this planet, Vincent estimated that he had covered a distance of about fifteen hundreds miles and on many occasions he could have lost his life. Upon examining his map and taking this distance into consideration, he could pinpoint on the map fairly accurately the location of the Simultravel that had permitted him to arrive into this planet. This was a piece of information that Valdo would love to have and of course Vincent knew that he was ready to go to a great length of trouble to get it. 

Vincent felt a sense of relief when he figured that with the aid of the map he could get back to the arch. But he had given his word to Brumel -- even if she was only a complex computer -- and he was not ready to go back on his promises to search for Valdo. He knew that even if he was to go back to his own world with both women, Valdo was bound to eventually find the location of the arch he had used, or even another one -- Vincent felt certain that there were others -- even if it did take him another hundred years it did not matter to Valdo.

But when at last Valdo would discover its location, it would then be possible for him to reach Earth. This would mean the end of civilization there. 

No he had to find Valdo and kill him before he could destroy the Earth and other worlds. Both Nika and Verla showed much admiration and love for him and he knew that either of them would not hesitate a second to give her life so as to save his own life and he couldn't do less.

He was also amazed to discover how one woman accepted the other, there was never a trace of jealousy between them. Almost each night -- except when they were all too tired -- he made love to both of women and this he did in the presence of the other. But it was a common thing here to have more than one mate; people here didn't consider making love as the shameful act as it was in his world. 

Sometimes it was the female that had more than one husbands. When one of her men was gone hunting -- often for a matter of weeks -- she had her other mate to protect her at home. When a man was very skilful at hunting or if he had some prestige such as being chief or shaman, it was common for him to have more than one wife.

After all, why should it be otherwise, it made a lot of sense since women got pregnant only when they were ready and willing, and by taking regularly the anti- pregnancy brew they could go as long as they wished without getting pregnant. Beside, in all the villages that Vincent had visited so far, it was always thus. Before a woman was allowed to have a child she had to have the approval of the committee of her village. 

This did explain why there were no problem of overpopulation in this place, even if people tended to live a long time and died only when there was an accident or in wars. 

Another things that fascinated Vincent, was the fact that every human he had met until now, whether male of female, was handsome and beautiful. The Rad virus not only kept the body in top shape but it also eliminated those imperfections on the face and everywhere on the body so that every single human was perfection itself in appearance and performance.

Even the cruel tribes they had met on their way had been handsome. Vincent figured that this fact more than anything else explained the absence of sexual jealousy between partners that were married to the same mate. 

Beside it you were attracted to a certain person and if that person was not interested in you, it wasn't that bad since you were young looking and handsome, all you had to do was to look somewhere else and focus your interest on a different person and more important still, you had all the time you needed. 

If on the other hand your mate was having an affair with a neighbor, there was no use worrying about it too much since she or he would come back to you sooner or later, - after all, time had very little meaning here -- and beside the chances were that you were also having an affair with someone else. 

Marriage was only a temporary association here and it didn't have the same binding power as it did in Vincent's world. 'Till death separate us' was not part of the marriage ceremonies here.

Verla once explained to him that in her village, probably all the women, herself included, had had an adventure with almost each and every man of the village at one time or an other. But the worst insult -- and it had to be done willingly -- was for a woman to be impregnated by another man than her mate.

Since the village authorities strictly controlled the birth rate -- it was part of their culture to do so -- it was thus considered a capital offence to give birth to a child when it was not your turn, or worse still to impregnate another man's woman. The penalty in such a case was death to both offenders and it seemed that it was like that in most villages.

The temperature was cold during the night and judging by the colors changes of some of the leaves on the trees, Vincent guessed that they were approaching the cold season. Since there were seasons, it therefore met that the planet was inclined on its axes or rotation, just like Earth was, thus creating cycles of warmer and colder temperature during a one-year period. 

What were these ranges of temperature depended much on the degrees of inclination of the planet. As to how cold it would get, Vincent had no idea but judging by the short fur on most of the animal species he has seen, he figured that it would be similar to winters in South Carolina and of course the further south they went, the less cold it would get.

They tried to hut for furs and food while slowly moving south. The forest was dense with a mixture of large pins, elms, oaks and a many other varieties of trees that he didn't recognize. It was slow walking in such a forest but they did manage to cover close to two hundred mile in a week time. Then the topography changed and whereas the land had been relatively flat before, it now consisted of low hills with rolling valleys in between. 

It did reminded Vincent of his native Vermont, except that the animal life was now extremely rare and when they did see the odd deer or dog-like wolf, it would run away from them as if the forest was on fire. Even the few rabbits they saw escaped well before they could even try to catch them. Vincent supposed that given time he could probably catch something by mean of a trap but that would mean camping in the same spot for a day or two and he didn't want to stop since he had a bad feeling about the region they were now in.

They had gone for two days without eating meat. All of their smoked meat supply was now gone and they had to eat whatever they could find such as berries and nuts that were relatively abundant everywhere. 

Then they entered a valley surrounded by low hills on all sides. Far away, in the lowest part of the valley, they could see an artificial looking clearing where no trees grew while the ground seemed covered with a strange yellow grass. They began to cross this valley and soon they reached a narrow river about twenty feet wide that blocked their progress. 

It would not have been very difficult to cross it since they could see that it was just three of four feet deep, but since they were all tired and the place did appear quiet, they decided to camp next to it for the night, even if it was still in the middle of the afternoon.

They soon discovered that the waters of the stream had plenty of fish of all kind and an hour later they were eating their first good meal in many days. A fire had been lit to dry and smoked some of their catch, Victor figured that whoever was chasing them had probably lost their tracks for now and the chances that the smoke from their fire would be seen was very slim. 

Even since they had gotten rid of Kowla, they had been very careful so as to leave no traces whatsoever which would indicate there passage over the land. But for the last day they had seen no trace of animals life and this fact alone did bother Vincent a great deal whereas both Verla and Nika said they had never in their life seen such a place so devoid of all life.

"What is so strange with that?" Said Vincent. " It is possible that this valley was host to a pack of wolfs or other predators and owing to their numbers, they could have clean the area of all games."

" But how can you fail to see that it's not only because of the lack of games that this place look dead?" Insisted Nika. "Even the birds are gone and except for the fish in the river we are alone in this haunted valley." 

"Yes," went on Verla, "have you seen any insects yet? I haven't in many hours." 

It was true, they did look in the yellow grass and they even dug a small hole to try and find anything alive. No ants, no spiders, no flies and no mosquitoes, and of course no birds.

"I can't explain why, " said Verla after a while, " but I feel that this is a wicked place. It seemed that my body and my very soul resent this place, maybe we should move away."

Vincent knew exactly what she met since he also felt this strange sensation that she was talking about. 

They were all sitting on the grass and everyone was in deep though. Then Nika finally broke the silence and she said.

"Let us leave before the spirits of the life forms that used to live here take possession of our body. Never before have I felt the claws of death closing on me like this."

"We have to stay a while," insisted Vincent. "At least until we can catch and smoke enough fish. Remember that we have to eat even if we leave and since there is food here we must stay for a while and build a reserve."

His women knew that he was right so they stopped arguing. For another hour they continue to catch more fish using her spear in the case of Verla while Nika was using a crude net made of leather straps wish was good for catching the bigger fish. Vincent's job was to clean them and then spread them on a wooden rack over the fire. Of course he had to make many trips to find dead branches near the few small dead trees that were much farther away 

Then they were in for a surprise when the sun disappeared below the hills. The minute that the rays of the sun were hidden, they saw a green glow that seemed to come from the ground itself. Even the few dead trees in the distance had that haunting glow. Vincent's women began to shake; even their voice were trembling as they tried to talk.

"Let us go immediately," said Verla " before the light of death eat our soul."

"Yes," replied Nika, "this is a cursed place, not met for the living. We must leave now."

"No, we can't," came out of Vincent's mouth, almost as a shout. "Where will we go? Have you forgotten that it will be completely dark soon? We don't have enough food and this could be the only place for a long time where we will be able to get any."

"Please Vincent, let us leave before it is too late. We do have a few dry fish and we can follow the stream back and catch more later."

But Vincent would have nothing of this. "The river goes east to west and we are going south, we will waste many days if we follow the river. Beside this might be the only spot where there are fish in the river."

There was fear and exasperation on the women's faces but neither of them said another words. They had accepted to follow him and he was their leader.

When it got darker, the greenish glow became more evident. It was an eerie sight since if did come from everywhere, it even came from the ash of the fire. Only the three of them as well as the smoked fish seemed to be free from the macabre greenish glow.

As the women watched him, Vincent went to the fire and he turn over the dozen half smoked fish on the wooden rack over the smoking fire. Then he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks as if something had suddenly occurred to him. He walked a dozen feet away from the fire, then he took out his metal knife from his sheath at his side. Next he got on his knees and he began to dig with his knife. The ground became harder the more he dug then after four or five inches he was hitting something solid.

It felt and looked like a glass surface and soon he could no longer dig in it since it was too hard. He did try a few other holes a hundred feet apart and he always hit the same glass-like surface at about the same depth. 

Finally, Nika walked next to him and she said. "What is it?"

He now knew what the strange glow was all about but he was afraid even to talk about it. Even so he knew that he had to explain his discover to his women.

"This place was the scene of a very large explosion an extremely long time ago. The green glow that we see coming out of the ground is caused by the radiation that the explosion released. This place is radioactive and has been so for a great many years. Probably many thousands of years." 

"What is radiation? What does it mean?"

He knew that there was no use trying to explain to someone that had never heard of nuclear explosion what radiation poisoning was and that the soil they were standing on was highly contaminated. Normally they would have been dead by now. The only reason that they were still alive was because the Rad Virus was repairing their defectives cells as fast as the deadly radiation around them was damaging them.

No wonder that there was nothing alive where they were. Most of the animal life form can detect radiation and they do stay well away from this valley. They themselves had felt it when they had first arrived here, but they had ignore the warning.

From his college physics he still recall that some isotopes of plutonium or neptunium had a half-life of well over five thousands years. Atomic bombs could be made with these unstable elements. But he doubted that this was the case.

A civilization advanced enough in technology to construct a Simultravel system and invent the Rad Virus, wouldn't use such crude devises as these polluting bombs when it was possible to get a much bigger blast and a clean explosion using the fusion of hydrogen. A hydrogen bomb was almost radiation free in comparison to the bomb that had gone off in this valley.

Unless of course the users of the bomb wanted this place to be contaminated for a long time and therefore they purposely use a bomb that cause the maximum of polluting radiation. Yes this was probably what had happened here thought Vincent.

But why? This place didn't seemed to ever have been populated. There were no remains of crumbled building and no traces whatsoever that a city had once been here. Even after a couple of thousands years there would be man made artifacts that would have survived this time span. I seemed all very strange to Vincent.




Masters of the Arches Ch. 17



He tried to explain as best as he could the cause of the glow.

"A long time ago there must have been a large explosion here and it was so hot that it melted the soil. That is why there is a glass layer a few inches under. Then as time went on, debris from the forest were carried on the glassy ground and gradually it made up the soil over the glass. But things don't grow well in this radioactive ground and this is why there are no trees, only this yellow sick grass can survive here. In another few thousands years trees might grow here again, buy not now, this will happen only when the level of radiation, or if you prefer the poison cause by the explosion decreases."

Neither said a word. The only explanation that they could understand was that the place was haunted and that bad spirits were all around them.

"I think we are safe for another day at least." Went on Vincent. "If there were dangers we would have felt the effect by now. We will remain another day to replenish our supply then we will leave."

None of them slept well that night and the minute that the light of the day was visible they were up. No one was hungry and they immediately went to the river to catch more fish. By noon they had a good supply and after cleaning them, they got busy to smoke them over the wooden rack..

In the middle of the afternoon they stopped fishing since there wouldn't be enough time to smoke their new catch. The were all extremely tired. Nika even mention to Vincent that she couldn't remember ever feeling so bad in her life. They kept the fire going late into the night so as to finish smoking the rest of their catch and when Vincent went to lie on the ground to sleep, he felt as if he was sixty years old.

He must have pass out during the night. He was awaken by an urgent need to empty his bladder and when he tried to get up, he found that he had much difficulties to do so. It took him half a minute just to get on his feet and even then his legs, feet and his whole body was causing him pain. He knew then that it had been a mistake to stay so long in this valley.

He immediately tried to shake each woman out of their sleep, but they were both unconscious and barely breathing.

What was he to do? It was now evident to him that they all should go as far away as possible from this place and fast. It was clear that the radiation was destroying more of their body cells than the Rad Virus was capable of repairing, and soon it would be too late for them.

While he tried to walk he felt dizzy, when he shoved his hair back, a handful of hairs remained in his hand. He had to act fast. To drag both women for miles was out of the question, he knew that he would not be able to even walk that distance by himself. When he looked around in desperation, his eyes came to rest on the slow moving water of the little river.

Yes. The river was their only way out of this place. Its water was cold and the current was slow, but even if it took a couple of hours to take them to the edge of the forest it was better than staying where they were. 

When he tried to drag Nika's body toward the edge of the water he discover that his strength was almost completely gone. He couldn't move her. The distance form where she was to the river was a good hundred feet and it might as well have been a hundred miles.

Anger and despair were his reaction when it became clear that it would only be possible to try and save himself. He had to take a decision, either he could drag his body into the river or die there with his two women.



Masters of the Arches Ch. 18



Vincent knew that he had past out while lying on the ground between his two women. He was on his side with his head resting against his arm when he returned back into the reality of his world. He must have move while he was unconscious, but he didn't remember anything. He was now only half aware of his situation since his mind was still partly out of focus because of his having past out for such a long time. But in spite of that, he knew that he was in great danger and that he had to act fast.

He turned his head in every direction to look around, of course noting was moving, but when his eyes came to rest on Nika, he discovered that she had change position since before he had lost consciences. Even now as his eyes focused on her, he could hear her mumbling words that he couldn't make any sense off. She was now resting on her belly, whereas before he had passed out she had been lying on her back. More important still, her body was a dozen feet closer to the river now.

This suddenly gave him courage. If only, he told himself, he could drag her body to the river. Why not roll her until she was in the water, she was less then ten feet from the river now.

With much pain and a tremendous effort of will, he got back on his feet. He stood over Nika's body for a while then he bent over and placed a hand under her left shoulder and the other around her waist. He gently lift her shoulder while at the same time he pushed on her waist until he saw her turn over on back.

Again and again he repeated this. Sometimes Nika would regain consciousness for a few seconds and cry out in pain as her aching body was forced to move. But Vincent didn't pay any attention to her loud protest since both of their life depended on how fast he could make her reach the river.

At last, after what seemed to be a long time to him, she was only one turn away from the water. Vincent then forced his own protesting body back beside Verla. He could actually feel his own strength leaving him, it took him twice as long to roll her and it did caused excruciating pain in his aching muscles and joints, but he was able to roll her near the river also using the same method he had used on Nika.

As soon as both women were near the river, he focused his mind on the next step. There was no question of pushing both unconscious bodies into the river since they would drown immediately. He even doubted very much his own capacity to keep his own head out of the water in the exhausted state that he was now. He needed something to help them float so that they would not need to exert efforts all the time to stay above the water. But in this barren place there was only the yellow grass around them.

At last his eyes came to rest on their supplies which were in a pile just a short distance from where the fire had been burning less than ten hours previously. Yes, he told himself, there was something he could use there.

He experienced more pain as he slowly walked toward the pile and he took out the two water bags that used to belong to Kwola. They were made of the hide of an antelope-looking animal that Kwola said was called a balu. After the skin of the animal had been dried in the sun for several days, it had been coated with the same rubber-like resinous paste that had been used to make the canoe waterproof.

Vincent poured the water out of both bags then he blew as much air as he could inside them. Then by mean of a short strip of leather, which he cut from the rope, he tied the neck of each bag as tight as he could. On his way back toward the river he felt and when he tried to stand back on his legs, he soon discovered that it was impossible for him to do so since he was now too weak.

On his hands and knees, he was finally able to get to the two unconscious women. He used leather strips from the rope and he tied both bags together. Next he tied both women together also by passing the rest of the rope under their arms. With the two air bags between them, he next wrapped the rope around them and around the bags.

As soon as this was done, he pulled himself into the cold water of the river and he proceeded to drag the bodies of the women. Had the slope along the bank not been as steep, he wouldn't have been able to do this, but gravity did help him and once Verla's body was in the water, the slight pull of the current made it easier for him to pull Nika into the water.

Once both unconscious bodies were floating on the water, he placed one hand around the rope holding the two air bags together and he felt a certain satisfaction as his body became numb due to the fact that the water of the river was very cold. 

The current slowly carried them downstream as a single mass. Beside reducing the pain in all of his joints, the cold water made him want to sleep and more than once he was tempted to submit to the relaxing sleep that every cell of his body was craving for. He did close his eyes once and his grip relaxed on the rope and he was immediately jerked out of the soothing sleep when his head became submerged.

A few times he had to pull one of the women's head out of the water, he did this by pulling them by their long hair.

Gradually, after what seemed to Vincent like hours, the river carried them toward the forest. By noon, when the sun was directly over his head, he saw the first trees growing near the bank of the river. By that time he was so weak that he didn't even try to pull himself on the dry sand. Instead, he used his remaining strength to concentrate on the task of keeping one hand around the rope and his head out of the water.

Hours later, he felt a sharp pain on one of his kneecap. The pain was intense enough to jolt him out of his half unconscious state, it seemed that he had hit his knee on a rock. Even after realizing that he was not dead, it took his mind many long seconds to understand where he was.

They were no longer moving. They were all very immobile in the shallow water of a section of the river that was much wider. Both Nika and Verla were still bounded together with the air bags in-between them, but as it was with him, their bodies were only half submerged since they had somehow become anchored to a piece of wood stuck into the bottom of the water. Vincent also noticed that it was getting dark, and then he passed out completely.

When he recovered part of his senses much later, he felt pain in every muscle and joint of his body. The instant that he tried to move, it ached terribly and he remained still for a long time. On the other hand, when he didn't move, it was as bad since the pain seemed to come from every square inch of his flesh, even his bones seemed to sending signals of pain to his blurred brain.

Later, while his eyes were only half opened, he saw the shadow of someone's head just a few inches from his face. But with the sun in the background it looked like a ghostly apparition and as for the face he couldn't even see enough to identify its owner. After a minute of this he once again passed out.

The third time that he regained consciousness, it was dark again. He waited and looked around without daring to move his head. But only the silhouette of the tops of the trees in the background was in his line of sight. He didn't dare twist his neck since he still recall the terrible pain he had endure when he had tried to move the last time. He did remain conscious long enough to think about the fact that it was now dark and that he was experiencing only a dull ache all over. He knew that he was still extremely weak and most of all he wanted to sleep which he soon did.

It was late afternoon when he awoke. He was able to move his head sideways without too much pain and he saw the shape of his two women just a few feet away from him. The three of them were now on dry ground. How had they gotten there, he had no idea.

He then remembered the blurred image of the face he had seen the previous day. Yes, someone had been in the process of pulling him out of the water at that time.

With his mind now fully functioning he began to analyze his situation. Because of the fact that they were now away from the radioactive zone, the Rad Virus was probably repairing his dying cells and replacing the dead ones. He also knew that they were all going to be as fit and healthy as before if they were given enough time. Even the pain was almost completely gone now.

Half an hour later, he was able to get up and walk a little. Nika's was lying nearby, she and Verla were both stretched on the sand and they were still sleeping. All around them, he could see footmarks in the sand and after a closer examination it became evident that both women were responsible for these sand prints since there didn't seem to be any traces of strange footmarks.

He carefully walked over to Nika and he bent his head above her. She immediately opened her eyes. The moment that she realized that he was standing over her, she threw her arms around his neck and she hugged him without saying a word. 

"How do you feel?" Said Vincent.

She kept on hugging him for long seconds then she looked at him. It was quite evident that she was very glad to see that he was in a much better shape.

"I am much better, Verla is also doing well. We thought that you were dead a few days ago."

"Have I been unconscious for a long time?"

"This is the second day that we have been taking care of you. As for how long you were out before that time, we have no idea since we were both in a similar unconscious state also."

"So Verla is doing find then?"

"Yes she is. I was the first one to become aware of our uncomfortable position in the water. It took me over half a day to find enough strength to drag myself on dry ground. By then Verla was also coming out of her death-like state and when she was strong enough to walk a little, we both managed to pull you out of the water. This was two days ago."

Verla must have heard them talk and she was soon standing next to them. She also threw her arms around Vincent and she kissed him passionately.

"I am so happy that you are going to be well again, for a while we were not sure if you would recover."

"Don't worry, I feel much better now. But we still have the problem of finding food, and judging by the emptiness in my stomach, I think it is a very urgent problem."

"We found some dry berries still clinging to the branches, here eat this it will help you."

Verla gave him a small bundle wrapped in a large leaf. Inside were brown-red, wrinkled berries. When Vincent ate one he thought that it was the tastiest fruit he had ever eaten in his life. It took him only half a minute to swallow the two dozens berries.

"We must eat something more substantial and fast, otherwise we will lose most of our strength and we won't even be able to walk after a while. We mustn't be more than a few hours walk from our food reserve of smoked fish. I will rest until tomorrow and then I will go back there and return as fast as I can with our supplies."

"Why go back to that death trap?" said Verla. "Let us forget the food and go away immediately, we will find food on the way."

"You seem to forget that everything we own is over there, the map, the knives and the food of course. No I will go tomorrow."

"Then we will go with you." Finally said Nika.

Vincent knew that it was asking too much to expect them to wait for him while he went back there, beside he doubted very mush that in his present weak state if he could carry back all of their supply.

"Very well then, you can come for half the distance, the rest I must walk alone."

They all agreed to this compromise and the three of them began to plan their trip for the following day.

The sun had barely risen the next morning when they got on their way. They followed the river upstream for over two hours. After entering the forest, they noticed that the height of the trees was gradually decreasing as well as their number the closer they got to the radiation zone.

Finally they abruptly arrived at the edge of the yellow grass plain.

Vincent was stunned to see that the current of the river hadn't carried them further away while they had been in the water. He estimated that they had walked only about six to eight miles in the last two hours. After walking half an hour over the yellow grass, he was able to see in the distance the position of their camp as well as their supplies.

Of course he knew that their food and supplies would be contaminated to some degree by the radiation emitted from the ground. On Earth, just eating a few bites of the smoked fish would be dangerous, but not in this world. Sure enough many of their cells were going to be destroyed by the contaminated fish, but not enough of them that the Rad Virus wouldn't be able to replace fast enough. The important thing was to get as quickly as possible away from this highly contaminated ground.

"Stay here," he said to his two women, "I will go alone the rest of the way."

Before they had had a chance to protest he was walking away toward the middle of the clearing where their camp had been. It took him less than fifteen minutes to get there. Everything was as he remembered them to be. He had brought the rope with him and he immediately began to tie the smoked fish into two bundles. Then he gathered the rest of their gear and he tied them together also.

When Vincent had rolled both women into the river when they departed half dead from the camp the last time, only a soft pelt had been covering their body then, all the rest of their clothing as well as the pelts they were using as blankets were still there. It was much too cold now to go around almost naked and he was more than happy to get back their clothing.

The pouch containing the knives, guns and map that he had taken from Kwola, was exactly where he had last left it, and this he also took of course.

With the bundle of fish neatly tied on his back, the pouch and clothes over his shoulder, Verla's spear and Nika's bow and arrows in his hands he began walking back toward the waiting women. He hadn't been in the clearing for more than half an hour now and yet he thought that he already could feel signs of fatigue in his body.

Before they got half way to the edge of the forest, both Nika and Verla had to help him since he was getting weaker by the minute. Having gone deeper into the contaminated land, his body had absorbed much more radiation than his two women.

By noon of that day, they were back near the river at the exact same spot they had started earlier in the morning. But now they had plenty of food and more important still they had their weapons to defend themselves if they should be attacked by men or beasts. 

After their first decent meal in a long time, they rested for the remainder of the day and by nightfall they were all feeling much better. Vincent figured that it would be much preferable to wait a while and give a chance to the Rad Virus to use the nutritious elements in the food they had eaten so as to repair their damaged body cells. 

The next couple of days they moved south again but they made a wide detour so as to avoid the radiation zone, but in so doing they had to cross a mountain chain. Even though the path they took was relatively easy to travel, they kept climbing higher and higher and the temperature of the air became much colder. Then one night they had their first experience with snow and they spent a very miserable night in each other's arms trying to keep warm and dry. 

It would have been easy to built a fire since there was an abundance of broken branches everywhere on the ground, and both Nika and Verla knew how to start a fire using a round stick and dry twigs, but the smoke would have given away their position if someone was after them. Even at night there was always the chance that someone could smell the smoke it not actually see the flames. They had been lucky so far since they hadn't seen any indication that they were being followed and Vincent didn't want to stretch their luck more than necessary with a camp fire. 

The following morning they ate breakfast and once again they undertook their trek south in the search for Valdo. On the two inches of fresh snow that covered the ground everywhere it was easy to see their tracks, but it didn't worry Vincent since the snow was already beginning to melt and he knew that in a couple of hours there would be none left.

By mid-day they began to see small animals here and there, but nothing bigger than a rabbit. Had they seen bigger games, Vincent wouldn't have hesitated one second to use one of the handguns in his pouch to paralyze it. He had practiced himself with the use of the hand gun the previous night and he knew exactly how to use it even if he didn't understand how it worked. 

A couple of days later they were able to eat roasted rabbits. Nika had managed to kill two of them using her arrows, and since they were able to find a small cave by late afternoon, they decided that a fire could be lit inside the cave. By burning very dry wood they were able to limit the amount of smoke to a minimum. 

It was the best meal they had eaten in many weeks and later they felt warm and cozy inside the cave. Late that evening, the three of them stretched themselves near the fire and Vincent made love to both women. Now that his stomach was full and since they were all feeling good again, his urge to make love was back.

For two more weeks they traveled in the general direction of the south. Sometimes they had to make detours to cross a river or simply to go around a steep mountain blocking their way. Twice they saw a barren clearing covered with the yellow grass, on these two occasions they were careful to stay well away from these radioactive areas. 

Vincent figured that there must have been some kind of war long in the past and owing to the fact that it had taken place so long ago, all traces of the civilization that had once flourished there, were now completely obliterated either by the heat of the bombs or by time. 

Judging from the electronic map, they had barely covered three hundreds miles southward in those two weeks time, and even though they were moving south, the temperature was still getting colder because of the height. Worst still, there was now a permanent thin coating of snow on the ground which was a dead give away of their passage if someone should happened to cross theirs tracks.

The rabbit pelts – they were now eating rabbit meat almost all the time since there were plenty of them everywhere – wrapped around their feet did prevent them from walking bared feet in the snow but it was not adequate and they had to change them often. Vincent felt very sorry that he had been made to leave behind his heavy-duty boots and clothing on the recommendations of Brumelle – the computer underneath the mountain. 

He realized now that he should have kept his riffle also; they could have carried their clothing and supplies wrapped in a bundle and away from the eyes of the natives. Beside, now that Valdo knew of their presence in this world, he could have use all of these items since it no longer mattered anymore if the local natives saw them with these weapons from Earth.

One day, in their third week after their narrow escape from the death from the radioactivity, while still walking through the mountain, they saw in the distance – from the height of a high peak – a wide valley that was completely bared of trees and covered with the same yellow sickening grass in some places while in other places the yellow grass was completely missing. 

In these places, bared even of the yellow grass, the ground was whitish in color. It seemed that whoever had set out to obliterate what had been there, had been extra careful to do a good job of it. In the distance he could well distinguish four different overlapping circles of desolation where even the yellow grass wouldn't grow. A light green moss was covering these areas instead and the whole valley had a terrifying appearance of desolation. 




Masters of the Arches Ch. 18



They didn't bother to observe the valley very long. They made a wide detour so as to avoid this radioactive region and then they moved south again.

About five miles further, while climbing higher so as to cross a peak taller than any they had encountered so far, Verla, who had been walking just in front of Vincent, suddenly sunk into the ground. She disappeared completely from sight.

One second she had been walking ahead of Vincent and just behind Nika and the next second she was gone. Had Vincent not actually seen her sink into the ground, he would have probably thought that she had disappeared right on the spot. 

He shouted to Nika and they both carefully approached the place where he had last seen her. They saw her hands holding her body weight around a circular metal bar at the edge of a hole that was less than two feet in diameter. She didn't seem to be hurt and she was trying to pull herself out when they got near her.

"Are you ok?" Said Nika. 

"I don't have any broken bones, just a few bruises and scratch, but I did get a good scare when the ground gave way under my feet. But my feet are now on something hard like a small ledge, I will try to get out." 

They both proceeded to help her to pull herself out and a few seconds later she was standing next to them looking down into the dark hole.

"There is a great deal of wind in there and there seemed to be so kind of room also. It's a good thing that I was able to grab the edge, otherwise I would have fallen to the bottom of that hole."

Vincent recognized immediately the hole for what it was. The fact that air was being sucked into the shaft met that it was part of a ventilation system and it therefore indicated the presence of a very large underground structure somewhere underneath their feet. 

Both women stood well away from the dark hole while Vincent knelt near its edge and looked into it's dark interior. He could see a circular ladder descending into the darkness and it was the first strand of this ladder that Verla had been holding only a minute before.

"Why do you stare down?" said Nika. "We should go away from here, there can only be bad things in that hole."

"No, on the contrary, we will go down and see what we can find there. This is a ventilation shaft for an underground complex. We could find many useful things in there, as for it being bad for us, we don't have to worry about that or about the inhabitants or their spirits since no one has been in this place or near it for a very long time."

Both women were not convinced of that, but since it was his wish and he was their leader, they stopped arguing about the matter.

He was the first to descend, taking with him half of their supplies and leaving the rest for the women. Both women went down after him and while they were descending on the rust-free metal ladder, he did encourage them to continue decending all the way down. After what seemed a very long time, they finally stepped on the floor of a circular room that look more like a cage since the circular wall was covered with plastic-like plates having thousands of apple size holes in them.

There was a single door, which was about three feet in height, and when Vincent tried to force it open, it wouldn't move. But the instant he tried to lift it, there was a loud creaking noise and the door panel did slide up into the wall above. They went inside on hands and knees into some kind of connecting duct made of the same plastic-like material.

They were in complete darkness except from the weak glow of the light coming from the open door at their back. For how long they crawled inside this restricting channel, he couldn't tell, but twice they came to a connecting duct that went perpendicularly to the one they were in. On and on they went until both women were on the verge of panic. 

It was now completely dark and windy, but they kept on moving using the direction of the flowing air as their guide. Then all of a sudden, they felt that the duct they were in was beginning to turn. After a ninety degrees turn they saw light a long way ahead of them. It took them another fifteen minutes of crawling on hands and knees before they got to the source of the light.

(to be continued) 



Masters of the Arches Ch. 19



The light was coming through a fine grill in the floor of the duct. The yellowish glow filtering inside the air channel was causing an eerie reflection on the faces of the three explorers who had been crawling for a long time on their hands and knees in the air passageway. 

Once his eyes had adjusted to the light, Vincent was able to distinguish, through the three square feet grill, a green carpet on the floor of the room below them. After long minutes of trying to remove the thin grill, he was finally able to pull it aside thus leaving a hole for them to slide through. 

The distance from where they were to the floor below was more than ten feet.

He first got his legs through the square opening, and then he finally was able, with much difficulty, to get his hips and torso through the hole. A few seconds later he found himself hanging by his hands while holding his body weight by the side of the square hole. With his arms stretched thus, he could tell that his feet were at least four feet from the green carpet.

But he was in perfect physical condition now. As a matter of fact he did realized that never before this day, had he felt so good. His body was lean – his belly and excess fat were now all gone - and the outdoor life he had been living for the last three or four months, (he could no longer tell exactly how long he had been on this new planet), had contribute a lot to the restoration of his body muscles. But more important still, it was the action of the Rad Virus that kept his body healthy and free from all diseases and imperfections. 

At last Vincent finally let go of his grip and he let gravity pull him down to the carpet which absorbed much of the impact of his fall. 

While Nika was letting her body slip through the same opening in the duct, he had time to turn around in a complete 360 degrees circle and thus get a general idea of the size and shape of the room they were in. 

It was a large room, probably a dormitory of some kind. He could see two rows of beds on opposing walls of the long room. Each bed was separated by some sort of partition so as to allow some kind of privacy for those that had been sleeping in them. 

Now that his eyes had gotten use to the light, he could tell that its intensity was relatively dim and it seemed to come from thin strips crisscrossing the ceiling. 

As soon and Nika had her body through and was hanging by her hands as he had done a minute earlier, he caught her lower body in his arms and he gently lowered her onto the soft carpet. Then it was Verla's turn to get down and once the three of them were safely standing on the soft carpet, they got busy looking around and examining their strange surrounding. 

"This must be the home of another talking machine," finally said Verla. 

"If by machine you mean a computer, I don't think we will find one here. If there was one, Brumelle would have mentioned its existence to us. No, I think this is something different. You see those two rows of beds along the walls, at one time there must have been many people living here, and judging from this room, they were either soldiers or workers." 

"If these small platforms are beds, then they were met to hold only one person," remarked Nika; "therefore those that lived here had no time to make love since they all slept one to each bed." 

"You are right. This is why I say that they must have been soldiers or workers. What they were doing must have been very important and they probably had no time for anything else. As to what exactly they were doing in this place, I wish I knew the answer to that." 

"Then they must have been very stupid people, " remarked Verla "and they got what they deserved since they are all dead now."

"It could well be that they did deserve whatever happened to them, but on the other hand maybe they had no other choice on the matter. We will probably never know. One thing is certain though; none of their descendants are around to tell us how it all ended. Judging by the looks of things here, as well as by the amount of dust everywhere, there hasn't been anybody in this room for a very long time. This is what makes me say that it is safe for us to look around." 

He didn't wait for the girls to react to what he had just said to them. Instead, he slowly began to walk toward the first of the small cubical with its walls that went only half way to the ceiling. Except for the bed, the only pieces of furniture inside the small rectangular space was an uncomfortable looking chair made of a glass-looking substance, which was placed next to the bed and a small bureau also made of the same plastic-like material. 

He soon got busy pulling opened, one after the others, the six drawers. Inside were clothing items such as socks and shirts and what seamed to be undergarments. Every piece of clothing was neatly folded as if the owner had left to attend whatever his occupation had been and had never returned back to the room to claim his belongings. 

Vincent then sat on the bed and he examined the blanket. The only traces of the passage of time on it, was the thick layer of dust that was everywhere. After blowing some of the dust away from the blanket, the light brown color looked as fresh as if the blanket had been new. He passed his hand over it and he was able to tell that it wasn't made of cotton or wool but of synthetic fibers that felt both soft and warm to the touch. Had it been made of natural fibers it would have probably disintegrated into shreds after all these years. 

The bed itself consisted only of a thin mattress that was a little over twenty inches from the floor, and instead of resting on a springs support; it was stretched on a low pedestal. Vincent then noticed that there was a panel underneath the bed, and when he finally managed to open the rectangular door that went the whole length of the bed, he was pleasant surprised to discover that it contained two pairs of boots and half a dozen light green, one piece coveralls that were neatly folded. 

"Well, our days of freezing in the cold are over girls," he said while looking at his women with an expression of satisfaction on his face. "From now on we will also wear boots, and who knows we may even find food in this place." 

"I think we should take what we need and leave immediately." Said Nika.

"We will, but not before we have a look at the rest of this place. We might find items that will be very useful to us as we continue searching for Valdo in the south." 

They had to check half a dozen cubicles before Vincent found a pair of boots that was his size. The three of them then walked toward the doors of the dormitory wearing boots and dressed in the light green one piece uniform. Vincent could not help himself admiring the grace of his women as they were walking dressed in the long coveralls and knees length boots.

At the end of the long room, a wide pair of swinging doors opened on a brightly lit corridor that seemed to go on forever on their left as well as on their right. They turned right for no particular reason. After long minutes of walking, there came to a door on their right. When Vincent tried to open it, if gave way easily.

It was another dormitory, and it also looked as if the inhabitant had left with the intention of returning since everything seemed to be tidy. Even the few beds he could see through the opened partitions, were neatly made.

The next two doors they tried also led to dormitories. After that, the corridor went on for a long stretch, and then it suddenly turn ninety degrees to their left. As soon as they had made the turn, they saw ahead of them two dozens glass panels, – which proved to be doors when they got near them – with a view on a very large room on the other side.

Inside the immense chamber, they could see rows upon rows of table and chairs. Some tables were met to sit four people around them while others were much longer and twenty could have easily sit on both sides of them. Vincent reasoned that it must have been a sort of cafeteria where people came to relax as well as to eat or simply to be social.

He told himself that it was not worth investigating since any food that could have been left in there would have long ago turn to dust. They kept on walking until they stood at the top of a wide stair that let down to a lower level of the complex. Everywhere he looked it was clean and tidy – except for the dust of course – and once they reached the foot of the stair, fifty feet below them, they found themselves in a giant room where strange machines could be seen everywhere. Most of them being in various stages of completion.

As to the purpose of these great machines, he couldn't even guess, but owing to the size and complexity of the many circuits that could be see everywhere, it was plain that a great many people must have been working at their assembly.

For the next couple of hours they explored the underground complex and they investigated many more rooms. They discovered two other levels deeper down and both level were similar to the first, with sleeping quarters, cafeterias and working places as well as storerooms.

Toward the end of their exploration they came to a fifteen-degree sloping ramp that led to the surface. Vincent figured that it probably had been used at one time to move the numerous equipments of machines to the surface once they had been assembled. But now the ramp was sealed tight by two immense doors halfway toward the surface.

They were about to turn back so as to leave the complex by the same ventilation shaft they had use to get in when Verla pointed to a door which no one had noticed before. It was situated on the side of the ramp at the end of a small platform.

The instant that she pushed on the door it continued of its own to slide in the wall and a long stairway could be seen on the other side. They all agreed that it was worth investigating since it did seem to be leading on a parallel path to the ramp, they were all hoping that it might take them to the surface.

As it had been inside the corridors, the lightning was intense in the staircase and after ten minutes of climbing they found themselves in a circular dark cave with its walls of rock. A small opening to the outside world could be seen on the opposite rock wall. 

Once they were into the daylight, they could tell that if was extremely difficult to see the entrance to the cave from outside since it was well hidden by vines and numerous small trees growing very close. If someone had no previous knowledge of the existence of the entrance, it would have been impossible to detect. Vincent felt positive that the cave must have been an emergency exit. 

"Well it seem that we won't have to crawl back in that windy and dark passage of the ventilation shaft after all."

"Oh, I am so glad, " said Nika, "I don't think that I could have made it back the same way we got in. Let us get away from this bad place."

"Not so fast. It is cold here and it will be dark soon. We will go back below and spent the night in the warmth and safety of the complex, in the morning we will leave."

He was right, and both women knew it. They went back below to the first level. They ate in one of the storage room and afterward they stretched on the floor on blankets that they had taken from one of the dormitories. 

The room they were in was very near the stairway leading out. On three sides its walls were covered with shelves on which had been stored many strange gadgets that fascinated Vincent.

On one section of the wall, the shelves were stacked with rows of cubical devices, each the shape and seize of a portable television. As Vincent focused his attention on one of the box-like object, he noticed that four of its sides were perfectly smooth while the other two - one opposite the other - were covered with a fine grill. On one of the sides having a grill - the side facing him - there were two small knobs at the bottom and the grill had a circular projection.

The more Vincent thought about it, the more it reminded him of an air blower or a heater of some kind. At last he got up, and while both Nika and Verla were watching him, he removed one of the cubical devices from the shelf. It was heavier than it appeared, weighing close to forty pounds.

He carefully placed it on the ground with the circular projection parallel to the floor then he turned the smaller of the two knobs. Immediately there was a soft humming sound that came from the machine and at the same time a strong stream of air – neither hot nor cold – which disturbed the layers of dust on the floor far away in front of the cube-like machine. 

By now, both Nika and Verla were standing next to him with an expression of fear all over their face.

When he proceeded to turn the second and largest knob, the air became warm and the more he turned the knob, the warmer it got until it was so hot in the room that even at twenty feet away he couldn't place his hand in the stream of hot air without the risk of feeling pain.

At last he turned it off and he told his two companions to wait for him while he went outside with the heater.

Once in the cave he set it on the floor with the nozzle pointing toward the outside opening of the cave, then he switched the heater on again with the small button and he turned the big knob three quarter of the way. In a few seconds, the previously cold and humid cave was uncomfortably hot and he was forced to set the big knob to a half turn only. 

It was well know to him that anything that produced heat had to use a great deal of power, he was thus very intrigued about the capacity of the power source of such a heater. But since the device had been made to be portable and was not met to be connected directly to a power line, Vincent figured that the capacity of the battery or whatever was its source of power must be very impressive.

Wanting to get more information about the power supply of the heater, he let the heater hum at half capacity and he got back into the complex. It was his intention to see for how long the power supply incorporated within the heater would last.

Then, an idea began to take shape in his mind. It was such a fantastic idea that he wouldn't even admit it to himself yet, but all through the evening and for half the night, he thought about it and he even made plans without really being aware of it.

By now, he knew that they would need many months and even years of difficult travel to get where they intended to go, which was the southern tip of the planet so as to kill Valdo. But they were moving about as fast as travelers had been moving in his world four or five hundreds year previously, and even then they had horses which he didn't have now.

For anyone to get from one pole to the other in the fifteen century - provided of course one accepted the fact that the earth was a sphere – would have been unimaginable because of the great distance involved. But this is exactly what they were trying to do now and unless they could find a faster mean of travel, he now felt that it was an impossible undertaking. 

While they had been exploring the complex, Vincent had noticed that all of the large machines that had been completed were covered with thin synthetic tarps. The material of those tarps was very light yet impossible to cut with his knife. More important still, he had previously tested the permeability of the tarps material and it did proved to be completely waterproof.

One of the smaller storage rooms held rolls upon rolls of the thin and very flexible almost paper-thin material. The rolls were of two different colors, forest green and sandy beige. The reason for these particular colors soon became evident to Vincent. 

The green was exactly that of any forest while the beige was also very similar to that of the barren land and rocks. The tarps had thus two purposes, one of which was to protect against the rain and sand whatever it was covering while at the same time it served as camouflage. 

But he still had to make another test on the material of the tarps before he could begin to put his plan into execution. How would it react to heat and fire? He took down another heater from one of the shelves and he carried it into one of the very large rooms. Next he placed a length of tarp material very close to the mouth of the heater. He then turned on the heater at high intensity.

After long minutes of waiting and watching, he stopped the heater and he went to inspect the paper-thin sheet in front of the heater. In all evidence the intense heat had had no effect on it. 

Early the next morning, he told the two women to wait for him while he would go into the cave at the surface for a few minutes. It was terribly hot inside the cave; the small blower of the heater was still humming and sending a stream of hot air through the opening of the cave. After making sure that the heater was not excessively hot, he finally shut it down. 

He was very impressed by the performance of the power supply of the heater. It had been sending a steady jet of hot air during the whole night and this without any sign of its power supply being exhausted. 

Vincent was about to bring it back into the complex, but after having given the matter some thoughts; he decided to leave it in the cave. There were hundreds more below so why should he bother with that one. 

His next problem was to find a way to cut the tarp material. He went back to the room where the rolls of tarp material were stored and he began to look around so as to see if there could be a special tool to cut the thin material. Since his knife had no effect on it there had to be something in the room that would do this. It took him almost half an hour to figure a way to cut a strip from one of the rolls. 

In the room, there were a few long tables, but he hadn't paid too much attention to them. But now he did notice that each table had above it, a suspended track on which could slide – crosswise or lengthwise – a pencil seize rod with a sharp point fixed to the track. It then occurred to him that the point of the rod must be a mean to cut the material, but it did not seemed very sharp. 

On closer inspection he saw near the tip of the pencil-like rod, a black projection that could be pressed. When he did just that, a thin ray of laser red light could be seen coming out of the tip of the rod as it hit the top of the table without any apparent effect to the table.

His heart began to beat must faster now, he was relatively certain now that the laser light was a mean to cut the seemingly indestructible material form the rolls. When he did actually tested the laser beam on a length of material from a roll, he was relieved to be left with a neatly cut strip in his hand. 

There was only one thing for him to do now. The project that he had in mind was feasible and he now had ahead of him the rather difficult task of explaining to his women about his plan.

Since they were both natives from the world he were on now, Vincent was well aware that they would be horrified by what he was about to propose to them. But it was well worth the effort to convince them since if they were successful in building what he had in mind, it would make their travel a lot easier as well as much faster.

"Nika, Verla, I have something to tell you. You may not like what I am planning to do, but it has to be done if we are to get where we intend to go."

Both women looked at him with an expression of expectation and a touch of apprehension also, but neither one said a word as he went on to explain what he had in mind.

"First of all I must tell you that I still have my doubts about that computer that called itself Brumelle. She practically begged us to undertake this tremendous trip to the south pole so as to get rid of her crazy brother. But even if there is only a small chance that her story could be true, we must still go there and investigate. If it should happen to be true and we do nothing about this Valdo who want to destroy this world as well as many others, we will be partly responsible for all the destruction he may cause. On the other hand we might fall into a trap and come to an end much worst than death, but still we have to assume that what Brumelle said is true and act accordingly. So it is important that we reach our destination as fast as possible." 




Masters of the Arches Ch. 19



Both women seemed to agree with what he was saying as they both were nodding their approbation to what he was saying. 

"So here is my plan. I have given it much consideration and I do think it will work. Using this material," he still had the strip he had just cut in his hand, "we will built a hot air balloon."

When he realized that neither of them hadn't the slightest idea of what he was talking about, he went on to explain what an hot air balloon was.

"It's an airtight bag filled with hot air. Since hot air is lighter than colder air, the hot air in the bag will make the balloon rise. We will tie the balloon to a kind of box that is called a gondola and in it we will travel. We have everything we need here to built this balloon and the gondola; we also have an efficient source of hot air. Those heaters that I tested yesterday, they will be perfect for our source of heat. It might take us a couple of weeks to built and assemble everything, but once we are on our way, we will be able to travel ten times faster than walking and it will be a lot easier for all of us. So what do you say, are you willing to help me built this balloon?" 

He had to wait long seconds before he got an answer from them. From the look of incredibility on each face, it was apparent to him that neither of them understood much what he was talking about.

Verla was the first to react. 

"You must be joking and making fun of us. Nobody has ever built such a device and nobody ever will." 

"Yes, Verla is right," went on Nika, "this is a much too serious a matter to play jokes on us Vincent." 

"Believe me girls, I would never try to make fun of you. I respect and love you too much for that. What I have said is true. We can built such a thing, they do exist where I come from and people do travel in them." 

The both looked at Vincent, still not convinced, but when it became evident to them that he was not joking, they finally agreed to help him in his project.

Vincent knew perfectly well that that he was yet a long way from getting them to climb in the gondola if they were successful in building the balloon. After all, in the back of each of the girls mind they were a hundred percent certain that what he had proposed to them was not possible, so the fear of being lifted high in the air was not been something they consider yet.



Masters of the Arches Ch. 20



As soon as Vincent informed his women about his intention to construct a hot air balloon and also explaining to them how it worked, he proceeded to do a few preparatory calculations.

What should the volume of the balloon be so as to lift the weight of the gondola and its three occupants? There was also the weight of their supplies and the two heaters to consider. They would need to lift with them an good reserve of water, food and of course theirs few precious possessions, even if there were little of those.

It knew that it was very important that he should have an idea of the approximate total weight to be lifted so as to figure how big the volume of the balloon should be. But first, he had to find out the extent of the buoyancy of the hot air that the heater was going to provide. 

Of course the lifting capacity of the air craft would depend on the difference in temperature between the air inside the sphere and the air outside of it as well as the volume of air in the sphere itself. For this reason he needed to have a general idea as to how much weight could be lifted by a unit volume of hot air. 

On that first day on which he worked on his balloon project -- as he liked to think of it -- they cut strips of material to construct a much smaller trial balloon. The strips were cut in such a way that the middle of each section were wider than their ends so that once these were stitched together it would result with a volume that would have the general shape of a sphere. 

They also had to find out, using the method of trials and errors, what would be the best shape of each strip so that once they were assembled the resulting test-sphere would be able to hold about a thousand cubic feet of hot air. A thousand cubic feet of air being his unit of measurement.

Vincent had to searched in his memory so as to recall from his school days the exact formula to calculate the volume of a sphere (4/3 x pi x cube of radius and pi being the constant 3.14) and thus using an approximate radius of a little over 6 feet, he arrived at the conclusion that a test-sphere of that radius would hold just about a 1000 cubic feet of air.

But once they had cut a number of strips of the green tarp material by mean of the small laser cutter hanging above each of the long tables, they were faced with the problem of sewing them together.

None of the numerous tarps covering the hundreds pieces of machinery had any stitches on them, it therefore suggested to Vincent that there had to be some kind of device that could fuse the material together. Furthermore the chances were that this gadget was somewhere in the room where the many rolls of material were stored and where the cutting tables were. It was logical to assume that the tarps were cut and also fitted in the same room.

After long minutes of looking around, they did find the fusing apparatus that would allow them to stitch or weld the many strips together. As best as he could tell, when he tried to test it on two small pieces, it seemed to send an electric current through the two adjacent samples which had been placed in-between the two plates of the machine. When the two sample came out at one end, there was a single and wider strip and it was impossible to tell that once there had been two of them.

It took them two and a half days to construct the eleven-foot diameter test-balloon. But it was time well spent since after performing a couple of tests on the balloon using increasing weights as a load and different air temperature inside the sphere, he was able to calculate how large the big balloon should be for their purpose. It turn out that the diameter of the larger balloon should not be less than forty feet.

Vincent was very satisfied with the performance of the small test-balloon; he did his many tests in one of the large rooms with a high ceiling and long strips of material as ropes. He didn't dare test it outside in case he should loose it and thus risk having it being detected by Kwola's friends or even by Valdo himself. As soon as all the tests he wanted to perform were done, they then proceeded with the construction of the larger balloon that would carry them all. 

Fifty-foot long sections, of the green and beige synthetic material were cut to construct the huge sphere. These wide strips had to be longer than the diameter of the sphere since their length had to be as long as half of the circumference of the sphere. Each strip tapered off gradually at both ends thus being smaller there than at the center so as to create the shape of a sphere. Then the strips were trimmed and fused together alternately, a green one then a beige one and so on. In all, there were twenty strips, ten of each color.

From Vincent's calculation, the circumference of the balloon was to be 126 feet since the diameter was forty feet. Dividing that number by twenty he got 6.28 feet per trip at the center. They were then alternately welded or fused together from top to bottom and once the assembly process was over, a circular opening of three feet in diameter was cut at the bottom of the sphere so as to allow the hot air from the blower to enter. Next, they welded a tube-like flexible connection - made also of the same tarp-material - to the bottom hole, this tube was later going to be connected to one of the blower in the gondola.

Finally to give the sphere-shape more strength, two circular patches of ten feet diameter each were fused on the top and on the bottom of the sphere.

Once the balloon was completed, it was neatly folded then they got to work on the many ropes that would fix the gondola to the inflated sphere itself.

They looked everywhere in the complex but they couldn't find any ropes.

Vincent solved that problem by folding many times over and then fusing them together, long strips of the tough material, thus obtaining the long ropes he needed.

Once this task was done, they dragged the deflated balloon into one of the larger room and it was partially inflated using one of the hot air blower. It thus made it much more easy to install the crisscrossing of the many ropes around the sphere. Each rope was then spot-fused in a dozen places so that it would stay in place once the balloon would be inflated.

Now all that needed to be done, was the construction of the gondola and to attached it to the loose ends of the many ropes. It had taken them two long weeks so far but Vincent knew that the time spent was well worth it since they were going to travel much faster than walking if his air ship idea did work. 

They took a day off from work so as to go hunting since their food supply was almost exhausted by then. But the smaller game that so far had been plentiful everywhere on the planet, was now scarce, as for the big game there was none to be seen. Vincent figured that they were still too close to the radioactive zones and these must have been keeping the animal life away.

All that they managed to catch were half a dozen rabbits and other small animals that he had never seen before. They cooked half of their catch and they smoked the rest so that the meat would keep for a while. 

To construct the gondola, they made use of the light rectangular plastic sheets that had been used to pack the smaller machines that had once been assembled in the complex. 

Since there was a large assortment of these sheets, - practically all sizes were available - they choose those that could fit their purpose and they constructed the rectangular box-like gondola using these light and strong plastic looking sheets. 

Contrary to the material of the tarps, it was relatively easy to drill holes in them and by mean of brackets, bolts and nuts -- all made of synthetic hard plastic -- he made the whole structure very strong. A series of holes were also drilled all along the side so that later they could tie the ropes hanging from the balloon itself to the gondola. 

Once this was done, Vincent added a last touch by installing a roof over half of the gondola thus creating a small cabin-like room. It was a certainty that they were going encounter rain at one time or another while in the air and the sloping roof would then be very precious and helpful in keeping them warm and dry.

By then they were almost out of food and Vincent knew that it was important that they should leave the complex soon since by now he could tell that his two women were very restless and impatient to leave. Little did they know, he told himself, how scary they were going to find this first experience in being lifted high into the sky and then be carried off at the whim of the wind.

It took them a whole day to drag everything outside. Even though the skin of the balloon was very light, they had to pull it up the stair a little at a time and once it was in the cave they finally had to pull it out into the open through the opening of the cave. 

Once that task was done, it was the turn of the gondola to go the same way and when they finally had it into the cave, it became evident that it wouldn't fit through the fissure in the rock that serve as the entrance to the cave. Therefore, they had to take it apart and then put it back together again once it was outside.

After that they proceeded to carry all of their belonging into the assembled gondola, they also took two new hot air blowers. A small plastic tank that they got from the complex was filled with water and also loaded into the gondola.

Vincent next got busy connecting one of the blowers to the fireproof material of the flexible tube-like channel that entered at the bottom of the air balloon. Then two ropes for the anchors were attached to the bottom of the gondola through holes that had been made for this purpose. These two ropes were later tied to two medium size stones placed about fifty feet apart.

Later, when Vincent looked at the deflated balloon and gondola on the snow covered ground, he was pleased with what they had accomplished.

"Well ladies, I am proud of you. As a matter of fact I am also proud of myself. We have done a fine job here, and let me tell you that even back home on Earth, with all the experts they have there, they wouldn't have done better than what we have built here. Of course we did have the perfect material at hand to built our balloon."

Both Nika and Verla remained quiet and it was evident that they didn't seem to share his enthusiasm. Vincent figured that they were both beginning to realize that this contraption they had help him built might well be able to lift them high in the sky and neither of them was finding this reassuring. 

Since it was late in the afternoon, and they were all very tired, it seemed to him like a good idea to wait until early the following morning to leave. This would also allow both girls to have a good night sleep and maybe it was going to calm their fear a little.

"We will spent the night in the cave and have a good night rest, then early tomorrow morning we will leave this place. We still can make use of the blower in the cave if it gets too cold in there.

The news that they were not leaving immediately, plus the fact that they were going to spent the night in the cave instead of down in the complex, did help to cheer the girls a little.

While Nika and Verla were preparing the inside of the cave for the night, Vincent went to look for food. But he wasn't able to find anything that they could eat. Even the small animals that he hoped to catch were nowhere to be seen and he came back empty handed.

The following morning, as soon as the sun made its first appearance over the nearby hills, the three of them got up and made their final preparation to leave. Snow had fallen again during the night and the temperature of the air was now much colder than it had even been before.

After a very light breakfast -- there was very little food left -- they finished packing and loading their belongings into the gondola. Both girls were now extremely nervous and this did worry Vincent.

"I think we should choose a name for our balloon," said Vincent. "Since you were both so helpful in its construction, I will let you decide on a name. So what will it be?"

Nika looked at him and it was evident that she didn't understand what he was meaning, finally she said to him.

"But it's not alive, so how can we give it a name?"

"Of course we can, and soon it will have a life of its own as you will discover. Beside, we can't always refer to it as the balloon, we need a real name that will give it character."

"I know," said Verla, "let us call it Rumar."

Vincent already knew that Rumar was the name given to very tall wild flowers that grew in abundance near her village, the balloon with its alternating beige and green stripes did resemble an immense Rumar flower indeed.

"Very well then, The Rumar it will be. Let us give it life now that it has a name."

While Vincent checked one last time the two ropes that were anchoring the gondola to the two well-separated stones, the two women looked at one another and finally Nika climbed aboard followed by Verla. It was then Vincent's turn to get into the gondola and as soon as he was standing near the girls, he placed his arms around each woman and he kissed each of them one after the other.

He finally went into the small cabin and he turned the blower of the heater on at half capacity. As soon as the hot air entered the balloon it began to swell a little. He next got out of the gondola again to make sure that there would be no large folds in the material that could prevent the air from going in every corner of the folded sphere material.

After a minute, the layer of snow that had been covering the balloon began slip off and melt, to Vincent it seemed as if a great giant was awakening as the tremendous shape of the sphere began to unfold and rise. After about ten minutes of the constant hot stream of air entering the sphere, it looked full and it began to lift its own weight off the ground. Soon it was exerting an upward pull on the ropes attached to the gondola, he then decided that it was time for him to get back into the gondola.

As soon as he was in, Verla gave a loud shout inside the cabin as the cables began to jerk and shake everything inside. The steady stream of intense hot air from the blower had now filled the sphere completely while the light wind was trying to pull it in a southeasterly direction. Soon all twelve cables joining it to the gondola were taut.

For a few more minutes, the blower kept sending hot air without any visible reaction from the Rumar. Then there was a sudden upward pull and the gondola began to move horizontally a few feet above the ground. After a while all movement stop and it looked like the two anchor stones were finally doing what they were suppose to do.

But by now Verla was on the verge of panicking as she began to shout inside the closed cabin of the gondola. She wanted to get on the firm ground but she didn't even dare to move out of the closed cabin. Nika wasn't doing much better as she sat on the floor just outside the cabin with both of her knees under her chin. She was shaking like a leaf in the wind.

A minute later, the gondola was still higher above the ground and it began to tilt and shake again. This was too much for Verla and she came rushing out of the cabin. She was hysterical with fright as she tried to climb over the five foot height of the side of the gondola so as to get on the ground. Vincent tried to stop her and to reason with her, but she just pushed him aside and he tripped over Nika who was still in a fetal position with her back against the side of the gondola.

As he felt down, he was able to grab Verla by one ankle and he held on to her leg. By now she had half of her body over the side while both of her hands held on to one of the cables that tied the gondola to the balloon.

All at once he felt her stop struggling. He looked at her, from where he was, still half lying on the floor of the gondola, she still had one leg over the side and her face was extremely pale while both of her hands were holding on to the cable as if her very life depended on it, but she was no longer trying to get overboard. When he got back on his feet he reached for her waist before letting go of her ankle.

As soon as he looked over the side of the gondola he knew why she had suddenly stop trying to struggle herself free. The floor of the gondola was about thirty feet off the ground and it was still slowly rising. One of the stones that had been anchoring the Rumar was being dragged near the other and thus allowing the Rumar to rise to its present height. Even as he watched, he felt the slight tug of the two cables tied to their anchors as they became taut, and thus preventing further ascension of the air ship.

He didn't bother to say a word to her. Instead, he placed his arm around her shoulders and by pulling her gently, he made her sit next to Nika. He knew that as long as the gondola was that high off the ground, she would no longer try to get over the side. He now had more pressing things to do and he let both women alone and still trembling in fright.

He quickly went inside the small cabin and he turned off the blower completely. He then returned back outside and he bent over the side to look at the two anchors. The buoyancy of the Rumar was now dragging both stones over the surface of the ground and there was the real danger that they should get stuck in a bush or in a crevasse somewhere. Even then, he knew that he could always untie the ropes from inside the gondola, but he didn't want to do this because it would mean the lost of both cables.

Now that the gondola was off the ground, he still had the difficult talk of setting it free from both anchors. But the urgency was not as great as he had first imagined it to be. The blower had been shut off and the air of the sphere was slowly cooling down, the only possible motion of the Rumar now was downward since the horizontal movement had completely stop for the moment.

He knelt next to the girls to see how they were doing. Nika was still shaken, but she was in a much better condition than Verla who was clinging very tightly to Nika's arm with her eyes shut tight.

"Nika, how are you doing? I will need your help to get the Rumar going, we have to free ourselves from the restraint of the anchors."

"I can't help you. Please take us down; we are so high in the sky. Look through the holes in the floor, you can see far away, please do take us down before we all die."

When Vincent looked down at the floor where she was pointing, he could indeed see through the many small holes that had been drilled to fit the bracket which join the floor with the side of the gondola. Some of these brackets had been changed to other places thus leaving small holes. She could see enough through them to understand that they were very high now; at least higher than it would have been possible for her even if she had went up the highest tree.

"Help me at least to bring Verla into the cabin so that we can make her stretch on the mattress there."

Slowly she got on her hands and knees and they both began to drag Verla's half unconscious body inside the cabin. Once this was done Vincent insisted that she came outside and helped him to release both anchors. She was very reluctant but still she managed to crawl out of the cabin.

"I will try to make one of the ropes vibrate until the stone at the other end comes free. When this happen you must undo the knot of the other rope, this will untie the rope and set us free."

Of course this met that they were going to loose one of the ropes that way, but under the circumstances there was no other way since both anchors had to be release at the same time or it could risk tilting the gondola at a dangerous angle for the passengers. Both stones had been tied in such a way that shaking the rope could release them, but since Vincent would now have to do this by himself, he really had no other option.




Masters of the Arches Ch. 20



He could always have waited until the air inside the sphere had cooled more, then the Rumar would have descended close enough to the ground for him to get the ropes free of the stones. But he figured that his women would then jump off the instant they were close enough to the ground. It would then be very difficult, if not impossible, to get them back in the gondola after that.

He explained to Nika what she had to do and when to do it, and then he began to shake one of the rope that was tied to the corner of the gondola. It took him long minutes before he saw the stone roll on its side and at last free itself from the rope. But at the same time, the only restraint now being the other anchor it slowly began to tilt to one side.

"Now, now, do it." He shouted to Nika.

As soon as she pulled on the short end of the knot, the rope immediately began to slip free and falling toward the ground in the process and he felt the Rumar jerked as it began to accelerate upward for a couple of hundred feet. Nika threw herself flat on her belly and she began to cry softly, but the craft was free.

With the side of the gondola up to his underarms, Vincent stood up to watch the receding, snow covered ground below him. In the distance, far away, he could see one of the circular radiation patches with its lack of vegetation.

Right underneath them, about three hundreds feet below, the snow covered land was like a white carpet which hid all the small details of the landscape. Even though the Rumar was still gaining altitude, the whole air mass, including the air ship, was now slowly moving in a general southeast direction. Their horizontal speed, judging by the unfolding of the landmarks bellow them, was around fifteen to twenty miles per hour.

Even as he watched below him, the Rumar passed over a series of cliffs, and then he saw the reflection of the sunlight on the water of a small creek toward the north. It was a most impressive sight and the fact that everything was so quiet -- he did not feel or hear any wind since they were all moving with the air mass -- did add to the beauty and majesty of the scenery below.

After a while he realized that he could hear moaning, he soon realized that it was Nika crying at his feet. She was still under shock and she kept on making strange noises without really realizing it. Both women were very brave and they had prove it many times before, even risking their own life to help him, but the fact that this lighter than air craft was completely new to them added to their fear of height was too much for them. He knelt beside her and he began to explain to her that everything would go well now that they were airborne. 

To get back safely to the ground was an easy matter he explained to her, all they had to do was to let the air cool off in the balloon and the Rumar would slowly descend until it would gently touch the ground. He had seen it done many times in his world and it was perfectly safe he added. In the back of his mind he did know that there would be risks involved when the time to get down would arrive, but if would certainly not calm her if he was to tell her this.

After a few minutes he was able to convince her go get on her feet while he held her in his arms and she finally did look over the side of the gondola. He realized that they were no longer gaining in altitude and he knew that soon he would have to go in the small cabin and start the blower again.

As he held Nika in his arms while they both looked at the landscape slowly unfolding underneath them, he felt her relax in his arm and he knew that she was in awe at the beauty of the scenery. He explained to her that the Rumar would slowly start getting closer to the ground and this would be the way it would happen when they next landed. When he realized that she was much calmer and seemed to be doing fine, he told her to sit on the floor again while he would go start the blower.

For the next half hour he switched the blower on and off thus climbing for a while then slowly descending -- each time going a little higher than the preceding time -- until Nika's fear began to fade away. He even taught her how to start and shut the blower and thus changing their altitude in the process.

As for Verla, she was still lying on the mattress in the cabin and she still seemed in a state of shock. Vincent didn't want to disturb her for now since it was imperative that he did get Nika to understand the basis principles of the functioning of the air ship first.

Half an hour after the Rumar had been set free; they finally checked carefully on Verla. After a few minutes of trying, they were able to make her come back to her sensed, and before she could say anything, Nika reached for her and she cuddled her head in her arms. Vincent went out of the cabin and he left them together, he thought it would be better if Nika were to talk to her and try to make her understand that there was nothing to be afraid now that they were on their way.

The Rumar was truly an airborne ship now as it drifted with the air currents. It was now slowly moving over a forest of evergreens, and from above it appeared to be a very dense forest at that. This cheered Vincent to the point of expressing his joy with a broad smile. It met that whoever was trying to follow them was going have a very hard time of it because of the almost impossible task of moving through the dense forest below.

While experimenting with the buoyancy of the craft, Vincent discovered that he could pretty well guide it by changing its altitude. By choosing the appropriate air current -- there were many different air currents at different altitudes and some going in almost opposite directions - he could get them moving in a general southerly direction. Above a thousands feet, the Rumar was being carried toward the east, but between four and seven hundred feet it mostly went directly south.

By noon of their first day of being airborne, they were still moving over the evergreens forest and there were no signs of its end in sight. This began to worry Vincent since there was no question of trying to land the Rumar in the forest below since it would mean almost certain catastrophe. On the other hand he didn't want to spend the night drifting aboard the Rumar since it would be very difficult to judge its altitude without a clear view of the ground bellow.

It then occurred to him that he still had the map that he had taken form Kowla. It was stored with their weapons and still neatly folded in a large bag he had taken from the complex. With it he would be able to tell exactly where they were and more important still, he could change the display of the map and get a look at what was ahead of them. Just pressing the proper squares in one of its corners could change the map so that it would show what was ahead of them in any direction he wished.

When he got inside the cabin, Verla was still in Nika's arms. She did smile a little at him when she saw him enter. He could tell now that she was going to be fine since the colors had begun to return to her face. So as to give her something to do, he asked her to get the map out of the bag and to spread it on the mattress.

The minute it was unfolded between them, the blinking spot of light began to flash thus showing their present position. It was easy to detect the forest below them on the map, its screen-like flexible surface was pale green where the forest was with lots of parallel lines that represented the countless trees.

From the map's information, he realized that it was a huge forest. Being approximately a hundred miles wide and at least two hundred miles long, its length being from north to south and judging from the position of the blinking light, they had now covered about half of its length which met that they were right over the middle of it. On the southern tip of the forest -- in the direction they were now moving -- the map indicated a series of plains with still more trees to come after that.

It had taken the Rumar more than four hours to get where they were so it met -- provided that the speed of the air mass in which they were didn't change -- that they had at least another four hours to wait before they would see an end to the forest. Only then could they begin to look for a safe place to descend. This met that if everything went well, they could land in late afternoon at the earliest.

It wasn't going to leave them much time to hunt once they will have landed but even so he knew that they would have to try to get food somehow since they had nothing to eat at all. They hadn't had a good meal for at least a week now and so far that day they had not eaten at all.

Nika and Vincent took turn in observing the ground below whereas Verla kept well inside the cabin. In the middle of the afternoon, while Vincent was resting on the mattress with Verla in his arms, Nika suddenly rushed in the cabin to inform him that far ahead of them she could see the edge of the evergreen forest below them. He judged the end of the forest to be well over ten miles away but even then he could clearly see the line where the trees ended.

He immediately went back inside the cabin and he shut off the heater completely so that the Rumar could loose altitude. Next they prepared themselves for the landing

By the time they were near the edge of the forest half an hour later, the bottom of the gondola was moving barely fifty feet from the top of the last trees and the Rumar continued to drift lower over a grassy, snow covered plain below them. The Rumar kept loosing altitude and getting closer to the ground until if was just five or six feet above the snow covered grass. Then, as gently as could be it touched the snow topped grass and it simply skidded for a few feet to finally stop completely.

They all remained inside the gondola for another five minutes so that their body weight would prevent the Rumar from moving and thus allowing the air inside the balloon to cool, in so doing of course in would decreasing the buoyancy of the craft. 

When the majestic balloon began loose its spherical shape, both Nika and Verla got out of the gondola on Vincent's recommendation. They each carried the rope with them and the Rumar was anchored to one of the small bushes that grew everywhere around them.

Without its renewal of hot air, the great sphere soon began to collapse completely and this was further accelerated when the material of the sphere made contact with the thin layer of snow covering the grass.

Food was now their most important priority. They took their weapons -- Vincent carried one of the paralyzing handguns while each woman had a bow and arrows -- and they began to walk in the direction of the forest only half a mile away.

While they had been drifting over the forest earlier, whenever the trees were not as closely packed or when there was a small clearing, they had noticed the abundance of animal life running everywhere in-between the trees. 

Therefore it didn't take them long once they were hidden in the cover of the trees, to spot a deer. Before Vincent could point his handgun, two arrows hit the long legged animal at the same time -- one went in straight through its heart -- and it felt dead in its tracks.

An hour later the animal was completely butchered and they had a fire going. Never before had Vincent enjoyed a meal so much, even if it consisted of meat only.

During the evening and through the night, they took turn in keeping watch while the fire was fed with damp wood so that they could smoke the remainder of the venison.

Later in the evening, Vincent studied his map again by the light of the fire, by his estimate they had covered about one hundred and eighty miles from the underground complex. This was far more than they could have done walking on land for five days. Of course this was assuming that they could have cross through the dense evergreens forest over which they had just floated. 



Masters of the Arches Ch. 21



Both women were now beginning to appreciate the tremendous advantages of this new means of travel. Verla even admitted the next day that she was no longer afraid of the great height in which the Rumar made them climb. They were now covering over two hundred miles each day and the warming of the temperature was beginning to be quite noticeable also.

By the end of the second day after their departure from the underground complex, they were drifting almost straight south. They were always at the whim of the different air currents and on that day they finally left behind them the last of the snow. 

Vincent was aware that the next time they would see snow again, it would either be at the top of a high mountain on their way south or when they would reach the southern hemisphere of the planet.

As long as they were moving over plains and while the weather -- especially the wind -- remained relatively calm, he knew that they were quite safe. Both of these conditions did prevail until the fifth day. 

It was just about noon and they were still moving over a grass covered plain while observing the different herds of grass eater under them when the wind began to pick up. 

Previously, Vincent had checked his map and it had indicated that less than twenty miles ahead of them they were going to pass over a forest while far to their right was a huge body of water. Since the southern winds were taking them in a general southerly direction, Vincent didn't pay too much attention to that great sea which stood directly to the west of their present path.

Then in a matter of a few minutes, the Rumar entered a new air mass and its direction changed from almost directly south to directly west. 

Vincent did try to change their altitude so as to find another air current moving in a more appropriate direction, but it now seemed that the whole air system was now moving in the same direction which was directly westward and over the sea.

By the time that Vincent became aware of the danger they were in, it was already too late. They were already over the forest and with the windy condition it would have been very risky for them to try landing the craft in these conditions. There was now nothing else to do but to let the winds take them in the direction it was blowing.

It felt very strange to be in the Rumar under these conditions. For one thing, even if they could see and feel the balloon itself over their head being shoved this way and that way, it was creating just a mild swinging in the gondola. 

Stranger still, even though they could tell that the wind was blowing hard, judging by the bending and swaying of the branches of the trees under them, they didn't feel the wind that much in the gondola since they were moving at the same speed as the air mass itself.

Not wanting to scare the women, Vincent sent them inside the small cabin to rest while he remained on the lookout for the next three hours. Later, Nika replaced him for a couple of hours. 

Then, before darkness felt completely, the rain began to fall and they were able to see for the last time the top of the trees below them. After that they were moving over the sea and judging by the last of the forest they had seen previously, they were at a height of about a thousand feet.

Again he tried to change their altitude so as to find another air current that would take them south again but he had no luck. By then it was completely dark and he no longer could see the water bellow them. 

As a last resort, he took the Rumar to a much higher altitude so as to minimize the risk of crashing into the waves below if they should happen to loose height slowly without their realizing it.

During the night, Nika came out so as to replace him on the lookout, but he didn't want to go into the cabin. Instead he told her to take charge of the "on" and "off" control of the blower while he would bent over the side of the gondola and try to detect signs of the water below them so as to predict their altitude.

This went on until early dawn. By then the winds had not diminished by much but the rain had stopped. But even then, the Rumar was still being shaken by gusts of wind blowing in cross directions.

Then as the first sign of dawn appeared on the low cloud, while Vincent had his head bent over the side trying to judge their height, he was hit by the splashing of cold water. 

In those few seconds he got the answer concerning their height, they were no more than ten or twelve feet above the surface of water and the wind was blowing cold and salty water over his face. 

Of course he shouted to Nika to turn on the blower as he prepared himself for another impact with the waves below them. 

On the first impact the Rumar had bounced up a dozen feet but now he could tell that it was coming down again. How hard would they hit the water this time, he couldn't say but he was certain that this would be the end of them all if the gondola was to be sucked by the waves. 

It took another five or six seconds before they hit the crest of a wave again. This time there was a lot of water that poured inside the gondola. 

With the increase in weight, the buoyancy of the hot air in the balloon was not enough to lift the gondola plus its new load of water, so it suddenly became a boat floating on the surface of the waves. 

For ten to fifteen seconds the gondola seemed to remain on the rough waters as it rose on one crests to fall next into the deep depressions between two crests. 

Then after reaching another crest, the gondola did not fall all the way down to the bottom of a through. But when the next crest came, it hit it sideways as it shook and splashed everything inside.

But by then the flow of hot air in the balloon was increasing their buoyancy. They slowly began to lift again as the water leaked out through the many holes in the floor, in so doing it created dozens of rivulets over the floor and thus their weight decreased further as the water leaked out. 

At last they were gaining altitude again and they were doing it at a faster rate. It the gray dawn light they continue to gained altitude and soon they were high enough to see the spread of the sea under them. 

The water was very rough below them and the huge waves seemed to be trying to reach for them while the wind kept on blowing droplets of salted water at them. 

They had narrowly escaped the fate of being pulled into the sea by the huge waves and it was only then did they all realized how close they had come to being swallowed by the sea and thus face certain death. 

By now Verla was out of the cabin and as the three of them were looking down at the rough sea no one dared to say a word.

All through that day they drifted at a good speed over the water and by mid-afternoon the wind did decrease a little and the sea became a little calmer under them. 

At dusk, the wind was almost non-existent, judging by the non-existent waves under them. 

Just before it got completely dark, Vincent took the Rumar to a height of well over six thousand feet even though it was much colder at that height, he didn't want a repetition of what had happened the previous night. All through the night he did his best to keep the Rumar at that altitude.

As soon as it was light enough the following day, he got out his map and he checked their position by mean of the blinking light. 

As expected, it did confirm that they were now well off over the huge sea. On the map, there were symbols and words here and there that appeared as the position of the blinking light changed, but it was written in a strange language and Vincent had absolutely no clue about their meaning. 

Of course he knew that some of these words were most probably the name given to the sea below them and other fact about their present position, but he couldn't read any of it, the symbols used in the writing were all new to him. 

One thing was evident to him as he examined the map. While the storm had lasted, the Rumar had drifted almost directly west and they were now still moving in that general direction. 

Previously, before encountering the strong winds, he had predicted their path to be in a southwesterly direction and thus had they gone in that general direction, they would have missed completely the sea, which was under them now. 

But the storm had changed all that. They were now over a section of the largest body of water on the planet and judging by the map, it seemed to rival the Atlantic Ocean on his world in its size.

Furthermore, the flashing spot of light on the map indicated that they were well over three hundred miles at sea now. Vincent knew that it was quite impossible to turn back. Furthermore, there were no means to predict which way the winds were going to take them once the air mass began to move once again. 

He was in deep thought outside the small cabin when Nika came to join him that morning.

"Do you know where we are exactly?"

"According to the map, we are far over a huge sea and I don't think that the winds will take us back toward the coast from where we came ."

"Well at least we did not drown when we hit the water, we can always move south again when the winds are favorable to us."

"Yes I suppose we should be grateful that we are still alive but we are still not out of danger. How much food and water do we have?"

"Water will not be a problem since the two large containers from the underground complex are almost full from the last rain. But we will run out of meat in three days. After this we must reach land so as to gather fruits and hunt." 

"Well this is the problem. Look at the map, the nearest land is behind us, there is no way we can get there again. Then, depending on the direction of the winds, if we are lucky we could reach the continent on the other side in five or six days."

"Then we better ration what little food we have left."

"Yes. Go in the cabin and make an inventory of the food we have left, you must then figure how much we should be eating each day supposing it will take us another six days to find land again. 

The next four days were not so bad. The Rumar was being carried in a southwesterly direction and the temperature was getting noticeably warmer every day now. The winds were ideal for them, not too strong but still they kept the Rumar moving high above the waves.

But things went bad again when on the fourth day, the air mass did change direction again and the Rumar began to drift directly south once more. 

As soon as Vincent checked his map, he was shocked to discover that there was absolutely no land ahead of them. Had they continued to move west they would have reached the other shore of the sea in a day or so.

But now the closest land mass that he could see ahead of them would be at least another week away. There was no way that they could survive that long with the little food they had left since they were half starved already.

Even if the direction of the air mass was to change direction and move west again, it was now too late since this far south the huge sea was much wider at that latitude. 

He did check and re-check the map carefully so as to see if there was an island on their predicted path, but it seemed that either there were no islands on this sea or the maker of the map had neglected to mark them. 

The days that followed were sad days for them all. By the end of the sixth day, their food was all gone and they were all very weak since they had been eating so little during the previous week. 

For two more days they drifted south and by now even their water supply was getting low, it hadn't rained since the last storm. 

Both women spent much of their time sleeping in the cabin, coming out once in a while when they felt strong enough. Even Vincent would fall asleep in the shade of a small tarp outside the cabin and even though he did try to remain awake, he sometimes would pass out for a couple of hours at a time. 

He knew that the end was near now, at one time he even contemplate asking his women if they would not prefer to end their suffering quickly and let the Rumar fall into the sea below them. 

On the morning of the eight day, having just about given up hope of getting to solid ground before they were all dead, he slowly got up to relieve himself over the side of the gondola when he noticed in the distance a small craft on the relatively calm sea ahead of them.

As the Rumar got closer, he decreased their altitude so as to get a better view of the small boat.

It was a boat carved from the huge trunk of a tree. In it were four men (he assumed they were men), they were all seated one behind the other and were paddling toward an unknown destination.

They hadn't seen the Rumar yet since their small craft was moving in the same direction as the Rumar at that moment and the air ship was still somewhat behind them but in the process of overtaking them quickly.

Vincent decreased the altitude of the air ship even more until the Rumar was barely a hundred feet above the men in the boat.

He now could tell that they were all men and their naked bodies, although not dark black, were darker than most of the natives that he had seen on this planet so far. 

As soon as one of them saw the Rumar quietly and graciously floating over his head, he ceased paddling and stood up with much agitation while extending one of his arms toward the gondola above him. Soon the others also got up and they all became extremely exited at the sight of the strange apparition in the sky over their head. 

Before the Rumar was too far ahead of the small boat, Vincent called both women out of the cabin so that they could have a look at the small craft underneath them. By now they could see the men in the distance, they had resumed paddling, but to Vincent it seemed that they were doing so with much less enthusiasm than before.

Nika was the first to speak.

"There has to be land ahead of us. These people in that boat under us cannot have been paddling for too long, they must have a tribe not too far away."

"Yes it has to be." Said Verla with much hope in her voice. "Unless we have just passed over land and did not noticed it."

"No. When I first saw them, I did look behind us and no land was in sight in the direction we came from. But I do think that there must be land in the direction they are going. We must keep a sharp eyes for it."

"But how is it that you cannot see it on the map that you have?" Went on Verla.

"You are right, the map does not show anything in this region. It indicates that we are a long way from land yet, but still there is no way that those paddlers below us could be in the middle of this huge sea in so small a boat. There has to be small islands that are not shown on the map. So from now on let us keep a sharp eye for land." 

Less than ten minutes later, they saw, far in the distance straight ahead of them, a mountain peek. The closer they got to the tall mass ahead of them, the more apparent it became that it was an extinct volcano cone of great height.

They immediately became extremely exited. A couple of minutes later they could see a long sandy beach about ten miles ahead of them. Of course it met a possible landing place for the Rumar and everybody was happy. 

But Vincent wanted more information about this land mass and he took the Rumar to a much higher altitude so as to get a general idea of the topography of the land. 

With the hot air blaster at maximum they climbed to a height of well over five thousands feet until they could make out the contour of the island. Its average width was about thirty miles and it had the rough shape of a half moon with the volcano's peak being at one end of the sixty mile span of the island.

How strange, though Vincent, that it did not show on the map while much smaller islands elsewhere on other seas had been clearly indicated, all even had names for them. This fact more than anything else bothered him. 

He had a strange feeling deep inside as if the maker of the map, for some unknown reason, had purposely omitted to indicate the position and existence of the island below them. But they didn't have the luxury to be choosy at the moment and they did needed food in a hurry since they were all very weak from the lack of it. 

As they continued to loose altitude and approach the island at the same time, they noticed that even though they could see snow on the high tip of the cone-shaped, apparently dead volcano, the rest of the crescent-shaped island was very green and flat. 

By the time they began drifting over the island itself, they were just a few hundred feet high and while he noticed that the island was covered with trees of many varieties, Vincent saw ahead of them a wide span covered with tall grass and having just a few trees here and there. 

It was a perfect spot to land the Rumar so he aimed his decent for this opening. 

Soon the gondola was slowly drifting barely fifty feet above the long grass-covered plain under them. In the distance to their left, they could see herds of grass eaters of all kinds. Some seemed vaguely familiar but most were completely new to him. 

Yes under different circumstances, this place could be called a hunter's paradise he told himself. 

It the far distance on his right, just at the edge of a forest he saw predators also. Could they be tigers or bigger relative to that family of great cats? He couldn't tell, but there were a pack of them lying in the grass and he was glad that the Rumar was now drifting slowly in the direction of the grass eaters instead of that of the predators.

Then he saw sunlight being reflected from the surface of a small stream ahead of them and he aimed his decent so that they would be as close as possible to the source of water. 

Their landing was smooth and the operation went just like he had hoped it would. First the gondola touched the tip of the tall grass, then it gently touched the ground with a small jerk to be finally dragged by its momentum for a distance of ten feet or so and gradually it came to rest pressing the long grass underneath them. 

They had two options now. One was to anchor the gondola with ropes tied to sticks inserted into the ground and thus letting the balloon float with a certain volume of hot air in it or to simply let all the air out of the balloon and fold it so that they could cover it with grass and thus camouflage their position.

For some reason that he could not explained, Vincent decided on the second option and as soon as the air in the balloon was cold enough, they all proceeded to stretched it on the grass and they folded the material of the balloon until it was in a neat pile.

Next they proceeded to hide it with piles of the three feet length grass that they cut with their knives.

Judging by the height of the sun over their head, it was now just about noon and they proceeded to carefully walk toward the first heard of grass eaters that they had observed from above. 

They were walking in a single file so as to disturb the grass as little as possible and thus hide their presence on the island. Vincent was in the lead with one of the paralyzing guns in hand when they came to the small stream that they had seen from above. 

They all had a drink of cool water and soon they were back on their way once again toward the closest heard. 

But just a few hundred feet from the stream they heard squawking and movements in the tall grass. 

Then a few seconds later half a dozen birds that must have weight al least ten to twelve pounds each began to slowly take off. Before Vincent could turn and aim his paralyzing gun at one of them, Nika had sent an arrow in the neck of closest one.

Upon closer inspection, it looked very much like a white goose, a variety of geese, which Vincent was familiar in his home world. It was a big one at that. 




Masters of the Arches Ch. 21



"I think we should return to our camp and cook this fat bird. We do have more than enough food for a good meal here and it will give us a chance to rest also. We are not in great condition to hut the bigger game from the heard at this moment." 

"Yes I agree," said Verla. "Let us go and cook this bird now, we can come back and hunt tomorrow. I am so hungry now that I could eat it raw." 

So it was agreed that they would walk back to the place where the Rumar was hidden and they would cook the fat bird. Even before it was completely cooked they were eating. 

Never in Vincent's life had food tasted so good. While the bird was cooking, the girls had dug roots that they were familiar with and they cooked them over a hot rock that had been placed in a fire for this purpose.

Of course as soon as their catch was cooked enough they did put out the fire. When they were through eating, there wasn't much left from the bird except for the bones and a little meat. 

But they all had a full stomach now and after slowly drinking herbal tea that the women made from nearby roots, they all stretched on the ground in front of the gondola that was partly hidden by grass. 

They slept and rested until evening and then they moved into the gondola for the night. Vincent figured that being in the gondola would be safer since it gave them some protection against the predators. 

In the morning, Vincent was roughly pulled out of his sleep by Verla. 

"Come look, we are surrounded." She said to him as she pulled on his arm. 

In half a second he was up. When he did look around he was stunned by the spectacle he saw. Forming three concentric circles around the gondola and around them, were many hundreds of naked warriors.

All were about equally spaced from each other in an orderly manner and all were armed with spears and what looked to be stones axes. 

For long seconds the trio stood there stunned by what they were seeing. At last one of the warrior approached them and he began to talk to Vincent in the universal language of the planet but his voice had a strange accent.

"You must follow us. The high priest wants to talk with you all."

Of course Vincent knew that there was no use in arguing. There were simply too many of them and beside, neither he or his women were armed at that moment.

They were not permitted to take anything with them and even though they were not tied, they were closely watched as they began to walk in the general direction of the volcano which must have been twenty miles away.

They walked all of that day and were given food and water to drink. They slept in the center of a temporary camp with guards all around them and thus with no way of escaping. In the morning they all resumed their trek toward the volcano.

In the afternoon they began to climb the low slope at the foot of the volcano itself. Then much to Vincent's surprise, after having climbed a few hundred feet, they soon entered a wide opening that looked like a natural cave.

But as soon as he got inside, he found himself in a very large room with artificial lightning that came from the ceiling. The floor looked as if it was made of marble while the walls were covered with painting depicting exotic scenes. 

Vincent was certain that any single one of those paintings in his world would have made him very rich. It was evident that the builders of this place and the artists that had painted those scenes didn't belong to this tribe. All of a sudden, his eyes came to rest on something at the far end of the large room, something that turned the blood cold in his veins. 

The closer they walked toward the front of the room, the more his fears as well as his excitement increased. 

There was no mistake about it now. On the far wall ahead of him, he could clearly see it. To the unfamiliar eye it would appear to be a decoration that was part of the wall, but to Vincent there was no mistake about it, they were all approaching the characteristic half circle of an arch.



Masters of the Arches Ch. 22



As soon as Vincent saw the shape of the arch with its familiar platform in front of it, his blood went cold in his veins. He experienced a scary feeling deep inside. For a reason that he couldn't explain, he knew that they were soon going to learn much more about Valdo, the supposed crazy brother of Brumelle. Of course he already knew that Brumelle was only a futuristic computer program that was able to create a lifelike holographic representation of a beautiful woman that used to live eons ago on this world. But he had very little information about Valdo and he couldn't really predict who or what he could be.

The vast room in which they were led was sumptuously decorated with a multitude of statues and paintings on its walls - paintings that had certainly not been created by the people that were holding them prisoner. The floor seemed to be made of a hard synthetic material with intricate patterns. It was immaculately clean. Both, the wall to his left and the one to his right had a soft whitish glow that gave the room an exotic appearance. Both walls were also lined with life-size statues of men.

With the artificial light seeming to come from the ceiling as well as from the walls, all parts of the large room were illuminated with the same intensity and no shadow was visible anywhere. As they were slowly brought closer to the arch, he paid more attention to the facial features of each statue, he realized that they represented the same man - the same man, but in different poses. As they walked deeper into the large room it occurred to him that all the statues were either plated with gold or made of solid gold.

The trio of prisoners was brought toward the very middle of the room and they were made to stop there. Half of the crowd - mostly men, but there were a few women also - that had captured them had now scattered in such a way so as to form three concentric circles around the trio. The rest remained in a tight formation of three half-circles that blocked the large exit at the back of the room.

Soon, a man who had his face painted with intricate designs and his body covered with a black and white pelt, came forward from the front of the room. As he approached he broke each circle with his passage as he slowly walked toward the spot where Vincent and his two women were. Once there, he stood quietly in front of the three captives. All of a sudden all the chattering stopped completely in the enormous room. For long seconds the man stood there looking at each of the prisoners one after the other. After what seemed to Vincent to be long minutes, he began to talk in the universal language of the planet. He proceeded to explain what was to become of them.

"You have been brought here by order of Valdo. He has been searching for you for a long time now and he has given orders that you be sent to him at once. You will remove all the garments from your body so that you will appear naked before Valdo."

Even though Vincent was half expecting this, upon hearing the name of Valdo he experienced goose bumps at the back of his neck. He became very nervous in anticipation of what was going to happen to them.

If what this man was saying was true, then it meant that this whole island was under the control of Valdo. This probably explained why the island did not appear on his map. It had intentionally been omitted by the maker of the map to keep unwanted visitors away from the island.

As soon as they were completely naked, - even Vincent's boots had to be removed - the man who Vincent supposed was the highest authority on the island continued to speak slowly while he now looked mostly at Vincent.

"You will soon be standing in front of Valdo and whether you live or die will depend on him. Do you have anything to say before you meet the one that protects and guides us all?"

"Do we have to meet him? Suppose we are not interested in talking to him? Do we have any choice in the matter?"

"No. Valdo will decide what will become of you all. His decision is the law. Now come."

Of course Vincent knew that he and his two women had no choice since there was absolutely no way for them to escape from this room. Besides, in the back of his mind Vincent was eager to meet at last the one that he had been sent to destroy. He was now well aware also that soon all three of them would either be dead or Valdo would no longer be a menace to this world. The latter was far less probable of course.

On a signal from their leader, the first circle of men lowered their spears and pointed them toward the prisoners. They began to close in on their prisoners and the two outer circles opened until the trio was forced to walk toward the low platform in front of the arch near the other end of the enormous room.

They were then pressed even more until they were right in front of the platform, the now tight crowd of men extended their spears forward to force the trio to step onto the disk of the arch. Vincent could tell that none of the warriors wanted to get too close to the arch. That was why they held their spears at arm's length thus keeping their bodies as far away as possible from the arch.

"Very well," said Vincent to the two women, "let us step together onto the disc. That way we will be sure to be transported all at the same time."

Saying this he took one hand of each woman and they stepped onto the disc at the same time.

By now they were familiar with the sensation of dizziness that always seemed to accompany the use of the arch. What did surprise them a few seconds later when they arrived at their destination, was to find themselves in a room with transparent walls. They could see water everywhere they looked on the other sides of the walls.

They were now standing on the floor of a circular room surrounded by a circular wall of transparent plastic or glass. Over their heads was a huge transparent dome. They could see bright lights that illuminated the water around the dome, but they couldn't see any sunlight coming from the surface of the water. Vincent soon deduced that they were at the bottom of a very large mass of water. Large fish and other creatures could be seen on the other side of the circular room. Judging by the way that they remained near the transparent wall and nudged at the glass-like surface it was evident that these creatures could see them also.

Before they had time to study their surroundings much longer, a trap opened in the floor and a stairway appeared leading down. A voice that seemed to come out of nowhere then told them to go down the stairs and walk to the very end of the corridor. Once there they would get further instructions.

"I don't like this at all," said Nika.

"Well we have very little choice about accepting or refusing to obey. Either we do as we are told or we stay here until we die of thirst or hunger. So we may as well go and see where this will take us."

Vincent was the first to proceed down the stairs. The staircase took them to a level that was at least fifty feet lower and they found themselves in a wide corridor that seemed to stretch to infinity.

For the next ten minutes they moved ahead without seeing a single door. As they walked, their naked feet made practically no noise on the synthetic material of the floor and no one felt an urge to say anything.

Eventually, they saw the end of the corridor ahead of them. From the distance they couldn't see the door, but as they approached the wall-like end of the corridor the whole section was suddenly raised and the same voice told them to continue.

The room that they entered was luxurious and spacious, with thick carpet and rich furniture. Large paintings depicted exotic sceneries of strange landscapes while others showed futuristic cities. Even the style and exotic colors of the furniture was strange to Vincent. Both Verla and Nika were in awe, their mouths half open as their eyes registered the splendors before them.

"You may sit." Said the same voice.

The voice again seemed to come out of nowhere in particular but it could be heard perfectly - just as if the speaker was standing next to them.

Vincent went to sit in the middle of a long, deep red, velvet-like sofa while the girls sat on each side of him. Still there was plenty of room left on both sides of the long sofa.

A funny thought suddenly came to Vincent. He was thinking how strange they must look now. They were all naked, sitting on this much larger than average size sofa in this lavishly furnish room. It occurred to Vincent that they must look like three children waiting to be punished as they sat there. He didn't like this image that they were projecting but of course it had probably been planned that way and there was nothing he could do about it.

Then, before he had time to process more thoughts, a tall handsome man of about twenty was standing before them. One second there was no one where he stood and the next second he was standing there. He had brown, shoulder length hair and an extremely handsome face. He was dressed in a knee length beige robe with a wide belt around the waist. His robe was opened deeply at the neck and he had on brown boots that went to mid-calf. The boots looked extremely flexible. Around his neck, and reaching over both shoulders, was a wide necklace decorated with a multitude of shining stones.

He looked at each of them for a few seconds. Then his eyes went to rest on Vincent - just as the leader of the natives of the island had done a short while before.

--I am Valdo.--

Vincent felt very small and powerless sitting there naked in front of this powerful man. For a while he couldn't speak. However, after telling himself that he was probably dealing with a hologram of Valdo, as had been the case with Brumelle, he managed to lose some of the intimidation that he had felt earlier. The thought that this man had died a long time ago and that he was only seeing a representation of him now, made him feel more relax.

"We were forced to come here," said Vincent as he stood up.

--Yes I know, I am the one that gave the order that you were to be brought here. But I also comanded that none of you should be harmed. - -

"That is not good enough for me. We are not here of our own free will."

--It had to be this way. First, listen to what I have to say. Then you can leave anytime you want after that.--

Vincent had the impression of dealing with someone that was used to giving orders and he knew that it would be against their best interests if he were to get arrogant with Valdo. He had the feeling that Valdo would not hesitate at all to kill them if he couldn't use them. He therefore walked back to the sofa and sat back between his two women.

"Very well, say what you have to say and we will listen to you."

--First of all I must tell you that I know about your encounter with Brumelle.--

Had someone hit Vincent in the face he would not have been more surprised. Verla and Nika also were stunned as they looked at one another. Shock was very evident on their faces.

"Yes I suppose you do have spies everywhere and they did report our meeting with your sister. "

--My sister! Is that what she told you? I was born two hundred years before her but we do have the same father. If that makes her my sister then she is.--

"Where I come from that would make her your half sister - but this is not the cause of the friction between her and you. The divergence between you two goes much deeper than that I think."

--I don't know what she told you, but before you pass judgment on me you must hear what I have to say first.--

For a few seconds Vincent thought that he could detect anger in Valdo's reaction. Probably no one had talked to him in such a way for a very long time. This made Vincent believe that Valdo must really need his help desperately to tolerate this lack of respect.

--She probably explained to you how our people evolved and proceeded to expand out of our own solar system - then finally out to the stars. With the aid of the Simultravel we did get to occupy thousands of planets and our living conditions did improve greatly. Then with the discovery of the Rad virus we were able to eradicate all diseases and furthermore there was now no limit to the longevity of our citizens.

But the Simultravel and the Rad virus were also the cause of our downfall. You see by the time that both of these discoveries were made, the population was polarized into two different ways of thinking. On one side were those that thought like Brumelle. They were in favor of destroying all intelligent life whenever a habitable planet was discovered so as to make room for our own people. On the other side, there were those that thought like myself and were in favor of leaving these alien intelligent beings to develop at their own rate and not bother them.--

At that point Valdo paused to let what he had said sink in. Vincent was afraid to show his surprise, since Brumelle had said the exact opposite of what Valdo was now telling him. He decided that he shouldn't mention it, and remained silent. After all, it might become useful later and he could use this to his advantage. It also indicated that Valdo had no knowledge whatsoever of what had been said between Brumelle and him.

--As you must have figure out by now, when you are looking at me you see a hologram of what I used to look like a very long time ago. You see, my body has been dead for a long time now but all that I was - my soul if you want to call it that, as well as my personality - was saved. I was transferred into this matrix as electric pulses. I am as much alive now as I was when my body held my brain.--

Again there was a long pause, and this time Valdo looked at Verla and at Nika for long seconds. At that point Vincent realized that this hologram in front of him called Valdo was not too well informed. His spies had probably not reported to him that Verla and Nika were from this world and not from Vincent's world. They knew nothing about computers and matrix storage and they could certainly not comprehend what a hologram was. So why did he bother to pause and try to figure out if they understood what he was saying. There was very little chance that the women would understand anything about his tale. Perhaps he was under the impression that Vincent had taught them all about computers and electronic devices in the short time he had been with them?

On the other hand, Vincent had no way to know what Valdo was thinking exactly - or what his intentions were. He was very curious to learn what he would say or do with them now that they were under his control.

"What do you want with us? " asked Vincent.

--I need your help. I want you to help me to get rid of Brumelle. Her idea of destroying all alien intelligent life everywhere is dangerous for everyone, as a matter of fact it is her aim also to get rid of most human life-form of this world, keeping only those that will be useful to her. I know that you have had a talk with her but I don't know what she told you exactly. You must realize that when she was alive she was a liar and a cheat. I am aware that she wants to destroy me so that she may take control of what is left of this world as well as the other accessible worlds that our ancestors were able to explore and populate. Her aim is to destroy all intelligent life-form except for those that will serve her purpose.--

Vincent had heard that story before. He had heard Brumelle say almost exactly the same thing about Valdo so he was now very reluctant to believe what he was being told. In the back of his mind he didn't know which of the two to believe. Whereas Brumelle had been more convincing, Valdo was more to the point and direct about it. But both of them were probably lying and both wanted to take control over the other.

"But how can we help you? Why can't you just settle the matter yourself with her?"

--Soon after my personality and brain were transferred into the matrix, the technological advances of this world as well as that of all the other worlds that we were in contact with, stopped completely. Then in a very short time after that, all that had been learned up to that point was lost. All of that happened because of the never-ending wars. I can control my environment in here but outside of this prison-like place I am not in control. You see, all those that take care of me have very little knowledge of technology and there is no hope in the near future that this will change. This is where I need your help. You do come from a technologically advanced world so you can be very useful to me.--

"Useful to you by doing what?"

--I want you to destroy Brumelle before she gets full control of the whole planet. If you do help me I will make you a god on this planet.--

Although Valdo didn't say it, Vincent had a feeling that if he were to refuse to help him, the three of them would probably be killed. Before meeting Valdo he had doubts about Brumelle but now he certainly did not believe Valdo either. At that very moment he realized that this world and all the others that communicated with this one by means of the arches would be much better off if both Brumelle and Valdo were not around. He therefore made up his mind to play it safe and pretend that he was willing to help. After all, he had nothing to lose by telling Valdo that.

"I wish I could help you but as you see I have no way of being much help to you. I could go back to my world and get people to help you."

--Definitely not. First of all, if you want to help me you will tell me the exact location of the arch by which you came into this world. Then I will explain to you what you must do to destroy Brumelle.--

There was no way that Vincent was going to reveal the location of the arch to this machine, since it was his gateway to Earth. However, he had to pretend to be willing to help. He knew that if he told Valdo an imaginary location for the arch, it would take him a long time to check if the information was true or not. That would buy him some time.

"You mean that you will send me back to face Brumelle single-handed and once face to face with her I am to try to destroy her? But she has many gadgets and servants to defend her and she is well hidden deep in the mountain. She will never let me near her again if she knows that I have been in touch with you. Besides, how could I destroy her with my bare hands?"

--For one thing you will not go back to her alone. You will be accompanied by a few of my men to help you. While the two women that accompanied you remain here, you and my men will be sent by means of an arch that will take you to a secret location near the mountain where she is hiding. Then with the help of a neutron electromagnetic pulse device that I will give you, you can eliminate her - provided that you can get close enough to her matrix and place the device there. This device will generate no heat but it will produce an extremely intense electromagnetic pulse that will burn out all electric and electronic circuits within a range of two miles of the detonation. Thus it will deactivate her permanently.--

After a while Valdo went on to describe how his race progressed and travelled from their mother planet to the conquest of other solar systems. Later he described the discovery of the Simultravel as well as the Rad virus. It was pretty much as Brumelle had told Vincent except for the fact that in his story Valdo painted Brumelle as the villain.

For long seconds Vincent didn't dare speak as Valdo made accusations against his sister. He was accusing her of doing the same things that she was accusing him of doing. Two advanced computers were waging war against each other and in the process they could easily destroy this world as well as Earth - not to mention the hundreds of other worlds.

"I must think about what you just said. Can you give me a little time so that I can discuss this matter with my two women?"




Masters of the Arches Ch. 22



--Yes of course, but don't take too long. We do have to move fast since she is getting stronger each day.--

All of a sudden Valdo was gone and another door opened at the end of the chamber. Two men dressed in strange looking one-piece uniforms walked in and escorted the trio to a luxurious room with thick carpets and beautiful furniture. At one end of the room was a big bed and right in the center of the room was a long table with many chairs around it. The table was covered with food of all kinds as well as exotic containers filled with liquids of all colors. Those were probably exquisite wines.

Before they had time to eat, one of their guardians brought them similar one-piece uniforms to wear, but they were of a beige color instead of the light-blue color that Valdo's men were wearing.

The three of them sat at the table as soon as they had on the one-piece garment and they ate eagerly. Both women couldn't contain their appreciation for the succulent food before them. Vincent warned them not to drink anything but water since they were not used to drinking wine and he couldn't predict exactly how they would react to the alcoholic drinks.

Nika was the first to make a comment about the talk that Valdo had had with Vincent.

"I don't like him and I say he is lying."

Before she had a chance to add anything more, Vincent signaled to her that she should not speak in her native language. He told them that they should speak in English. Both woman had learned it while traveling with him and they were almost fluent in English now.

"It is possible, " he said in English " that Valdo can hear us with devices he has hidden in the room. Let us speak in English so that we can say freely what we think. I am sure that he doesn't understand that language. I agree with Nika. He is probably lying and I think that this world would be much better off without him - and also without Brumelle as a matter of fact. They are both machines and they both want to be supreme ruler."

"Then why should we help either of them?" asked Verla.

"It is not my intention to help them. As a matter of fact there is nothing I would like better than to destroy them both. But if we say that we will not help him, I am pretty sure that he will kill us all. So, we must pretend that we are willing to cooperate until we find a way to escape or to destroy him."

"We can always say that we are willing to help, then once we are away from here we can just escape," exclaimed Nika.

"I don't think that would work. For one thing he will find us sooner or later and besides I don't like the idea of him still being around even if we are free. We must destroy him. So let us pretend that we will do what he says and see what happens."

They all slept in the big bed for five or six hours - Vincent had no way to tell the time since he couldn't see the sun from the sea floor where the complex was located. As soon as they were up, two of Valdo's men, dressed in the same manner as those that had brought them to the room, came with baskets of fruits, meats and a jug of juice. They were told to eat and then they would be taken to see Valdo again.

Once again they were led to the same room where they had first met Valdo. As soon as they entered the room, Valdo materialized in front of them. This time he was dressed in red leggings and a red coat. He wore black boots and had a long white cape over his shoulders. The same wide necklace he had been wearing the previous time was still around his neck.

--Have you made up your mind? Are you going to help me or not?--

Vincent could tell that there was firmness as well as authority in his voice. He had no doubt whatsoever now that should he refuse to cooperate, they would be forced to reveal the location of the arch that transported him to this world. Then they would all be killed.



Masters of the Arches Ch. 23



"I will help you to destroy Brumelle, but the two women must accompany me on this mission."

"Very well, but first you will you show me the exact location of the arch from where you entered this world before I allow you to leave with the women."

"Yes, I will tell you its exact position. Then as soon as my mission of destroying Brumelle is finished I will bring your men to the arch's location. It is well hidden and this will save you much time."

"Yes, you will lead my men there when Brumelle is destroyed; but first you will show me its location on a map before leaving."

Vincent was prepared for this. Without warning, a large map suddenly appeared in the middle of the room, it seemed to hang in front of him in mid-air. He studied it for half a minute then his finger indicated a spot on the map that was really hundreds of miles away from the actual location. 

He knew that Valdo had no way to check quickly whether or not he was telling the truth. Still, he didn't want to show Valdo a spot on the map that was too far from where the arch really was, just in case some of Valdo's spies had noticed his presence in that general area of the planet and had already reported this to him.

Valdo seemed satisfied with this information and he then went on to explain to Vincent what he was expected to do to destroy Brumelle.

Vincent, his women, and Valdo's men were to be transported by means of an arch - situated inside the complex - that would take them to a position about five days march from the mountain where Brumelle was located. Once there, Vincent was to try to enter the mountain the same way he had left it - on the pretext that he wanted to report to Brumelle. 

Then, as soon as he was inside the complex, he was to place the neutron device as near as possible to the matrix that held Brumelle's personality and leave before the detonation. Since the device was small he wouldn't have to move too far away from it. As long as he was not inside the complex, he was told, it would be safe for him.

An idea suddenly occurred to Vincent. Would it be possible for him to convince Valdo to give him two of these devices, one of them being much more powerful? His reasoning would be that if he couldn't get close enough to the matrix then the stronger bomb could be placed somewhere outside the complex and still be effective. In the back of his mind he had another plan for that second bomb.

Much to Vincent's surprise, Valdo agreed. Furthermore Valdo said that this second device should be a small fission bomb that could be placed near the mountain where Brumelle was and still do the job of eliminating her if Vincent found it impossible to enter the core of the mountain. This of course would only work if this second bomb were placed very close to the mountain entrance itself.

In this mission, Vincent was to be accompanied by four of Valdo's men to carry the two bombs as well as to make sure, after the bombs had gone off, that Brumelle was destroyed. Valdo then suggested that Vincent and the women rest for a few days since it was going to take that long to prepare the electromagnetic pulse bomb as well as the small fission one. While he was alone with his women, Vincent explained his plan to them. Before leaving he would hide the fission bomb somewhere in Valdo's underground complex and set the timer so that it would go off once they were gone.

"Are you sure that this thing will be strong enough to destroy Valdo?" asked Nika.

"I am sure it will do the job. Furthermore, since this place is far under the Cold Sea, what the bomb does not destroy will be drowned under tons of rushing salt water from above this complex. I have no doubt about this."

"But how will you go about hiding the bomb without anyone seeing you? Worse still, will the men that are supposed to carry the two bombs not notice that it is no longer in the bundle that they are carrying?"

"Well I will have to find a good place to hide it before we leave. That is something I will have to think about. As for the men carrying it noticing, I will simply place something of equivalent weight into the bundle that is supposed to contain the fission bomb. They won't notice the difference as long as they don't check inside."

But Verla was still not satisfied with this explanation. "Suppose everything goes as planned and Valdo's complex as well as Valdo himself is destroyed - we will still have to deal with Brumelle."

"We will worry about that part when we get near Brumelle. One thing is certain; we must get inside her shelter and destroy her. When he's gone, Valdo will no longer be able to prevent her from expanding and taking control of the whole planet and probably more."

After a length of time which Vincent figured was about two days, they were fetched by two of Valdo's men. They were taken many levels deeper into the complex. Then, after walking along a long corridor with a multitude of doors on each side, they entered a huge laboratory. Half a dozen workers could be seen here and there doing odd jobs. Once they had walked half way into the large room they were shown two baskets made of strong knitted twigs resting on the floor between two rows of tables. 

One basket was much larger than the other. The larger basket was about two feet high, two and a half feet long and of the same width. The other one was barely a foot cube. Both looked just like ordinary baskets that the women of many of the tribes on this world made to carry fruits and roots. The tables and floor around them were littered with all kinds of tools and equipment. Barely two feet from the two baskets sat a pile of thin lead plates and other materials that must have been used in the construction of the bombs.

All of a sudden Valdo appeared behind them. Even though he looked flesh-solid, Vincent could detect a fuzz-like aura around him. As soon as Valdo materialized out of thin air, the guards bent their heads either in fear or out of respect for their master. Which of these it was, Vincent couldn't tell. One thing was certain; Valdo had complete control over these men.

Then Valdo ordered one of the men to open the lids of both baskets.

The insides of the baskets looked nothing like the outsides. They were reinforced with a solid frame of some sort. Resting in a nest-like pad in the larger one was an egg-shape object while the smaller basket held a much smaller sphere resting in a similar nest. Vincent knew at once that the large one contained the fission device while the other held the neutron EMP bomb that was to generate the electromagnetic pulse. Both devices had switches and knobs attached to them and these, Vincent realized, were the timers to set the two bombs to detonate.

Valdo explained carefully to Vincent how to arm and set the timer of each bomb. After telling him that they would be leaving the very next day, Valdo suddenly popped out of the air and was gone. The guards then took the trio back to their quarters.

It was quite evident to Vincent that the guards understood nothing about the two devices and he was wondering who had assembled them in the first place. Probably many workers had laboured on them under the close supervision of their master. Even though Valdo looked alive and could think and act on his thoughts, he certainly couldn't manipulate material objects without help. Thus, someone had to act as his hands all the time. Furthermore, both Valdo and Brumelle could not go outside their hiding places even though they each could project their forms within their respective complexes. Even though Valdo hadn't said it, Brumelle had explained that fact to Vincent during his talk with her.

"What will we do now?" asked Verla in English.

"I don't know, but somehow I must go back where the bombs are." Both women asked almost simultaneously, "Why?"

"I have to remove the fission device from the basket and, after setting the timer and arming it, I must hide it somewhere so that no one will notice it. I will set it so that it will go off after we are gone from here."

"But someone might see you and warn Valdo," insisted Nika.

"Well I will have to take a chance on that. As long as no one is near enough to see us take the bomb out of the basket I think I can find a place to hide it in that room. Once that is done I will warn the guards that no one is to open the baskets except me since I am the only one that Valdo trained and trusted to use them. They are terribly afraid of him and they will obey me on this, I know."

Less than an hour later one of the guards brought them food. Vincent told him that they had to be taken back to the laboratory to complete some work on the two devices. At first the guard seemed reluctant but when Vincent told him that Valdo had said that they could return there anytime they wanted to further study the devices he was to use, the guard finally agreed.

Once they were standing next to the two baskets, Vincent told the guard to get two large pelts and leather straps to cover the baskets once he would done with his work. As soon as the guard left, Vincent opened the lid of the basket containing the fission bomb and, with the aid of both women, managed to remove the egg-shaped device from the basket.

Looking around to find a good location to conceal the bomb, he finally settled on a spot below one of the tables. After arming it and setting the timer to go off in two cycles (two of their days) he piled a few of the lead plates around to hide it. Next he placed a dozen or so of the extra plates into the basket to simulate the weight of the missing bomb. As soon as he closed the lid he pretended to be examining the other bomb until the guard arrived with the pelts and straps. After securing the pelts tightly with the leather straps over each basket, he instructed the guard to make sure that no one else was allowed near the baskets.

Vincent and the women slept very little once they were in their quarters. For one thing, Vincent wasn't sure if the guard would make a report to his master about their visit to the laboratory. Also, the fact that an armed nuclear bomb was ticking a few hundred feet under them made him very nervous.

At last, the time for their departure arrived. A guard entered their room holding the little clothing they had when they were taken prisoner on the island. He told the trio that they were to get ready, since Valdo was waiting for them in the laboratory. They didn't know what to expect exactly. They all looked at each other without saying a word as they prepared themselves. Did Valdo know that Vincent had removed one of the bombs from its basket? Were they going to die? They had no way to know, but they did follow the guard to the laboratory.

Four men dressed in loincloths and with pelts on their backs were waiting near the two baskets. Valdo was nowhere to be seen yet, but the fact that the four men were there and dressed for the trip did reassure Vincent.

When Valdo materialized near them, the four men became very respectful once again as they bowed very low to their master.

The two baskets had been fitted with hooks on their sides and on a signal from Valdo the men inserted six-foot length, apparently wooden poles, into the hooks - one pole on each side of each basket. Vincent knew that they were not made of wood because wood of that thickness would break under the weight. These poles were to be the means by which two men were to carry each basket.

At last Valdo turned to Vincent and asked him if he had any further questions about his mission. Of course Vincent had none; he was in too much of a hurry to get away as fast as possible. Glancing at the table next to him, where he hoped the fission bomb was still hidden, Vincent simply shook his head in the negative instead of saying anything.

Vincent and both women were given bags made of pelts containing dried meat and fresh water for the whole group. This supply of food was supposedly enough to last them for the five day trip. The four men carrying the baskets were given spears as well as bows and arrows, but Vincent and the women were not given any weapons at all.

Valdo explained that it wouldn't be wise to let them take modern weapons, as their presence would attract attention and word of this could easily get to Brumelle when they were close to her. The only high tech gadgets that they were permitted to carry with them were two radios - one for the men carrying the bombs and the other for Vincent. Both radios would ensure that Valdo could follow their progress. Vincent was to contact Valdo each evening while one of Valdo's men was to communicate with his master in the morning. The signals, to and from the two radios, were to be relayed by means of the ring of satellites orbiting the planet. Even though the satellites had been placed in orbit a very long time ago, they were still useful to this day.

The conversation ended with Valdo signalling his men to proceed; then he was gone. The two guards led the way while the four men dressed as natives were following behind them - two men per basket. Vincent and the two women brought up the rear of the procession.

They walked to a different section of the complex. After what seemed to Vincent to be the longest walk he had ever had inside a building, they arrived in front of a metal door. One of the two guards waited a few seconds in front of the door; then as the door began to open, Valdo appeared at the very same time.

The slowly swinging door led to a circular room that was relatively small, about twenty feet in diameter. As the door opened wider, Vincent saw an arch at the far end of the room. All at once his heart began to beat in anticipation while his hands became very moist. More than ever he was eager to leave the complex and having the arch in his sight meant to him that their departure was only a few minutes away now.

Valdo didn't enter the room but remained in the open doorway. It seemed to Vincent that the whole scenario of their departure had been rehearsed. First, two of the men with their basket stepped onto the plate of the arch at the same time. A few seconds later, they were no longer there. The next two men with their basket then stepped onto the plate about a minute later. Then, before Vincent and the women reached the plate, Valdo told them to wait.

"Remember that I expect you to succeed in this mission. Don't fail me, my guards will find you if you try to trick me. On the other hand, if you serve me well you will all be rewarded in ways that you can only begin to imagine. Go now."

Half a minute later they found themselves inside a small stone structure. A single light source illuminated the place where they all stood. A naked man was holding a torch, which produced the only light in the room. It appeared that the naked man had been expecting them and he was evidently scared. He treated them all with exaggerated respect. As soon as they were ready to go, he guided the group through a low door out of the room.

As they followed the man with the torch, he led them down steep narrow stone stairs for what seemed to be a very long time. Then all of a sudden, after they had walked along a short, straight corridor, they emerged into the bright sunlight of a wide-open space where many naked people seemed to be waiting for them.

They were standing close to a village, and when Vincent turned to look at the structure from which they had come, he was shocked to see that it was a four-sided stone pyramid of immense size. Furthermore, as he examined the view, it became evident that they were on the flat crest of a high mountain.

The air was cool at this height and judging by the position of the sun it must have been early morning. Either the residents of the village were all sympathetic to Valdo's cause or else - which Vincent considered more probable - they believed Valdo to be a god. In either case they seemed to be on his side since the small group was treated with the greatest respect possible.

They were offered water and fruit. After a short rest, two warriors from the village led the group down the mountain along a well-used path. It took them the rest of the day to get to the foot of the mountain. By then they were in a dark forest with huge trees growing everywhere. The warriors next took them to a trail leading north. After wishing them a safe trip, the escorts started back on their way to the village, leaving the group to continue their mission to Brumelle's mountain.

That evening Vincent did contact Valdo after pointing the small antenna skyward. He reported that everything was going as planned and that they were well on their way to their destination. In the back of his mind Vincent knew that if the fission device hidden in Valdo's complex had not been discovered yet then this would be the last time ever that he would talk with Valdo.

They all slept around a fire that night while one of Valdo's men remained on guard. Early the next morning one of the men came to Vincent and reported that he couldn't reach Valdo on their radio. He asked Vincent if he would try to contact Valdo with the other radio. Vincent's heart almost stopped then. He knew exactly that this implied that Valdo and the complex had been destroyed.

Of course he did try to reach Valdo with his radio to keep up appearances for the guards. His hands were shaking and his heart was beating very fast as he pretended to make contact. At last Vincent relaxed when, after a few minutes, he didn't get any reply on his radio.

"It is probably because we are in this forest. I am sure that this evening if we are out of this place we will be able to contact him."

This seemed to satisfy the man. Even though he didn't understand anything about radio waves or satellites, he did accept Vincent's explanation. This reassured Vincent since it meant that the man and his companions were accepting Vincent's word. Soon they were back on the trail going north again.

Vincent had a decision to make now. All throughout the day, as they silently walked along the trail, he tried to figure what he should do when evening came. Should he tell the men that once again he couldn't contact Valdo, or should he pretend to talk to Valdo and relay orders to the men that supposedly came from Valdo? They would believe that their communicator was not working and they might accept that. But should their leader ask to speak with Valdo using Vincent's radio then Vincent would be in trouble.

Vincent finally decided on the latter choice - to pretend to talk to Valdo. That way he figured it would be a lot easier to control the four men. Should one of the men ask to talk to Valdo he would simply say that their master told him that they were to follow his orders now that their radio was not working.

Fortunately, it worked as Vincent planned. He told the men that Valdo said that he would keep in touch with them through Vincent and that they were to proceed as had been planned.

That second night on the trail, Vincent did something he never thought he would do. Since the four men carrying the baskets with the bombs had given them no trouble whatsoever and since they were now ready to take orders from him - because they believed that these orders were coming from Valdo - Vincent decided to get on more friendly terms with them. For that reason, after he had had a talk with Nika and Verla, he decided to let the two women spend the night with the four men.

If he had been on his world this would be an outrageous thing to do, but the moral values on this planet were not the same at all. These men had been working very hard in the last few days and he needed to reward them somehow if he was to have them follow his orders. Besides that, his two women - considering their ages - had probably had sex, willingly or not sometimes, with hundreds of different men before this day. A few more wouldn't matter much to them.




Masters of the Arches Ch. 23



When both women agreed to do this, Vincent even felt a surge of excitement deep within. That night while he was stretched on his bed of dead leaves in the dark, he tried to imagine what was going on barely fifty feet away. Each of the two women had gone separately with two of the men and even if he could not see them he could sometimes hear deep breathing and flesh humping against flesh. He tried to not pay attention to the love making noises but when he recognized the fast moaning of Nika, his cock went very rigid and he felt a little sorry for himself then.

Early the next morning, everyone looked fresh and all were smiling - except Vincent of course. They made good progress and by the evening they could see in the far distance one of the peaks of the chain of mountains where Brumelle was hiding.

He didn't let the men sleep with his women that night. Instead, he made love twice to each of them himself. After their long sessions of fucking he asked them, "Did you enjoy yourselves last night?"

Verla was the first to react. "Do I detect a little jealousy there?" she asked him.

"Of course not," he said, as he gave a quick kiss on both pairs of lips. "After all, I am the one who suggested that you do this. I was just curious. I did hear a lot of moaning coming from you both, and you seemed to be enjoying yourselves."

"Well if you really want to know, I have nothing to complain about last night", said Nika as she nervously laughed in a naughty way. "But of course I am enjoying myself much more right now with the two of you," she quickly added.

Vincent did not pursue this issue anymore since Verla had glued her mouth to his lips while at the same time Nika took his erection into her mouth. He was soon lost in a world of pleasure from the attentions of the two women.

The next day - the fourth since leaving the pyramid - they were at the foot of the mountains. Since Vincent didn't want their plot to be detected, in case Brumelle had spies, or more probably detection devices or cameras; he ordered them all to remain hidden while he went to try and find the exact spot where the three of them had exited the interior of the mountain the last time he had been there. It was his intention to look for the hidden entrance to the underground complex by himself. There was no use exposing the women to any danger when he could do the job himself. 

As for the men accompanying them, they would not be useful looking for the entrance since they had never been there before.

Making use of the leather straps that held the pelts covering the baskets, they made a strong backpack with one of the pelts. Then they wrapped the basketball- size neutron bomb in the other pelt and hoisted the whole thing onto Vincent's back.

Both women begged him to let them accompany him, but he insisted that they should remain hidden at the edge of the forest until he came back for them. His intention, he told them, was that once he found the hidden entrance to the complex, he would hide the bomb somewhere and come back for them. This meant that there would be less chance of anyone discovering them or their plot. Of course Valdo's men would not accompany them to meet Brumelle and Vincent could ensure that by claiming it was one of Valdo's orders.

When he left, it was mid-morning. The neutron device on his back was very heavy and his progress was very slow. His thoughts while walking were mostly about the fact that he was going to place Nika and Verla in danger once they entered the complex. After a while he came to realize the futility of bringing the two women with him into Brumelle's lair. There was nothing that they could do to help him in his mission. He made up his mind that as soon as he discovered where to enter the mountain he would go and face Brumelle all by himself.

By mid-afternoon he found the spot where they had exited a long time ago. But whereas before there had been an opening about three feet wide by seven feet high - a crack between the rocks at the base of the mountain - there was now a big slab of rock blocking the entrance.

He was in the process of climbing the huge slab an hour later when he suddenly noticed two of Brumelle's men walking straight toward him. He knew that they were guarding the complex because they had metal knives in one hand and much longer metal machetes in the other. But the most striking fact about them was that even though they wore beige slacks and some sort of brown shirts, they were walking in bare feet. More impressive still, they each wore around their waists a belt holding a handgun. The fact that they were placing more trust in their knives than in the hand guns revealed their lack of trust and experience with modern weapons.

Brumelle must have seen and recognized him approaching the complex because the two men simply told him to follow them. After walking for half an hour into a small canyon, they came to a spot where the ground was solid rock and the canyon walls on all sides blocked further progress.

All of a sudden the guards made him stop walking as if they were expecting something to happen. Then something did happen. Indeed as Vincent watched in awe, a fissure in the rock opened noiselessly near his feet. Slowly the crack got wider until it was wide enough to admit them. A long steep ramp led down into the depths of the mountain and the three of them were on their way into the complex.

Vincent was led to the same luxurious quarters where he and his two women stayed when he had first come to Brumelle's lair awhile back. Once there, one of the men told him that he was to wait until he was called upon.

As soon as Vincent was alone, he removed the neutron bomb from the bundle on his back and gently placed it in one corner of one of the two couches in the large room, hiding it temporarily with many cushions. He knew that he had to act quickly since he might not have another chance to set the timer of the bomb. The problem that he now faced was perplexing. For what time should he set the bomb to go off? He had no way to know what would happen once he met with Brumelle. Would he even be allowed to come back to this room again?

He knew that he had to take a chance. Vincent armed the bomb and set the timer so that it would go off about the same time the very next day. He next piled cushions onto it so that it was no longer visible. Now his problem was to find a way to escape as quickly as possible from the complex.

He went to the door from which he had entered and opened it. As expected, the two men that had escorted him inside the complex were there guarding the exit of the room so that he could not leave.

He explained to them that he had to go back to get the two women who were accompanying him. He told the guards that they were just a short distance from the entrance and it would please Brumelle to talk to them too since they had been with him when he was given his assignment by Brumelle. 

For long moments he watched the guards debating with one another about whether they should go back outside or not. Finally they asked him where the women were and if it was going to take them long. Of course Vincent insisted that it would take very little time and that Brumelle was expecting the three of them. This was enough to convince the guards but they made him follow them as they went outside the same way they had entered the complex.

Once outside, it was easy for Vincent to convince them to wait for him near the end of the narrow canyon while he went to get his two women who were camped at the edge of the forest nearby.

As soon as Vincent joined Valdo's men and his women, he explained to them that they were to move away as fast as possible. Of course before they left, he opened the lid of the remaining basket a little - the one that was supposed to contain the other bomb - and pretended to set the timer. He did this mostly so that the four men would not argue about the fact that he was placing the bomb so far from the mountain and therefore they would move away more quickly.

It had been planned before leaving Valdo's complex that they would all return to Valdo using the arch in the pyramid. Valdo's men were now leading them toward the trail that would take them to the top of the mountain on which sat the pyramid. But Vincent knew that he had to remain close enough to the mountain - at a safe distance of course - to convince himself that Brumelle would no longer be a danger anymore.

While they were walking he explained to Nika and Verla - speaking in English so that the men would not understand what they were saying - that the three of them were going to run away from Valdo's men that night after they were all sleeping. Vincent would propose to take the first watch of the night so as to make this possible for them.

Everything went as planned that night. By early morning Vincent and the women were well hidden at least five miles from their initial camp. Vincent knew that the men would not stay around too long since he had previously warned them that the bomb - they still thought that it was in the basket - was very powerful and that they should all be as far as possible from it when it went off.

Vincent and the women were the only ones who knew that there remained only one bomb that was set to go off, and that bomb was deep inside Brumelle's complex now. It was a bomb that would produce a rather smaller explosion but a very strong electromagnetic pulse that would burn all the circuits of machines or computers. It was also Vincent's intention to remain close enough to the complex to witness the destruction of Brumelle and reassure himself that there would be no further danger coming from her.

As soon as the sun came up the next morning, they moved a couple of miles closer to the complex and walked parallel to it until around noon. Then they hid themselves behind a large rock and waited for the bomb to go off.

They didn't have long to wait. Less than an hour later the ground shook for a few seconds and Vincent saw part of the mountain - a couple miles ahead of them - starting to collapse in a huge cloud of dust. He knew then that the bomb had done its job and that this world was now free from both Brumelle and Valdo.

He turned to each of his women and in turn he kissed and hugged them. Then, holding each of them by one hand, he began walking north. As they walked he said to them, "now we will go to my world and take it easy for a while. Of course we will return again to explore more of your world."

                   END



Masters of the Arches



The land ahead of him was still sloping down but it was grassland now and there were no more rocks to be seen anywhere. He was standing about half a mile from the river and he was exhausted. Having not done much exercise in the last couple of years, his body was not in the best of condition and he had to sit in the tall grass so as to catch his breath. Except for the twice a year hunting trips that he went on, he had spent most of his time sitting behind his desk. Also, being in his early forties he no longer had the vitality of his youth. Besides he was at least twenty pounds overweight and even though he was still in fairly good health otherwise, he certainly was no longer the young man he used to be.

The river was wider than it had appeared when he had examined it from the ledge in front of the cave. As far as he could tell, it was about four to five hundred feet wide on the average and the flow of its water seemed fairly slow. It took Vincent another twenty minutes before he reached the closest bank, and once he stood on the shore of the river he noticed that the water was extremely clear and deep. On closer inspection, he was able to see a few fish swimming in it, some small and some quite big.

He raised his eyes toward the horizon and he saw on his left the end of the grassland and the edge of the dense forest. He did some quick calculations in his mind and he figured that he could walk to the forest and then return back home without putting too much strain on the muscles of his legs. Of course he had to get back to his home before nightfall since he had no intention of spending the night in this strange place. Even though he hadn't seen any animal life yet, there was no way for him to know what kinds of predators were living in these fertile grasslands. Without a rifle to defend himself, if he were to encounter an animal like a cougar or a bear he would have no chance at all.

He was too much of an expert hunter to take things for granted, and spending the night on this plain could lead to all sorts of unpleasant surprises. Had he been armed it would have been different, but when he had crossed over that morning, it had only been his intention to have a closer look at the base of the solitary peak.

Walking was now relatively easy in the knee-high grass. When he was a few hundred yards from the first trees, he suddenly heard shouting and strange squealing noises coming from the direction of the forest ahead of him. He couldn't understand any of the words, neither was he able to see anything, but prudence told him to hide himself in the high grass and to wait. He remained lying flat on his belly for a couple of minutes then he made up his mind to turn back and not let his curiosity control his actions. 

As he walked back toward the solitary high peak, he had the feeling of being followed. Then he was once again standing on the bank of the river. Suddenly he heard the voice of a woman. He turned just in time to see her. She was almost naked and she had both of her arms waving high over her head trying to attract his attention. The cause of her great agitation then became clear to him. She was trying to warn him about the charge of a strange animal that was charging straight toward him. Vincent remained frozen for a few seconds as he watched the beast running in a straight line in his direction. It looked to be a cross between a pig and a rhino and although it was running on short legs, its speed was incredibly fast for its great mass. It must have come out of the grass somewhere between him and the woman, and for some reason that he couldn't understand, she must have been following him after he had turned back at the edge of the forest.

At last, the urgency of the situation hit him. He looked to his right and to his left for a place to run. On his right was the strange mountain, which was his way back home, but there was no way for him to outrun the beast coming after him. On his left was the river while straight ahead was the mile long bank of the river.

He looked again at the woman and he saw her running straight into the river. Could it be that she was trying to tell him where to go? Could it be that this rhino-pig beast would not follow him into the river? There was no more time to debate. He accelerated as fast as he could and threw himself into the river just as the beast reached the spot he had been standing only a second before.

The water felt very cold as he swam away from the shoreline. At last, after some long minutes during which time he did manage to swim to a good distance from the bank, he looked behind him and he saw the rhino-pig animal still on the bank of the river watching him with angry looking pink eyes. He could see its long teeth and the dripping saliva from its mouth as it watched its meal escape in the river. Being over four foot high, it was much bigger than he had first judged it to be and he was now most grateful for the warning that the woman had given him.

Now that his thoughts had return to the woman he began looking for her in the river and on the shoreline. There were no signs of her. It was as if she had never been there. The water felt very cold but he remained in it long after he saw the creature turn around and walk away. As soon as he was back on the embankment of the river, when he felt safe enough to walk again, he began to look for signs of the woman. But nowhere could he see her.

Carefully he went to the spot he had last seen her and when he looked in the wet clay of the bank, her naked footprints were very visible. But it was getting late now judging by the height of the sun in the sky and he decided to continue to walk back home. He wanted to get to the cave before it got dark. It took him over three hours to climb back to the ledge at the top of the peak and when he entered the cave it was almost completely dark outside. He came out of the cave into his own world and it was after midnight there. After a good meal -- he hadn't eaten for the whole day -- he sat down to think. After much reflection on the matter, he promised himself that he would return and try to find the girl that had saved his life but this time he would bring his rifle with him.