Dominant Species
Issue #21
by Tom Zjaba
Chapter 23
From the Jungle
Within a few hours, the men have gathered plenty of food. Once again, the Tupperware plants grow in abundance here, so they have containers to fill with their berries, fruit, eggs, nuts and shellfish. As they fill their boat, they decide it is time to head back. Derrick wonders why Scott has not returned and asks the others "Has anyone seen Scott?" The chief jumps in "He left to pick up Ashley, but that was hours ago." Derrick wonders if everything is alright. He looks around and says "Let's head back and hope for the best."
The men's natural strength comes in handy as they have to battle the waves. They had the waves at their back when they came in and the boat was less weighed down, but now they are being pushing them back towards the shore. It takes more effort to keep moving forward, but they are slowly making their way. Once they get away from the shore and put some distance in, they find it easier. With each stroke of the oars, they inch closer to the ship. It looms in the distance, a large black ship. As they near it, they look for any signs of Scott or Ashley. But they see nobody on board. Not even Darr comes to greet them.
Pulling up next to the ship, they grab the ropes dangling from the side of the ship and tie their rowboats up. The last thing they want is for the boats to float away. It also helps in pulling the rowboats back up on deck. The ropes are attached to a pulley system that makes it easy to raise or lower the boats. With the boats secured, the men grab whatever supplies they can carry and start climbing up the ladder. Their ascent is slow but steady as their safety and the safety of their cargo is paramount. Bearslayer is the first to reach the top. As he climbs onto the deck, he makes the grisly discovery. Laying on the deck is the dead body of Darr. He rushes over to check for any vital signs. He finds none. What he does discover is a crushed neck. This leaves little doubt how Darr died. He pokes at the neck with his foot and finds the neck bones are pulverized. Whoever or whatever did this, had some serious strength. Howlingmad is the next one up and joins him on deck. He looks at the body as Bearslayer shows him the pulverized neck.
"What happened?" he asks as he looks at the body.
"The neck was crushed. But who did it and why is still a unknown." Within minutes, the rest of the crew is on deck and they all stop to stare at the dead body.
While they talk about their discovery, Scott comes up from the hull of the ship and greets them. The chief is the first to ask "What happened?" Scott looks at the body and says "I killed him. When I came back, I found him raping Ashley." A stunned look comes over all their faces. "Are you sure?" the chief asks. He knows it sounds cold, but he wants to be sure. "I found him on top of her, with her dress ripped off and his finger up her. There is no doubt." Derrick quickly jumps in. "How is she doing?" Scott looks over at him and says "She is pretty shook up, but overall, she is doing as well as expected." Bearslayer looks at the dead body and then over at Scott. "Does she know why he did it?" Scott looks down as he says "She said he was getting revenge because the Amazons killed his family." The chief feels partly responsible. He wanted so bad to help these men that he did not even consider the possibility of something like this. "I am so sorry." he says as he looks at Scott with genuine sorrow in his eyes. "Don't blame yourself, we were all fooled. I'm just mad I got here when I did." The men all shake their heads in disbelief. Scott then goes over to the body and picks it up. He looks off in the ocean and launches the body. With the giant strength belt, he has no problem lifting and throwing the body. The body flies a few hundred feet through the air and makes a loud splash as it hits the water. Scott then turns to them and says "I don't want it to upset her anymore."
The body in the water takes no time attracting attention. Within minutes of landing, shark fins rise up from the ocean. It is takes no time before the body is torn to pieces. The men all go to the side of the boat to watch the carnage. The only ones who don't is Scott and Derrick. They head over to the other side of the boat. Derrick looks at Scott and asks "Is there anything I can do?" Scott looks back at him with tears in his eyes and says "Not unless you can go back in time." Derrick pats him on the shoulder as he responds "Wish I could buddy, I wish I could." They reach the other side of the boat and Scott looks over the side. "I really do love her." he says as he looks down. Derrick stands right next to him and replies "I know you do. But you must also know that she is not safe." Scott looks at him, the tears are flowing even more now. "But I couldn't leave her there. They were going to kill her." Derrick is unsure what to say. But he thinks for a moment and then replies "You did what you could, but there is only so much you can do. This world is too dangerous for a young girl and you cannot watch her every minute." Scott keeps looking down at the ocean. "I know, but I will do my best." Derrick puts his arm around him to comfort him. "Just remember the quest. None of us will ever be safe until we complete the quest." This causes Scott to really cry. "I am so sick of this stupid quest. I just want to go find some safe place and grow old with Ashley." Derrick understands him and he wants the same thing. Only he is more realistic. "We both know there is no place like that on this planet." Scott nods his head in agreement. "I know."
Ashley spends the day in her room. The men who were her friends yesterday, scare her today. She is fearful to leave the room. In here, she at least feels somewhat safe. Scott notices the difference as well. Before, she wanted to be with him. She was always holding his hand, putting her arm around him, planting kisses on his cheek. She loved being affectionate and couldn't stand not being with him. But now, she has pulled away. The thought of any man, even Scott, touching her is enough to make her skin crawl. Part of her wants to go back to the Amazons. At least there, she felt safe. But now, she is the only girl on a boat full of men. She tries to tell herself that it was an isolated incident. Darr was mentally unstable and wanted to exact revenge on an Amazon, any Amazon. She just so happen to be the closest one. But this does not make her feel any better. She is still fearful that it will happen again. Men have needs, at least that is what she was always told. And they need these needs to be met or they go insane. She wonders if this is true or if it is more Amazon propaganda. If it is true, then she is stuck at sea with a boat full of men with needs that are not being met. How long before another one tries to rape her?
That night, the men all gather on the deck of the ship to talk. The chief calls the meeting. As they all gather, he looks at Scott and asks "How is Ashley doing?" Scott looks down as he answers "Not too good. She is very distant, doesn't want me around her. I don't know what to do." The chief looks at him as he responds "It is going to take time. Being the only girl on the boat is hard enough, but to have this happen is unimaginable." The men all nod in agreement. Scott looks up at him for a moment. He answers back "I know, but I wish there was something I could do to make her feel better." The chief swallows hard before he answers. He knows that Scott will not like his answer, but he feels he has to say it. "You won't like this, but you can always take her back to the Amazons." Rage fills Scott when he hears this. "They will kill her. How is that better?" The chief quickly responds to defend his point. "You don't know that." Scott glares at him. "You weren't there. You didn't see how they treated her. If I wasn't there to save her, they would have killed her." Derrick nods in agreement. "He's right, they were going to kill her." A sad look comes over the chief's face. "I'm sorry, I didn't know." There is tension in the air as everyone is quiet. No one really knows what to say next. After a few long minutes of silence, the chief speaks up. "The only thing we can do is to give her time. We will do everything we can to help her out, but there isn't much else we can do." With that, the men all head to their cabins to sleep for the night. With the ship anchored, there isn't any need to keep guard. It is a perfect night for everyone to get a good night's sleep.
While the men sleep, shapes move in the water. Dozens of creatures swim through the water towards the boat. The creatures swim in a very effortless motion as they glide through the water. When they reach the boat, the humanoid like creatures stick to the side of the boat as they climb up the side. The creatures are about three feet tall with a long tail that nearly doubles the length of their body. They look like lizards, but have smooth, wet skin. Their are gills on the side of their head and they have large eyes. Each one is decorated with different markings. Various stripes of different colors adorn their bodies. The markings are very dull in color and range from yellow to red to blue and purple. Their actual body color is black. One by one, they slither up the side of the boat. As they reach the top, they slink over and then get up on two legs. They are the salamander men and they fit the name. Quite simply, they are large salamanders that walk on two legs and can use weapons and speak like men. They are known to raid ships, camps, pretty much anywhere men are. They are not violent unless provoked. All they want is shiny stuff. Whether it be coins, weapons or jewelry, if it is shiny, they covet it. No one knows why they want the shiny objects, just that they will risk their lives for it. Treasure hunters will follow them to their lairs as they will usually find piles of treasure that the salamander men have stolen. They tend to only come out at night and try to avoid human contact.
One the dozen salamander men are on the deck, they start whispering to each other. They say very little that is understood by men. Most of their language consists of hisses, barks and roars. About the only word that humans understand is when they say "Shiny." This word they know and will say it over and over as they look for shiny stuff. Each one has purse like bag that they wear over their shoulder. The bag is made of woven plants and is actually quite sturdy. They use these to carry their shiny things as they go on their raids. One by one, the salamander men speak in a low voice "Shiny." as they head out in search of anything to steal. They spread out over the deck, searching every square inch, but their efforts yield nothing. Even with their large eyes give that give them excellent night vision, they find no shiny items..
With the deck searched over, they start to go down the stairs into the interior of the ship. In a single file line, based on rank, they head down the stairs, making no noise as they walk. They are well equipped for stealth as their feet are well padded and make no noise as they walk. They can also change the color of their skin to blend in. With little effort they can become totally black. Slinking along the walls, they each come to a room and slowly open the door. When the door opens, they slip in and begin their search. The large eyes slowly move across the room, looking for anything that appears shiny.
Inside Derrick's room, a salamander man slowly moves around. It looks at Derrick, sleeping in his bed and freezes. Once it is sure that he is asleep, it begins moving again. As it scans the room, it comes across his dagger. "Shiny" it says in a muted voice. It steps over to the table where the dagger and other possessions are and picks it up. It looks at the dagger, moving it back and forth. The dagger is then stuffed into its bag and it begins scanning for more items.
Ashley sleeps on the bed, wrapped up in a blanket. Scott lays on the floor, with nothing covering him. A salamander man enters the room and sees the girl in the bed. He freezes and waits to be sure it is safe. Looking around the room, he does not see anything shiny. Then he walks around the bed and stops and notices Scott laying on the floor. He sees the very shiny belt buckle that Scott is wearing and his eyes open wide. "Shiny!" he says as he tries to conceal his excitement. Scott is fast asleep and the Salamander man decides to risk it. He slowly moves next to Scott and reaches down to undo the belt. The minute it touches the belt, Scott is awakened. Worried about Ashley, he has not slept well and is easily disturbed. His eyes open up and he sees a figure above him. Not sure what it is, he pushes it back and jumps up. His giant strength easily knocks the salamander man over as it tumbles into the wall. He quickly chants a light spell and the room illuminates. The salamander man quickly leaps to its feet and looks right at him. "What the hell are you doing in here?" he yells at the frightened creature. The light and the sound awaken Ashley as she looks up and sees a giant lizard in her room. She screams out loud in fear. The creature cowers towards the wall as it says "Shiny." Scott takes a step towards it, wanting to put himself between it and Ashley when the creature lights up. The stripes on its back suddenly glow bright red and orange. It is a defense mechanism they use that not only makes them look more aggressive, it also makes their skin hot to the touch. "You are messing with the wrong person." Scott says as he goes after the creature. It turns and swings its thick, glowing red tail at him. He catches it in his hands and grabs it tight. The creature lets out a loud screeching noise as it tries to pull its tail free. Scott holds on tight as it shakes back and forth. "You are not going anywhere." he says as he lets the creature struggle. It tries turning up its body temperature, but being immune to pain, Scott just hangs on. Finally, the creature runs hard towards the door and lets its tail break off. Scott falls back with the tail in his hands as the creature rushes out the door.
All the commotion has awaken the rest of the crew. They all awaken to see these creatures in their room. Knowing they have been found, the creatures all rush out the door and back towards the deck. Bearslayer quickly grabs his bow and arrows and rushes after them. Howlingmad is close behind with his fire sword. When the salamander men get to the deck, they all run on four legs to the sides. While they prefer to walk on two legs, they move quicker on four. Over the sides they go as they scurry down the side of the boat and leap into the water. Bearslayer rushes to the side of the boat and looks down to see the creatures scurrying down the boat. He pulls out an arrow and aims at one of the creatures. He shoots and hits it right in the head, sending it falling to the water. Blood pours out of its head as it splashes into the dark water. The rest of the creatures jump into the water, not wanting to share the same fate.
As the rest of the men reach the deck, Scott shines his light spell over the water. They see the creatures all swimming towards the shore. The men all look at each other as they wonder what that was. Even Ashley is up on deck. Scott finally speaks up "We have just been raided by salamander men." They all look at him as none of them have ever heard or encountered them. "Will they return?" Bearslayer asks as he pulls the arrow out of his bow. "I doubt it. They are not fighter, just thieves." The chief looks at Scott and asks "Are they from your game?" Scott nods yes as he says "Yeah, they collect shiny things. Their only powers are they can camouflage and heat their skin up." He then holds up the tail and says "Oh yeah, they can also regenerate." The chief looks over the side of the boat and sees the one floating in the water. "You mean that one will come back to life?" Scott looks down at it and laughs "It could, but I doubt it. A shark or something will probably eat it first." Howlingmad then looks to the shore and says "I say we go after them." Scott looks at him and asks "Why bother? We can't eat them and with how scared they were, I doubt they will return." He smiles as he says "Yeah, but they may have a bunch of weapons we can use." Scott laughs "They may as weapons are shiny. But is it worth it to risk our lives? We have no idea how many there are." Howlingmad looks right at him and says "Every time we wait for the attack to come to us. For once, let's do the attacking." The chief jumps in "The last thing we need to do is go chasing after a bunch of lizards in the middle of the night in the jungle. They may be the least of our worries." Howlingmad heads towards the rowboat as he says "I am going while the trail is fresh. Anyone coming with me?" Bearslayer looks at the Chief and says "I will look out for him." He then heads right behind him. Derrick then follows "Let me come along, one of my abilities is following a trail." As they head down the ladder, Scott looks over at Ashley, who gives him a nod. "I don't want to leave you behind." he says as he goes over to her. "Go if you want to. I will be fine." she says with a sad look in her eyes. He looks at the men leaving and then over at the Chief and Eightdigit, who are both staying behind. He swallows hard as he says "No, I'm staying with you. I could not stand to see anything happen to you." She smiles and kisses him on the cheek.
The three men head towards the shore in their rowboat as the chief watches them leave. He is not happy about this, but he knows that Howlingmad needs to do this. And maybe with some luck, they will find something of value. The only thing he wishes for is that everyone comes back alive. They still have a long way to go and need every person in the crew to complete their mission.
Dominant Species ©
2006 - 2009 Tom Zjaba