Three Days Before

Davik found himself wondering how he’d ended up here. Of course he had been in some troubles before here and there. But this was a new one for sure. His mission was supposed to be a simple one, checking likely geological areas for stinthium, a metal that was rare and precious and so far, only appeared in this cluster of solar systems.

Three Days Before

So here he was on a nice planet for a change. Moderate volcanism, nothing to write home about. No poisons in the atmosphere, animal and plant life seemed refreshing after so many dead worlds. The whole thing had made him relaxed while he worked. Perhaps a little too relaxed now that he had a chance to think about it. With everything going so well how had he ended up here? The usual, a girl.

Davik had been digging up an ore sample, completely oblivious that he was being watched. So far none of the natives had come anywhere near the volcano that he was surveying. Nor had the natives near any of the other volcanoes he’d looked at come close, this was his last survey on this planet. It was going exceptionally well, good amounts of stinthium.

The mining company he worked for would send diplomats in to negotiate with the local peoples. But all that came into doubt when he’d heard the soft click of moving rocks behind him up slope. High enough up that foliage was limited, he’d turned and scanned the low brush behind him. Davik for a moment didn’t see anything, but then it moved. Crouched low, its fur mottled to blend in with the rocky areas it inhabited was a quite strange creature, it was long bodied, with 6 legs. Legs that seemed short, but they moved with grace over the uneven ground, the back set of legs were powerfully built. The middle set and front set ended in nimble almost hand-like paws, tipped with claws as long as Davik’s hand, wickedly curved and sharp. And he’d left his blaster in the run-about.

Davik crouched, picking up his rock splitter aiming it at the massive creature. Surely if it could bust up rocks for samples it could do something to the beast circling above him. Davik had his doubts on how effective it would be, the beast was easily three times his length, and Davik was not a small man six and a half feet of muscle, his hair and eyes both dark framed a scarred face. A face that at the moment showed his determination to survive.

Above him, the creature, that the locals called plinths skulked along the rocks, making its peculiar chirruping call. As it crept closer it darted at Davik here and there, pushing at him, hoping to get him running, knowing that it would be the fastest. As it darted forth, Davik let loose a jolt from his rock splitter. The sonic blast knocked one of the clawed hands back and away. The sound startled the plinth, making it back off momentarily and regroup. It had never seen such a thing, But after a moment, its hunger drove it forward again. But this time it was more cautious, chirruping softly to itself. It flowed over the rough ground like furry water, a graceful flowing motion that reminded the Terran of a cat.

Davik was glad when the creature moved back, hoping he could merely frighten the thing away, but he didn’t press his luck either and that might be his undoing. As the creature came at him again, it didn’t aim at him, but at his rock splitter, trying to disarm him. It was fast, claws flying at Davik from several directions at once. He blocked them best he could but took a good scratch along his ribs. It burned like fire, but after a moment the burn turned to a far more alarming sensation, numbness. And the numbness was spreading. The urgency and fear that spiraled through Davik was enough to keep him going, but it wouldn’t last long. He retreated towards the hole he’d made in the rock; he had stopped because of the risk of rock slide in the location.

Now he was hoping it would. Scrambling over and through the dark colored rocks he finally got his back against the solid rock that had been holding back the scree above. The plinth followed like water over the rocks staying just out of reach, and when Davik backed up against the rock, it stopped a moment, its prey was now cornered, and so it attacked again, going for the rock splitter once again.

But this time Davik did not point the splitter at the giant hunter, but against the rocks behind him. With a great crack one of the rocks fractured, another blast, and it gave way. With a deep grinding noise, almost more felt than heard, the rocks gave way in a torrent of destruction. The plinth had no time to react and was caught in the onslaught of debris, from tiny pebbles up to boulders larger than its head. It wasn’t long before the creature succumbed to the rocks. Laying with its body half buried, clawed arms resting at angles unnatural even for it.

Up above Davik stayed crouched by the big rock he’s put his back against, the rocks having, as he’d hoped, had gone around it. He slowly let himself relax, and as he did, he slumped down, back against the rock that saved him, he was breathing hard, trying to ignore the dust kicked up, the ragged cut along his side still numb, blood oozing out of his shirt. He knew he needed to get up, get back to the run about, the medical kit on it, but he couldn’t move a muscle. The numbness spread across his chest and abdomen, and he was tired, so tired.

Davik put up a fight but within moments he slumped unconscious against the rock. Without his knowledge two days had passed before he was awoken. He heard the sounds vaguely at first, someone, or something was rooting around the rockslide. It took more effort than it should have, but he managed to pry his eyes open, the first thing he saw was a nose. A very large nose, pressed against his chest, he tried weakly to push it away, succeeding mostly in patting the large creature beside him. As his eyes gained focus beyond that he could see it was one of the creatures he’d seen a great deal of near plains. On the plus side, it didn’t seem inclined to eat him. On the other hand, it was covered in straps that attached to a flat pad running along its back. Like the plinth it had six legs, but its were long and sturdy, made for running.

Another clack of rock on rock made him jump, and jerk his eyes from the strange, but friendly seeming creature, to lock onto the figure below him, she was short, and sturdily built, like all the natives he’d seen on his scans. She was wearing heavy thick gloves and wielding a sharp blade that looked too familiar. A plinth claw, of course it would be a plinth claw. She was holding the handlike paw, and cutting into it under the claws, and draining the resulting liquid into a series of small clay jars.

Rae’lyk had no idea that the single man had awakened. How one man had managed to take down a plinth she had no idea, it took all her tribe’s men, and they often lost a few to the poison they sought during a plinth hunt. Though the man still lived, she did not expect it to last much longer, no one survived the poison for more than a day. Once she was done harvesting the poison, securing the lids and pots in their bag, taking every precaution she could, she turned to her selith and tied the bag to the long pad along it’s back, then she went to the man and was astonished to see him not just awake but moving, even if weakly.

She pressed a hand to his forehead, it was hot to the touch, infection had taken hold over the poison. Davik tried to push her hand away, alarmed at having a native so close, but she easily overpowered him though she was almost half his size. She spoke in low soothing tones to him, of course he had no idea what she was saying, but in his half aware state it was soothing, so soothing that he drifted off again, as she pulled his shirt up, sure enough he’d been scratched, yet he lived.

Rae’lyk shook her head, the beads on her headband clinking softly together. She should leave him here. Let him go peacefully, yet he was still alive, and fighting. Stranger though he was, he deserved a chance. She stripped the shirt from his torso, and tore it to strips, she carefully cleaned the ragged gouge, the water broke away some of the scabbing. He’d carry this mark the rest of his life, however long that might be. With the rest of the strips, she carefully and gently bound his ribs, staunching the slow bleeding.

Davik drifted in and out as she dealt with his wound, it hurt, but hurt was better than not feeling. At least that was what he hoped. He’d wondered what the natives were like, well now he was finding out. The woman helping him was no longer in the fresh breath of youth. Time had given some character to her features. Up close they didn’t look so different to Davik. Her eyes were green, a green impossible in humanity unaltered and slit vertically rather than round, and her hair red, long and flowing down her back, with only the headband and a few braids keeping it in place. Her skin was soft when she touched him and had the rick brown tones of walnut.

Now that Rae’lyk had decided to take this strange pale man with her, she had a problem. He was much larger than she and she was unsure if her selith could carry double all the way back to the village. Standing she tapped the selith’s legs asking it to kneel. He snorted and tossed his head, selith’s didn’t like to be vulnerable, and with the smell of the plinth nearby, but it trusted her and after a moment slowly knelt its two front sets of legs down. That would make it somewhat easier… she hoped. Davik was weak but semi-aware when she came back to him, she took the arm on his good side and tried to lift him. Nothing happened, he was even heavier than she thought. But he seemed to get the idea that she wanted him on his feet, and when she tried again, he helped sore and wobbly as he was, between them both they got him on his feet.

Once standing she was astonished at his size, he’d looked smaller on the ground hurt and bleeding, why he was even bigger than her brother the chief. Thankfully for the pair it was only a few steps to the selith’s side, she managed to get him seated on the back of the pad, though he began to slide off the other side, she steadied him, then used several straps to secure the large man’s body. Tapping her mount’s legs again it rose slowly, balancing his load effortlessly. Seeing that she mounted up in front of the man and guided the selith back towards the forest. With a soft click of her tongue, she urged him on.

Once under the cover of the forest she relaxed a bit, they were out of the realm of the plinths. They stayed out of the trees. It took hours before she reached a likely camp site. By then she was nearly as tired as her passenger and her selith was showing some signs of wear. It was much easier easing Davik off the selith than it had been getting him on. If he survived the night, tomorrow might be even harder. She tapped the selith’s legs again, and dragged the semi-conscious man off it’s back and stretched him out on the ground. Rae’lyk covered him with her blanket and went to start a small fire to make something to eat. Dried meats and plants were dropped into a small pot with water to soften and warm up. She didn’t know if he would eat, but she did manage to get a tiny bit of water into him.

But whether he survived would be up to him. The fact that he’d made it this far was astounding to the tribal healer. She watched him throughout the evening before eventually curling up for the night herself, leaning against her selith that knelt down to sleep away from the smoke of the fire.

The night was long, but warm enough. As the forest woke around them Rae’lyk woke with it. She rested a while, relishing the quiet sounds of the creatures as they began their day. The fire had dwindled to nearly nothing overnight and was easily rebuilt enough for some morning tea. Rae’lyk sat and drank her tea, still pondering how this giant of a man was still alive, he’d taken quite a brutal scratch along his ribs, any of her clan’s warriors would have died days ago. Was it because he was so large? Was it a trait of his clan? She’d never seen anyone quite like him, tall and broad, skin almost like the snow of winter. But no answers were forthcoming. She needed to get some medicine into him, some water and nourishment, but she did not have the proper things with her.

Nearby her selith still rested, and she went to the man, she tried to wake him, but at best he was semi-conscious she managed to get him sitting up, then together they got him kneeling, there would be no standing today. With help from Rae’lyk, he made it, crawling to the selith and mounted it again. She quickly did away with her fire and mounted in front of him again.

The ride back to the village thankfully went smoothly, as she entered the village the people at first went to greet her, then were left staring and silent at the large passenger she carried with her, she approached her hut a small crowd formed around her and followed. She stopped in front and slid down, turning to the selith she had it kneel again, before she could pull Davik down, several of the clan’s warriors stepped forward and, between them managed to get him off the worn-out animal, and at Rae’lyk’s silent gestures, carried him into her hut, laying him out, on her sleeping place, though he took up far more space than the petite healer.

She ducked inside and started a small fire in the rock lined fire pit, she pulled several small pouches and jars, mixing things into the water pot above the flames. The crowd outside split slightly, one person taking the selith to rest and be fed, another ran to find the chief, Rae’lyn’s brother. The rest spent time milling about, taking turns peeking inside. Whispering about who this person was and why he was so weak.

As the chief arrived the crowd split to let him through. He went to the door of his sister’s hut and peered inside curiously, even he was awestruck at what his sister had brought home this time and stood there watching for a good few minutes.

Laying quietly on the bedding Davik had been hardly aware of being moved into the hut, but the movement had caused enough pain to rouse him somewhat he’d just managed to open his eyes but when he did, the barbarian chieftain filled the door of the crude, woven reed hut. After three days without food or drink, he could hardly lift his head to look.

THE END

Bio: An avid reader, Foxy Li is just beginning to write more than fan-fiction. She spends much of her time drawing, writing and making jewelry. This story was inspired by a writing challenge prompt, number forty....

E-mail: Foxy Li

Comment on this story in the Aphelion Forum

Return to Aphelion's Index page.