Fractured Earth Saga 1: Apocalypse Orphan (10 page)

Wolf took a long moment to digest this information and then asked, “Syn, will I shrink like them? Will I compensate for the planet’s decreased mass? Or will I live out my life this way, a giant to all?”

“Commander, you are who you are. You will not shrink to become like these people. They have been impacted by thousands of years of evolution, and generations of limited food and waning resources have caused them to adapt to this world. You are the only true human left that we know about. I have downloaded all available data from the remaining satellites that are operational. I’m afraid they provide limited data. We may be able to fix several to give us better information. But all scans indicate you are the last original man on either planet.”

“What does that mean, Syn—original man?”

“It means, Commander, no true human survives on either planet. Your DNA is superior to the common stock of these inhabitants. Things that kill them will have no effect on you. You will be resistant to most diseases. My readings also show that your skin is three times thicker and much harder than the skin of these natives. I suspect one of the unidentified gasses in the planet’s atmosphere has hardened your frame; or it might have come from your prolonged contact with Nomad’s liquid hydrogen core. Currently, I have no definitive answers. I am still running tests.”

Wolf drew his knife and looked at the razor-sharp blade. He swung it at a low-hanging branch, cutting it off clean. “Syn, are you sure of this?”

“Yes, Commander, I am sure. You will not injure yourself.”

Wolf placed the knife against the back of his hand but hesitated and said, “Holy shit! This is crazy! I won’t deliberately cut myself.”

“Commander, it is either the gas or the radiation that permeates the planet. You will see you can’t be hurt. Be careful what you do; the inhabitants of this world have no such power. You could crush them accidentally. Earlier, I said that you are perhaps two hundred percent stronger than any man on this world. We may have to reassess that calculation. To these people, you will seem like a god. Be careful.”

“I do not want to be a god. I am a man. I want to love and live again. I want to see human life on earth continue. Is there any way to reverse the way I am?”

“Again, you are who you are, Commander. There is nothing to reverse. You can do great good in this world or commit absolute evil. The choice is yours. Choose wisely.”

“Hell, Syn, I am not evil. I have worked hard to become the man I am. I do not want to release what my grandfather saw when I was a child, so evil is out of the question. As for doing good, what can I accomplish here? I will never fit in.”

“That remains to be seen.”

A sudden commotion arose from the edge of the forest, and a young boy’s voice urged, “This way, Father. The incredible giant is over here. I swear the dintar is dead.”

“My son, you took me away from my work to see the carcass of a slain animal?” a man’s voice complained. “Dintars seldom die, and when they do, it is always caused by another dintar. To find a whole one just does not happen.”

“Father, you will see I speak the truth. It is right over here.”

A man was holding the boy’s hand as they walked out of the forest and into the clearing where the beast had been slain. Wolf rose to his feet and quickly stepped behind a nearby tree, hiding his body from them. The man stood five foot three and weighed about 130 pounds. He stared at the downed beast and exclaimed, “Incredible! Look at its head! What could tear its face off like that?”

The boy looked for Wolf. Noticing the silent plea in the child’s eyes, Wolf took a deep breath and stepped around the tree. The child’s face lit up with a broad smile.

“Hello, I mean you no harm,” Wolf said, walking forward.

The man grabbed his son and spun him behind his back protectively. He lifted his spear and crouched in a fluid motion. “Stay back, giant! You will not feed on us. Take your meal. We have not touched it,” he said, pointing at the beast on the ground.

“Father, this man saved me from the beast. He killed it with his bare hands. I think he is a god.”

“I am no god. I am just a man. I come from a faraway land across the sea,” Wolf said.

The boy’s father stared at Wolf with fear and suspicion. “Your speech is strange. Why are you so large? I have never seen a man your size. Is what my son said true? Did you slay the dintar and save my son?”

“Yes, I killed the beast, but I didn’t see your son. The beast surprised me and I defended myself. I did not mean to kill it,” Wolf said.

The man stared at Wolf and then shook his head, asking, “Why do you apologize for killing the dintar? They kill many of us each year. Several men are slain each season when we cull their herds. How you killed this beast is astounding. It was young and in its prime.” The man smiled suddenly and walked towards Wolf, extending his hand. “My name is Haakon.”

“I am called Wolf. Tell me, Haakon, what is the name of this place we are in?”

“First, let me thank you for saving my son,” the man said with a smile. “Second, you are in Olivier Provence, in the kingdom of Springdale. We are a small community ruled by an aging king. If I may ask, sir, will you come to my hut for dinner? My wife and I would be honored.”

“So would I,” Wolf replied, thinking a home-cooked meal would be tasty. He had been living on reconstituted space rations for the last few months.

“It’s a shame we can’t take the dintar home. Its meat is a delicacy. It is too heavy for two men to move without a litter, and it is a good two miles to our home. Even its entrails are prized among us—they hold medicines that could cure many. What a waste,” Haakon said with regret.

Wolf glanced at the carcass and reached down, grabbing it by the hind leg. He lifted the dintar off the ground, surprised that it seemed to weigh almost nothing to him.

Haakon took a step back and exclaimed, “Jesu! What strength you have! Is it not heavy?”

“No, it weighs almost nothing to me,” Wolf answered truthfully. “Lead on. I will bring this thing. It is the least I can do for you offering me dinner.”

Chapter 6

T
he trek through the woods was uneventful. Wolf noticed the vegetation was green and lush, and wildlife was abundant. He emerged from the forest with Haakon and his young son, and they headed towards a small dwelling built from wood and stone. It was the size of a small barn with an old, rickety porch attached to the front. A cobblestone chimney extended from the rear of the structure, discharging a thin column of smoke into the bright blue sky.

“Reon, run to the house and tell your mother we have a guest. Tell your sisters to tidy a spot by the hearth for him to rest,” Haakon told the boy, who grinned at Wolf with hero worship in his bright gray eyes.

“Mama, mama!” the child yelped with excitement as he ran towards the house, “Father says we have company. It is a man who saved my life by slaying a dintar with just his hands.”

A young woman stepped outside and shaded her eyes, squinting up the wooded trail. She gasped at the man who walked beside her husband and took a step back, falling into a chair on the porch. The stranger dwarfed her husband; he was as large as a dintar. As she gazed at the giant carrying the dintar, her eyes riveted on his broad shoulders and muscles that rippled as he moved. She then looked up to his smiling mouth and hazel eyes. His skin was the color of a new copper pot, and his hair was tied in two long, black braids that fell to the middle of his back. His features were delicate, his teeth very straight and white. The stranger had smile lines that turned into deep dimples, and he walked as if the placement of his feet was carefully planned. She thought to herself that he moved like a majestic beast—one that could barely be held at bay and whose ferocity was controlled only by the will of the man it inhabited. She gave him a shy smile, thinking he was devilishly handsome. His smile broadened, and she caught her breath as he gazed at her.

“This is my Nala,” Haakon said with pride. “My love, this is Wolf. He comes from a kingdom across the sea in the east, and his speech must have some of that land’s coloring for it sounds strange. He saved our foolish son from this dintar, killing it with his bare hands.”

“Hello, Nala. I hear you make a good roast,” Wolf said, still smiling. “I apologize for my unexpected arrival, and I hope I don’t make too much trouble for you providing an extra setting.”

Nala felt a sudden chill and laughed nervously. “I welcome you, stranger, to our home. I also thank you for saving my son. It will be no trouble to fix dinner. I will fetch the cart so we can drag the dintar to the barn to skin it,” she said in a lilting, feminine voice.

Wolf studied the woman with overt interest. She stood about five foot tall and weighed less than one hundred pounds. She was well formed and voluptuous; her waist was small and her breasts large but in proportion to her curvy frame. Wolf surmised that her ancestors on Old Earth would have been called Latino. Her hair was auburn and hung straight down her back, past her shapely hips, framing a round, attractive face. Her lips were full, and she had dark eyes that crinkled at the corners. He looked away as the woman blushed from his close perusal.

“No need for the cart. I will take the beast to the barn,” Wolf said. Reaching down, he lifted the beast easily and set out towards the barn.

“Jesu! What strength he has, my husband! He sounds so strange. Are you certain we can trust him?” Nala whispered as her eyes followed Wolf to the barn.

“I only hope he is sincere. If he wants to do us harm, I do not think I could stop him. That dintar weighs three times as much as I do, and he lifts it with ease,” Haakon observed. “No, my love, I pray he means to dine and leave. Prepare food…much food. I will skin the dintar. At least we have tax money now, with the entrails and skin.” Frowning, he set out after Wolf.

As Wolf approached the barn, Reon scampered beside him, chattering non-stop. Once inside the simple structure, they were joined by Haakon, who carried a rope and said, “We will hoist the dintar to the rafters and skin it. I will catch the entrails in this basin. They must be stretched and dried in the sun for a day or two.” Haakon tied one end of the rope in a loop. “If we had the beast’s head, we could have used the brains as well, but this is unexpected as it is. I will be able to pay my taxes to the king’s tax collector if you allow me to keep some of this beast.”

“You may keep it all. I have no use for this thing,” Wolf replied.

“The dintar’s fur is prized, especially a young one in its prime like this. Its skin is worth much. I will not cheat you, sir.”

“I have no need of money, and the animal’s fur is wasted on me. Please, accept it from me as recompense for a good home-cooked meal. I will eat, and then I will leave your family,” Wolf said. Sadness crossed his face as he thought of everything he had lost so long ago.

Haakon eyed Wolf with growing admiration. The stranger’s generosity had won him over. With an affable smile, he said, “Please, if you will not accept a share of the beast, accept my hospitality for the night. Let me tell you about my land and our life here. Also, I would be a poor host if I didn’t warn you dangerous things prowl the woods at night, some in packs that even armed men can’t overcome.”

“Okay, my friend. I will stay for a day or two. Then I must leave.”

Haakon nodded and turned his attention to cutting around the dintar’s massive paws and then he sliced down its middle, stripping off the pelt in one piece. He cut the hindquarters off the beast and took it to his wife to cook. Wolf stayed in the barn and cut up the beast with his Bowie knife, easily hacking the dintar into pieces to dry in the smoke house. He had been raised on an Indian reservation and learned how to quarter meat; it was second nature. Haakon returned and watched the stranger cut through the tough meat with almost no effort. When he had finished, Haakon asked to see his knife, felt its perfect balance, and looked at the stainless steel blade.

“What is this made of?”

“It is called stainless steel,” Wolf answered. He frowned as the smelting procedure and the materials needed to make stainless steel ran through his thoughts. He didn’t understand how it was possible, but suddenly, he knew that he could make stainless if he had the raw materials. He had never been a good chemistry student, and metallurgy was beyond his grasp. Yet, somehow, he now knew how to make aluminum, titanium, iron, and plastic. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples.

“Are you all right?” Haakon asked with a worried look.

“Yes, it’s just a pain behind my eyes. It should pass after we eat,” Wolf replied, forcing a weak smile. “You cannot imagine how long it has been since I have smelled roasted meat. My mouth is watering from the aroma.”

“Come, let us go to the creek and wash ourselves. When we return, we will have some barley beer,” Haakon said cheerfully, informing no one in particular, “Yes, today is a great day!”

The two men went to the creek and knelt by the slow-moving water, washing away the dintar’s blood from their hands and forearms. After cleaning up, Wolf dipped his hands into the chilly water and tasted it. The water was crystal clear and delicious. He thought back to the polluted water of his time and the diseases one could get by drinking out of a creek. He splashed a few drops onto his watch’s computer interface to check the purity of the water, realizing he should have done this before he consumed it. The computer performed a series of checks and then flashed “99.9% pure” on the screen. Wolf mused that if he had come upon this crystal pure water in his world of the past, he could have bottled it and made millions.