Taming a Planet (Trapped in Time Book 2) (12 page)

Andy shook his head. Harvey started to close the book when Harmony said, “I’ve seen it.”

Harvey’s expression showed his shock, “Where?”

“There are thousands of them in the Destroyer’s lands. They’re carnivores and are very intelligent as far as dinosaurs go. They hunt in packs.”

Andy looked at Harvey and said, “We’re not as far back as we thought.” Harvey nodded slowly and Andy said, “The Time Takers tried to convince us we were. Harmony, have you ever seen that Dinosaur that charged us outside the walls?”

“No! That animal does not live in the lands I’ve been in.”

Harvey looked at Andy, “You are going to have to spend the foreseeable future reading what Andy wrote. You won’t have an understanding of what’s really going on until you do. Andy spent the last thirty years of his life writing everything that he thought the community could use to help it survive. I would start with the volume titled the Time Takers.”

“Why should I do this?”

“Read it and then ask that question.”

Andy saw the fear in Harvey’s eyes and nodded.

• • •

Harmony sat on the North Roman Wall looking north. Lyla walked up the steps and saw she was troubled, “Hey, what’s going on?”

Harmony turned quickly around and smiled, “Hi Lyla. Nothing really; I’m up here hoping Dinah comes back soon. It’s been five weeks since she left. I’m starting to worry.”

Lyla hugged Harmony, “She’s the best Cursor we have. If any make it back, she would be one of them. What’s going on with Andy?”

Harmony’s smile disappeared. “He’s found something in the writings he’s going through that scares him.”

Lyla shook her head, “Are you sure? Andy doesn’t frighten easily.”

“He hasn’t discussed it with me but I can tell. There’s something that has really bothered him. I also get the same vibe from Harvey.”

“Do you think it has something to do with the Destroyers?”

Harmony shook her head, “There’s nothing written about the Destroyers in those writings.”

Lyla nodded, “You’re right. That was a stupid question.”

“No it wasn’t. I know he’s concerned about them but something else worries him more.”

“I’m sorry your mating with Andy has had such a rocky start.”

Harmony shrugged, “It’s still the most wonderful time in my life. I’m really busy learning how to fly a glider and use the bow. I’ve got to tell you, the bow is not easy to master.”

“Don’t beat yourself up, Harmony. I’ve been shooting one my entire life and I’m still nowhere close to being as good as the Master Archers. You’ll learn quickly enough to be able to defend yourself. Besides, you still have that rifle of yours.”

Harmony nodded, “I do but if you need to kill quietly, the rifle is not the weapon to use.”

Lyla looked out and smiled, “I think you have a guest.”

Harmony turned around and saw Dinah sprinting toward the wall. She screamed and ran down the steps to meet her at the gate. She arrived just as the guard opened it and Dinah came through at full speed. She saw Harmony and slid to a stop. Harmony ran up to her and started rubbing under her jaw. Dinah was so happy she turned circles and trembled. Harmony saw she had lost weight…a lot of weight. Dinah gave a hand gesture and Dinah followed her to the river. She began eating and Harmony could see she hadn’t eaten in a while. She looked at Lyla, “Will you tell Andy that Dinah is back.” Lyla turned and jogged up the hill.

Harmony sat on the ground and watched as Dinah was eating the soft river grass. She was so thankful she had survived. Dinah’s head suddenly came up and she ran past Harmony. She didn’t have to turn around to know that Andy had come to see her. She stood up and saw Dinah running circles around Andy. Her excitement was more than she could contain. Andy was laughing at her and it was good to see him smile. He hadn’t smiled for a while. Finally, Dinah slowed down and ran up to Andy and went to the ground with her feet up in the air. Andy knelt beside her and rubbed her belly. Dinah started moaning her pleasure and kicked her feet. He looked at Harmony and smiled, “You don’t know how much stress this takes off me.”

“Yes I do.”

Andy stared at Harmony and smiled, “Yes, I suppose you do. You get the first choice of Dinah’s eggs.”

“REALLY!”

“Absolutely. She should be laying them within another ten days or so.”

“Andy, are you alright?”

Andy sighed and said, “I can’t discuss what I’ve found for a while but you’ll be there to hear it when I do. I hope you’ll wait until then to find out.”

“I’ll not pressure you to talk about it.”

“Thanks, Harmony. I’m sorry I’ve not been there for you lately.”

“Don’t let it bother you. We’ll make up for lost time later.”

“Mark tells me you’re becoming quite the flier.”

Harmony’s smile was huge, “I love going up. The higher, the better.”

“I’ve requested that you be given a Master Archer’s test.”

“Andy. I’m woefully inadequate with the bow.”

“You’ll be allowed to use your rifle for the shooting phase of the test.”

“Why do you want this?”

“If I have to go out, only Master Archers can go with me as part of my personal force.”

“Tell Mark I’ll take the test today.”

“You need to work on keeping a glider up for an extended time.”

“I’ll start right away. When is the next meeting?”

“Probably in four days.”

“I’ll wait to take the glider portion of the test after the meeting. I’ll use Dinah for the Cursor riding portion and the rifle for the target phase.”

“I’ll let him know to start the process.”

“Will I see you tonight?’

Andy took a deep breath and blew it out, “Probably not. Harvey and I are going to discuss what I’ve learned and see if we agree on what’s there. We have a lot to cover.”

Harmony went into Andy’s arms and kissed him. “I can wait, Love. Do what needs doing.”

Andy held her tight and then said, “I’m coming home even if it’s late. Keep me a warm place.”

“My heart will be there waiting.” Andy smiled and started back up the rise toward the Holy Cave. Harmony left Dinah to eat and went to get her rifle. She was a little rusty and wanted to make sure the sights were right. Trouble was on the horizon and she was going to make sure she would be with Andy wherever he went. She wondered where he might be going.

• • •

Mark shook his head, “You are incredibly accurate with that…rifle. I don’t want to admit it but you’re better than most of my Archers.”

“The rifle is much easier to learn how to shoot. I hope we’ll be able to capture enough for me to start training our warriors on how to use them.”

“Do you see a benefit that would make them better than our bows?”

“The rifle is about the same length as your compound bow but you can carry several hundred bullets in a pouch. How many arrows can an Archer carry?”

Mark shook his head slightly, “I hate to admit it, but that is something to be considered. Are you ready for the Cursor portion of the test?”

“I am; I’ll go get Dinah.”

“Andy tells me that she will follow your commands. I’ve never seen that happen before.”

“She’s a unique animal, Mark. You should get one of her eggs.”

Mark pursed his lips together and nodded, “I think I will.”

“I have first choice.”

“Don’t get your quiver in a wad. Andy had already made that clear.”

“Just saying.”

Mark laughed, “Go and bring her here.”

• • •

Four hours later Mark shook his head, “Now, I know I’m going to get one of her eggs. I want you to get some provisions and take a glider up.”

“I can’t do it now. There’s going to be a meeting in four or five days and I’ll need to be there.”

“If you can keep it up until the meeting, I will pass you.”

Harmony shook her head. Andy was coming home tonight. She struggled but decided that she had to take the long view. “Will you tell Andy I’ve started my flying test?”

“Once you go up, I’ll send him word.”

“Thank you, Mark.”

“Just make sure you use the cliffs…”

“To stay aloft. I know. I’ll be back as soon as I put Dinah away and gather some food.”

• • •

Andy was meeting with Harvey along with several scientists and engineers when the Archer arrived. Andy looked at Jonathan and he said, “Harmony requested that I let you know that her glider test started this afternoon.”

Andy smiled, “Thanks, John.”

Harvey looked at Andy, “Does she have enough time?”

“I’m sure if she can stay up until the meeting she will have demonstrated enough to pass. Mark understands we’re going to need her when we go after a Destroyer Ship. She’ll be ready.”

Harvey nodded and turned to one of the engineers.

T
he Holy Cave had only the leaders in attendance. Lyla and Harmony were present due to their relationship with two of them. Everyone knew that keeping important matters secret between mates was a sure way to cause marital problems. Harmony had just been brought down from the Flying Trial and she was exhausted but not to the point of fatigue. She had managed to sleep enough to have her mind sharp.

Andy looked around the room at the group and sighed, “I have been reading many of the documents that our original Leader and his close associates wrote hundreds of years ago. I’ve discussed what I’ve read with our Elder Judge and we have finally come to consensus on what we know.” Andy paused and said, “The Destroyers are not our real enemy. There are others that are more dangerous to our survival than the Destroyers.”

Maxius stared at Andy and said, “Who else threatens us?”

“I need to walk you through some observations so you can understand. I have been wondering why I didn’t find any Allosaurus outside of our lands. There were Raptors everywhere but the Allosaurus were only here. They were here for a reason.”

Mark said, “Why do you point out the Raptors as well?”

“Andy met with one of the Time Takers.” The room was shocked into silence. Andy looked at them and nodded, “The Time Taker told Andy that most of the other Takers didn’t want him to send Andy back. He was the only one from his time that was taken and sent back in time. Harvey and I, along with the original Andy, believe that it was due to his knowledge about dinosaurs that made them reluctant to send anyone from that time back with the others.

Linus looked at Andy, “Are you saying that all the other times didn’t possess knowledge about dinosaurs?”

Andy looked at the Elder Scientist and nodded, “Most of the ones taken years before Andy’s time knew about them but didn’t know at what time in the past the various species lived. In Andy’s time, he says that a process called carbon dating allowed them to determine when the various species of dinosaurs inhabited the planet.”

“What about those humans taken from Carrie’s time?”

“I’m sure the information was available but most of it was lost when the planet was bombed with extremely powerful blasts called nuclear bombs. The people from Carrie’s time line had lost all of their technology and knowledge that had been accrued. Most of them couldn’t even read or write by the time they were taken and sent back in time. The final survivors were going to all be extinct within a short period of time.”

Harmony sighed, “The Time Takers didn’t want Andy to know how far back he had been taken for some reason.”

Harvey was surprised by her comment, “That is exactly what we think happened.”

Harmony looked at Andy, “So they went and brought some species from much further back in time and put them in the lands around the caves where Andy was taken.”

Andy smiled at her, “That didn’t take you long to figure out. Harvey and I have been struggling with this idea for a week. However, it’s the only thing that makes sense. The Allosaurus and huge Raptors inhabited Earth about ninety to a hundred and fifty million years ago. The Raptors that live now are much smaller and have feathers.”

Mark said, “But those large Raptors are pretty much everywhere.”

Andy nodded, “You know how fast they breed. Over the quarter of a millennium we’ve been here, they’ve bred and spread out. The Allosaurus are not creatures that leave the area they are hatched in. Some have been forced further north but they keep trying to come back to our lands. Harvey seems to think they have a migratory instinct that keeps them coming back here.”

Maxius shook his head, “Why would they want to make Andy think he was much further in the past?”

“Before we get into that, we have to consider why we were brought here in the first place.”

Linus’ eyes went wide, “Do you think you know why?”

“Andy didn’t trust the Time Taker. He did get confirmation, of a sort, that it was the Time Takers that blasted Carrie’s civilization back to primitive conditions before they discovered that they needed humans.”

Togawa, the Elder Engineer said, “Why would they need humans?”

Andy looked at Harvey. Harvey nodded and said, “Let’s think about this in terms we can understand. What if we went out and killed every Allosaurus we found. Later we find out that it was the Allosaurus that kept the Raptors in check.”

Linus said, “Humans are needed to keep one of their enemies in check?”

Andy nodded, “Or needed to destroy them before they became a threat to them in the distant future. I think we were placed at this time because we’re going to confront an enemy of theirs.”

Harmony yawned and shook her head before saying, “But if the Time Takers are so technologically advanced that they could time travel, who on this planet would be a threat to them? It can’t be humans if they blasted them in the future. If humans were the problem, they certainly wouldn’t have sent them back in time to build a civilization. What else on Earth could be a threat to them?”

“Harvey and I believe that the threat is not currently on Earth.” Once again the room was shocked into silence.

Harvey said, “Andy believed that the Time Takers did not originate in our galaxy.”

Lyla said, “What’s a galaxy?”

Linus said, “All the stars you see at night are part of a large collection of them that circle around the center. I won’t attempt to tell you just how large it is because we don’t have anything to make the comparison.”