Taming a Planet (Trapped in Time Book 2) (8 page)

Harmony walked over to a group of thick plants growing about fifteen yards from the pond. The plants had sharp pointed leaves but there were several brown pods growing on the edge. She picked the pods and squinted against the smell. Andy told her that these were called stink bushes and she had to agree that the name was absolutely an understatement. She held her nose and carried them over to the pond. She filled a water pouch that was close to empty and drank quickly. She called Dinah over and she jogged up and suddenly came to a stumbling stop. Harmony gave her the down gesture and Dinah reluctantly obeyed. She moved her head away from Harmony and for her part, Harmony couldn’t blame her. She appeared to be taking a breath and holding it for as long as possible.

Harmony took several strips of leather out of a pouch and tied the pods to Dinah’s harness. She jumped in the saddle and said go. For the next hour Dinah moved north, furiously shaking her head. It was all Harmony could do to breathe. Harmony watched the tree lines they passed and saw two instances where a T-Rex stuck its head out and jerked it back. After two hours, the smell was only awful and Dinah appeared to be able to smell other odors. The nose could only bear so much before it filtered out really offensive smells. Even the herbivores moved out of their path. It would really be a good thing if the Cursors could eat those pods. She smiled and looked up at a clear sky and felt good to be alive. Whatever happened, she was at least finally free of those who had made her a slave.

Andy had flown over Dinah and Harmony while they were adjusting to the smell of the stink bush. He knew he had to have missed them. There was no way they could have moved this far north. His heart went into his throat and he prayed nothing had happened to them. His fear was as great as it had ever been. He whipped the glider around and moved south. His tears started and he suspected the worse. He never should have left them. It was his fault if they had been killed by a carnivore. He moved down the forest line and an hour later he knew he had lost them. Then…he heard…”DINAH!”

He whipped the glider around. He was downwind from the source of the roar and he flew at his highest speed into the breeze and finally saw them out in the middle of the plain. Dinah was at her full height roaring. Harmony was holding on wondering what was going on. Andy came in at full speed and pulled the retract cord on the glider and the two wings snapped in as he caught his feet under him and stumbled toward them. He took off the face mask and Harmony saw him. Her expression was another vision he would never forget. Then the smell hit his nostrils and he dropped to his knees. “WHAT IN GOD’S NAME IS THAT SMELL?”

Harmony had jumped out of the saddle and started running toward him but stopped short. Andy was shaking his head and Harmony said, “Dinah has an odor that attracts predators. I used the stink bush to gather pods.”

Andy shook his head and Harmony hesitated but then said, “To hell with it.” She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Andy’s neck, “You don’t know how good it is to see you.”

Andy held his nose and pulled her close, “I thought you were dead. I flew past you and didn’t see you. You nearly scared me out of ten years of my life.”

Harmony held him tight and then leaned back. “Did you find them?” Andy nodded. Harmony took her arms from around his neck and turned away.

Andy reached forward and grabbed one of her arms and pulled her back. He immediately grabbed his nose and pinched it close, “Damn, you stink. Harmony, I saw one of the guards hacked to death for refusing to execute some young boys. You had no choice. What you were forced to do hurt you to your core and I know what it cost you. You were a child when you were first forced to do what they wanted. You weren’t wise enough to stand up to them on principle.” Harmony started crying and shaking her head. Andy grabbed her chin with his free hand and made her look at him, “But you never lost your heart. They weren’t able to kill that part of you that makes you the wonderful person you are. You have to let it go and try to atone for what you’ve done.” Andy shook his head, “God, why did you do this? Death by a carnivore is better than this smell.”

Harmony’s tears continued and she couldn’t help but smile, “We have not been bothered by any predators since I put these pods on the saddle.”

“I can understand why!”

“You’ll get used to it in about two hours and then you’ll only notice it when you focus on it.”

Andy shook his head and noticed that there were no dinosaurs downwind from them. “I need to repack the glider.”

“You should stop holding your nose. It’ll only take longer to grow accustomed to the smell.”

Andy released his nose and winced. He walked over to the glider and began sliding the frame into the hollow rods. “What made you do this?”

“I saw a T-Rex stick his head out of the forest and sniff the air. It immediately turned toward Dinah. It started a charge but I moved her too far away. I confirmed that Dinah has an odor that attracts carnivores. I figured the only way to prevent it was to use the stink bush pods to cover her smell.”

“How did she take it?”

“About like you’d expect. She doesn’t like it but her sense of smell is back. She can smell predators again.”

“I must have flown by when her nose was deactivated by this malicious odor.”

Harmony sat down with her rifle over her legs, “What do you think about what you saw?”

Andy looked at her and winced as a breeze blew the smell toward him, “Are you sure about getting used to this?”

“I don’t really notice it. I suspect we’ll have to pick some more pods at the next source of water.”

“The Destroyers are heartless. Why didn’t you tell me about their boats and those huge guns?”

“I would have eventually. I guess I don’t want to think about when I was captured and taken by them.”

“You’re going to need to get over that; my Elders need to hear everything you know.” Harmony sighed and nodded. “We’re going to have to plan on how to counter them.”

“What do you mean?”

“Their large guns can fire on my community from the ocean.” Harmony looked at the tall cliff and her eyes narrowed. “We have cut the height of the cliff at my community to build stone walls around it. I guess no one ever considered that danger would come from the water.”

“Do you have anything that might be a defense against them?”

“We rule the air and their boats are made of wood. We’ll just need to develop a tool to set them on fire.” Andy paused and looked at her, “I suspect we won’t be waiting for them to come to us.”

“WHAT?”

“We will probably start this war on their turf.”

“Is that wise?”

“Is it wise to wait? I really don’t know what the Elders will choose to do but we can’t just sit here and wait for them to show up.”

Andy tied the backpack closed and pulled the pin that set it to expand when opened. He shook his head and nodded toward Dinah, “We should go.”

Harmony pulled the whistle from around her neck and handed it to Andy, “I think this belongs to you.”

Andy took it and smiled, “Yes it does.” He went to Dinah and jumped in the saddle and she trembled with her excitement at having him back. Harmony climbed up and smiled, “She really does love you.”

“How can you tell?”

“You know love when you see it. Describing it is impossible.”

Andy said go and was once again amazed at the simple way Harmony made difficult concepts easy to understand.

• • •

It took two months to arrive at the cave Andy spent the first night in when he originally left the community. He opened the cave and invited Harmony inside. Harmony was stunned at what she saw. Andy looked at her and said, “This is one of the original caves that our ancestors awoke in more than two and a half centuries ago.” Andy pointed at all the rooms cut into the walls and said, “Every human had supplies in those rooms that corresponded from the time they were taken. Only those humans from that particular time could open the door.”

“This is where you found those bow and arrows you use?”

“Yes. The cutter with the blue blade also came from a civilization called Atlantis. They were extremely brutal and took slaves. My ancestors had to confront several of their communities and defeat them. We eventually found all the human communities north and immediately south of here and they joined us. You’ll see our community in the morning.”

“Why don’t you go now?”

“I’ve been banished. I don’t want to show up without them knowing I’m coming back. They’ll see me during daylight and inform the Elders.”

“You’re apprehensive about how they’ll receive you?”

“I am.”

“They must know who you are. I expect they’ll celebrate your return.”

Andy shook his head, “I doubt that. I deserved my sentence and once I’ve told them what I’ve found, I’ll leave to complete it.”

Harmony stared at him, “How much longer do you have?”

“About five months.”

“I want to go with you.”

“Are you out of your mind? You’ve seen how dangerous it is out there.”

Harmony raised her left shoulder and said, “The safest place on the planet is close to you and Dinah. I wouldn’t feel safe if you weren’t around.”

“There are others in the community who possess skills that are equal or even better than mine.”

“It’s not skills that make me feel safe, Andy. I promise not to cause you problems with your commitment here. I’ll stay if you stay. But if you leave, I go with you.”

“That won’t be a decision I can make. The Elders will have the final say on that issue.” Harmony saw he was adamant and she took a deep breath and blew it out. “What are you thinking, Harmony?”

“If they want my help on what I know about the Destroyers, they will honor my request.”

Andy saw she was also adamant and he shook his head. “Let’s leave this for tomorrow. We won’t know if it’s an issue until we show up.”

“Fair enough.”

Andy stared a fire with the cutter and they had the first cooked meal since they met. Harmony savored it and closed her eyes, “This is fabulous. You’re a great cook.”

“Actually, this is pretty simple. I’ll prepare a real meal before I leave.”

“Before we leave?”

“Whatever.”

• • •

They finished eating and Harmony took one of the water pouches and moved across the cave from him. She lay down on the floor and closed her eyes. Andy stared at her and wished she was lying next to him like she had been doing. He knew she was respecting his commitment to Lyla. That was another issue he would face tomorrow. It bothered him that Dinah went over to Harmony and put her head down next to her. Harmony smiled and rubbed her jaw. It appeared that Dinah loved her too. Andy jerked his head up. He shook it and put his head on the water pouch. He was filled with confusing thoughts and it took a long time for sleep to find him.

• • •

“I think we need to get going.” Andy opened his eyes and Harmony said, “I’m sure it’s about mid-morning.” Andy shook his head and she smiled, “I let you get some sleep. I’m sure you’re going to need it once we arrive.”

She walked over to Dinah and he saw Harmony had already saddled her and attached his gear to her harness. Andy stood up and stretched, “Take her outside and I’ll close the cave.”

Harmony nodded and said, “Come!” Dinah looked at Andy and then followed her out.”

• • •

The Archer flew over the southern border of the community and saw the door to a cave open. He whipped the glider around and came circling back. A woman was leading a Cursor out of the cave and she was not anyone he had ever seen. Her white hair was different from any he had ever seen. He pulled his bow off his vertical bars and came flying back in for a closer look. She had some kind of wooden weapon slung over her shoulder. Damn that was a huge Cursor. Then he saw Andy step out of the cave and close the cave’s door. He was shocked speechless. He slammed his bow back into the bracket and screamed his joy. He whipped off his face mask and came spiraling in.

Harmony heard the scream and saw nothing until a head appeared moving through the air toward them. The head arrived at the ground and the Archer dropped the glider and came running forward. He moved to within twenty feet of Andy and came to an abrupt stop.

Andy looked at him, laughed, and said in English, “Jonathan, it’s so good to see you. Sorry about the smell.”

Johnathan held his nose and ran forward and hugged Andy with his free arm and spoke in English, “We were told you’re dead!”

“What?”

“A human body was found in a dead predator. We thought it was you! My God how good it is to see you!”

“What were the Archers doing that far south?”

“They were looking for you. The Elder Archers decided to install you as Leader and remove Maxius.”

Andy started shaking his head, “I would never do that, John.”

“We suspected you wouldn’t but you are the one that should be leading us.”

“Maxius is the best one for the position.”

“He is good, but he’s not you.”

“I need you to go to the Elders and tell them I’ll be arriving in six hours. Warn them that I’ve had to use a plant to protect us from predators and that the odor might be…”

“Just short of wanting to barf.”

Andy laughed and hugged John, “Something like that.”

John paused and said, “Some things have happened after the community was told you were dead.”

“I’ll discuss that with the Elders. Please go and tell them that I have some news about a threat to the community. I need a council meeting as quickly as possible.”

Jonathan nodded and decided that he wasn’t going to tell Andy about Lyla. Andy said, “Jonathan, this is Harmony. I found her out in the wilds during my travels.”

Jonathan looked at Harmony and bowed, “You are incredibly beautiful. It’s my pleasure to meet you and I’ll see you when you arrive.”

Harmony smiled, “Thank you, Jonathan. That’s very sweet of you to say.” Jonathan put on his face mask to find the glider and ran away.

Harmony watched Dinah stare out at the sand and then appear to watch something moving away. “It appears you are thought quite highly of in your community.”