Ben the Dragonborn (11 page)

“They eat both plants and other animals.  We could look like a food group.”  Ben stated flatly, not looking at Jared.  

Jared spun around and looked at the trail they had been following.  “Are you sure we’ve been following the trail left by my brother?”

“I don’t know if it’s your brother, but from what I’ve seen, humans passed by on this trail sometime recently,” Ben replied.  

“Do you think these creatures followed them?” 

“I don’t know.”  

“Should we leave the trail?” Charla asked.

“No,” Ben said. “Those animals could be anywhere now; for all we know they could be following us.”  

“Then we should keep going,” Jared said.  “If my brother did pass by here we might find him up ahead roasting some omnivores for us.” 

“I hope so,” Ben replied.     

The three companions walked in silence, wondering what this new danger might look like.  Occasionally, they turned off the trail to avoid a web that hung across it, but they always returned to it and continued the gradual climb to the top of the island’s one mountain. 

Ben broke the silence to say, “Good thing those spiders are cannibals or this island would be crawling with them.”     

“The same could be said for those spider crabs,” Jared said.  

Charla lagged further and further behind.  It was the first time she had been in a forest.  There were sights and sounds that she had never seen or heard in her life.  She came to a complete stop to watch a group of large multi-colored butterflies flutter about a bush that was covered in flowers.  Their wings shimmered when the light struck them.  The flowers were beautiful to look at and smelled very pleasant.  Charla was awe-stuck by this glimpse of unexpected beauty.  She bent down to smell a particularly beautiful flower.  When she looked up, Jared and Ben were out of sight.  They had gone around a bend in the path.  Charla hurried to catch up. When she caught sight of them, Charla stopped and called out, “Ben…ah.” Ben and Jared turned just in time to see a spider drop down in front of Charla. 

“I’ll be right with you,” Charla shouted, “just as soon as I kill myself another spider.”    

The spider ran at Charla on its eight legs.  Charla kept her eye on the spider as she reached over her shoulder for her spear.  A spider’s leg came from behind and wrapped itself around her arm.  Charla screamed and dropped the spear.  

Jared and Ben ran back through the forest. Charla lay on the ground between two spiders ready to do battle with each other to decide which one would have Charla for lunch.  Charla lay on the ground like a fish out of water.  Her legs had been replaced by a fish tail. Terror tended to do that to the mer.  

“Jared,” Charla called, “if you want to get rid of one of your obligations this might be a good time to do it.  Throw me my spear.”  Jared may well have done so, but one of the spiders moved so that it stood directly over it.  

Jared had his spear in one hand and a knife in the other, as did Ben.  Jared attacked the closest spider, while Ben ran around and attacked the second one.  Jared hacked at the legs with his knife, while keeping the spider’s head away with his spear.  He cut off one leg and damaged a second.  The spider came at him on its remaining legs, hardly hampered by the loss.  

Meanwhile, Ben plunged his spear into the second spider as he had seen Charla do.  This one did not fall backwards.  It turned with the spear in its back and ran at Ben.  Ben ran straight towards a tree and up the trunk with his octopus hands.  The spider ran up the tree after him.  Ben wished himself invisible and he was.  The spider stopped, looked around and came cautiously up the trunk of the tree.  Ben sat on a branch and slid along it.  The spider continued on past where Ben sat. Ben took off his shoes and hung them around his neck so that he would have the extra grip from the suction cups on his feet.  He stood on the branch and was just about to return to the ground when the spider came down on a single thread.  It passed his branch and was heading towards Charla.  Charla stood with her hands on her hips watching Jared battle the spider that still stood over her spear.  She was oblivious to the one dropping down on her from above. 

Ben didn’t stop to think about it. As the spider went past him, he dropped on top of it, and drove the spear that was in its back further down into the spider’s body.  The spider and Ben fell towards the ground.  Ben held onto the spider with the suction cups on the bottom of his feet as they spun downwards.  He continued to drive the spear further into the spider’s body.  The spider came to an abrupt halt and hung limply in the air.  Ben pulled out his spear, and looked down.   

Charla had a stick in her hand.  With it she was poking the remaining spider from the side.  It ignored her and continued its attack on Jared.  Jared had a raw wound across his arm, where the barbs on the underside of the spider’s legs had taken off skin.  Ben launched himself into the air, hoping to land on the spider and drive his spear into its back.  Instead of landing on a soft spider he fell on the hard ground.  The spider had moved forward just as he jumped.  Ben lay on the ground, the breath knocked out of him.  Then he rolled over and discovered that he was on the ground underneath the spider’s belly.  He stood up and drove the spear into the spider from below.  From the spider's wound gushed thick black blood, which splashed over Ben’s head and down his body. The spider crumpled on top of him. 

“Yuck!  Get this thing off me, PLEASE!”  Ben’s muffled voice spoke from underneath the spider.    

Jared and Charla grabbed the spider and rolled it over.  Ben used Charla’s spear to push himself up off the ground. When Charla grabbed her spear, Ben fell over. 

“I asked you to give me this, not use it as a cane,” Charla stated emphatically.

“A thank you would be nice,” Jared said.  “Let me show you how it’s done.”  Mimicking Charla’s voice, Jared said, “Thank you for saving my worthless, sorry life.  I’m sorry to be such a pain in the ass.  I am forever in your debt, O most noble ones.”  

Charla ignored Jared and continued, “Let me see either of you handle two spiders at once. I could have managed one without any help.” 

“From now on we stay close together,” Ben stated firmly, ignoring the verbal exchange.

The three companions resumed walking. Charla stayed close, but not, she told herself, because Ben told her to.  She kept quiet as the boys went over every detail of their battle with the spiders, clearly excited with their victory and the fact that they had finally turned the tables, and been the ones to save Charla’s life.    

Charla ended their conversation when she said, “Thank you, Jared, for saving my life.  Please consider your obligation cancelled,” Charla paused and then continued, “After all, a mer life is worth the life of at least three tree apes.”    

Jared said, “That’s not the way I see it.  In fact if you look at it that way I would have to save your life a dozen more times before my obligation is paid in full.”    

The path brought them to a clearing. Before them was a waterfall that fell down the side of a sheer high cliff into a pond below. Charla ran towards the pond and dove in. She quickly disappeared from sight. Ben and Jared walked a bit further on and drank from the waterfall.

Charla surfaced.  Her tail slapped the water. The splash soaked Jared.  Charla laughed before disappearing under the water again. When Charla reappeared, her face had lost some of the strained look it had taken on during their walk through the forest. Ben touched Jared’s wet arm and said, “Perhaps we can rest here for a little while before we continue on.” 

Jared quickly agreed. The battle with the spider had taken its toll and he was tired. 

“What’s up?”  Charla said as she surfaced in front of Ben and Jared. 

“A rest,” Jared replied.  

Relief passed over Charla’s face, but all she said was, “Well, if you two are tired then I think it wise that we rest.”  Charla tossed two fish at Jared and Ben and then disappeared back into the water.

Ben took off his shoes, dropped his pack and walked into the pond fully clothed.  When the water was waist deep, he dipped himself into the water several times to rid his hair and clothing of the spider guts that still clung to him.  Jared had the fish filleted when Ben returned. This time he never stopped to think about the fact that he was eating raw fish; in fact he was rather looking forward to it. 

All the rest Charla needed was to be in her mer form, so she explored the pond and the waterfall.  After Ben finished eating he walked along the stream where the water got shallower.  Where the ground was soft he found two sets of human footprints.  Overtop them were the footprints left by some very large animals.  It was the same footprints that Ben had seen in the forest.  Each animal foot had six toes with long sharp claws.  Ben crossed over to the other side of the stream and searched for the place where the humans came out of the water. He did not find it.  So he came back over to the side where Jared lay sleeping and searched that side.  He found no human footprints leaving the water at all.  Ben did find the footprints of several large six toed animals coming to the water and leaving it. 

When Charla returned Ben said, “It’s time for us to go.  I’ll wake Jared.”

“If you must,” Charla said, with a look of distaste on her face.       

Ben was crouching beside Jared to shake him awake when a treg screamed overhead.   Jared was instantly awake and they both scrambled underneath some low-hanging branches.  Charla pulled herself along the bottom of the stream towards deeper water.  The treg had seen Charla.  It dove towards her. The treg was almost on top of Charla when she reached water that was deep enough to hide in.  Jared and Ben held their breath and watched as the treg missed his prey.  It screeched, rose into the air and circled overhead.  

              . 

13. THE UGLIES COMETH

The three companions sat on the ground, under the thick branches of a tree.  They looked   anxiously at the sky as they discussed their options.  

“Did you see any sign that Gill was here?” asked Jared.   

“I don’t know if it was your brother, but there were two humans here,” Ben stated. 

“One is…gone..., Jared paused a long time, then said. “One of those footprints belongs to my brother.  Gill’s the best there is.”

“Which way did they go?”  Charla asked. 

“I don’t know,” Ben stated flatly, unsure of whether to tell Jared about the vanishing footprints.  Finally he said, “I lost their trail, but there is a path on the other side that runs alongside the cliff into the forest.  It might take us to the top.”  Ben pointed to the top of the cliff.

“The trees should hide us from the tregs once we get across the river.  But we will need to move quickly.” Jared stated. 

The three companions crossed to the other side of the stream and walked along the bank towards the trail that ran alongside the cliff.  There were many obvious signs that the six-toed creatures came often to the pool in front of the waterfall.  There were footprints everywhere that came out of the forest to the pool and then led back into the forest.     

“I think we should…,” Ben began.  His sentence was cut off by the bellow of an animal in the forest behind them.  Something was coming along the trail they had walked that morning.

Emerging from the forest, were two large creatures that looked for all the world like something out of earth’s prehistoric past. They were large, hairless gray animals.  Each had a tail tipped with two spikes.  They were about the size of an elephant, but had an alligator shaped jaw from which several large teeth protruded.  The only things small about them were their eyes, which is perhaps why they failed to see the three companions.  

The two creatures nosed the place where Jared had fallen asleep.  They clawed at the ground.  Rocks, grass and dirt flew through the air until there was a small mound behind each of them.  When they found nothing one of them gave a mournful bellow.  The bellow was answered by one in the forest in front of the companions, on the same side of the river they were now on.  Something in the forest began to crash through the trees towards them.  The ones across the stream looked up and saw the three companions for the first time.  

“They are coming from both sides,” Ben said, his voice hoarse.  He looked around, desperate for some escape route. “Maybe we can climb the cliff.”  The three took a few quick steps towards it.  It was very shear, with few handholds.  It would be no problem for Ben with his octopus ability, and perhaps he could help one other person up, but the one left on the ground would certainly be dead. 

Charla looked from the creatures to the cliff and lost her balance, because her legs began their transformation back into a fish tail.  Ben did not see her transformation.  His eyes were on the cliff he was anxious to climb. Jared, however, saw what was happening to Charla.   

“My turn,” Jared said, as he grabbed Charla around the waist, threw her over his shoulder and sprinted towards the pond.  Jared jumped into the water carrying Charla, and the two of them disappeared momentarily from sight.        

When they surfaced, Charla called, “Come this way Ben.  You’ll be safe under the waterfall.”  Ben stood undecided.  He looked at the water, the cliff and the animals.  He considered leaving Charla and Jared to take their chances in the water while he climbed the cliff.  He could climb the cliff in no time.  Could he really leave them?  He would be safe, but Jared and Charla might not be.  The creatures might be good swimmers. Would they be safe in the water? 

Jared called, “Come on Ben.” Ben’s feet were moving towards the water even as his mind was telling him that the best escape for him was to climb the cliff.  When he reached the edge of the water, he stopped.  He stepped back and turned towards the cliff, just as a fourth creature came from the trail they had planned to take.  It was closer to the cliff than Ben.  It was no longer possible to escape that way even if he wanted to.  Ben stepped back and then took a running jump into the water.  He sank, but two hands reached down and pulled him to the surface.    

“Now what?” he gasped, his feet kicking frantically.  

“The waterfall,” said Charla. We’ll be safe from the uglies behind it.”

“Uglies?” Jared asked. 

“Do you have a better name for them?”  Charla moved behind Ben and slipped her arms around his chest.   “Relax,” she said.  “I will take you to the waterfall.”  

Relaxing is not something Ben was capable of doing in water, but he slowed his frantic kicking and let Charla drag him towards the waterfall.  From his position Ben saw two of the creatures enter the water where he had just been standing. When the waterfall hit his face, Ben began to struggle, but Charla held him tight.  From the backside of the waterfall the three turned and looked through the water to see that the four large creatures had all entered the water and were swimming towards them.  

“What are we going to do?” Jared asked.

“There’s a cave,” Charla replied.

“Where?” Ben said, scanning the rock wall behind the waterfall.

“Underwater,” Charla replied.

“Wait a minute,” Jared said. “Ben and I don’t do underwater caves.  We don’t come equipped with gills.” Ben struggled in Charla’s arms, a horrified look on his wet face.

Charla tightened her grip and said, “The underwater passageway opens into a cave where you will be able to breathe air.” Then she added, “You can do what you like tree ape, but if you stay here I predict an untimely end to your miserable life. Ben and I are leaving here now.  If you know what’s good for you, you will follow me. Breathe Ben,” Charla commanded. 

“No…wait…I,” Ben began. Charla ignored him. “Breathe,” she commanded again. Ben managed to fill his lungs just before Charla dragged him underwater.

Charla dragged Ben down the rock wall behind the falls until they came to a narrow opening. Ben kicked his legs and did his best to move himself in the direction Charla was dragging him. Jared followed. As they entered the cave, Ben’s sense of panic grew. Not only was he underwater, but he was underwater in the dark. Being underwater in the dark was the very dream that haunted Ben. Wild thoughts raced through his mind. But the real question was whether Charla knew how long a human being could stay underwater before needing to breathe. 

In the darkness of the underwater cave it was impossible to tell whether they were going up or down, left or right. Ben and Jared were not able to see, but Charla, being mer was able to see her way in the almost total darkness. Ben was weak with fear and had come to the end of his ability to hold his breathe when they emerged into a small pond in the middle of a dark cave.  Charla pushed Ben out of the water and up onto the rock and then watched anxiously for Jared to appear.  On his hands and knees, Ben spit out water, gasping and coughing. He hardly heard Charla when she said, “I’ll go look for the tree ape.”  Charla disappeared into the water and Ben was alone in the dark cave. 

Charla moved quickly through the underwater passage. She made her way back to the waterfall but did not see Jared.  She popped her head out of the cave and saw that one of the uglies was behind the waterfall.  She turned around and swam back along the passage, running her hands along the rock as she went. She came to a place where a passage led to the left, a passage she had missed earlier.  It was here that she found Jared.  He had breathed out the last of his air. Charla put her lips over Jared’s.  She breathed in through the gills behind her ears and breathed out through her mouth.  Jared clutched at her arms, terrified that she would take her life-giving lips away. Charla maneuvered Jared out of the dead-end passage and dragged him to where she had left Ben.   

Ben watched the pond anxiously. Relief flooded through Ben when he saw the water swirl and Jared’s head appear. Charla held Jared while his strength returned. Then she supported him as he feebly climbed out of the water.      

“In a little while I’ll go see if the uglies are still at the waterfall,” said Charla, her voice shaking slightly.  

Ben lay back and closed his eyes.  He was horrified at the thought of going through the dark underwater passage again.  When he opened his eyes, he looked at the ceiling and could clearly see a narrow opening from which a dim light shone.

“That may not be necessary,” Ben said as he sat up.  “I may be able to climb through that crevice and look over the cliff.”  

Ben took off his sneakers and stood up. He banged his head against the top of the cave and promptly sat down again.  When the pain subsided, Ben stood up more carefully and walked hunched over to the crevice, where he stood up without banging his head.  He firmly attached his hands to the rock, and pulled himself up until he could attach the suction cups on his feet.  

It was an easy climb, at least for someone with suction cups on his hands and feet. The crevice did not come straight down from the surface, but angled off to the right at a steep angle.  Ben was about halfway up when he heard Charla sob, “Lea Waterborn is right.  I’m not ready. I can’t maintain my transformation when I am afraid. I should never have come.” 

He could hear Jared voice murmur a response, but he did not catch the words. 

When Ben reached the top he was in a shallow cave that opened towards the forest. Ben walked out of the cave towards the stream that tumbled over the edge to become the waterfall they had seen from below. When he got close to the stream he dropped on his hands and knees and crawled until he could lay down with his head hanging over the edge of the cliff.  He could see the pond below.  One of the uglies was swimming back and forth in front of the waterfall.  Another was just leaving the water. Another was on shore digging at the spot where the three companions had last stood.  A fourth was looking up at him as he looked down at it. The creature’s gaze unnerved Ben and he pushed himself back.  As he did so, Ben dislodged a rock.  It caught other loose rocks on the way down.  Ben moved forward again to see what was happening. 

The ugly came forward and sniffed the rock that Ben had knocked over the edge.  It bellowed and charged towards the rock wall.  Ben froze. His mind told him those things could not climb a sheer cliff, but he still held his breath in fear.  He watched the ugly charge the cliff at full speed right where the rocks had come down. The ugly hit the rock wall hard and fell down.  It thrashed about and then got back on its feet where it swayed back and forth. “Dumb as nails,” Ben muttered.     

The other three came and stood beside the one that had rammed the cliff.  They nosed all over the area where the ugly had charged, particularly the rock that Ben’s hand had rested on.  Then they looked up to the top of the cliff.  Ben did not think they saw him for there was no bellow.  Three of the uglies turned and lumbered off along the trail that the three companions had planned to take.  The fourth ugly, still recovering from hitting solid rock followed at a slower and somewhat erratic pace.    

Ben rolled over in time to see a treg swooping down on him.  Its claws stretched out to pick him off the cliff.  If Ben had waited three seconds more before rolling over it would have had him.  As it was, the treg was closing its claws on empty air a moment after Ben had rolled away.  Ben lay still on the ground with his invisibility turned on.  He could not remember if birds had good hearing or a good sense of smell. If it was a good sense of smell then Ben should move quickly, but if it was an acute sense of hearing then he should lay still and try to keep his breathing slow and quiet.  Ben could have reached out his hand and touched the bird, but he did not move a muscle.  He lay still and looked at the treg.  The treg peered around intently, cocking its bald red head one way and then another, listening for a sound to tell it which way its prey had gone.  Ben lay still and did not move.  The treg was big. It was as tall as he was.  The treg’s beak was curved and sharp. It was the beak of a predator.  

The treg must have heard a suspicious noise.  It turned towards Ben and looked directly at him, cocking its head this way and that.  Ben held his breath even when he saw something he never expected to see. The treg was wearing a collar.     

The treg turned away, walked towards the cliff edge and jumped off as it stretched its wings.  It caught the air currents and rose high up into the air.  Its shadow passed over Ben and it flew back towards the center of the island, where it landed on a rock outcropping.  It turned in Ben’s direction and stood like a sentinel, watching for any movement on the mountain.