Back To Our Beginning (33 page)

“How do you know it’s a Komodo dragon?” Aidan asked.

“Shanie had to do a book report on one. We took her to the zoo to study it; they’re flesh eaters and have been known to eat humans,” Tansy whispered, her eyes locked on their aggressor.

Aidan stood up and grabbed a piece of the concrete and flung it, his aim was true and it bounced off the dragons shoulder.

“Be careful,” Tansy warned, mesmerized. “It’s got a mouth full of bacteria, with no medical aid we’d die within days if it bit one of us.”

Clint grabbed up rocks and cement; anything they could get their hands on they threw at the advancing menace.

“We need to make it immobile, or kill it,” Tansy said.

“Well, hell we need to get away,” Clint said.

“No, it can track us; it can move up to eleven miles an hour. If it catches us, it will eviscerate us. We would never be safe. They climb trees, they swim. Oh my God, Clint, they climb,” Tansy said horrified.

“Evisa-what us?” Clint asked, his eyes wide just knowing it wasn’t a pleasant word.

“Disembowel, Clint, it means disembowel us,” Aidan said swallowing hard.

It hissed again displaying teeth like those of a shark. Suddenly, Tansy threw off her backpack and dug out her perfume.

“You wanna die smellin’ nice?” Clint asked incredulous. He was more concerned with the images of his guts spilling, or even more horrifying...Tansy’s.

Tansy worked quickly and shakily, yanking the sprayer off the bottle. She pulled out her string, then ripping a small piece off she dunked it into the perfume. Catching her idea, Aidan took out his newly acquired lighter. Tansy dug her hand deeply into Clint’s front pocket. She pulled out the five dollar bill and stuffed long strips down around the opening of the bottle to hold the string in place, coating both paper and string inside by shaking the bottle.

As the dragon approached, Clint produced the hunting knife Tansy had found.

“Remember, don’t let it bite you,” Tansy warned.

Aidan had his knife out; he lit the string and let it burn for a moment, then cast it into the dragon’s face. The bottle exploded into flames, and Aidan and Clint lunged taking Tansy with them. They both made a stab or a slice at the flailing beast but kept on running at a furious pace with Tansy in tow.

Tansy had never run so fast in her life and found it difficult to keep up with the two long-legged men who clutched at her with painfully tight grips. They leapt over rocks, debris, under logs, flying over a tiny gully with water. They ran for their lives. Tansy’s chest felt like her lungs were about to burst, and she gasped for air hanging onto Clint for support. They slowed to a stop to see if they were being followed and took a quick glance behind.

“We need to keep moving,” Aidan told them. He took in Tansy’s haggard features and grabbed up her backpack, forcing them to move on.

He told them any wounded animal was far more dangerous; he wanted to get back and plan a hunt. Aidan intended to kill this thing. He knew it could very well be tracking them. The blowing wind wasn’t in their favor. They dared not stray from the marked route not knowing if a storm would hit. To travel an unmarked route without knowing where necessary shelter was would be a disaster. Especially since they needed to race at a near-frantic pace and would be unable to keep note of hideaways. If no hideaways presented themselves, they would be at a double risk with exposure to the elements.

“Wait!” Tansy cried. She stopped abruptly and tried to breathe, her hands on her knees, her head bent foreword gasping to take air into her burning lungs. She leaned against a huge uprooted oak tree.

“We need to keep moving. I’ll carry you if I have to.” Aidan reached for her arm, preparing to pull her into his embrace.

“No...it’s not that,” Tansy said, pulling away from him, her chest heaving as if on fire. “We can’t...take it back...to the kids.”

“We can take it back to where we have spears and arrows, and more hunters,” Aidan said breathing hard and fast. He pulled her upright, his hands steadying her.

Tansy knew he was right, but she could tell by his look he was planning on getting it before it got them. That meant the men would leave them all alone to hunt it; they would be left vulnerable.

“But what if it comes for us when you’re all gone?” she asked in a fearful tiny voice. When she looked up, both men could see she was struggling not to succumb to her terror. The Komodo dragon was a fierce predator. It was intimidating even within the safety of the zoo enclosure.

“One a us will stay behind,” Clint promised. He placed a hand reassuringly on her shoulder, trying his best to offer comfort; a gentle thumb stroked her jaw line. His understanding gaze caught and held her eyes.

Tansy’s frantic look calmed somewhat, shifting between both men, realizing her fear was an open book upon her face. Breathing deeply, she nodded and welcomed the tight embrace Clint offered. She felt the warm soft caress of his breath against her ear, calming her further. She wasn’t alone. With her hand gripped in Clint’s, they once again took off at a fast trot.

The three of them wearily dragged their way into the mine amidst welcoming calls and hugs. Their backpacks were taken from them and Emmy had cool drinks of water ready and leftovers from the night before. Tansy opted for the brandy.

“Mom, what’s wrong?” Emmy asked her, a worried look on her face. Her mother looked exhausted and very pale. Tansy remained silent and withdrawn.

Aidan began, “We ran into a problem.”

“What kind of problem?” Cord asked, taking in their exhausted state. From the way Tansy sat dumbstruck, shaking and gulping brandy, he knew it was bad.

“A kamikaze dragon,” Clint said, wide-eyed.

“Komodo,” Tansy corrected automatically.

“That’s impossible,” Ethan countered.

“So was the anaconda,” Aidan reminded him.

“Just how big is this dragon?” Cord asked.

“Big,” Clint told him and sucked back some brandy of his own.

“Aidan says we need to kill it,” Tansy said, her eyes downcast.

“I know you’re scared,” Aidan said, he knelt before her taking her hands into his. “But we do need to kill it. It’s likely hunting us right now and until it’s stopped we’re all in danger.”

“It’s not just the dragon you’re worried about is it, Tansy?” Ethan said.

“No,” she agreed. “What else is out there, what else will come hunting us? How can we defend ourselves against foreign animals? Animals some of us have never even seen or heard of before. What is out there? What kind of life is this for our children, Ethan? What kind of life is this for us?” She looked at them all beseechingly while cuddling Michaela.

It was bad enough the weather seemed to conspire against their existence. Now they had to fend off strange and deadly animals. Oddly enough, the answer came from Cord.

“It would have been easy to give in and die out there. I was all alone except for the damn dog. But we’re all survivors; you must know that or you would’ve given up long ago, Vinegar. Now we’re going to suck it up and face each day as it’s thrown at us. Damn the Komodo dragon and the anaconda; hell, damn the rabid elephants and hippos if we find some.”

“Daddy, I won’t be able to run away if it comes here,” Ricky whimpered from his bed. He clutched Lucky around the neck fearfully with one arm. His little face paled, and he clasped his mother’s doll to his chest with his other arm.

Looking at the child, Tansy felt awash with shame. She’d added to his distress and he was already suffering.

“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry,” Tansy said rising and, after handing Michaela over to her sister, she went to the boy. She knelt by his bed and smoothed his long hair from his face. “I’ll be your legs. Don’t you worry; we won’t let anything hurt you ever again, I promise.”

Kneeling on the other side of his son’s bed, Ethan offered encouraging words and a gentle embrace. He explained the dragon was just a very large lizard and, offering a sly smile toward Tansy’s embarrassed face, he casually mentioned to Ricky all women hated slimy creatures, using his mother as proof. Ricky chuckled with relief remembering his mother’s howls when Ricky had forgotten to remove the baby newt he had curled up in his pocket once. It had been hard to feel and look remorseful as his mother scolded, dancing around the kitchen, armed with a broom, to avoid the dropped minuscule creature, while his father laughed uproariously at her comical tirade.

With Emmy’s help, Tansy soon had more of the tea sedative made and Ricky slept. Once Michaela was tucked in with Lucky under her bed, the adults returned to their discussion.

“I think it might be best if you three go,” Ethan said to the other men.

“I want to go, too,” Shanie demanded.

“No,” Tansy told her. Cord saw Tansy’s gaze take flight frantically to her middle child.

“I’m a good hunter,” Shanie declared, ready to offer resistance.

“You’re damn right you’re a good hunter,” Cord agreed. “It’s because you’re one damned fine hunter you need to stay here and help your mother to protect the others.”

Shanie looked at him skeptically, but to her amazement she realized Cord wasn’t being condescending, he was being sincere. She
was
a good hunter. She had proven herself to the others and suddenly realized there was as much risk staying behind as going with them. Shanie nodded up at Cord and smiled a bit embarrassedly. It was the nicest thing he had ever said to her. Then thinking harder, she realized it was the only nice thing he had ever said to her.

“Should I go with you or stay here as well?” Emmy asked.

Aidan gave her a thoughtful look. She was very brave and smart but also distracting. They would need their wits about them and sometimes he felt a bit witless around her.

“You need to stay here,” he told her, his expressive eyes lingered on her intently. “At least if we’re out hunting dragons, I know you’ll all be safe if you’re attacked by grizzlies or anacondas.”

Emmy blushed crimson, which deepened further with Shanie’s suggestive remarks. Emmy nodded shyly up at Aidan and tried to ignore her sister. Not an easy thing to do, as Shanie made kissing sounds until her mother shushed her

“The three of you are better hunters.” Ethan glanced over at Cord, Clint and Aidan. “Besides, I’d like to stay here with my son. I think it would make him feel better.”

“You’re right, he would,” Tansy offered in agreement. She then looked at the three men in turn and told them she would also feel better staying with her girls.

Clint breathed a slow sigh of relief. He’d been afraid she might want to join them. Clint vowed if she had, he would’ve put his foot down again, only this time he would’ve done it while he held her in a bear hug up off her feet.

“Then we better plan a strategy. Tonight we’ll have two people keep watch at all times, and then we’ll head out at first light,” Aidan announced.

As they planned their strategy, Tansy worried the three headstrong men wouldn’t be able to work together. Clint was an excellent hunter; his inability at curing hides in the beginning was due to using the skins for trade with the butcher. Cord was fiercely dominant and found it hard to take direction from others. Finally Ethan stepped in, always the mediator; he reminded the other two of Aidan’s training in the field. It wasn’t that Aidan was better at commanding a maneuver; Aidan knew how to hunt the enemy. If they worked together and respected each other’s abilities, they would survive.

Clint was the first to agree; he had hunted with and spoken to Aidan and had grown to respect and even admire him. Aidan had confided in Clint concerning the circumstances leading to his previous incarceration, and Clint had been very supportive. Clint’s mother had been killed when he was a baby in a suspicious accident; his father disappeared soon afterwards, and his granny raised him. She always taught him to be respectful and gentle with women. Clint’s granny told him women were delicate and fragile and needed to be protected. Obviously, no one had mentioned this fact to Tansy. Smiling, Clint wondered if when she was married the preacher had told her husband to love, honor and know when to duck.

At first light, the three hunters packed small traveling pouches containing food, water and other essentials. They checked and rechecked their arsenal of arrows, spears and knives. Leaving nothing to chance, Aidan instructed those remaining to be on high alert. There must be two on watch at all times. No one was to leave the mine, and everyone must carry on their person some type of weapon. Tansy reminded the three men not to let the Komodo dragon bite them. She also warned about other possible dangers out there—animals and freaks of nature.

An outraged Michaela had to be disengaged from Clint’s leg. He’d been gone two days in a row and she didn’t understand why one of her favorite playmates wouldn’t stay.

“Stay with me,” Michaela begged pitifully.

Clint reached down and grasped her in his arms, lifting her without the slightest effort and gave her a gentle embrace. They rubbed noses and touched cheeks.

“I have to go huntin’, button,” Clint told her, running a large hand over her small head affectionately, cuddling her closer.

“Mommy!” Michaela wailed, when she realized she wouldn’t be able to coerce the big man into staying. “Mommy, Daddy’s bein’ mean to me.”

Tansy and Clint froze in-place, as did everyone else. Tansy looked at Clint whose loving, wanting face looked like he might drop to his knees at that moment. He was remembering the last child that called him daddy. Tansy reached for her daughter and smiled at both of them. Reluctantly, Clint handed Michaela back to her mother after a tight embrace. Michaela, still pouting, looked up at Clint and brightened.

“You bring me back somethin’, please?”

“Sure, button.” Clint’s voice choked as he spun and practically ran from the mine.

The rest followed behind and they scouted the immediate area first, leaving nothing to chance. They didn’t want their prey sneaking up on the others the moment they were out of sight.

The long day began with Tansy soaking birch bark and trying to make Ricky a cast for his foot. Again began the tedious task of trial and error. At first, Tansy thought to apply it directly to his foot but realized it might be better to cover the skin with a clean piece of hide or cloth. She thought for a while about what to do; she had never broken a bone, neither had anyone she knew. She splinted his foot and covered it with more hide. The cast was large and awkward, but Tansy thought wryly there was no way the boy would be able to move his foot so trapped.