Once Upon a Caveman (28 page)

“Oh
what
ever.”  Taffi scoffed in the exact same tone she’d used in high
school when she forgot her homework.  “Like anyone’s going to miss that loser,
besides his bookie.  He wasn’t special. 
You’re
not special. 
I’m
the one who’s special.  This is
my
. special. fucking. day,” she spaced
out each word, enunciating them with hard jabs of the gun, “and no one is
spoiling it.  I’m getting my diamonds and then I’m catching the last boat off
of this turd pile.”

Lucy
very nearly punched her, right in her surgically straightened nose.

“Lucy.” 
Rhawn said quietly, seeing her intentions.  “Do not.  You will not win through
anger.  Continue with whatever it is you’re doing.  Wait until you know it is
time for your victory.”

“She’s
not going to win
at all
, Mowgli.”  Taffi taunted.  “Now move.”  She gave
Lucy a shove.

Rhawn
shot Taffi a glare.  “You are a terrible queen.”  He informed her seriously and
led them through the woods, back towards the river.

They
were way, way,
way
too close to Uooloa now.  Projectiles the size of
old-fashion TV sets were being expelled from the volcano’s crater and launched
hundreds of feet in the air.  Radiant red, they shot out like bombs, crashing
to the ground and flattening everything in their path.  It still wasn’t enough
to ease the massive buildup of pressure, though.  The sides of the mountain
were straining to contain the explosive forces of the volcano and, any moment,
they would give way entirely.

“The
cave is up ahead.”  Lucy pointed to the almost invisible opening in the rock
behind a vivid blue waterfall.  “I saw it earlier.”

Rhawn
flashed her a baffled look and helped her over the rocks.  “Are you sure about
this?”  He asked, still remarkably composed, given the disasters looming on all
fronts, positive that the Savior would do something amazing to rescue him.  He
wouldn’t be nearly so confident if he understood his “Savior” was just Lucy
Meadowcroft, from Clovis New York.

Lucy
swallowed hard, hoping that she could get them of this mess.  “I’m sure.”

“There
had better be
a lot
of diamond in here.”  Taffi warned them.  “Like
Marilyn Monroe amounts.  Otherwise, you two are going to be really sorry you
messed with me.”

“Don’t
worry.  There are plenty of stones inside.  But they’re in the walls, so we’ll
have to pry them out.”  Lucy had no idea how diamonds were mined, but she’d
seen
Snow White
when she was kid.  Hopefully, “Hi-Ho” was the extent of
Taffi’s knowledge, too.  “We might need pickaxes for the big ones.  Does the
Clan have pickaxes, Rhawn?

“I
am unfamiliar with the word…”

“Are
those the
small
diamonds, then?”  Taffi interrupted, pointed at the
strands looped around Lucy’s neck.  “Holy crap, I’m going to be
soooo
rich I can just
buy
myself a film career! 
And
get a boob job
and
hire Brad Pitt as my sexy butler. 
Finally
, I’m going to get what I
deserve.”  She squeezed her way across a narrow path to the cave entrance, dragged
Lucy through the frigid water of the torrential falls.  “And I’m getting rid of
that stupid, smelly dog and finally buying a pony!”

Lucy
took one step into the cave and knew her plan was going to work.

Instead
of billions in of shiny carbon, there were bones.  The dirt floor was littered
with skulls, femurs, ribs, and vertebra, indicating this cave was used as a
predator’s lair.  A big predator.  Probably
lots
of big predators.  She
slowly smiled.

“Lucy,
there are no shiny rocks in this cave.”  Rhawn said in a quiet voice.

“I
know.”

“Where
the hell are the diamonds?”  Taffi demanded, heading for the walls to search
for the telltale sparkle of gems.  “It’s supposed to look like Harry Winston’s
wet dream in here.  Why am I not seeing any diamonds?  Huh?”  She headed deeper
into the cavern, not exactly ready to whistle while she worked.  “Where did you
hide them?!”

Lucy
had a brief flash of guilt.  Maybe she should try and stop this.  “Taffi, don’t
go back there.”  She blurted out, before she could reconsider.  “Please.”

“
Shut
up and help me look!
”

Sanity
returned.  It was no use trying to save the lunatic planning to kill them.  If
Taffi had her way, Lucy and Rhawn would join Craig in whatever afterlife this
island led to.  Besides, that bitch had threatened Rhawn and Lucy was taking
that personally.

The
prom queen was on her own.

Lucy
grabbed hold of Rhawn’s arm, preventing him from going any farther into the
cave.  “Back up.”  She hissed.  “Very slowly.”  Her shoes were crunching on
archeological evidence that would prove her entire thesis true and she didn’t
even care.  “You know how you said I’d know when it was time for victory? 
Well, it’s time.”

“You
will win the
Ardin
, now?”  He guessed hopefully, like a kid all ready
for
WrestleMania
to start.  “Can we do that by retreating?”

“We
can when we’re standing in a sabretooth den.”

Rhawn
glanced around in surprise, as Lucy edged them both towards the door.  “I have
never seen a long-tooth den.  They are very private animals.”  He sounded
interested.  “Are you sure?”

“Trust
me.  I got an A in this.”  The cavern looked exactly like the diagram in Lucy’s
final paper.  Her conclusion that groups of sabretooth cats lived together in
caves.  She’d seen the entrance when they fled from the valley and she’d known
that this was the pack’s home.  At the time, she’d regretted that she wouldn’t
have a chance to investigate it.

Now
she just wanted to get the hell out.

A
low growl emanated from the dark recesses of the cavern.  Then another.  Then
another.  The menacing sounds echoed off the stone walls, making them seem like
they were going on and on and on.  They came from all directions at once, pitched
at the perfect frequency to make all the hairs on the human body stand straight
up.

“What
the hell was
that?
”  Taffi demanded.  She glowered over at Lucy.  “What
have you done now?”

“I
went to grad school.”  Lucy spared a quick look towards the exit, making sure
they had a clear path.  The sabretooth wouldn’t attack them if they were in
retreat.

Not
when they could attack Taffi instead.

Taffi
spun around in a circle, trying to see the threat.  “Whoever’s there, better
back off.  I mean it!  These are
my
diamond and I’ll fight for them. 
All
of them.”  She waved her gun, heedlessly firing into the darkness.  “Stay back
or else!”

Instead
of scaring them away, the gun instigated the attack.  It was the same way Craig
had killed the sabretooth in the tar pits.  The same noise.  The cats
had
been watching from the shadows that day and now they associated the weapon with
their dead pride-mate.  With murder.  With death.  With suffering.

With
enemies.

Six
sabretooth seemed to move as once and the prom queen didn’t stand a chance. 
Lucy cringed, knowing what was about to happen.  Taffi’s shouting bounced off
the wall as she wildly fired at the cats.

It
was no use.  Even Taffi seemed to realize that.  She spun the gun around,
aiming it at Lucy.  “You can’t do this to me!”  She shrieked.  “
I’m supposed
to be the star!
”

Lucy
didn’t even bother to duck.  No bullets were going to hit her.  Taffi had just
emptied the gun.  “Good-bye, Taffi.”  She said softly.  “I’m sorry we were
enemies since kindergarten.  I’m sorry there wasn’t another way.”

Fangs
as long as rulers flashed, claws rending flesh.  The sabretooths silenced
Taffi’s enraged scream so quickly, it was like the prom queen had never been there,
at all.  Lucy squeezed her eyes shut, turning her face away so she wouldn’t see
the carnage.

“The
Destroyer is gone.”  Rhawn breathed.  “Just as you said.”

“
Go.
” 
Lucy whispered back.  They had to make their escape while the pride was
occupied or they would never get out.  She couldn’t bring herself to look at
Taffi’s body, but she still felt a twinge of sadness for her.

No
one deserved that kind of end.  Not even cheerleaders.

Rhawn
didn’t seem to hear her urging.  “You have won the
Ardin
and you used
knowledge
as your only weapon.”  He met her gaze, looking awed.  “You
are
the
Savior, Lucy.  Even you must see it.”

“You
really want to start that shit
now? 
We have to get out of here!”

“The
long-tooths will not harm you.  They know who you are.”  He slowly shook his
head.  “You did not even have to
strike
Taffi to win, just as you did
not have to touch Craig to defeat him.  This island and its inhabitant protect
you.”

“Well,
they’re doing a piss poor job of it.”  She shoved him through the waterfall and
then stumbled out after him.  “We can talk about your goddess kink later, okay? 
Right now, we have to get back to the beach, before the volcano explodes.”

…And
that’s when the volcano exploded.

The
stories of Krakatoa had been right.  The sound nearly did rupture Lucy’s
eardrums.  It sent her whole head ringing, like someone had pounded on a gong
with a sledgehammer.  The reverberations inside her skull had her hands coming
up to clutch the sides of her head in agony.

The
whole top of Uooloa blew apart, spewing a geyser of lava in explosions of fire. 
The mountain glowed with the most beautiful and terrifying shades of red she’d
ever seen. Electric, searing colors that were almost
alive
lit up the
sky.

It
was watching like the 4
^th
of July fireworks in hell.

The
force of the eruption sent trees blowing backwards all over the island.  It
also knocked Lucy right off her feet.  She toppled into the river, the shocking
cold of the water all the more shockingly cold because of the rush of volcanic
heat in the air.  Lucy’s head whacked against a rock below the surface.  For a
second, she nearly blacked out.

“
Lucy!
”

She
could hear Rhawn’s voice bellowing her name and it brought her around.  Lucy
swam back to the surface, trying to reach him, but the current was too strong. 
She cursed in frustration.  Goddamn it, they didn’t have time for this.  Lava
was pouring down the side of the volcano, melted rock covering the island like
a shroud.  They
had
to get to the boat.

Except
she couldn’t fight her way back to shore.

“Lucy!” 
Rhawn raced along the riverbank and then waded into the torrent after her. 
“Lucy, give me your hand!”

Lucy
reached out to him and missed.  She wanted to tell him to go without her and
save himself, but she knew he wouldn’t, so there was no sense in wasting the
oxygen.  Air was suddenly a precious commodity.  The only way she was going to
save Rhawn was to save herself, so she needed to focus on survival.  Lucy’s
feet touched the bottom of the river and she kicked off the rocks, propelling
herself towards shore.

Rhawn
grabbed her, his fingers sealing around her wrist like a vice.  Nothing
would’ve been able to pry her free of his grasp.  “Are you, alright?”  He demanded,
dragging her against his chest.  “Are you hurt?”

Lucy
shook her head, coughing up water.  “This island is
not
trying to save
me, Rhawn.”  She got out.  “I think that’s pretty fucking clear.”

“You’re
still alive, aren’t you?  Seems like the work of the gods to me, seeing as how difficult
you can be.”  The river dragged him forward too, sending the both of them
hurdling downstream and towards a large lake.  “I have never seen one woman
land herself into trouble so often.”

“I
love you, too.”  She kissed the side of his jaw and his mouth curved.  If a guy
could smile at you in the middle of drowning and during a volcanic eruption,
you knew he was a keeper.  “Hey, if we survive this, you want to get married?” 
She asked, because what the hell better time was there to propose than a
natural disaster?

“I
am unfamiliar with the word ‘married.’”

“It’s
a ceremony that makes you my mate, for better or worse.”

Rhawn
shot her an incredulous look.  “Why would I want that?  I
am
your mate. 
I do not need a ceremony to give me what I already possess.”

“Well,
too bad.  We’re having one.  …If we survive this, anyhow.”  Lucy held onto his
neck, as the current dragged them out to the middle of the lake.  The water was
deep and cold, but that was the least of her worries.  Her eyes stayed on the
volcano.  The force of the explosion had ripped long, jagged fissures in the
ground.  It really might tear the whole island apart and sink it beneath their
feet.  “Rhawn, I
seriously
do not know how we’re going to survive
this.”  She whispered.

“You
are the Savior.  You will save us.”

It
would be a shame to spend their last moments alive hitting the man she loved,
but she was sorely tempted to bop Rhawn on his pretty head.  “Would you stop
with that crap and just be logical for a moment?  You’re supposed to be the
practical, reasonable, scientific genius in this partnership, so act like it.” 
She looked around, trying to come up with a plan.  It seemed like an earthquake
had opened up a passage in the lakeshore that connected it to the ocean.  Maybe
they could get out that way.  “Do you think we could swim fast enough to catch
up with Warren and the…?”  She trailed off, her eyes falling on a strange glow
beneath the water.