Read The Wild Lands: Legend of the Wild Man Online
Authors: Joe Darris
Tags: #adventure, #action, #teen, #ecology, #predator, #lion, #comingofage, #sasquatch, #elk
The Wild Lands: Legend of the Wild Man (21 page)
The
panther
roared a challenge. Urea
was shocked and invigorated to hear the reply.
voice, laced with challenge and reinforced with the surety of his
skill delivered the chime.
replied, trying to sound at least somewhat afraid. It came across
as flirty mock-outrage instead, like Jacob had stolen second base
after Urea had encouraged it. Fine. She was that excited.
fair against
more than a sacrificial lamb?> he sneered the word Princess, but
Jacob never truly sounded mean.
She had never battled a
biselk
so big,
so perfect. It was Jacob's prized Buck, the Lord of the Garden, an
animal at the pinnacle of its life. It was lunacy to fight it,
animals like this did not get attacked in nature. Animals liked
this were more dangerous than predators, and Jacob knew it. Urea
smirked. The
panthera
understood the gesture as showing her
fangs. And the two attacked as one.
The beasts collided like an asteroid and a
planet. The
panthera
uncoiled its muscles and flew through
the air as the
biselk,
considerably more massive barreled
towards her. Her claws outstretched she reached in between rows of
anarchic barbs and caught flesh. The
biselk
only had to
twist its head and the cage of antlers pressed against her ribcage
and slung her away. Reflexes planted her back feet against smooth
spots on the antlers and she leapt free of the
biselk
before
he found blood. She overcompensated, not used to fighting an animal
so strong, and tumbled through the packed dirt of the arena's
floor. She held a claw a high,
First Blood!
And was dismayed
to see it held nothing but black fur. His molting hide had come
loose, as she knew it would. The
biselk
snorted in response
to her all-too-human theatrical gesture, and charged.
She lunged out of its path, but Jacob, having
dueled her a hundred times in a hundred lesser
biselk
knew
her tricks and had already adjusted. Before she could move he was
on top her, his antlers gouging the earth deeply. She slithered
between the crystalline cage and managed not get trampled. She
stood too soon, and the
biselk
leaned on its front legs and
kicked her savagely with its hooves, hard as stone.
The
panthera
careened through the air,
and crashed into a stone wall of the Colosseum, knocking the wind
from her. Urea could still breath though and stretched her
diaphragm and the
panthera
could breathe again. This was a
strategy they had practiced.
Already the
biselk
was on the
panthera
. Not a second to recover. He was fighting,
really
fighting.
moments before collision, but to no reply. So she coiled up and
leapt vertically right before the
biselk
could make
panthera
jelly. She twisted in the air and landed on the
back of the
biselk,
between the two enormously deadly
antlers. She tore at the thick fur on his shoulder blades, thinking
she had only a moment, but his antlers were embedded firmly in the
concrete, and he was stuck fast, so she ripped at his shoulders,
dismayed that nothing but black fur came free in her claws.
A rumble like the crust of the earth moving
and the
biselk
was free of the concrete that had sheathed
its weapons.
Howluchins
and does bounded backwards, unsure
if the deadly battle would flow into the stands. She sprung
upwards, but this time the
biselk
was ready and swirled in
his antlers in a vortex of razor sharp edges.
She landed, clear of the beast and felt pain
in her left arm. She raised the paw and was shocked to see a thin
line of blood, red as any herbivore's, glisten back at her.
The
biselk
bucked up and kicked at the
sky, sunlight caught the blood in its antlers,
first blood
.
An herbivore had taken first blood against a predator!
This time he did not charge so fast. The two
eyed each other warily.
time ever.
>
Why was he acting like this? Jacob, who was
normally so kind before he drove some unruly or imperfect
biselk
to its death at her claws, but then she understood.
Only why had no one told her?
question she hadn't even chimed. Twintuition.
The
biselk
looked skyward,
acknowledging winged death as it soared above them.
if he has the
Wild Man?
> Skup asked, incredulous of her
oversight.
Of course he did! Her
panthera
had
already replaced the
vultus
as top predator. Skup only held
onto his Evanimal to save the Garden from the flock. Could the
panthera
serve dual purposes as easily? There was certainly
no pride of
pantheras
to threaten the Spire, nor could it
plow the earth like a
biselk.
Was it easier to simply get
rid of it in some grand show before they unveiled the
Wild
Man?
For that matter he might not even need the
biselk
eventually. Hence Jacob's aggression.
sorrow. panthera
, but
Urea, I...> his sobs came over the VRC. Using her real name had
ruined his nerve. Fighting the Princess of Nature, that she-demon
who had killed hundreds of his flock had been easy, but Urea, that
soft spoken feline girl he had learned to love from afar, that he
couldn't do.
Then why fight her at all? Why such a
ruthless show of aggression? But of course she knew that too. Jacob
had been with his
biselk
longer than she her
panthera.
The two were one, Jacob's short hair and gristly
beard were the
biselk's
own molting shoulders. Jacob's firm
benevolence and even his confident gait came from the
biselk's
demeanor. Killing this
biselk
really would
be killing a part of him as surely killing the
panthera
would be killing part of her. And Baucis had pitted them against
each other. Of course he hadn't told her, she might have refused,
but now she was in the ring, her
panthera
hungry, furious
and craving blood. She could turn against the other
biselk
or the
howluchins
but if what Skup said was true... her
panthera
really could be made obsolete.
Their hands were tied, the show must go on.
There was nothing else to do. Either way at least one would lose
their Evanimals, better one than two.
Do you have stories where you're from?
She scratches her head.
You know... like about old people who made things
the way they are today?
She nods.
We do too! My favorite are stories with surprise
endings. Do you like surprises?
All she has to do is think, she doesn't even have to
open her mouth like the hermit does when he tells stories. She
takes a deep breath.
The best stories are when the good wins.
The girl nods, then furrows her brow...
How do you know who's good?
The ballroom was packed. Located on the
luxurious fourth floor, the room still had some of the fine
trappings it had boasted when the Spire was a casino instead of a
city. It had gilded pillars that stretched up to the intricately
painted domed ceiling. It had been the premier LEAVE NO TRACE
destination. Murals of animals and sunsets filled with golds,
ambers, and rich purples festooned the walls. Raw filaments,
extruded from the reclaimers, hung from the ceiling and glowed in
the Spire's electromagnetic field. The whole room was enveloped in
warm light.
Half a dozen
howluchin
s bedecked in
fine black body suits casually perused the ballroom. They strolled
through the crowd, serving drinks, some of the more popular
synthesized foodstuffs, and of course, fresh fruits and vegetables
gathered that day from the Garden. Baucis smiled inwardly when he
thought of how the monkeys had been sanitized of the Scourge.
Rufus Aurelius had insisted Skup and Urea
attend the gala in person. Baucis had disagreed about the boy, but
Aurelius had insisted. “Its more his victory than hers, and it'll
be good for him.”
Seeing the young man dressed in black, with
his hawkish nose and slicked back hair, he'd softened. Skup was
taking the event very seriously. He looked like the next
generation's Councilor, though that was still a long time off.
Baucis had gone through a rebellious period himself, perhaps
tonight's accolades could bring Skup's to an end, and his true
grooming could begin.
Urea looked resplendent. She was wearing a
black habiliment, chosen by High Priestess Ntelo, that hung off her
muscular shoulders flatteringly. Her short hair highlighted her
stunning neck and shoulders. Sharp, unreadable eyes surveyed the
crowd from a face prettier than any killer's should be. She looked
haggard, and Baucis supposed she must be exhausted. The day's duel
hadn't been easy for her, he knew that, but it had been necessary
to set the ambiance for this evening's event. A pang of emotion for
all the girl had done, and the woman she'd become, and then it
passed. There were more pressing matters.
Baucis sat at one end of table, next to the
podium, at the place of honor. The twins were to his left (Skup
first), then High Priestess Ntelo. She looked absolutely stunning.
She had handpicked habiliments from the gaggle of designers
desperate to make a splash in the Spire. She brought in a new era
of fashion, and as its matron, looked the part. Tonight she wore a
silvery blue habiliment gown that changed shades as she moved in
the warm light. The gown made her eyes sparkle as she surveyed the
crowd. Her painted skin shifted between snowflakes and doves.
Baucis didn't see the connection, but knew it probably didn't
matter. The Spire knew nothing of seasons or animals.
At the far end of table sat Tennay. The
oldest member of the Council wore the standard silver habiliment,
and had done little more than comb his eyebrows for the evening's
festivities. He was the image of tradition, prudence, and
frugality. Baucis was glad to see him here. More than anyone,
Tennay appreciated the animal's utility. None knew better than
Tennay how tools were needed. The engineer had maintained the Spire
for near a century with nothing from the surface. The animal would
change all that.
Rufus Aurelius stood at the podium,
immaculately dressed in a black and gold trimmed habiliment that
had some of the same muscular definition as Baucis's. His clean
cool scalp contrasted sharply in the warm lights to Baucis's sweaty
bald head.
Aurelius could drink in the crowd's energy,
feed it back to them, and make them love him for it. Years as the
Media Baron had made the man obsessed with two things: his
appearance, and putting on a good show. Tonight he would do both in
spades.
Aurelius cleared his throat and the
auditorium dimmed. The crowd drew closer to the stage to better
hear Rufus and perhaps sneak a peak at the giant shrouded case that
rested on stage.
“We are here tonight, to honor a great
thinker, a genius of our time,” Aurelius smiled around the room as
if searching for the subject of his speech. He turned to his fellow
councilor with warmth in his eyes. “Baucis is unlike any ecologist
before him. He has revolutionized his role on the Council, and it
all began with a simple desire, to garden.
The crowd cheered and applauded. Howlers
yipped and hooted. Baucis smiled at the surreality of it all.
“Before him, our ecologist did little more
than survey the fallow wasteland below. It was a dark time, after
the Scourge, few believed we'd survive, let alone prosper. Baucis
changed all that. He took precious seeds from our rooftop, and gave
us hope! No more nutritionally complete rations, but food, honest
to Nature food!
Aurelius waited for the applause to
quiet.
“The challenge was the Scourge. It destroys
the indestructible, and makes everything biodegradable. The Scourge
was the finishing blow to a civilization suffering from
environmental degradation, disease and cancers caused by its own
radiation and slew of volatile compounds. The Scourge was
designed--with technology lost--to erase mistakes,” he paused, to
let this sink in. Baucis though he actually looked like he was
considering the thought for the first time.
Then, “Maybe it would have, but
Nature
herself stepped in,” the holy word sent the expected ripple through
the crowd. “Many of you were born in the Spire, and know only
stories of the flood, but I assure you, it was real. Do you think
we would have loosed the Scourge upon our own? No! Nature made that
choice, she washed away our cities and our safeguards, and the
Scourge was free.”
“Some here believe that the Earth made the
Scourge to protect itself from humanity, I assure you, that is
quite false. However I cannot say with any certainty, if she
withheld her deluge until there existed something strong enough to
rid her of us.
Low murmurs through the crowd.
“Our ancestors naively assumed the earth
could bear the brunt of our damage, that it would survive. Of
course, we know now our ancestors were blind to the truth. The
earth survived just fine, it is we who teeter in the clouds on the
brink of annihilation.”
