Page 70 of Caveman Alien's Bride

“Not here,” I tell him. “Need alone for that. Also must open clothing with hands.”

He thinks about it. If he’d been alone with me, I don’t dare think of what he might have done now. As it is, the other men are watching him like hawks and he can’t take liberties.

He unties my hands, but keeps a solid grip on one of the ropes that are tied around my waist. Letting me go behind a bush, he keeps the rope taught.

Even with my hands free, I can’t hope to untie these hard knots. I have no knife, and the metal mirror doesn’t have edges sharp enough to cut anything.

There’s not much I can do. But there isonething.

When I come out, the men are ready to go on. They grab my ropes, and then we keep walking.

They don’t put the gag back in, which I take as a sign that they’re not sure what will happen when we get to their village. Othermen might claim me before them, and so these guys will try to get me to preferthem. Probably my wishes will count for more than theirs. It will be smart of them if they make me like them now that they don’t have competition.

Or I’m just making things up to calm myself down.

“You will never be their chief,” I say to Dren’in, keeping my voice low enough that the Krast men can’t complain. “Did you think you as strong and good as Korr’ax? They tie you to their Krast totem pole and throw rotten fruits at you for fun.”

The Krast men turn their heads and look at Dren’in with cold eyes.

Dren’in looks down, unable to face them. “We have a deal. I gave them a woman.”

“You tribe is war with the Krast,” I remind him. “You think they deal with enemy man?”

I’m not sure where I’m going with this. But I’ve had enough of this fucking planet. My mind is pitch black and hopeless. Korr’ax is gone, and Piper is gone. My future is extremely uncertain, but almost guaranteed to be really bad. So if I can torture this damn traitor a little, then I absolutely will.

“They have a woman now,” Dren’in says, mostly to the Krast men. “Theymustmake me their chief.”

The Krast snort with derision.

“They are many swords, and you are one,” I remind him. “They notmustanything. They kill you when you look at wrong man.”

“They can’t kill me,” Dren’in says pitifully, his voice tinged with panic. “I gave them a woman!”

A Krast man says something to another, and they both laugh evilly while glancing at Dren’in.

“Look at Krast men,” I go on softly, mostly for the benefit of the Krast. “They big, strong, fight Bigs. Dren’in is small, thin. Hunt littlesprontonly. Nobody likes Dren’in in the Borok tribe; Chief Korr’ax think you kill Piper. Who will avenge Dren’in? Nobody! You took Korr’ax’s wife, gave to Krast. Now Krast want you dead so Korr’ax not blame them. Now Korr’ax want you dead because you take wife. You dead, Dren’in. Very dead Dren’in. Borok men ask, ‘where Dren’in?’ Krast men say, ‘we not know, maybe he dead in jungle’. Borok men say, ‘good. Dren’in was silly little man, hunt onlysprontand make Chief Korr’ax angry.”

The Krast men chuckle at my evil monologue, and they start giving me little smiles.

It’s too much for Dren’in. The next time I look behind me, he’s gone.

“Dren’in gone,” I loudly announce. “Gone to huntspront? Hunt with his broken teeth? He chase the spront with his bad smell! The smell kill the spront, and Borok tribe think he great hunter. But Dren’in only smell bad!”

The Krast men laugh at my crude joke, relieved that they’re rid of him and the problem he might create. None of these guys are leaders, and they plainly don’t have the authority to decide anything. Not even to get rid of Dren’in, pitiful though he is.

“Or maybe Dren’in follow Krast men now,” I go on, “so afraid of Krast men he crawl through bush like smelly spront!”

The men laugh again. I’m not even sure what I’m saying, or what exactly a spront is, but they can’t really gag me again now that we’re all on the same side against Dren’in. And the more noise Imake, the greater the chance that we get attacked by a predator.

That’s the best possible outcome right now. Just sudden death by dinosaur. It was always going to happen. That’s the way of this planet, I realize now. Itisgoing to get you.

“Borok men all just little Dren’in,” I make up to flatter these guys. “Small and weak, can’t keep woman in tribe. Woman goes to Krast to find better warriors.”

They smile at me, showing me my tactic works. Good. I’ll just keep talking, a little louder than natural.

“Smell bad too, all Borok men. No water in creek, not can wash…”

The attack I want comes two minutes later. I don’t see the attacker, I just notice that the rope that goes from my waist to behind me is suddenly just dangling freely. The Krast man who should be holding it is nowhere to be seen.

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