Page 26 of Caveman Alien's Touch

“That was close,” I tell him as he lies coughing on the ground. “I can’t believe they led us past this spot! Do theywantto kill us?”

Unin’iz gets up on hands and knees, then all the way up, steadying himself on his knees.

“Notus,” he pants. “Just the pitiful Foundling!” He suddenly slashes out with the sword, aiming for me. The tip of the blade grazes my thigh, which immediately starts to bleed.

I lift my spear and prepare to run Unin’iz through with it. It flashes through my mind that I can easily kill him and then kick him into the quicksand. Nobody will know what happened.

Then there’s another flash, showing me a certain round face with dark eyes in it, and I know I can’t keep that secret fromeveryone. I’m sure Bronwen wouldn’t like to hear about me murdering someone.

I spin around and run up the hill. Now Iamgoing to win this silly game, whatever the cost.

The next tribesman I pass doesn’t speak to me, and I speed up and keep going.

The course goes up a hill again. On the top it drops steeply off into an overgrown valley where I’d much prefer not to go. There’s a lot of rustling from the dense bushes down there, and the leaves are moving as if there’s a whole pack of rekh living among them.

But this must be a part of the obstacle course. Two vines are hanging down from the treetops, thick and solid. They’ve been placed there on purpose, that much is clear. It should be possible to use them to swing over to the other side of the gorge. It’s too far to jump, certainly.

Well, if that’s the way they want it, I’ll do my best.

I walk a couple of paces back down the hill, spotting Unin’iz on his way up. He’s gray with wet quicksand, but there’s fury in his eyes. I better keep my lead and not let him get into striking range again.

I run as fast as I can, leap towards the nearest vine, and grab it with both hands. I half expect it to snap and make me fall into the bushes, but it holds and carries me to the other side. Jumping off, I can’t help but wonder how Unin’iz can make that leap. He doesn’t have leg muscles like me.

But that’s his problem, not mine.

My heart is beating hard in my ears, and I could swear it sounds like a deep hum every time I breathe. On the other hand, I’m not used to running for this long. Perhaps this is what it’s like.

I run on, passing another Borok man.

“You’re bleeding!” he yells to me as I pass. “This game is not worth dying for!”

“Tell that to your tribesman,” I shout back. “It was his sword!”

But now I want to win, more than ever. Unin’iz has made this a matter of honor. I can’t let someone with his dishonorable behavior win.

Running on, I don’t see any new obstacles, and I think I must be nearing the end of the course.

No sooner have I thought it before the ground disappears under me with a sound of breaking branches. It’s a pit trap!

But my reactions are quicker than my thoughts. Before I fully realize what’s happening, I stab the spear into the ground behind me as hard as I can. As I drop into the void, I let my hands slide down the shaft until I’m hanging off the edge, clinging to the spearhead. It cuts into my hands, but I ignore the searing pain and pull myself up and out of the pit.

“Not much of an obstacle,” I seethe, trying to not get blood on my new shorts. “This is just a trap! Are theytryingto kill me?!”

If so, all the more important that I win this.

As I run on, I reflect that the pit trap was made specially for me. The Borok tribe must know how I trapped the women in a trap much like that one. Perhaps it amuses them to think I’d fall into one myself.

Still I sense the hum, but now I’m sure it’s not my own heartbeat. Something else is making this sound, and it can only be a creature. But I’ve never heard a deep hum like that.

A bolt of coldness shoots through me. Surely the Agent of Darkness that Shaman Melr’ax talked about can’t have come to fight us? The dragon?

I stop and listen. Yes, that’s very definitely a hum, unpleasant and with a screechy note to it. It could be some kind of strange Big that’s just passing by. It may not even be all that close.

I run on, seeing glimpses of the peak of the red Mount in the distance. The village must be nearby, and the race is nearly over. Throwing a glance over my shoulder, I spot Unin’iz far behind me.

Soon the jungle grows thinner, and I pass the first of the Borok men who have gathered around to see us run the final length of the course. The crowd quickly gets thicker, on both sides of the path. Bronwen is standing with her friends right by the village gates. The sight of her makes me speed up.

They spot me, and the cheer spreads further into the crowd. There’s a path in the middle of the crowd, and at the end of it is Sarker’ox and the finish line.

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