Page 45 of Caveman Alien's Terror

“I think he’s saying something,” Astrid informs me from the corner of her mouth. “Using sign language.”

“As opposed to a language we might actually understand,” I growl at the incomprehensible waving and flopping of alien fingers. “And I suspect he’s not talking about gold.”

“I don’t think they have any,” Astrid says tightly. “If they did, I think they’d wear it.”

I shake my head. “Weargold? Openly? This world is insane.”

The leader of the furry things keeps gesturing, but I don’t catch any of it. Still, I have no problem understanding the underlying threat of the situation.

“I think he says,” Astrid says softly, “that they want us to leave. Not sure, just a feeling.”

“Oh, you think so?” I mock her obvious conclusion. “That’s very shrewd of you.” I test the ropes again. Given time, I could probably get loose. “Can you tell him that we can’t? Because they bound us?”

“I don’t know how to say anything with their signs. Even if my hands were free. I’ll just nod and hope it doesn’t mean anything bad.”

I can see her trying, but I doubt the alien creatures will understand. The leader gives up, turns around, and jumps straight back up the tube he came down from. There are sounds of him climbing up its inside.

The other ones grab Astrid by her hands and feet, moving as if carrying her away.

“Set her down!” I demand as I once more try to snap the ropes holding my wrists. I feel the strands cutting into my scales. I know that in a battle between me and the ropes, I will win. Butit will be a painful victory. There’s a softness to my scales that shouldn’t be there, and the ropes dig deep into me.

Hordes of the attackers suddenly rush towards me. Hundreds of hands grab me and lift me.

Then I’m carried along with Astrid, through the hall with the plants. Many torches light our way. I’ve never felt more helpless, and it’s the worst feeling I’ve ever had. They can do nearly anything they want to us.

I keep testing the ropes, preferring the acute, physical pain of doing something to the uncertainty of what will happen now. The first strand of the ropes snaps with a sharp bang.

“Don’t kill them,” Astrid says quickly from somewhere in front of me. “I don’t think they’re bad. They’re just protecting their village. Their home.”

“It’s my opinion,” I tell her as the second strand snaps, “that tying me up is bad in itself.”

We’re being quickly carried to the rock wall on the far side of the hall, then down a set of hidden stairs that I hadn’t noticed.

Below is a humid level with bare rock on all sides.

“I think you were right,” Astrid says, sounding calmer than I would expect. “This is an old river valley that was filled in. There’s still water down here.”

“It’s a sewer,” I seethe, adding more force to my wrists and clenching my jaws as the ropes cut into me. “If they think they can dispose of me here, they’re sorely mistaken.”

With all the furry things around me, I have trouble seeing what’s happening. But I hear the thunder of running water somewhere in the distance.

We’re being carried through a tunnel when the third strand snaps. Ichor is running down my hands, but now I know I will be free of the ropes in just a few moments. If I really had to, I could snap the rest of the strands now.

The thunderous sound suddenly gets louder, and cool air washes over me as the many torches flare up and flicker wildly.

“Someone opened a door to the outside,” Astrid says. “I think there’s a waterfall. Can you swim?”

“I won’t need to,” I tell her as the fourth strand snaps. “But our captors better hope they can.”

I allow myself a short break from the pain before I’ll snap the rest of the rope.

Sensing that we’re being carried down a hillside, I start to worry that they’ll toss us off a sheer drop. In this damnably weak form, even I could be badly injured by the landing.

As I tighten up in preparation for getting free, the furry creatures suddenly drop me to the ground.

I snap the ropes and slash my hands through the air around me, wanting to rip the enemy open with my claws. But I find only thin air. The creatures are scrambling to get away, jumping and bouncing so fast some of their torches are being blown out. They’re all going back up the hill. That’s all I see of them.

With the torches gone, there’s darkness all around. But my dragon eyes are made for spotting intruders inside my cavernous lair deep inside a mountain, and I see what I need.The thunderous roar of the underground waterfall is quite close now, and I keep getting sprayed with cold droplets of water.

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