Snatched by cmsix

Chapter 13

If ever there was a match obviously made in heaven it was Jekaycey and Denac. From their first dreamy rendezvous that morning it was plain to see if you only looked.

Denac's near worshipful demeanor made it seem he should have a hat, so he could have met her with it in his hands, and the genuinely pleased smile on his face fit him perfectly then, as it never could have before.

Jekaycey's mood matched his and it made me wonder if I'd looked like that when the spirit had moved me. Then I realized that I must have looked exactly like that twice. One thing was certain; Denac would not be helping me with the tree today.

That didn't mean today wasn't meant to be the day the tree came down though. Or I knew for sure that someone thought it should. Maybe my benefactors and Breezus just hadn't bothered to get together to check their calendars of events. Things had been arranged, though I didn't make my discovery until after we'd had our breakfast.

With Denac out of any work related action for three days, and with my mates rushing into their thong cutting as soon as breakfast was over, I was on my own again today. I gave Buttercup a walking but even though he seemed happy to have the attention there was only so much time I could use up with him.

We had been lucky to get the camp up and going without a rain, and it made me remember my trunk and other things that were just too bulky to come into the hut. I had a small type of shed in mind for it all as I headed that way. When I got there thoughts of shed building went onto the back burner.

It wasn't the first time I'd received a gift from my travel agents, but it had been a while since the last one. They made up for it with this. Leaning against my trunk was an eight-foot two-man saw, and a four-foot topping saw. The eight footer wasn't made as a strictly crosscut or felling saw, it was for double duty and could be used as a ripping saw too.

There were also six wedges, two ten pound sledges, two splitting mauls, a two pound hammer and a three pound, and two carpenter type handsaws, one eight point and one five point. I also had a largish box of files, three Arkansas stones, and four sheath knives, and other small tools and things.

My benefactors hadn't left my mates out of the goodies either. Some of the new items must be presents for them; two Bowie knives with ten inch blades, and two six inch drop point hunters. One really odd inclusion was a four-inch by eight-inch piece of aluminum screen wire, like window screen. I didn't have a clue what it was for. Last but not least was a pair of Red Wing lineman's boots, a climbing harness, and a set of tree climbing spikes.

Of course the two-man saw was the star of the show and it was no doubt for felling the bee tree we'd robbed yesterday. The sledges and wedges would be needed to keep the kerf open as we made our way through. They and the mauls would also come in handy later to split firewood.

The mating dance that Jekaycey and Denac were involved in would make cutting the damned tree down too much of a pain in the ass today, no matter what my friends wanted. They should have sent me a couple of decent shovels if they wanted action right now. I could dig for the meteorite by myself with a good shovel.

Oh, I could work on the tree today all right, but not fell it. I could top it by myself, even though it wasn't the safest of things to do. Actually, though I was glad to have the equipment for topping, I didn't think it would really be needed on the bee tree. It wasn't all that tall in the first place.

Sure, there was a chance it would break apart when it fell, especially since it had a big hollow portion and not to mention the serious scorching it had received. It wouldn't really matter though. Firewood was all it was good for now. I didn't care how badly it mangled any comb that might be in the hollow and we surely had enough honey, for the time being anyway.

Looked to me like my shed building gig was still a go. First I'd have to deal with my new things though. They hadn't come with handy dandy cases like everything else, except for the one holding the files, stones, and other small things. There was not a chance in hell I'd try to put them into the hut without warning my mates this time, and asking if it was all right.

Meeting them as they were coming back from a stream where they'd soaked two of the hides, I followed to where they had a spot picked out to work. As they got to it, I noticed they had some type of lapboard to use while they were cutting. It must have been a hell of a job for whoever made them. They had to have been split off a large log and then sanded smooth with real sand.

Before they got started I led them to my cart and showed them the new arrivals. I'd expected them to be very surprised but they weren't. I couldn't stop from asking them about it.

"The medicine woman story we told you about tells of her receiving gifts during the night sometimes. We do not know what they were anymore, even though we know the names of some of them. After this long though we don't know what the names mean.

"One time during a big sickness she received some syringes and some vials of antibiotic. Another time she received some scalpels. I don't remember the other things though," Shaeta said.

"Do you know what antibiotic is?" Katia asked.

"Yes, it is a type of medicine and it is pushed into the body with a small needle that has a tube down its center. This is done with a syringe. Scalpels are small and very sharp knives used to cut into a person's body," I said.

"Suture. That was something else. She got some suture. What is suture," Shaeta asked.

"Suture is a type of small thread that is used to sew a body closed again after it has been cut. They will work for accidental cuts or for cuts the healing woman might make with a scalpel," I said.

They were satisfied with the information, so I told them about all the things I'd received and showed them the items. They had no trouble understanding after I explained each thing.

The lineman's boots were the strangest things to them, or the climbing spikes and the harness at least. They couldn't understand my fascination with climbing trees. I gave up trying to explain it after a few minutes. They agreed that of course I should put the new items inside the hut, and they also approved of me building a shed. They even encouraged me to put the tall case my bow was in inside.

With at least a few marching orders I got to work and they went over to a large deadfall that we had all been using as a sort of community couch. They sat down and after a few minutes they were busily cutting the rawhide into thongs.

Their work perch reminded me that I could use the two man saw to fell larger trees than they normally did. Solid wood furniture made from sections of a tree's trunk would be heavy, but the saw could make it easier to obtain.

After storing my bow's case and my new arrivals in our hut, I left with the cart, hatchet, Glock, and topping saw. I was going for a few more of the birches and maybe a small oak that I'd try splitting shingles out of if I could find one I thought I could manage on my own.

This was not the best time of the year to cut shingles, I knew that, but there wasn't really much choice. I needed a shed, now; I couldn't wait for winter to come to send the sap down to the roots. I'd have to do the best I could and then do it again this winter.

Five hundred yards from camp I turned around and headed back, for my M1. I'd smelled a vendal, or something very similar. I'd only seen two in all my time on Margata and since they were similar to the black bears of earth I'd steered clear of them.

The scent hadn't been exactly the same as the two others, and it was more than a half-mile off, still, they were dangerous, much more aggressive than earth's black bears. A half-mile wasn't that far away either. This was serious.

After I told my mates, they were worried, hell I didn't blame them, I was worried too. Since they'd told me about the Meseeka I didn't worry about others seeing my M1 and I fetched it next. Shaeta and Katia followed me and kept insisting that I tell Zakat. I relented and started looking for him.

He and Matatu were near the center of camp, discussing something with Caloe, Shata, and Caltort. I hated to interrupt but felt like I had to.

"Zakat, there is a vendal near our camp, maybe half a mile away," I said, not bothering with pleasantries.

After that shocker it was obvious that my slight breach of protocol wasn't even considered.

"Are you sure?" Matatu asked.

"No, but nearly so. It didn't smell exactly like the other two I've seen before but it was very similar. It is a vendal or something very like it," I said.

"We will gather all the men then, and go see. They can be very dangerous. Sometimes they can be frightened off if there are enough men with spears," Zakat said, and then we were about it.

Even Denac was pulled from his pre-mating daze when he heard the news, but Zakat told him to stay in camp in case the vendal found it before we found the vendal. Denac didn't like it but I could tell he understood the reason.

Someone had to stay in camp and since he was still recovering from his concussion he was a natural choice. Zakat left two other men also, the next two largest, and all the boys older than ten were told to get their spears too, to help guard the camp.

There was no way it could slip by us, not with my Margata enhanced sense of smell, but I didn't mention it. I did spend a lot of time hoping we could scare the bastard off while we were walking toward it. I didn't want to have to use the M1 with everybody watching; then again, I wasn't about to let them try killing it with spears.

Two hundred yards from camp I knew that it was coming closer and I was beginning to think it wasn't a vendal. With it closer now, the differences in the scent were more noticeable.

We came up on it not quite a half-mile from camp, and it was eating, but it wasn't a vendal. Shaton called it vadeesey. The mother fucker was bear like all right. Grizzly bear like, but bigger. It had to be nearly eighteen feet tall when it stood on it's hind legs and I was glad as hell I'd thought to grab a couple more of those chicken shit clips for the M1. Currently it was stuffing itself on the thaka it had surely killed not long ago.

Everyone was shocked when we saw it and I could see them getting revved up to try and plan a way to kill it. They were determined not to let it get any closer to camp, and no wonder. It had to weigh three thousand pounds at least.

"Zakat, tell everyone to get behind me. I will deal with it," I said, and stepped forward with the M1 to my shoulder.

They were all shocked again and clearly wondered what in the hell I thought I could do with the big son of a bitch. I didn't have time to talk though. We were already within two hundred yards of it and I wanted to put some lead into it right now.

Taking a rest over a nearby oak limb, I commenced firing. I was very familiar with the rifle and knew exactly how it was sighted in. The cross hairs would be three inches high at this range.

The first shot took it near the mouth and it was a fairly solid hit, but it stood up from its meal and headed our way on its big hind legs. I knew it was standing for the improved view while it tried to locate us.

Switching my point of aim to its chest I fired as quickly as I could re-acquire the target. I knew damned well I was hitting it but it didn't fall. Mentally cursing after the eighth and last shot of the clip, I reached for another one and did the thumb busting reload faster than I ever had before.

The god-dammed furry monster looked twice as big when I put the scope on it again and it was down on all fours, coming faster. No doubt it knew exactly where we were now.

With it low-running now I was back to headshots and five more of them did the trick. I didn't have any idea why in the hell it had taken so many shots because I was positive that every one had been a good hit.

Zakat and the others were standing there in shock, but with their spears ready to cast. They all seemed to realize it was dead at the same time, and damned if they didn't seem to be giving me a hurrah, or what they considered one. I'm sure they were thrilled that the monster was no longer running toward us at its breakneck speed.

Zakat was in control again after a few seconds and he sent two men back to fetch most of the women, and half the others back to fetch their travois. I went with them to get my cart, and some more ammunition.

It didn't take ten seconds for Caloe and Shata to get the women moving after they got the news, and I had a chest swelling walk back, pulling my cart and walking between my mates. Shaeta told me that the Calak had never killed a vadeesey before, and Katia asked me if it was as big as she'd always heard.

"I don't know what you've heard, but it looked almost as tall as our hut to me. It was frightening," I said, not a damned bit ashamed to admit it.

"Were many men hurt," Caloe, who had come up beside us asked.

"None," I said, and she gave me one of those looks that say bullshit.

Her skepticism was understandable. Probably half of us would have died trying to kill that giant with flint tipped spears, if not every damned one of us.

By the time we reached the carcass the healing woman was practically giddy. She had run ahead as fast as her feet would carry her and when she found she had nothing to do she was amazed, and thrilled.

The other men were nearly as bad, and they actually cheered me. Then they formed a line and every damned one of them came up to tell me their name, every fucking one. I made sure that both Katia and Shaeta stayed with me so I could keep up with them all.

I realized they knew all the names already, but I wanted to make sure I had a grip on the ones that weren't there, and hadn't given me their names.

Even with all these women to deal with the carcass it would be night before things were finished. Zakat asked if anyone had brought their fire kit and I spoke up first, since I never went anywhere without my Zippo. He put several of the other men gathering kindling and wood for fires and asked me if I would get them started; I was happy to.

The way those women swarmed that bear was amazing. They were taking out guts and organs in minutes and then they started skinning. I passed my hatchet to Shaeta on the sly so they wouldn't have to cut the bones with their stone headed models and no one seemed to notice the difference, except Katia, Caloe, Shata, and the healing woman, and they weren't talking. I tried to watch Zakat and Matatu while it went on and even they didn't notice how quickly things were going.

My attempted head shots had made a fucking bloody mess of the things head, but when they broke its skull open to get the brain I could see I hadn't put one round into it and I could tell why. Not only was it lower in the skull than I could have imagined, it was only about the size of a hardball, maybe smaller.

I'd watched when they'd taken the heart out too and I hadn't hit it either. Again, it was lower than I thought. Its aorta was shot to hell though and its lungs were not in good shape either. All in all things had come out well. I didn't have any choice; cause if I'd had one, shooting at a monster like that with anything thirty caliber would have been none of them.

It was only about an hour after sunset when the last load headed back to camp, and that was me and my dolly. I had the skin and a few of the internal organs and it was easily three hundred pounds. Shaeta and Katia were lighting my way with a couple of torches they'd made.

Of course the work wasn't done even after it was all back to camp, but it was far enough along that the rest could wait until tomorrow. Everyone was tired and we all took to our huts right away.

Katia and Shaeta couldn't stop bragging on me, especially to me, and they said that the medicine woman thought I was the best man that had ever been born.

"She seems to take it as a personal insult when one of her flock is injured, and she is so happy that you kept any of them from even getting a scratch that she doesn't know what to do. You have made a powerful friend in her," Shaeta said.

"In our mothers too, they are very happy you are in out Calak now, very happy. Even daddy is happy, or should I say happier," Katia said.

That couldn't be bad, having all the big wigs on my side. I didn't see where it would hurt a damned thing.