SURVIVIAL OF THE FITTEST
By Susan Zell
Disclaimers: See Chapter One
CHAPTER NINE"Impeccable Timing, As Always"
The bedraggled trio made a sorry sight as they traveled down a worn path. The going was slow. Roxton's limp was pronounced and his face pinched tight. He was exhausted. Any energy he may have garnered from last evening's rest was quickly expended as he stumbled over roots and plateau detritus. It was a genuine effort now to keep his attention on the jungle around him. He was grateful for the man and woman walking behind him.
Veronica had noticed him falling behind and had placed him at point, allowing him to set the pace, slow and plodding. Malone took up the rear this time. One thing kept gnawing at Roxton. They had expended a great deal of ammunition over the course of this hunt. They were down to what they had left in their weapons, and not all of the chambers were full. If the cats decided to rush one last time, it wouldn't take much of a sustained attack to drain them.
He had to hope that the cats' continuing failure had disheartened them enough go back to the plains and pray for rain. If he weren't so tired he would have smiled at his little joke.
But his hopes were dashed the minute he spied a tawny shape through the brush. A rifle shot rang out and the cat sprang deeper into the jungle. A second shot followed after.
"Malone, enough! Don't waste your ammo," Roxton shouted.
The three huddled together, their backs to each other's.
Veronica, her bloody knife clenched tight in her hand, could see more of the shapes shifting through the dense woods. "They're just pacing us, following us."
"Why aren't they attacking?" Malone asked nervously.
"They just got smarter."
Veronica was not pleased. She had rarely seen them so persistent. Usually one battle with guns would frighten most sabertooths away.
"Are you telling me they know we're running out of bullets?" Malone was incredulous.
"No," Roxton said. "They know we're wounded and tired. They're hopeful that one of us will fall behind and the others won't care. They just have to wait."
"We're not antelope. We don't abandon anyone."
Roxton flashed him a grin. "Lucky for me."
"So maybe they'll just follow us the rest of the way. When we reach camp, and reinforcements, perhaps they'll see the futility of this hunt."
"Perhaps," Roxton mused. "We can't afford to waste our shots though. Challenger and the rest might have headed for home already. They have no idea we ran into trouble. What we have in our guns may be all that stands between us and a sabertooth's belly."
The troop broke apart and took up their positions as before. It was still a slow pace and nervous eyes darted to and fro about them in an effort to locate the enemy. The cats were making no attempt to hide the fact that they were out there.
Every once in a while he would catch sight of their coats, flashing golden brown against the deep green. Malone's first instinct was to bring the cat into his rifle sights and fire. But he was more terrified of facing these brutes without any weapon whatsoever. So he held his instincts in check.
Veronica spoke from in front of him. She had her head partially turned so that Malone could hear, or maybe because it was something Roxton most likely already knew. "I've seen them try to scatter iguanodons into panic. They'll try to break and scatter us so they can more easily select a victim."
Almost as suddenly as she said the words, one beast broke from cover and charged her.
Roxton and Malone's weapons swiftly rose.
"Don't fire!" shouted Roxton.
Malone's hands were shaking so hard that he was surprised the rifle didn't discharge automatically because of it.
"Wait for it! Wait for it!" chanted the hunter.
No more than twenty paces from Veroncia, Roxton took a bold step forward and shouted "Boom!"
The cat slid and twisted to the side, and in two leaps disappeared into the brush.
Malone nearly collapsed. He was shaking all over now. Even Veronica looked as pale as Roxton.
"It's like facing a speeding A-train with nothing but a flag," he cried out.
"Or a towel," said Veronica.
Malone let out a gasping laugh. Veronica joined him.
Roxton merely looked at the two them with a raised eyebrow. It was better not to know their inside joke, but he was relieved that somehow the two had made peace with each other. He felt it important. He prayed he had the same opportunity to do so with Marguerite.
He wondered if she was still cross with him. It pained him to think so. No matter what was between them, he swore he would make it right the minute he saw her. Life was far too short and time too precious to bandy words with petty arguments. He had said his peace on the matter and it was done. He could only hope that she was as forgiving of him and saw the reason for the way he spoke. An apology from him about the way he brought the matter to light should do wonders to soothe her ruffled feathers. And the stone he carried would help as well. His fingers automatically touched the stone in his pocket, running a thumb over the smooth left side and it calmed him.
"That probably won't work a second time without a real bullet to back it up," Malone pointed out.
"You're probably right," agreed the hunter. "Every bullet counts now. We need a killing blow with every shot."
Malone's confidence was not as secure as the other two professional hunters. He kept trying to make himself forget he was just a journalist. Today, he was a deadly professional adventurer. He wondered how long it would take him to fully believe that notion.
They walked on slowly; the oppressive heat drained them with every footstep. Roxton knew they needed water. Their canteens had gone dry hours ago and they couldn't afford to become dehydrated and still maintain their concentration on staying alive. There was a waterhole that held promise only a quarter mile to their right.
Roxton presented Veronica with his opinion. Amidst much apprehension eventually she couldn't fault his logic. They decided it was worth the risk. If for no other reason that perhaps there would be other animals about which would distract the cats. Easier prey was always appetizing.
They had to leave the safety of the path but Roxton soon found an animal trail and took that making their journey a tad less difficult. It wasn't as wide as the previous trail, this one being made by smaller animals rather than large dinosaurs, but most everything in the Lost World was large. Even the smaller animals made wide paths.
Malone kept holding his breath as the trail brought the cats into even closer proximity. It felt as if they could reach out with their huge paws and snatch him from his very spot. But miraculously none tried. In fact, they remained unchallenged all the way to the waterhole. Whereas before they had seemed everywhere, now they were gone. He couldn't see or hear them anymore. Oddly it didn't leave him feeling any sense of relief at all. He placed the rifle over his shoulder and drew out the pistol. It would work better in the closer conditions.
There was sparse vegetation and no animals by the waterhole. The reason became quickly clear. The waterhole had long dried up. All that was left was a smattering of mud and some rocks. Birds and lizards were fighting for it, but there was only enough to barely slack even their thirst.
The three stood there and combed every bush, gully and patch of brown grass with a trained eye and it was long minutes later that Roxton finally decided it was safe to head back to camp.
Dejected, they had just made the turn back onto the trail when all hell broke loose. The brush erupted with a snarling mass of attacking sabetooths. How they missed colliding with each other in the momentary commotion Malone don't know. One lioness was not more than five meters from him before launching herself at Roxton, a mere two meters from the hunter. He felt the draft of her passing against his face and looked into her eye.
Incredibly...she missed!
The couple of seconds of intense action and excitement seemed like a lifetime. Veronica shouted and dove at Roxton to pull him aside, though even her reflexes wouldn't have saved him if the cat's attack had been accurate. Either it was some inner sixth sense of the hunter's that made him pause for just a second or the starving weakened animal had miscalculated. Veronica guessed it was more an angel's guiding hand instead. Malone's pistol boomed and then it was followed by a second and a third.
However, none of those latter shots had come from him or Roxton. But three big cats lay dead at their feet. Not a single one of them moved.
The dust settled and Malone slowly got his heart to beat normally again. He had seen other kills attempted from a distance, but there was nothing to match the incredible reality of being in the middle of it all. Death had stared them all in the face and it had come with slashing claws and tearing teeth.
To his disbelief, Challenger, Marguerite and Summerlee emerged from the jungle, their rifles and pistols smoking.
"Thank God!" he exclaimed. He had never been happier to see his fellow explorers, even Marguerite.
Roxton straightened wearily; it took effort not to collapse at their feet. But he still summoned the strength to casually tilt his rifle back and rest the barrel against his shoulder, as if there wasn't another threat in the world. Or that the gun was empty and therefore not a danger to anyone.
"Impeccable timing, as always, Challenger," he commented. His sentence came out in between gasps for precious oxygen.
Veronica couldn't help the grin that spread across her face when the familiar shapes of her fellow explorers emerged from the dark green.
Marguerite smiled back, lowering her smoking rifle, until she got a good look at the people she had just saved. Her smile faded. They were a beleaguered bunch that gathered together in the clearing, covered in dirt and sweat.
Still, Marguerite couldn't contain her relief or her excitement at their entrance, not that she'd show it. "Just where the hell have you all been? We've been looking for you for hours."
A drained Roxton responded, "It's good to see you too, Marguerite."
Professor Challenger approached the carcasses of the cats. Squatting beside them, he cast a wide grin at the returning hunters, eager to hear of their exploits, even over the prospect of examining a sabertooth cat up close.
Marguerite suddenly noted that they had not brought back any game with them. "Don't tell me you didn't find anything for dinner again?" The disappointment was plain.
Roxton had the audacity to wave a hand at one of the cat carcasses.
"This dry spell brought a pride of sabertooths to this area," Veronica explained. "They've shifted the balance of the food chain."
It was then Marguerite saw that Malone was limping slightly and the young journalist's shirt was a seamstress's nightmare while Roxton's leg was drenched in blood. She quickly approached Roxton and eased him down toward a nearby rock.
"What happened?" asked a concerned Challenger.
"We almost became the main course ourselves," Roxton quipped. "A pride of sabertooths stalked us most of the way back."
Malone emptied his pistol into his hand. Only two bullets emerged, the rest were empty shells. "It's a good thing you found us when you did. This was all that was between us and them." It was the last of their bullets.
"Lucky indeed," agreed Challenger. "Are all of you well?"
Roxton grunted an affirmative.
"We best remove ourselves from this area. We'll be safer back at the treehouse," Summerlee suggested. He knelt beside Roxton and examined the injury. He glanced up. "Do you think you can make it?"
Roxton offered a wry grin. "It's better than worrying about cats all night. I'll feel safer once we get home."
Marguerite regarded Challenger. "But what about..."
"Later," he cautioned. He leaned in toward the heiress. "If we mention it now, Roxton will demand he see it. Let's get them home and fixed up. Then we'll go back for it. Malone and I can haul it home before Roxton even hears about it."
Surprised at the man's logic and deviousness, she grinned. "Why, Challenger, I never thought you had it in you."
He huffed and straightened his posture. "Why, madam, I have no idea what you're talking about?"
She chuckled softly and then moved toward Roxton to help Summerlee conduct some cursory first aid before their long trek home.
Tbc
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