Chapter 8: The Virtue of Deceit

"C'mon, get up." Zara nudged her human awake with her snout.

"Wha?" The human slowly rolled over.

"It's time to start the day."

"Already?" Zack woke up with an intense soreness in his hands and arms. The rest of his body was just the regular sort of stiff that came with a bad night's sleep. Sleeping in a raptor nest was not comfortable, though it wasn't the worst thing in the world either. Things could have definitely been worse.

Zack wasn't even disoriented by the fact that he awoke in a den of raptors. It was no weirder than sleeping in the bathysphere the night before or in the damn closet back at the bomb shelter in the junkyard. Zack was definitely getting used to the weirdness. He found it rather easy to acclimate to new situations when he was presented no real choice in the matter. There was something he would likely never get used to though… his stomach was grumbling at him, demanding food. Being stuck in the Lost Land, Zack figured he might end up eating less, but he didn't think anything could get him used to the idea of never-ending hunger. Go too long without food and one died… Zack figured that wasn't going to happen; surely the raptors could get him food.

Getting up and moving closer towards the rays of light, Zack saw that the skin on his hands and forearms had cracked and bled through the night. Looking at the damage made it feel more painful. He could feel the separation in his skin; it was not a pleasant sensation. There was definitely something that was irritating him, though he wasn't sure what. Even if he knew what the problem was, there wasn't likely anything he could do about it. The raptors were intelligent, but he doubted they knew much about medicine. Hopefully it was just some allergy or irritation that would pass with time. Or perhaps there was something in the air of the Lost Land that was toxic to him and he would be dead in a few days. There was no way to know.

The pack leader, Crystal, walked up and stood next to Zara while they waited on the human. The other raptors congregated further back, away from Zack.

"So, what are we doing, exactly?" Zack asked.

"You are going to get food for the pack," Crystal said, "from a human settlement."

"Uh… okay." Zack hid his surprise. This sounded like an incredibly easy task, especially when compared to all the other crap he had been through lately. Though the raptors didn't need to know how easy he thought it was. But then, a tiny issue with the request caught in Zack's mind. "Um, I'm not going to be able to get food without money, or something to trade. I can't just waltz in and demand food. That's not how things worked where I'm from, and I doubt the humans of the Lost Land are any different."

Crystal turned to Zara. "Get him one of your trinkets."

Zara sighed.

"Do it," her leader commanded.

"What's going on? What is she getting?" Zack asked as Zara disappeared into a dark corner of the den.

"Zara likes collecting human things," Crystal said. "You will take one and use it to trade for food to feed the pack."

"Oh. Alright." Zack shrugged. It seemed simple enough, so long as whatever Zara collected would be worth trading food for.

Zara returned with a long, large silvery object in her claws.

The raptors started filing out of the den, one by one. Zara and Crystal waited while the others left. Once the other raptors were gone, Zara jumped out.

"Off you go, human." Crystal nudged Zack toward the opening.

Rather than jumping out, Zack climbed down the vines.

Crystal jumped out, landing on the ground before the human had finished climbing down the vines. When Zack finally get down, he noticed only Zara and Crystal waiting for him. The other raptors were nowhere to be seen.

"Where'd everybody go?" Zack asked.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, human," Crystal said. "We will lead you to the human settlement."

"Okay, which way?"

"Follow me." Zara turned around and started walking into the jungle. Zack followed obediently behind with Crystal pulling up the rear. Crystal wanted to observe how the human moved for a bit, and trailing at the tail end of the group she could attack the human from behind if he tried anything stupid.

The jungle was alive with sound, from hooting monkeys to chirping birds and buzzing insects. Zack was silent as he listened to the jungle around him. The sounds were surprisingly… normal. He felt as if he could have been back in a jungle back in his home dimension, minus the two velociraptors he was traveling with. It was so odd, Zack had seen robots, cyborgs, mutants, giant bugs, and dinosaurs; but now the Lost Land seemed so mundane. Not that mundane was necessarily a bad thing. If Zack found himself running for his life from soldier bugs on a daily basis he probably wasn't going to last very long.

It felt like no one had spoken in quite a long time, though Zack wasn't sure. He found himself more reserved with Crystal around. She was a lot more intimidating than Zara was, probably she was the pack alpha and Zack figured his fate was ultimately in her claws.

Crystal was deep in thought. She still wasn't quite sure what they would ultimately use the human for. But they'd figure out something. An advantage like this wasn't likely to ever happen again.

Eventually, Zack grew tired of the lack of conversation. Some of the birds in the trees were making annoying sounds and some dialogue would help in distracting him from their incessant chirps. Besides, there was something weighing on Zack's mind.

"Have you ever eaten human before?"

"Oh, yes! They're delicious!" Zara blurted out.

"I thought you found humans interesting."

"And I can't also find them delicious?"

"I see."

"Relax," Crystal spoke from behind. "If we were going to eat you, we would have done it already."

"I find that so comforting," Zack replied in a sarcastic tone. Zack felt a tingling sensation on his arm. Upon examination of his limb, he found the culprit was a large tick. "Miserable bug." Zack ripped the tick off.

"What?" Zara turned her head back.

"Oh. Just found a tick on me."

Crystal couldn't help but chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Zack turned to look at the blue and black raptor trailing him.

"You. You humans are capable of such great destruction and suffering, yet the tiniest things can aggravate you."

"Great destruction and suffering, huh? From what I've seen of the Lost Land, humans aren't the only ones capable of that."

"True," Zara agreed.

At the rate Zack was moving, it had taken them a few hours to reach the settlement. Eventually, Crystal had stopped trailing behind and chose to walk alongside Zack. Though conversation was still rather sparse and Zack was constantly stealing glances at Crystal. She had such an odd, yet beautiful, color scheme.

Eventually the two raptors came to a halt. The human followed their example. "We here?"

"Yes," Crystal said. "The settlement is up ahead. You will go the rest of the way alone."

Zara handed off her human device to Zack. It was so heavy he was barely able to hold it. Zack was pretty sure it was some sort of cannon, but he noticed at the end of the device were what looked to be shoulder pads.

Am I supposed to wear this fucking thing? Zack wondered to himself. He slipped himself under the shoulder pads until his head poked through the gap in between. Zack found that the device now looked like it was protruding out of his chest. His balance was off, but Zack was at least able to carry the thing now.

"Bring back meat," Crystal instructed as Zack walked towards the town.

"Right. I'll be back with meat."

Zack kept walking straight forward until the jungle foliage started to dwindle to a few shrubs. Soon he saw buildings.

"This is it." Zack gulped.

He entered the town. Zack felt like he had gone back in time some two hundred years, give or take. Many of the houses were built out of wood or straw. Only a few were built from stone. The street, if it could even be called that, was nothing but a dusty dirt path.

The inhabitants were a motley collection of humans. There were a great variety of skin tones and hair colors. Most of the townsfolk were clad in either rough leather or dingy cloth. Then Zack noticed something; the townspeople were all giving him stares. This didn't seem like the usual gawking at a newcomer that one might expect from a small, isolated community that didn't get many visitors. Zack got the impression that the townsfolk were worried, maybe even afraid of him.

Two humans dressed in leather armor approached with rifles drawn. Zack figured they were the town's guards.

"Look, we don't want any trouble." The first guard spoke with uncertainly in his voice.

"Neither do I?"

The guards sported puzzled looks on their faces. "Then why do you have your fusion cannon up?"

"Because I came here to sell it," Zack answered. At least now Zack knew the item he had was indeed a cannon.

The pair of humans suddenly seemed dumbfounded. "Uh… then why do you have it equipped like you're going to use it?"

"How else do you want me to carry this fucking thing?" Zack snapped at the guard. Zack was certain they were scared of him now. He figured he better play the part and utilize the advantage. "Do you know where the nearest weapons shop is?"

The two guards didn't answer, still partially locked in a shocked stupor.

"If I was going to fire this thing, don't you think I'd have done it already?"

"Right. Shop's right over there." One of the guards pointed.

"Thank you."

Zack went over to the shop. It was a simple square building made out of wood and mud. Zack pushed the old wooden door open with the tip of his cannon.

"Knives, rifles, bombs. You want it? It's yours my friend, as long as you have enough credits," the portly shopkeeper greeted Zack with enthusiasm… until he noticed the weapon strapped to his chest. "That's a…. a… fusion cannon."

"No shit. I'm here to sell it."

"You're here… to sell it?"

"Did I stutter?"

The shopkeeper quickly regained his composure. "Five thousand."

"Don't insult me. Ten thousand." Zack was talking out his ass but he knew the weapon must have been worth a lot if it had spooked everyone in town that saw it.

"Ten thousand? But—"

"Just think how much you could sell it for."

"Ten thousand is still too much for a single purchase."

"That warhammer work?" Zack pointed to the weapon on the wall behind the counter.

"Of course it does. What kind of establishment do you think I run here?"

"I'm sorry. I meant no offense. Just asking. Throw in the warhammer and I'll drop the price to eight thousand."

The shopkeeper made some sort of noise as if he were about to say something but suddenly stopped. Apparently he had not made up his mind on Zack's new offer.

"Think about this for a minute. One: I was able to acquire this on my own. Two: Instead of using this thing myself, I'm choosing to sell it to you, at a very reasonable price I might add. Now what does that tell you about how dangerous I am?"

The shopkeeper went ghastly pale. "Right… right. Eight thousand and the warhammer is a good deal. I'll take it."

Zack did his best to pull off the fusion cannon without looking like a weakling. He hefted the giant weapon onto the counter and the shopkeeper handed him the warhammer and the money.

"Anywhere in this town that sells good meat?" Zack asked as he pocketed the money.

"Two buildings down on the right after you leave my shop."

"Thanks." Zack gave a friendly wave as he left.

"Please, feel free to stop by anytime. Don't be a stranger now."

Zack followed the directions and was easily able to purchase several slabs of smoked ham for the raptors and some bacon for himself. Not wanting to risk having to share his own food with the others, Zack inhaled his bacon before leaving town.

Zack noticed that people were still staring at him and murmuring to one another as he left. Word had spread like wildfire that he was a badass that traded in fusion cannons for money. Zack figured the trade wasn't in his favor. He had traded a fusion cannon for some money and a warhammer. But he didn't know how to fire the fusion cannon and with a name like that, it really seemed prudent to know how to use such a weapon or he'd probably risk blowing himself up.

Either way, what was done was done and Zack found himself struggling to carry all the wrapped ham back to Zara and Crystal. "Should have bought a wheelbarrow," he grumbled to himself.

The purple raptor and the blue raptor were still waiting right where they had been before.

"I got the food," Zack announced.

Raptors suddenly burst out from the foliage from all sides. Zack yelped in surprised and dropped the food, prompting laughter from the dinosaurs.

"What the?" Zack took several steps back as the Shattered Sickle Pack started to tear through the wrapping and devour the smoked meat he had brought.

"I thought it was just the three of us?" Zack looked over at Zara.

"The others followed from a distance. In case we couldn't trust you," Crystal answered.

"Do you trust me now?" Zack asked.

Crystal exchanged glances with Talon and Vertigo, who had stopped eating for the moment. The human had indeed passed the trial. He proved he could be trusted. He was sent to interact with other humans yet had still come back to the pack. He was given the opportunity to leave them for his own species and refused it. He had also proven that he could be useful—the food from the human settlement was incredibly delicious. But there was still one other major issue that needed to be addressed before they could consider keeping the human around as a permanent resident.

"Mostly." The pack's beta, Talon said.

"Mostly?" Ice asked. "This food is delicious!"

"It's smoked," Zack explained.

"You keep getting us food like this and you're all right with me, Clawless," Ice said.

"Clawless?" Zara asked.

"Yeah, what Onyx and Vertigo called him yesterday," Ice explained. "It's a more appropriate name than that weird human one of his."

Zack apparently now had a new name and it would be hard to argue that it wasn't a fitting one. He didn't have any claws, and in fact, the weapon he did have relied on blunt force to do damage. Thinking of his warhammer, Zack figured it was best if he said something about it.

"I also bought a warhammer for myself with the money I made. I hope that's alright."

The green raptor named Moss glared at him.

"Not to use against you. In case something attacks the pack and you need me to fight. I don't have any natural weapons. I am clawless, after all."

Crystal was pleased at hearing those words come out of the human's mouth. He still needed to be tested on his combat prowess. That he brought up the issue on his own without any prompting was a good sign.

"Shall we let him keep it, Alpha?" Talon turned to his leader.

"Might as well let him." Crystal shrugged, pretending it wasn't a big deal (even though it was). "He has gained some of my trust. You have passed this trial, after all."

"This wasn't so much a trial." Talon ate some more of the smoked flesh. "More of a snack, really."

"Tomorrow, you will be tested in a real trial," Crystal said.

"Sure." Was all Zack could think to say. With how happy the raptors were with the food, he thought he had already proven his worth. He just hoped the next trial would turn out to be as easy as the first one.

Zack waited as the raptors finished eating. Thinking on the recent changes this life had abruptly taken, Zack found himself glad he had jumped through the portal. No more complicated taxes, no more ridiculously high bills or lawsuits. No more needless bullshit that had kept him in a state of near-poverty. A few days away from it all in an inter-dimensional hub realm and he found real perspective on his old life—he hated it. Zack was glad he left. Lying through his teeth and getting food for velociraptors was a good deal more satisfying than anything he had ever done at any of his old jobs.

"That was a good meal," Amethyst smacked her jaws.

"Let's head home," Crystal said when all the ham had been devoured. "We have an important day ahead of us tomorrow."

Zack—Clawless found himself wondering what exactly velociraptors considered important. Definitely something to ask about later.

Author's Note: The fusion cannon appeared in Turok: Dinosaur Hunter.

The warhammer appeared in Turok: Rage Wars.