(Previous)
So
there I stood, out in the middle of an open glade, daring a ravenous, annoyed
dinosaur to step into the ring and have a go at me.
Birds
sang around the water, dipping down and grabbing insects, but quite a few still
came at me. I slapped them away and
snarled, waiting for the next step in this crazy journey. How had I gotten into this mess? Oh, I knew the basics. But still. . . .
This
was insane. I was so ready to be done
with this entire Alice down the Rabbit Hole stuff.
There
was that moment when I thought about how I'd gotten here -- from killing Tommy
Creston (who had, literally, become a monster) to running for the border to
Elsewhere where I met up with Maggie, a cousin who had crossed the border long
before me. Of course, at least now I
knew my father was a High Elf and not Japanese, like my mother had always
said. Now I was a sanctioned protector,
too -- and that did mean something to me.
I even had a little magic, which hadn't helped much yet, ut I had hope
for it in the future.
Providing
I survived.
Maggie
had told me to come to Elsewhere. Maybe
I should have blamed her for all this insanity.
After all, she's the one who introduced me to Edmond, a small black
talking cat.
Yeah. Edmond the talking cat was the reason I was
standing here looking at the creature that prowled around the far edge of the
opening. He wasn't as big as Job, the
friendly dino. The herbivore dino. But you know, size is relative, though. He might not have been as large as a house,
like Job. Garage sized, maybe.
I saw
his yellow eyes staring out of the darker shadows. The dino moved, shifting left and right. His head was on a longish neck, though not
some long as Job's neck. I saw the flash
of teeth and I could tell they were sharp, even though he hadn't come out into
the open.
Canny. Wise enough to study the situation rather
than race in for me. That was unfortunate, but not unexpected. It's just that sometimes you'd like something
to go the easy way.
"So,
do you talk, too?"
"Not
with dinner."
That
told me two things I really didn't want to hear. First, of course, was that he had every
intention of having me for a nice light meal.
The second, the one that bothered me more at the moment, was that he was
a thinking animal. Job hadn't been certain. It's harder to trick a thinking creature than
it is to lead something driven by instincts.
The
ground shifted slightly beneath me. I
looked to the right and saw another huge snake moving along with a soft
undulating whip of his body. Another one
followed and then one to the left of me as well. Did the snakes talk, too? I didn't stop to try and have a conversation
with them.
This
was Edmond's plan, me standing out here all alone. No, I'm not certain why I agreed to it. Maybe it even made some sense when he told it
to me, but actually standing here --
The
Garage Dino stepped out into the light.
Yeah, he was far larger than I could fight. I brought up my hands, though, and even
managed to call some fitful magic to my fingers. It wasn't easy. Magic and I were only newly acquainted.
"You
think you can take me down with that?" he said with a contemptuous toss of
his head.
Great.
Dinosaur with attitude. Probably should
have featured him in Jerk Ass Park.
"I
know that's a swamp," he said. He
stood on four legs and his tail twitched.
Why did I think I had met the ancestor of all cats? But they had to be mammals, right? Well, maybe they borrowed the attitude. "I'm not going to step out there and
dragged down to my doom. So I guess I
just walk around until I find the spot you used to get out to the stone.
I
watched him for a moment. He moved
carefully along the edges. He'd find the
solid part without much trouble. I
wanted out of here as quickly as possible, so I took a step that way. Garage Dino bounded that way with a sneer --
dinos can sneer really well, it turns out -- and took two leaps along the solid
path.
On
the third leap he sunk hip deep into the muck.
The snakes were already turning his way.
"What
--" He looked at me with absolute shock.
"Move
slowly backwards and you should get free.
I don't think the snakes will be much of a match for you."
"How
--" He flailed for a bit, looking panicked. "You can't have --"
"Calm
down and move slowly," he said again.
"And I didn't walk across. Job?"
The
other dinosaur ambled over from the other side of this patch of swamp. Edmond sat on his head -- yeah, highest
spot -- and they both grinned. Job
leaned down like a giant, living crane.
I climbed up on his neck. He
stepped back.
Garage
Dino stared in shock, but at least he'd stopped flailing.
"You
know, I've met smarter dogs, "
Edmond said as he looked back.
"You
shouldn't insult an enemy when they're defeated, Edmond," I said.
"What? Am I supposed to insult them before they're
defeated? What kind of idiocy is
that? It's a wonder humans ever
survived."
I
started to say something, but you know -- he kind of had a point.
"Move
slowly. You'll get free. Don't try to come after us again."
So we
walked away.
To Be Continued. . . .
