“It’s freezing in here, do any of you notice that?” she asked. “There’s frost on their bodies. Doom’s people are huddled up and warm. These hybrids look like they froze to death.”
Clarity moved toward the closest male and leaned down. His eyes snapped open and Clarity stumbled back trying not to shriek, landing hard on her ass. The hybrid’s body was motionless. Solace helped her up and together they made their way toward him again. The hybrids eyes remained open.
“I can’t see a pulse or his chest rise and fall,” Solace whispered.
“On Earth there are frogs that hibernate. They stop breathing, their heart stops beating. Maybe the dinosaur hybrid has a few more quirks than we thought,” Clarity said.
“Maybe,” Solace whispered.
“We should look around first,” Clarity said. “See if it’s feasible to kill all of them in the mountain and leave no trace.”
The group began to make their way through the intricate caverns. There were storage areas which surprised Clarity. Baskets of wheat such as Doom’s people collected. She wondered if the Neanderthal structure within needed the roughage and vegetables. The closer she examined the food the more merit the idea possessed. There were roots and dried fruits.
“I have an idea,” Clarity said. The others stopped. “We poison the food. If they do what Doom’s people do, wake and gorge, then we could get a lot of them before they even leave the cave. We can risk coming back. There won’t be any trace of us or blood if we were to miss any.”
“Can we get the idea to the other villagers?” Heath asked.
“We probably could but the others need to know where their hybrids are hibernating.”
“I know where there are four caves,” Kiki said. “But what do we use?”
“I can make something tasteless and without a scent. We’ll need to use gloves to handle it. After they’ve woken for the first time we can come back and set traps. I want everyone in this cave dead. There are so many caves here, but so far this is the only storage place we’ve found. After we poison them we can come back with swords and kill any who are alive. The traps are for added caution.”
“We better get back. It takes a while and we need enough poison for the other caves,” Heath said.
“Kiki, how long will it take you?” Clarity asked.
“Not long.”
“How many do you need to go?”
“Just me. I’ll find Nick; he’ll help. The two of us have a better chance of not being detected. Nick knows every escape route possible. I’ll be fine.”
Clarity thought about it for a moment. The girl knew more about the area and with Nick’s help they would be faster. She wasn’t concerned about giving Nick poison. He already had a bomb. She wasn’t Kiki’s mother, though she had grown to care for the girl.
“All right, let’s move out.”
They filed out of the cave, strapped on their snowshoes and began the long trek back.
Chapter Fourteen
The weeks dragged after Clarity and a few others went back to poison the hybrid food. The trek back to the cave was done by only a handful. The poison was administered to every last bite of food the dinosaur hybrids would eat. A large freezer of frozen meat was discovered, and Clarity had gazed over the finding in shocked awe. Dinosaurs of all sizes were frozen, as well as mammals, heads and bodies intact, innards removed. Her heart palpated as she glanced from raptor to giant hamsters, all solid. Lifelike in death. The meat was poisoned through the open cavities. They were quick, efficient, and left as soon as the task was done.
At home, time was spent honing skills. The twins were too young for weapons but were given wooden swords. Clarity watched Luke spin and swing his weapon. He was becoming proficient for a boy his age. Em returned the swing with her sword and they clashed sending sparks.
“That’s good,” Nina said, Clarity agreed.
Again they bided their time waiting for Doom and his people to wake. When they did, they stumbled from their furs bleary eyed, starving, zombie style minus the gore. None spoke a word. They were frightening to watch. The villagers, including Doom gazed through everyone acknowledging no one. They gorged without stopping for hours. Shoveling food down their throats in a manner she was surprised they didn’t choke. Vast amounts of beverages disappeared in a single serving.
“They’re spooky,” Luke whispered.
Clarity turned to look at the boy. Startled, she took a step back. Luke stood beside Rex. The dinosaur was wearing a shower cap, lipstick and eye shadow. Her lace shawl was tied around his neck. When she continued to stare Rex groaned and shook his head.
“Luke have you been in my purse?”
Flight shoved the hand holding her eye liner behind his back. The twins were also covered in make-up.
“I only wanted war paint.”
Rex waggled his claws and groaned again. The pink nail polish on the dinosaur was the same Em now sported. The children took off followed by the T-rex. Clarity was glad her dangerous items were always carried on her. She should have known
her
Earth children would get into things they weren’t supposed to.
The zombie villagers continued to eat, oblivious to anything. Clarity worried they would eat everything, but they had planned for the extra mouths. Silently, the villagers stumbled back to their furs. Once sleeping and covered, tucked safely away for the remainder of their slumber, Clarity nodded to the others. They would head for the hybrids first light.
Their second trek back consisted of any who could wield a weapon; they discovered the freezer empty and all food eaten. It was hard to tell if the hybrids were dead. Each was dispatched quickly, a sword stabbed into their face between the nose and mouth.
Traps were set, spiked logs triggered to smash at two heights; one set at the offspring height the other the adult males. A nagging feeling bothered Clarity. There was no sign of DaV-nin, but his offspring were dead. Word had come back with Kiki the other hybrid caves were found. Plans of action went into effect.
****
When Doom woke, he noticed Clarity curled up beside him. He was refreshed from his long sleep. He picked her up and headed for his own room where he lay her down as she woke.
“I missed you,” he said.
She smiled and traced his face with her finger. “Back at you.”
“I want to love you.”
“Spring is coming.”
“I know, I can smell it. The season will change fast.”
“I noticed. Every season I’ve witnessed so far comes in fast with a vengeance as though it shoves the last season out of its way for a chance at life.”
“When the time comes, we will kill for ours.”
“We kicked ass while you were sleeping.”
Doom was confused by her cocky gaze. “What did you do?”
“We poisoned the hybrids while they slept, then went in and killed them. We set traps too. Not every hybrid on your planet is dead, but we took out a lot to help even the odds.”
“That was dangerous.”
“They were sleeping. It was sad to kill off their young, their faces are more human. It hurt my heart.”
Doom kissed her. He then settled beside her and held her. “They would have grown up and killed. If they’re left all alone it would be worse. Waking to find their families dead would have been cruel. We’d have a planet full of Nick’s. Revenge is a scary thing when it eats your guts. You did the right thing.”
“I know, but it was hard. Solace and I had to do it. The others couldn’t. Heath cried. Poor man blubbered like a baby. I don’t blame him. There are some images I wish I could erase.”
“My images will never be erased.” Doom wiped a hand across his chest after taking off his furs and shirt. “This mark is a tool we use to cure hides. The man who loved to use it was funny. He told jokes, every time he said ‘knock-knock’ we cringed. The knitting needles here are from a female who could make something from any kind of fur or fiber. She was sweet and caring and loving.”
The tears in his eyes began to pool and drip from his face. Clarity was quick to stop them. She wiped them away as gently as she could and though he could see the moisture in her gaze, she swallowed hard and kissed him. He only wanted to let her know she wasn’t alone in her grief.
Small kisses were trailed over his tattoos. In a way, he felt she eased the sorrow of many with a kind touch. She nestled her face into his throat where her warm breath bathed him.
“I wish you had more coats,” Doom said.
“We don’t need them anymore. We will battle for our lives in the next few weeks. We should love as though there will be many tomorrows, with many hopes and many children. Don’t ever enter a battle thinking you might lose. Perceptive and heart are everything. We
are
going to win. There is no other option.”
Doom gathered her closer, loving the feel of her warmth pressed against him. If his seed started a child he would be responsible for him or her forever. Unless the village men were as sterile as their females. He realized it wouldn’t matter; he was responsible for Clarity. They should love, not as though there would be no tomorrow, but as she said, there will be many tomorrows.
She sat up and with slow deliberation he slid her fur from her shoulders. Her breasts high and round were as perfect as he remembered. Not one mark blemished her body. There was no hint of a tan line, but her cheeks were rosy. He cupped her face to kiss her lips, her cheeks and eyelids. Down to her shoulders he went sucking and tasting, running his tongue in small circles across flesh that quivered.
The furs covering her ass were hip hugging and he slid them down over her thighs until she lay exposed beneath him in only the fur shoes she called booties. Doom still didn’t know what booties were, but her tone was wry or derogatory when she used the word. These ones had finally formed to her feet. When he lay over her, the tip of his hard cock tasted her warmth and he plunged while her back arched. Clarity moaned accepting all of him.
“Oh, it’s been too long,” she whispered.
Doom silently agreed. She was tight but wet. He spun with her and she settled over him. Her hips rose and fell in a gentle motion. Doom savored her, his hands kneading her breasts, alternating to her ass, while she made little gasping sounds. Wanting every inch of her, he flipped them again. Doom stretched over her, keeping her tucked under him. His pace increased until they were breathless.
Clarity cried out his name and for once he didn’t cringe. She made his name sound sexy and safe. She called to him, wanting him, needing him. Her mouth fastened onto his flesh, searing him. Small teeth nipped, her tongue soothed. Clarity screamed as she came under him, his release rocked his core.
Spent he lay unmoving. “I love you, Clarity. Whatever happens I will die loving you.”
“You’re not allowed to die. If we made a little you, I can imagine the size of the diapers that will need to be changed, and you are getting your share.”
“I’ll remember that when I face off with a hybrid.”
“You bail on me, and I’ll kill you myself.”
Doom chuckled. “All right, no bailing. I’m starving. Is there any food left?”
“Some. Solace and I went hunting with Muffin and Bubble-gum. Like you said, the beasts woke early. Luke has Rex trained to help him hunt those chicken dinosaurs. So we have a feast waiting. There’s still snow but not much.”
Clarity rose to dress and Doom sat gaping at her.
“Well come on,” she said and slapped him with her shirt. “The only thing you’ll catch naked and gaping is a cold.”
“Yes ma’am.”
Clarity punched his arm. “You ain’t wearing a Stetson, bootie boy.”
****
“It’s time.”
Doom was standing on the table with Clarity in their main room. She looked everyone over. The sacrifice was to begin. The hybrids would find war awaited. By now, Clarity felt the hybrids knew something was amiss. If they discovered their dead, they would be watching. The oil and tar traps had killed a few more. It was time to launch the battle.
“Is everyone armed?” Doom shouted.
A cheer resounded and swords raised. The only ones not attending were the youngest children except Luke. Kiki wanted him where she could see him. She knew if he was left alone he would follow. Nina, Em, and the twins hid in the hibernating room with the others, and a very protesting Flight, the door locked from the inside. The bulwarks were used to watching the village but Muffin was locked in with Bubble-gum and the children. One troublesome and mischievous T-rex nipped tails.
“Move out.”
They left in pairs and groups of three, all racing from different parts of the village to meet later. Doom and Clarity set more traps around the village. Heavy containers of oil hung from the trees, fire roared nearby with simple torches. The oil was easy to heat in small containers but if the hybrids tripped the wire, they could be set to flames once doused. Kiki and Luke settled near the oil in trees with smaller fires below. A fiery arrow could be sent flying. The metal could penetrate the hybrids’ hides. Clarity and the others knew from testing the metal on the hybrids they dispatched.
Clarity set her other experiments up in massive quantities. It wasn’t long before the hybrids attacked.
“DaV-nin,” Doom whispered and pointed.
“We’re ready for him.”
“Are you ready?”
Clarity smiled. “I was born ready.” The song “Eye of the Tiger” raced through her head as she stood up from her hiding position. As the words played out, she began to sing. DaV-nin locked his gaze on her. The words died on her lips.
“You murdered my children. I smelled you on them,” DaV-nin growled in a whistle of heated words.
“Your kind murders your own children.”
She walked with confidence around the village, her gaze intense, she had no fear. Doom kept her in his sights at all times. Clarity saw him, sword ready waiting to pounce. DaV-nin threw back his head and howled at her. As he raced forward in a rage followed by two more hybrids, the oil trap tripped and one hybrid was doused. Within seconds, he was in flames. Kiki’s arrow was true to the mark, hitting the creature’s back. Another arrow fired by Luke engulfed the hybrid from the knees up.
DaV-nin and the other hybrid stood for a moment. Clarity saw the confusion on their faces. The glass coating covered the arrows that were dipped in the blue substance. They would shatter on impact rendering the hybrid immobile. The glass case kept the ones shooting arrows safe from accidently cutting themselves when an arrow was removed from the tubed container held on their backs. It worked, the burning hybrid dropped like a stone. The hybrid closer tried to slap out the fire, but the oil soon covered him. Another arrow sailed hitting its mark. With one hybrid down and the other flailing for only a second before falling and twitching, and both on fire, DaV-nin raced for Clarity. The other hybrid ceased to move, burning to death paralyzed. With DaV-nin’s back to the children, Clarity saw another arrow hit his ass. DaV-nin roared as he slid to a stop. He yanked the arrow out and stared.