Chapter 18CamilaBerus

Chapter 18

Camila

Cami couldn't look away from the skeletal remains of the four-legged beast that had gotten caught in the brambles bordering the forest and the river. The poor thing!

Wait…what? Cami squinted. What had at first looked like a dirty rock revealed itself to be the outline of another animal. This one had died more recently and still had its fur, which was hopelessly entangled in the thorns and hooks. Now that she realized what they were, she started to spot more of them.

Oh my god!

It wasn't just one or two poor beasts, and it hadn't been a freak accident. These brambles deliberately caught and killed these animals! A whole herd of them over time, by the looks of things. Luckily, she didn't see any signs of a live one that was still struggling. The dead bodies alone were enough to give her nightmares.

Berus hadn't been kidding when he said the plants on this planet were more dangerous than the animals.

Her Tallean protector was at the river, refilling their water flask. He'd assured her that so long as they took the water from the faster-moving parts of streams and rivers, not the still pockets, it was safe to drink. In addition to Berus drinking his fill at the river, they'd also MacGyver-ed a makeshift container to hold more potable water in case they didn't find another safe water source.

Above them, the sky darkened, and the beginnings of a storm started to form. The shopkeeper had been right about it being the planet's wet season.

Berus was frowning when he returned to the transport. The look made her shrink back even though she knew it wasn't directed at her.

"We need to cross the river sooner rather than later. Once the storm starts, it won't let up for a while."

Cross the river? Camila looked at the river in question. It was so wide that she could barely make out the details on the other side. And from how calm it had looked in the middle before, Camila guessed it was probably deep too. Now, with the wind starting, the expanse of water began to churn.

"How are we going to do that? Don't tell me this transport is amphibious. It doesn't look like it can float." Camila imagined the sleek, futuristic, alien-looking vehicle sporting colorful inflatable water wings and tamped down a giggle.

"Not quite. It can hop short distances, but not over a river this size. And no, it does not float."

"Then how are we going to get across? You might be able to swim it, but I can't. I mean, if I really had to, like if a velociraptor or something was chasing me, I might attempt to swim, and risk drowning. But that also means leaving the vehicle and everything we have behind."

"I do not know this velo-so-raptor you speak of, but no, we will not swim. I would never let you swim in that water anyway. There are creatures known as gargapods that would love you as a snack. The transport cannot float, but it can drive while fully submerged. It wouldn't be able to handle deep ocean pressure, but this river is fine."

Cami glanced nervously at the edges of the door, hoping he was right.

"There is a better place to cross up ahead, but the water might be too rough by then. We'll have to do it here." And with that, Berus started the vehicle and carefully approached the water's edge.

When Cami first saw the transport, she'd wondered about the giant exposed wheels with tread so thick that even monster trucks would be jealous. The transports she'd seen on the inner planets were sleek, the body covering most of the wheels, making them appear to float just above the ground.

There were also actual hovercrafts, but they were usually smaller, single-person vehicles meant for speedy deliveries. Berus had mentioned that this transport had the ability to hop. Maybe it used the same technology as the hovercrafts, although the transport was much larger and definitely wouldn't be able to keep that up for long.

Cami was glad for the chunky all-terrain wheels and good suspension now as the transport went over the scraggly rocks and straight into the water. From afar, the water had looked a bit murky, but despite the churning at the surface, the water was clear and offered great visibility as it rose ever higher up the viewing window.

But as the water rose, so did her panic. This wasn't a little stream. This river was like a living thing, a monster, and she didn't doubt for a second that he had taken plenty of lives before.

"Cami? Are you okay? You smell of fear."

Shit. "I'm sorry that I stink." Shit. Fear probably stank to Tallean noses and the poor guy was stuck in this tiny space with her.

"You do not stink. You smell very good. Sweet, a little tart from the fear, but not unpleasant. It triggers an urge in me to protect you and fight off whatever scares you."

"I don't think you can fight water," she said nervously. "I'll be fine. It's just a lot of water, that's all. The river's a lot deeper than I thought."

"But deep is a good thing. Deep will protect us from the storm and wind. We will be on the other side before it hits, anyway. I won't let any harm come to you."

"Thank you. I trust you."

He kept talking, and she was glad for the distraction. "The good thing about the storm is that it will hide our tracks. There will still be evidence of me clearing the brush, but the transport tracks will be washed away. Anyone following us will assume that we took the road to Shifting Sands."

There was that name again. "Shifting Sands sounds so familiar. Where have I heard it before?"

"Some rich merchant's kid died there about a galactic year ago."

That jogged her memory. "Right! I remember. They say the moving sand swallowed him whole. And they could still detect the signal from his comm in the sand but couldn't get to him. Wasn't all that after a stolen slave as well?"

"Yes, it was. But we are not going to Shifting Sands. I am an outsider and do not know the secrets of the sand bowls. I do, however, want Rehden to believe we went there. He and his hired thugs might go there and get swallowed up as well."

"What a clever plan! That would be convenient."

"What would be even more convenient would be if we found a place nearby to get back up onto solid ground on the other side. We won't have a road anymore, but the trees here are large, and there will be plenty of space for the transport. And do not worry. We are heading downriver away from Shifting Sands right now, not toward it."

Cami was slowly relaxing. She was glad Berus kept talking and distracting her since he couldn't come back to join her. Still, it wasn't long before they ran into their first hurdle, or so Cami thought. The underwater boulder was huge, and she was sure they'd have to go around. But Berus surprised her by turning on the booster.

On land, the booster would have helped them hop over large barriers; under water, it helped them "swim." The booster was only on for a fraction of a second, but that was enough to keep them "swimming" for a while before they slowly sank back down to the bottom. The air in the transport made it semi-buoyant, and they made good time toward the opposite shore.

Movement at the corner of her vision had Cami turning to look at the window. The most terrifying fish monster she had ever seen hovered there, swimming next to the vessel. It reminded her of an alligator at first glance, but really it was more fish than reptile. It had spikes along its back and sides that reminded her of sturgeon. The scales covering it weren't smooth; they were rough, almost crocodilian.

It turned toward the window, took one look at Cami, then it bared its teeth, rows and rows of them, and charged.

Cami screamed.

Berus

Berus whipped his head around to look at the back of the transport, ready to fight whatever was scaring his female. He found a gargapod charging the transport. Well, it could try all it wanted. The creature would never get in. The prehistoric fish might look scary, but it wouldn't be able to penetrate the hull.

Still, Berus set the transport to continue on its own to the far shore, using the booster intermittently to keep it from the river bottom. The bottom was full of rocks and large boulders in this part of the river, and it was easier this way, as long as the water was deep enough.

He undid his pants and kicked them off. Those would need to stay in the driver section since Berus had no clue what was on them. Then, pantless, he climbed into the passenger area and gathered Cami into his arms.

"This one is small. It cannot get us in here."

" Small ?" Cami shrieked. "It's as big as a croc!"

Berus knew what a croc, short for crocodile, was. Back when he'd been part of the Dominion, he'd been given information about the planets they planned to conquer and the crocodile had been listed as one of Earth's few dangerous animals. The guide had also mentioned bears, and now when the human males on the crew teased him that Berus was a bear of a male, he took it as a compliment.

"This vessel is well-made. It will protect us."

Sure enough, the creature charged but veered off at the last second, not wanting to lose teeth on a prey it couldn't even get to. As they continued across the river, several more gargapods came to check them out. They, too, put on a show, but only one actually touched the vessel. It was much smaller, young and full of bluster, and didn't have the experience yet to back up its few working brain cells. It lost a few teeth on the exterior of their transport, but they would grow back. And now, it was that much wiser.

"I almost feel bad for it," Cami said as she watched it swim away.

"Do not be. The teeth will grow back. Gargapod teeth grow continuously."

She settled beside him, closed her eyes, and relaxed.

Berus decided not to tell her that the creatures he worried about the most weren't the gargapods but the forearm-sized worm-like fish that had latched onto the transport with their tiny saw-shaped teeth. It wasn't their teeth that did the damage, but the acid they extruded from their mouths.

It was how they fed on larger creatures. They latched on and dissolved the poor animal piece by piece while it was still alive. Right now, there weren't enough on the transport to cause too much damage, and they'd be out of the river soon, at which point Berus would pry them off the outside of the transport with a stick. They needed to be submerged in water to survive, so any he missed would simply shrivel up and fall off over time. But Berus didn't want to return the transport with too much damage, and the longer they stayed attached, the worse it would be.

After they got to the other side, they had to travel a bit more downstream before they could find a location to hop up onto the bank. According to his map, there was a field nearby big enough for the Revenge to land and pick them up. It was also close to the river, so they had water. It would be a good place to hide out until the crew came.

The storm was still building, and the sky was much darker than it had been when they first drove into the water. The wind had picked up, too, and Berus could feel every gust against the side of the transport.

Cami, who had just started to doze off with her head on his shoulder, was suddenly wide awake again.

"We need to find a safe place to stop," Berus said, reluctantly unwrapping his arms from around her.

"And I need to attend to nature's call before the storm hits," Cami said. "I don't want to add being blown away with my pants down as a possible way to die quite yet."

They found a spot sheltered by a rock wall on one side and a thicket on another, and Berus maneuvered the craft into the protected corner. They were on high ground and far enough away from the river that they wouldn't need to worry about flooding unless the storm raged on for days.

"Stay inside. I will scout for dangers and clear a safe area for you to do your business."

Then Berus stepped into the wilderness.