CHAPTER 3: Among the Titans
The cloudless evening sky quivered warily in the heat. The coming dusk was not taking the burden of the heat off the exhausted air. The sun itself wobbled a distance above the sanguine horizon. No wind came to the aid of the tired travelers crossing the landscape, leaving flies to frustrate them.
Milo wiped the sweat from his brow. Like everyone else he was half-soaked in it, and what clothing was dry was stiff and dusty. No one dared to spend the energy to talk. Such action might have been too much for a body to bear. The scholar leaned on his spear, thankful for its aid in travel. Long ago he had given up trying to ward off the insects, finding it was a futile matter. On either side of the groups tall grass stood, lifeless without wind. They continued down the heat-broken path, the brittle ground crunching under their weight.
The linguist suddenly felt as if he had gone deaf. Save for the shuffling and crunching of his companions, the world was hushed. No distant animal call, no bird song, no insect buzz met his ears. He paused, and then looked to everyone else. Many of the explorers were looking to Kida, who had somehow frozen, despite the heat. Her cool blue eyes slid back and forth, searching. Her shoulders rose with deep, rapid, yet silent breath. Her mannerisms in themselves called for the hush of the entire band as a whole.
A whisper from Audrey ended the quiet. "What is it?"
A moment passed. "We are being--"
"Hunted," Milo finished for her, recognizing her tone.
There was a click, sharp and menacing. Duma had cocked his gun. "Probably lionesses. The pride around here has faced some had times. We shouldn't have taken this trail… Not at this time… It's getting to be the dry season. They might not be easily deterred. Even with the jungle nearby…" Shotgun against his shoulder, he scanned the grass.
A soft rustle caused the rifle to fire with an ear-splitting crack, shattering the silence.
The grass began to flutter in clusters around them, unafraid of the prospect of death.
"There must ah be ah dozen of them!" came Vinny.
Duma reloaded his gun after the warning shot. "They didn't scare! There's no way I can shoot them all--"
"There are too many to fight!" Kida's spear was aimed at a growth of leaves that had twitched.
"This is jest like the Dakotas. Don't run. It'll makem come after ya, huntin' instinct and all."
"Yeah, Cookie, but they are hunting us," Milo said urgently.
"Oh, yeah."
There was a moment's hesitation before anyone broke into a run.
The chase was on.
"Milo! Use your spear!" cried a bounding Kida. He followed her order, surprised at how much speed he gained, despite his awkwardness. The king had never used it for flight, but only in practice.
Whether wind was present or not, the air rushing around the bodies of the prey created it. Packs full of survival tools were discarded as a dangerous hindrance. Milo caught sight of Sweet snatching up Mole and Cookie, placing the struggling men under his giant arms, and dashing as fast as his legs enabled down the earthen trail.
A lioness bust from the grass beside them, claws and fangs gleaming crimson in the nearing sunset.
"Sweet! Look out!" Unthinkingly, Milo slammed the club end of his spear down on the big cat's head, stunning it. The realization of the unconscious maneuver surprised Milo, but sheer adrenaline would not permit him to gawk. For a moment he thought he heard thunder.
A stab of pain in his calf alerted Milo to the lioness behind him. He had been slashed. A crunching, bludgeoning noise, accompanied by a roar, emitted from behind the linguist.
"Hurry!" ordered a husky, female voice.
The tall blades parted, revealing short-grassed savannah, spotted with boulders and bushes. Now the predators could not so easily hide, but they could now dart even faster.
A gunshot indicated Duma had lessened the pride's members. "Poor girl…" Milo heard the expert grieve for the animal.
Great noises boomed from the serrated line of jungle up ahead.
Two lionesses revealed themselves before the explorers, looking to the sounds. Instantly they turned, ears pointed backwards, speeding in the direction of the explorers.
"Ambush!" someone shouted.
There was no place to run, no way of protecting themselves. Everyone halted, taking up defensive postures. Milo rushed to Kida, shielding her despite the woman's silent protest. "At least she'll be safe!" his mind raced. His own safety did not matter to him in comparison to his wife's well being.
The only sensation was a rush of wind buffeting his skin.
Slowly Milo dared to look up. No predator was in his vision. The thunder was closer now, crashing and banging echoing over the land. He pivoted, releasing his wife. Other looked on as well, seeing the lionesses fleeing back to the haven of the grass spines. The wind stirred, tugging at the linguist's hair, as he turned, awe-struck, at the arrival of something greater.
From the jungle exploded two gigantic beasts, one clearly an offspring of the other. They were facing the bewildered explorers, moving with surprising speed despite their size. Even the young one was as enormous as an elephant. Bathed in Crimson, their short, vaguely iridescent sails along their sinuous necks flashed as red as the sun. Blades of bone shone from their muscular tails. While in their presence, one could feel their very lungs vibrate.
"Milo stood, wide-eyed at the wonder. As they approached at full speed he could not help but think almost in disbelief that he was truly seeing mammoths of the past. "Real dinosaurs! Different form the books, but incredible--" he thought as he saw a giant clawed foot loomed over his head, creating in itself an eclipse.
"Holy--Wow!" the linguist shouted, narrowly evading through a leap. The greater beast, silhouetted, emitted a bellow that made him stagger.
Several booms behind them told the crew why the creatures had been running. Two worn cars leapt from the forest like jaguars, the men riding shooting elephant guns.
"Hunters!" hissed Duma. "I don't know what those… animals… are, but they will be hurting no animals today!" He fired his shotgun, a tire exploding from a car. Shouts of surprise filled the air as the driver struggled and succeeded to get the vehicle under control. The men were clearly determined to claim their prize, hindered or not. The car roared past, disregarding the onlookers.
Bullets sang through the air, the parent creature bellowing again, this time from wounds to the neck. Again bullets whistled, one grazing the baby. The young animal opened its mouth to silence, yet Milo thought he could feel his ribs chatter. The cry was infrasonic, too low to be heard. The adult looked to the child, then turned with an almighty roar. A ruby crest rose from its long head as it faced its aggressors and hissed a warning. It stepped in front of its offspring, tail ready to strike.
The hunters approached, despite the peril. They passed, painfully imbedding a few more bullets into the adult's thick flesh. Black blood began to drip from the injuries. The tail swung mightily, but missed its target by mere inches. The men laughed mockingly at the beast, then turned for another pass. Duma's shot rang with theirs, each gunshot true to aim. As another tire was torn from the same car, the animal roared once more in agony. The vehicle spun to a squealing stop.
The beast stepped forward, and with a single powerful swipe it launched the vehicle into the air, frightened shouts piercing Milo's ears. The car crashed, inverted. Nothing moved from it. The linguist darted his eyes to the other vehicle, catching sight of aghast faces. The behemoth limped to he upturned car and rose on hind limbs. It hovered over the rusted object like a self-proclaimed god before coming down, great feet smashing the vehicle with a thundering blow. The creature turned and roared with intimidating strength, its crest shaking.
After a call the remaining car turned and fled. The adult snorted and began to lumber back to its child, only to falter, falling on its stomach and causing the ground to rumble.
"NO!" Milo heard his exclamation echoed by others. The lesser beast went to the greater, the world vibrating again with mournful cries of nothing. It nuzzled its parent desperately.
"Sweet! See if you can help it!" Milo called.
"I'm on it!" They both knew the physician was no vet, and certainly no doctor had ever treated a patient such as this.
"Kida, what are you doing?!" The king saw his queen bound past, heading to the creatures. She did not respond, fully concentrating on the moment. Kida caught up with Sweet as he arrived at the injured behemoth. They both picked blood-blackened bullets from the creature's neck. Kida removed her blue crystal, as did the physician, and began to heal the wounds, the glow a direct contrast to the fading light of day. When the injuries had stopped bleeding, they both paused, realizing how much effort had been undertaken. Their hands, as well as their crystals, looked as if they were covered in tar.
"Weel eet survive?" Mole asked what everyone wanted to know.
"I--"
Kida interrupted Sweet. "Yes, but it is exhausted. It will also take time for the wounds to fully heal, but we can continue that after some rest." Smiling, she stooped to wipe her sticky hands on the meager grass. "The young one does not appear badly hurt, judging from its actions." The huntress stood again and motioned. The two were nuzzling each other as only a parent and child could. The older slowly rolled on its side, allowing it to breathe easier, and the offspring mimicked its parent. Vibrations filled the air as they cuddled.
"Kida, I don't mean to be rude, but, uh, how would you know if a dinosaur's okay or not?" Milo looked at her, incredulous.
"I would not. These are not… dinosaurs, or I very much doubt they are."
"What? What are you talking about?"
Kida's grin broadened even further as she crossed her now dusty arms. "These are not dinosaurs," the woman repeated. "They are armags."
Based off the Disney Picture "Atlantis: the Lost Empire." The name "Atlantis: The Dark Continent's Enigma," "armags," "kriperlok," and the characters Temlohn, Duma and Neil are my (Rebmakash's) property. The characters, "MUH-suh MIH-kee" and Khohbdesheh are my property, and I acknowledge I do not own the names. Fan fiction storyline also my property. Milo Thatch, Kidagakash, Puknohl, Wandehm and other characters, names, concepts, and all Atlantean in this story are property of the Walt Disney Company. I also recognize certain lines (such as "Salt, salt, and sodium chloride") are also property of the Disney Company.
Disclaimer: Atlantis: the Lost Empire, and the characters, language, symbols, storylines and titles are property of he Walt Disney Company. This site has been created for entertainment, non-profit purposes only. See sources.
Permission must be granted by the fan authors/artists before their material is to be used. Credit must also be given to the respective author/artist in question. Do so via their e-mail. Questions? Comments? E-mail me at Like_A_Star8800@yahoo.com.
