Titan Territory by Tom Kropp

Titan Territory by Tom Kropp

 Scot Lancer heard the foot falls of giants. Under the three moons in the clear night sky, he could see for hundreds of yards in any direction on the open rocky range. The earth still shook underfoot with the ponderous tread of titans. Off to his left side, forty yards away, a big boulder rolled aside loudly to reveal a gargantuan cave cleft.

 Out of it stepped the giants known as saldars. They averaged fifteen to twenty feet tall and were lean and muscular. Their skin was black scales, like snakes. They were humanoid, but their faces were rather reptilian, with flat noses, dark snake eyes, and mouths full of pointed teeth for eating meat. They looked like a humanoid evolved version of reptiles. They wore leather clothing, with chain mail shirts, mail kilts, greaves on their boots, and helms on their heads. They carried massive iron axes, swords, spears, hammers, wood shields, bows and arrows.

 They were emerging from a hidden tunnel the boulder had blocked so effectively that Scot was camping close to it. He’d thought he was able to see any enemies coming from any direction. He’d thought wrong. The giant saldars instantly saw him. They verbally rumbled excitedly in their harsh language. Scot was nothing they feared. He looked like a mouse to the monsters.

 Scot only stood five and a half foot tall. He was lean waisted and possessed a muscle packed, impressive, bodybuilder’s physique. He was young and good looking, with blond hair and blue eyes. Numerous scars crisscrossed his face and physique. His left hand was robotics, covered in synthetic skin that soaked up solar energy to power it. That robotic hand pulled out what looked like a foot long flashlight. A yard long, scintillating, sapphire, jet of energy, ignited from the plasma torch. His right hand pulled his scoped plasma pistol, which fired plasma and ion infused, incendiary bolts. He shifted his stance as the saldars poured out of the cave mouth, eager to attack him. They believed they were dealing with a simple human.

 Scot was an Earth man, but his DNA had been altered by the bite of a rare creature called a Slypher. It made Scot’s former strength and speed more than triple. He tensed for action, quickly counting over twenty saldars in sight. No words were spoken. None were necessary. Several saldars bent their behemoth bows to aim arrows over eight foot long.

 Scot’s pistol barrel blossomed a ruby, refulgent round that crowned a saldar’s brow, beneath his helm. The plasma and ionized incendiary bolt maimed and baked its brain. Scot’s sights swiveled to a second saldar that raised his shield in time to block his head and body. Scot’s barrel bloomed another bolt that smote low, torching the testicles, to bring the titan tumbling down with his dead brethren. He screamed, clutching his boiled balls.

 Scot’s supernatural celerity served him well as he deftly darted, evading several stupendous shafts that swished past where he’d just stood. The party of giants charged with shields raised to block them from waist to face and their weapons waving. Scot’s blaster screamed, reaming out a beam that lambasted a leg, high in the thigh. It cut the limb out from under him, so the saldar sprawled on the stones. He squealed, clutching his fried thigh, which continued cooking with crisp, sizzling and popping sounds, like bacon on a skillet. His mail had become molten where the beam bored through, like butter under a blowtorch.

 Scot’s swinging sights landed on another leg that he lanced with a blast that fractured the femur while flaming the flesh. The tumbling giant tripped up his buddies that trampled him. Scot scrambled at superhuman speed, dodging and shooting, becoming a blur for his foes. He evaded another accurate arrow whizzing his way, along with a battery of blows from weapons that skated on stone instead of him. His barrel flared a fork that strobed as it drove through a shield to charbroil the chest of a saldar and lick his lung like lava.

 Scot sprang above a stamping boot. The plasma torch in his left hand was like a sparkling, sapphire sword that speared and seared through the saldar’s ankle, almost entirely amputating it. He swatted aside an iron sword that stabbed at him. Then Scot was running past the lead gauntlet of giants wielding hand weapons. There was numerous archers

 Scot’s swinging sights landed on another leg that he lanced with a blast that fractured the femur while flaming the flesh. The tumbling giant tripped up his buddies that trampled him. Scot scrambled at superhuman speed, dodging and shooting, becoming a blur for his foes. He evaded another accurate arrow whizzing his way, along with a battery of blows from weapons that skated on stone instead of him. His barrel flared a fork that strobed as it drove through a shield to charbroil the chest of a saldar and lick his lung like lava.

 There was numerous archers’ farther back at an angle ahead, aiming at him. He sidestepped a sibilant hissing shaft that nearly skewered him. His plasma pistol puffed another incendiary ray that tapered an archer’s torso, liquefying part of the lung. Another arrow came too close as Scot dived aside and it tripped him. He fell and tried to rise and run, but stumbled on a stone, slowing him as he sidestepped another shaft. The gauntlet of giants wielding iron weapons and swinging wood shields swarmed over him.

 Shannon appeared behind the aiming archers. She resembled a brown furred wolf, bigger than a Kodiak brown bear from Earth, but more streamlined, with muscle and no fat. But she clearly wasn’t a pure wolf, because her head and mouth were more humongous than a hippo, with titanic teeth that looked like they belonged on a dinosaur. Her paws were long toed, almost like human hands, and tipped with talons she could unsheathe to reach over seven inches long. Shannon was a werebeast, made of a dark matter and dark energy, she had an alien symbiont.

 Shannon’s pounce jounced against a saldar’s neck, and her gaping maw snapped like an immense trap, with more power than a car compactor. Her maw muscles flexed on his neck and wrecked his mail to rive his spine. The archer gasped as he went limp as a noodle, paralyzed by the bite. He flopped on his face. Shannon instantly released him and jumped from his back to tap the ground before a bound that found another archer. He glimpsed her spring in his peripheral vision and tried to spin and strike her with his bow. Shannon’s big paw batted the bow, blocking the blow, as her other paw’s claws sawed through his upraised arm. She coiled her hind feet against his chest. Her dark matter talons trenched in his chest, splitting mail as she kicked to rend flesh, gutting the guy. She dove from him as he stumbled, seizing his stomach, where his intestines erupted out.

 An immense arrow slammed her shoulder like a crane’s wrecking ball, bowling her over. Her dark matter, alien armored flesh, withstood the wallop, with only some bleeding from the shallow puncture. It hurt though, and her rage fueled her as she arced at the archer in a streak. He drew his dagger with one hand as the other used the bow in a low blow. Shannon nimbly weaved around the bludgeoning bow, and she lunged low, with a leap and claw sweep that flayed his foot through the boot leather and metal. She bolted by, evading the super-sized, daunting dagger that he slashed to scratch on stone, so close it almost spanked her flank.

 Shannon had reached his back and catapulted up on the nape of his neck. Her massive mouth scarfed up his neck and scissored shut, munching and crunching through mail and meat to cleave his spine asunder. A spasmodic arcing elbow rammed her ribs and sent her spinning through space as he fell. A spear almost skewered her like a shish kabob, scraping her side as she dived. She swerved and swatted the spear aside as he tried a second thrust and cut with the immense iron blade. The spearman had a shield to block his body and head. An axe almost slashed her back from another saldar.

 She leapt and swept a deft cleft of her claws, sundering mail to lacerate the leg and gore the groin of the spearman. Blood flooded the stony ground from an open artery in his lashed leg. He grasped at his tattered testicles, where her claws carved through his codpiece. Shannon ran clear of the giants raining blows and arrows at her.

 Shannon’s awesome attack had distracted the giants from Scot. He had time to recover and run. He still had to dance past some stabs, smashes, and slashes that clashed on stone near him as hammers, axes, and swords flailed at his freakishly fast figure. His plasma torch scorched through mail, flesh, and bone of a forearm as the monster missed its sword strike at him. The monster dropped its sword to grasp at its grievous injury. His blaster cast a lance of energy and the photonic flash dashed through a shield, to melt mail and char the heart of the hammer holder. Then Scot was clear and running for the forest a few hundred yards away.

 Shannon was about fifty feet to his right, also running. They zig zagged to evade arrows zinging off strings to wing by in many near misses. The giants tried to chase them and were startlingly swift on their long legs. They couldn’t match Scot and Shannon’s alien enhanced speed. The man and wolf reached the trees and plunged deep into the forest. The giants were enraged and continued the search through the trees towering over them. But they had to abandon their plans of vengeance when the forest grew too thick. Scot and Shannon finally stopped fleeing.

 “You okay? “He asked her.

 Shannon licked the puncture where the projectile had pierced deep enough to draw blood. There was another bloody scratch along her side from an axe’s kiss. She nodded a yes at him.

 “You saved me, thanks.” Scot had a cut through his Kevlar shirt that drew blood, raking his ribs. He had some other superficial scrapes bleeding. “They rolled a boulder aside and came out of a hidden cave in the cliff right next to me. I’m sorry. I accidentally picked the worst place to camp. Glad you came back early. Did you have a chance to hunt?”

 Shannon shook her head, no, while looking bummed out.

 “Yeah, I’m hungry, too. “He sighed grimly. It wasn’t a promising first night on the lowlands of Tier after crossing the mountains. They’d both arrived on the primitive world together through a wormhole activated on Earth by an experimental machine in the year 2086. They survived the mountains trek and were now near the vast savanna .full of fearsome foes.

 The world was a science experiment of the alien Greys that often visited Earth in flying saucer starships, which traveled through wormholes. The Greys had populated the primitive planet with massive mammals from Earth’s prehistoric age and dinosaurs, along with alien creatures. That created a lot of predators after prey.

 There were humanoid, sentient species of all sorts, most of which were hostile to strangers. They were limited to flintlock guns for firearms and primitive hand weapons. Scot and Shannon were stranded, they were heading towards a society of Caucasian people, where they could be in civilized surroundings, instead of in the wilds, constantly fighting and fleeing from mammal, dinosaur, and humanoid predators after them. Scot’s Earth weapons had been a huge help thus far, but he was running low on ammo, and they had thousands of miles to trek among titans that considered them prey. 

 Above the clearing, Scot glimpsed a glowing, silvery streak, rocket by. The flying figure did an abrupt U turn and zoomed down to float beside Scot. It was a glowing, beautiful, human woman’s soul. She had long, blond hair and bright, sky blue eyes, set in a fine face. She had a fantastic figure with a busty bosom, waspish waist, and lean muscled limbs. She was dressed in a silvery pants suit. Her astral energy was translucent, allowing Scot to see through her. Her name was Sharon, and she’d been Scot’s partner for years. Before that she was a FBI agent that specialized in serial killers.

 “What happened?” Sharon blurted in concern. “There was a hidden tunnel behind a boulder right next to camp. The boulder rolled aside and a bunch of saldars came out and attacked me. I’m lucky Shannon came back when she did or they would have got me.” Scot answered grimly.  

 “I’m sorry, Scot. I came back quick as I could,” Sharon apologized.

 “It’s not your fault,” Scot assured her. “Do a quick fly around the area to check for predators.”

“Be right back, “Sharon zoomed flying away.

 Scot sighed. When he was a 16 year old orphan in a group home, he had his cranium cracked by a baseball bat. He woke up from surgery able to see and hear earthbound human souls. He could see the tunnel of light that good souls traveled through to the other side. He could also see the dark wormhole to hell, and the demons that came through it to seize evil souls and drag them to hell. He couldn’t see into heaven, or purgatory, where souls unworthy of heaven waited to reincarnate as infants on Earth again. Nor did the souls in heaven or purgatory get free passes to visit Earth for kicks often, so there was a lot Scot didn’t know about the afterlife.

 After becoming able to see and hear souls that remained on Earth, rather than going through the light tunnel, Scot encountered Sharon, after she’d been murdered by a serial killer. Sharon begged Scot to help save her partner that was abducted by the serial killer. Scot had helped save Sharon’s partner and catch the killer. That had been the start of their relationship. From there, Scot and Sharon formed a partnership.

 At the time, Scot had been a teenage runaway living on the ghetto streets of Chicago back in 2016. He looked old enough to gamble and had a fake ID. Sharon helped him cheat at playing cards in gambling casinos by telling him the cards other players had. In exchange, he reported to authorities Intel Sharon gave him about killers, rapists, terrorists, and human traffickers. Scot would only go after alpha predators. Sharon spent her time flying around spying on people, in the process, she constantly discovered killers, rapists, terrorists, human traffickers, and such. She told Scot, and he either passed the Intel on to authorities, or took a hand in the investigation to save kidnapped victims when necessary, or plant evidence of the predator’s crimes to get them busted. Along the way, he kept meeting other ghosts of murdered people that remained on Earth, wanting justice against their killers.

 Scot’s psychic abilities led him to working with the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security, the military, and some state agencies. He’d been in the Middle East wars on assignments and lost his left hand there from a bomb. During those years, two of the women Scot loved were killed by terrorists and a serial killer. During a CIA/military mission in the early 2020’s, Scot and Sharon were both sucked through a wormhole from an experimental wormhole making machine. That wormhole opened to the primitive planet named Tier, because it was a wormhole the alien Greys often used. Scot had spent over a year on the savage planet, fleeing and fighting to survive. When he began building more advanced firearms and explosives, the alien Greys spying on their experimental world, realized he was an Earth man. They didn’t want him evolving their planet’s denizens with advanced weapons, so they knocked him out and took him home in their starship. They were the same little, grey skinned, humanoids, with big heads and huge eyes, often described by people claiming to have seen aliens.

 Although he’d only spent about a year on the planet, Tier, over sixty years had passed on Earth, so it was 2086 when he reached Earth again. He then helped the CIA track down aliens on Earth that were like vampires, feeding on human blood and making hybrid, half human vampire creatures of attractive human women. The investigation had finally led to Scot, Sharon, and Shannon, tracking the final vampires to the Brazilian jungle, where they had just finished building a wormhole machine they were using to bring an army of their kind to Earth from their planet, Tier. They’d built the device largely through the skills of another alien species, called Levians. The Levians were helping them. When Scot blew the machine up, it triggered a final wormhole that sucked Shannon, Sharon, and him through. They were trapped on the planet.

 Shannon was actually a beautiful Earth woman, with long brown hair, emerald eyes, short height, and busty figure. She had been a veterinarian and real estate entrepreneur on Earth, before she was attacked by a wolfish creature that was going around killing women. It was another rare alien creature from Tier that came through a wormhole opening. But people on Earth thought it was some kind of werewolf that bullets and buckshot couldn’t kill. Since the killings were occurring in her home region, Shannon had some silver bullets reloaded for her pistol. She’d survived the creature’s attack, with the help of her boyfriend, and her silver bullets made the creature spontaneously combust. Like the werewolves of legends, it was highly allergic to silver. Both Shannon and her boyfriend, Tod, became werewolf creatures. Tod had been killed by the vampire aliens, which led Shannon to hunting them. Scot had been hunting the same vampire aliens and Sharon discovered Shannon’s secret. The hounds on Earth wouldn’t track the vampire aliens because their scent was so hot and bitter that it was like sniffing up habanero peppers. Shannon could track them. It led to Scot and her working together hunting the aliens, which led to them being stranded on the planet. During the night, Shannon transformed into the wolfish creature. By day, she was herself.

. Shannon had been bitten by the alien wolf while it was on a killing spree in her country area. People on Earth thought it was a werewolf that bullets and buckshot couldn’t kill. Since the killings were occurring in her home region, Shannon had some silver bullets reloaded for her pistol. She’d survived the creature’s attack, with the help of her boyfriend, and her silver bullets made the creature spontaneously combust. Like the werewolves of legends, it was highly allergic to silver. Both Shannon and her boyfriend, Tod, became werewolf creatures. Tod had been killed by the vampire aliens, which led Shannon to hunting them. Scot had been hunting the same vampire aliens and Sharon discovered Shannon’s secret. The hounds on Earth wouldn’t track the vampire aliens because their scent was so hot and bitter that it was like sniffing up habanero peppers. Shannon could track them. It led to Scot and her working together hunting the aliens, which led to them being stranded on the planet. During the night, Shannon transformed into the wolfish creature. By day, she was herself. An alien parasite shared her body, comprised of dark matter, dark energy, and other alien things. While in wolf form, she was incredibly strong, fast, with superb senses, and alien armored, flesh and bones, which could withstand great violence and heal swiftly. But she wasn’t impervious, just difficult to kill. In human form, she also possessed heightened physical prowess and abilities, just not as well as she did in wolf form. They’d dropped on the planet in the vampire creatures’ jungle. They’d narrowly survived the experience, fighting and fleeing from the jungle up into the cold mountains, where the vampires didn’t go because they were cold blooded. They couldn’t handle the cold temperatures in the mountains or deal with the giant humanoids that considered the mountains their territory. That kept the vampires stuck in their jungle, unable to spread out across the savage planet. They lacked the materials, tools, and knowledge to build their own wormhole machine, especially without the Levians help. Shannon and Scot had made it through the jungle and mountains, largely through Sharon’s scouting and warnings of nearby predatory threats from monstrous mammals, daunting dinosaurs, and the many savage, humanoid giants that were the top predators of the mountains. Scot’s backpack from Earth had contained ammo, medical kit, and other useful supplies. But both Scot’s Slypher enhanced abilities, and Shannon’s werewolf parasite, provided them with greatly enhanced healing and immunity to illnesses, which had been the big factor in their survival on the deadly planet.

 But every day was a gamble.

 After Sharon let him know it was safe, Scot built up a fire. He had an iron axe and sword short with a sharpening stone he’d taken off a dead vampire months ago. He used the axe to chop wood and whittled up skewers for cooking. He had a military survival knife from Earth that he used to carve up steaks and he roasted the ribs over the roiling fire. They gorged themselves. Scot cooked extra meat they could carry on their trek. Once cooked, it would stay good for a couple days. The less they had to stop for hunting, butchering, and cooking, the safer they would be in the Conquistador’s territory.

 The raging fire helped to keep most predators away. The smell of campfires in the area warned most predators that the little men with thunder sticks were near. Most predators had a healthy respect for the Conquistador’s thunder sticks.

 A bold Megasaurus dinosaur was hungry enough to creep closer. It greatly resembled an Allosaurus, but was a good dozen feet longer. Sharon warned Scot, and both Shannon and he scaled the tree. When the Megasaurus stuck its huge head out, Scot’s scope was steady on its skull, ready to release a roiling round. The Megasaurus was old and had grown slow with age from a gimp hind leg, wounded in a fierce fight. Rather than risk coming close to the fire, where the stag lay, it settled for one of the slain juvenile Allosaurus. Its mouth and front talons latched onto it and dragged the dead dinosaur into the brush. It continued dragging the dinosaur until it was about sixty paces away from the clearing before feeding.

 Once Sharon said it was okay, they came down from the tree to continue eating and cooking. Finally they hoisted a bunch of meat in the tree for safekeeping and slept there. At dawn, Shannon went through her transformation. She went into convulsions as the parasite hid from sunlight inside her. She became a very pretty, dark haired, green eyed, busty bosomed, short, Caucasian, little lady. She was nude and had to settle for slipping on one of Scot’s homemade shirts, sewn from soft aurochs’ fur. It fell to her thighs.

 Scot was stoking the fire back up. He smiled seeing her slight self-consciousness in the scanty garb. During the approximate 6 months they’d known each other, nothing sexual had happened. Shannon had deeply loved her boyfriend, Tod. After Tod was slain by the vampire aliens, she’d gone on a mission of vengeance, and had no romantic desires for anyone, except her lost love. She greatly grieved him, and had continued to do so on Tier. Scot had engaged in sexual affairs with other females over that time. He knew Shannon was grieving, and not done anything stupid, like making any passes at her. In truth, he did find her attractive. They’d seen each other nude many times while bathing and changing. But they’d stayed in the friend’s zone.

 “Will it be stag or Allosaurus steaks for breakfast?” Scot inquired.

 “Stag,” Shannon looked grumpy, rubbing sleep from her eyes.” Is it safe to wash up?”

 “It is. Sharon’s flying around on patrol. How are your wounds?”

 “My ankle is stiff,” she admitted. Scot noticed her ankle was still real red there, where one of the youngsters had gnawed. There were only faint red marks on her neck and face, where she’d endured very deep wounds. Shannon was limping a bit.

 “You want some painkillers?” Scot still had some pills in his medic kit.

 “No. You better save them for something big. I just need more time to recover. I’m gonna wash up.” Scot pointedly turned his back to her, so she could undress and get in the deep stream. They were using soap made out of flowers’ sap that grew on the planet. They brushed their teeth with toothbrushes from Earth, and the same sweet smelling flower sap. The strange purple and pink flowers seemed to grow everywhere and the stems and buds were flooded with the good smelling, honey tasting, and sap. They didn’t have any coffee or tea, so water was their only beverage.

 “Breakfast ready,” Scot called and started eating.

 “Thanks,” Shannon joined him by the fire, accepting her share of steaks.

 “You could wait here while I go get your pack,” Scot suggested. “It’d give your ankle more time to heal.”

 “I don’t want you without back up,” Shannon objected.

 “Sharon will keep watch for me. You’d have trouble running on that ankle anyway. If you hang out in the tree armed, you’d be safe. I’ll be back quickly.”

 Shannon briefly considered it, then nodded. “Makes sense. I’ll do that.”

 Scot finished eating and washed up in the stream. Then he went with Sharon back towards the camp he’d fled from last night. Sharon flew around, keeping watch for him. He discovered the saldar bodies were gone, along with all their fallen weapons. There was plenty blood left behind. He recovered Shannon’s pack, hidden behind a boulder. The pack contained all her clothing and other supplies. It was sewn together, fashioned from a cave bear’s fur with a strap that she looped over her shoulder and back. When she was in wolf form, she put the loop over her neck, or had Scot haul it.

 Sharon abruptly flew back. “Bad news, Scot! There’s a dozen saldars running this way from the East and they’re being chased by about a hundred Conquistadors! Get out of here!”

 “Okay,” Scot agreed. He immediately sprinted across the open range, covering a few hundred yards in under ten seconds, with her pack bouncing on his back. Out of curiosity, he waited to watch from behind a tree.

 “Am I okay here.” He asked Sharon.

 “Yeah, they’re coming soon from over there,” Sharon pointed. Scot waited, watching.

 Soon thirteen saldars came running from the enormous forest trees nearby. They were carrying huge, leather sacks, containing spoils they’d stolen from some Spaniard settlers after slaying them. They reached the boulder and shoved it over. They piled in and pulled it back in place behind them, effectively disappearing.

 Moments later, over a hundred Conquistadors burst from the brush into view. They were quite an impressive sight. They were riding dark furred beasts that resembled horses, except they had clawed paws instead of hooves, and big mouths full of predatory teeth. They had saddles and bridles on, along with chain mail, and some plate armor protecting parts of them around their heads, necks, chests, and sides. They carried their riders cooperatively. The Conquistadors riders wore iron plate armor cuirasses over their bodies, and chain mail in other places. They had armbraces, greaves, girdles and helms, to protect their limbs and heads. They had short swords sheathed. Many had shields slung on their backs. They carried double barrel flintlock rifles of approximately 50 caliber. Most riders had two rifles each, so they had one in hand and another in their saddle scabbards. They each carried multiple, double barrel, pistols of approximately 44 caliber. They looked like they meant business.

 “Wow,” Scot muttered to Sharon. “I forget how tough they look.”

 “They didn’t get this empire by being meek,” Sharon replied. “They’ve domesticated some wild dogs too for tracking. Check them out,” she pointed.

 Scot noticed on the far side, some lean Spaniards, not wearing armor, were on foot running with some wild dogs on leashes. The wild dogs were spotted like African wild dogs, but big as ponies. The three canines were eagerly sniffing the ground, following the saldars’ spoors right up to the boulder, where they lost the scent. Abruptly the dogs switched directions and started coming Scot’s way.

 “Scot! They’re following your scent now!” Sharon exclaimed.” Get going!”

 “Damn,” Scot cursed and took off. The dogs followed his spoor with laser focus, leading the Conquistadors into the forest. Scot fled for camp.

 “We got to run, Shannon!” Scot spat as he rushed into camp. “We’ve got over a hundred Conquistadors coming with tracking dogs! Let’s go!” He threw her pack to her and retrieved his backpack from the treetop.

 Shannon didn’t ask questions. She pulled out her pants, socks, and boots from Earth. She dressed in a flash, and added her bandolier with shoulder holster, which held her 9mm machine pistol. She had a belt that held another 9mm semi auto pistol. She carried the short sword slung over her back and Scot’s knife on her hip. Scot had the cooked meat wrapped up already, and they’d filled their water skins and canteen. They didn’t bother trying to douse the fire or clean the scene. It was too late to hide their presence. Quite quickly, they were rushing away with Scot, following Sharon.

 Shannon was still limping, so they couldn’t move anywhere near as fast as they normally did. Behind them, a hunting horn mournfully bawled out. The horn was answered by another horn ahead of them.

 “Sharon!” Scot barked. “I’ll check!” Sharon zoomed away disappearing.

 “Scot?” Shannon asked.

 “Sharon’s checking! But it sounds like more Conquistadors ahead!” Scot spat back. They kept going.

 Sharon returned.” Bad news, Scot! There’s over fifty Conquistadors ahead, where the forest ends and savanna starts. They’re ready to shoot whatever runs out of the woods. You’ve got to make a stand in the woods, where you have some cover. Just keep moving for now. Well find a spot.”

 Scot cursed. The wily hunting Conquistadors behind them were intending to flush their prey from the forest out into the guns of their brethren, waiting on the open savanna. It was a bad position they were in. The forest was only a few miles wide at its thickest spots and ended on either open savanna ahead, or rocky open range behind them. Scot felt both stupid and desperate. He stopped abruptly, and Shannon almost bumped into him.

 “Shannon, we’ve got over a hundred Conquistadors behind us with tracking dogs. There’s over fifty ahead of us, ready to shoot when we reach the savanna. We’ve got nowhere to go. We can’t hide in the trees, because the dogs will lead them to us. If we break out of the forest to try outrunning them on the savanna, they’re gonna be shooting at us in the open. Their monster horses are fast with good stamina. I don’t see you doing too well on that ankle. I think we need to find a spot to make a stand in the woods, where we have cover. What do you think?”

 Shannon wasn’t even breathing heavy from the run. “So if we try to outrun them on the savanna, they’re gonna have open shots at us?”

 “Yep, and there’s no other bigger woods nearby for us to flee to. It’s open savanna for the next couple days travel. We’re fast, but I doubt we can outrun all those guns. Especially with your ankle.”

 Shannon nodded grimly.” Then we’ll have to ambush them in the trees and try doing enough damage to run them off. Do you have a place in mind?”

 “Sharon’s looking.” The baying dogs behind them were coming closer.

 “We should keep moving, shouldn’t we?” Shannon wondered.

 “Yeah, let’s go,” Scot moved on at a slower pace.

 Sharon rejoined them. “I found a decent place ahead. They’ll have to cross the clearing and you can ambush them from some well sheltered spots. Follow me.” Scot followed Sharon’s ghostly glowing, floating figure.

Sharon led Scot to a vast clearing with high grasses and myriad of wildflowers, creating a kaleidoscope of colors in the colossal clearing. The forest ringed it in an oblong shape. A few isolated trees loomed over the meadow. The plethora of birds singing was almost deafening amidst the berating chatter of rodents. The sun beamed brightly down. An assortment of prehistoric elk and antelope grazed there. It was strangely beautiful.

 “Position Shannon over there, behind that boulder!” Sharon pointed.” You take a spot behind one of those trees, over there! Catch them in a crossfire! Tell Shannon if you have to fall back there’s another clearing about two hundred yards South! Hurry, Scot! “

 Scot repeated the directions to Shannon. He added, “Shoot for their faces. Your 9mm likely won’t pierce their breastplates or helms. Good luck, Shannon.”

 They exchanged a solemn glance and split up. The grazing animals fled as they came trotting in, crossing the clearing. Shannon went behind a boulder that grew amongst the trees. She could lean against it to shoot and still remain secluded in the trees. She pulled out her machine pistol. It had an optional small scope on the side of it for more careful shooting and a selection switch for automatic fire, three short bursts, or single shots. Shannon knew her ammo was limited, so she selected three short bursts. She got comfortable and checked her field of fire through her scope.

 Scot settled behind a titanic tree trunk and gazed through his blaster scope. He was on his last power pack for the weapon, and wasn’t sure how many shots he would have left. They didn’t have long to wait. The lean, athletic, Spaniards, holding the leashes of the wild dogs, appeared first. The mounted Conquistadors poured into the clearing. Scot waited a few moments for the masses to funnel into the meadow, and then selected his line of fire. His scope zeroed in on a Conquistador’s breastplate. He gently tugged the trigger to topple his target. His barrel spat an incandescent blast of plasma and ion infused incendiary round, which bored through the man’s breastplate and body, to exit the backplane. The screaming beam streamed through the armored shoulder of a second rider that was positioned behind the first. Both Conquistadors spilled from their saddles, screaming and reaching at the smoking bolt holes, where their flesh continued cooking.

 Scot’s scope swiveled and settled for another squeeze of his trigger. His barrel released a refulgent ribbon that roiled and railed through the ribs of one Conquistador and barbecued the bicep of a second Conquistador riding behind the first falling figure. Scot’s scope touched the next torso and unfurled another scarlet streamer that broiled through body armor, and continued on to roast the ear of a horse monster. The beast went berserk, wildly kicking, biting, and bucking, crashing past the masses in mindless agony and anger.

 The Conquistadors spotted where the winking muzzle fire was coming from, but they couldn’t quite see the shooter hidden behind the greenery. They swung their guns at his position, firing blindly in the bush. The air thundered with the fulminations and flares of fire. Fog blossomed from the gouts of black powder.

 Scot continued tracking, tacking, and torching targets that remained visible beyond the rolling clouds of smoke obscuring the area. He focused his fusillade of fiery forks on foes’ figures’, charbroiling chests. He often scorched secondary targets positioned behind the firsts, as his high powered bolts licked like lightning, boiling through bodies and lambasting limbs, or goring the horse monsters. He dealt plenty destruction, peppering people with his plasma pistol.

 Shannon had been an active hobby pistol shooter on Earth. She’d had a range behind her house and was an excellent shot. She hated to see her enemies’ faces as she used the scope reticle and released rounds in three shot salvos. Her first spate of shots clocked the chops of the lead rider, and he slipped out of the saddle. Instantly her scope weaved to the next Conquistador, and laced his face into a red ruin. Shannon’s flurry fanned another figure’s face to bloody paste. She plugged slugs in another’s mug. All four foes fell. Then the Conquistador’s guns were bellowing out bedlams of balls to pummel her position.

 She displayed cool nerve under fire. The balls whizzed like wasps overhead and some smacked the stone or skipped off it. She was pelted by small pieces of stone and was blistered by some bits pinging her. Despite all, she continued her cannonade, unleashing ammo accurately, flogging faces.

 The Conquistadors boldly galloped at both sources of muzzle fire. Their rifles roared and spewed deluges of fire and fog. The horse monsters were quick cantering across the clearing. The fight flooded into the forest and the carnage continued in close quarters combat. The horse monsters bulldozed into the brush, and some collided into trees, or tripped. Many riders were thrown or bunted off by branches. Plenty others came close to Scot and Shannon.

 Scot ran at the last moment. His celerity and agility worked well with his hand and eye coordination to dodge trees, thick brush, and step over obstacles underfoot. He had to also handle enemies after him. His blaster remained in his right hand and his plasma torch in his left. He zapped several foes in a row with radiant rays puffing from his plasma pistol in photonic flashes that flamed through flesh and bone, piercing armor like paper. His screaming, gleaming, beams, often reamed through more than one man. Scot’s torch was like a phosphorescent foil, flashing and lashing in lethal lucent loops. He hacked a horse monster’s head off as it bit at him. He dismembered a Conquistador above him with a horizontal cut from hip to hip, through armor, flesh, and bone. The man’s upper half ironically fell over him and tangled him up briefly.

 A pod of grapeshot rocked Scot, clubbing his Kevlar. Scot’s sparkling sapphire sword sizzled and popped as he lopped the leg off a rider above him. He ducked and thrust in the gut of another, impaling his enemy as the man’s sword swooped near Scot’s skull. Scot ducked behind a tree trunk, as guns gushed muzzle flames with smoke and loads of lead at him. He evaded the broadcast of balls, and then peeked out to blitz both shooters with luminescent rounds that downed both out of the saddle. His plasma torch forked a foe’s extended sword arm, amputating it below the elbow. A pistol barked out a ball that zipped near Scot’s nose. Other barrels vomited volleys at him and some swords swung.

 He retreated further in the forest. He used the trees as cover, darting from one to another. Then he leaped fifteen feet high and scaled from view into the dense tree canopy. During his fleeing fight, he felt a lead ball buffet the back of his body armor. His leg was lapidated and lacerated by a ball that creased deep in calf meat. It stung like a hornet had hit him. Then he was beyond them, by hurtling like a soaring squirrel between trees, while still hidden in the dense canopy. The Conquistadors were riding and blindly firing all over after him.

 Shannon madly scrambled. She’d emptied one clip and slammed a fresh one in before fleeing. Adrenaline helped fuel her flight, despite her injured ankle. She was a little blur, bolting like a forest phantom. The trees grew thicker where she was, and that aided her flight. She had a pistol in each fist as she fled, and both barrels belched bullets, so her shots bopped body armor, lapidated limbs, and sledged heads. The breastplates stopped most of her shots that socked the Conquistadors’ bodies. Her 9mm didn’t pack enough power to puncture armor, unless she was very close. She was a tiny target amidst tangles of trees and brush.

 She jumped 18 feet high into the upper tree canopy out of view. She vaulted from tree to tree briefly, with some leaps thirty feet long and fifteen feet high, before she swung back down on the ground. She encountered a couple men she mowed over with swift shots while scrambling from tree to tree. Lead balls sped to shred brush like buzz saws after her. A rider reined in her way, pointing his pistol down at her. She jumped and pumped an airborne bicycle kick that dug in the mug of the mounted man, just as he fired both barrels of his pistol below her flying figure. The impact snapped his jaw and jolted him out of the saddle. The poor monster horse was hailed with a pulverizing pattern of pellets meant for Shannon by another shooter. She emptied her machine pistol clip at him and her bullets bludgeoned his breastplate. One bullet burrowed through armor, entering his abdomen. He grunted and reeled as the slug drubbed his stomach. Her semi-auto pistol hopped in her other hand, and the bullet fustigated a final foe’s forehead, hewing through the helm. He slumped and was dumped by his steed. Then she was gone in a flicker of movement, leaving the mob confused in her wake.

 There wasn’t any time to set up the secondary ambush site right. Sharon flew down to Scot and guided him to where Shannon was running at reduced speed with a limp. She almost shot Scot as he appeared near her.

 “This way,” Scot waved. “Sharon has an idea.”

 Shannon didn’t argue or ask. She just fell in behind him. Scot veered off course into deeper woods instead of towards the clearing, and away from the savanna. They were making a wide u turn back into the forest. The Conquistadors were chaotic, with so many dead, and wounded scattered. The dogs were held back as the warriors finally realized they’d lost the shooters and they reassembled. The dogs had to sniff through all the conflicting scents and lost both spoors when they traveled in the trees. Finally the dogs found the spoors again and began barking and whining excitedly on the scents.

 The dogs followed their noses. It led them into the small territory the old Megasaurus considered its own. It was the same Megasaurus that fed on the dead young Allosaurus the other evening. It was sleeping off its meal, all curled up in a dense thicket. Sharon had seen the sleeping beast and guided the couple close to it.

 Scot and Shannon hurtled into the air, scuttling amongst the trees, above the daunting dragon below. When Sharon warned him how close the dogs were, Scot beaned the beast with a branch he’d burnt at the end with his torch. The flaming faggot fried the Megasaurus’ flank. He came very angrily awake, to see the dogs and men treading on his turf.

 The Megasaurus erupted out of its thicket, believing it was under attack. The dogs had no chance at flight. The dinosaur was almost as big as a Tyrannosaurus Rex, and was quicker, despite its age. It hurdled off its hindquarters to stomp atop the dogs and men holding them. Its huge feet full of talons crushed and cut. The massive kisser scarfed up the hound handlers with big bites, while the upper limbs grabbed and stabbed with taloned hands.

 In an instant, the dogs and handlers were massacred by the monster. The Conquistadors riding behind the dogs had their steeds panic and bolt back from the deadly dinosaur. The Megasaurus took advantage of the ambush opportunity, and crashed into the masses, biting, smiting, and stamping, with its tail walloping waves of men and mounts. It was amongst them too fast. It killed countless Conquistadors quickly.

 Storms of shots sieged the beast, mainly battering the body. The big guns thudded slugs into its lungs and guts, and slapped its back. The dinosaur’s spinal column was docked by shots that dropped it. Then its head was boxed by a barrage of balls that brained the beast. It still took a while to die, kicking and flicking its formidable limbs and tail. During all the conflict, Scot and Shannon slipped away safely, following Sharon’s lead. Luckily neither Scot nor Shannon sustained serious injuries. Scot’s Kevlar had stopped several body shots that left bruises.

 “My blaster pack is almost empty,” Scot informed Shannon and Sharon as they hustled along a game trail.

 “What do we do then?” Shannon was finally breathing heavy. “I’m not sure,” he grumbled, glancing at the warning red light on his pistol. “Sharon, what do you think the odds are of me cracking that boulder with my blaster?”

 Comprehension dawned in Sharon’s eyes and she smiled wide. “Probably pretty good.”

 “Which boulder?” Shannon frowned, limping and skipping along, with a big pistol in her little fist.

 “The boulder that blocks the saldars’ hidden tunnel,” Scot’s gaze met Shannon’s questioning expression. Shannon couldn’t quite smile, but she was intrigued.

 “You want to use your last blasts on the boulder to move it over and expose the saldars? But you’d have to go out in the open to do it.”

 “There is that, “he conceded somberly.” But we need a big move to lose them. This forest patch is too small. They might get more men and hounds to flush us out in the open. Sharon, go check what’s happening.”

 “On it,” Sharon zoomed away. Scot and Shannon hopped high in a tree fork to wait in safety from any possible monsters. Shannon reloaded her clips quickly.

“How are you on ammo?” Scot asked Shannon.

 “I haven’t counted, but not great.” Shannon looked grim as she reloaded.

 “Yeah, me too.” Scot pulled out the 45 caliber pistol he had holstered at the small of his back. When they’d hurtled through the wormhole onto the planet, Scot had his backpack on, carrying a good supply of ammo for his 45, along with extra power packs for his blaster and torch. The vampires that were sucked through the wormhole, also had guns and ammo from Earth. Shannon and Scot had killed most of those vampires and taken their guns and ammo. But it had been a mighty dangerous journey that consumed ammo.

 “We should steal some of the dead Conquistadors’ guns and ammo if possible,” Scot suggested. “The big rifles will bring down pretty much anything if you plant the shots right.”

 “Flintlocks,” Shannon mused. “They look heavy. Double barrels.”

 “They’re heavy,” he agreed.” I used them on my last visit here. The Conquistadors haven’t figured out how to make revolvers, or repeating rifles, or bullets. They’re still using smoothbore barrels, without rifling, and balls of lead, so some guns aren’t that accurate. They seem to make all their rifles and pistols with double barrels and carry extra rifles and pistols. They study swordsmanship and are usually pretty good with those short swords.”

 Shannon could tell he was just talking to ease some of their tension. “If you can knock that boulder out of the way, then what?”

 “Sharon said last night the saldars had a guard posted watching that tunnel entrance. They probably still do. I’d like to run over there and knock the boulder aside. Then run right over my back trail, in case they bring in anymore hounds. They’d follow my trail to the saldars’ tunnel. That way we got the saldars and Conquistadors coming at each other. We hide in the trees till that happens, and flee while they fight.”

 Shannon considered it. ”That might work?”

 “Let’s hope so,” he muttered. “How’s the ankle?”

 “Still kind of stiff,” she admitted.”Damn dinosaur used it for a chew toy.”

 Sharon returned.” One of the dogs survived, it’s just got a gimp hind leg. They’re reassembled and gonna try finding you. I think you better hurry up and try to crack that boulder.”

 Scot cursed. “How much did we cut the odds?”

 “Not enough,” Sharon answered bluntly.

 “What’s wrong?” Shannon interjected nervously.

 “One of their tracking dogs survived and they’ve reassembled. Let’s get closer to the saldars’ tunnel and then you go in another tree while I hit the boulder. Let’s go.” Scot scaled down a ways before he dropped. Shannon joined him on the ground. They moved at a fast pace following Sharon’s guidance. Their route carried them back to the forest fringe that skirted the open rocky range at the base of the mountains.

 Shannon went up another enormous tree. Scot went out in the open, after Sharon did a sweep to be sure nothing dangerous was watching from the forest. He sprinted from the forest to the boulder. Sharon ghosted through the boulder and back.

 “There’s a saldar sitting on watch about a hundred feet from the boulder inside. He’s got a bow and arrow. Be ready for that.”

 “Okay,” Scot studied the boulder carefully.

 “Maybe shoot it here,” Sharon suggested while pointing at the boulder’s lower corner.

 “Yeah, it might roll then,” he agreed. Scot pointed his blaster at the boulder corner from a safe distance. His barrel bloomed a blast that smacked and cracked the stone. He fired again, and a huge chunk busted off the boulder, while making it glow, radiating heat. With rumbles and crackling, the boulder rolled down the dipping elevation. Scots keen vision pierced the dark tunnel and spotted the saldar inside.

 The reptilian humanoid reminded Scot of an evolved salamander and human hybrid. The saldar bent his bow to aim his arrow. Scot’s blaster emitted its arcing, ionized, incendiary, accurately, to cleave through the right boot greave. The saldar was grilled by the inferno eating through his ankle. He howled, hopping. He accidentally unleashed his immense arrow, which winged wide to Scot’s far side. The saldar fell, bellowing out his agony as the incendiary cooked his calf. He managed to grab his bullhorn and blow into it. The horn echoed hauntingly through the long tunnel, warning other saldars.

 Scot ran over his back trail and sprang up into the tree, climbing high to reach where Shannon was hidden

. “How’d it go?” Shannon wondered. She couldn’t see through the thick foliage.

 “I rolled the boulder and shot a saldar in the leg. That’s him yelling and blowing the warning horn. That should bring the other saldars running and alert the Conquistadors. Now we wait and hope. And for the record, my blaster’s dead now.”

 Sharon was streaking back and forth as she checked on the saldars and Conquistadors. The saldars’ tunnel snaked into warrens in the mountains’ inner cave structure that sprawled out for miles. The saldar clan living there had recently discovered the caves while tunneling deep in their mining for metals in the higher mountains’ elevation. They’d then proceeded to sneak onto the Conquistadors’ lands, making raids on homes not heavily defended. They liked the taste of humans and hauled their victims back to eat, along with all the valuables they found. Now they’d been exposed. There were plenty saldars warriors ready for invasions at all times, and now they tromped through the tunnels, determined to protect their pathway from invaders.

 The Conquistadors had suffered heavy losses from Scot, Shannon, and the Megasaurus. The sound of the saldar war horn was recognized. They dispatched riders to rush back to headquarters and return with reinforcements immediately. In the meantime, they carefully followed their lone remaining dog as it tracked Scot and Shannon. Just as Scot had hoped, the dog kept following his spoor out to the open range at the base of the mountains. The Conquistadors spotted the open tunnel and numerous saldars muscling to roll the boulder back in place.

 Unfortunately; the busted boulder was no longer big enough to block the cave mouth. Now they had to do some creative stonework to fill the gap with a new chipped boulder or two. The Conquistadors guns weren’t accurate over several hundred yards. In order to accurately shoot at the saldars, they had to ride closer. Boldly, a wave of horsemen galloped out of the forest and reined up at a halt at a hundred yards to aim and engage an enfilade at their enemies. The sortie of sailing lead projectiles peppered the saldars, and several fell. The big bore balls shattered through the saldars’ shields, and chiseled through chain mail.

 Saldar archer’s unleashed enormous arrows, and the showers of shafts were like artillery amongst the enemy. The saldars’ awesome arrows easily breached breastplates, and other armor, to trounce targets, then continue clubbing, cutting, and puncturing people and pets behind the first victim. For a long few moments it was a shootout. But the Conquistadors’ guns overcame the enemy. Desperately the saldars settled for the boulder Scot had split, and pulled it into place behind them as they retreated into their tunnel. Unfortunately for them, there was a five foot opening left exposing the cave. From inside, they shoved shields to block it, while waiting for stones to be brought from the mining tunnels to better barricade the cave mouth. They were skilled masons.

 While the Conquistadors and saldars exchanged enfilades, Scot and Shannon slipped out of their tree and ran up their back trail into the forest, with Sharon scouting for their safety. Along the way, they helped themselves to many pouches of black powder and ammo balls. They also selected rifles and numerous pistols, knives, swords, clothing, armor, and other available supplies. It reminded Shannon of some insane rummage sale, except everything was free and had to be stripped from the slain. They ended up back at the edge of the savanna. They waited there for Sharon to do a final fly by. They gathered their gear, arranging everything and dressing for travel in blood stained stuff.

 “Seriously, how’s your ankle?” Scot interrogated her suspiciously.

 “It’s actually feeling better,” she assured him.

 “If you can’t run, just tell me. Then we’ll figure something else out,” he insisted.

 “I can’t go full speed, but I can run. Trust me.” Scot quit the interrogation. They both stripped to try new clothing. The combat boots they both wore were from Earth, and remained in great condition. The boots had special space age foam for comfort inside and super tough material outside. Their Earth, combat, camouflaged jeans had become rags. They’d made pants, shirts, coats, and Shannon’s pack out of furs from cave bear, aurochs, stag, and other animals. They’d used salt they’d located in a cave and brains to cure the skins the best they could. But they’d lacked certain supplies and the skins had started stinking and coming apart at some sewn seams.

Scot found a dead Conquistador around his height and build. The dead guy was well bathed and groomed, so none of the clothing stunk, but it was blood spattered. Scot slipped into leather pants and a jerkin. He’d bought his Kevlar shirt on Earth, so it fit well. Shannon had the same kind of shirt. Both their shirts were in poor shape from absorbing abuse, but worth wearing still. He put on a chain mail shirt and armbraces made of leather, mail and iron inside to protect his forearms. He kept his combat belt that had pouches, but grabbed the guy’s belt and shoulder holster harness. He appropriated the guy’s long knife and short sword, both were seriously sharp. Once finished, he was more loaded down, but everything seemed necessary. He kept his 45 holstered at the small of his back. He had a double barrel pistol on his right hip and another one in a shoulder holster. His new, double barrel rifle had a sling to strap it over his back, but he held it. He had his backpack stuffed, and added the short sword in its sheath on the baldric over his back. He felt the extra weight and shifting burdens, but he felt he needed it all.

 When he glanced at Shannon, he had to smile. She’d found the smallest guy she could and cut the trousers and jerkin lengths raggedly short. She made her Earth belt work in the trousers’ belt loops. She’d taken his advice carrying an extra pair of double barrel pistols, sword, knife, water skin, ammo pouches. She took saddlebags off a dead monster horse to replace her smelly fur satchel. Dirt smudged her nose. Crazy as it was, he’d never been more attracted to her.

 “Bunch of jerky in the saddlebags,” she informed him.

 “Nice outfit, Shannon.”

 “It’s what all the cave girls are wearing on this world, “she smiled back.

 Sharon returned from her long range reconnaissance.” Nice outfits. Okay, the Conquistadors are focused on the saldars’ bolt hole. It would be a good time to go. You’ll have to cross a couple days’ worth of savanna before you reach another forest patch. There’s fresh water about a day away. Along the way there’s countless herds of herbivores grazing and plenty predators. Are you ready?”

 “Lead the way, Sharon,” he agreed. Sharon flew ahead. Scot and Shannon followed at a trot. They got used to what it felt like moving with all their new stuff. Their alien enhanced endurance carried them along on their jaunt. The high savanna’s green grasses waved in the breeze and reached up to Scot’s face in places. In other spots, the grasses had been nibbled short by feeding. A plethora of wildflowers, bushes, plants, and occasional trees, added a myriad of colors. There were lots of hills and valleys. It was both educational and entertaining for the companions. They were constantly encountering humongous herds of herbivore mammals and dinosaurs, and each species chose to mainly mingle amongst its own kind. The mammals had prehistoric buffalo, mammoths, mastodons, rhino, deer, elk, moose, and many others. The dinosaurs had lots of duckbills, triceratops, stegosaurus, ankylosaurs, and along swamps diplodocus and brontosaurus. The predators included in mammals, giant eagles, cave lions, cave bears, prehistoric hyenas, wolves, dogs, sabretooth tigers, and others. The dinosaurs included Tyrannosaurus Rex, Megasaurus, Allosaurus, raptor packs, and even an alien dinosaur called a Megasaurus. It was the biggest predator on the planet and greatly resembled Godzilla from movies. Although the Conquistadors did have farming communities, they picked the flattest, most fertile places for it, and used military protection to kill off the creatures in that region. But they also harvested lots of meat from creatures. Scot and Shannon were cutting through untamed territory. They were hoping most predators would recognize them as armed hunters and choose other available prey, but they knew they’d be attacked routinely. When they passed scarlet and purple flowers, known as forego, they picked them because the flowers provided a potent painkiller and rapid healing properties that also fought infections. They were sure they’d have use for it eventually.

* * * * THE END * * * *
Copyright Tom Kropp 2026

Image Source: Dey from Fictom.com