Chapter 35

We were lucky. The 'crocoshark' did not escape. The line fastened to the harpoon played out as it attempted to flee and then it stopped as it reached the end of its tether. The creature thrashed about for a while, actually becoming entangled in the line that held it. Eventually, it died. When it had, Vicky towed it back to the beach with the boat. Pebble and Shell were ecstatic.

The bear was another story. There was no way that I was going to get it on shore without some help. The Argo had a light winch, but the bear had to weigh almost a ton. It was massive looking. I had to send for assistance. I radioed the settlement and told Emma what I needed. She showed up half an hour later with one of our large front end loaders and a work team comprised of my nieces. Luckily the ground in that area was firm enough to support the weight of the machine. With Helena and Paula standing guard on shore with carbines, just in case there was something else in the water, I walked into the water with a fifty foot length of heavy duty chain. With the help of Carol and Beverly I worked the chain under the carcass of the bear and around its body until I had created a makeshift five-point harness about its massive frame. When I was done I secured the chain to a hook that had been connected to the bucket of the loader. Emma slowly lifted the bear out of the water. It was an impressive sight.

Suspended it looked bigger than I'd originally thought it had been. A quick eyeballing of the beastie told me that it was at least twice as tall as I was. Dangling with limbs hanging limp, I could visualize it walking across the ground on all fours. I could tell that if I'd met it face to face, we'd have been staring at each other in the eye. The thought sent a shiver down my spine. After a double check of the chain holding it, I had Emma take it away. She drove it back to the settlement and up to our slaughterhouse. I had some work to do.

The presence of a bear this close to our settlement had me unnerved. If Sarah's theory of a safe zone was true then such a brute shouldn't have gotten within miles of us. However, as I had observed earlier to Vicky, I believed things had changed. I had hoped that the change that I'd sensed had been for the good. A bear nearby suggested something else. I wanted to make certain that it was the only thing that we needed to worry about, so before leaving the lake, I took another look around. This time I had a little help.

Helena proved to be the lucky one. She spotted where the bear had come out of the brush south of the beach. Together we backtracked the bear's trail until it disappeared into the dense forest that still existed to the south-east of the lake. While we did that, Victoria took charge of my other nieces. I had other work for them.

I wanted the grave of the dead Ka-Fay-La refilled and covered with stones. Carol took a shovel from the Argo and quickly filled the grave back in and patted it down while Victoria took Paula and Beverly off to gather stones from the area about the waterfall. By the time Helena and I got back, the job was done. I thanked everyone for their help and then sent them back with Victoria to the settlement and the lunch that would be waiting them. I stayed behind with a carbine. I wanted to talk to Vicky.

I found Vicky on the beach with Pebble and Shell. Angela was still with her, sitting off to one side on the side of boat.

"Hello," I said as I walked slowly towards Vicky, trying not to set off Pebble and Shell. Thankfully, they were too busy stuffing their mouths with pieces of the 'crocoshark'. The two of them had gutted the creature once it had been landed.

"Hello," Vicky replied with a smile, "and thanks for the hand. It's appreciated."

"No problem," I replied shrugging it off as I did, "I'm just thankful that I spotted the bear's sign and that our 'benefactors' sent me the big rifle from the lockup. I hadn't brought it with me. In fact, I hadn't really expected to use the carbine."

"Still," Vicky said stepping over to me so she could give me a peck on the cheek, "you were there for us when we needed it."

"Yes," Angela said, standing up and walking over to me, so that she too could give me a kiss, "thank-you for being there for us. God it was so scary."

Instinctively, I took Angela into my arms and pulled her against me. The woman was trembling. As I comforted her, Angela tried to burrow even further into me. It took a few minutes for her to calm down.

"I'm sorry," Angela finally whispered as she started to pull away from me, "but when that bear suddenly appeared, roaring like it was, I just froze knowing that I was about to die. It was just so scary."

"I understand," I whispered back, before giving her a reassuring kiss on the forehead, "and that is why I was there with the rifle. It's my job to protect you and I did. You don't have to be frightened anymore.

It helped a bit. Angela looked into my eyes and then leaned in and kissed me lightly on the lips. Then she whispered thank-you again. As she stepped away from me, Vicky took her in her arms as well and I kissed her on the forehead as well, before kissing her on the lips. She whispered softly to Angela, telling her it was okay. Angela nodded and then walked back to the boat to sit back down, focusing her attention on Pebble and Shell.

The two of them were still eating.

"It was scary," Vicky admitted in a low voice. "To be honest, I almost pissed myself when that thing stood up and reached for the boat. I'm glad you were there Adam."

"Well," I said, reaching over and squeezing her hand to reassure her, "it's over with now, although I'm concerned with the fact that it was here in the first place."

"You're wondering about the whole safe zone theory aren't you?" Vicky asked, glancing with concern from me towards the land surrounding us.

"Yes," I replied, trying to keep my voice from carrying to Angela's ears. "I think we're going to have to be more attentive to our surroundings from now on. Like Bethany said to us yesterday, we've become too complacent. Since yesterday things have changed and we're going to have to adapt to those changes. I just hope that we won't be facing beasts like that bear every day from now on. It'll get tiring fast."

"Agreed," Vicky stated without saying another word.

We stood in silence for a moment thinking about our new problem and watching Pebble and Shell gorge themselves on the flesh of the 'crocoshark'. It was obvious that they'd hadn't really eaten much in the last couple of days and that they were starving. We'd have to do something about that as well. I hoped that they'd adapt to our food eventually. I had no idea of how much fish was in that lake and I knew that winter was coming. While we stood there, I noticed that Pebble had a hunting knife in her hand that she used to cut strips of flesh off of the 'crocoshark'. I asked Vicky about it.

"It's mine," Vicky told me, "When we landed the beastie, the two of them just started to claw at it with their bare hands. I decided to show them the joys of hardened steel. Amazingly, the moment I pulled the knife from my sheath and I touched the creature, I knew exactly how to gut it. It didn't take that long and it really impressed Pebble and Shell. Once I was done, I gave Pebble my knife. I think the 'magic' that the aliens have programmed into everything worked on them as well. Either that or Pebble has become proficient with it really fast."

I just nodded and went back to watching the two alien women. It looked like they were getting full. Their ravenous behaviour was slowing down. It gave me an opportunity to take a closer look at the 'crocoshark'. The thing was an ugly beast. While its head looked like that of a crocodile the rest of it was definitely fish. It propelled its body with long broad leaf shaped tail fin. It also had powerful looking pectoral and pelvic fins. The scales on its back were like scale armour, dark in colour and overlapping to provide it protection. The belly scales were a light greenish-grey and much smaller. It even smelled foul.

It was enough for me. I mentioned to Vicky that she might want to have Angela explain about the grave before they came back up to the settlement. Pebble and Shell hadn't asked about their fallen friend as far as I knew, but it might be nice if they knew that we had buried her by the water. Hopefully, they'd appreciate what we'd done. I had no knowledge of their burial customs and I don't know if anyone else had bothered to check the tablet to see what they were. It hadn't been a priority. Speaking to them had.

I left Vicky and Angela in charge of the two happy fisherwomen. I handed Vicky my carbine and then left. I had a shower to take and my own lunch waiting for me and then there was a bear that needed slaughtering. I had a feeling it was going to be a long day.

The exploits at the lake had become the talk of the dining hall. I hadn't even gotten through the main entrance when my three daughters waved me over to join them at their table.

"Have a seat Dad," Karen said cheerfully as she got up, "and I'll get you something to eat."

I was surprised for a second but said nothing about it. I thanked my daughter and then sat down. As I did, I noticed that several of young women in the hall were looking at me with blatant admiration. They included my nieces as well as a few of Tilly's young relatives. It was a strange feeling having all those eyes fastened on me. It made me self conscious and aroused.

"So tell us all about it," Lizzy said to me, her eyes blazing with interest. "We saw the bear when Momma brought it up with the loader. It looks humongous. It must have been something to have shot it."

"Well," I replied thoughtfully, "it wasn't fun. When I saw its prints in the soil, I knew that Vicky and Angela and the rest of us were in danger. I was afraid something bad would happen. I'm just happy that everything worked out okay."

"But you did kill it Daddy," Karen said as she returned with my lunch, "and you saved everyone."

"I did at that little girl." I admitted, giving my youngest a smile as she put down my plate and utensils and a bottle of beer.

Lunch was a hearty stew and a sandwich. It was good, what I remembered of it. I ate while answering questions. Everyone wanted to hear first hand what had happened. I ended up staying at the table longer than I had planned. Eventually, I told everyone I had to go. There was work to be done.

"But Daddy," Sarah said excitedly, "do you really need to do that now. Couldn't you do it later?"

"Yeah Daddy," Lizzy declared, "wouldn't you rather go and have a lie down after all that excitement?"

"We could come with you Daddy," Karen proposed, "just to make sure no one bothered you while you rested."

I blinked with surprise as my mind caught up with what was going on. My daughters were horny and they wanted the 'great white hunter' to shag them silly. I was amused by the thought of it.

"Well girls," I said, trying not to offend anyone, "I really do need to get this done now. Maybe later on, after I'm done."

"But Daddy," Lizzy protested, looking very disappointed in me, "you'll be at it for hours and hours, and you'll come back smelling of blood. Please reconsider."

"Lizzy," I started to say, but then my mother spoke up from across the room.

"Don't worry about it son," Sally told me, with a knowing grin upon her face. "Betty and I and maybe your sisters can handle the bear for you. At least we can gut it and skin it and let it bleed out, while you have a nice nap with your loving daughters. Then when you're done, you can get straight to work cutting up that big bastard. I'm thinking bear steaks for supper tonight."

I didn't argue with my mother on this point. Instead I surrendered willingly to my enthusiastic daughters, letting them lead me off to my sleeping quarters. The four of us were naked a few minutes later.