Chapter 5

We headed west from there moving as quickly as we could. I wanted to put as much distance between where we'd left the hunters and our next camp. The last thing I wanted was any more trouble today. Tok ran ahead of us for a while, while Kola and I jogged along behind her. I pointed us out across terrain already churned up by meandering herds of grazers hoping that their movements would eventually obscure our trail. Amazingly my new body seemed to be getting into the exertions that I was putting it through and I really didn't feel any fatigue. I did however have to pace myself for Kola's sake. We kept the jogging up for about an hour or so and then we walked for another hour. Eventually we stumbled upon an up-heaving of stone that broke the flatness of the plain that offered us a place to camp for the night. After a quick look around to make certain that there weren't any unwanted surprises hiding amongst the stones, we moved in and set up camp for the night. We ate cold from our slowly dwindling stash of non-Game World food and washed it down with warm water from our water skins. We fed Tok some of the bison and then went to sleep, both of us too tired to think of doing anything else. The next day we were up again at dawn and then off before the day had really even started.

We got lucky on the second day west and came upon a narrow stream that was running through the plain. It was shallow but it wasn't dry and the water looked clean and clear and it certainly tasted refreshing. Kola and I refilled our water skins and made camp on the far side of it that night. After a supper of roast bison and the last of our tubers and root vegetables, I took Kola to the stream again and reintroduced her to the pleasure of bathing with soap. This time she didn't complain about the water. Later I reintroduced her to oral sex and like the first time around I left Kola limp but very satisfied. We slept soundly that night with Tok watching over us and rose early once more the next day. From there we turned south once more. As we moved along we kept the stream in sight for as long as we could, knowing that fresh water might become a problem out here on the plain with summer coming into its prime.

By now Kola and I had been together for about ten days and we were getting along splendidly. I found Kola to be a very good travelling companion and a great help and from her responses in our shared bedroll I got the impression that she didn't have much to complain about in regards to how I was treating her. The first week on the plain I had taught Kola how to use a sling and how to hunt with it. She had improved with practice and while we walked on our daily trek, it wasn't uncommon to hear the whirl of her sling cut the air all of a sudden and then a soft squeak in the distance as her stone dropped a prairie dog or a rabbit. Each time she killed something I praised her for her skill and resourcefulness and she always beamed happily at my words.

The encounter with the hunters raised my level of concern for Kola's safety if we ever encountered someone whose skill and weapons matched mine. She'd proved that she was able to kill if necessary, both to eat and protect herself, yet I was certain that she needed to know a little more than just the use of a sling or jabbing something with a spear. Thus during the course of the next week of walking, I taught Kola a couple of other things. The first was a few tricks involving self-defence and using the knife that I'd given her.

"Your size is both a handicap and a benefit," I told Kola after we'd left our camp by the up-heaved rocks. "While most men will be taller and stronger than you, thus able to overpower you if they can get a hold on you, your own height allows you to duck under their grasping hands and your natural speed should keep you out of harm's way and with aggressiveness you can use a man's attack against him."

That night I spent an hour showing Kola how to duck under a man's attack and to take the fight to him by getting in close and using her knife. I also taught her to keep moving at all times even when her blade had hit home. Her speed and agility were her best assets and she'd stay alive if she didn't get careless and get caught.

The other thing that I taught Kola was to use the hunting bow that we'd taken from the bowman who had attacked us. The bow was a simple affair considering the fact that the man had obviously come from a world with a higher technology than Game World's. Still it was a half decent bow and one that Kola could manage given her height and physical strength. I was pleasantly surprised when I handed her the bow the first time and I found that she had no problems drawing it. My young mate was a very strong woman. We spent an hour every day practicing with the bow until Kola was able to hit a target with reasonable accuracy. When we had accomplished that I took her hunting.

It was the fifth day of our trek south after finding the stream that cut through the plains. Our stock of fresh fruits and vegetables was gone and our supply of food taken from our attackers from two weeks ago was dwindling fast. As a result more and more meat had entered our diet and hunting had become something that we were doing every other day. Today we headed west for a bit in an attempt to bring down a small deer or cow.

Finding an animal to kill wasn't a real problem. The herds grazing on the plains were huge, thus making them easy to spot from a distance. The big problem was getting close enough to a herd to make a kill without stampeding it. This normally wasn't a problem when I hunted alone. My high-tech longbow and my size and strength gave me incredible range and with care I could drop an animal from distances well beyond five or six hundred yards. Kola's situation was different. Her hunting bow had a maximum range of about one-hundred and fifty yards and because of her limited skill she needed to be even closer if she wanted to make the kill without having to chase down a wounded animal. In my estimation we needed to get within seventy-five yards before Kola could let loose her arrow.

We found a herd of wild cows an hour and some distance from our camp. When we saw them I told Kola what I wanted her to do. I told her that I would stay behind with Tok to make certain that the wolf-dog behaved itself and didn't spook the herd by accident. The dry breeze of the day was blowing across the herd and towards us so I figured Kola would have very little problems in approaching them. I pointed out the route that I would take if I was her and then I let her go. I also reminded her to keep an eye out for predators. We hadn't seen any in a few days but it didn't mean that they weren't out there. I also assured her that I'd be watching her back. That got me a slight smile and a kiss on the cheek before Kola turned and headed out. Silently I watched my mate go off to make her first kill.

Kola did as I had told her. She'd swung wide of the herd until she'd come upon a small gully that we'd both spotted on our approach from the east. It was more of a ditch or a furrow in the land and it wasn't very deep, but it did run towards the herd and it did provide Kola with a little cover as she crept forward. The wild cows for the most part ignored her. A few moved off when they spotted her but most just kept on grazing. When Kola finally reached the point we'd picked out for her to begin her kill, she paused for a second and then rose and drew her bow and arrow. With a faint twang that carried back to where I was watching and waiting, the arrow sped away from her and struck her target. It wasn't an instant kill but it was fatal. The cow let out a moo of alarm and tried to stagger away. It didn't get far. Kola had watched me well and she'd learned that once an arrow had left her bow that she should nock a second one. That was what she'd done and when the cow had turned to flee, Kola had fired again. This time the cow dropped where it was standing.

The cow's moo and the suddenness of it dropping to the earth alerted the remainder of the herd that there was potential danger about them. While they didn't stampede away from that spot, they did start moving off at a faster pace. It was fine with me. I had no desire to field dress a dead cow with an irate bull in the neighbourhood.

I was half way to Kola when I spotted the flash of light. It took me totally by surprise and brought me up short. It actually took me a second to realize what I was seeing and it took another second to realize the danger Kola was in. What I saw was something not native to Game World and it was clear to me that they'd just been plopped down in our area to give me problems. From my memories I recognized them as 'Terror Birds'. They were almost as tall as me and more dangerous than one of the big cats that I'd killed on my first day here. There were a total of five of them and they were rushing towards Kola like they were an on-coming train and she was a stalled car on the tracks. Instinctively I cried out a warning to her as I brought my bow up and took aim. As I had told Kola as she'd headed off to make her kill, I'd watch her back, so I was ready for this.

Kola saw the birds even before I had shouted my warning. Her own bow came up instinctively as she turned to face the charge of the furious birds. Our bows twanged in unison and a moment later both our arrows struck the lead bird. The creature squawked out one last time in pain and then crumpled in a heap some fifty feet from Kola.

The other birds did not pause or hesitate. They kept on in their charge towards Kola. Frantically I fired two more arrows towards the charging birds, taking them from the side as they ran past me in the distance. My arrows both struck the same bird and it too dropped in a heap just feet away from Kola. At the same time as I had fired, Kola had let loose with her hunting bow again, this time targeting a bird charging from her left. As her arrow flew from her bow and struck the bird, Kola threw herself in the opposite direction, in hopes of avoiding the animal as it plunged by her. Luck was with her and she ended up to the right in the low gully and out of the path of the birds. Still she wasn't out of danger and I hurriedly drew another arrow in hopes of keeping the beasts off of Kola long enough for her to escape.

To both our amazement the surviving birds did not stop when they reached Kola's position. They in fact ignored her and rushed right past, instead heading towards the cows. As they approached they shrieked a bloodcurdling cry that stirred up the wild cattle and put them to flight. It was a stunning thing to see.

I don't know what the controllers of Game World had been thinking. The appearance of the five giant flightless birds had been obviously their doing and for a minute or two I was certain that they were going to tear Kola apart. The birds certainly spiced up the day for us and I'm sure that they had boosted ratings for whoever had sent them, but if they had intended them to kill me and put an end to my mission then they'd screwed up big time. The birds hadn't come in close to me at all and they hadn't paid me any attention. Other than making me almost piss my pants in fear for Kola they'd achieved nothing and between Kola and me we'd killed two of them and wounded another. The only other thing achieved was the scaring off of the herd and from our perspective that wasn't a bad thing at all.

I found Kola sitting in the bottom of the gully getting her face licked by Tok. The wolf-dog had rushed ahead to protect her mistress the moment that I'd cried out my warning. Thankfully the birds had passed on by the time the dog had gotten to her. While I knew that Tok was a fierce protector, I also knew that those birds would have torn her to shreds. I smiled happily when I saw the scene. When Kola noticed I was there she threw herself into my arms and hugged me fiercely. I held her for several minutes until she had calmed down.

"Are you okay?" I asked her once I was able to pry her from around my body.

"Yes my mate," Kola replied with a quivering voice, "although I think I soiled myself. The sudden appearance of those creatures frightened me beyond all belief. I had never seen such things before and I thought that they would kill me."

"But they didn't Kola," I reassured her, "and while you might have been frightened, you still stood your ground and protected yourself. I am very proud of my mate and her skill with her bow."

My praise got me another hug and a kiss and I accepted it along with Kola's soft words that it was I who had saved her with my warning and my powerful bow. I didn't contradict her. Eventually I extradited myself from Kola by reminding her that we needed to go and tend her kill. The memory of the cow that she'd dropped brought her out of her outburst of emotion and got Kola moving again. In no time we divvied up the work. While Kola tended the cow I went and reclaimed our spent arrows. It didn't take me long. While I was at it I quickly removed the breast of the bird that Kola and I had killed. I was curious as to what the meat tasted like and I figured that if the controllers kept throwing animals like this at us, we might as well not waste it. At the very worst we could feed it to Tok.

Two hours later we were back at our camp and busy cleaning up and preparing our supper. Tonight I did the cooking. While I took care of the meal, Kola went of and took a sponge bath with some of our precious water and then cleaned her britches. When she returned she was still a little embarrassed by the whole incident, however I reassured her that it was okay and that I had almost done the same thing. Then I handed her the fruit of her first real kill. I gave her a medium rare steak that I had first seasoned with the last of the salt and pepper from our salvaged stock and then grilled over the open campfire. With it I served boiled new potatoes out of a tin. Kola ate the meal with gusto as did I. While we ate I roasted up the breast of the flightless bird just to see what it tasted like. Kola and I both tasted it and it wasn't too bad if I do say so myself, although a little gamier than chicken. It certainly could have used some seasoning and maybe a sauce to counter the taste, but if we had to we could survive on it. We only sampled it for a taste, preferring instead to eat our steaks. While we sat and finished our meal, we set the bird aside and let it cool down. When it was cool enough we fed it to Tok. The wolf-dog ate it with as much gusto as we ate our steaks.

We made love that night under the stars. Kola lay in my arms for a bit just wanting to be held and I certainly didn't pressure her into doing anything. In the end she initiated it by showing me that she knew a few tricks that I hadn't taught her yet. Her tiny hand ended up wrapped about my cock and after working it for a while, she shimmied down my body and demonstrated that she could suck a cock with the best of them. She even demonstrated that she could swallow. To thank Kola I kissed her deeply and then rolled her onto her back to return the favour. Before I was done I had Kola howling at the moon. At the same time I demonstrated how quickly I could recover. We finished things off with Kola on her hands and knees and me driving from behind. With her enthusiastic pleading for me to do it harder and faster, I gave her everything I had to give her. Once I was spent a second time we just curled up and went to sleep.