Chapter 6

On both sides of the river, the landscape was gradually changing again. Boulders with tall grass growing in between them, now replaced much of the trees. Both banks were also beginning to slope higher and steeper. In some places they rose as much as five feet above the level of the river. It seemed that the river had eaten the rock over the ages and had carved its way through the bedrock. However, the current of the river was now a little slower and its surface very calm.

The abundance of the fauna was evident on both sides but no species in particular seemed to be very dangerous to Vincent since they were all grass eaters of many different sizes and shapes. He knew also that somewhere, hidden in the grass or behind some of the numerous boulders that seemed to be present everywhere, there certainly were flesh eaters waiting for their next meal.

By now, Nika had removed her shirt - although she did keep her shorts on - and the constant sight of her naked breasts was having an effect on Vincent. He would watch her for long minutes when he knew that she was not looking at him, and he couldn't get over how beautiful she was. Her long brown hair moving in the breeze, sometimes hiding her breasts completely and other times exposing her oval face as well as her splendid boobs, was making him forget to keep his guard on.

After a many hours of drifting with the current they came to a place where there were no trees at all on either side of the river. They both agreed to stop as soon as they could find a suitable place to anchor the raft, either to a rock or on a sand bank.

The sun was now below the horizon and it was time that they stopped for the night since they also needed to stretch their legs and take care of their bodily functions.

As soon as they found a small stretch of sand on one bank, they pulled part of the raft up onto the sand and Vincent got a fire going before it became too dark. In the darkness the bright flame would be a beacon for any flesh eaters that were hunting. On the other hand, since there were no trees around them and because of the fact that the grass was relatively short, any animal approaching could be detected relatively easily.

The instant that the meat was cooked and the coffee was hot, they put out the fire and ate in the darkness. That night they slept close to one another in their sleeping bags, - they each had their own sleeping bag now - but before falling asleep, Vincent did make love to Nika and he did it with a passion he never imagined he still had.

The following morning, Vincent felt extremely good and he was glad to be alive. As a matter of fact, he hadn't felt like this since he was in his twenties. His back was no longer hurting - not a day had gone by in the last few years without his experiencing some kind of back pain - and even his stomach ulcers were long forgotten.

By now he had a strong suspicion that something was happening to his body. When he looked at his reflection in the water of the river, he noticed that new hairs were growing in front of his receding hairline and he was definitely looking younger. For sure there was something in this world that was creating a change in his body.

They both washed themselves in the river and ate breakfast. As soon as this was done they got back onto the raft and let the river carry them downstream once more. The river was still going in a general southwest direction and the farther they went the greater were the changes in landscape.

Very far in the distance, to their right, they could now see a low range of mountains. It could have been part of the same range that contained the tall peak where the cave of the arch was, but he had no way to be sure of that.

The banks on both sides were still much higher than the sand bank of the river itself. They could see grass covered plains in the distance where stags with towering racks of antlers were grazing. In other places, there were hundreds of deer with their skittering fawns on long thin legs, and all were eating peacefully.

On another part of the plains there were groups of antelope-like animals along with woolly looking bison-like creatures, each group being very near one another. But from the safety of the raft they also saw packs of dire wolves and other predators that he could not identify. All were roaming on the edge of the different herds while trying to hide in the taller grass.

What struck Vincent the most was the tall mammoths. They were of all ages and sizes. Some were no more than a few weeks old. Some had reddish-brown, thick woolly fur, while others tended towards yellow or gold in colour. There was no mistake about them being mammoths. Their thick trunks and long circular tusks were proof enough of that. Numerous birds were following them and some could be seen actually landing on their backs. At a spot where the bank wall was no more than a gentle slope, a few of the great woolly beasts could be seen in the river ahead and as their raft went by, barely a few hundred feet from the closest of the noble animals, their presence didn't warrant more than a glance from one or two of the great beasts.

It then occurred to Vincent that if there were mammoths in this place there was no reason that there shouldn't be sabre-tooth tigers also. On his world they had both lived during approximately the same time frame and it had possibly been a sabre-tooth tiger that Nika had seen roaming near the field when she had been held prisoner.

Very high in the sky, could be seen circling, hawks and great condors - all of them much larger than he could have imagined. It occurred to Vincent that hunters and biological experts from Earth would give plenty to be allowed into this place to hunt or to study the wild life.

But there were many dangers here also, he told himself, as he saw a couple of wolves bring down an antelope that had been caught grazing a little farther than the rest. To cross this plain on foot would be a very foolish thing to do he realized. There was no place to hide except in the grass, and even in there it was probably the habitat of snakes and other smaller predators. Everywhere they looked the land was flat, except for the mountain in the far background to their right. The plain now stretched on both sides of the river and they were able to see for miles in every direction since there was no pollution or smog to hinder their view.

By late afternoon, they stopped on the left bank of the river at a point where it made a sharp turn. At that particular spot, the bank being barely four feet high, was not as steep as it was everywhere else. More important still, there was a large rock half in the water and half in the bank, so they used it to anchor the raft by means of the rope wedged in a crack in the rock. Because of the many predators they had seen that day, Vincent decided that it would be much safer for them to sleep on the raft that night. While being anchored to the rock, it was completely surrounded by water. Therefore it gave them an extra edge against the numerous hunters of the night. Besides if they had to leave in a hurry, it would be much quicker that way since all they had to do was to untie the raft and let the current take hold of it.

It did prove to be a very wise choice. In the middle of the night they were awakened by the sounds of growling and of splattering water. When Vincent looked carefully, he was able to see in the dim starlight, the outline of five or six of the tall wolves that he had previously seen that day. Two of them had even managed to climb onto the rock anchoring the raft and they were trying to climb aboard when he saw them. The only thing that seemed to stop them was the four or five feet of distance from the raft to the rock. Either they were afraid of the water or they couldn't swim. In all evidence they were presently getting ready to jump onto the raft from the height of the rock.