Return To Primordial Island, Rick Poldark [top non fiction books of all time .TXT] 📗

Umazoan, as it was a familiar phrase of tremendous utility to her.

Hiu looked up, gathering his thoughts. “Jason…Mary…” He gestured south. “Us tribe…” He gestured north.

“Oh,” said Susan, finally comprehending. “They split up.” She moved her hands in divergent directions.

Hiu nodded. “Yes. Yes.”

Susan realized what they were debating—who to rescue. Hiu went on to pantomime walking with his fingers, and he indicated there were many more tracks going south than north. Then, he indicated through pantomime that the tracks going south belonged mostly to lizard men, while most of the tracks going north belonged to Umazoa.

She cleared her throat. “Tribe…they go to temple…not many lizard men?”

Hiu nodded.

This meant that a small detail of lizard men brought the tribe back to the temple, whereas a larger detail took Jason and Mary south.

Susan didn’t believe what she was about to offer, but she couldn’t ask Hiu to abandon his tribe to save Jason and Mary. It just wasn’t right. “I will go and find Jason and Mary.”

Hiu paused and exchanged looks with the other warriors. Susan was uncertain if he understood what she was trying to convey.

The chieftain stepped forward, arched his back, puffing his chest out, and emitted an emphatic huff. The other hunters followed suit. He understood, and he was conveying his admiration.

Susan figured it was the only way. He had to see to his tribe, and she had to see to hers. Hiu squatted and spat on his right index and middle finger. He squatted, dipped them into the dirt, stood, and approached Susan.

Susan blanched, taking a few steps back. “Oh, gross…no…what are you doing?”

Hiu stamped his foot and held his chin high.

“Okay…” was all Susan could manage as the diminutive chief advanced. He smeared the dirt moistened with his saliva under each of her eyes. He was telling her she was now a hunter. He told her in Umazoan to follow the river, gesturing with his hand, and she would find her friends.

He placed both of his hands on her shoulders, bowed forward, and touched foreheads with her. It was something she’d seen him do to others before he left for a hunt. Then, he and the rest of the tribe went north to the temple.

Susan stood there, alone, with dirt and spit smeared under her eyes, wondering how she was going to find her friends. What’s more, she wondered what she was going to do when she found them.

* * *

Mary held onto Jason, as their captors led them on foot deeper south into the jungle, following the river. He muttered something incomprehensible every so often, swatting at what she thought was flies, only he appeared to be reacting to hallucinations. As they walked with spears to their backs amongst twenty or so lizard men, Mary slipped a hand under Jason’s shirt, a move he would’ve normally relished but now was oblivious to. His wound felt hot. She slipped her hand back out and placed it on his forehead. “My God, you’re burning up.”

She received a shove from the butt of a spear, causing her to stumble. This placed her off balance, and she was unable to steady Jason. He tumbled to the dirt.

Mary turned on her captors. “He’s sick! Don’t you understand?”

The lizard men looked at each other. One who appeared to be the leader stepped in front of her and hissed, flailing his dewlap under his chin.

Another stepped forward, clad in a blue tunic, holding a small orb. He made strange sounds at the leader, and there was a brief exchange before he approached Mary with the orb. He held out the orb.

Mary had heard Peter’s stories about the lizard men’s orbs and how they used them to store memories. She wondered why he extended one to her now. He waved it at her, inviting her to touch it.

Unsure of what to do but wary of jabbing spears, she reached out and palmed the sphere with both hands. She was surprised when the nicely dressed lizard man slid his three-clawed hands underneath the orb but didn’t let go. She was even more surprised when a wordless voice entered her mind.

‘What is wrong?’

Mary gasped and almost released the orb, but she held on, intuiting that releasing it would break the connection. ‘Let us go. Please.’

The lizard man made small motions with his mouth, his retracted dewlap bobbing as it swallowed. ‘I cannot do that. What is wrong?’

‘My friend is sick. He can’t walk in this condition.’

The lizard man paused. ‘He requires medicine?’

‘Yes. He has an infection from velociraptor wounds. What do you want with us?’ She privately wondered why they hadn’t killed her or Jason.

‘If you cooperate, you will not be harmed…’

Mary’s skin went cold. She hadn’t meant to transmit that thought. She also didn’t like the way it trailed off, thought unfinished, as if there was a ‘but’ to follow.

Jason grabbed her ankle on the ground and looked up at her. “Help me, Mary. Please.”

Mary gazed into the cold, dead eyes of the lizard man holding the orb. ‘You need us alive. He will die and cannot go any further in this condition.’

The lizard looked down at Jason, its dewlap extending a bit. It made several swallowing motions, as if something was caught in its throat. ‘There’s nothing to be done for him. We must leave him behind.’

Mary wondered if the strange body language was a display of emotion. Reading her thought, the lizard man flinched.

Mary cocked her head sideways, chuckling softly. ‘My goodness. It is an emotional reaction. This upsets you.’

The lizard man flared his dewlap. ‘We don’t need him. We need you.’

‘Why would you need me?’ Mary’s eyes lit up. ‘It’s Peter, isn’t it? That’s why you’ve all spread out, combing the jungle. You’re looking for Peter.’

The lizard man made strange vocalizations, and