Bridgers 4: The Mind of Many (Bridgers Series) by Stan C. Smith

Author:Stan C. Smith [Smith, Stan C.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-04T22:00:00+00:00

Infinity, Desmond, Lenny, and Xavier waded slowly into the clear water, scrutinizing the smooth bedrock at the bottom of the stream.

Desmond pointed. “There’s one.” He lunged forward and thrust his hand into the water. But he came up empty. “Faster than I thought they’d be,” he muttered.

Infinity saw one of the creatures scuttle away from her and come to rest a few feet to her right. When it stopped, it blended in with the rock bottom perfectly, becoming nearly invisible. “I got this one,” she said. She carefully approached the spot where the thing had disappeared and readied the three-foot, sharpened girder she’d selected as a hunting weapon. She thrust the weapon, but the creature darted off to the side. She crept over to the creature’s new spot and tried again. Still no luck.

For the next ten minutes or so they all attempted to catch the crab-like animals, trying every strategy they could think of, without success. The things were too fast.

Finally, Xavier groaned and said, “Okay, this is exasperating. And it isn’t the least bit dignified.”

“I have a better idea,” Lenny announced. He pointed up toward the nearby rocky hillside.

At first, Infinity wasn’t sure what he was pointing at. She looked a few hundred yards up the slope and only saw a wide swath of bare bedrock. But then she noticed it. The rock face appeared to be shifting. She squinted. The rock was actually covered with hundreds of animals. They appeared to be very flat, each approximately the size and shape of a hubcap—far larger than the palm-sized crabs in the stream. “That’s pretty far from the nearest shelter,” she said. “We’d be visible and vulnerable.”

“And well fed,” Lenny retorted.

“We’d be more visible up there,” Desmond said, “but we’d also have a better view of the area. We should be able to see tiger beetles or other predators approaching from miles away. I vote we do it.”

That settled it, and the group began making their way up the slope. They walked on the soft moss when possible, but at times they had no choice but to cross sheets of bare rock, which was less kind to their feet than the smooth rock of the stream bed had been. They quickly discovered that the rock’s surface had softer patches of an orange, crusty substance growing on it, which was, as Desmond pointed out, similar to lichens.

As the humans drew near, the herd of creatures ignored them and continued scuttling around on the rock. The things were gray, slightly darker than the rock beneath them, and were perhaps fifteen inches across but only six inches tall. Their backs were covered by one large protective shell, again reminding Infinity of hubcaps. She could see numerous small legs scuffling beneath the shells as the creatures moved across the rock.

The humans stopped at the edge of the rock sheet. The creatures still ignored them, even though the nearest were only feet away.

“Okay,” Lenny said, “this should be a lot easier.”

Infinity watched as the

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