Into the Second World by Ellis Knox

Author:Ellis Knox [Knox, Ellis]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-07-05T22:00:00+00:00

The fire glow, full bellies, and exhaustion from the day began to take their toll. I fell asleep hardly knowing I’d lain down. I awoke at one point to see Professor Queller putting more wood on a fire that had burned low. I rose to one elbow; he put a finger to his lips, and I sank back.

I woke again when Nik shook my shoulder. Before I could speak, he leaned in close.

“Get up. Do it quick, but do it quiet.”

My heart sprang into a full gallop. I got to my feet and at once looked inland, but the danger was closer. Shapes moved in the dim light, three on one side, four on the other. A space between, as if daring us to run for it.

“Cosmas,” Nik said, “get the food. The rest of you, get the boat into the water.”

His voice sounded normal, relaxed, but he faced none of us, and his gun was out. It moved steadily from left flank to right and back again, like the motion of a cobra.

I had no time to examine the creatures, except to note they had too many legs, then I was pushing the boat. We all but ran across the beach. At every step I expected to feel claws at my legs, teeth on my neck. I was up to my knees before I realized I was even in water.

“Niki,” Henrik called, “get in the boat. Now.” His words trembled.

I climbed into the boat and turned around just in time to see it happen.

Nik stood at the water’s edge, his back to us. Beso was already in the boat, but Henrik was still in the water, keeping hold of it lest we drift away. Cosmas stood a few feet behind and to one side of Nik.

Giant cats were attacking.

They were about the height of a lion, but longer and slimmer, almost serpentine in the body, with elongated necks and wide mouths. Their six legs moved sinuously, so they seemed to glide over the black sand.

I cried out, but the sound was lost in the roar of the gun. One of the great cats went tumbling, but a second reached Henrik an instant later. He flung up an arm, the beast struck, and both went down.

The other cats halted, perhaps frightened by the gunshot.

Cosmas now charged. With a roar nearly as loud as the gun, he crashed into the creature, lifted and hurled it some feet away. He got Henrik to his feet. I gasped to see he still lived.

“Go! Go!” Nik shouted, waving an arm. He still held onto the gun. “Everyone into the boat!”

Beso and I hauled the professor on board, though he protested. Nik staggered and Cosmas lifted him bodily, as easily as he might a bushel of grain, and dumped him into the boat. The cats charged again, this time plunging right into the water.

“Cosmas, get in the damn boat!”

Nik shouted this because the ogre had given us a mighty shove, sending us scooting into deep water.

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