Minx Ep. 04: The Sphere, Mesozoic Zone

Paul and Miguel continued to gradually make their way in her direction, pushing the grasses as they went. She whistled a couple of times to let them know when they turned in the wrong direction. While doing this she wondered, again, why she was helping these two losers. She leaned back atop the mound, crossed her legs and waited.

Minx could hear the rumble of the dinosaur march fading into the distance. It was a beautiful day, and she was actually looking forward to the long hike to Mahar's tower. What she would encounter once she arrived was not something she could even guess at. Dragon had sought her as a breeding partner, but he had admitted that he was as unusual a hyperman as she was a human woman. Mahar was most likely cruel, breathtakingly brilliant, handsome, strong, fast, and possessed of that typical hyperman arrogance. That would be his weakness, she mused. She wondered if her pheromones had already had an effect upon him and, if they had, how much leverage did that give her?

From her vantage point, Minx could see the two men's heads. They were now within ten metres. She stood and waved to them, and that was when a movement in the grass well beyond them caught her attention.

She stared at the grasses as they swayed this way and that, despite the lack of wind. A reptilian body rose slowly from the ground, lifted up by two well-muscled legs. An ovoid head filled with teeth topped the pear-shaped body.

"Run you idiots!" called out Minx. "One of those tyrannosaurs is in the grass behind you!"

The creature whirled around at the sound of her voice. Paul and Miguel froze, then bolted, pushing the grasses out of their way in panic. Minx's eye met the predator's, and it almost seemed to grin at her. It let out a roar. The roar was echoed by two more of its kind in the distance.

"Shit!" Minx leapt down from the mound and ran. She knew that Paul and Miguel were slower, but she also suspected that this carnivore might catch a human on the run, swallow its prey and then continue to hunt. The beast was more than twice her height when standing, and about one and a half times her height while running with its body nearly horizontal.

She caught up to the two men as they ran into an area with shorter grasses. She passed them and kept going, ignoring their calls for her to wait. Glancing back, she noted the dinosaur was quite far behind them. She slowed to a jog. Paul and Miguel ran past her. The beast was loping, not running at full speed. Minx could see from the way it ran that it was favouring one leg. She smiled and ran faster.

About ten minutes later the trio ran into a small forest. Minx found a strong tree that looked fairly simple to climb and waited, watching the therapod as it followed their trail. It stopped. The bounty hunter noted how it lifted its snout, took three great breaths, then lowered its nose to the ground.

"It's tracking us by smell," Minx noted.

Paul and Miguel were bent over with their heads down and their hands on their thighs, out of breath.

"I said 'it's tracking us by smell'. We're not going to outrun it."

"It's an allosaurus," gasped Miguel.

"How do you know that?" she demanded. Miguel merely shrugged in response.

Minx continued to watch the allosaurus as the men caught their breath. The creature was walking in their direction keeping its nose near the ground. However, what made Minx nervous was the sight of two more of its kind in the distance. These were approaching at a run, and they looked to be fast runners.

As she'd been approaching these woods, she'd noted that this forest was small but large enough to offer some safe hiding spots. However, the carnivores could circle the forest and simply pick them off as the three left its protection. What Minx required to make an escape was a large forest that stretched beyond view. That would also protect her as she travelled to Mahar's tower.

To get to such a forest meant they had to keep travelling. And they had to hope that the three dinosaurs hunted as a pack, and wouldn't separate. If they stayed together they would be no faster than the injured allosaurus. Minx believed she had a good chance of staying ahead of them under those circumstances.

"We have to go."

Paul and Miguel groaned, but they did begin to shuffle their feet in the direction that Minx had taken.

16

Dragon stepped onto the beach. Arachne dropped down from his back, shook the water from her body, and then gave him a long look. He pointed in the direction of the ridge, where he had last observed Minx. Arachne clicked, as if in understanding, and headed off into the undergrowth.

Vanessa, an arm across her breasts and a hand over her pubic area, shuddered as the arachnid passed by her. A look of disgust crossed her face.

"What did you tell that thing, Captain?" asked Alice, with a yawn.

Vanessa turned to watch the conversation between Dragon and his first mate. He gave her a thoughtful look, turned back to the boat wistfully, and then turned to stare at Vanessa again as if he'd just had an idea. The naked woman's eyes went big. She hurried over to Rod and huddled against him.

"I simply pointed out which way we're going, Alice," responded the hyperman, turning to the young woman. She wore slacks with tears and holes, a loose blouse that was open to below her breasts, and boots. "Is everyone coming with me?"

Alice looked about in thought. "We pirates are, Captain. We're not about to let just you claim all the riches this world has to offer. And I suppose the cavemen have no choice in the matter. But, what do we do about the boat? It seems a shame to abandon it here."

"We may have need of it later. No-one's going to steal it." Dragon felt an immediate regret at his choice of words. Mahar might come along and take it or destroy it, and there was very little that he could do to prevent that.

"Some of the crew have mentioned that they'd like to continue sailing, Captain." Alice's voice was quiet, and the look in her eye suggested that she'd considered that possibility as well.

"Once we're done finding Minx anyone who wants that boat is welcome to take it."

"And you'll stay here?"

"I intend to leave this world, Alice."

"And you're taking me with you. Right?"

"If you wish."

Dragon walked away from the others and examined the sand, ignoring any further questions. There were prints, although in the dry sand it was difficult to read them. He crouched down. The depression he'd found was the footprint of a large creature, four legged he guessed. The hyperman searched a little more thoroughly and found further disturbances in the sand.

"They came this way!" he announced, pointing into the jungle. "There were three of them." Dragon really wanted to know whether Minx was the pursued or the pursuer, but he couldn't read that in the markings. He took a deep breath, glad that Minx was still alive and that he now had a physical trail to follow. He took another deep breath. She seemed so near, almost as if she were standing beside him...

Dragon took another deep breath, and held it. He savoured the flavours. One of them was Minx's pheromones. Didn't she realize that releasing them like this could draw predators?

"Ship!"

"Yes, oh enslaver of my lover. Shall I tell you a story each night for a thousand and one nights until you release him back to my arms?" responded the artificial intelligence that was Minx's vessel.

"You don't have arms. And your wings are clipped, remember?"

"Oh, to bring back such cruel memories of my fall from heaven into this world..."

"Does Minx know that her pheromones may attract predators?"

"What?"

"You heard what I said, and I'll assume from your response that she has no idea."

"You are going to save her, aren't you Dragon?" There was a clear note of worry in Ship's voice.

"Of course!"

"It's just that you've engaged in sexual acts with Alice thirty-seven times since you built this link between us, and I was wondering if that had affected your feelings for Minx. You biologicals can be fickle."

"I hadn't realized that you were capable of eavesdropping, Ship."

"What am I supposed to do for entertainment while I wait for you to crawl across a world to find a way for us to escape?"

"I meant: did Minx not discuss privacy with you?"

"She did. I happily ignored it. Would you like to hear some of her orgasms that she enjoyed while with you? It could get you reoriented back to my sexy boss..."

"It isn't necessary. Don't record my interactions with...do not eavesdrop on my interactions with other women. That's an order."

"If you're not ashamed of them then there's no reason for me to ignore them. Minx is my boss and my friend, and I plan to share everything with her. You've been fooling around on her and she deserves to know."

"She refused my offer and then abandoned me on Anima." The reasoning sounded petulant when he said it out loud.

"It doesn't mean she wouldn't accept a different offer from you, Dragon." There was a pause, during which the hyperman imagined what kind of offer Minx would accept. "You're standing there drooling like an idiot. Go save my boss!"

Dragon involuntarily wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Then he shook his head. How had Ship been able to get inside his head like that? He rolled his eyes. Of course, he'd put her there.

He turned to face the others. They immediately quietened. "I'm going to find Minx. Anyone who wishes to come with me is welcome. Any treasure we find on the way is yours. There are going to be a lot of dangerous fauna in this part of the world, and I may not be able to protect all of you from it. However, if you listen to me and we use our brains, then we should get through this with minimal losses."

He scrutinized the group. Alice stared at him with confidence. Rod, with an arm around a frightened Vanessa who was whispering in his ear, nodded to Dragon. The cavewoman looked furious.

"Alice and Rod, see that the cave people have our supplies divided up amongst them. Pirates go armed at all times. I want to maintain one long line, with me leading. Do not leave the trail. We leave in half an hour."

He watched the humans get to work. The cavemen and Vanessa were resentful at being treated like slaves, but what other choice did they have? And, after they way they had treated Minx, he had no sympathy for them. The pirates seemed concerned, but whether it was over their lack of financial gain so far or the possible dangers they might soon encounter he couldn't guess. He felt just slightly sympathetic towards the pirates, but they were still pirates. If Dragon had to abandon all of them to find Minx, he would.

17

Minx pushed her long brown hair out of her eyes. She'd been jogging toward the distant forest, certain that at any moment the dinosaurs behind her would let out a triumphant roar of discovery and then rush after her and the two men. It hadn't happened yet. She was beginning to wonder exactly how smart - or how stupid - these creatures were.

She slowed and took a look behind her. There was her trail through the waist-high grasses, stretching as far as she could see. Just over a kilometre behind her were the two men who had long ago slowed to a walk despite the danger that dogged their steps. Barely visible beyond Paul and Miguel were three distant dots.

She and the other humans were being tracked. So why were neither of the two healthy predators chasing after them at top speed? The bounty hunter guessed that the one allosaurus was still injured and that was slowing the others down, but it just didn't seem natural that the two should hold back while the prey might escape. Unless the injured animal was the dominant one?

One of the men foolishly waved to her. Minx ignored it, turned about and continued her journey. The tower was hidden from her view by the forest ahead, and Minx took that as a sign that the trees were very tall. Off to her left, some large, long-necked plant-eaters were slowly making their way through the grasses, occasionally dipping their heads down to grab a mouthful.

Raising an eyebrow, Minx wondered if the sauropods might prove a distraction to the carnivores if her trail passed close by them. She considered it worth a try, and altered her course so that she would pass ahead of the herd.

As she went, she evaluated how she might best Mahar when she finally faced him. Could she simply seduce him? She thought such a tactic would work on Dragon, but would it work on every hyperman she met? Well, she corrected herself, every hetero and bi hyperman she met? She would have to let her pheromones go wild, and there was a certain amount of risk to the tactic since she would be vulnerable to his pheromones as well.

Minx felt confident that she could control her own urges, if she had to. She might have to play with Mahar, possibly even sleep with him, but she would be able to overcome him. A confident smirk filled her face. Men, even hypermen, were slaves to their sexual urges.

18

Dragon had found the footprints easy to follow, despite the density of the jungle vegetation. The ground was moist, and the dinosaur that had been following his quarry hadn't obliterated the tracks. What disturbed him was that it had now appeared that Minx was leading the two men who were with her. Why was she so friendly with them? Ship had informed him that Paul had tried to rape her, and Miguel had slain Minx's hominid friend Butler.

"Ship?"

"Hmm?" replied the vessel over the telepathic implant. She sounded sleepy.

"I was just trying to figure out why Minx was willingly travelling with these two human men."

"Are you sure she is?"

The hyperman signalled for the others in the train to stop. Then he bent down and scrutinized the tracks. Minx's tracks indicated a leisurely pace, and the each of the men's tracks overlaid hers. "Yes. I'm sure."

"Well, she has been acting strange. Even for her, Dragon. It's almost like she's been programmed to say and do certain things."

"Please, give me an example."

"Well, she keeps repeating that she doesn't need anyone. And she seems to be going a little wild, if you know what I mean. While back on Anima she was even concerned that she might be adopting something of a catgirl personality, and she was behaving differently on that world at times."

Dragon closed his eyes in thought. He'd delved into her mind twice, once through simply speaking to her and showing the paradoxes in her memories, and the other time while she was in Morovan's machines on Anima. All he'd been able to determine was that her past was a mystery. Someone had programmed her to forget where she came from and who she really was. Was this behaviour change a new aspect of her programming introduced due to his curiosity and clumsiness?

"Does she otherwise seem to be essentially Minx?" he asked, opening his eyes again.

"Yes. I know you biologicals don't like to think of yourselves as being programmed, but essentially you all are in different ways. Since we crashed, Minx sometimes just seems to be following a set of instructions buried in her subconscious."

"Did Mahar visit you before she recovered, Ship?"

"I have no way of knowing, but Minx never found any evidence of someone boarding me. I don't believe that Mahar is the cause of this."

"But you believe that you do know the cause of this change in her behaviour, or at least you think you know the cause," he suggested. "What is it?"

"You."

"Elaborate."

"Her hostile reaction when we left you on Anima seemed unusual. And while we were flying through space she was almost obsessed with the idea that you were following us. And then here, when she kept repeating that she didn't need anyone...I thought it likely that she was specifically referring to you."

"So, if she is determined to be rid of me why did you suggest that a different approach might induce Minx to stay by my side?"

"I don't like her following this programming, Dragon. I want you to free her. She'll be happier. You'll be happier. Hephaestus and I will be happier."

"Get some more rest, Ship," he suggested. Was the A.I.'s desire to be reunited with his ship tainting her evaluation? The hyperman thought that unlikely.

Then, without a further word, he moved on. The others stood up, briefly stretched and then followed him. Alice and Rod exchanged looks, but said nothing. They were both surprised when Dragon called a halt a few minutes later.

Alice and Rod went up to the head of the column, where they found their captain examining a muddy bank that led down to a murky and slow-moving stream. Dragon scratched at the black mud with a stick, then pushed it in.

"They were here and they crossed, but the dinosaur didn't. It went off to the south. They encountered something in the water that had all three scrambling out onto the far bank. But whatever was in the water did not follow them onto land, so it may lie in there waiting for us."

"Should we send someone in to check?" asked Alice. Dragon noted an eagerness on her face that was a little alarming.

"Who would you suggest?"

"We could push one of the cowards in and see what happens. They won't be any good in a fight, so what good are they?"

"We could build a bridge?" suggested Rod.

"Over this little brook?" Dragon gave him a look of contempt. "We wade. I want the column to be three wide when we cross. Bearers are to be in the centre and those on the outside are to have their swords ready."

The hyperman took a quick look around for the missing arachnid, then drew his sword and stepped into the water. Alice and Rod began to urge the others in, just as their captain had commanded. Dragon noted some movement in the water upstream, but kept quiet about it. He pushed and lifted his legs through the muddy water until he reached the other bank. He turned upstream. Something was coming closer under the surface, but none of the others seemed to notice.

Alice and Rod badgered the group across the stream. Dragon noted that whatever was causing the disturbance seemed to pause some distance away, perhaps unnerved by the large number of people moving through its territory or possibly because it had eaten recently.

Once everyone was out of the water Dragon sheathed his sword and stepped up onto the bank. He walked past everyone. Most stared up at him with mixed feelings, but Vanessa simply cringed as he passed her. The hyperman took his place at the front of the column and then led them on, not giving them a chance to rest.

19

The trio of allosaurs were out of sight but, somehow, Minx knew they were still being followed. There was no reason to believe they'd suddenly given up after tracking their prey for the last few weeks. She wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her forearm. Miguel and Paul lay on the ground beside her, exhausted. They were atop a rise. On one side was the prairie they had just crossed, while on the other was a canyon that stretched on to the foot of the tower that was her goal.

She took another bite of raw lizard, and then lazily tossed the rest onto the ground. Paul and Miguel went quiet. Each of them eyed the metre-long lizard hungrily. Then they pounced upon it.

Minx ignored the battle between the two men and focussed her attention back to where they had come from. A flock of gliding, feathered dinosaurs rose from the treetops near the edge of the forest, at the far end of the prairie. Something was approaching that way, and she had a good idea what it was. A few seconds later a therapod snout poked free of the branches, followed by the rest of the allosaurus. The two others were close behind.

Minx crouched, hoping that she would be more difficult to spot. The dinosaurs began following the humans' tracks regardless, drawn by the scent of defenceless prey. The bounty hunter estimated the distance between the two groups to be about a kilometre and a half.