Masters of the Arches Ch. 10

At noon of the same day, the birdmen returned. This time they choose to attack while very high in the sky. They must have figured that since their own arrows would not reach that far up, then Vincent's rifle would also not reach them. He was able to downed two more of them before they realized their mistake.

Vincent and the two women made good progress after that. For one thing the ground was covered with much more grass thus making it easier to walk. He was also getting use to carrying Verla's weight on his back and they reached the first low range of mountains before it got dark.

They choose to make their camp on the side of a low hill. Verla's leg seemed to be a little better now and she could even walk on it as long as there was someone holding her to take some of the weight off her leg.

They slept at the base of a slope covered with thin grass and a few shrubs here and there.

Vincent made love to Nika that night. Verla was close enough to hear them in the heat of passions, but Vincent didn't care since the tension of the day had to be relived somehow. Even tired as he was, his need had to be quenched. For her part Nika was more than happy to satisfy his sexual appetite since he hadn't made love to her since they had started their walk across the dessert plain.

Breakfast was later than usual the following morning and they took turns helping Verla walk as she insisted on not being carried. The first hill they climbed on was not too steep and they made good progress and reached its top by noon. Vincent estimated that the height of that first peak was about a thousand feet. From the top they were able to see a series of other peaks that were part of the same mountain range.

But what struck them most of all was the barrenness and desolation before them. In every direction the looked, they could see that whatever path they took it would be a very difficult route to travel.

Turning back was not an option since they would run out of water long before they reached their initial starting point. No, their only chance now was to go ahead and hope that water could be found somewhere.

It took them the rest of the day to get down the other side. They made camp on the downward slope and slept between tall rocks that were part of the sandstone formation of the mountain. They drank the last of the water while eating breakfast.

Once they reached the valley at the foot of the peak, they chose to walk in the narrow valley between the two peaks. Their progress was easier there and they knew that their chances of finding water were much better down there since any rain that happened to fall would accumulate in the valley.

The plant life was a little more abundant and there were more varieties of it, which was a good sign. By late afternoon they reached a wide flat area where a number of small trees grew. Verla went to sit in the shade under one of the trees while Vincent and Nika went in different directions looking for signs of water.

It was while he was in a narrow gorge that he heard both women shouting. He hurried back as fast as he could and he was just in time to see Nika being lifted in a net that was in the claws of one of the birds which was being guide by a birdman.

The giant bird had great difficulty lifting the combine weight of Nika and the rider on its back. But still Nika was slowly gaining height as the rider kept on urging his mount.

Vincent took aim, but before pulling the trigger he realized that killing the bird would be the same as killing Nika since they were a couple of hundred feet high by now.

His attention was then attracted by Verla's shouting and when he looked in her direction, two of the brown and white eagle-looking birds were waiting fifty feet from Verla's tree while their two riders were in the process of pulling her while she was stuck in a net.

Both men were dragging the net and its load. Their intention was very evident as they were moving toward the nearer of the two birds.

Vincent took no chances, he shot both birds dead. He then turned toward the still surprised men and he shot them also.

Verla was not hurt, but she had been a witness to Nika's kidnapping and she felt angry and desperate. As soon as Vincent got her out of the net, they both scanned the sky, they could still see a dozen or so birds moving away in the distance while Nika was being carried with them.

(to be continued)