Trok (ePub)

A $1,000,000 AWARD FOR ONE PERSON IN EVERY MILLION BOOK SALES When the great cat reached the spot where Trok had picked up his gear the scent of fresh blood was still strong in his nostrils. He had not eaten in a long time and the hunger gnawed at his insides. Perhaps his hunger is what pushed him on. When he crested the hill he could see Trok entering the forest. He moved off the hill in the direction where he had last seen the man. He needed only to follow the scent, it would take him to his prey The faintest sound from the brush behind him set his nerves on edge. He spun around grasping his spear and axe from the ground. He was face to face with the great cat that had followed him from the grassy plains. He had started his attack just as Trok turned. The cat checked its rush toward him and dropped to its belly. Troks instinct surfaced with a surge of adrenalin and with it came an anger such as he had never felt. The lust to kill filled Troks very being. He screamed and lunged at the great cat. This very act may have saved him. The cat had only encountered men who ran away and it expected Trok to bolt and run. Seeing that the man was not running the great cat hesitated in his charge. This brief hesitation allowed Trok to close the distance between them. Trok lunged at the cat with his spear extended before him intending to bury it deep in the cats chest. The cat swatted the spear deflecting it from its intended target. A bright light suddenly glowed in the sky above the trees on the far side of the meadow. In all his years Trok could not remember ever seeing anything as bright. He feared the light could bring danger. He stopped at the edge of the meadow.. He wanted his hands free in case he needed to use his weapons. Trok hid in the brush and studied the trees on the far side of the meadow looking for any movement. Suddenly four short people appeared at the edge of the meadow. They were strange frail looking creatures. He kept his bow ready with an arrow nocked. One of them spoke using the language of his mother. We will not harm you. We only want to talk with you. I am called Lornak. He said.. As he neared the crest of the hill he heard the screams again. Trok moved behind a large tree where he could observe what was happening but not be easily seen. Suddenly a woman broke from the forest running through the grassland at the bottom of the hill. Shortly behind another much younger woman came out of the forest. The second was not much more than a child. She was screaming as she ran looking back over her shoulder. Immediately behind her came three men. Trok had seen their kind in the past and he was certain that they were Man-Eaters. The one closest to the younger woman threw his spear. Trok saw the spear bury itself in the womans back and she stumbled and fell. The man rushed to her and crushed her scull with his axe. He knelt beside her and with a flint knife and began cutting pieces of flesh from the young womans leg. Trok was now sure these were Man-Eaters. The other two paused briefly and then continued their pursuit of the other woman. The woman had turned and was running up the hill toward Trok. The men pursuing her had large protruding brows and hardly any chins at all. They were short and muscular with hair covering most of their bodies. They carried only spears and axes. Trok knew these men presented a danger to him if he was discovered. He made a quick decision. He slipped his bow off his shoulder and expertly slipping the bowstring over the other end of the bow. Trok removed three arrows from his quiver. He stuck two of them in the earth at his right side and nocked the third on his bowstring. He held his bow with the arrow at the ready in his left hand keeping just enough tension on the bowstring to keep the arrow securely in place. The woman was coming directly at him. Her