Chapter 5
Village of the Amazons
Island of Theros in the Center of the Bermuda Triangle
A week went by of constant work from sunup to sundown. By the end of the seventh day, they had three quarters of the wall done. The Grak'gull had only attacked the once on that first day.
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Thinking Jake was by himself as he assembled the net near the water, the monster had burst from the tree line. By that time, however, they had a sizable stockpile of fish piled up just beside the trees and the T-Rex-sized creature stopped dead in her tracks as she smelled the meal they had set aside for her.
She paused, a mere twenty feet away from Jake, as he froze in place with one hand open-palmed behind him to stop the women in the water from rushing the lone dino. Jake was poised to shoulder his fifty cal and fire should the dinosaur decide that he would make a better meal than the fish. He could practically hear Sestia's corded muscles vibrating with the desire to attack. The monster eyed Jake then the fish; back to Jake and back to the fish.
"That's it, girl," Jake whispered, nodding, encouraging the monster to eat the fish. "It's all for you."
The Grak'gull looked at Jake once more and as he nodded, she bent and scooped up the fish in her maw. Chewing noisily, she devoured her meal. With one last look at Jake she turned and disappeared in the trees.
Jake blew out a nervous whoop of relief as the last of the monster's tail slithered out of view. "Fuck! She's too fucking quiet to be so damn big!!"
"It would seem your plan worked, my king," Tatiana said, grinning as she splashed through the water to give him a hug.
Jake turned to see Sestia red-faced and angry, her grip on her spear so tight he could hear the wood creak from the fifty feet that separated them.
"You okay, Ses?" Jake asked.
"Yes, my king," she said through gritted teeth. "Though I could have ended it here and now."
"Maybe so, babe, but at what cost?"
She looked at him with one quirked eyebrow.
"No matter how fast you are she would have gotten me and been gone long before you hit the shore in pursuit," Jake said.
Sestia sighed in defeat. "You are right, my king."
"I take no joy in it, love. All I ask is a bit more patience. We'll get her."
Sestia nodded and went back to fishing. With the amount of fish in the water it was almost as easy as shooting fish in a barrel. Every couple of minutes or so each of the three women pulled up a fish as big around as Jake's thigh and about as long.
Jake resumed his work on the net, looping the paracord in knots while keeping a wary eye on the adjacent tree line as he thought about the dinosaur. Something in the back of his mind kept telling him that killing the creature was wrong. He wouldn't deny the women their revenge but doubt niggled in his brain.
By lunch, the net was completed and they began hauling in entire nets full of fish. They kept a few for themselves but the remainder went to the pile for the monster.
Satisfied the pile was adequate to keep the monster fed for a few days, they headed back to the fire pit to reignite the coals and cook their fish for lunch. After lunch, they had begun clearing the area to be used for the wall. With the strength of the women it took only a few hours to tear down and clear the unused huts surrounding their own.
While the women removed the bulk of the wood from the destroyed huts, Jake had begun removing the smaller debris that littered the ground. He wasn't going to let them do all the work, after all. It wasn't in him to sit back and watch other people work. By nightfall they had the area cleared and would be able to start digging the trenches the next day.
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Jake packed the last of the mud between the two logs in the ground. The sun was low on the horizon as he made his way back to the fire pit after making sure the women secured the last log in place with another against it. His arms were so tired he could barely move them. The women talked idly ahead of him as they walked. They didn't seem to be tired in the least despite working the day away and he envied their strength and stamina. Each woman was capable of lifting a fifteen foot log as big around as their waist and positioning it in place in the trench by themselves with little effort.
The week had done a number on Jake. He couldn't remember the last time he'd worked so hard. The women took turns with the work. One would place a log and hold it while the other two mixed the mud that Jake used to pack the logs in place.
Jake practically flopped on the log around the fire, his shoulders slumped with exhaustion, his eyes drooping. A bottle was gently pressed against his lips.
"Here, my king," Sestia said. "Drink."
"Mmm," Jake said, as he took a long pull of water from the canteen.
"I will take your watch tonight, my king," Tatiana said. "You need rest."
Jake's eyes popped open. "The hell you will. I may not have the strength or stamina you have, but I'll be damned if I'm not going to pull my fair share of the weight."
"But you are tired, my king," she protested.