Taming a Planet (Trapped in Time Book 2) (2 page)

The Judge’s expression immediately changed and Andy saw his immediate sorrow. He shook his head and looked at the ground. The other Judges in the room began moaning. Andy looked at Maxius and saw his extreme sorrow. He looked at the Judge and said, “What is going on?”

The Judge looked at Maxius and said, “You will become our new Leader. This one has failed.”

“FAILED WHAT!?!”

Harvey opened an ancient book and began reading, “These words were written by Andy the First. He wrote; ‘Anyone selected to be the Leader of the People will first be tested to determine whether or not he is devoted to the survival and protection of the Community or is driven by his own selfish need for power. The test must be fair and it must be done with witnesses present before a new Leader may take power. If the one chosen does not pass the test, he will not be allowed to lead the Community.”

Andy listened to Harvey and felt his heart almost stop. He looked at Maxius and said, “What did they ask you?”

Maxius looked at Harvey, “May I be allowed to speak now?” Harvey nodded. “They told me that there was another with more qualifications but that they had chosen me to be the new Leader.”

Andy looked at Maxius and closed his eyes. He shook his head and said, “You turned them down.”

Maxius’ eyes narrowed, “How do you know that?”

Andy opened his eyes and said, “Because you are not driven by ambition like me. You truly do put the Community ahead of everything else.”

Harvey closed the book and looked at Andy, “You are banished from the Community for one year and may not live in the lands occupied by our people.”

Maxius shook his head, “I will not allow that to happen! Not if I’m going to be your chosen Leader!”

Andy shook his head, “It has to happen, Maxius.” Maxius looked at Andy. “If I stay, there will be dissention among the Archers. The Community will be divided and if you truly love our people, you must agree with this punishment. I was so stupid.”

Harvey looked at Andy, “We will announce the decision tomorrow. You will pack your things and leave immediately.”

Andy blew out a breath and stepped forward and hugged Maxius. He then walked past him and put his hand in the small hole in the wall next to the Holy Door and pulled the lever. The door disappeared above the opening. Andy turned and walked out of the cave. Maxius looked at Harvey, “You can’t do this! You know he’s the one you should choose.”

Harvey slowly shook his head, “He is not ready to lead.”

• • •

Andy walked down the slope to his home and saw Lyla waiting on him at his door. She was smiling until she saw his expression. “What’s wrong?”

Andy looked at her and shook his head, “I failed the test. Maxius is the new Leader and I’ve been banished from the community for a year.”

Lyla’s hand went to her throat and she shook her head, “Andy, don’t joke about things like this!”

Andy looked at her, “I’m not joking.” Andy walked by her just as Andy’s father and mother came running up. They looked at Lyla and saw her distress. They rushed in behind Andy and his father said, “What happened?”

Andy looked at him and blew out a breath, “I failed the test the Judges gave me. Maxius is our new leader and I’ve been banished from the Community for a year.”

His father was stunned. After a moment he said, “The Archers will never accept this decision. We will make them change it!”

Andy stared at his father and after a moment said, “The reason I failed the test was because I put my own ambitions ahead of the good of the Community. I’ve been trying to see where I learned that trait and now I think I see where it comes from. You’re willing to cause a split in the Community to further your ambitions for me to lead. Tell me you’re putting the Community’s welfare ahead of your own desires.” His father could only scowl and shake his head. His mother stepped forward and hugged him. “You can’t go out into the wilds. You won’t survive.”

Andy shook his head, “The decision is just. I understand why it has to be done.” Andy looked at his father, “All my life I’ve been striving to make you proud. My desire to please you came ahead of doing the right thing.”

A young Judge stepped inside their dwelling, “It has been decided that you may take your Rider and weapons with you.”

Andy looked at the Judge and nodded, “Thank you.”

Andy went to the storage room and lifted his saddle and packs. He walked out the door and saw his father was speechless. His mother came rushing out behind him with a leather pouch, “You’re going to need more food than you normally carry. Take these with you.” Andy smiled and hugged her, “I love you, Mom.”

“And I love you so much, too.”

Andy nodded and turned toward the holding pen. He was halfway there when Lyla caught up with him and grabbed his arm, “I’m going with you.”

Andy looked in her eyes and smiled, “No you’re not.”

“I can go if I want!”

“This is a punishment and you would be showing your disagreement by going to assist me.”

“I do disagree!”

Andy shook his head, “The punishment is fair. You can’t go with me.”

Lyla’s tears started and she pushed a large leather pouch into Andy’s arms, “Take these provisions. You’ll need them until you can start hunting for your food.”

Andy started to refuse but saw she would not accept his refusal. He took the pouch. Lyla stepped forward and kissed Andy. After a moment she stepped back, “I will be waiting for you to return. Make sure I’m not disappointed!”

Andy pulled her back into his arms and kissed her. He pushed her away after a moment and said, “I’ll do what I can.” Lyla followed him to the holding pen and carried the two food pouches for him. Dinah smelled him coming and wondered what was going on. They had just come back home. When she saw him carrying his gear, she roared her approval. She was ready to do it again.

Andy led her out of the pen and began belting the saddle and packs. Lyla went to the supply building and came back with three additional quivers stuffed with arrows. Andy’s eyes narrowed and she said, “So let them beat me. You’re going to need more than these to survive a year. Don’t lose them.”

Andy sighed and clipped the quivers to the clips on the front of his saddle. He put the two heavy pouches in the front bag and looked closely at Dinah; would this be too much weight? But Dinah appeared not to notice the extra weight. The young Judge watched Andy load the packs on Dinah and Andy looked at him when he clipped the extra arrows to his saddle. The Judge did not say anything. Andy hugged Lyla again and jumped into the saddle. She stared at him with tears in her eyes and he slowly shook his head, “Make sure everyone respects Maxius; he deserves it.” Lyla nodded and Andy turned Dinah toward the gate in the northern side of the Roman Wall. Dinah started picking up speed and Andy said, “Walk.” She slowed her pace and wondered why he was not allowing her to run.

• • •

Andy arrived at the Gate and saw Enapay. The Master Archer saw the excessive arrows on Andy’s saddle and said, “What’s going on?”

“I’ve been banished from the Community for a year.”

“Get out of here!”

“That’s exactly what I’m doing.”

“You need to wait until we discuss this among the Archers.”

Andy looked at Enapay, “I was tested and I failed. The Judges have made a fair and, in my opinion, good decision. Maxius is going to be the new Leader and I’m going to depend on you to make sure the Archers welcome him and give him their loyalty. Will you do this for me?” Enapay stared at Andy and after a moment Andy said, “If you respect our friendship, you will do this for me.”

Enapay looked away for a moment and then looked back at Andy, “Are you sure about this?”

“I am. You know Maxius will be a great leader.”

“Not as good as you.”

Andy smiled, “I failed; he passed. I think that says all that needs to be said.”

Enapay slowly nodded, “I’ll pass what you’ve said along to the others.” Enapay reached up and Andy took his hand and shook it. Andy said, “Go!” Dinah went through the gate at a trot.

• • •

The young Judge had followed Andy to the gate and heard the exchange between the two Master Archers. He watched Andy go through the gate and head north. He turned and went back to the Holy Cave and reported all that he had heard to Harvey. Maxius listened and shook his head, “He has learned his lesson. You’ve got to call him back.” Harvey looked at Maxius and handed him the book he had read from. Harvey turned and walked away as Maxius opened the book and turned to the passage that Harvey had read to Andy. He continued to read and after thirty minutes, he smiled.

A
ndy went a mile and thought about where he was going to go. He opened his provision bag and pulled out a pad with the most current maps in it. He saw that the land to the north had been done in fine detail up to a hundred miles away. He looked at the southern map and saw that the Community’s scouts had not really traveled beyond sixty miles. He turned Dinah and crossed the river flowing inside the city’s walls and moved out into the clearing next to the river. Once he was four miles away from the Roman Wall, he had Dinah move next to the cliff wall and they followed the river as it meandered toward a distant volcano. Many of the apprentice Archers saw him and waved as they stood guard over the crops. Andy waved back at them and knew they would know what happened as soon as they returned at dusk. That idea startled him. He and Dinah were going to be out in the open after nightfall. They would not have the protection of the walls to keep away predators. He looked at the map and saw there were several of the old caves built by the Time Takers long ago ahead of them. The closest deserted one was about forty miles south of their current location. Andy looked up at the sun and saw he had about four hours until sunset. He glanced at the river and decided that his travels were going to have to be where water was present. Dinah needed a huge amount of food each day. He touched Dinah on her shoulders with both his knees. The taps were light but she immediately began picking up speed.

He knew she could run extraordinary distances at a smooth gait but he had never really pushed her to find her limit. Dinah responded with a smooth run and the evidence of civilization rapidly disappeared behind them. Andy stopped after two hours and released Dinah to go to the river to drink and eat. He remained close to her with an arrow notched and his cutter beside him. Dinah was finally full and rested for an hour. She came jogging up to him and lowered her head. Andy shook his head, “No, we’re not going home.” Dinah had no idea what he said but she recognized the work ‘no’. Andy jumped on her back and estimated they had covered more than twenty miles. He nudged her to increase her speed and the Runner moved across the plain at an amazing speed. Andy noticed that she really wasn’t extending herself. The sun was just above the horizon when he saw the indentation in the distance in the cliff wall and directed Dinah up on the sandy land next to the cliff wall. As the sun began to disappear he saw the hole in the cliff about a third of a mile ahead of him. Dinah saw the hole in the wall and recognized it as something familiar. She went to full speed and they arrived while there was still daylight. Andy dismounted and went up to the cave entrance. He put his hand in an indentation and pulled a lever. A stone blocking the entrance began rolling back.

Andy pulled his cutter and ignited the blade. The stones had to be manually moved when the caves were initially built but the Romans had installed a counter balance that allowed them to be opened from the outside. He gave Dinah a closed fist and she stayed where she was without moving. Andy raised his arm over his head with a fist and opened it quickly; she stood on her back legs stretching to her full height and put her nose up and started sniffing the air. Andy saw that she didn’t sense anything dangerous. He walked into the cave and saw the ambient light was still operating. He whistled and Dinah came rushing in the entrance. She was barely able to make it in. He pointed to the wall and Dinah went and stood next to it watching him. He held out his palm and lowered it. She went to the floor and tucked her legs next to her long body. Andy pulled the lever inside the opening and the large round stone rolled back into place.

He went to the center of the cave and found the pit used for fires. He looked around and saw stacks of wood close to the stream flowing in the back of the cave. He built a small fire and watched the smoke rise and disappear though the roof. He pulled out some of the dried meat and vegetables from his pouch and made a meal. He ate slowly and after a few moments, he picked up the food pouch and used the cutter to burn a small mark at the top. Only three hundred and sixty four more to go.

He leaned back and watched the fire burn. He was planning to ask Lyla to be his mate. Now…he sighed. He just didn’t know. He looked at Dinah and knew without her, he had no chance of survival. Dinah saw him look at her and she raised her head. Andy smiled and she crawled over, put her head on the ground next to him, and looked up at him. Andy rubbed her lower jaw and she closed her eyes and emitted a high pitched moan. He pulled out the pad and looked at the southern maps. So little was known about the land south of this cave. The map ended twenty miles south and he decided that he would at least keep records of what he encountered. It was a certainty that he would be encountering large carnivores that did not fear humans. He also wondered how much further the caves were built. He thought about adding a load of firewood to his load but knew it was just a temporary fix. He would run out quickly and have to find another way to survive at night. He decided he didn’t want to slow Dinah by adding more weight. He’s come up with something. He saw Dinah looking up at him and he rubbed her jaw. Dinah’s tail was wagging even though her eyes were closed. Andy smiled and, after an hour, both of them were asleep.

• • •

Lyla walked with the community to bury the former Leader. The recitation of all he had accomplished seemed to take forever and she couldn’t focus on any of them. She kept seeing Andy riding out of the Community on Dinah’s back and, try as she might, she kept thinking about all the Predators outside the Community’s lands that had no exposure to the whistles. The wild carnivores would ignore the whistle and attack. She sighed and looked at the Lead Judge announce Maxius as the new Leader. The cheers were loud but she noticed most of the Archers didn’t put much effort into it. They wanted Andy. She shook her head and knew the decision to banish him was probably a good one. If he were still here there would be dissension among the people. Even now she saw many of the Elder Archers looking at each other and shaking their heads. She looked back at Harvey and saw that he saw it as well.