Part Eighteen: Amazon Life Among Amazons

By Luckycat Chapter Eighteen – Life among the Amazons The Final chapter Months after becoming a full Amazon sister, Cody managed to persuade another village woman—by letting her enjoy the pleasure of those “softest feet”—to move from her ground-floor room near the bridge to one higher up. The cost turned out to be steep, as the woman proved nearly as skilled as Cody with ropes and knew how to push her toward madness using just her fingernails. Almost daily until satisfaction was reached, Cody had to repeat this experience so the woman would finally agree to hand over the room. It was worth it all, though, because Cody achieved her goal: establishing the village’s first—and only—coffee shop among the Amazons. Behind a makeshift wooden counter, she served steaming cups of special brew to enthusiastic women who had become totally addicted. Standing before the café entrance, she grinned up at the coffee cup sign Oola had carved into the stone lintel above the door. “Starbucks, eat your heart out!” * Despite their differences in power and influence, Bea and Cody stayed closest of friends. Bea joined her often for coffee to discuss village needs and seek advice. They laughed together as Bea shared a new outrageous trick committed by living Goddess Oola. Cody knew that like herself, Bea had found purpose and complete happiness here among the lush trees of this remote jungle paradise. But Cody hadn’t forgotten about the tight hog-tie she endured. She waited patiently for her chance to get revenge on Bea. Sooner or later, it would come. * Syral received a room not far from Luna and Cody’s, but complaints about constant footsteps on stone stairs and muffled night screams soon forced her down closer to the street so others could sleep while she played war games. Remarkably, Syral earned her new tarka of downward-pointing toes in just two amazing weeks. * Seena and Xantha had both won their right many times to wear the coveted upward-pointing toe tarkas as they fought each other at war. Strangely enough, neither ever sought another woman to witness their victory. In scandalous open rebellion against Ixabala’s laws, they chose to live together as equals. Often they would surprise a poor lone woman coming from the bathhouse and lead her back gagged with arms bound behind her. A fearful new respect for these two tall warriors quickly grew. Luna never regretted asking Cody to wear her Tarka. Confident in her abilities as chief huntress, she was always glad to return home to receive tender, passionate kisses from her “little-one.” * Oola proved extremely clever and gifted artistically too. With daily tutoring from Bea and Arris, months were all it took for her to master conversational English almost fully. Cody became Oola’s favorite teacher because the tiny woman possessed seemingly endless knowledge of animals—especially prehistoric ones—which greatly interested Oola. At Oola’s insistence, Cody patiently taught her spelling basics and the alphabet. Aside from Arris, Oola soon became the first Amazon to read and write not just Spanish but English as well. Possessing an artistic soul, Oola found a better use for five remaining pencils Cody gave her: drawing amazingly accurate likenesses of various South American animals. Before Cody and Bea arrived, paper was completely unknown. In a touching act of friendship that made Bea cry, Cody gave Oola all her anthropology notes so the red-haired woman could draw on their backs. Oola used her paper well, showing an innate understanding of light, shadow, and perspective, almost never needing to erase. Soon, animal drawings began appearing on the walls of Cody’s coffee shop—a favor for providing paper, pencils, and many cups of thick rich brew. Cody knew another trip to the Ceiavos river wouldn’t be long coming; so great was Oola’s enthusiasm. While Cody spent her last twenty dollars sending letters by boat, Bea—the born miser—still had enough funds to keep Oola supplied with paper and pencils for years. But once most indigenous South American animals were drawn, Oola ran out of subjects. That’s when trouble began. Oola’s latest obsession became drawing dinosaurs. Using Cody’s encyclopedic knowledge and patient guidance, she created remarkable images depicting creatures that roamed the earth millions of years ago. Under her fine eye, stegosaurs, apatosaurus, and triceratops came alive beneath her pencil tip. But everyone’s favorite was undoubtedly her first attempt: the terrifying carnivore Tyrannosaurus Rex. During cool summer evenings, Oola, Bea, Cody, and Luna spent pleasant hours sitting by the chasm edge talking quietly. One night, Oola seemed especially obsessed endlessly questioning Cody about various dinosaur species while Luna and Bea smiled at each other rolling their eyes. The conversation gradually turned into an argument over which dinosaur was the most dangerous predator. Naturally everyone had opinions. Bea claimed it was triceratops due to its three razor-sharp horns but was quickly corrected by Oola now quite expert on subject matter explaining that triceratops were actually vegetarian harmless plant-eaters. Luna struggled slightly following English-only conversations insisted upon by Oola and chose the Tyrannosaur instead. Cody argued fiercely for velociraptor as most dangerous lethal predator—the terrible six-foot high killer of late Jurassic period made famous through archaeologist Adrian Desmond’s book “Hot-blooded Dinosaurs” and Steven Spielberg movies. For some time each woman defended her favorite animal until Cody realized Oola hadn’t chosen yet. “What about you, Oola?” asked Cody. “Who is your pick?” Oola sat with feet up arms locked around legs staring momentarily at rising moon then narrowing eyes looking turn-by-turn before replying: “El Lagarto Monsturo!” Luna visibly stiffened. Bea looked puzzled briefly snapping fingers saying, “Hey! That’s the thing you always listen for, isn’t it Cody?” Cody said, “Excuse me?” smiling back Bea replied not playing dumb with her soft-footed-one noting she’d mentioned El Lagarto Monsturo countless times seeing evenings spent listening valley sounds confirming yes that what being listened. Turning head away slightly Cody answered maybe so. Speaking up Luna noted it late time bed should going soon. “Have you ever heard him, Cody?” Oola asked excitedly. “Heard Lagarto Monsturo yet?” Cody smiled shaking head saying never done hear Oola looked disappointed noting well lives very far upper village unlikely could hear him. To tell truth sighing softly replied Cody don’t really believe in him though raising dark eyebrow Luna listened closely. “El Lagarto Monsturo just interesting tale,” continued Cody. “Scary story told children before campfire no such thing—

“here can’t be.” Luna shook her head in anger. “But little one, I have told you…” Cody held up her palm. “I know Luna, you’ve said that you’ve seen this thing, and I believe you. But surely you were mistaken.” Luna glared at Cody. “I am a huntress! There was no mistake! I saw him!” In her sudden flash of anger Luna had reverted to Spanish. “And the bravest woman I’ve ever known; even braver than Seena,” said Cody, trying to soothe her. “But all you saw was a long tail and heard sounds in the forest. It was very dark…it could have been anything.” Luna shook her head violently. “No! El Lagarto Monsturo is real!” Cody refused to back down. “Nonsense! Prove it!” Oola interrupted. “Luna is right; it must be true. As a child in the lower village I myself heard his frightful roars many times.” Bea had been enjoying the spirited conversation and was following each word with great interest. Leaning forward, she said, “Well, there’s one way to prove it; Let’s go down to where this thing supposedly lives and just see for ourselves.” Oola grinned. “Your Priestess has spoken, and your Goddess agrees!” * For three days Luna had abjectly refused to discuss with Cody any thoughts of trying to find El Lagarto Monsturo. But when Bea and Oola both insisted, Luna relented at last, reluctantly agreeing to lead them. Luna’s one condition was that once they left the village they must follow her orders implicitly. To her dismay, all three women quickly agreed. * They made their departure two days before ‘Temple night’, which was always held on a Saturday evening. Months earlier, after arriving in the upper village, Cody had noted the day of the week for the Temple gathering. Since then, and without using a calendar, she wouldn’t have known what day it was—not that here in the jungle it made much difference. True to their Mayan heritage, the Amazon women maintained an incredibly elaborate and complex calendar. But even after months of careful study Cody still didn’t understand how it worked. Arris had adamantly refused to discuss it with her, saying this arcane knowledge belonged solely to Priestess Beatrice. Despite all of Arris’s tutoring, Bea also remained clueless. The rain had poured down torrentially the night before they were to depart, and the jungle path would be mud-filled and very slippery. Even though by morning the rain had somewhat lessened, Luna still attempted to use this as an excuse to dissuade her friends from leaving, suggesting they postpone their trip. The three women had patently refused, proving “most stubborn indeed.” They rose early to get a good start. As they approached the bridge, they saw Seena and Xantha standing guard and talking quietly. As Xantha lowered the bridge, both warriors seemed quite curious about where the women were going at such an early hour. Not wishing to alarm them, Luna told them that they were looking for a ‘special’ animal for Oola to draw, but it was to be kept as a ‘secret’ surprise. Cody’s mouth twisted into a wry smile. This stubborn habit of Luna’s for absolute truthfulness could at times be highly annoying. A simple white lie would have easily sufficed and been much easier. Seena was about to ask another question, but Cody distracted her by asking if she and Xantha would be good enough to guard her coffee shop while they were gone. Seena’s eyes narrowed. “Guard it from what little Cody?” Oola answered. “From ‘El Coffee Monsturo’.” And as Seena and Xantha continued to laugh, the cadre of women hastened across the bridge before the two warriors could ask any more questions. The Valley of fear The journey down to the river was long and arduous, taking most of the day. Not wishing to arrive after dusk, Luna refused to let the women rest, seeming to take almost sadistic pleasure in keeping a fast pace as she ruthlessly hurried them along the muddy path. Cody had taken her backpack and at one point paused to sit upon a rock to remove an old battered pair of black sneakers. As she sat lacing them, Luna said, “Why do you wear those foolish things?” Cody gave her a wicked glance. “Why do you wear your teeta on your head?” Luna snorted indignantly. “It is a trick I learned from Seena; it keeps my hair out of front of my eyes so that I can quickly see El Lagarto Monsturo.” Cody giggled. “Oh, I see.” “You see nothing! It is most useful! Far better than those foolish shoes! I ask once more, why do you wear them?” Cody already had her answer prepared. “To protect my ‘most-soft-feet!” Late in the morning Bea touched Cody’s shoulder and pointed ahead to a formation of rock off to their right. “Look Cody, Elephant rock!” Cody smiled and nodded. This was of course how they had first come to the village. But now—without Luna’s constant misdirections—it seemed much shorter. An hour later Luna suddenly halted and turned to Cody with a soft smile. “Do you recall this place little one?” Cody had been daydreaming. She glanced around quickly, but before she could speak, Bea said, “Why, this is the place where we first met.” Luna nodded and gave Cody the gentlest of smiles. “And the place where my life was forever so wonderfully changed.” Every single event of that fateful day instantly returned to Cody’s mind: The huge, terrifying serpent, her first glimpse of the tall beautiful huntress, the taking of their shoes, and the way she and Luna had lain together for the very first time. Silently, Cody moved to where Luna stood and wrapped her arms around the tall woman’s waist. She said, “It was the best, and luckiest day of my life.” Bea and Oola stood grinning, waiting patiently for the two women to stop kissing. * Sometime late in the afternoon Cody knew that they must be nearing their goal. Luna had become strangely silent, her movements stealthy and guarded. She raised a cautioning hand frequently, speaking only when necessary and then always in a lowered voice. Cody had had very serious qualms about making the journey. But she knew Oola was headstrong and would have come anyway. And where Oola went, Bea would surely follow. Although Luna hadn’t shown it, Cody knew that she too had been fearful of coming. Wishing to safeguard her friends, however, Luna understood it was her clear responsibility to see to their safety. Bea, Oola, and of course Luna were the finest friends Cody had ever known. No, infinitely more than that, sisters. And she didn’t know what she would have done if they had gone on without her never returning. But despite her anxiety about whatever El Lagarto Monsturo really turned out to be, there was never any question for Cody of whether she would come. Cody remained of two minds regarding El Lagarto Monsturo. Reason dictated that the whole idea of a living dinosaur was complete and utter nonsense. On the other hand, however, she knew that much of the Amazon still remained virtually unexplored, and that of all the species of dinosaurs ever identified, more than ten percent had once lived and thrived here. Dinosaur finds were rare; in modern paleontological discovery so far only three hundred species have been found. Surely many more would follow. Still she reasoned, why would this place alone be immune from the global disaster that killed off the dinosaurs in other parts of the world millions of years ago? Cody was suddenly roused by an outstretched hand. She pulled up to see Luna’s warning face. “Ooof.” Bea said as she collided into Cody’s back. Oola giggled softly. Luna raised a cautioning finger to her lips and pointed ahead. The women all saw Luna’s grim expression and followed her finger. Ahead, the trees gradually thinned out as the jungle gave way to the wide Amazon flood plain. An open glade of thick grass extended some fifty

yards into a marshy area and to the river beyond. Swollen by the constant rain, the river’s dark water raced hurriedly past. “We are most close now.” Luna said. “Make no loud sounds!” Luna waited until after all three heads had nodded in understanding, then she turned her back and led them cautiously onwards. Just before the point where the plain began, Luna turned to the left to move along a narrow game trail. Cody saw the logic of this at once; for once out from beneath the cover of the trees they would be in plain sight. They moved steadily along for some time. Bea was the clumsiest woman Cody had even known. As she walked, she continually tripped, colliding with trees and vines, and making more noise than the three others combined. “Oops” had become her constant litany, “Ssshhh!” Luna’s. The game trail proved to their advantage and they made good time. But after twenty minutes of easy walking they ran into a problem. They had reached a kind of promontory where the river made a slight turn. Here the path ended into an impenetrable thicket of creepers and sharp thorns. Luna raised an arm for them to pull up. Then, motioning for them to wait, she moved alone into the jungle to search for another path. Kneeling beside a huge vine-infested acacia tree, Cody opened her backpack and took out her last full pack of cigarettes. But before she could open it Bea caught her attention and shook her head warningly. Cody understood at once, and put the cigarettes away. Something had caught Oola’s attention. She was standing at the edge of the glade with her hands on her hips and staring out towards the river. There was the sound of a breaking twig from the brush, and Cody turned to see Luna emerge from the trees. Cody gave her a questioning look, but Luna only shook her head. “I think Oola’s found something.” Bea said. They turned to see Oola waving them towards her. When they stood beside her, Oola pointed towards the river. “There.” She whispered. Her arm moved slightly. “And there.” Her arm moved again. “And there.” Cody squinted out into the mist, but failed to see whatever Oola had found. “Wait here.” Luna said softly. But before Cody could question her further, she had moved away and out into the open glade. Despite the still falling rain, the tall body of the huntress stood out in sharp relief, as bent over into a crouch she moved quickly forward. At a point close to the river she stopped and then began to walk in a slow circle, her face turned downwards as she carefully inspected the ground. To Cody, the scene before her was surreal. The sight of the naked huntress standing boldly amid the fierce beauty of this wild jungle paradise, armed only with her bow and arrows was breathtaking. It was a scene that could just as easily have been from any moment in past time. Cody’s mind began to drift. As a huntress, Luna led a life fraught with a thousand perils; it was a life that had been played out countless times through incalculable centuries. In her mind, Cody saw a tribe of primitive hunters dressed in animal skins, their spears in hand, and in desperate combat with a fierce dinosaur. Of course the entire idea was patent nonsense. The dinosaurs had been long gone some sixty-five million years before primitive man had ever first stood upon two legs to gaze over the tall African grassland. Throughout history no living man had ever actually confronted the mighty monsters. It hadn’t been until the late seventeenth century when the famous French anthropologist, Baron Georges Curvier, had discovered their bones and first revealed the “terrible lizards” to the public’s attention. The dinosaurs had been here for over two hundred million years, humans, a mere thirty thousand. ‘It’s our world now,’ Cody mused. ‘but once, it had been theirs.’ Cody wondered what might have happened if things had gone differently, and the cataclysmic disaster that had wiped out the dinosaurs had never occurred. Would puny men have survived the battle? Cody doubted it. Luna’s body appeared to stiffen; her movements had now become guarded, careful. She seemed to be listening intently as she stared southward along the marsh and riverbank. Then she fell to one knee and began to closely inspect the ground. Cody, Bea and Oola watched in silence until at last Luna stood and beckoned them to join her. When they got to the spot, Cody followed Luna’s finger down to in front of where she stood. Cody gasped, unable to believe what she was seeing. There, pressed deeply into the soft marsh earth, was the clear three-toed footprint of some immense animal. Cody turned her head to see more footprints spaced at regular eight-foot intervals. They had come from the north and appeared to have been recently made. “Look!” Bea said, pointing around to hundreds of similar faint impressions that dotted the marsh. “This place is a virtual dinosaur expressway!” Cody put her hand on Luna’s arm and looked deeply into her eyes. “I’m sorry snake-killer. I was wrong. El Lagarto Monsturo is quite real!” Monsturo Faced with the startling truth, a decision had to be made whether to continue onward, or to abandon the search. Cody’s reasoning, clinical mind had been badly shaken by the revelation that such a creature still existed. Only by a tremendous effort of will was she was able to conceal her fear from her friends, and only prayed that they would decide to flee from this place as soon as possible. Luna’s face was grave, but now having been vindicated before Cody, she looked to Oola and Bea for their decision. Although badly frightened, Bea deferred to Oola, awaiting her words. For once in her life, Oola seemed very thoughtful, and considered the situation carefully before finally replying. “My truest friends, we have come very far. Let us not flee like silly frightened children until we have at least glimpsed this creature. The telling of this tale will surely endure for a thousand years, and as yet I still have no knowledge of how Lagarto Monsturo appears so that I may draw him.” Cody began to shake her head violently in disagreement, but Luna held up her hand. “It grows dark Oola, and with the rain it will be most difficult to see him should he attack us.” Oola looked badly disappointed, but nodded in acceptance of Luna’s words. “But,” Luna added. “If the living Goddess truly desires it, perhaps we could follow his footsteps for just a short while longer.” Oola beamed. Cody rolled her eyes. Rookery With no clear path or game trail, the women were forced to follow the periphery of the jungle northward. They moved as silently as possible, keeping close to the tree line, their ears alert for any possible sound of danger. At one point the rain began to come down with such force that that it stung their naked bodies like a thousand bees, and they were forced to seek shelter beneath a stand of immense pines. Its brief fury spent, the rain once again subsided into a steady soft drizzle and the women continued on. Bea had become badly chilled, and once more they were forced to pause while Oola briskly rubbed her arms to warm her. “You hanging in there Priestess?” Cody said with concern. “Maybe we should turn back?” Bea managed a smile and shook her head. “I’ll be fine. But when we get back home I’m planning on spending the whole night in that big hot-tub.” “Not without me.” Oola said with a wink. Bea sniffed and smiled. “Of course not.” Luna suddenly shushed them, and then cupping a finger to her ear, listened intently. They all listened and heard the sound at once; a soft deep purring coming from the jungle just ahead and off to their left. Luna raised a cautioning finger to her lips and led them carefully forward. A few hundred yards further on, a wide pathway opened into the dark jungle. It led slightly uphill and to the west. Luna pointed down to where countless footprints had trampled the earth into a thick paste of mud. A fetid odor hung in the air; the nauseating brute smell of some large animal mixed with rot

ting flesh and wet leaves. Bea scrunched her face. “Peee-Yooo!” She commented. Luna paused at the path’s entrance, listening attentively to the purring sound. It was louder now, but it hadn’t changed in its regular cadence. Then carefully, as to avoid the deep mud, she moved westward along the tree line bordering the path. Here, among deep hills and tall trees, the forest canopy above was exceptionally dense. But in a few places Cody could look up to the west to see the vast Andes Mountains directly ahead. She was certain that somewhere only hundreds of feet above them lay the upper village, and home. She was wet, tired and hungry, and at this moment Cody wished that she were anywhere but here. She could kick Bea for ever having mentioned the hot tub. They were very close to the sound now. Luna halted, pointing to a hill at their left. Then after signifying that they should stay and wait for her, she began to work her way through the trees and up the side of the hill. Luna moved soundlessly with the grace of a cat. Cody shook her head in awe at the tall woman’s hunting skills, and her absolute fearlessness. After several minutes the huntress returned. Then, after once more cautioning them to remain strictly silent, beckoned them to follow. The summit of the hill proved to be treeless and covered in low grass. Luna had moved ahead of them, and was now at the very peak and lying on her stomach. She twisted around, indicating with her hand that they should do the same. In moments the four women lay side-by-side peering down into the area below. It was a sight that Cody would never forget. Just beyond where they had abandoned the path, it made a sharp turn to the left, emptying in a large open grotto framed on three sides by high rock cliffs of moss-covered sandstone. The cliffs led steeply upwards, high into the forest canopy above. There, among ledges and cracks in the sheer rock face, thousands of birds had made their nests. Countless more flew aimlessly in lazy circles, the sound of their shrill cries and flapping wings forming a constant cacophony of noise. It was a vast rookery. The medium-sized birds were black with white ringed necks and spotted wingtips; they might have been some variety of grackle or small crow. But Cody paid them little heed; Her thoughts were solely focused on what stood below in the center of the grotto. El Lagarto Monsturo It was the most amazing animal Cody had ever seen. It was a dark ruddy red in color, with large pale green stripes like a zebra’s. It’s lizard-like skin glinted softly in the late afternoon light. Cody guessed it to be over forty feet in length from the end of its long pointed snout to the tip of its tail. More than a dozen feet in height, it stood stiffly erect upon two massive legs, and along the entire length of its spine ran a bony crest that rose in the center of its back to form a foot-high sail. The long fingers of its short front arms clasped and unclasped making a soft clicking sound. “Holy smoke!” Bea whispered. Cody shushed her with a threatening glance, and just to be safe gave one to Oola as well. But the red-haired woman wasn’t looking; she was too preoccupied in observing the massive creature. Her ice-blue artist’s eyes moved continually, absorbing each minute detail of its body. Despite the immanent danger, Cody risked a nervous smile. At least they had gotten what they had come for: here at last was “El Lagarto Monsturo.” It seemed that the birds were annoying the beast with their loud cries, and by flying so close to its head. And as the women continued to watch, the animal opened its unusually long snout to reveal a hundred razor-sharp teeth. Suddenly its head snapped forward with lightening speed to engulf several birds in its maw. It made a loud swallowing sound and bellowed once triumphantly before lowering its head to resume its deep purring. “Bye bye birdie!” Bea said. “Ssshhh!” Said Cody. Here indeed was a “terrible lizard”. There could be no further doubt in Cody’s mind. This was an actual living dinosaur! Luna had never taken her eyes from the beast, and kept one hand tightly clenched upon her bow. But should it attack, she knew that unless she was fortunate enough to hit the creature directly in the eye with her arrow, that it would have little effect in stopping it. Luna knew that having found what they had come for, that they should quickly depart. But like her friends, she was utterly mesmerized by the sight of the animal, and could only continue to stare. Bea whispered excitedly, “Look! Eggs!” Cody followed her pointing finger to where in front of the animal the ground had been hollowed out into a shallow, concave circle. Clearly visible in its center were three spotted pale-green eggs about the size of grapefruits. “Makes me think of big duck eggs.” Cody said. “Makes me think of big omelettes.” Bea added. As they continued to watch, the animal moved astride the mud nest to slowly lower its enormous body down upon the eggs. Its movements were slow and deliberate, and surprisingly gently for such a gigantic creature. It had ceased its constant purring, but once it had become settled the sound quickly began anew. “She’s warming her eggs.” Bea said. Cody seemed very excited. “Do you know what this means?” She whispered. Bea nodded “That she’s a good mother.” Cody shook her head disgustedly. “No Bea! It means that she’s warm-blooded!” Bea was a botanist, not an anthropologist, but she, like everyone else in the scientific community was well aware of the controversy that had raged for years. Early on, most people had believed that dinosaurs had only been much larger members of the reptile family, and like them, had also been cold-blooded. But in the 70’s, serious arguments were made that these giants of the past had been warm-blooded egg layers like the platypus, the echidna—the spiny anteater—and of course, birds. Every single day of their lives, reptiles, like snakes and lizards, need to spend time in the sun to warm their bodies so that they can become active enough to hunt. But as the internal mass of an animal’s body is directly proportional to its size, large animals like the dinosaurs, would have to spend the bulk of their lives sunning themselves just to gain the strength to be able to move. Indeed, for the largest of dinosaurs like the apotosaurs and gigantosaurs, it would have been virtually impossible for them to ever absorb enough heat even to be able to move. All reasoning pointed to the fact that dinosaurs had to have been endothermic¾warm-blooded. Now, Here right before their very eyes was the actual living proof. Suddenly, with no sign of warning, Bea scrunched her face, and to Cody’s absolute horror, sneezed loudly. Oola and Luna looked at Bea as though she had lost her mind.” “Excuse me.” Bea said matter-of-factly.” It stinks around here.” The dinosaur’s head jerked violently up; alerted, its large yellow eyes narrowed, and swiveling in their sockets, searched for the source of the sound. Bea feared that she was about to sneeze again and looked at Cody wide-eyed. Instantly, Cody reached out to pinch her nose tightly closed with her fingers. Bea held her breath and counted to ten. A moment later, the sneeze had passed. Sensing no immediate danger, the huge animal again lowered its head and resumed it purring. Luna had had quite enough. “Come! It is time for us to go.” She stared at Bea angrily. “Before our Priestess sneezes us into El Lagarto Monsturo’s stomach!” Name Calling Oddly, once back upon the open marsh, Cody’s fear had seemed to intensify rather than lesson. She turned back around constantly, peering over her shoulder, convinced that at any second that they would see the angry monster in close hot-pursuit, and bearing down upon them with insatiable hunger in its yellow eyes. Not until they were once again upon the game trail did Cody begin to relax. Walking behind her, Bea said, “That was so cool! She’s such a good mother.” “Father.” Cody said.

“Excuse me?” “He. The animal was a male.” Bea blinked. “He? Are you sure, Cody?” “Positive.” Walking behind Bea, Oola tapped her shoulder. “Cody is correct; El Lagarto Monsturo is a boy dinosaur.” Bea turned. “Yeah? Well what makes you so sure, smarty-pants?” “Because I saw his man-stick.” “What?” “You watched him Bea,” Cody said. “But you didn’t observe.” Then she added with a giggle. “And to be accurate Oola, it wasn’t a man-stick; it was a dino-stick.” “Ooof!” Bea exclaimed as she collided into a small tree. “Try to be more careful, Bea!” Cody warned. “A lot of these trees have thorns!” Oola giggled. “Your village of U-nited Stated has a most wonderful word for my Bea.” “Oh?” Cody asked. “What’s that?” “Klutz.” Oola said, giggling again. Attempting to recover some shred of dignity, Bea stated, “Well, for your information little missy Cody! It so happens that I did observe her. Very closely!” “Him! And?” “And—well, I was rather surprised to see how small she—he—was.” At this comment Luna, who was leading the group, paused and turned around. There was a look of amusement on her face. “You thought El Lagarto Monsturo to be small?” Bea nodded. “Yeah, I mean for a tyrannosaur that is. I’d always heard that they were over twenty feet tall.” Cody shook her head. “He is no tyrannosaur,” Luna said. “He looks nothing like Oola’s picture.” “Luna’s right.” Cody agreed. “It’s definitely not a tyrannosaur.” “Then what?” Bea asked. Cody squinted, looking thoughtful. “I’m not quite sure.” “Take a wild guess.” “Well, at first I thought Spinosaurus Aegypticus, which was native to South America. But they were even larger than tyrannosaurs. So right now I’m thinking that it’s a Suchomimus. Bea and Oola both looked puzzled. “A what?” Bea asked. “A Suchomimus. Su-co-mime-us. It means crocodile-mimic.” It was Luna’s turn to look puzzled. “What does mimic mean, little one?” “Mimic,” Cody explained. “Means to look like something else.” Luna considered this and then nodded. “Like the way some gentle insects make themselves look like angry stinging ones, so as to scare away their enemies.” “Exactly.” Cody said. Bea snapped her fingers. “You’re right, Cody. Now that you mention it, that long snout of his did look like a crocodile’s. And all those sharp teeth! Did you see the way they pointed backwards? Really scary!” Cody smiled at her friend with newfound admiration. “I take it back Beanie; you actually did observe something.” Bea gave Cody a twisted smile. “Apology accepted.” She added, “But there’s something that I still don’t get…” “What?” “If he’s a male, who layed those eggs?” Suchomimus Luna suddenly held up a hand and put a warning finger to her lips. Her head turned this way and that as she listened intently. “What?” Whispered Cody. Then she felt it. Even through her thick-soled sneakers, Cody could feel the earth tremble. It was slow and rhythmic, like something walking…something huge. Luna’s sharp ears had located the source of the sound. She pointed out towards the river in the direction they were headed. “Hide! Now!” She whispered urgently. As though it were a well-rehearsed drill, the four women raced to hide themselves behind separate trees. The game trail they were on lay only a few yards from the open marsh, and in seconds the creature that had caused the earth to shake strode into their view. It was another dinosaur: another suchomimus. The animal was very similar to the one they had seen in the rookery, but a great deal larger. Its color was different too, deeper in tint and less colorful. Peering from behind a tree, Cody watched as the creature steadily advanced towards them. Pile of large rocks lay between the river and where the women were hiding. To avoid these, the animal would have to pass between the rocks and the jungle trees; it would come within only yards of them. And even as Cody watched, the dinosaur turned, aiming for the gap. It was headed straight at them. The animal was enormous, its tooth-filled crocodile head over twenty feet in the air. It walked upright on two massive hind legs, its long tail raised high from the ground and swinging side-to-side. At the tip of the tail, two long spikes formed a V-shape. With each approaching footstep, the tremors in the ground grew increasingly stronger. As it advanced toward her, Cody saw that its skull was shaped so that its eyes looked straight ahead, giving it binocular vision—the mark of a true predator. The suchomimus suddenly halted. Raising its neck, it began to turn its head in slow arcs from side-to-side. Its nostrils flared; it snorted softly, sniffing the air. From the x-rays taken of fossil skulls, Cody knew that most dinosaurs had very large olfactory cavities, which implied that they possessed a remarkable sense of smell. Although few fossil remains of suchomimus had ever been found, there was no reason to assume that it would be any different. The dinosaur stood motionless, just sniffing. Cody glanced down to see a huge six-inch spider standing just beside her right foot; its ten black multiple-eyes stared up at her hatefully for having invaded its tree. She loathed and was terrified of spiders, even tiny ones, but at this particular moment the dinosaur took priority. Cody’s right sneaker shot out. The spider flew through the air to land in the center of the path a few feet away. Luna, who had apparently been watching, looked at the spider then turned to look at Cody. She shook her head and rolled her eyes. A loud snort from the suchomimus caught Cody’s full attention. It had lowered its head and was staring northward along the marsh in the direction from which they had come. The pupils of its dark eyes were ringed with yellow, and as Cody watched, its eyes suddenly narrowed. Cody breathed a sigh of relief; it had seen something, but it wasn’t them. Suddenly the movements of the suchomimus became animated and alert. Lightning fast, it turned around to move just beside the pile of rocks; lowering its body, it bent down into a tight crouch, ready to spring. Seconds later Cody heard the sound of footsteps splashing through water. She turned to see a large cat coming southward towards them. She recognized it at once as being a Puma. In only moments the cat would pass by the pile of rocks and then the waiting suchomimus. She glanced nervously back at the dinosaur that lay crouched and waiting motionless, but something was very wrong; the huge animal was gone! * No…Wait…It was still there, but something had changed; only moments before it had been a deep, ruddy brown with faint stripes, but now it had turned grayish. Even as Cody watched, the color of the suchomimus continued to change; it grew fainter still, fading to blend perfectly with the rocks around it. Then right before her eyes, it completely disappeared. A chameleon! Just like the cute little lizards Cody’s dad had brought home from the dime store when she was a child, Suchomimus was a chameleon of incomparable ability. If they hadn’t known it was there, they might have walked right into its waiting jaws. Out of the corner of her eye, Cody saw the Puma as it strode into view. Its head was lowered to the marsh grass; it had been following a scent: theirs! The Puma seemed momentarily confused; it had lost the scent. For a few seconds it turned in circles while sniffing the ground, then having found the scent once again, it turned back to where they had re-entered the game trail. The suchomimus struck. Only a brief glimpse of its rows of sharp white teeth allowed Cody to see its lightning-fast attack. Surrounding the cat in its gaping mouth, the dinosaur raised the hapless animal high into the air. The Puma snarled and clawed furiously, raking the suchomimus’s long jaws with its claws. Streaks of red blood appeared, but the dinosaur was undaunted. As the large cat frantically thrashed in the mouth of its captor, the skin of the suchomimus again began to change; in seconds it had taken on its original color. Cody glanced over to Luna

to see the huntress standing boldly beside her tree. She had nocked an arrow in her bow and was pointing it at the dinosaur’s head. She appeared quite calm and focused as her arms moved in tandem with the movements of the mighty beast. It gave Cody a sudden thrill of pride to know that from all the beautiful women Luna could have chosen from among the village of Amazons, that this brave, courageous woman had chosen her to love. A desperate snarl turned Cody’s attention back to the raging combat just in time to see the suchomimus turn and move away towards the river. Cody was confused. Looking back at Luna, she saw that the tall huntress had lowered her bow. Luna knew was about to happen. The fickle rain had almost stopped. Cody watched as the dinosaur halted beside the river to plunge its head and the Puma beneath the strong current. The jerking movements of the suchomimus’s head bespoke of the violent struggles of its captive, but as she watched, in seconds they began to lessen as the large cat began to quickly drown. “Come, we must flee most quickly!” Luna cried. It was and invitation no one refused. As Cody hurried past the spot where the big spider had landed she looked down. But the arachnid had scuttled off somewhere, undoubtedly to seek revenge in her dreams. * During their long journey home Cody, Oola and Bea maintained a continuous in-depth discussion regarding the monster that had very nearly eaten them. Luna listened quietly, but seemed bored with the conversation. It was enough for her that Cody had come to believe in her, and that they had all managed to escape with their lives. “Still think it was a suck-you-something-or-other?” Bea asked. Cody nodded. “Yeah Bea, but there were a lot of differences from what I had read about it. It’s size for one thing, and not to mention the fact that it’s a chameleon; that fact alone is absolutely amazing.” “Well, its had sixty-five million years to evolve.” Cody nodded. “You’re exactly right Bea. And keep in mind that the only fossils of the crocodile-mimic were found in Africa, not here in South America.” “How do you explain that?” “Well to me, it seems most likely that the species spread here while the continents were still connected.” “You talking about Pangaea?” Cody nodded again. “Yes Beanie, it’s a well-supported theory that over two hundred million years ago all the landmasses on earth was once a part of Pangaea, a vast single continent, and that through tectonic action, they broke apart to become the seven continents that we know today.” “So suchomimus’s ancestors simply walked here from Africa.” Bea said. “Yeah, or vice-versa. But wherever it originated, I’m still amazed by it ability to conceal itself by changing its skin color. That’s the mark of a very sophisticated animal, from what I saw today only the octopus and the cuttlefish can do it better.” “Do you think that being a chameleon is what made it able to survive while all the other dinosaurs died out?” “Maybe. But you have to admit that as predators, it gave them a tremendous advantage.” Oola, who had been listening attentively, spoke up. “Do you think that the nest we found is the very last one?” Cody considered this for a moment before replying. “This amazing land, the Amazon, is still virtually unexplored Oola, and I’m sure that it contains many more mysteries. But in answer to your question, no, that can’t be the last nest, there has to be many more of these creatures still alive out there.” Luna stopped and turned. “Well little-one, now that I know what not to look for, the next time I meet El Lagarto Monsturo, I Luna, will make him extinct!” Legend At first the women of the Amazon village refused to believe the strange tale they had been told, thinking it yet another of Oola’s foolish tricks. But after Luna, Cody and their Priestess Bea had insisted that it had all been true, they gradually began to believe. Then after Oola had finished her first incredibly accurate rendering of suchomimus, their doubts quickly turned to amazement. Days later, her second drawing, one that showed the unfortunate Puma tightly clasped in the mouth of the dinosaur, served to quickly dispelled any further disbelief. Seena and Xantha were both furious that they had not been invited to go. But were assuaged when Luna explained that their lives were far too precious for her to have allowed them to come, and perhaps leave the village without its two finest warriors. Arris too had been angry. Not only because the Priestess and living Goddess had both been at mortal risk, but in their absence she had been forced to go without her daily coffee. Surprisingly, Xan was the angriest of all, and refused to even speak with his sister Oola for nearly a month afterward. Celebration It was close upon the first anniversary of their coming to the village of Amazons, and Cody and Bea conspired to have a surprise party for themselves to celebrate the occasion. Months earlier, Cody and Bea had been outraged to discover that not one single woman in the village had the slightest idea what a party even was. They quickly put their minds to rectifying that little lack of knowledge. The first problem to overcome was in finding a suitable alcoholic beverage for everyone to drink. And although Cody and Bea possessed extensive knowledge in many varied fields, the art of distillation was badly lacking. Arris however, soon solved the problem. Cody recalled the night in the Torturess’s house, and the drink she had given Xantha. Several months later she had sampled the tasty concoction herself, and had immediately become falling-down drunk. It would do nicely. Thanks to the many—favors—Cody had shown her, Arris was only too willing to provide the recipe. The fruits and herbs needed to make the drink were in ready supply, but after several ‘test runs’ when both she had Bea had become badly intoxicated, Cody decided to severely cut the alcohol content to a level that would allow the party to continue for at least more than ten minutes. * Several days before the party was to take place, Cody and Bea sat together on the wooden bench outside the coffee shop, and finalizing their plans. At last seeming satisfied, they leaned back against the wall with fresh cups of Cody’s rich brew, staring off into the sunset. “May I show you something Cody?” Bea asked. “Sure Bea, what is it?” Bea withdrew a folded letter from her robe and handed it to Cody. “What’s this?” Cody said. “Read it Cody, it’s to my mom and dad.” Sensing that the letter was important to Bea, Cody set her coffee down and unfolded the letter and began to read. Dear mom and Dad, First, I want you to know that both Cody and I are in the very best of health and are in no danger. I know that you’re sad that we’ve been gone for so long, and that the distances separating us are so great. I miss you both very, very much! But I need for you both to understand, that here among the trees of this wonderful, unspoiled paradise, that both Cody and I have come to find those things in life that most people can only dream of. I’m sure that I speak for Cody when I say that our education is of far greater value here than it could ever be back home. Here, if only on a smaller level, we can really do something to help the world. By some wonderful, crazy miracle, each of us has been lucky enough to find a person whom we truly love, and who truly loves us in return. It’s the real thing, and I know without a shadow of a doubt that our love will last a lifetime. I hope that one day soon I can come to visit you, and that you may meet my loved one. But you must understand that the people that I have come to love so dearly are very fragile things. Exposing their existence to the world could do irreparable damage and even possibly end in disaster for them. These are a good, loving people, but they are also very vulnerable. Therefore, I’m sure that you’ll understand why their location must always remain a secret. I love you both more than I can ever t

“I tell you. Your Daughter, Bea Cody re-read the letter twice before setting it down in her lap. There was a sad smile, wistful smile on her face. “So?” Bea asked. “What do you think?” “All I can say Beanie, is amen!” Epilog One warm bright sunny afternoon some three years after the two strangers had first come among the village of Amazons, Xan lay in the soft grass beside the three houses at the center of the lower village. The beard on his face had grown in to be a bright titian red, the same color as his long hair that he kept tied behind his head. The summer’s day was wondrous and warm, with soft wisps of clouds that floated lazily past high above in the bluest of skies. A shriek of joy came from the center of the village where his two small children played happily together with a tiny ocelot kitten. One child, a little girl whose hair was the same titan red as her fathers, giggled with delight as the kitten nipped playfully at her toes. She was the very image of her mother, the Priestess Beatrice. The other child, a boy, laughed and tried to bully the cat and girl, yelling out his commands out in a fierce commanding voice. But unlike his father, he had he the soft blonde hair of his mother, the color of fine straw. The End. Luckycat April 2009