Sam said, “I think it’s time you explain how your grandmother came to be a resident of the 8th Continent…and what happened to your own parents?”
“It’s a long story. But I’ll explain on the way.”
“Way?” Sam asked. “Where?”
Jess opened her mouth to answer, but Sam didn’t hear what she had to say. Instead, his attention drifted across the field. The dense vegetation on the bank of the nearby stream started to ruffle and part as though something was forcing its way through. Sam’s gaze darted toward the parting prehistoric bushes. It looked like something was making its way to them, running at full speed. Whatever it was, it sure as hell wasn’t a dog.
Sam’s eyes narrowed, his vision fixed on the edge of the clearing. He glanced at Jess, but she seemed either unaware or unperturbed by the approaching beast. He restrained his emotions, forcing himself to slow his breathing as he listened to what was coming for them, but he heard little over the thump of his heart pounding in the back of his head.
The outline of a strange creature appeared through the scrub, racing toward them, its speed so fast that it looked like little more than a blur.
Sam switched his MP5 submachinegun from Safe to Fully Automatic.
He held his breath and aimed the weapon at the fast approaching beast — a sheep-sized echidna with spikes nearly a foot long running up its back.
Jess pressed her hand on his weapon, forcing him to lower it, “Stop!”
Sam took a step back, tilting the barrel toward the ground, but able to be lifted and fired at a split second’s notice.
Tom reached for his MP5 submachinegun.
“Stop Rex!” Jessica turned to Tom and with both hands outward, she waved at him placatingly. “Don’t shoot!”
The ancient large sheep-sized echidna stopped mid-stride.
“Good boy, Rex.”
Sam expelled a breath of air. “What the hell is that?”
Jess smiled. “That’s Rex — AKA an oversized echidna, once part of the predominant megafauna in Australia roughly forty thousand years ago, until the introduction of Homo sapiens wiped them out in under a century.”
Sam said, “And you trained it?”
“Trained it?” Jessica laughed. “More like it domesticated me. They’re very intelligent creatures, affectionate too, but extremely protective of their owners — thus it wanted to come at you when it saw you approach me.”
Tom said, “You’re lucky we didn’t kill it.”
“Kill it!” she said. “How could you have even thought about harming such a creature?”
“Well, for a start, the thing looks like it weighs about a ton, and second its covered in spikes, and third, it was running at us at full speed like a Mac Truck.”
Jess shrugged. “They’re harmless to humans.”
Sam raised his eyebrows. “Really? Because I didn’t feel that way.”
“I wouldn’t worry. It was more likely to just try and lick you to death than inflict any real damage. Hey Rex, come here and say hello to our guests.”
The echidna turned at the sound of her voice and started heading toward Sam and Tom, its nose twitching side to side as it soaked in their unique scent. It stopped directly in front of Sam, extended its giant tongue out of its snout and gave him an incredibly sticky lick on the hand.
Sam slowly pulled his hand away. “Hey… pup… nice to meet you.”
Rex nuzzled into him abruptly, knocking him over.
Sam pushed back, trying to brush the massive creature out of his way with his arm, and the echidna rolled onto its back, revealing a soft fur-like tummy.
Sam rolled his eyes. “It wants to play dead?”
Jess shook her head. “No. It wants a rub on its belly.”
Sam’s lips curled into a bemused grin. “Your lethal prehistoric animal thinks it’s a dog?”
“Yeah, not only can it retrieve things, but it follows complex orders…” The bottom of Jess’s lip curled inward and she bit it as though suppressing a beaming smile. “Most of the time, unless it gets distracted — which is often — and in that way it’s like a dog.”
“Well, now I can say I’ve really seen it all,” Sam said, grinning.
Tom shifted his MP5 cautiously back into safe mode.
Sam leaned down to pat the ancient echidna. Rex nuzzled him and Sam patted the echidna in the soft fur beneath its snout. The creature responded with a sound that bordered on the resonant purr of a relaxed cat.
Jess gave Rex a pat and said, “Okay boy, you can go eat now.”
Rex gave a quick snort, and ran toward the dinner bowl. His nearly three-foot-long snout appeared like a cruelly misplaced anomaly on the otherwise fearsome looking creature, as it dipped into the bowl and sucked up the black mash.
Sam wondered what one fed such an oversized monotreme to eat.
Instead, his mind returned to the question of how the granddaughter of the famed aviator, Amelia Earhart, ended up marooned in the submerged continent.
He asked, “What happened to Amelia? How did you get here?”
“All in due time. I’ll fill you in about everything along the way.”
“Way? You said that before,” Sam said, taking in a deep breath. “Where are we going?”
Jess glanced up at the sun overhead, which had a strange purple hue to it. “It’s getting late. We really should go now.”
Sam said, “Where?”
She laughed, “To meet the Master Builders, of course.”
Sam’s eyes narrowed. “You know about the Master Builders?”
“Yes, that’s why you’ve come here, isn’t it?”
Chapter Four
Jessica Earhart sat down beside her oversized pet echidna.
She gave it a good pat beneath its snout. “I’m going away for a few days, Rex. Be sure to look after the place while I’m gone, okay?”
Rex’s narrow eyes, almost black in appearance, seemed to sadden. He nuzzled his way underneath her arm, placing his spiky head on to her lap and staring up at her with adoration. She stroked the creature’s face, and its spikes relaxed into a downward position, allowing her to run her hands safely along its back.
“It’s all right; I promise I won’t be any longer than I have to.” She turned to point toward Sam and Tom. “These gentlemen have come a long way to meet someone, and it’s important I take them to make sure they get there safely.”
Rex stared at her curiously.
“Where have they come from?” she asked.
Rex nuzzled her in acknowledgment.
“They’re topsiders.”
Rex sat up, as though suddenly wary, his spikes pointing straight up.
Jess stroked the soft fur beneath his snout again until he settled. “It’s okay, Rex. They’re good people. They’ve come to see the Gifted Ones. I won’t be long.”
Rex blinked, his eyes set in doleful acceptance.
Sam asked, “Gifted Ones?”
“It’s what people around here call the Master Builders.” She stood up and gave Rex one last pat. “Take care of things while I’m gone, Rex.”
Rex made a trilling whistle sound.
“I know you do, Rex. You always look after the place for me.” She turned to Sam and Tom. “Are you guys ready to leave?”
“Sure,” they both replied in unison.
Sam said, “How far are we going?”
She shrugged. “About three to four days hike, depending on whether or not the two of you can keep up.”
“Right,” Sam said, adjusting the straps on his backpack. “We’re good to go as soon as you’re ready.”
“Ready?” Jess asked. “I’m already good to go.”
“Don’t you need to pack supplies or something?”
She shook her head and made an impish smile. “No. I’m good.”
Sam raised his eyebrow with incredulity. “You’re going away for a week with nothing?”