Barbarian Box Set: Barbarians of Zandipor Books One, Two and Three(10)

The T-Rex quickly loses interest and turns back to us. Oh shit. I try to run a little faster but it’s not happening. Especially, now that we’re running up the slight incline of the hill. Rolanda already disappeared over it. Lucky bitch.

The thunderous footsteps resume as the * T-Rex keeps coming. “Avery!” Mandy calls out to me as she sprints over the crest of the hill. “There’s a river!”

She says it in an excited way but to me it’s just one more scary thing. I’ve never been the best swimmer.

I finally get to the top of the hill and she’s right. There’s a river. A fast, vicious, flowing river with sharp rocks jutting out every few feet. And that’s just the surface. Who knows what kind of terrifying monsters are hiding under the water waiting for a chubby, out of shape American girl to have for lunch?

Rolanda is nowhere to be seen.

“We have to jump in,” Mandy says, flailing her arms as she runs down the hill toward the water. The river is so loud. The rough water froths into whitecaps as it smashes into the sharp black rocks ready to pull down anyone foolish enough to jump in.

Mandy is that foolish. She leaps into the river without a second of hesitation and the violent current immediately carries her away.

I glance back when I reach the bottom of the hill and it’s my turn to jump in. The T-Rex is standing at the top of the hill with what I swear is a smirk on his face. I know you’re gonna say that T-Rex’s can’t smirk but this f*cking thing is smirking. Just trust me.

He just stands there watching (and smirking), daring me to jump in.

“Fuck you!” I scream, giving him the finger, and then close my eyes and jump.

It’s a decision that I regret immediately.

My head gets pulled under the cool water and I swallow a gallon of the foul tasting river water. I kick and flail my arms, trying to break the surface but my wet clothes are weighing me down and the current is so strong. My lungs are burning. My chest tight.

I want to take a breath. So. Fucking. Bad.

Finally, the river shoots me up and my head pops out. Glorious air. I’ve never been so appreciative of a breath of oxygen.

The appreciation is short lived. I’m flying down the river at a speed that would make Mario Andretti jealous and these sharp black rocks keep coming out of nowhere, whizzing by my head.

At least the T-Rex is gone.

Shit.

Maybe he’s gone but there’s a louder dinosaur up ahead. The constant roaring is deafening and I’m afraid I’m heading straight to him.

The landscape on each side of the river turns into a forest and I swear I see Rolanda on the river’s edge. It’s a flash of a second but I would recognize those biceps anywhere. She got out.

Lucky bitch.

I try to call out her name but I get a mouthful of the sour river water instead. And then I’m long past her. The roaring is getting louder and my legs and arms are starting to get really heavy and tired. It’s not good.

I’m feeling pretty sorry for myself when something on the riverbank catches my eye. It looks almost human if it wasn’t for the blue skin. He’s huge with toned muscles and long dark blue hair. He’s gone before I can even register what I saw. Fuck, this river moves fast.

Did I mention that I hate this place?

The roaring becomes deafening and I gasp when I turn towards it and see the true source of the noise. I almost wish it was a dinosaur now.

The river ahead just disappears into the sky. Just like that.

I think back to when I first arrived on the spaceship and that woman with the crocheted teddy bear sweater got zapped by that purple electricity stuff. I actually felt bad for her. Now I’m envying her.

If I had known what the future had in store for me I would have taken that tube of purple shit and shoved it into my mouth.

I’m flying to the edge of the waterfall and I close my eyes, waiting for my life to flash before them but nothing happens. It’s either because I’ve done nothing of interest or because that whole life flashing before your eyes thing is bullshit. It’s probably the former.

The current flings me over the edge and I gasp when I look about ten stories down and see the rough water at the bottom. There’s no chance.

My stomach drops and my whole body clenches as I free fall with the strong water pushing me down even harder. My throat is too tight to scream.

And then…

Darkness.





five




A Sandroka floating in the water…only not. She’s lost her beautiful blue color and is a strange pink. But how is that possible?

She’s gone before Turic can figure it out. Taken in the arms of the powerful river and whisked away. Doesn’t she know not to swim in the Taharia? It’s full of trunelas with their long sharp teeth that will paralyze a body with the slightest touch.

Turic drops his knife and climbs up the closest tree as fast as a boomercan. The waterfall is ahead but she doesn’t swim out of the water. Strange. This is all very odd.

Turic’s heart starts thumping in his chest as hard as a masorak. The Drandroka were warned not to swim in the Taharia since we were infants but every cell in Turic’s body is urging him forward, telling him to go save this strange pink Sandroka.

Her tiny head disappears over the edge of the waterfall and before Turic can gather his senses he’s leaping off the branch of the tree into the dangerous Taharia.