Planet Earth 13

Planet Earth 13: The Rise of Chief Sargon the Concqueror

The forest was quiet on this day, lacking even the unremitting chorus of songbirds characteristic of a warm, spring morning such as this. The humidity made the air thick and hot, but clouds hid the sun from view. A large four-legged mammal sniffed some berries in a small clearing. The animal was about eight feet tall from its hooves to its back, eleven feet to the top of its head. It possessed proud fourteen-point antlers; though perhaps even more intimidating were the eight inch fangs protruding from his upper jaw, accompanied by numerous pairs of smaller, sharper teeth. A young man hid on a large branch, about sixteen feet above the ground in a tree on the border of the clearing. He was only a dozen yards from the beast.

Sargon knew he could not kill this giant of an animal with just an arrow, or even a few arrows. He considered weakening it with a few arrows, then dropping on it with his knife. However, the hunter was low enough from the ground that the beast might be able to reach him with its massive antlers. While Sargon contemplated his plan of attack, the deer became alerted to a sound and growled in its direction, demonstrating to the hunter its set of terrifyingly numerous and large teeth. He decided he did not want to face this creature in close combat, even if it were weakened. Instead, he withdrew a vial containing a dark, thick liquid from his pocket. He wetted a rag with the liquid, then rubbed the rag on an apple he had taken from his bag. Once the apple was thoroughly saturated, Sargon softly dropped it to the ground in a manner so that it rolled towards the prey and stopped just in front of the bush the animal was so interested in.

Thanks to the potent smell of the liquid, the beast sensed the apple immediately. He devoured the bit of fruit in an instant and returned to his berry bush. Sargon watched patiently as the animal gradually grew sleepy. Once it finally toppled over with a great thud, the hunter leaped from his hidden spot above and approached his unconscious prey. Taking his knife from his belt, he knelt near it and prepared to strike. He had to be precise, because if he did not incapacitate the beast with his first strike, it might be awoken and reenergized by its will to survive. The young man took several deep breaths; as he exhaled for the third time, he plunged the knife into the neck of the animal. The strike woke the animal and Sargon was almost hit by an antler as the beast flailed about in its terror. He yanked the knife out of its neck and jumped back, drawing his bow to quicken the death of the behemoth before him.

As he knocked an arrow to his string, Sargon sensed something near him. He had never felt such a presence; it was dark and threatening. He turned to see a person standing only a few feet away, within the clearing. The man was much larger than Sargon, he wore nothing to cover his broad chest and was completely hairless. More notably, the stranger had yellow eyes which seemed to glow slightly in the dim shade of the forest. In the man's right hand was a thumb-thick metal stick, sharpened at the tip.

"I don't know who you are, but you should really fuck off." Sargon said with a firm voice as he stepped back from the interloper and raised his bow. The man stood still but let out a raspy, wheezy laugh. "Your prey is quite large for your size, human, but I smell the stench of the poison your people call 'Oil' in the air." The humanoid creature spat on the ground to show his disgust. "I expect nothing more from a Human. Your Kind is known for its treacherous ways. The end is coming for the Humans, though, I'll see to it myself." The stranger glared at the young man dangerously. Sargon decided that the creature before him was hostile, and he shouldn't wait for it to attack; instead, he loosed an arrow at the man's chest.

The arrow struck true, burying itself into the target's flesh, breaking rib and puncturing lung. The force of the shot knocked him backwards. Sargon dropped his bow and withdrew a weapon from his bag as the man laid on his back. The weapon he withdrew was a metal rod about two and a half feet long with a small, dense metal ball on the end. He wielded this mace in one hand and his knife in the other, preparing to finish off the intruder. Then, the man sat up.