Dawn of the Nephilim

13. the Test part II

Suddenly the water seemed to explode, and almost faster than the eye could see, out of it emerged the open jaw of a huge alligator. The next few moments were a blur. The alligator was fast, but Olaf was faster. With a thrust more rapid than Ronan would have thought possible, Olaf embedded the spear between its gaping jaws. The force by which it entered its innards propelled the back of Olaf's boat sharply to the left. Even as the jaw of the alligator snapped shut, Olaf retracted his arm from the spear. The alligator fell back into the water, next to the boat. Somehow, Olaf managed to keep his balance through the entire event. Sometimes, it was as if the skaran Ti'anra were beyond human.

The alligator violently thrashed from side to side, changing the calm water into a seething, boiling whirlpool. It started to roll over, like it would do when trying to break off a limb or piece of meat from a larger animal. Even as its soft yellow-white belly became visible, Ronan felt another spear whiz past him, which sunk into the soft flesh of the crocodile. Instinctively he looked behind him, where he found Utgard intently staring at the alligator, his throwing arm still extended. At his left, Ayra stood at the ready with another spear in her hand and fierce indignation burning in her green eyes. In front of her, Ragnar stood in the same position. And I was just looking at what happened. He turned back to the alligator, to witness one more thrash, and then the alligator lay still in the water, belly up.

Silence followed as the waters returned to their calm and peaceful state once more, seemingly unperturbed and never caring what had transpired. A big cloud of deep red blood seeped into the stream around the alligator from its chest and gaping maw, and began floating along the gentle current. "What on earth was that?" Utgard was naturally the first to break the silence. "Olaf, that was amazing. You prove to us once again that age is just a number. But why would any alligator be so active at this time in the morning, and, more importantly, why would it attack us?" Utgard managed to adequately express their general bewilderment. Ronan certainly agreed with the sentiment.

Olaf just stared at the alligator with a sorrowful expression in his eyes. "There is something odd about the swamp. I do not know what it is. But I do not feel at home here like I usually do. There is a feeling of unknown in the air. I cannot explain it, I can only sense it. This might turn out to be a challenging week for you Ronan" he said as he turned to him with two very serious, dark eyes. Isn't that the truth. Ronan thought the words but said nothing.

"Let us continue and leave this child of the swamp to the swamp." Ragnar spoke the words with a sorrow that was felt by all. Such a useless death for such a magnificent creature. Ragnar was very zealous when it came to the way of the swamp. Everybody in the village respected the swamp, but there were few like Ragnar, who almost worshiped it.

"Yes, let us continue" Olaf grimly spoke. Only now did Ronan start to notice what Olaf had meant. He had been tied up with his own feelings, but there seemed to be something different about the swamp as well. It was in the little things. Fewer frogs croaking, fewer birds singing. An eerie instead of a peaceful quiet among the trees. The journey continued without the accompaniment of Ayra and Utgard finding ever more inventive ways to describe one another's apparently thoroughly rotten personalities. The body of the alligator faded away in the last tendrils of mists that had returned one last time to conceal the death of this mighty creature. Utgard and Olaf did not retrieve their spears.

Over the rest of the day, the tension started to drop somewhat, and the company started to loosen up a little. Utgard and Ayra even crossed a few words every now and then. But a little of the tension constantly remained. Ronan had become very nervous at this point. He was anxious about whether or not the women would still be there. And more importantly, what they would do to him. He still felt the slight pulling in his head whenever he closed his eyes, and if he focused on it, it became stronger. If they hadn't tricked him with some of their apparently vast powers, he knew where the women were. At some point in the afternoon, Olaf stopped and pointed to a small island in the stream. "Here" he simply said. And Ronan knew this was where they would drop him off, with nothing but a swamp-skimmer and some tools to help him survive in the swamp.

The farewell was short, but emotional. Both Utgard and Ayra embraced him. Utgard simply said, "See you in a week boy, and remember, stick to the main streams, don't go wandering in the mangrove pools." His hug was so strong that Ronan had a little trouble breathing, so he only responded with a strained "Yes Utgard." The man let go of him with a smile, and a tap on his shoulder.

As Ayra embraced him he felt his heartbeat increase slightly, and his temperature rise. She was a beautiful woman, and she smelled nice. "I like you Ronan, stay safe, and come back to us." She offered him a sweet smile, and swung her reddish hair a little. Amusement graced her eyes. His response was a bit of gibberish. He finally managed a "Heu, thank you Ayra" while Utgard began complaining to her that she was never so nice to him.

Ragnar picked up some dirt between is thumb and index finger and made a vertical line on his forehead. He said: "The swamp will protect you." Then he walked away with a satisfied smile. He really was a bit of a strange man.

Olaf put a hand on his shoulder, and offered him a warm smile. A rarity Ronan had not often witnessed, so he was adequately impressed. "See you in a week Ronan, and then we can start your training in earnest. You will find there is quite a lot more to being one of us then you might think. Come back to this place, and we will be there to pick you up." And then even the great leader of the skaran Ti'anra grasped him in a hug. This left the other skars dumbfounded. Where others developed a morbid fear of open water, Olaf must have been a little unsettled from the alligator-attack. He let him go, pinched his shoulder, and turned around without saying another word. And with that, the skaran Ti'anra left, and Ronan was alone.