Venus Rising by Flora Speer Page B

Narisa had heard the day before.
    `’Chon. Chon-chon. Chon.”
    It approached again from upstream, flying
along the same route as before, until it was hidden from sight at
the bend of the stream. A third time the bird repeated its
performance, and by then Tarik had his boots and jacket on, and was
urging Narisa to hurry with her own boots.
    “We’ve been going in the right direction,” he
said excitedly. “Come on, Narisa.” He grabbed one of her hands,
pulling her to her feet and dragging her after him.
    They reached the bend in the stream. There
was no sign of the bird, but they kept going, and Tarik saw to it
that they moved faster, as though he knew something important lay
ahead.
    Where they now found themselves, the forest
grew ever thicker with no clearings at all. Underbrush constantly
blocked their way, and Tarik and Narisa had to frequently hold back
branches, or sometimes large bushes, so they could force their way
through. Above them huge vines hung from tree to tree. Several
times Narisa thought she saw movement among them, or between the
bushes or trees, but she could not stop to investigate. She did not
want to lose sight of Tarik.
    The forest was so dense that there were long
stretches when they could not see the stream, but had to listen for
it so they could follow its direction. In spite of all the
obstacles, Tarik pressed on. After an hour or so of the rapid pace
he had set, Narisa was gasping for breath.
    “Could we stop?” she panted. “Just for a
little while, please. You should rest yourself, or you will be sick
again.”
    “No, I won’t. I’m perfectly healthy now. I
feel wonderful. We might eat something, though.”
    He brought out the wafers of compressed food,
and they sat between two bushes in a space so small their knees
were touching. They ate quickly, then drank a little water.
    “I’ll leave you for a few minutes.” Tarik
rose.
    “Wait.” She wanted to say, don’t leave
me, but could not bring herself to admit she was afraid of the
forest, which now pressed closely upon them. And she, too, wanted a
few minutes alone to attend to personal needs. “I’ll go to the
stream. I’d like to put some cool water on my face. I’ll stay
there, right by the stream, until you come, so we won’t lose each
other.”
    Tarik nodded and moved off into the thick
greenery. Narisa headed toward the stream. It was a short time
later when, on the narrow, muddy verge, she bent to wash her hands
and then her face, that she became aware the bird was flying along
the stream once more. She watched it, thinking this was no special
guidance for herself and Tarik, but only the bird’s daily habit. It
was probably looking for food. Perhaps it ate the fish Tarik had
shown her earlier. She knew little about birds, but it seemed to
her this one’s long, toothed beak would be well suited to catching
fish. She wondered how they tasted, and whether she and Tarik might
catch and eat them when their wafers were all gone.
    She watched the bird as it disappeared
downstream, then glanced around to see if Tarik had appeared yet.
She saw that one of the thick green vines had dropped off a nearby
tree and had begun crawling toward the stream. Narisa stared at it.
She stood in its way, and even as she heard Tarik’s tense voice,
she recognized it for what it was.
    “Snake,” Tarik said from some distance behind
her. “A poisonous one, I think. Stay where you are. It may pass by
you if you don’t startle it.”
    Narisa could not have moved if she had wanted
to. There was no place to go in that tiny area between dense
undergrowth and stream, and she was too frightened to do anything
at all. The snake was large, with black spots along its green body,
and she thought it was looking directly at her. It was big enough
to strike well above her protective boots. She stood frozen,
waiting.
    “Don’t move,” Tarik said.
    “No.” Her own voice sounded surprisingly
calm. “No, I won’t.”
    From high overhead she heard