Alex took an inventory of his available weapons. As always, he had his two-bladed axe, the knife he had found in the cave, and Senta-eh’s stabbing sword.
If I had the rifle I was carrying when I passed through the door, I might have a chance. But stone-age weapons? No chance. This is a suicide mission.
Beside him, Monda-ak growled quietly, low in his throat. Alex glanced at him and saw that every hair was standing on end.
And Monda-ak, the greatest warrior on four legs. Still not enough.
Silently, never taking his eyes off godat-ta, Alex slipped off the horse. He took Lanta-eh off and carried her to a spot under a tree. He leaned her against it, as she didn’t even seem to have enough strength to sit up on her own.
This was the third time Alex had found himself face to face with godat-ta. Both previous times, the great bear had been constantly in motion—stretching, standing on his hind legs, simply moving. Now he sat so still Alex might have thought he was dead.
Except for the eye. The single eye followed Alex wherever he went, a malevolent, shining dot in his scarred face.
Alex laid a hand on Monda-ak’s head. He knew there was no way he was going to keep him out of the fight. He was also sure there was no way his best friend could survive a direct conflict with godat-ta.
Alex searched his mind for a strategy to tackle an opponent so overpowering. No matter how many ideas he came up with, they all came down to one thing. That won’t work against something so massive, with so many offensive and defensive advantages.
Alex turned to Lanta-eh. “Have you seen how this turns out?”
“No. But I have seen me on the top of the hill today.”
“Good enough.”
Alex approached godat-ta slowly. There was no need for stealth. Both opponents knew where the other was.
If Senta-eh was here, perhaps she could make another miracle shot and completely blind him, like I did to Grunta-ak.
Alex shook his head to clear it. This was not the time for fantasizing. He would need all his focus just to get close enough to strike a single blow without being killed.
When Alex was still twenty strides away, godat-ta stood suddenly, waved his mighty clawed paws in front of him and roared.
The roar reverberated through the forest and hillside. Birds flew in panic. Monda-ak sidled against Alex’s side.
Alex reached for his shoulder, but Monda-ak bolted forward, closing the gap with the bear in a heartbeat. The giant dog leaped at the last minute, avoided the swipe of the huge paw, and clamped his jaws down on godat-ta’s throat. Monda-ak growled and twisted his head from side to side, trying to rip out godat-ta’s throat.
Godat-ta had too much fur and thick hide for such a direct attack to work. The bear roared again and swiped blindly at the dog. The paw and claws connected and sent Monda-ak tumbling through the air. He landed awkwardly on his side, bleeding from the mouth. He did not get up.
Alex took advantage of the attack to launch one of his own. He remembered that he had badly injured godat-ta’s right foreleg when he dropped the boulder on it, so he ran at his right side. His plan was to attack the rear leg on the same side, hoping to disable the giant.
He ran at top speed, watched Monda-ak fly over his head as he closed, and dove for the leg. As he did, he swung his axe with as much force as he could muster. The axe connected and sank deep into the beast’s back leg.
Godat-ta fell forward onto all fours. Alex pried his axe loose and prepared to take another swing when his world went crazy. Godat-ta swiped him with a giant paw and sent him tumbling away. He found himself face-down, blood, dirt, and explosive lights momentarily blinding him.
He rolled over and jumped to his feet, still nearly blind. Godat-ta charged him with a speed that seemed almost impossible to Alex.
Alex leaped to his left, but it was too late. Godat-ta closed his mouth on Alex’s left side and flung him into the air again.
Alex tried to roll when he hit, but landed awkwardly. He wiped the blood out of his eyes, clearing his vision for a moment. Godat-ta turned, ready to charge again.
Time slowed. Alex remembered Dan Hadaller first describing godat-ta to him.
You can’t outrun him, you can’t outclimb him, and you can’t outswim him. If he wants you dead, you’re dead.
Godat-ta wanted Alex Hawk dead.
Alex looked around desperately.
A few feet away, there were two trees—one thick and easy to climb, one thinner—growing just a few feet apart.
Ignoring the pain in his side, he ran for the thicker of the two trees. He planted his foot on the lowest branch and launched himself upward. He scrambled up as fast as humanly possible. That was fast, but Godat-ta was faster.
The bear was so big and long, he didn’t need to climb initially. He ambled to the tree, put his front paws around it and hoisted himself up. When he did that, his nose was just a few feet below Alex’s feet.
Alex redoubled his efforts, trying to put some space between him and godat-ta.
The bear wasted no time. Seeing that he could not reach Alex from the ground, he climbed.
Alex could hear him coming. The bear’s claws tore into the bark of the tree. Limbs broke, and the entire tree shook so hard Alex nearly lost his grip. He held on and clambered out onto a branch that would never hold godat-ta.
The bear’s arms were long enough that it wouldn’t need to climb onto the branch. It just needed to get high enough and it would easily reach over and claw him or swat him to the ground.
When the bear was close
