Exiled on Unium

James Michael Moody

Description

Banished - Lovers Separated - Survival - Extra Terrestrial Contact - New Beginning
Book two of the Unium series, Exiled On Unium, takes up where book one, Pioneers On Unium, leaves off. Greg Vancover, the series lead character, has been found guilty of the forceable rape of Sally Swift, the fort’s nurse. After a failed hanging attempt, the young hunter’s death sentence was reduced to life banishment from Fort America, the name given to their new settlement. If the excommunicated criminal was caught within a day’s march of the young town, he was to be killed on site.
Thanks to past service, the towncouncil voted to provide the outcast with a light bark canoe, food, provisions, and weapons. Saying farewell to his closest friends, the exiled earthman paddled downstream through the grassy savanna into the shadowy forest miles away. Continuing his way down the ever-broadiening river, the cautious canoeist made his way to a locality no human had gone before.
On his own the isolated vagrant must find a way to safely feed himself, while at the same time protect himself from the savage denizens of the tempestuous forest. What would be his fate. To die from the sharp talons of a hungry predator? Would he live to see Laura and friends again? Or, would fate once again lead the wanderer in a direction he did not see coming?

Sujets

• Science Fiction
• Fantasy (canción de Mariah Carey)
• Adventure (Guyana)
• Adventure
• Fiction
• Fantasy

Informations

• Publié par: LifeRich Publishing
• Date de parution: 25 août 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781489742841
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

EXILED On UNIUM
BOOK TWO OF THE UNIUM SERIES
 
 
 
 
JAMES MICHAEL MOODY
 
 
 
 

 
Copyright © 2022 James Michael Moody.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, names, incidents, organizations, and dialogue in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
 
LifeRich Publishing is a registered trademark of The Reader’s Digest Association, Inc.
 
LifeRich Publishing
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www.liferichpublishing.com
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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
ISBN: 978-1-4897-4276-6 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-4897-4284-1 (e)
 
 
 
LifeRich Publishing rev. date:  09/21/2022
CONTENTS
Chapter 1       Trip Down River
Chapter 2       A New Home
Chapter 3       Return To Fort America
Chapter 4       The Lake Dragon
Chapter 5       Mon-ta The Beast Man
Chapter 6       Ri-ga
Chapter 7       The Climb
Chapter 8       X-tung Of Ri-ga
Chapter 9       X-tung’s Village
Chapter 10     The Hunter
Chapter 11     Hunters, Or The Hunted
Chapter 12     The Battle For Le-on
Chapter 13     When Friends Depart

CHAPTER ONE

Trip Down River
B oth slept soundly and undisturbed, until the night lookout guard pounded on the gong at daybreak the following morning. Sleepy eyed the two lovers woke, with the early light of day shining through the cabin window to light up their surroundings. Neither of them wanted to get up but both knew they must. The air was still a bit chilly, for the sun had just risen, but had not had time to warm things up. The lovers looked at each other and smiled, then kissed before rising. It was the woman who was first to speak.
“I guess I had better get up and get your breakfast ready.”
“Forget about breakfast, you are the only thing I am interested in this morning,” the man teased. Instead of the usual meal the youth was accustomed to, the young couple resumed the love making which had lasted through most of the night. Nor did either quit until a knock on the door sounded, and a male voice ordered the well-built hunter to be outside in fifteen minutes.
When the young couple left their cabin, there was already a large crowd gathered in the center of the fort to watch the long-haired youth’s departure. Acting as if there was not another person in fifty miles, the two strolled hand in hand towards the waiting canoe. Will and Duke helped load their cohort’s belongings aboard the homemade craft, and both were sorry to see their friend leave. Then Duke, Starworth Airlines pilot and leader of Fort America, handed the boarding youth a bow and quiver of arrows, a butcher knife from the plane’s kitchen, a small homemade hand axe, and three spears. Will Rogers fellow hunter and teacher of the departing youth, presented him with a fourth spear. This halberd, however, was custom crafted, and hand carved. The professional woodsman had made the sturdy well balanced lance, especially for his most accomplished student.
“Thank you Will I appreciate it,” Greg’s voice quivered with earnestness.
“Greg, Duke and I both believe that you are innocent, but under the circumstances he had to find you guilty. I know being exiled does not seem to be a very bright future, but you are lucky you are not hanged a second time.”
“I understand this, and your position, Will. I know both of you are my friends.”
Since the banished hunter would be riding in the canoe, he only wore his loin cloth and moccasins. However, his long pants and a shirt were packed in with his sleeping furs, should he need them. Stuffed into large Destra hide pouches were other needed items such as his razor, extra bow strings, fishing line, and rope.
The departing youth shook hands with Will and Duke, and kissed Laura good-bye. Trying her best, the young woman could not hold back the tears despite herself. Sadly, the athletic built woodsman boarded the canoe, then pushed out into the shallow current. He took one last look at his beautiful lover, his two friends, and Fort America. The woman, still as attractive as she was when they landed, began to sob uncontrollably and Will tried to comfort her.
“Do not worry Laura, I shall return. And a warning to those that should hunt me, for they shall be hunted.”
The slow-moving stream carried the exiled hunter out of the fort, and he turned no more to look back. Soon, the canoeist was out of view of those in the fort, as a bend in the river swallowed him from sight. The watercourse carried the boater at a slow speed, so he made no effort to paddle unless it was to maneuver around objects that hindered his way. Yet he had not reached the forest and the newly risen sun shined brightly warming all that dwelled below it.
As the man passed silently through familiar territory, he occasionally glimpsed sight of several harmless creatures that came to drink at the river’s edge. He felt little fear of encountering any large predators, for they roamed the forest. Here, the grass was much too thick for them to move speedily. The only dangerous foe that Greg had seen living in the grass, was the house cat size creature (Mu-la) that attacked Duke upon their arrival, and himself in an incident afterwards. The miniature, but extremely aggressive cat was too small to kill a fighting man, but their sharp claws and teeth could injure severely.
Eventually the tall yellow golden grass gave way to the mighty forest giants, but neither as indomitable as they were, could stop the river that flowed through both. Soon, a large canopy of millions of brightly colored leaves blocked out all the direct rays of the late morning sun. Although Greg’s vision was hampered little, the loss of the bright sunlight dampened his spirts. When he entered the forest, it was like entering a zoo with animals placed in their natural habitat. The noise of singing birds and chattering monkeys filled the air with a pleasant sound, but occasionally they were silenced when a thundering roar spread through the forest.
The further the canoeist traveled, the broader the river grew. Greg was still in familiar territory, for he had hunted here many times. How lucky he had been chosen to be a hunter, the young man thought, for if he had been a logger, or a sentry, he would have been completely ignorant of the ways of the forest. Now, he appreciated all the knowledge Will had taught him about hunting, tracking, and survival.
The young hunter, becoming bored from his uneventful journey, placed some bundles behind his back and made himself as comfortable as possible in the limited area. His arm dangled over the bark canoe’s side, and his fingers dipped into the cool refreshing water. As time passed sleepiness drugged him, and he fought to keep from nodding off. Although Greg’s guard was not up to normal alertness, he felt quite safe from the attack by land animals. The river had broadened wide enough, so that an attacking predator would have to cover a fair amount of open water to reach him. The long-haired hunter was quite confident he could hear its splashing, should one decide to pursue him. He was also incredibly careful to watch all over hanging limbs, to make sure a beast could not spring down upon him.
However, a large predator is not the only creature that kills in the forest. Even at that moment, a long green slimy creature {Ra-pat) swam toward the dangling hand of the unsuspecting canoeist. An earthling would have described the creature as a snake, although there were more than a few differences between it and its Earth cousin. The main difference is that Earth snakes are leery creatures. They will most times slither away from larger adversaries, if possible, but not this deadly silent approaching viper.
The boater still unconscious of the fact that death was seconds away, was struggling to keep his heavy eyes open and sleep from overcoming him. Without warning a bug (Fo-go), which is rare on Unium, landed upon his nose. Closer swam the venomous reptile. The snake drew back its scaly head into a striking position, with death-dealing fangs exposed. Swiftly and silently the hideous serpent launched forward, mouth gaped wide expecting to meet soft flesh.
Startled by the landing bug, the frightened man slapped at it with lightning speed. Hardly had the exiled hunter’s hand left the water, when he heard a soft thud on the canoe’s side. Greg leaned over the side, and saw the green serpent whose fangs were momentarily hung in the side of his craft. So unexpecting and surprised was the hunter, that he almost jumped clear out of the bark boat. Instantly upon regaining his composure, the startled youth grabbed the spear laying crossways upon his lap. Savagely he thrust at the scaley thing, just as it loosened itself and swam rapidly away. Upon realizing how close he had come to death; his body began to tremble, nor could he stop it for some seconds. To say the least Greg no longer felt