* * * * *
Though I dared not take my eyes off this virago, I still could not help observing (in a whisper not so soft as before) that she looked as if a Neanderthal had mated with a Komodo dragon!
"I daresay you're right," Sir Anthony replied: "Never-the-less, I think it would behoove us to quietly back up the way we just came."
I agreed. Sir Anthony going first, a few paces, and then stopping to let me go ahead of him. And so on and so forth. It was not quite leap-frogging, since we had to maintain such a snail's pace. Yet, such lack of speed was necessary...as the virago was following us. Step for step!
And, despite having to slightly hunch her back, due to the cave's relatively low ceiling, I had no doubt her longer legs would give her a greater advantage in a full-out foot race with us. In any event, we were soon back at the rope. Unfortunately, we found a rather discomfiting surprise waiting for us, there. The virago was not alone.
She had a small sisterhood waiting for us.
Each one of whom was wearing the same faded pink toga (that came down to tail level). And, each one was crowned with the same rudiments of human hair. Sort of like a whisk broom that had seen better days!
"What now, Sir Anthony?" I asked: "The moment we grab that rope, they'll be on us like horseflies on manure!!"
"One of us will have to take the other's Mauser, and hold them off, while the other climbs the rope to get reinforcements. As you're younger, and presumably the faster climber, I would strongly recommend that I cover your retreat."
"That'd be suicide for you!" I exclaimed.
"No less for you, dear boy."
Any further debate was suddenly cut short by an unearthly howl. A howl that came from above us...and swiftly grew louder.
"Opposite wall!" Sir Anthony shouted: "Quickly!!"
I did as instructed, and none too soon. For the second I turned around, I saw it. A creature that had the stance of a human being...and the anatomy of a timber wolf.
I don't know who was more awestruck. The viragos; or the two of us. But, the mutual startlement didn't last. For, a second later, this werewolf attacked the reptilian virago that had killed Tomas Schmidt!
Her sisters, of course, were quick to object to this. Yet, Sir Anthony and I were loath to let this near-miraculous favor go un-repaid. So, we opened fire on the other viragos. Our blessed steeljackets evidently having more of a lethal effect on these lizard-women than the .45 caliber bullets fired earlier by Schmidt.
Even so, the echoes produced by all that commotion partially deafened me. So that I was unaware the duel behind us was over until Sir Anthony patted me on the right shoulder. I turned to look at him, and he tilted his head to his left. So, I turned counter-clockwise and beheld...
...a stark naked Theo Wisemann. With blood dripping from both his hands and his jaws!
"Hurry!" he exclaimed: "Start climbing. The Buru-nagas won't stay routed for long. As soon as they pick another squad leader, they'll return in force!"
We needed no further urging than that.
Ten minutes later, we were back in the basement of the camp chapel. With Theo Wisemann the last one up. So, naturally, it was he who removed the spike from the trap door in order to close it. Follwing which, he threw the spike (rope and all) back down the shaft.
"Are you gentlemen all right?" he now asked us.
"Nothing that two strong cups of hot tea wouldn't cure," replied Sir Anthony.
"Plus, a very GOOD explanation!" I added (quite firmly).
The former we got in Theo Wisemann's parsonage, courtesy of a kerosene stove. While waiting for the water to boil, he gave each of us a blanket to wrap around ourselves (to keep warm). Simultaneously, he stepped behind a dressing screen to become once again decent!
"I suppose I should start with my religious affiliation," he said: "I used to be a Jesuit missionary in Cambodia. Stationed at the Dangrek Montagnard village of Kuy Yang, in Preah Vihear Province. That is; till the day we were attacked by the Buru-nagas. A matriarchal tribe of headhunters that originally dwelt in the Ziro Valley of northeasten India, until their expulsion by the Ap-tani!"
"They massacred everyone else. But, me? They kept me as a slave...for a whole year! I will not disgust you with the details. Suffice it to say that I regarded the gun-running opium smugglers I was ultimately traded to as the _lesser_ evil, by comparison. And, ever since my return to civilization, I have been a Hubertarian. That is; a member of the St. Hubert Society!"
"The monster-hunting arm of the Vatican."
tbc
Giantess World
Chapter End Notes:
Special note: the St. Hubert Society was first referenced in A SMALLER SHADE OF GRAY, which can be found under the series title "Female Self-Gigantism Through The Ages."