The Forests of Euterpe

Greetings to everyone, the following story was inspired by the digital art of @xpilar, I invite you to visit his blog. The picture that motivated this story is the following.

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Fuente

The Forests of Euterpe

-I'm almost eighty years old coming to this shrine and had no idea this place existed, -said Rafael, speeding up the pace at which he was pedaling.

-I discovered it a few months ago, the robot guide of the park office recommended it to me to use the canoe of pedals, it is a little crowded place, normally only the park rangers come to make rounds, but almost never there are tourists - explained Henry accelerating also his rhythm to be able to reach his companion.

As they approached the cliffs, the river became narrower and the current increased its speed. Rafael turned his gaze to the cliffs and could see how something moved on top of the rocks.

-There's something up there, -he said, pointing to the top of the abrupt rock wall.

-It must be some deer or goat, I understand that, over the last ten years, they have been gradually introduced into this park, -said Henry, looking in the direction Rafael was pointing.

-Maybe, I just hope he hasn't introduced some predator with teeth and claws that is following us, to take a good hiker's bite.

They continued pedaling for about fifteen more minutes, the further they went into the forest, the faster and more agitated the waters became. Rafael approached the shore and beckoned Henry to accompany him.

-I think it's enough for me, I'm out of shape, -he said as he stood to get off the raft -. Besides, it's starting to get dark, I think it's best to look for a place to spend the night.

They dismantled the rafts and set up the shelter, a few minutes later they were ready to eat, and then they could devote their time to what they had really come for.

The inclusion of native species of the Earth in worlds with very different conditions to those that existed on that planet, has given rise to evolutionary variations, which has sometimes occurred in very short periods of time, from hundreds to a few thousand years, leading to new individuals to be almost unrecognizable, compared to those who gave them origin.

In Euterpe, a sanctuary planet, neighbor of Palas, the evolutionary drift, has given origin to a variety of creatures, really interesting; some of them considered a true delicacy, in the growing market of elegant restaurants that serve them, for the demanding clientele that, in the main cities of its neighboring planet, is willing to pay a considerable amount to taste them.

So trading with these creatures has become a particularly profitable business, for those willing to face the risks of obtaining them. Although Euterpe is populated by relatively harmless animals, there are few dangerous creatures in its forests, one of which is the giant tree ape and the other the Euterpe lynx, the former being a very territorial and aggressive creature living in the giant pines of the northern forests of the planet and the latter a feline who is known for his unfortunate encounters with campers from the mountainous regions of the western continent.

Rafael and Henry, were in the southern region of the western continent, fortunately for them, besides the mosquitoes infected with some type of febrile syndrome, without major risk for the immunological systems boosted by nanomachines and the occasional attacks of enraged deer, there was no other potential danger for those who ventured to these territories, largely explored only by the robots of the parks department.

After eating an abundant ration of vegetables and canned elk meat, they went into the middle of the night with the intention of catching flying squirrels from Euterpe, an animal whose sweet meat is highly appreciated in the haute cuisine circles of Palas.

This type of squirrel is nocturnal, measures eighty centimetres long and weighs about six kilos. Rafael extended the capture net among several trees, while Henry emitted a radio frequency that disorientated a sensory organ that these creatures used to orient themselves in the darkness, by effect of the emitter, the squirrels fell from the trees and were caught by the net, from where only the young males were selected to be taken to Palas.

What Raphael and Henry did not know was that among the bushes they were observed by a creature, this then unknown, had been following them, since I observe them from the cliffs, at the edge of the river, while they pedaled in the rafts, and from the opposite riviera he saw them disembark and set up the camp, then, while they ate, he crossed the river in the middle of the darkness and followed them until where they were hunting squirrels, now he was behind the bushes, stalking them, waiting patiently for the opportune moment.

They were distracted, Henry selecting the squirrels to be taken and Raphael, using an electric stick to kill them quickly and painlessly, when behind them from among the bushes a giant lizard about three meters long rose on their hind legs, and then he threw himself at Rafael, holding him by one leg with his huge jaw, in the middle of the pain caused by the attack and his surprise, he clung to the electric baton and introduced it between the partially open jaws that held him by the leg and gave the creature a shock in its maximum intensity.

The lizard recoiled stunned, giving them enough time to run to the shelter they had installed a few meters from the river, where they were rescued shortly afterwards by the robots of the parks department.

Months later, thanks to the story of both hunters, a new type of giant lizard originating in Euterpe, descendant of the iguanas that had been introduced to the planet more than two thousand five hundred years ago, would be officially discovered and catalogued. These nocturnal creatures had become predators of the flying squirrels and other animals that lived in the trees of the forests of the south of the western continent of the planet.

Text of @amart29 Barcelona, Venezuela, September 2019

Other stories from the Time and Space series

• Fleeing from the Cephalopod
• The Depths of Balder
• Pandora's Walls
• Forced Migration
• The Curse of Chimera
• Amphitrite
• Ilmatar
• The Door of the Sea of Calm
• The Horde
• The Phidias Mechanism
• The Forests of Euterpe

I can only thank @xpilar for allowing me to use his digital art in my publication and for motivating my creation. Thank you very much @xpilar

Thank you all for visiting my publication, I hope your comments and I appreciate your support, until next time

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