Moving (Caveman Chronicles)

The Index -|-

When Kpleeb reached the top of the canyon wall and approached the foot prints he had previously made in the snow, he paused and erected another stone-on-stone to mark the location. His foot prints led away from the edge of the canyon toward the vast mountain in the distance and the tree where he had left Thoka. The sun was across the canyon and very low in the sky. Its rays shone brightly, but there were long shadows that broadcast at angles where the light intersected with some distant tree-top.

[I made it just in time. He looked down at the tiny stone tower and nodded. Never know when the snow will melt and I will need to find my way.]

He turned and walked into the wooded area that spread across the entire distance between the canyon and the mountain. When he reached the end of his foot prints, he pulled the branch that was blocking the snow-tunnel and crawled in. Thoka rested there with a knife in her hand made of yellow stone. She smiled when she saw his head poke into the small space.

“Welcome back. You were gone long enough for me to begin worrying.”

Kpleeb turned and pulled the branch into the tunnel behind him. The twigs beneath his knees crunched under his weight.

“No need to worry, Thoka. The river is cold, but the water tasted normal to me, so I got a good drink. There are some fine places to live there, but we must scout more.”

“Why?”

“The canyon depth will prevent the sun from reaching us for much of the day, so we need to find a spot that has more sun. The land next to the river is covered with trees, bushes, and other vegetation.” He paused and spoke his chief concern. “What if this place is cold all the time? It may never warm up.”

Thoka nodded thoughtfully. “I see. I am sure we can find a spot that is close to the water and yet still in the sun. How long did it take you to get to the bottom from the top edge?”

“I walked for only a little time. It is not far from here.”

“There is no way for us to know what kind of weather exists in this place. It will warm up, of course. In time we may even be able to find a path to the wet mountains or back to your home at the river. Even if we cannot find our homes, I am very pleased to be out of the caves.”

“Me too…” Kpleeb trailed off thoughtfully. His mind spun with the many possibilities.

[Would the wet mountain tribe accept me? Can we even find them? Or the canyon… it will be awkward to see them again. I wonder how Pfftul is doing. It would be amazing to be there with Thoka though.]

Thoka broke through his reverie. “I have made some other tools for us. Here is a knife for you,” she said handing him a knife as long as his hand. The blade was wickedly curved and the handle was wrapped in bark-cord.

“Thank you. That is very nice work.” He turned the knife over in his hand and felt the balance. “This is probably the best knife I have ever had. Wow!”

“I will make a belt for you to strap it on your waist. It is getting dark though, and we need some more wood for tonight.” Thoka pointed at the coal bed. “Maybe tomorrow we can find a better spot closer to the river.”

Kpleeb shifted to his haunches and pushed the branch out of the hole again. “Okay, I’ll get some wood.” He crawled out and stood, stretching. The sun was now out of sight beyond the trees, but the glow lit the woods with a dim, dusk light.

To his left, in the direction away from the canyon, there was a rustle and he turned quickly to see a grey blur flee into the brush. He grasped his knife tightly and carefully tiptoed through the snow in that direction. The tracks looked to him like rabbit, and he knew that there was no way to catch it without a snare. He sighed.

[We will need food very soon. Tomorrow.]

He began gathering sticks, and soon the darkness prevented any further activity. Kpleeb crawled back inside with an armload of twigs.

“There is a bit more outside near the entrance,” he said as he began to rebuild the fire. “I’m hungry. Tomorrow we will need to find food.”

“I will have a snare or two ready by tomorrow evening. If we get lucky maybe the next day will give us a rabbit.”

“I just saw one outside, so at least we know they exist. I can most likely catch fish when we get to the river.” Kpleeb rubbed his hands over the small flames.

“Now that we have a fire, I can test the stone’s strength,” Thoka’s said. She picked up a thin, stone rod and held the end of it in the flame. The stone tip shrunk in size where the fire touched it. After a few more seconds the shrinking stopped and the stone began to blacken. She pulled the tip from the fire and thrust into the snow back next to her. There was a hiss as the snow melted.

“That was unexpected,” said Kpleeb holding out his hand to take the rod. He touched the black tip with his finger. “It’s still warm.”

“Stone, grow back to the size from before.”

The rod he held grew in diameter, but the burnt end did not expand.

“Grow a little longer.”

The stone grew a few inches from the non-burnt end and stopped growing on its own.

“Give me that,” said Thoka holding out her hand. She took the rod and looked at it closely. She grasped it between her fingers and tried to break it. After a few seconds of increased pressure, the stone broke. “Look, Kpleeb,” she said. “It broke on the yellow part and not the black part.”

Kpleeb nodded solemnly and wondered what she was getting at. Not wanting to look foolish, he yawned. “I’m hungry.”

“I know. We should sleep so that tomorrow we can find a spot for a shelter, prepare snares, catch fish, and everything else. We can make the shelter from the stone, which will be very nice.” She patted the next she had made. “Come lie down, Kpleeb.”

He did, and his sleep was very fitful.

In the morning Kpleeb rose early, crawled outside and urinated two trees away from their shelter in the direction of the rising sun. The shards of snow that had crystalized overnight hurt his feet, but his soles were tough. The sun was a mere distant glow that spread into the atmosphere in an orange and pink arc. The trees around him stood dark and still.

[There is no point in waiting for the full light. We must be ready to move as soon as we can see the trail.] 

His stomach grumbled sullenly at being overlooked after such a long period of regular meals. Kpleeb tromped through the snow back to the cave, pulled the branch, and crawled inside.

“We should go,” he said to Thoka.

She shivered and nodded. “Without your body heat and the fire, I am very cold anyway. The sooner we get settled the better I will feel.”

Within minutes they were walking toward the canyon. Thoka held several lengths of bark-cord in her hands as she followed Kpleeb sleepily.

“I put these stone markers here and another one at the top of the canyon where I went down yesterday,” Kpleeb explained. “Maybe it will be useful to find our way back, especially if the snow melts.

Thoka did not reply, and they continued walking the rest of the way in silence.

The sun was barely visible above the treetops when they reached his second marker. “The way here is steep and slippery sometimes,” Kpleeb said. “You should walk behind me and be careful.”

“I was traipsing the wet mountain trails all my life, Kpleeb.”

He grimaced.

“But– thank you for your concern. I will be careful.”

“Good,” Kpleeb said quietly. He began walking slowly down the trail which was much darker compared to the canyon’s edge.

Thoka did trip once, over a hidden root, and Kpleeb’s hairy shoulders provided a foundation to break her fall.

Kpleeb did not speak of it. He just walked slower. In a few short minutes they reached the tree on the jutting land that overlooked the river below. Kpleeb stopped there and spoke.

“This is a good place to make a temporary home, I think. The river is there, but not too closed.” He pointed with his knuckle at the edge, and Thoka walked to look.

“We would have to climb this slope each time we returned home?”

“Yes, but it will be away from the animals and whatever else may visit the river. It’s flat too.” He pointed at where the trail came from the hillside and split to go around the outcropping. “We may have more sun here than near the bottom. We will not know until we scout some more. Do you want to make a stone shelter now?”

Thoka shook her head. “No, I will wait to find a good spot. I do need water and to find a place for snares. Let’s go to the river.”

After a short walk and a long drink, Thoka rested on a rock near the river. “Go ahead and fish, Kpleeb. I’ll just rest here and work on a new stone rod.”

Kpleeb nodded and muttered, “Gotta find a good spear stick.”

“What happened to the one I made for you from stone?”

“Urh… well, I threw it at a deer when I was here yesterday. It went into the river, and I could not find it.”

“What?! You lost the stone? How could you be so careless?”

“I totally missed the deer too,” Kpleeb said shrugging. “We could be eating a nice roast haunch right now instead of you yelling at me.”

“It’s… uh. I… look Kpleeb. Sorry, but if someone else finds that spear and learns its secrets.” Thoka looked around and sighed. “I mean, there is nobody here. I get that, but we need to be careful. Sorry for yelling.”

Kpleeb felt pleased that Thoka had apologized. She was smart and fairly headstrong, and he was in the wrong. Nevertheless, it felt good to be on the receiving end for a change. “It’s okay. I don’t know where we are, but it really does seem secluded. We could be the only cavepeople in the whole world. I will go fish and look for the spear again.” He pointed upward with his knuckle. “The sun seems to be coming through finally. Maybe while I am gone you can find a spot to make a shelter.”

Thoka nodded.

Kpleeb walked toward where he had thrown his spear at the deer the day before.

[You got lucky there, Kpleeb. Very lucky.]