The Index -|-

Thoka huffed quietly to herself and put her viewing rod aside. The magnified view that she had experienced disappeared as the rod was removed from her line of sight. She had not enjoyed seeing Kpleeb with the girl in the village. As far as Thoka could see, he had not touched the girl, but he was standing there unclothed in the river while she spoke to him.

He had been tied to a pole in the village for most of the days and nights since his capture. She had seen the big caveman beat Kpleeb and mock him. She could not hear the words spoken, but understood much of the body language. The dark-haired girl was the only one who had fed Kpleeb and spoken to him.

She gritted her teeth in frustration.

[Two days and the hussy is throwing herself at him already. And the bathing! What kind of woman bathes in front of a strange man! I need to hear what they are saying. Without the words, I cannot know what I need to do.]

Thoka’s face flushed in anger. The image of the girl and Kpleeb dripping with water filled her mind. Her rage increased exponentially. Her imagination was fueled by hormones and a lack of sleep. It ran away from her quickly and her thoughts spiraled out of control.

[She is thin… look at me. Ugh.] She looked down at her pregnant torso and grimaced. She was not tremendously large, not yet anyway, but she had lost the toned and shapely figure she had once been so proud of and had gained an unsightly bulge on her abdomen. [He cannot help but be attracted to her- to anyone else- really. How can I blame him?]

The baby kicked and Thoka was brought back to the present. She smelled a faint savory scent, and looked about her. There was forest in all directions. In front of her the river trailed from left to right. It was mostly hidden by the trees, but the silver sheen of sunlight on water broke through the trees in spots. To her right, the village rested on the river at a medium to far distance. There was no sign of a fire or anyone cooking anywhere closer than the village.

Maybe the scent drifted on the wind from the village. It seemed unlikely, but she knew that air currents flowed in ways and patterns that she could not discern. She sighed. [There is no point in being so angry at him. Maybe the baby is affecting my temper. but the girl will pay… maybe Kpleeb too, but for now I must save him.]

Kpleeb was the only smart caveman on the planet as far as Thoka knew, and she had become quite fond of him during their time together. He might be hairy and not particularly strong, but he was a caring caveman. To be specific, he cared for her and had demonstrated it on a regular basis. Thoka had lived long enough to know that this was not normal for many cavemen.

[Does he really care for me?]

Three days ago, she would have stated with certainty that he cared. Now… she doubted his feelings. To be fair, she  also doubted her own judgement and seethed at the apparent insecurity that lifted its flaming head. Thoka shook her head and picked up her sight rod again. Holding it in her right hand she directed it toward the village and slowly changed the angle and rotation of her hand until the view improved.

She was still discovering the its methods of use, but with the rod focused on the village she could see a reasonably close-up view. The air around the edges was cloudy and streaked, but it was clear in the center. There in the village, the pole now stood alone and bare. It was surrounded by crude huts made of reed and mud. Children the size of her thumbs played in clumps. There was no sign of Kpleeb or the girl.

[Did she steal him away?]

Thoka bit her lip and suppressed the annoyance that tried to interrupt her newly reclaimed peace. She then carefully, rescanned the rest of the village and found nothing to alleviate her concern. Wherever Kpleeb was, she could not see him. The village was relatively close to the river. A trail ran along the river bank from the canyon and past the village. The trail only disappeared when nearby foliage obscured it from view. In the far distance she could see a great, flat space, but it appeared to be many days travel from the village.

On the opposite side of the village, the jungle grew thickly and greenly. Several large, rocky crags were visible at a short distance. They were overgrown with climbing green plants and deep shadows. Thoka had never seen anything like it, and Kpleeb had never described anything similar during their long talks in the prison caves. His homeland was dry tundra with only distant mountains visible. She had considered that those mountains might just have been the wet mountains where she had grown up.

The wet mountains were tall, chilly, and its cliffs were loaded with mountain goats. Though the summers were mild, the winters there had always been brutally frigid. Thoka had traveled to the land at the base of the mountain when she had been granted her cavewoman-hood ritual. It had been a tremendous hike, seven days to reach the foothills below. She remembered how strange it felt. The jagged evergreen trees that she was used to were gradually replaced with budding trees with huge leaves. Enormous boulders the size of huts were strewn everywhere, and the land was mostly rutted and rocky. She remembered that it felt like a wasteland. It took ten days to ascend the mountain again.

[It could be that it was Kpleeb’s tundra. Or perhaps the beginnings of it.]

She scanned the village again, and finding that nothing had changed, she put down her viewing rod again. She was hungry, and she knew that warriors could be close by. She had heard them earlier in the day as they passed on the trail below on their way upstream. Looking up at the sun, Thoka could tell that it was just about mid-day. It would be some time before they walked the trail again. There was no better time to leave.

Thoka picked her way carefully down from her perch, pausing every few steps to listen. In a few minutes she reached the trail, and a short time after that she was back across the river. There was only a game trail on the other side where she and Kpleeb had first approached the river. They had never seen any cavepeople on that side of the river. Stopping for a drink, she sat, filled her yellow-stone container with fresh water, and began to make her plans.

[In order to rescue Kpleeb I will need to sneak in and steal him away. Will he want to go with me? Maybe at night and I can knock him out… but then how would I carry the brute? Or… maybe I can find a way to trick them into leaving him alone. A diversion. Or… Wait, if I can see clearly across this distance, maybe I can fight them or hurt them across the distance. There has to be something useful about the invisible forces other than the far-sight.]

Thoka had been in enough fights to know that she could not beat a village full of cavemen without a major advantage of her own. She just needed to think… and plan. The baby kicked again.

“I know, little one, I know. We’ll get some food soon,” she murmured.

She stood and traveled into the forest and up the hill toward the canyon’s ridge. There, halfway up she paused and silently scanned the forest below her. After a few moments, she was sure that nobody was following her. She ducked under a branch that and stepped into a half-circle against the granite wall. The trees had gathered here to protect the mouth of a cave from being seen. She had only spotted it the day before while scanning with her viewing rod from her high perch on the other side of the river.

Thoka stepped under the stone cliff and toward the sloping roof. The cave was shallow, only a handful of paces to the rear wall. There were no animals in sight nor were there bones or other signs that one might count this place as their residence. She reached up and touched the ceiling with outstretched fingers. They came away clean, and there was no sign of soot.

[Is it possible that no caveman has ever found this cave? With a village so close? Can you really call them “cave” people if they live in huts? This is a perfect spot for a den. Why are there no animals here? She pondered the question for a moment before discarding it. There is more important thinking to do. I must eat, drink, and be strong. I must rescue Kpleeb.]

Thoka was diligent and began to think, plan, and work. Soon she had a fire inside the cave, and the thin smoke wafted through the tree boughs above the cave entrance. She ate the remainder of the fish Kpleeb had left her, and took another long drink of water. She then laid out her pieces of yellow-stone. By the time it was dark, she had a workbench and a new rod to test.

[I have to figure out how to hear when I use the viewing rod. I have to find a way to hurt the cavemen from a distance. And shield myself from their stones and spears.]

She squinted and looked up. The sun had disappeared behind the canyon walls and her cave was dim. Her shoulders ached from the bending, and her butt ached from sitting on the stone.

[And I need light. Kpleeb better not make me regret this.]

The Index -|-

Kpleeb sat against the village pole in a total state of public humiliation. The sun rose above the glowing horizon and continued to rise until it faced him and eventually began to scorch his face. Despite the harsh sun on his chest, face, and arms, in the shade behind him, his back was frigid and stiff. After some time, he watched village eat, the cavemen left and soon children began to run and play around the huts and in the river. Kpleeb watched the people come and go freely, and he deliriously day-dreamed of a cool drink. His eyes rose and looked for his friend Bre.

She had come to feed him every day since Molk threw Kpleeb into the river. It had only been two days, but Kpleeb was healing rapidly, and was starting to believe that the village did not think he was a spy. At least, neither Bre nor Kilow (the chief) seemed to think he was a spy. He was not sure what the children thought, but Molk still treated him with great disdain accompanied by copious verbal disparagement. Kpleeb was not sure why, but he considered that it might be his own average stature or lack of bravado.

Molk was typical. He was a huge caveman and layered with corded muscles. His personality exuded confidence, and in several interactions with others in the village, Kpleeb saw him switch from intimidation to jocular friendship in the blink of an eye. He was the total package, a regular stud-muffin, and there were a couple of the cavewomen that trained their doe-eyes on his manly form.

Kpleeb shook his head with underlying disgust. [I’m stuck between freedom and this beast.]

Bre had not petitioned for Kpleeb’s release, but he could see that she was gentle and kind natured. Chief Kilow seemed to be pragmatic and understanding of the manipulations required for leadership. Kilow had told Molk that Kpleeb could be killed later, but only if Molk could find more spies. Kpleeb had been glad for the delay in what he assumed was a slow and terribly painful death, but he was still bound to the pole and unsure how long his captivity would last. Molk arrived promptly each morning, slapped Kpleeb’s head very hard, and then laughed and called him weak.

Kpleeb simply endured. [He will get tired of this eventually. There will be a time to escape or repay Molk for his cruelty.]

Finally,Bre rounded the corner of a hut across the hard-packed dirt that surrounded the village center. She paused and looked both ways before approaching him. Kpleeb saw the face of another young woman peer around the corner of the hut behind Bre as she approached, but the head quickly disappeared once it saw that he was watching.

Bre knelt on the dirt in front of Kpleeb, and nodded at him. “You thirsty,” she said quietly. He had never heard her speak above the hushed tones that she used now. “Molk and others gone for day. Kilow say you wash.” Her eyes squinted as she stared sternly at him. “But no run. Say it.”

Kpleeb could see that she was serious. “I promise. No run,” he said hesitantly. “Hungry too.” He gestured with his hand to his mouth.

Bre stood and went to the other side of the pole.

Kpleeb could feel the cord shaking as she pulled it apart. His hands soon loosened and he brought them around to the front of his body and stretched his shoulders while kneading his muscles with his knuckles. Every joint ached. He looked down at his naked body. His skin was covered with streaks of mud with scuff marks randomly interspersed where Molk or others had kicked or hit him. He was too skinny, and he could see ribs through the tight skin on his abdomen.

“Loincloth?” He asked Bre. Molk had found that she had returned it to him and had taken it again and set it on top of the pole where only the tallest of cavemen could reach. Then he had kicked Bre hard enough to throw her down in the mud. If it had not been for Kilow stepping up to reprimand him, Molk might have kicked Bre again. He seemed to enjoy inflicting pain.

Bre shook her head as she looked up at his loincloth several feet above her head. “Cannot reach. Molk be mad.” She shrugged and pointed toward the river. Kpleeb stood clumsily and put his palms together over his privates. “Come,” said Bre as she took a step.

Kpleeb turned and followed, and felt the sun shine on his backside. The movement attracted the cavechildren, who’s shrill, warbling laughs brought the village women. They appeared in door frames and from behind the reed-walled huts to stare at him. He hung his head in shame as he walked quickly to where he knew he could hide.

“Sssst!” Bre hissed at him and stopped in her tracks with her palm toward him. She jutted her chin forward towards his chest. “You walk big, like strong caveman. Walk strong; be strong. Walk weak; be weak.”

Kpleeb could not believe his ears. “This is incredibly humiliating and rude!” he burst out quickly. “Where I am from, it’s embarrassing to stand naked in front of strangers. How can you tell me to be strong?” He felt his face flush from the frustration.

Bre cocked her head slightly to the side as if she was listening to the distant trill of a rare bird. She paused for a long moment and stared at him. When she spoke, she was matter of fact. “Strong or weak. You decide and act with choice.” She tapped the center of his forehead gently with the tip of her finger before swiveling around to continue the walk toward the river.

Kpleeb followed her without thinking. She walked slowly as if there was no reason to hurry, and he did not want to hurry past her and show his insecurity.

[Of course she isn’t in a hurry. She’s not the one naked! They wear loincloths here as well, so she must understand.] He sighed loudly. The river seemed so far away. [If I run past her to the water, then I can drink. I am so thirsty. But if I run, I will look weak, as if I am too afraid to be embarrassed. What if that is what she means?]

Bre and Kpleeb arrived at the river bank well before any particular conceptual pattern solidified in Kpleeb’s mind. He blinked as a deluge of chilly water crashed onto his feet. Bre was bending near the water; preparing her cupped palms for another throw.

“Urg, that’s cold!” Kpleeb said with a slight shock as his attention returned.

“Water more cold two moons past,” said Bre. “Forgot your shame?” Her head nodded toward his privates.

Kpleeb quickly covered them with his palms. A raging violet flush took over his face. “Urgh,” he stammered, “yes. I-, I was thinking.”

Bre smiled. “Thinking what?” She looked back the way they came. The path was long-ish and the other cavepeople had gone on their own way.

“I wanted to run to the river,”Kpleeb grunted with embarrassment, “but did not want to be weak.”

Bre nodded.

“If I run, I escape the shame. If I run, I bring more shame. Is that what you mean?” To Kpleeb it seemed like an obvious no-win situation. The only choice was to determine which shame was more bearable.

“Not what mean,” said Bre. “You stuck choosing. Weak is here.” She pointed at his head. “You walk to river no shame. Why? You forget shame, walk strong when forget.”

Kpleeb paused and closed his eyes. [I forgot where I was because I was preoccupied. I forgot the embarrassment.]

“Look,” Bre continued pointing toward the village. “You walk strong. All cavepeople forget. Walk pass quick. No shame!”

“But-” interrupted Kpleeb, “It’s only because I forgot. I can’t go through my life in deep thought and forgetting what is around me.”

Bre held up her hand and shook her head impatiently. Her hair frizzed, catching the light and appeared as a brown seedball from a tundra flower. “No forget.” She paused and her mouth worked slightly. Finally, after a moment she spoke again with certainty. “Shame in here,” she pointed at his forehead again. “Think shame, you shame. Think strong, you strong. You choose shame or choose no shame.” Her head tilted slightly. “Understand?”

Kpleeb stepped into the river carefully. He needed a moment to process what Bre meant.

“Sit,” said Bre as she pointed to the shallows. “Wash and think.” She bent down and pulled a handful of water to drink.

Kpleeb turned his back and took another few steps. The rocks underneath were flat, larger than his hands, and made a semi-comfortable resting spot when he eased himself slowly into the swirling water. After taking a moment to settle, he shivered a few times and then began to wash.

[Thoka is near. You have to keep your head, Kpleeb. You must escape and go to her. This is a dangerous place, no matter how friendly this one girl is. Bre does seem genuine. She is trying to help.]

He turned his head and saw that she had gone upstream and had begun to wash herself there.

[What does she mean though? I choose shame? I choose strength? Maybe she thinks shame is just in my head? When I forgot about it, I did walk without shame.]

Kpleeb felt two of his brain cells touch with an infinitesimal sizzle and dash of smoke. His nose-hairs twinged as his eyebrows shot up and he scrambled to his feet.

[She says I choose whether or not to feel shamed! It’s my choice to cower or to run ahead or to forget the shame and be strong.]

Water poured off of Kpleeb’s naked and somewhat cleaner body. He turned and looked at Bre. “You mean, shame is just in my mind! My actions decide the rest. Right?”

Bre stood gracefully, and the skin on her arms glistened and formed goose-bumps from the combination of breeze and moisture. Her face was open and friendly, but she did not appear to concern herself at all with the environment. “Yes, Kpleeb. Choose shame or choose strong.” She walked toward him, carefully placing her feet on the wet rocks. When she approached, she pointed at his cheek where Molk had crushed him. “You heal fast.”

Kpleeb raised his hand and touched his cheek where the gash had been laid open just two days before. The skin was closed and tight, but he could feel the ridge where it had been. He pressed experimentally with the pad of his index finger and found that there was almost no pain. [Wow.]

“I feel very good now. Molk did not hurt me bad.”

Bre brushed away his finger and placed her own there. She slowly traced the line. It was only half a finger’s length, but her fingernail tickled as it brushed his skin.

Kpleeb shivered.

“Molk hit hard. You bleed bad,” she said. “You heal more fast than Molk.” Her eyes scoured the rest of his wounds with interest.

Kpleeb shrugged with a false humility. “I’m just lucky.”

“I talk with Kilow. Maybe Qui favor you.” Bre squinted up at his face. Her green eyes sparkling with curiosity. “We go now.” She turned quickly and began walking back to the village.

Kpleeb watched her for a few seconds. Her efficient gait was fascinating. He had thought that Qui might be Kilow’s husband, but now he was not so sure. [Favored by Qui? Maybe he is a brother to the great spirit Tahr. This would be a big deal for me.]

He followed Bre back to the village. As he drew closer, more heads appeared around the edges of the huts, and cavechildren began to congregate. Kpleeb felt the growing pressure, and gave in. He placed his palms over his privates, and in only a few seconds, a tiny cavegirl warbled in laughter. A caveboy next to her pointed at Kpleeb with his knuckle and chimed in with his own voice. By the time Kpleeb reached the pole, there were no fewer than twelve cavechildren following him, and the air was filled with their incessant chortling.

Kpleeb hung his head and sat down cross-legged in front of the pole with his back to the sun. In a moment he felt a nudge on his forehead and lifted it to see if Molk had some back to beat him again.

Bre tapped his forehead with her fingertip and smiled. “I get food,” she said as she turned away.

Kpleeb held his head up and glared at the cavechildren. He was not bound, at least not for the moment. [Maybe I should rise and flog these little twirps. It would serve them right.] He sighed. The village would kill him for sure if he beat up their brats. He needed to escape in order to return to Thoka.

[Escape. Why didn’t I think of that before now? Bre is not strong enough to keep me here, and I am not bound.]

He looked around to see if anyone was watching, but there were no adults in sight. The few cavechildren that had been chuckling at his expense had tired of their laughter and had begun to walk away to replenish their mouths with new ridicule.

[This is my chance. Time to take it.]

Kpleeb jumped up and ran toward the river with the longest, bounding strides he could muster. He was moving fast and had just about reached the water when he heard the first, thin shouts from the children. He was five great leaps into the river before he heard the first cavewoman yell. There followed a piercing sort of whistle that could certainly be heard for quite some distance. Kpleeb kept on, and the water began to catch his legs. He tripped as he reached the middle, and the water covered him. He was surprised at how wide, and deep the river was here. The roar, breath-taking chill, and rapid pace of the water caught him and pulled him under.