The Index -|-

Kpleeb crept slowly over large stones that bordered the river. In his hand he grasped a thin, flexible branch that was as thick as his little finger and about as long as his arm. He had sharpened the end with the knife that Thoka had given him and then added a little barb just above the tip. He was prepared to fish with it. All he needed was a calm pool instead of the raging river.

He had already traveled well past where he lost his stone spear. There he had paused to conduct a second and more thorough search. The water there was tumultuous and frothy as it endlessly pummeled the rocks. It was too dangerous to enter, so he had continued on. The river had very few pools where fish would congregate, so he continued to trek downstream until he approached a general widening of the river.

The river dropped off into a deep pool that was bordered by rocky banks and ringed by branches heavy with large, dark-green needles. There was a dull roar from the water, but it faded quickly into the sound of a more friendly river as he got further away from the pool. He quickly scouted the river below. It curved around a bend, and he saw in the distance that the canyon became shallower, the river widened, and far ahead he could see what appeared to be a plain. It would be at least a five-day walk, even with fast walkers.

[Long trip for Thoka. We must take our time.]

He turned back and crouched near the deep pool. The water near its banks were calm enough, and he knew there would be fish there. Fishing had been one of the essential tasks that all of the canyon river cavepeople learned as children. Even the village idiot would be able to catch a fish every day. This river was not the canyon river. Of this Kpleeb was certain, but he knew how to fish and expected the fish here to behave in the same way. He cast his spear four times before finally striking a fish.

[I guess I am a bit rusty after all this time.]

He stretched his legs and strung the fish on a forked branch before moving to another part of the pool. He waited for the fish and enjoyed a few restful moments before he remembered that there was much to do. He began to apply the spear as often as he saw movement in the murky water, and in another handful of minutes he had two more fish on the branch.

[It is enough for now. Don’t get greedy Da always said.] Kpleeb stood and wistfully remembered the days his Da had fished with him. [I didn’t know what I had, but I wish I had some of those moments to live again. It’s time to go. Leave the reminiscing for later.]

He moved his feet. The walk back to where he had left Thoka took some time, and the sun was almost straight up in the sky when he started to recognize the terrain where he had left her. When he passed the location where he had lost his stone spear, he stopped, set his three-fish-branch down, and searched again.

This time he was determined to try harder. He entered the water using a stout stick as a staff to keep himself upright. The river here was very rocky and every stone was slippery. The water tugged forcefully at his calves, but he methodically made his way through the current pausing at each step to prod into the water with his stick. He never encountered the stone spear, and when he reached the other side of the river, he sat on a large rock and looked again.

[Even from this angle I can’t see it. It is thin and there is just no way to see it through the water. Thoka was right to be angry with me.]

After a few moments he decided that he had wasted enough time. There was a better crossing place just downstream from where he had lost the spear, and he turned and walked in that direction. The forest on this side of the river was thick with trees competing for the sunlight that fell into the river’s gap. Their branches brushed the water in a few spots and he needed to delve into the relative dimness of the forest to find a way.

Within a few crouching steps he was able to find a clear pathway between the trees. The path wended its way along the river in both directions. He noticed that even the branches that would have naturally grown into the path were nipped off on the edges of the path, and after a few steps Kpleeb stopped and turned to look in the other direction.

[This must be a game path. It is definitely used by some animal on a regular basis. Maybe every day.]

He turned and continued to walk slowly along. To his right, the river gurgled in a muted way. [The foliage really reduces the sound, to be sure.]

He heard a twig break some distance behind him and turned on his heel. Nothing was there, but before he could resume his walk, strong and hairy arms reached around his neck and torso from the back. Quickly another pair reached around and pinned his arms.

“No fight,” someone said hoarsely.

Kpleeb jerked violently, but the arms that wrapped him were incredibly strong. The second pair of arms let go momentarily, and Kpleen responded with an even more erratic, flailing movement. Then he lifted his arms and slid downward in an attempt to escape the grasp that held him.

The remaining arms tightened like a vice and caught him by his chin. “Hit!” rasped the voice. “Hit now!”

A foul stench wafted over him. Behind it roiled a rotten mix of dirt, sweat, and urine. Kpleeb gagged as he gasped desperately for breath. He could hear the owner of the arms panting just above his ear, and a scruffy chin came into view. He kicked again hoping to dislodge the hold on his head. It was then that he saw a blunt instrument enter his view swinging as if in slow-motion toward him.

In a split second a grunt of pain emanated from someone. He was not sure who made the sound, but lightning struck his senses, and it was followed by immediate darkness.

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.]

The Index -|-

“How many marks did we have on the cave wall yesterday?” Kpleeb said as he peeled bark off of a long, green branch. The strip that came away was longer than his arm and he began to rub it rapidly between his hands. The cold, wet strands heated with the friction from his palms and their edges rounded nicely just as Thoka had told him they would.

Thoka continue working feverishly, but took time to think about the answer. After a few moments she spoke hesitantly. “I believe it was over two hundred, but you know that we did not properly count the beginning. It is impossible to be accurate.”

Kpleeb nodded. “We didn’t know any better, but we do now. We need to make a new place to put our day-marks.”

“It has to be portable,” said Thoka.

“Hmm, yes.” Kpleeb looked around. The branches and the snow bank he had made prevented him from seeing anything past the immediate arm’s length. “We could make notches on a stick and carry that with us until we find a more permanent place.” He tapped his finger on a branch of middling thickness. “It could be lost or stolen though.”

“Anything can be lost or stolen except a permanent cave wall with markings in it,” said Thoka. “There was an elder in the wet mountains that made reeds pounded flat. He would then mark on them using charcoal, water, and the juice of oofanberry.” She shook her head. “But that can be lost and stolen, and they were very fragile.”

Kpleeb continued working on his bark-thread in silence as he pondered the questions. After a few moments he spoke. “It’s a shame that we don’t have any of the cave stone that obeys commands.”

Thoka grunted her agreement, but after a moment her face lit up, and she dropped the bark-thread she was working on. “Wait!” She pulled a stone loop out of her hair. “I have this, and it’s made from the same stone.” She held out her hand.

The stone loop was a large, oblong ring that easily fit in the palm of her hand. One end of the loop was as thick as Thoka’s pointing finger. It was made out of the yellowish stone that had covered all surfaces in the caves of the gods.

“Will it still obey your command?” asked Kpleeb.

“Stone, make a rod the size of my finger from this end.” Thoka tapped the thinner end of the ring.

The stone began to form a rod almost immediately, and in just a few seconds Thoka held up the ring on the end of the rod that now protruded from its side.

“I think that answers our question.” Thoka smiled broadly. “We can do so much with this. My bracelets are gone, and I assumed that the gods took them to prevent us from using the stone.”

“Why would they then leave this?”

“Maybe they missed it since it was in my hair,” Thoka said with a shrug. “This is a special loop at well because I put a hidden chamber in the thick end.”

Kpleeb did a double-take. “A chamber? For what?”

“Nothing special, just some of that green goo from the defecation pit. I thought that it was a very powerful dissolver. There are only a few large, drops in there, but I know that it will grow in size.”

“Hmm. I didn’t realize that was the case.”

“Yes, when the green goo eats something, its own bulk increases slightly. All we need is a pit for it to grow in.” Thoka looked around. “I imagine that we could feed it branches… or anything really. But that is for another time. We can’t let the green goo get away from us or grow too large.”

“So…” Kpleeb stopped working on his bark strip. “Can we make material for snares with the stone instead of bark?”

Thoka shook her head. “I don’t think so. I could never figure out how to make a pliable substance with it. I think we can build a very nice shelter though.”

“Yes, I agree, but we do not want it in this location. Near the river would be better.” Kpleeb held out his hand. “Can I have a piece of stone? I will make a spear.”

“Stone, grow a rod half the diameter of my small finger.” She held up her pinkie finger. “Make it as long as my hand.”

The stone grew, and when it was complete, Thoka snapped the rod off at the base and handed it to Kpleeb.

“We need to be careful that this stone does not become stolen from us. There might be people here that would use it against us.”

Kpleeb nodded gravely. “I agree. I was thinking earlier that there might be a village near the river. I must scout before we go there. Can you manage here alone?”

Thoka laughed. “Manage? I am pregnant, Kpleeb, not an invalid. In the wet mountains, the women are very strong. My ma once killed and dragged a wooly ram home in the snow while she was pregnant. I can manage.”

“Urh. Sorry, Thoka. I just want to make sure you are safe.”

Thoka patted Kpleeb’s arm. “I know, and I do not hold it against you. Thank you for being so caring. Please go scout. I know you don’t like this cord making.”

Kpleeb sputtered. “It’s not that! I just… urh, the stone changes everything and we can make a nice home here.”

Thoka winked at him. “Uh huh. Well, you go scout. Bring me back something to eat if you find anything.”

Kpleeb’s face was red from embarrassment, but he leaned over and quickly pressed his lips on Thoka’s forehead. Then he turned and pushed the thick branches out of the tunnel and crawled out into the snow. When he had replaced the branches, he turned to look about him.

The trees were beautiful here. They were unlike any he had known as a cavechild. The river canyon back home had contained some trees, especially near the river, but they were smooth barked and twisted from the wind. Trees on the upper tundra were few and far between, and they were always angled and stunted from the sun and wind. The snow was also more plentiful than he had ever known. His feet hurt from the chill, and he quickly hopped onto a nearby boulder. It was still cold, but the stone radiated some heat from the sun.

He looked up and saw that the sun was directly above, but the hazy sky significantly diffused its rays. Behind the tree beneath which Thoka rested was a long tree covered slope that ended at the base of a distant peak. The view was mostly blocked by the nearby trees, but he saw rocks jutting upward, and further away a snow-covered peak disappeared into the clouds. Before him, the foot prints from his previous jaunt led to the edge of the canyon. He followed them and then then veered right as he came near the edge.

[I hope I can find a decent trail down.]

“Stone, grow your length to be as tall as I am.”

The stone grew into a full-sized spear.

[Now I’m ready for anything.]

He walked for quite some time before he saw what looked like a game path that led over the edge. There was more dirt here, and some of it was scuffed and worn just on the canyon precipice. Carefully he hefted his stone spear and peered over the edge. The ground there was steep, but he could see that the path continued downward, ever winding. There were a few small broken branches, and even a tuft of hair stuck into the tree bark a few dozen feet down.

Kpleeb looked all around, and then decided to leave a guidepost. He set his spear down, grabbed a large rock, and placed the rock directly onto another flat stone nearby. [That ought to do.] He looked around again. [I need to get to the river and back before it is dark.]

He ducked into the brush at the edge of the canyon and carefully followed the game trail downward. He used his long fingers to latch onto small tree trunks and bushes. As a cavechild, he would have barreled his way down the trail, but he had known the land there. Here, an animal could lurk behind any random bush. A startled bear or cougar would not be a pleasant surprise. His tough and hairy-topped feet made little noise as he padded downward in what seemed like an endless drop. The sound of the river did grow stronger as time went by.

Eventually he came to a large swale in the ground. The dark, brown dirt leveled off and created a small place where he could overlook the river below. With the tree cover, the sticks and leaves breached the surface of the thin snow in all directions. He walked to the tip of this new edge and stood next to the small tree that stood rooted there. There were a number of trees in the way, but he could clearly see the river glistening. It was only ten tree lengths off he guessed. There were boulders in the water to his right, and the river was somewhat calm directly in front and upstream to his left. Ice formed on the banks.

[On the tundra I could run that distance in a minute. Getting thirsty.]

He looked behind him and saw that the trail split and led both ways, to the right and to the left, around the raised knoll he stood on. He took the left branch, and as he followed it, he saw what created the outcropping. A humongous boulder was stuck there, and the dirt had covered the back and top. Trees and grass and other various plants had made their lives on the boulder’s broad back. It did not look perturbed at the weight it carried. In fact, he thought it looked quite comfortable.

He continued his trek, and in a few short minutes, he reached the river. The water gurgled and rushed loudly here. In a way it reminded him of home at the river canyon, but he also felt deprived of his hearing, and that heightened his sense of awareness. He cautiously looked for movement in all directions for a few, long moments before kneeling on a stone and reaching to the water. He carefully splashed a small amount into his mouth. There was no point being careless, even if running water was always known to be clean. The water tasted normal to him, and it was absolutely freezing. He drank his fill and straightened.

He walked along the river bank to the right. The water sound grew to a loud roar as it crested stones and then plunged a few feet into a pool. He saw a trail lead from the trees to the water and went to it. There were plenty of animal prints. Some were cloven hooved, but he also saw what appeared to be large cat or dog prints as well as the occasional print of three-toed birds.

[There is food here… but it will be loud and there will be no sun.] He looked up at the tree canopy. [I wonder if this place is always so cold.] He imagined living next to this river without ever having a summer, and shivered involuntarily.

There was a slight movement at the corner of his eye and he turned quickly. A doe had stopped just under a tree a dozen paces off and was staring at him. He froze and moved his eyes to look just to the side.

[Don’t stare, just wait. This is my chance to get meat for Thoka. Hopefully, I can remember what to do.]

The doe sniffed the breeze and paused, motionless. She waited for him to make a move, but after a few moments, she dipped her head slightly and took a tentative step.

Kpleeb remained still.

The doe decided that it was safe and continued to the river’s edge to drink.

As she bowed her light-brown neck, Kpleeb slowly raised his spear and then threw it with all of his strength. Though the doe was standing broadside to him, the spear spiraled over and into the river.

The doe instantly leapt straight up and bounded into the brush. There were a few rattles and shakes as she careened through the branches, but Kpleeb knew that he had blown his chance. He walked to where he had seen the spear disappear into the water and stood on the bank. There was no indication that it had ever existed. He proceeded up and down the side of the river in both directions and searched for many moments before becoming disgusted with the whole situation.

[Thoka is going to be angry at me, but we can get another spear. It is cold, I am tired, and the sun will be behind the canyon ledge soon enough.]

He knelt and took another drink before turning to slowly climb the trail to the top of the canyon.

The Index -|-

A breath of wind touched Thoka’s head, and the roots of her hair tugged gently at the skin of her scalp. She smiled and enjoyed the moment with her eyes closed. It had been so long since she had experienced a breeze that she had nearly forgotten what it felt like. A momentary chill brushed over her arms, and she shivered slightly before pressing against Kpleeb’s warm body. She felt him squirm for a few seconds before jerking suddenly.

She opened her eyes.

A ray of light flickered as particles floated down from above. Fog expanded as she exhaled.

She blinked to clarify the scene.

“What is going on?” she heard Kpleeb mutter.

The skin on Thoka’s back chilled instantly when he sat up, and she shivered again more intensely.

“Thoka, wake up!” Kpleeb’s large and hairy palm grabbed her arm and shook her.

“I am awake,” she said brusquely. Her eyes blinked again. Almost everything was white through the haze, and it was very cold. Thoka sat up and looked around. There were tree branches over her head, evergreen she realized, and they were heavy with snow. The branches shimmied slightly in the wind, and another shower of fine flakes scattered and settled gently on her and Kpleeb.

“What in the pit of the damned is going on?” Kpleeb stood awkwardly and in doing so his shook the branches. More frozen flakes of ice fell on Thoka. He remained hunched over under the low branches as he looked about.

“I’m cold. Can you stop shaking the tree?”

“Yes, maybe. This dream feels too strange. Let me look around.” Kpleeb ducked through a gap in the foliage and disappeared with the branches shaking in his wake.

Thoka huddled with her arms around her legs for warmth. Her belly jolted as she compressed it. “We’ll be alright, little one,” she said quietly. This dream was indeed the most realistic that she had ever encountered, but almost nothing could surprise her after experiencing the substantial and abnormal dreams of the past few months.

“Is this one of your dreams, child?” she murmured quietly. There was no response.

She breathed in deeply and savored the cold air. It had been so long since she had experienced the autumn chill back home on the wet mountains. [It is so cold. Maybe I am just soft from being cooped up inside the caves for so long. Or maybe this dream is more frigid than reality.] She rubbed her forearms with her palms and blew a fine fog out into the space around the tree.

The trunk was grey-brown and a pale. Green lichen clung to its surface in spots. The bark was craggly with sections made of layers of woody material separated by deep and natural gouges. Thoka put her finger into one of the gouges and pried a thin layer away. The wood underneath was lighter and browner. Branches sprouted from the trunk just above her head. It was an evergreen, much like the trees that covered parts of the wet mountains back home. The needles were a brighter hue and longer than her hand.

Thoka reached out and plucked a needle from the branch in front of her and smelled it. [This dream is incredibly lifelike and beautiful!] She put one end of the needle in her mouth and tasted an astringent and bitter flavor that instantly brought back memories of her childhood and the needle-tea that the village healer would make her drink when she was sick.

Just then, the branches to her left parted slightly and Kpleeb’s hand penetrated the space and waved wildly in circles. “You must come outside, Thoka,” he whispered loudly. His hand continued to gesture blindly at her.

Thoka shifted to her knees and took his hand. He tugged and she emerged from under the tree’s boughs into a dense forest.

The trees were mostly the same, though their size and shapes varied. The sky was hazy and overcast, and Thoka saw a few small birds flutter across between the tree tops. Snow blanketed everything in every direction and completely covered the ground except where the occasional large stone protruded above the drifts. Deep footprints led from where Kpleeb stood holding her hand to the left and out of sight.

Thoka’s feet were terribly cold and goosebumps raised on every inch of her skin. She stamped her feet and looked at the disbelieving expression on Kpleeb’s face.

“Come this way,” he said. “I know it’s cold, but you have to see this.” He pulled at her hand, and she followed. He bounded slowly at first, and then more quickly until Thoka had difficulty keeping up.

“Slow down, Kpleeb.”

“I know but…”

Thoka tripped and landed face first in a snow drift.

Kpleeb came to a halt when her hand left his, and he immediately helped her stand. “Sorry,” he said.

The look of chagrin on his face was enough to prevent her from berating him. She nodded at him and then adjusted her top and brushed the snow off of her skin before allowing him to lead her forward.

They followed the footsteps he had made in the snow until there was a break in the trees. The vista opened up as the stepped onto a rock formation at the edge of a canyon. From their perch Thoka could see that the canyon stretched in both directions for as far as she could see. It was long and winding, and in the far distance to their right was an icy mountain peak. She walked forward carefully and looked downward into the canyon. As she approached the drop-off, she could hear the faint sound of water rushing over rocks.

“I can’t see how deep it is,” said Kpleeb. He still held her hand. “The tops of trees are very far down, but there must be some way to get to the water.” He looked in each direction before shrugging.

Thoka nodded and her suspicions solidified to mesh with the facts. “This is not a dream.”

“If it is, it’s like no dream I ever had. It is too cold.” He pulled her back from the edge and wrapped his arms around her from behind. “You are freezing. We have to find shelter.”

Thoka nodded.

Kpleeb turned back toward the trees and dug into the snow under the largest tree he could see. When he was done, he led Thoka into the tunnel he had created. “This isn’t much, but it will keep the wind out.” He arranged some of the dried needles and brush into a nest before patting her on the shoulder. “I will get more branches to cover any gaps, and for a fire.”

Thoka sat down under the branches shivering almost uncontrollably so that her bracelets clattered together. “Hurry up, Kpleeb. I need your body warmth very soon.”

He nodded and rushed back through the small tunnel. A few, long moments later he returned with an armload of dried brush. He dropped the brush next to Thoka and bent back into the tunnel to pull a large branch into the opening.

“I haven’t made a fire in so long,” he said conversationally. “I hope I can get it done quickly. Spread your legs straight out,” he said.

Thoka complied.

He sat in front of her, between her legs. “Now take the heat from my back while I work on this fire.”

Thoka shivered and quietly wrapped her arms around Kpleeb’s hairy torso from behind. It was cold, but heat emanated from him, and she was grateful for him. [Who knew a hairy man-body could have a legitimate function.] She smiled to herself and rested her cheek on his back.

Kpleeb muttered to himself, and his shoulder muscles writhed as he worked with his sticks and branches. After a few minutes he sighed loudly and stopped moving.

“Crack it!” he cursed. “We always banked the coals back home in the canyon. Nobody had to make a real fire. The last time I made one from scratch was during my cavemanhood training.” He shrugged. “My da gave me all the tools and it took me an hour to make a fire. Here, I don’t have all the tools.”

“Keep trying. We must survive.” Thoka patted his chest and hugged him closely. “I believe in you.” She was no longer shivering.

He did continue to work at it, and eventually after much cursing and grumbling, Thoka felt a new heat on the backs of her hands. She turned her palms away from Kpleeb’s warm chest and enjoyed the sensation. “Thank you.”

He nodded and silently continued feeding the fire for a few moments. “I think it will stay lit now,” he said. “I need to get more brush. Can you keep it going?” He stood carefully, and ducked into the tunnel without waiting for an answer.

Thoka slowly placed small twigs onto the tiny fire one at a time. She had tended and built fires on many occasions growing up and knew that extreme cold could sap the heat from a fire and make it go out. After a moment, the fire did sputter and die. She cursed quietly to herself. [I have to get this going again before Kpleeb comes back.]

There were small coals, and a few moments of blowing and care brought the vanishing flame back to life. By the time Kpleeb came back, the fire was a above her knee. Thoka looked up as he came in. “I’m glad you have plenty more. We’ll run out of wood pretty quickly.”

Kpleeb coughed lightly and dropped his arm-load of brush next to the fire. “Wow, it’s smoky in here.”

“This is another thing we did not have to endure in the caves. Were your caves back home smoky?”

Kpleeb nodded. “They were, but most of them had the smoke river to draw it away.”

“What’s a smoke river?”

“Well, the leader before Fab Elder Shoofit had some of the cavemen carve channels into the cave ceilings leading from the fire pits to the outside. The smoke always ran away from the fire in those channels. I never thought about it until now, but I guess the hot smoke rose to the highest point, the channel, and moved continually upward until they reached some other space. The caves further away from the main chambers were always smoky though. Maybe the smoke had cooled by then and began to sink and spread.”

Thoka nodded. “That makes sense. We lived in tips and caves. The caves had bore-holes and lead to the surface and the tips had simple holes in the top.”

“And the tips are those round, pole-shelters covered with hide? How did they drill the hole from the cave ceiling to the surface?”

“Yeah, that’s a tip. They worked very well for outside living. I don’t know who thought of the roof holes, but the healer told me once that the first holes were old water channels.” Thoka chuckled. “She told me that sometimes in a storm, the channel would dump enough water into the fire to douse it. They eventually dug some other pit that allowed the smoke to rise but diverted the water elsewhere.”

“Ahh, smart,” Kpleeb said. “Your tribe was very advanced.”

“Well, I don’t know,” she said shrugging noncommittally, “I mean… look at us now. We are so much smarter than before.”

Kpleeb looked thoughtful. “True.” He sighed and held his hands out to the fire that was now crackling happily. “Without the food outcropping, I will have to hunt, and I was never the best hunter.”

“Mmm. Yes. Do you know snares?”

Kpleeb shook his head. “We used spears and clubs. We used spears and nets for fishing. Maybe there are fish in the river down there,” he said in a hopeful tone. He sat down next to Thoka and put his arm over her shoulders.

“We will be okay. I’ll teach you about snares.” I need several long, green branches to start off with.” Thoka smiled at Kpleeb. “I’m not freezing any longer, but I can also teach you how to make caves out of snow.”

“That’s strange,” he said thoughtfully.

“Yes, but it works.” Thoka reached out and affectionately scratched his scraggly beard with her fingernails. “Let’s get to work.”