The Index -|-

“Wind is breath of great spirit tahr. Sun is eye. Life under sun is life in harmony with great spirit tahr and all cavemankind.”

-Fab Elder Shoofit (Unknown date)

“There was a time when I felt that the world was so small. It consisted solely of the canyon river, the caves, and the patch of tundra that was visible from the ridge. Now, it seems so large. These two caves have been the entirety of our universe for many months. The wall fills with endless day-marks, and I feel at times as if these caves are closing in on me.”

Kpleeb paused and looked at the wall. It really was filling up. Thoka had made small marks, but despite that, the space filled was at least as wide and tall as he was. She had come up with a larger grouping of the counts that made the appearance of squares around the groups.

[She really is so very smart.] He looked around the room and grimaced. [How can I tell her that this life is driving me crazy?] He sighed despondently and muttered, “these gods can go to the pit of the damned.”

“Hey, Kpleeb, what was that?” Thoka was walking toward him.

“Urh- just complaining about the gods.” He shrugged noncommittally.

She eyed him warily. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Well, I just…” Kpleeb paused and struggled internally for a moment. [This is your chance to talk. Take it.] 

“I am getting tired of these caves, to put it plainly. It’s driving me crazy.” He turned and pointed at the gap between the caves. “I enjoy working with the stone and discovering new things. I like learning, but it’s not enough.”

“I know –“

“Wait, let me finish. Sorry. I need to say this.”

Frustration momentarily flashed across Thoka’s face before she appeared to regain control.

Kpleeb continued. “There are things to do and… it is very nice being with you. We have everything we need, in fact. But it’s just not enough. I miss the outside! I want to feel the sun and the wind. I just feel trapped.”

Thoka wrapped her arms around Kpleeb and rested her head on his hairy shoulder. “I understand. I feel that way too, but I try hard to focus on learning things.”

“Me too! I am trying. It’s just so small in here!” Kpleeb shrugged. “I am learning plenty as I rebuild the device I broke. It’s good and interesting work…” He sighed. “I need to run around.”

Thoka nodded somberly. “I understand. How do you think we can fix this?”

“You mean, get out or run around inside?” Kpleeb looked at the length of the cave and imagined it twice as long. “Even with both caves, it is not very much. Plus, the grey stone has never moved for us, and the gap isn’t wide enough to move through it quickly.”

“How do we get out of these caves, Kpleeb?”

He pondered for a long moment before shrugging. “We have tried brute force and the gods stopped us. We have tried speaking and they do not respond. What else can we do?”

“They must hear us even if they do not respond. Right?” Thoka gestured around her. “This cave responds to requests, but it does so without a voice. We know the cave understands, so we have to assume that the gods understand as well.”

Kpleeb nodded and smiled. He knew that Thoka only called them ‘gods’ occasionally for his benefit. Her own term was different. “The entities do understand us. What can we do with that? Should we try to convince them to let us go?” He chuckled deeply at the thought, but his laugh trailed off into an awkward cough when he saw that Thoka appeared pensive.

“Maybe. What if we worked on clear and logical reasons to let us go? What if we stuck to the points and made our case without emotions?”

Kpleeb paced to the food outcropping and back slowly as he mulled the words over in his head.

[My words have grown since the gods have changed me. Maybe these words can convince them.]

He turned and saw Thoka watching his face. “We have become smarter and our language skills have improved. Maybe it will work.”

“Yes, our intelligence has grown immensely and as a result, our vocabulary has expanded. We can be eloquent if we choose.”

“Hey, that’s what I just said,” Kpleeb said.

“Yes, in a way, Kpleeb.” Thoka patted him on the shoulder.

Kpleeb felt a little foolish. [She is still so much smarter than me.]

Thoka took Kpleeb’s hand and they sat down and began to outline their case against the gods. When it was time, they ate and drank while continuing their conversation. When the sun dimmed, they slept. The morning came, and Thoka rose first as was common. She worked quietly on her rods until Kpleeb awoke.

Kpleeb relieved himself in the far defecation pit and then trudged back to where Thoka was working. He scratched himself and yawned before taking a long pull of water from the food outcropping. Then with water dripping from his scraggly beard, he spoke.

“Are you ready?”

Thoka raised her eyes and stared at him with a long and earnest gaze. Finally, she answered. “I feel that I could prepare more.”

Kpleeb nodded impatiently. “That’s fine.”

“Look, Kpleeb. If this speech is our key to escaping this prison, don’t you want it to be perfect?”

He was crestfallen as he realized just how correct her statement was. “Yes. I understand. I… just don’t know what else to say or do. I don’t know how to make a better argument. I’m impatient too.”

“I know. I know. Just give me a little more time to prepare.”

He nodded and walked into the second cave to work.

Sometime later, Kpleeb had lost track, he heard the faint scuffle of Thoka’s feet on the stone. He turned to watch her approach.

“I think I’m ready. Why not now?” she said.

[She looks nervous.] He smiled in an attempt to put her at ease. “Do you want me to speak?”

Thoka shook her head. “No, I’ll do it like we agreed.”

“You are more well-spoken than I am,” said Kpleeb. He was relieved in a way because he understood the burden that rested on her tongue.

Thoka nodded in agreement and turned and looked in every direction.

“Good afternoon, entities,” she said in a normal voice. “You have not told us what to call you, so this is the term I will use for your kind.” She continued to turn occasionally and even paced back and forth a little as she spoke.

“You have captured us here in this artificial place where you simulate the night and the day with your technology. You have spoken to us and even touched us. We have never seen your form, but we know that you are not divine. Gods do not require prisons, nor do they need to disintegrate our tools when we threaten to crack the walls.” She raised her palms as if the entities must accept the facts she spoke of.

“We have not harmed you though we might be able to in the correct circumstances. Hence, the prison. The truth is that we come from peaceful peoples. You must know this of us. The wet mountain tribe was known for its diplomacy and restraint, and though I was never near the canyon river, I have never heard of a warring tribe from the region.”

Kpleeb nodded in what he hoped was a wise and thoughtful manner.

“We freely acknowledge that we are trapped beyond hope in this place. We know that your experiments with us may never be complete. In fact, you may have other caves adjacent to our own with other cavepeople.” She pointed in two directions. “You might even be evil, and in your wicked prerogative, you may be entertained by reaching out and breaking the lives and souls of the cavepeople.” Thoka shrugged. “If this is true, we are lost. If this is not true then may our request fall on sympathetic ears.”

“Despite your actions being against our will, we give you our genuine gratitude for the metamorphosis that has been bestowed upon us.” She gestured at Kpleeb. “I thank you for this caveman. I have come to love him. I thank you for this child. Though she is our progeny, I understand that without your intervention none of this might have occurred.”

Kpleeb stood. [She is really good at this!]

“Lastly, entities, we make our request. Please release us. We cannot continue to live and grow here indefinitely. It is unnatural.” She placed her hands on her belly. “A childhood lived entirely in two small caves would be a travesty. Having our child grow here will stunt its intellect and remove from it the endless joy and education that we know comes from experiencing nature.” Thoka nodded and fell silent.

“We would be grateful if you release us to live the lives that we, and our child, deserve to live.” Kpleeb stood beside Thoka and stretched his arm across her back an put his palm on her hip.

She moved close and they waited together.

There was no sound at all. The cave was incredibly silent, and Kpleeb felt himself holding his breath. The moments stretched into many, and they grew uncomfortable from standing still. They shifted their stances and looked at each other. They had made a pact to wait as long as they could bear to wait before giving up. Thoka had said that it would be respectful and show strength to expect an honest answer.

Eventually, the sun dimmed, and they walked into the second cave to eat. Their meal was silent, and when it was done, they curled together in the sleeping hollow.

The darkness came inexorable and at a snail’s pace.

It took quite some time for Kpleeb to conquer his churning thoughts and fall asleep, but he finally nodded off.

[If we ever get out of here, I will make the gods pay.]

The Index -|-

The air shimmered on the ridge above her as Thoka climbed. Each step brought a steeper incline and after a few moments she began to use her hands to gain traction. The ground was covered with a grey moss that clung stubbornly to the dirt, but soon she snatched away a clump. Breathing deeply, she paused and watched the clump roll down the hill until it disappeared into the fog. The fog rested uneasily just a few paces below her and obscured the depth of the valley.

Thoka felt that she had been here in the past. Perhaps it was when her ma had taken her up to the peak when she was a teen. The ground seemed the same to her, but the scent was different. Where the moss had ripped away, the dirt was slick and littered with small, red-tinted stones. Foot slip. Her knee hit the ground and rolled to the right. A rock there bit into her skin and she yelped involuntarily.

She rolled further and tumbled. Her body bounced into the fog, and the breath was smashed out of her lungs by the following impact. Her vision blinked and darkness took over from the edges of her eyesight. There was another blow, and the lights went out momentarily. There was a faint sting in her belly as she landed, and she instinctively wrapped her mid-section with her arms.

Thoka opened her eyes. The sun was brighter than usual for it to be her regular time to wake. Her right eye was clouded with mucus, and she blinked to wash it away.

What a strange dream.

Kpleeb’s chest rose and fell just barely, and she could tell that he was still asleep. Thoka rested for a few moments and enjoyed the warmth emanating from his body before rolling over. She never slept in, even when it seemed like the best option. Even back home, in the wet mountains on snowy mornings she would rise when she awoke. Frosty and blizzard-y weather was exhilarating and made her skin tingle.

Of course here, in the cave, she did not need to bundle in her yakskin robe on a cold morning as she had in the wet mountains. She still felt chilly waking up but understood that this was merely the difference in temperature and that she would be used to it in moments. The cave was artificial and different enough in small ways, that she had almost always had a gut feeling that there were hidden secrets and stealthy hands that operated at an unseen and unknowable level. This train of thought unnerved her still, but she had made up her mind long ago to be strong and to escape.

While Thoka relieved herself, she thoughtfully rubbed her growing belly. Her mind was focused on the new day as well as the potential discoveries she might make, but she converged instantly into a heightened sense of concern when she felt the bump.

She bent down and looked closed. The red bump was the size of her fingertip and was located just below and to the right of her belly button.

“What?!” she shrieked at the top of her lungs. Anger and fear pummeled her in equal measures, and she rose. As she approached the gap between the caves, she saw Kpleeb standing.

His face wore a bewildered expression, and his shaggy mane was rumpled from where he had slept on it. “What’s wrong, Thoka?” he asked.

“Look at this!” Thoka pointed at the bump and showed him the finger that she had used to touch it. The finger was covered in a thin layer of clear goo. “They have now touched our child!” Her eyes began welling up with tears.

“AAAhhh!” Kpleeb yelled at the top of his lungs and launched his fists into the air. “You- gods! You damned gods!” He thrashed his shoulders violently and shook with a tremendous wrath. For a moment as he breathed in to scream again he heard Thoka’s sobbing and caught himself. Ashamed, he turned and rushed to her side. He enfolded her in his arms and quietly held her.

“I’m sorry for my outburst,” he murmured into her hair. He unballed his fists slowly before gently caressing the skin on her back. “These… cursed gods. Is nothing safe from them?” He shrugged and fell silent. Her hair smells fresh.

“What can we possibly do?” Thoka muttered bitterly as her sobs subsided. “They come in the night. We can’t see them. We can’t face them. We can’t see the sky or feel the rain. The sun is false!” She slumped against Kpleeb’s body and became silent.

What can I do to protect Thoka and our child? Kpleeb felt the need to plead with the cave or the sky which he could not see. Underneath his desperation a thick channel of anger simmered and scalded at the edges of his consciousness.

Thoka and I have become slaves. We are just toys for the gods to play with.

Thoka slowly walked to the food outcropping and drank. “This water is not cold enough,” she snapped at the cave. “Can’t you be bothered to at least provide decent water to us?” Expecting and receiving no response, she returned to the sleeping hollow and laid down.

Kpleeb watched her lay down. I should probably leave her alone. He walked through the gap into the other cave that was now the work-cave. He stood in the center and looked around him. The food outcropping was there and a long, thick rod he had been building leaned up against it. There were several pock-marks and a few holes in the walls from when he had dug to find the sub-structure. On the far wall was the defecation pit and another few paces from that rested his rotational device with its wedge-tip resting near the exposed gray-stone wall.

All that I’ve done to learn. All that I’ve done to escape this pit of the damned. Nothing has made any difference. What is the point?

“Cave, close the gap.”

As the gap was enclosed in a layer of the yellowish stone, Kpleeb picked up the long rod and felt its heft in his hand. He swung it in an arc as the fires of his fury peaked and raged inside him. The rod smashed into the upper edge of his rotational device where one of the bracing arms protruded from the base. The brace cracked and the rod snapped in half.

Kpleeb flinched as he was showered with shards of stone. Some of them peppered his face and torso.

He pointed with his knuckle at the floor next to him. “Cave! Give me a rod as thick as my arm and as tall as my body!”

Kpleeb flung the end of the broken rod at his device and impatiently turned to watch while the new rod grew. In a few seconds he grasped the top end and kicked the bottom end free from the floor. He began to swing the rod over and over. It crushed the braces, the swing arm that held the rotating rod, and the levers. When he was done, Kpleeb stood panting over a small pile of rubble. His arms burned from the unusual effort, and he felt better.

He kicked one of the chunks of stone and then turned to leave.

“Cave, open the gap”

He took a quick drink while the wall transformed and then stretched and walked through. Thoka was hunched over her small table and her shoulders and upper-arms were moving slightly. Kpleeb walked and knelt behind her.

“Are you okay?”

Thoka nodded. “I’m fine, just – frustrated. I feel helpless.” She twisted and looked up at Kpleeb. “What happened?” She touched his face, and her finger came away red.. “Where did this blood come from?”

His eyes slid to her hand and then back to her face. He shrugged sheepishly. “Urh… well I got mad.”

“You, mad?” Thoka smiled.

“You should see the other guy,” said Kpleeb with a relieved smile. “Urh, but I did sort of trash my rotational device.”

“Kpleeb! you put so much time into it. Did you at least save my rods?”

“No, I– I didn’t think about it.” His face fell. “I’m sorry.”

“Well, I can make others.” She reached to pat him on the shoulder. “Don’t worry about this. We have each other and we are smart enough to find a solution.”

Kpleeb shook his head. “Do you really believe that?”

“Do I want them touching us or our child? No way! But we can’t stop that. We also shouldn’t stop trying to live our lives. We are smarter now, and it would be poetic to turn that against them.”

Kpleeb nodded slowly. “I feel a bit ashamed for my anger. I’m not trying to give up you know… it’s just— I feel trapped. This is entirely unjust.”

“It is, and we should fight it. But we are trapped and enslaved. Let that be fuel for our fires.” Thoka smiled at Kpleeb. “Your passion is good. Keep it and use it. Unless they wipe our memory, we will fight back and make them regret this.”

Kpleeb nodded thoughtfully. “Thank you for reminding me. I know that I am the only caveman here, and your choices are limited, but you are truly the queen of the cavemen, and I love you.” He stood.

“I could not hope for a better mate, Kpleeb. Be strong, and be yourself.” Thoka adjusted the stone bracelet on her ankle. “We will escape, I just don’t know how yet.”

The Index -|-

Kpleeb used his hand to add momentum and then watched closely as his rotational device spun. The large arm that was designed to press it against the wall was not engaged, so it revolved freely.

The tip of the device was a rounded and ridged wedge. It looked sharp because it was sharp. As sharp as Kpleeb could make it. He had been refining his manufacturing processes for months and had become quite adept at shaping the stone that lined every surface of the cave. When the tip of his device rotated, the small end pushed against the surface and the ridges bit into the stone, and shaved away bits of stone in order to form a hole.

He thought that the more pressure applied to the tip, the stronger the bite would be. This appeared to be a true statement when he had tested it against the standard, mottled cave stone. Of course, this stone would simply open a hole if he requested it, but drilling the hole proved that his idea was sound. Despite a number of devices built to test these theories, the smooth, grey stone beneath the cave surface resisted all of his attempts to penetrate it.

Months ago, when he had used his hammer device, and he had seen a resulting mar on the surface. It was much too small to qualify as a crack. It was tiny, but it was still there; proof that the grey stone could be harmed. Whenever he felt like giving up, this small fracture convinced him to continue his quest for escape.

Around the circumference of the of the wedge-tip there were three mounts set at equal distances. These mounts each held one of Thoka’s rods. There was also a much larger Thoka-rod (T-rod as he called it) mounted to the lever-arm that held the tip. Kpleeb did not understand how they functioned even though she had tried to explain several times, but he did trust that the rods would do as she said.

“These rods on the circumference will strengthen the wedge-tip,” she had told him. “That is necessary because the stone wedge that the tip is made of is not as strong as the grey stone that we are trying to penetrate. It needs bolstering. And the larger rod simply uses the invisible forces to draw the grey stone to itself, which continually pushes the wedge against the grey stone.”

Kpleeb could not see the effects that the rods had, but the fact that one of them had bent… well that was something new. [It should have broken. I am glad that she is going to figure that out.] He paused and smiled to himself. [Thoka accepts me, which is great. She’s so smart and super beautiful.]

[Focus, Kpleeb…. Focus.]

He rotated the small gate that allowed the water to flow down the sluice. The wheel began to move and picked up speed. He had placed tiny, smooth cylinders around the edges of the rotating pieces to reduce friction and was proud that it made almost no noise. The wheel did not wobble or shake, but the T-rods were not yet mounted. When Thoka was done fixing the bent rod he would have to re-balance the whole device again.

Kpleeb bent down and looked closely at the grey stone wall where the wedge-bit had touched. The surface looked rough, but when he wiped the area, a dust came away from the wall and coated his hand. The grey stone was smooth and shiny underneath.

[We will figure this out.] He straightened and cracked his back before turning to the gap between the caves.

“Thoka, is everything alright?” He took two steps into Thoka’s cave – he still thought of it as hers – and saw her look up as he spoke.

“Yes, Kpleeb. You don’t need to worry so much.” She looked up at the dimming sun. “I remade the bent rod with my new formula. Maybe it will hold this time. Do you want to eat? I’m hungry.”

“Eating for two as my mam used to say,” said Kpleeb with a smile.

“Mmmm. I want sweetbread. Could you get some?” Thoka stood and began walking. “I’ll be right back.”

“Cave,” said Kpleeb, “make sweetbread, toasted and warm the way she likes it. And make me a muskrat leg, medium-rare.” He sat down and watched as the food was slowly knit together on the surface of the food outcropping.

“The baby feels fine,” said Thoka as she returned. “I have felt some small fluttering movements and no pain.”

“How are your dreams?”

“Vivid. I can’t be sure that it is part of being pregnant. The female body produces many hormones while pregnant. I was the mid-wife’s assistant for one summer.” She shrugged and sat next to Kpleeb.

Kpleeb put his arm affectionately around Thoka’s waist and continued to watch the food. “I am glad that the child is okay. Can you tell what kind it is?”

“You mean, the sex?” Thoka grinned at Kpleeb. “I can’t tell, although the mid-wife said that morning sickness early on means it’s a girl. If I crave sweets, it might be a girl.” She nodded at the sweetbread. “But the signals are ever changing and easy to mix up.”

“Hmm, well how do we figure out what to call her… uh, him, it then? We’ll need to talk about names.”

Thoka grabbed the prepared sweetbread and took a bite. “Mmm, that’s good.”

“I always liked ‘Kolpi’.”

Thoka wrinkled her nose in apparent distain. “I had a pet reindeer named Kolpu. What was your mam’s name?”

Kpleeb shrugged.

“You don’t know?”

“She never told me. It was just mam!”

“Well, what did other people call her?”

“Everyone called her mam, even the fab elder Shoofit.” Kpleeb looked slightly embarrassed. He reached over and picked up the muskrat leg. It was dripping fat from the wound side. He peeled back the skin with hair still on it and took a ripping bite.

“Hmm, well maybe that was her actual name. Right?”

“Maybe,” he said through his mouthful of meat. He chewed methodically and pondered the question. [Mam’s name was ‘Mam?’ I doubt it. Seems too… weird. What was Da’s name? Ahh, I remember. Tilu.] He nodded to himself. [Elder Oplom used to call him that when they drank fermented yak’s milk together.]

Thoka had fallen silent while she ate in earnest. After a few moments, she leaned to bump Kpleeb with her shoulder. “We have to think about names for a cavegirl and caveboy and then talk about them. It will take some time to settle on one.”

Kpleeb nodded.

Later as he slipped into the sleeping hollow next to Thoka, she stirred slightly. Kpleeb patted her arm gently and settled in to enjoy the warmth of her body. [Gipti, Doriy, Wiftl…] he sighed. [Choosing a name is going to be hard.] He was asleep in a few short moments.

He was jostled, slightly. When his eyes opened the cave was almost completely dark. There was a faint hissing sound as if wind whistled across a distant crack in the stone. A shadow, long and low, flitted across the inky darkness before him.

[Huh?] He began to move his hand upward to wipe his eyes, but his limb would not move. His eyelids became weighted with unseen persuasion, and though he fought to retain a grasp on consciousness, his thoughts faded.

“I can’t believe you don’t even know my name, Leebee.” The voice was muffled at first, but became clear before she spoke his name. Mam looked up from her weaving and smiled at him with the familiar, toothy smile. She set down the tamping stick and reached to stir the large, stone pot that boiled next to her.

Kpleeb shrugged and mumbled, “Sorry, mam.” He was irritated and shuffled his feet in the dirt. After a few moments he had waited long enough.

“Well, what is your name?” He looked up at his mam and grimaced. “And, please stop calling me Leebee. I’m not a baby any longer.”

Mam rolled her eyes and continued packing the reeds with her stick. “Your da would twist your ear for forgetting, Leebee.”

“I don’t think I forgot! I never knew!” Kpleeb threw up his hands.

“Why do you want to know? All cavechildren have a mam. Why should you call me anything else? You can never be too old. Even now, you are still my budding caveboy.”

Kpleeb turned and walked to the entrance of the cave that looked out onto the common area. Just a stride’s length outside, a dull, impenetrable fog blanketed everything. It felt moist as he turned to face his mam again. “I am having a cavechild of my own.”

“I know you are.” Mam’s eyes shifted toward him, but her hands never stopped.

“How could you know?”

“I know much. Anyway, this child is as much a part of me as it is of you.”

Kpleeb felt a chill on his ankles and turned toward the cave entrance. The fog had entered the cave and was seeping inward at a slow pace. His heels became numb. He tried to back away, but his legs and stomach had already been enveloped. His lips tried to form a cry. His mind slumped.

Index -|-

Thoka blinked her eyes and slowly stretched. She could feel Kpleeb’s warmth behind her. His breathing was slow and steady, a sure sign that he was fast asleep. He had always slept later than her, but she relished the morning quiet time. In the past, she had always wakened early and worked on tasks that required mental clarity and seclusion, but she had changed in the past few months. Now, she often spent the first thirty minutes of her morning laying in his warmth and mentally tracing the powerful patterns she dreamt about.

She began to expect and welcome her dreams. They were a manifestation of her focus. In the last few months as the child grew inside of her, the dreams also grew in frequency and intensity. Thoka had spent time considering the implications of this correlation over the past few months.

[Are my dreams caused by the child? No, how could they be when the dreams occurred first? Then, how can a cavewoman, bearing a fetus have more dreams when she is pregnant? –It must be hormones… right?]

There was a distinct change, whether she could explain it or not. She felt it in the deepest part of her psyche. The changes that had been applied by the entities, or “gods” as Kpleeb called them, that ruled their prison had begun many, many days ago. It had been at least two hundred days according to Thoka’s calendar. These manifestations that touched her had brought Kpleeb to her, and through him, a child. The modifications had maintained a somewhat steady pace at first, but after Thoka became pregnant, she felt them intensify.

[Time to get up. Have to pee.] Thoka gently rolled out of the warm hollow and Kpleeb’s embrace. Kpleeb was used to the sleeping arrangement by this time and did not stir. Thoka padded to the defecation pit and urinated. She followed her normal routine and drank water before settling in to study the invisible forces that she was learning to use.

She held one of her force rods and examined it closely. The miniscule, hair-thin rods that precisely directed the invisible force had bent ever so slightly.

[Amazing. There must be more nuance to this substance.]

Thoka thought it was impossible for the stone to bend since, due to its brittle nature, she had only ever seen it break. The stone was very strong even when it was thin, but there was a proportionate decrease in strength as her rods shrunk. She had worked for many hours, even days, to manufacture rods of ever thinner dimensions. Her efforts were guided by the fact that each new level of detail yielded greater control over the invisible forces. Small was definitely better. It was possible that there was a limit to this trend, but if so, she had not yet reached that limit.

She placed the handle with the bent rod into her vise on the low, knee-level table in front of her and picked up two of her design rods. In her left hand, held like a pair of eating sticks, was a handle. A single rod protruded from the handle and was slightly angled at the very end. This rod was as long as her hand, of medium thickness, and featureless. The handle itself was thicker than the rod and designed to be held between Thoka’s first two fingers and thumb. The base of the handle facing the working end had delicate swirling pattern etched into the stone.

In her right hand she held the other design rod. The handle was much the same as the other, but on the working end four rods of varying shapes, lengths, and sizes grew outward. Three of the four rods were carved with intricate markings. None of these markings were the same. The fourth rod was so thin that it could only be seen when direct light reflected from its edge.

“Light,” she said quietly, “focus on center minus two degrees north.” Thoka lifted her hands and began to work in her slow and concentrated manner.

After some period of time, she heard Kpleeb rustle as he woke and rolled over to watch her work. She smiled to herself at the familiar repetition that had come of their union. She was an independent cavewoman, strong and smart. She realized now that the cavemen of her village in the wet mountains had all been very intimidated by her. She had been oblivious, but now that she knew, she did not care. Fate had brought her to this place and to this particular caveman.

Kpleeb had been intimidated by her as well. He had spoken of it, but they were in these caves alone and had discovered that they fit together. They had been required, for the sake of their own sanity, to adjust and alter the relationship in minor ways. As a result, they retained the best parts of themselves, their strengths and weaknesses while being balanced by the traits of the other.

[It is a strange series of events that brought us here.] Thoka let herself dwell on the sheer improbability of these last months of her life. [Inconceivable– yet surprisingly welcome.] She her more rustling and put down her design rods.

“Hello beautiful,” Kpleeb said in his tenor voice. His accent was still decidedly from the canyon river, but Thoka liked it that way; rustic, but not stupid.

Thoka turned and wrapped her arms around him as he knelt beside her. “Did you sleep well?”

Kpleeb nodded. “I slept great. No dreams. How is the baby?” His hand reached down gently to caress her belly. The baby was just beginning to swell and she appeared slightly larger than her normal size.

Thoka had never been a large cavewoman, nor thin. She still wore her neck piece along with her front and back loincloths. She knew that there was no way to bundle the eventual size away and out of sight as was the custom in the wet mountains. She was still coming to terms with the fact that Kpleeb would see her at her most pregnant.

[But… who else can help me? I must accept and change.]

Thoka ran her fingers through Kpleeb’s curly hair and smiled at him. “I am grateful for you.” She gestured at her work table. “One of these guides bent. I think that is why your rotating device stopped making progress.”

“Bent? How can that be,” said Kpleeb. “Can you fix it?”

“I will make another and use this one to determine how this bending is possible. Also, your shaver rod had been quite effective for the etching and size reduction.” Thoka patted him on his hairy shoulder. “I have an idea about protecting the guides, too.”

“You’re still the smartest person I know, Thoka. Sexy and smart!” Kpleeb grinned. “Can’t lose with you around!”

Thoka shook her head and smiled back at him. “Keep it in your pants, Kpleeb. We’re still here, aren’t we? We are still trapped in this cave by the unknown entities.” She waved her hands at the ceiling. “You are smart too, and we do make a fine team, but we need to get out of here.”

Kpleeb’s grin did not slip, even in the face of their reality. She liked that about him.

“We will escape, Thoka, it’s just a matter of time. I’ll let you keep working. I have a small modification to make on the drill. Let me know when you have the new guide rod and I can start it back up.” Kpleeb stood and walked through the gap into the other cave where his equipment was stored.[He is a good caveman. I got lucky.]

Thoka turned back to her work.