Page 28 of Caveman Alien's Bride

There are many levels here, and dozens of caves have been carved into the red stone. Cavemen look curiously out of some of them.

Nothing is being said. It seems that they knew that Piper and I would be coming. I see nobody that looks obviously female, so the women of the tribe may be hiding.

Finally we're on the last level, a big, smooth plateau. There's only one cave here, and it looks mostly natural. The opening is wide, and most of it has been covered with the same type of reeds as the gate.

“Nice view,” Piper comments. “You can even see the ocean.”

She's right — behind us there's a thin blue line on the horizon.

The breeze blows my hair into my face, and I push it away. It's the first time I’ve seen the jungle from above, and it's a stunningly beautiful sight. The treetops are green and red and yellow, and they vanish into the mist on every side except where the ocean is.

“Xren,” Korr'ax rumbles and points with his whole arm, indicating everything around us.

“Xren,” I repeat, trying to get the throaty first sound right. “Is that your country, maybe?”

“If he's the king of all this,” Piper says, “he may be the most powerful man around.”

“Borok,” Korr'ax says and points down to the village. “Tretter.” He points out into the jungle.

I think I can spot a thin wisp of smoke rising where he points. It may be another village.

“Korr'ax,” I say and point at the cave.

He smiles, fangs glinting in the afternoon sun. “Korr'ax and Bryar.”

Walking on, he leads us into the cave. It's roomy, and the ceiling forms a gentle dome. It's a cozy place, with weapons and shields hanging on the walls, small wooden figurines, woven baskets, and pots. One wall is full of cave paintings of the same type as on his leather sheets, except much bigger and more colorful. There's a fireplace and a big stack of furs along one wall, clearly the bed. Compared to our tiny hut on the beach, this is like a palace.

“Looks like he got the penthouse,” Piper confirms my impression. “It's nice. Kind of sparse, though. Could do with a couch.”

Zart'ox points to the floor, where there is a low table among several furs and leather rolls. He rumbles something, and I concentrate to catch it.

“We can sit there?” I half translate, half guess. “You'll be busy because of Gerut'on. Sorry about that. I kind of liked him.”

The caveman sighs deeply when he hears his friend's name. Then he comes in close and strokes my hair.

“Dooer trygnoh,” he says softly, just like the first time we met. And this time I know what it means: ‘you’re safe now’.

He climbs down again, leaving Piper and me alone.

We go outside and admire the view.

“So, where are the women?” Piper asks.

“I was going to ask you the same,” I tell her. “I didn’t see a single one. Maybe they’re locked up. Or maybe they look the same as the men.”

“Or they have some kind of alien weirdness going on. Sexless procreation or something.”

“Mm,” I say doubtfully, remembering Korr'ax’s cock. “I don’t think that’s it.”

“I guess we’ll find out.”

I enjoy the breeze on my face. “From here, the jungle looks almost beautiful.”

Piper glances at me. “It's a secure village, with a wall and guards and everything. It'll be difficult to leave, if we find that they're not that good after all.”

“That's what I thought when I saw them close the gate. I'm not sure I could even open the latches. Those things are massive. But I think we can still hope that this is an improvement in our lives. You don’t think this whole place is a cage, do you?”

“A cage to keep us in? Could be. We got forced into this,” Piper reminds me. “We should prepare for things going really badly.”

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