Page 27 of Caveman Alien's Bride

“We'll see,” she says, chewing. “I think Korr'ax must be a leader of some kind. As his wife, that may be good for you. But I don't know what they think aboutmeandmyfuture. I feel about as welcome as a skunk at a picnic.”

“Whatever they think, we may be able to change it. There must be cavewomen in their tribe. We can ask them how to deal with all this. So we better learn the language.” I grab the leather sheet and go back over the words I learned. Then, taking notes on the sheet, I pester Korr'ax about grammar and phrases until Breti’ax starts to yawn.

“I’ll take the first watch,” Korr'ax says and kisses my cheek. “You will sleep all night, my wife.”

At least, that’s what I think he says. I’m still making a lot of guesses about the words, and I probably will be doing that for a good while.

Piper and I spend the night in the hut, and while I’d love to talk to her about this insane day, we’re both asleep within seconds of lying down.

The next morning we eat fruits and drink the rest of the fruit wine that Korr'ax callsfrit.

Piper and I don’t talk much before we start walking along with the cavemen — I think we’re both worried about what this day will bring. Yesterday was absolutely crazy, and today I think we’ll see some of the consequences of the choices that were made.

To keep our minds occupied, Piper and I keep asking Korr'ax about the language, and by noon we've learned a good deal.

We sit down to eat pemmican bars and drink water gathered from one of the many streams we've crossed. The cavemen give us more of the wine. Piper and I sit and chat, feeling better than this morning.

Korr'ax suddenly bounces to his feet and draws his sword. “Rekh!”

It's no mystery why. A not-raptor comes bounding fast towards us past the trees, bright green and dead set on attacking us.

The two other men also draw their swords. But the priest is clumsy, fumbles with his weapon, and drops it to the ground.

He's the closest to the attacker, and before he can pick the sword back up, the not-raptor is on him. With a sickening crunch it bites his head off and lays its head back to swallow it.

Korr'ax finally gets close enough to strike, and the not-raptor lumbers away, spraying blood from its chest and bumping into trees as it escapes.

Korr'ax kneels down by his priest, saying his name and clearly not knowing what to do.

There's nothing thatcanbe done — his whole head is missing.

Piper and I look on in horror, a pemmican bar held halfway up to my mouth.

The jungle is very quiet, except for Korr'ax's deep mutterings as he understands that his friend will never come back.

Finally he rests his forehead on the dead caveman's chest until the old man gently takes his hand and pulls him away.

They have a short conversation and Korr'ax wipes his eyes. The two men quietly cover the dead body in branches and leaves, then pack up the little camp.

Piper and I are too horrified to speak.

We walk on without a word for another few hours. When we reach a dense wall-like cluster of tall, yellow reeds, I wonder if we've come to a dead end. But Korr'ax yells something, and the reeds part like a gate.

Beyond is a village built around a colossal chunk of bare, red rock, a part of the planet's crust sticking out of the ground at an angle. There are huts and caves and small fields, as well as many cavemen. They all watch us as we enter the village. I suppose Korr'ax had wanted a grander entrance, but the death of the priest has changed the mood.

Several men with swords come over to talk with him. Their deference and his commanding tone prove what I had been suspecting: Korr'ax is the chief.

“He's the boss,” Piper says right into my thoughts. “Not bad going for his age. Unless he's some kind of hereditary king.”

A dozen cavemen march out the gate carrying long poles and rolls of dinosaur skin, clearly to retrieve the dead priest. Many more cavemen come walking from every part of the village, forming a circle around us. They’re all staring, and I feel like an animal at the zoo.

Korr'ax turns to Piper and me and gives a short speech. I understand enough of the words to guess what he's saying: This is his tribe, and he had prepared a celebration. But the dead shaman means that plans have changed.

The gate looks much more solid from this side. It's made of thick logs, just like the fence around the village. The reeds must only be there to disguise it. There's a watchtower, too. It's been disguised as a cluster of saplings, but I spot the dark shape of a caveman among them.

Korr'ax takes my hand and leads me through the crowd. I feel hundreds of eyes on me. The cavemen are all huge, and they all have the same facial features. But they have only orange stripes, where Korr'ax's are both green and orange. I'm struck by how quiet they all are. I don't know if it's ominous or a sign of reverence. Their shaman being dead must be a factor.

Korr'ax starts climbing up on the giant rock, using stairs that have been carved into the rock where it would be impossible to climb otherwise. He keeps helping me, steadying me with his hand and lifting me. Piper is mostly left to herself, but the stairs are easy to climb and Korr'ax's help isn't actually necessary.

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