Page 41 of Caveman Alien's Touch

“Hey, girls.” Piper comes up on the plateau, carrying her bow. And behind her…

“Hey, Bryar,” I call out. “Long time no see!”

“Yeah,” Bryar says as she climbs the final steps. “Hi, girls. Everything okay with you? We’ve been walking all night.”

I get up to hug her. “We’re fine. Did you see the signal?”

Bryar plops down on the bench, looking tired. “Did we ever! Red flashes all over the place. Some of the Tretter guys thought it was some kind of attack. But I guessed it was from up here, and that it meant something big had happened. Sorry we weren’t here! I mean, I’m just as happy I didn’t see that swarm. But Korr’ax is frustrated about not having been here.”

“I don’t think there was much he could have done,” I assure her. “Except that game of penk may not have happened in the first place, and so we wouldn’t have had advance warning about the swarm. We will never know.”

She looks at me with tired eyes. “Penk?What the hell is that?”

We bring her up to date on the events of the village, and then I announce my plan to see Noker’s camp. “I’ll help them move their stuff, and at the same time I’ll check the jungle for plants that might become flour or sugar or whatever.”

“Nice,” Bryar says, hiding a yawn. “I met Noker downstairs just now. That head is something else, huh?”

“It’s an organ for seeing infrared,” I tell her. “Or something like that. Helps him see in the dark.”

She raises her eyebrows. “Cool. I had no idea he had that ability.”

I shrug. “He wasn’t sure himself, I think. It must be that dinosaur part of him. But nobody knows which dinosaur.”

“Those Foundlings are like superheroes,” Alba says. “Isn’t there another half-dinosaur guy in their clan? What can he do? Shoot spider webs from his fingers?”

“Imagine that,” Piper laughs. “Spiderman is a Foundling. No, Sprisk just has an unusual chin. Never saw him shoot webs.”

I get to my feet and stretch. “Anyway, I think we’re going today. Noker’s a little shy about coming up here. I should see if I can find him.”

“Make sure you check your cave,” Alba says with a grin. “There’s no telling the places he might get to.”

My face goes hot. How much did they hear last night? “If he’s there, I’ll be surprised.”

I feel their eyes on my back as I climb down the first flight of stairs. The girls are jumping to conclusions about Noker and me. Sure, he’s big and strong and protective. And I do enjoy his company a lot. But I’m not going to picture a future with him, the way Piper and Bryar did with their cavemen. The way things work on Xren, that future could be cut short at any time. In two days the end has come really close, first with the dactyl attack and then with the swarm. I’ll never know how poisonous that plant was that I licked, so that’s two and a half times I’ve been close to the end.

Brak and Noker are sitting at the common table when I get down there, along with Korr’ax. I’m struck with how similar they look, while at the same time being completely different. They’re all unusually big and strong, even for cavemen. They have the same slow, but agile movements and the alertness in the eyes. As well as the deep voices, of course.

I swear Noker’s face lights up when he sees me. He gets to his feet. “Good morning, Bronwen. We should start walking now. It’s better to get to the camp in daylight.”

The two others give me a friendly greeting.

“Should I bring something?” I ask. “I have my knife and clothes. That all.”

“The clan has the things we need,” Noker rumbles. “And you won’t be gone from here that long.”

“Then I think I’m ready.”

Noker lifts a big dinosaur skin pack with straps for carrying it on his back. “Chief Korr’ax, thank you for the great hospitality and honor I’ve been shown here in your tribe. I hope I shall soon return. And I hope that you shall likewise soon be a guest in our humble camp once it’s been moved.”

They grab each other’s wrists in a very caveman-ish handshake, and then Noker does the same with Brak. “Spend some time here in this mighty tribe, brother. I think we shall move the camp in five days.”

“Then I shall be there,” Brak promises. “It is a very fine campsite Chief Korr’ax has found for us.”

I wave to the top of the Mount, seeing movement up there. “Good bye! Back in a couple of days!” I don’t think they can hear me, but they know where I’m going.

Both gates open for us, which I think is a sign of respect. I guess these guys like Noker more than he realizes.

Then we’re in the jungle, where it’s clammy and hot and the air is thick with the smell of rotting leaves, living dinosaurs, and a thousand other things that I don’t even want to know.

---