Page 65 of Caveman Alien's Touch

I pack my stuff, including the drap fruits. Then I loosen the ropes and lower the platform to the ground, tie it up, and step off.

“He’s not back yet,” says a voice behind him.

I spin around. “Sprisk! Oh. I thought it was someone else.”

“Last time, you ran from me,” Sprisk says, his chin spikes waving dangerously. “And it worked well for you. This time, I will just let you go. Noker and Dexer went that way.” He points.

“And where is the Borok village?”

He frowns. “You just came from there.”

I look away. “Now I’m going back.”

“Does Noker know that?”

“He the one who asked me to leave.”

Sprisk’s jaw drops, and that means the chin spikes hit his collar bone. But he’s wearing a leather collar, so he’s not injured too badly. “I find that hard to believe, Bronwen.”

“When he returns, you can ask him. Your clansbrothers are much more capable than you think, by the way. You and Noker can give them more important tasks and expect them to do well. Theywantit. Especially the boys. Trust them.”

Sprisk stares at me with eyes that are just as yellow as Noker’s. Then he lifts his hand to point. “The Borok village is in that direction. You’ll be there by noon.”

“Thank you.” I put my leather pack over my shoulder. “I hope to see you again soon, Sprisk. They are talking about you in the Borok village.”

He nods slowly. “I hope so, too, Bronwen.”

I walk into the jungle.

- - -

The black night is giving way to a dark day. Whenever I get a glimpse of the sky beyond the treetops, it’s gray with clouds.

I walk as fast as I can while still being mostly quiet. I will never be as silent as Noker, who can move at Earthling running speeds without making a sound. But that comes with growing up in the jungle.

The jungle is not shy about making noise, though. There’s the constant rustling in the bushes and the trees, the suddenly moving bushes and the distant screeches and squawks and hisses. After a night in the treetops, even the smells hit me differently now. There’s so much decay in this jungle, so much rot and filth. But there’s also the most incredible fragrances of flowers, fresh leaves, and new life.

I was imagining a new life with Noker. It felt incredible to be with him, lying close together so I could feel his slow heartbeat, smelling his scent, touching his head scales, his giant fan and his stripes, feeling his gravelly voice make my chest tremble, feeling safe because he was there and thinking of little things to do for him. I’m going to miss all that. Damn, the way he touched me…

My vision goes blurry and I stop at a tree, putting my hand on its rough bark. Should I turn around? Maybe he’ll change his mind.

I wipe my eyes.No.I’m not going to beg. He told me to get back to the Borok, and I have to assume he meant it?—

There’s movement nearby.

I freeze in mid-sniffle. My hand slowly drops to the knife in my belt. I can sometimes tell when a movement is some innocent creature wanting to get away and when it’s dangerous.Thismovement is dangerous.

It’s a caveman. He moves quickly and with determination. He hasn’t seen me, and he’s going somewhere.

I shrink into the tree, moving as slowly as I can. They should be Borok men, and so my friends, but until I see an actual friend, like Korr’ax, I’m not going to announce myself.

Another caveman follows the first. In the darkness, I can’t tell for sure, but it looks like his stripes are a different color to the first. That means they’re outcasts, and this just got a whole lot worse.

A third and a fourth pass me at a distance of maybe fifteen feet. They’d just need to turn slightly to the left to see me, but I guess the tree hides me pretty well. Or these guys are so focused on where they’re going that they’re just not paying attention like they should. I have traveled through the woods with Noker, and he keeps moving his head to check everything. There’s no wayhe’dhave missed me.

As the fifth one passes, I wonder where they’re going. Because the direction would take them straight to the Foundling camp.

Damn.Is that the plan? They’re going to attack the Foundling camp, the thing that both Noker and Brak fear?

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