Page 74 of Planet Zero
Oh’nil paused after every jump, only briefly, to gear up for the next one, balancing with his arms like a tightrope performer. There was no room for error. If he miscalculated and caught the crouching person with his foot, he’d tumble down and take that person with him.
When he reached the spot where Qalae was hanging off the cliff, the people in the immediate vicinity shuffled apart as much as they could to give him space. Knife in hand, Oh’nil dropped to his knees, bringing his face close to Qalae. Words passed his lips, too low for Addie to hear. Reaching down, he sliced the straps of Qalae’s sack with quick motions. It dropped down like a rock, hitting the cliffs down below with a series of muted thuds.
The impact of the sack being released off her shoulders almost dislodged Qalae, but Oh’nil was already gripping her hair, the only part of her he could quickly and effectively grasp. It must have hurt, yet Qalae remained quiet.
Now held by her hair, she let go of her knife and quickly linked her arm with Oh’nil’s. A woman next to him held on to his other arm to keep him balanced. And the next man linked his arm with hers and so on, forming a chain.
It was all Qalae needed. Slowly, her body emerged from the abyss. She rested for a short spell on her belly, then stood up.
Oh’nil remained kneeling at her feet, red head hanging, hands on the ground supporting his upper body as if it were depleted of all energy. As if it was he who’d just had a close brush with death.
Finally, he, too, rose to his feet. He faced Qalae for a prolonged moment, and it looked like she was going to say something but at the last moment changed her mind. She turned and raised her hand in a wave at Net’ok.
A shout sounded and the tribe resumed their careful progress toward their destination.
The hand at Addie’s neck relaxed but didn’t let go. She could still feel his strong fingers next to her skin.
They walked linked together by his hand, his uneven steps longer than hers, always out of sync. It felt right.
It was a dangerous feeling, and it was stupid. Their closeness wasn’t real, and it wasn’t meant to last.
Chapter 23
The other side of the mountains, the Valley of the Stone Shadows, was similar to the plains they had come from, and different. Once more, Planet Zero surprised.
The rise and fall of the landscape, sharper, more angular, created an angrier atmosphere, but also more majestic. Where before the exchange of Ehr and Ihr low in the sky was a sight to behold, here the horizon on all sides was blocked solid by the great shapes of the mountain ranges.
The plentiful multicolored moss covered the ground, just like back where they’d come from, and Addie noted with relief clumps of Timpho grass growing out of crevices. The bushes here were taller, almost trees, yet sparser. They formed small defined groves that stood far apart in the valleys between the hills.
She couldn't’ say she liked thisotherside, and yet she kept looking around with roving eyes, drinking in the views, unable to deny theother side’srough beauty. The air was cold. A strong gust of wind blew clean through Addie’s clothes, and she shivered inside her thin knit dress as a powerful surge of anticipation came over her. Nature bristled with a challenge to conquer it, and she was suddenly up to it.
The tribe descended the Olzol Mountains and went deep into the Valley of the Stone Shadows following Chemmusaayl’s visions of green grass and herds of Elkeks that grazed on them, where they finally -finally- made camp. It seemed like everyone, including their chief who was the endurance personified, surrendered to exhaustion.
No sign of either green grass or Elkeks presented themselves to the people, but twice they were attacked by large packs of feral Gosors.
“Not good,” Chele shook her head after the second attack was thwarted by the men.
“I agree,” Addie muttered. She hated the idea of having endured a hellish hike over the mountains only to get eaten by some wild wolves. “There are so many of them here. I haven’t seen as many Gosors in my entire life.” She fingered her spear tied to the side of her sack, making a mental note to always keep it with her.
Chele meaningfully pointed out, “They attacked such a large group of people as ours. The animals must be desperate.”
“Does it mean we won’t find game as the High Counselor predicted?”
“We have to wait and see.”
For now, they were back to gathering Boroms to supplement their dwindling supply of dried fruit. Tek jerky had run out somewhere between their stay at the caves and the unforgettable trek down the mountainside.
As people resettled in this new place, their upper management worked to assess the situation. The High Counselor, Chief Net’ok, Vuskas, and occasionally Qalae huddled together and had heated discussions carried in low tones. Addie itched to eavesdrop, but a chance never arose.
Under Chele’s direction, she learned how to properly twine fresh branches to make a carcass for a teepee, and how to wrap it in swathes of furs, tying off the top. No holes were imperative; Hicar bugs were a painful reality, as were the gross annoying maggots underneath, and insulating one’s home from those types of pests was a must.
Men helped provide the twigs for their families, but in manless households like Addie’s, the procurement of the wood fell on hers and Chele’s shoulders. Together, they made trips into the shrub country and hacked at the bushes for hours to no end with a small stone axe to get sufficient amounts of construction material.
All the while, Addie took in their new surroundings with mixed feelings. The persistent cold came as an unwelcome surprise. Along with her many other tasks, Addie knitted a thick sweater for herself and attached patches of well-worn skin to the chest and back for added warmth. It didn’t come out too bad, looked kind of artisan-y, and she was complemented by other women for her creativity. Oh’na fingered the garment reverently and wrung a promise from her to make one in a smaller size but with the same patches.
The Yuux Ihr and Ehr didn’t find theother sidetoo attractive either. Their fur was all fluffed up when they settled down, and their eyes opened and closed in rapid succession against the wind. They were quieter, too, as if overwhelmed by this place. They watched Addie attentively, and she thought she detected a clear reproach in their button eyes.
“I know, I’m cold, too. If you want to blame somebody, blame the High Counselor. It was his idea.” She wondered if the Yuux would eventually leave her if their surroundings would prove too harsh for them, and had to admit she didn’t like to think it might happen.
