by Shay Savage
He stirs in his slumber but doesn’t open his eyes. Reaching up to my temple, I feel a sharp pain under the skin, and my head swims again as clearer memories form.
I had been on the edge of the lake. I’d found a fresh batch of clay there, and I wanted to try to make a proper pot with a lid for cooking. None of the clay dishes I had made had come out right—I had no way of properly firing the pieces—but I wanted a good-sized pot to mimic a crockpot of sorts. It was going to take a lot of time to make, but it would be worth it when it got cold outside, and I could make a large batch of cooked barley and whatever plants were around.
While I had been digging at the clay, Ehd had been tapping at pieces of flint a hundred feet away from me. My period had just ended, and he had been so horny, I had barely been able to keep him off of me all day. As much as I loved the attention he gave me, at some point a girl just gets sore!
When I had felt hands grabbing my waist, I thought it was Ehd, looking for more affection. I had playfully pushed away the hand on my hip, but it gripped tighter, and another hand shoved me down on my face.
Ehd didn’t behave that way. Once, in the beginning, he had turned me over and tried to have sex with me. I had just been attacked by a large pig, and Ehd had saved me. He was obviously frightened by the experience, and I thought it must have triggered some kind of automatic response from him, as if he had to do something to claim me. When I said no to him, he stopped. Though he doesn’t understand anything I say, he must have understood the tone. He looked so horrified by his own behavior that we ended up consoling each other in wordless touches.
The last touch I remembered was nothing like that. The contact had been brutal and painful. I had screamed, instantly knowing that the man behind me was not Ehd. I had felt his cold hand up under the fur I was wearing, grabbing at my thigh, when I heard Ehd roar. I only caught a glimpse of him before the other man threw me down, and I hit my head against the rocks.
The blow must have been hard enough to knock me unconscious. I probably have a concussion, and the state of my lips and throat tells me I’m dehydrated.
I try to sit up, but spots light up my eyes, and I quickly lay back down before I pass out again. I need to get some water into me, and I need Ehd’s help with that.
“Ehd!” I call his name louder this time though it makes my throat hurt. I shake his shoulder until his eyes open, and he stares at me in confusion. He glances around the cave for a moment before he focuses on my face again.
“Beh?” My name is clipped and high pitched as it comes from his mouth. His eyes widen, and he reaches out and grabs me. “Beh!”
He wraps his arms around me and holds me against his chest as he begins to sob into my shoulder. He calls my name over and over again, and I squeeze my eyes shut at the sound.
How long have I been unconscious?
“Ehd, I need some water,” I say softly, trying to keep my tone soft so it might calm him down a little, but I also need his help. “Ehd?”
He pulls back and runs his hands over my face like he’s checking to make sure I’m really here. I smile at him, and he touches the tips of his fingers to my lips for a moment before he jumps up. He stumbles and shakes his head a bit before hobbling slowly over to the side of the cave to bring me a water bag made from the stomach of a deer.
I try to drink slowly, knowing I could make myself sick it I consume the water too quickly. Even trying to pace myself, I still end up in a coughing fit. I take several breaths between sips to slow down, and the coughing stops. As the liquid works its way into my system, my head doesn’t throb quite as much. I can swallow more easily now, and I look back to Ehd, who is stroking my arm and staring at me intently with worry on his face.
He takes the water skin from me and strokes my cheek.
“You look like you aren’t feeling all that well either,” I say as I smile at him. “How long have I been out?”
He stares at my mouth but doesn’t answer. He never does.
I remember trying to teach him more words, assuming he had some form of language, and we just needed to get on the same page. It hadn’t taken me long to figure out that Ehd didn’t speak in words. Though he had a firm grasp on a sound that represented a name for him and for me, he made no other vocal sounds outside of seemingly meaningless grunts. I remember drawing pictures in the dirt, but he couldn’t comprehend that either.
Ehd places one hand on my shoulder and wraps his arms around my back, encouraging me to lie back against the fur-lined depression we use as a bed. I don’t have the strength to argue with him though my back and hips are sore from lying down for so long. He touches my cheek once more before shoving himself back up and moving toward the fire pit.
My mind races through additional memories of my time here as if I need to relive it all just to remember my predicament. I look over at Ehd. He’s shoved his hands into the ash lining the bottom of the fire pit and he’s moving frantically. It takes me a moment to realize he’s not getting burned because the fire has gone out.
How does he start a fire?
In all the months I have been here, I’ve never seen Ehd start a fire from scratch—he always has a hot coal or two to get it going. Does he know about rubbing sticks together to make fire?
I’m reminded of when I was in Girl Scouts and how we had spent hours trying to make a fire by rubbing sticks. Even with all the proper materials at hand, we never managed to get a spark until we were given an actual fire-starting kit.
Ehd appears at my side with dried meat and acorns, which he smashes with a stone so I can get to the bitter meat inside. He places his lips on my forehead all too briefly before racing back to the fire pit.
“How are you going to get that going again?” I ask. “Too bad I didn’t have a lighter in my pocket when I got sent here.”
Ehd doesn’t look to me. I watch him gather up bits of bark and other tinder before using his flint knife to cut a depression in another piece of wood.
“You have flint, but that’s only half of what you need,” I say. I try to remember if I have seen anything metallic around. Pyrite would work, but I don’t recall seeing anything like that near the streams by the lake. What else can I use that works with flint to get a spark? It’s not like I’m going to find forged iron around here.
My skin chills as I sit completely still for a moment, and my mind races.
The button on my jeans is steel.
After the incident with the boar, and Ehd pulled off my jeans, the button had flown off. I remember finding it in the cave later, but I have no idea where it is now.
I jump up and head to the back of the cave, drop to my knees, and start sifting through the dirt floor. There is nothing but dust and a few twigs. I keep searching, and eventually my finger brushes against something hard, and I grab at it. A moment later, I stare into the palm of my hand where a small, round button with raised letters spelling “JORDACHE” sits.
I let out a sharp whoop, startling Ehd. He drops the stick he’s been spinning, and the look of anguish on his face is painful to see.
“It’s all right, Ehd!” I let out a laugh of relief, and he glares at me. “I found the button! I can start a fire!”
He’s visibly upset. No, not just upset; he’s devastated. He stares at the round stick in his hands and moans as he rubs at a blister. He grips his hair and moans again as the wind picks up and blows a cold gust through the cave.
“It’s all going to be just fine,” I say, trying to reassure him. I smile and nod a lot, since I know he doesn’t understand my words. “This is steel, and if I use your knife for the flint, I can make a spark. I’ve done it before. You won’t believe how easy it is, and you won’t get any more blisters!”
He stares at my face as I babble on.
“You know, most girls don’t know anything about this shit. When you grow up with a scientist and an archeologist, your vacations are not the Disney World kind. We went on digs, and my dad would drag me into the w
oods to learn about the plants and animals—rocks and minerals, too. That’s how I know your knife is flint and that flint can produce a spark if it just has the right metal catalyst.”
I smile at Ehd and then laugh at the confused look on his face.
“Give me your knife, and I’ll show you.” I point at the knife secured at the waist of his fur wrap and then at the tinder he has next to the fire pit. “We’ll be nice and warm in no time at all!”
I point at his waist again, and Ehd stands. He approaches me quickly, holds my face in his hands, and runs his nose along mine.
“Ugh!” I cry as Ehd tries to lead me back to the sleeping furs. “Not now! No, Ehd.”
He stops immediately and takes a step back. “No” is the only word he seems to truly grasp. I hold out the button and reach for his waist.
“I want your knife, not your dick!” I snicker as I pull the knife from his waist and hold it up next to the button. “This is all I need for now.”
I take his hand and lead him back to the edge of the cold, fireless pit. I kneel down and take a deep breath, trying to center myself. Though I have done this many times before, it’s not exactly as easy as using a lighter. It takes a little practice.
“Watch, Ehd.”
“Beh.”
I shake my head slightly and focus again on the flint knife and button in my hands. I hold them both over the tinder and hit the button against the knife.
I know immediately that my strike is too slow. All I’ve managed to do is put a long black streak on the flint. Ehd’s obviously not happy about this and grunts as he snatches the knife out of my hand and refuses to give it back.
“I need it to start the fire, Ehd!” I try to get it back from him, but he holds it away from me and narrows his eyes. I point back and forth between the knife and the button. “Flint and steel. Flint and steel. I need both to make a spark.”
Of course, he understands nothing of what I’m saying. I sigh loudly, consider trying to fight him for the flint, and know I won’t be successful. Ehd is strong—far stronger than I—and I’m not going to win a physical battle with him over the knife. One of us would end up cut, and the cut could end up infected in these conditions.
There’s more flint in the cave.
I push myself to my feet and head to the back of the cave where Ehd and I have stored all the food we have gathered. On a hide near a woven container of walnuts are Ehd’s other tools—carved sticks to use as hunting spears, hard granite to use as a hammer, and a thick piece of flint for chopping wood.
I grab the axe and bring it back to the fire pit.
“Now don’t get all excited,” I tell Ehd as I sit back down. “I’m not going to break the axe or anything. It might get some marks on it, but when you see how easy it can be to start a fire, you won’t care about a few scuffs.”
I give him a long look. Ehd’s expression is wary, but he doesn’t try to take the axe from me as I strike the button against it. Nothing. I try again and again, and the axe gets several dark streaks on it, but there is no spark from the flint. I can’t seem to get the angle right. In frustration, I let out a bit of a growl as I slam the button down on the flint again.
The resulting spark flies into the air, drops onto the tinder, and immediately goes out.
“Yes!” I cry out. “That’s the way!”
Ehd’s eyes widen as he watches me strike the flint again, producing another spark. I wasn’t hitting it hard enough before, afraid of breaking the axe and angering Ehd enough for him to try to take it from me. Now that I’ve got the pressure right, I make a spark each time.
“Hoh!”
I smile at Ehd’s caveman version of an expletive and lean a little closer to the tinder as I try again. Ehd leans in close as well, and blows at the tinder gently as the next spark hits it.
“Now you get it, don’t you?” I murmur as I make another spark. This one flies off to the side, hitting Ehd in the nose.
He yelps as he leaps back, rubbing the spot where the spark hit him, leaving a smudge of dirt on his face.
“Aw, Ehd.” I reach up and rub off some of the dirt. “I’m sorry. Let’s give it another try. I think we almost had it that time.”
After a few more tries, the spark and tinder work together with Ehd’s breath and catch fire. Ehd adds a few tiny twigs to keep it going long enough to move the tinder inside the stone circle of the fire pit. A few minutes later, we have a small fire going.
Ehd drops down on his backside and sits, dumbfounded, staring at the small blaze as I watch him and smile to myself. He looks at the flint axe and button on the ground a few times, then to me, and then back to the fire.
“Pretty cool, huh?” I say with a smile, but he doesn’t respond or even react to my words. “You know, we’ll be able to start fires anywhere we go now—even down at the lake. It would be a lot easier to dry fish there and bring it back than doing it here in the cave. I could warm water there for bathing, too. That should make you a little more agreeable about cleaning up.”
Ehd moves quickly, startling me slightly as he grabs my arms and pulls me into a tight embrace. There are tears of relief in his eyes, and I hold his head against my chest, stroking his hair.
“It’s all going to be okay, Ehd,” I say softly. “We have a fire again. We’re not going to freeze to death. We’re going to be just fine.”
Chapter 6
“I wonder how long I’ve been here.”
I run my fingers through Ehd’s long hair and sigh. I glance over at the cave opening, wondering if this winter storm will ever stop. The wind is loud and keeping me from being able to sleep well.
Ehd doesn’t seem to have this problem, and I wonder if he actually hibernates in the winter. Not true hibernation, but something like what bears will do when they spend long periods of time just sleeping.
“Are you really tired?” I ask softly. “I think you slept all night, so I’m not sure why you would be.”
Ehd stirs and opens his eyes. He smiles at me and reaches up to stroke the side of my face.
“My sweet, gentle caveman.” I snicker.
Saying the words out loud makes me question my own sanity. Our relationship started with what was practically a kidnapping though I know now that if he had not found me and dragged me back here, I would have died within the first few days I was in this land.
“You saved me,” I say softly, stroking his jaw. “I do wish you could talk though.
The day before, I had tried in vain to get him to recognize pictures I’d drawn in the dirt. I drew pictures in the sandy ground, but he just stared at me, completely oblivious. He just doesn’t seem to have the capacity for any kind of language. Eventually, I had given up.
I’d taught him to say kiss, or at least something that was vaguely recognizable as the word. I don’t think he actually understands that the word means bringing our lips together, but he has figured out that he can use it to get my attention. Names he understands and uses appropriately, but nothing else. I feel like I’ve just taught a dog to run to the door when the word walk is used, but that dog doesn’t understand the actual meaning of the sound in relation to the activity. Ehd is the same way.
“I wonder if I could teach you to make other sounds?” I run my finger over his lips. “If you can say names and kiss, maybe you can say other words.”
I consider which word to teach him for a moment and then feel myself smile.
“Ehd?” I say softly. He looks up at me with bright eyes.
“Beh!” he replies.
“Yes, I’m Beh.” I giggle. “I’m Beh and you’re Ehd. And you know what? Beh loves Ehd.”
Ehd just looks at me with adoration that makes my skin tingle.
“Beh loves Ehd,” I say again, running my finger over his mouth and then his nose.
Ehd suddenly sneezes, and I laugh as he rubs furiously at his nose. With bright eyes, Ehd grabs me and rolls me to my back. He’s on top of me a half second lat
er, pressing his mouth against mine. We roll again until I’m straddling him, and I reach down to capture his hands with mine. I place them over my breasts and rise up on my knees so I can grab his shaft and position it.
I drop down over him, feeling his cock filling me as I moan and Ehd grunts. I move up and down on top of him for a minute before he grabs my hips and flips me over. His steady motions are the perfect rhythm, and it isn’t long before I’m crying out his name. A moment later, Ehd groans as he fills me, and I pant beneath him.
Though I’ve taught Ehd a few other positions, he is definitely a top man.
Ehd shifts us to our sides, and I reach out to touch his face.
“Beh loves Ehd,” I say again as he stares at my mouth. I brush my fingers over his lips. “Beh loves Ehd.”
Ehd stares at me with a furrowed brow as I keep repeating the words.
“Loves,” I say. “Loves. Loves. Loves.”
Ehd reaches out and wets his lips with his tongue, watching me intently. He places his tongue behind his teeth.
“Lll…” He shakes his head once.
“Loves.” I say the sounds slowly, exaggerating the shape of my mouth and the position of my tongue as he tries to copy me.
“Luh…awwfff.”
“Loves.”
“Luhhff.”
“That’s it!” I squeal and grab his hand as tears fill my eyes. “You did it, Ehd!”
He looks at me with bright eyes, apparently glad he has pleased me, even if he hasn’t the slightest idea why.
“Beh loves Ehd,” I say.
“Luhffs!” He wraps his arms around me and holds me close to him.
My heart beats quickly as I hug him tightly. Maybe he doesn’t understand the word, but my heart still warms to hear him say it.
Words or not, I know Ehd loves me as much as I love him.
*****
It has taken me most of the morning, but I finally manage to use a chunk of flint to chop down a small evergreen tree. The tree is only about two feet tall, but it will do. I shake snow from the branches and then haul it back to the cave.