by Inmon, Shawn
“Uh-huh,” Dan said. He turned to the woman, who was at least six inches taller than him, and answered her in the same language.
Tears filled her eyes and she stepped toward Alex and wrapped him in an embrace, holding him tightly against her. Alex’s head fit neatly in the crook of her neck. He hadn’t felt so small since he was a child and his mother held him.
“Tekan din, mata dak,” the woman said.
“She says, ‘Thank you, stranger.’ You’re never going to convince her you’re not a hero, so you might as well go with it.”
“Can you tell her, ‘it was nothing’ and ask her how he is?”
Dan conferred with her for several long moments, then said, “He is okay. He’ll live, but he might have a limp. She says that if you hadn’t attacked the wolf when you did, his wounds would have been much worse, and he probably would have lost too much blood to make it home. She would have been a widow by nightfall.”
The woman, so tall and lovely, stepped away from Alex, held her hand against her throat and said, “Malen-eh.”
Alex did the same, and said, “Alex.”
The woman turned to Dan again and spoke for some time.
“She says your name is too funny. ‘Aleks’ are what they call the mules they use to carry things from place to place. She doesn’t think it is dignified enough for you. She says she will bring it up at the council and they will pick a new name.”
Malen-eh turned and hurried away.
Alex leaned close to Dan. “I’d really rather not be around long enough to need a new name. What are the chances I can escape and make my way back to the door?”
Dan shrugged and said, “You’re not likely to escape from here in the first place. They have guards posted every few yards, day and night. If you do manage to get by them, how would you pass the great plain to the shore? You saw the wolves and the way they attacked a caravan of men. What would they do to you? And, you were lucky. You didn’t cross paths with godat-ka, the king of the beasts around here. You and I might call him a grizzly, but that’s like comparing a rowboat to the Titanic. Same idea, different scale. The problem with godat-ka is that once he’s on your trail, there’s no way to escape him. He’s twice as fast as you are, he can climb better than you, and he’s like a seal in the water. Whatever he wants to kill, he kills.”
Alex stuck his chin out. “Thanks for telling me. I can’t give up, though. I can’t be stuck here for forty years while my little girl grows up and forgets about me.”
Alex glanced at Dan and saw that his unintentional barb had hit home. “Sorry. I don’t know what your deal is, Dan. I don’t know if you ever wanted to get away from here or not.”
Dan looked over Alex’s shoulder into the distance and said, “I did. I tried so often they stopped having the guards tackle me. They just let me go, figuring that Kragdon-ah would teach me my lesson.”
“Who’s Kragdon-ah?”
“Not who—what. Kragdon-ah is what all the people call this world. They were right. They let me go and I nearly died trying to get back to the door to let dad know I was all right. I was lucky—it was Ronit-ta, the wolves, who came after me. I escaped them by climbing and stayed in the tree for two nights, waiting for them to leave. Finally, they came and rescued me. That was more than forty years ago now and I haven’t tried since.”
Alex thought of spending two nights treed by those massive wolves and understood.
Dan and Alex had been standing on the edge of the clearing, lost in conversation, but they were again interrupted by the man who had first inspected Alex’s wounds after he had been injured by the vulture birds.
Without preamble, he lifted Alex’s shirt and unwound the bandages, dropping them on the ground.
“Holy cow, man. What got a hold of you?” Dan asked.
“One of those big freaking ugly birds that look like a vulture crossed with a pterodactyl. Did you see them when you came through?”
“Yeah, sure did. I was luckier than you, though, and stayed one step ahead. I had a rifle, too.”
“So did I,” Alex said, trying not to wince as the medic poked and prodded at his wounds. “I took down a dozen of them, but one of them got to me first. That’s how I met these guys.”
“Right, of course. They were after karak-ta eggs, and they heard your gunshots. I’m glad you didn’t try to get in a battle with these guys. They might have just subdued you, but they might have been forced to kill you. By the way, did they get some of the eggs?”
“Sure looked like it.”
“Cool. We’ll have a feast tonight. You’ll want to try some. If they got enough, we’ll be able to restock the things we need. Karak-ta eggs are sought after, but we’re the only ones that can get them consistently. A word of warning, though—when they pass you the egg, don’t eat too much. You need to build up a little resistance to it.”
That made no sense to Alex—build up resistance to an egg?—but he had so many other questions that he put that one on the back burner.
“Listen, Dan, I was wondering—”
Dan held his hand up to cut off Alex as two men came hurrying up. Dan listened for a minute, then said, “Sorry. I know you’ve got a million questions. I’ll do my best to answer them all, but I’ve got to go with these guys.” Dan turned and hustled away toward the tall rock face.
Alex watched as he scrambled up the inclines, then a ladder, then disappeared into one of the caves.
Pretty spry for an old guy.
As he watched, an old woman with a bent back and long gray hair twisted into a braid did the same.
Guess they’re all pretty spry. Maybe it’s from eating karak-ta eggs.
Alex looked around. No one seemed to be watching him or paying him any attention at all.
No way I can make a run for it, not yet. Maybe I can get my rifle back and see if it’s still operational. If not that, at least my pistol. I need firepower to get across that plain.
He thought of a book by Jules Verne that he had read as a teenager—The Mysterious Island.
Maybe I can build a hot air balloon and float across, then land right by the door. He rolled that around in his mind a bit. Of course, I have no idea how to build a hot air balloon, and I don’t think anyone else here is going to help me.
Alex gave himself a guided tour of his new and, he hoped, temporary, home. He walked to the waterfall and looked at the pool beneath it. Several young girls were there, filling bags with water. As he watched, they slung them over their shoulders, whispered to each other, giggled, then walked up the trail and ladder to the cave.
No wonder they’ve made this their home. It’s perfect. Protected on three sides and all your basic needs taken care of without needing to leave the area. If anyone tried to attack them, they’d hold the high ground. Even if an attacker brought their own ladders, there’s nothing worse than trying to climb and fight uphill while an enemy rains pain on you from above.
Alex looked at the top of the granite walls. There were small platforms built into the top every forty feet and a guard sat, looking down the flank of their home.
No one is going to sneak up on these guys.
A BOY ALEX RECOGNIZED approached him. He was caught in that vast wasteland between boyhood and adulthood—large in body but obviously still seeking maturity. He had a serious expression on his face, as though carrying out a responsibility he wasn’t sure he was up to.
“Nanta bu tenta,” he said, as though Alex would understand. When it was obvious that Alex did not, in fact, understand, the boy pointed up the face of the cliff.
“Ganku-eh kala nin.”
Alex had no idea what ‘Kala nin’ meant, but he did recognize ‘Ganku-eh’ as the name of the chieftain. He could guess the rest.
“Lead on then, soldier.”
The boy seemed to grasp the meaning by context, turned and headed toward the main path that led up the granite face.
Alex followed him. There were switchbacks every twenty paces and that got them halfway up the ve
rtical wall. When they came to a ladder, the boy scrambled up it as though born to it, which he probably had been.
Alex examined the ladder, touching it, lifting it a bit to test its heft. It was surprisingly light but had no give and was obviously constructed by a craftsman. Alex followed the boy up the ladder, then two more switchbacks and onto a path that went all the way from one side of the wall to another.
Finally, the boy pointed to another ladder.
“As far as you go, huh? Got it. Dismissed.”
Alex scrambled up the ladder and was surprised to see a space that had been carved out well back into the rock, forming a semi-private cave with an overhang.
Half a dozen people sat around a fire, waiting for him.
Chapter Eight
Alex’s Decision
At the mouth of the opening, Dan Hadaller waited for Alex. “I’ll introduce you to everyone, but the most important person is Ganku-eh. She makes the final decisions.”
“Final decisions about what? Like whether she’ll help me get back to the door?”
“I wouldn’t ask about that right now.”
“Okay, that’s fine, but what other final decisions will she be making?”
A troubled look flashed on Dan’s face, soon replaced by his normal hang loose expression.
“I should have told you when I first met you, but there’s a chance they’ll put you out.”
“Out?” Alex asked, shocked. He pointed to the great open plain that could be seen from this vantage point. “Out there?”
Dan nodded.
“That would be a death sentence. I mean, I would make a run for the door, but I don’t think there’s any chance I would make it.”
Dan glanced over his shoulder at the figures around the fire. Ganku-eh shifted impatiently.
“Don’t worry about it. Just tell them the truth and you’ll be fine. Oh, one other thing. I’ll be translating for you, but I’ve been teaching Ganku-eh English, so don’t assume she won’t understand you.”
“Great,” Alex said, dazed. “I don’t even know why I’m here, but I might be sentenced to death in a court martial where I don’t know the rules and have no representation.”
“You worry too much, man. Just go with the flow and you’ll be fine. When I got here, I went through the same thing and I didn’t have anyone to translate for me...”
Dan put a hand on Alex’s shoulder and led him toward the fire.
There were six low-slung wooden chairs arranged in a semi-circle on the far side of the fire. Alex looked up and saw that the smoke was drawn up to a hole in the ceiling above.
They may not like technology, but they are not stupid.
Dan started by introducing Alex to the people in front of him.
He started by pointing to a man in the middle with a scarred face and a milk-white left eye.
“Banda-ak, who you’ve already met. He is the mate of Ganku-eh.”
Banda-ak did not acknowledge Alex, but sat upright, patiently waiting. He had a regal air about him. He may not have been chief, but he knew his place in the hierarchy.
Dan pointed far to the left and for the first time, Alex noticed a very young girl.
She can’t be more than a few years older than Amy. What’s she doing sitting in on something like this?
“This is Lanta-eh, which means chosen.”
Alex had no idea why such a young girl was called ‘chosen,’ but calculated that this was not the proper time for him to be asking questions.
In turn, Dan introduced Malen-eh, the wife of the man who had been injured by the wolf, Doken-ak, who had already befriended Alex on the trip from the shore, and Sekun-ak, a powerful-looking man who did not look happy to see Alex.
Finally, he pointed to the tallest woman Alex had ever seen, and said, “This is our leader, Ganku-eh.”
Ganku-eh nodded at Alex, a gesture he hadn’t seen used by anyone but Dan since he arrived. “Welcome, Alex,” she said with evident pride in being able to speak Alex and Dan’s language.
She turned to Dan and spoke for a long moment in her native tongue.
Dan turned to Alex and said, “Ganku-eh says we will continue in their own tongue, so that the others can fully understand.”
Again, Ganku-eh spoke.
Dan turned to Alex and said, “She would like to know what you are doing here, invading their land.”
“That makes two of us,” Alex muttered.
A sharp look from Ganku-eh silenced him.
Alex saw her expression and said, “Sorry. I don’t know. I didn’t intend to come here. I jumped when I should have thought and ended up here. I didn’t know this was my destination. One moment I was inside my own house, the next I was here.”
Dan nodded, then relayed Alex’s answer, occasionally pointing to himself.
Sekun-ak, the warrior with the angry expression, spoke up, his voice harsh and tinged with anger.
Dan again translated. “Sekun-ak wants to know if you agree to destroy all technology you brought with you and pledge to never create any more?” Under his breath, so quietly that only Alex could hear it, Dan whispered, “You need to agree.”
Alex was caught completely off guard. Why would they want me to destroy everything I brought? It could help them. And I could help them more by showing them how to build things themselves.
He looked at Dan, whose eyebrows were raised, as if to say, this is not the time to hesitate.
Alex drew a deep breath. He saw two paths before him. Agree, or fail to make the pledge and very likely be put out on his own, knowing he would not be able to survive.
He looked at each of their faces. Lanta-eh, the young girl, who could have been expected to have no interest in a proceeding like this, sat placidly, staring at him with unblinking dark brown eyes. Alex had to admit that she didn’t carry herself like a normal child.
Doken-ak and Malen-eh, leaned forward slightly as if willing Alex to do the right thing.
Sekun-ak’s face clouded over and grew darker with every second that passed.
“I swear it,” Alex said.
Dan let a small whoosh of breath out, as if he hadn’t been aware he had been holding it. He translated Alex’s words, though it was obvious what he had said.
Ganku-eh spoke and Dan translated as, “That’s it then. She says you cannot be a member of the tribe, but you can find safety here and you will be expected to work as everyone does.”
Ganku-eh leaned forward and spoke quietly with Doken-ak and Malen-eh. Malen-eh answered her and Ganku-eh turned and spoke to Dan Hadaller.
Dan listened, then said, “Your new name here will be Manta-ak, which means fighter. You should be honored. Vanda-ak, my name here, means runner, because I ran from them when I first came through the door, and they had to tackle me.”
“If I hadn’t already been on the run from the birds—wait, the Karak-ta—I’m sure I would have run from them, too. Not that I could outrun them. They’re all a foot taller than me and run like Olympic athletes.”
“The hard part of the day is done, now. The sun is setting, and it is time for our feast. You can sit next to me and I will do my best to answer all your questions.”
Dan turned and hurried along a series of ladders, pathways and switchbacks as confidently as Alex walked through his own house.
Eventually, they emerged into the largest room Alex had seen yet. It was like a massively expanded version of the room he had just come from. There wasn’t just a single fire burning here, but eight—all feeding their smoke into a central chimney system above. Along the edges of the room—the side that faced the open space—there were a dozen torches, casting an inviting glow.
A sudden realization hit Alex. “It’s a world lit only by fire,” he said.
“That it is. You get used to it—the smoke, the shadows. It’s been so long, if I saw an electric light, it would look almost as strange to me as it would to them.”
“But, is it like this everywhere in this world?”
“I
can’t answer that for sure because I haven’t been everywhere, but as far as I know, yes. Travel is difficult because death tends to wait around every bend in the trail, but I’ve seen a lot. There was a time when a faraway tribe began to create new technologies. It wasn’t much, but all the other tribes asked them to stop. When they wouldn’t, we sent people from all over to stop it for them. We destroyed their village and their people were dispersed to other tribes. That is kunta, the death of a tribe.”
“You say, ‘A faraway tribe.’ How far is faraway?”
“I don’t know. We were recruited and I was volunteered to go. We walked for months to get there, although we joined up with other groups like ourselves. How far is it from what you know as central Oregon to South Dakota?”
Alex’s jaw dropped.
“You walked that far?”
“Walked is a kind word for it. Forced march is closer. But I got to see something that told me when I had stepped out of the door, at least in a way.”
“I’ve thought about that constantly. Are we in the past? Is this just some time so distant that all records of it have been lost?”
“Definitely not. We are in the future. Way, way, way in the future.”
The two of them walked into the open cave, chose one of the fires, and sat in two of the low-slung chairs. Alex admired the handcraft that had created them. They were made from a polished white wood with some sort of canvas for the seat and backrest. They were surprisingly comfortable.
The rest of the cave was slowly filling up with more people, all of whom looked curiously at Alex. It was obvious that a new arrival wasn’t an everyday occurrence.
“How do you know? If we’re that far in the future, are there any remnants of our world left?”
“Not really. But there is one exception, and I saw it.”
“Don’t tell me you rode to New York on a horse and saw the Statue of Liberty buried in the sand.”
Dan laughed. “Ha! No, nothing quite that dramatic. I have a feeling if I got there, that statue would be long lost to the world.”