by Inmon, Shawn
He was an accomplished hunter now and had a much better idea of the dangers and survival techniques of this world, but he still didn’t believe he had any chance of making it back to the door. No single hunter or warrior from the Winten-ah would ever attempt to cross the open plain on their own.
He had asked to go with the expedition to retrieve karak-ta eggs each time they went. Each time he was turned down. Ganku-eh, who was still chief of the tribe, gave Alex his freedom in everything but this.
When he asked why, she said it was because he was too old to run with the younger men, but Alex noticed that Doken-ak still went, and he was an old man.
The most painful thought to Alex was what he would do if he did make it back to the ocean and the door was gone. Until that happened, at least he still had hope. If he arrived at that spot and the door was gone, he would know Amy was lost to him forever.
Alex made many friends within the tribe. His first friend had been Doken-ak, and though the old man did not speak much, he and Alex spent many hours together in companionable silence. Doken-ak had shown Alex how to make a fishing rod and hooks and they made regular trips to a lake that was within walking distance. Silence and fishing went together.
Dan Hadaller remained his best friend, aside from Monda-ak. They shared a common background that no one else in this world could relate to or begin to understand. Alex had lived in that world forty years after Dan had stepped through the door, but they rarely discussed those intervening years, with one exception. Dan was a baseball fan and he pumped Alex for information on how his favorite team, the San Francisco Giants, had done.
Alex was not a big sports fan, but he did remember that the Giants had won several World Series, which made Dan happy to an unlikely degree.
Everything else—the Challenger Explosion, the fall of the twin towers, the advent of the Internet and other technologies—remained a mystery to Dan. He was happiest that way. He only remembered the simpler times of the 1970s.
Chapter Eighteen
Stama
Several days after the hunt where Alex brought down the black-tailed deer, he, Doken-ak and Dan Hadaller sat around a fire in one of the common rooms, talking. More accurately, Dan and Alex were talking, and Doken-ak was staring at the fire. Monda-eh sat a few feet away, tongue lolling, his eyes never leaving Alex.
It was midway between the summer and winter solstice. Daylight grew shorter and the later afternoons had begun to turn colder.
Life in Kragdon-ah consisted of long stretches of quiet broken up by occasional moments of sheer panic. A few weeks earlier, a Ronit-ta—a dire wolf—had run into the open field in front of the cliff. One of the guards in the blind had seen it, but it had been too far away for him to do anything but sound his horn.
Everyone in the field scrambled to safety and Sekun-ak and his hunters had quickly dispatched it, but it was a good reminder that there was no such thing as real safety in a world so wild.
Ganku-eh was afraid that the wolf’s attack might have been caused by sickness, so they had carried it to the open plain and left it there for the scavengers.
Since then, it had been quiet.
Until it wasn’t.
Alex, Dan and Doken-ak’s conversation was disturbed by the sound of one of the lookout’s horn blowing.
Three blasts of the horn—two long, one short—told them there someone was approaching, but it wasn’t a war party.
Alex and Dan peered down to see what—or who—was coming. It was unusual for visitors to arrive during non-trading times.
A procession of six people walked into the clearing and waited. Like the traders that often appeared, they looked like Winten-ah with certain small exceptions in dress and jewelry.
Women hurried out to the clearing and removed the curious children who were eyeing the visitors. Moments later, Ganku-eh and Banda-ak emerged from the cliffside and approached the strangers.
In Kragdon-ah, people did not shake hands. Instead, they each extended their right arm and rested it on the left shoulder of the person they greeted. The Winten-ah chieftain and her husband greeted each of the visitors in turn.
Ganku-eh turned and spoke to a nearby woman who disappeared.
The group was too far below them for Dan and Alex to hear, so they had to make do with guesses based on body language.
Doken-ak had not moved from his spot by the fire, but he uttered a single word: “Stama.”
Alex and Dan turned to look at him. ‘Stama’ was a word rarely used by the Winten-ah. The mere mention of it caused old women to spit on the ground and turn away. Its meaning was complex, but it spoke of both magic and technology. It was one element all tribes within a thousand miles could agree on. Stama was bad.
“What do you mean, ‘stama’?” Alex asked.
Doken-ak said nothing more, but just continued to watch the dancing flames.
Far below, tribe members had brought chairs to the meadow. The eight of them sat in a tight circle.
They sat together for more than an hour, then food was brought out to them, and they shared a meat stew made partially with the deer the hunters had just killed. They continued talking until after the sun was down.
Outsiders were never brought up into the cliffside under any circumstance, but on this evening, sleeping mattresses and covers were brought down and laid at the edge of the meadow for them. It would have been barbaric to send the visitors out into a cold, dangerous Kragdon-ah night.
The Winten-ah were not barbarians.
While the beds were being set up, the meeting continued.
Although there was no communication method in the cliffs beyond mouth to ear, word of the visitor’s purpose spread through the entire community before they had finished their stew.
Doken-ak had been correct.
The group had come to warn of another tribe, the Denta-ah, who were going against the universally agreed-upon covenant against stama.
It was heresy. It was against ancient tribal agreements.
It could lead to war.
There were stories passed down over the generations about tribes who had committed this heresy. Each time, all the other tribes had banded together and destroyed them. It was the price for breaking the one inviolate law of the land.
That was all Dan and Alex were able to glean. They were not on the council of the Winten-ah. They were not even officially tribe members. They would have to wait to learn more. They returned to the fire and engaged in one of mankind’s favorite sports: speculation and formulating wild theories.
As it turned out, they didn’t have to wait long. A runner appeared and told Alex and Dan they were summoned to the gathering below.
Darkness had fallen and a fire pit had been built where they were meeting, along with a row of torches to chase away the darkness.
Alex and Dan approached the group but did not speak.
The visitors considered the two men for long moments. Finally, a man dressed in a long calfskin robe spoke in the universal language of Kragdon-ah.
“Yes. Like them.”
Alex glanced at Dan, who stared diffidently down into the fire.
“Go to the council room,” Ganku-eh said in English, knowing no one else would understand her. “I’ll meet you there.”
For some reason, Alex felt like saluting, but he fought the urge. Instead, he and Dan climbed back up the cliffside and went to the room where all official Winten-eh business was conducted.
They had more information now but were still confused.
“Like us?” Alex asked. “What does that mean? Is there someone else who stepped through the door? Or, are there other doors?”
Dan shook his head. “No way to know.”
After Alex and Dan had chased their own tails for half an hour, Ganku-eh, Banda-ak, and Sekun-ak climbed the ladder into the room. Their faces were uniformly grim.
The three of them joined Alex and Dan around the fire.
“It is bad news,” Ganku-eh said. “Our way of life is threatened. T
he Denta-ah are breaking our most sacred law. Those who came today claim to have seen this with their own eyes. I have known Yosta-ak for many years and never known him to be untruthful. Still, for something of this importance, we must be sure.”
“Why were we summoned to the meeting?” Dan asked.
“There is a rumor that another like you has joined with the Denta-ah. Again, Yosta-ak says he has seen him with his own eyes. He says this man brought many ideas with him. Instead of killing him as they should, the Denta-ah have welcomed him. Together, they are bent on recreating the stama that once destroyed the world. If it is true, both the Denta-ah and this man must be destroyed.”
Beside her, both Banta-ak and Sekun-ak touched two fingers to their forehead in agreement.
“We have decided the best course is to travel and see the truth for ourselves. We have a group setting out at first light. Manta-ak, you will accompany them.”
It was not a request.
Alex’s eyebrows rose in surprise. He was perpetually ready for an adventure and he had hoped to see more of what Kragdon-ah was like, but he had not expected to go on a mission that seemed so important.
“Of course,” was all he said. His heart beat faster at the thought of heading out into the wilderness of this strange world.
“I understand your surprise,” Ganku-eh said. “Normally, I would not send you. But, if there is someone like you and you have a chance to see or meet him, I would like your perceptions of him.”
Alex lifted two fingers to his forehead to agree. “How many of us are going?”
“We will join with Yosta-ak and his party. You, Sekun-ak and Doken-ak will be going with them.”
At first, Alex wondered why Doken-ak would go. Why send someone so old? Then he remembered how wise Doken-ak was on those occasions he did speak and that he was part of all the expeditions to the ocean. He was older, but he had the strength and stamina of a younger man. He was also among the best in the tribe at surviving outside the confines of the cliff. He could fish and his knowledge of what berries and roots were safe was surpassed only by Niten-ah.
Ganku-eh dismissed Alex and Dan with a wave and fell into deep conversation with Sekun-ak and Banda-ak.
As they climbed down, Dan said, “You’re not going to sleep tonight, are you?”
“What do you think?”
“I think your head and heart are already out in the open space, hoping for adventure.”
“I can’t say you don’t know me.”
“All right. Let’s get you ready to go. If I were you, I’d carry a second water bag in your pack. There are times where it’s a long way between water sources.”
Alex nodded. “Good. What else?”
“Load up on pemmican. I know it can get monotonous, but it’s packed with fat and protein. You can pick up berries and things on the trail. Just check with Doken-ak before you eat anything.”
“What about weapons?”
“You can take your spear, but I’m not sure I would. It’s heavy and awkward and if it comes down to a fight, it might only take out one person. If it was me on a journey like this, I think I’d go with my club attached to my belt on one side and a rock hammer on the other. I’ve seen you with those tools and you’re dangerous. Of course, your best weapon is Monda-ak.”
The dog, who had been laying with its massive head between its gigantic paws, looked up at the sound of his name.
“I can’t carry enough food to feed him on the trail. Should I leave him behind?”
“No. He might not survive it. Once these dogs bind themselves to someone, they almost can’t be separated. Don’t worry, he’ll be able to help provide on the trail. His breed can find a surprising amount of food on their own.”
“I guess that’s it, then.”
Alex moved up and down the cliff gathering what he needed for the journey. When he had completed that task, he and Monda-ak sat at the edge of one of the caves. Alex dangled his legs over the side, stared at the stars and waited for light.
Chapter Nineteen
Stipa-ah
Alex adjusted the pack so it was more comfortable. They had been on the march for almost four hours and he had learned long ago that when something chafes, it never improves on its own.
The nine humans had not stopped for so much as a bathroom break since they left Winten-Ah. Except for Monda-ak, of course, who took bathroom breaks whenever he liked.
For the most part, the group walked in silence, preferring to stay constantly vigilant. Neither Sekun-ak nor Doken-ak were much when it came to talking, and the other six tended to speak in their language, which Alex couldn’t understand.
Alex had watched the six strangers as they walked and he had concluded that Yosta-ak wasn’t just the leader of the group, but the others were primarily there to keep him safe. That sat well with Alex. He wasn’t sure what value Yosta-ak would bring in a tense situation, but the others were heavily armed and seemed comfortable with their weapons.
Several times, Monda-ak had proven Dan’s prediction right by leaving the trail they were on and returning a few minutes later with a piece of fur or feathers stuck to his fangs. He seemed to think the whole trek was one big wildlife buffet.
They had left the part of the country that Alex was familiar with. Or, more accurately, they had left the area behind that Alex was familiar with in this time frame. There was a time or two that Alex saw a geographic landmark that rang memory chimes for him. It was incredibly difficult to equate a wild area, overgrown with trees and bushes and match it with a memory of a small town he had passed through in his earlier life.
There was nothing like a road system in Kragdon-ah, but there were a series of paths that seemed familiar to Yosta-ak. He navigated them as sure-footedly as a long-haul trucker who had long-since memorized every turn on his route. Each time the group came to a fork in the road, or when a path began to peter out, he knew which way to go.
It had been cloudy and cold since they left Winten-ah, but in early afternoon, it also began to rain. It wasn’t a heavy rain, but the typical unending sprinkles that Alex was so familiar with.
Yosta-ak, who had been in the lead since the beginning, said something to the man behind him. It was in Yosta-ak’s language, so Alex could not follow. Yosta-ak dropped back to the rear, where the three Winten-ahs marched.
“There is a rock overhang just ahead. We will stop there and eat. We can’t stop long, though. I know of a spot where we will be safe overnight, but it is still far away.”
Five minutes later, they found the rock overhang. All the men—even Doken-ak, by far the oldest in the group—sat easily on their haunches and pulled food from their packs. Alex gave Monda-ak a hand signal that set him free to hunt for his own lunch.
To the men of Kragdon-ah, they were on a sacred mission, one that would protect their beliefs and way of life.
To Alex, as much as he had blended into Winten-ah, he had no fear of technology. It certainly wasn’t magic to him. In his three years living in the caves on the cliff, he had found he didn’t miss all that he had left behind. He had put his cell phone on his workbench before he walked through the door and hadn’t thought of it since.
He didn’t miss television, the Internet, or even his truck.
He only missed Amy.
Yosta-ak ended Alex’s daydreams by standing and putting on his pack. He pointed ahead to a long, green hill that rose in elevation until the peak got lost in low-lying fog.
“Now, we climb,” Yosta-ak said, and Alex gave one short whistle. Monda-ak burst through the underbrush and took his place padding alongside Alex.
Dan says they become completely emotionally dependent on us, but I admit, I feel a lot better when he’s right beside me, too.
Yosta-ak held up a hand. “One other thing. Rutan-ta lives in these hills. I don’t believe she will bother us, but it is good to stay alert. If she does attack, it will always be from behind.”
Alex felt a small tingle run up the back of his neck. Rutan-ta was
the Kragdon-ah equivalent of a mountain lion. Like everything, Rutan-ta was much bigger than it had been in the twenty-first century.
Alex had no idea how or why the creatures in Kragdon-ah were so huge. He and Dan had many conversations about it, but neither of them were scientists. They also didn’t have any realistic idea how far into the future they had gone when they stepped through the door.
They didn’t know if it had been long enough that it was just evolution, or if something else was at work. Alex had a theory that because civilization had been gone for so long, a lot of the damage it had done to the environment was also gone. He thought that might cause a higher oxygen content, which might lead to animals growing larger. In the end, it was only a conversation, though they returned to it again and again to pass the time. Whatever their theories, the reality was the reality.
At the moment, that reality included a cougar that was likely the size of a brown bear that might be stalking them that afternoon. Alex’s head was always on a swivel when he was outside the safety of the cliffside, but knowing a big cat might be watching him increased his wariness.
The hill they climbed was deceptively steep. There were parts where the path took switchbacks to facilitate the climb. Still, they ended up cutting branches for makeshift walking sticks.
Monda-ak needed no such thing. As big as he was, he was agile and climbed every obstacle easily. If not for his coloring, he might have been mistaken for a shambling bear himself.
Yosta-ak said that there was a cave ahead where they could stop for the night, but at this time of year, the sun set early and darkness wasn’t far behind. On many rainy days in autumn, it could feel like it never got fully light at all, even at apex.
They finally reached the peak of the hill after several hours of hard climbing. For just a moment, the rain ceased, and the last of the sun’s rays poked through the clouds. They stood in a clearing and looked out over a scene Alex would never forget.