The Thinking Rocks

by Butkus, C. Allan

  Lomasi was in a rage; but he was also mortified that the captives had seen him exhibit such fear. He had an answer for any occasion where he appeared to have lost face or status. The answer was pain. He attacked Cano with his switch and beat him to the ground. Cano had to fight his instincts to not return the attack, he knew that if he showed even the spark of resistance the beating would be continued or even extended to the others in this small group. As each blow fell it deepened his resolve to make Lomasi pay in the future for the pain. Relief came from an unexpected quarter. Na'pe came forward and grabbed the switch. Lomasi spun on her and raised the switch to strike her, but before he could swing, she said something to him. He stopped in mid-swing, hesitated then snarled a reply and then kicked at Cano and motioned him to rise.

  Cano crawled to his knees and then stood with his head and eyes downcast. Lomasi motioned them to move on up the path toward camp. He followed behind at a slower pace and kept scanning the trees and brushes. He was looking for what he hoped he wouldn't find. The rest of the trek back to the camp was uneventful.

  When Cano had a chance to speak with Na'pe, he asked her what she had said to Lomasi to stop the beating. She spoke quickly for fear of Lomasi hearing, "Say, you no good dead".

  As they approached the campsite Cano noticed that his brother was still fishing.

  Gennos saw the small group returning with the bundles of grass. Hopi yelled at him and he returned to his fishing. If it wasn't so hot and if he wasn't so hungry this might have been enjoyable. He baited the gouge and cast it back into the river.

  The bait was slowly settling in the water when it disappeared in an explosion of energy. A huge brown and yellow fish with a long pointed nose sliced away with the bait in the corner of its mouth. The water behind it boiled with the fish’s energy as it surged toward the center of the river. This was an Alligator Gar, a fish that looked like an alligator without legs. It had a vicious long bill shaped mouth that was lined with large yellowed teeth. The gar was twice the size of Gennos.

  Gennos was caught by surprise; he had never seen a fish like this before. He didn't know what it was, but he was going to catch it. He reached down and wrapped the line around his hands so that he would have a good grip. He didn't realize at this point who had caught who. The fish dragged him into the river. He fought to maintain his footing but the sand was too slippery. He was up to his hips in the water and losing ground rapidly. Suddenly, he started to choke. He looked toward shore and saw Hopi pulling on the noose to keep him from escaping into the river. Gennos tried to call for him to stop, but he couldn't speak. He was being pulled apart. He knew he had little choice in what to do. He tightened his neck muscles and lunged toward the center of the river. The lunge caused Hopi to slip, and then he sprawled into the river with a huge splash.

  The gar at this point decided that it couldn't get away by running. It turned in a graceful arch and launched itself at the shore and its attacker. It was near the surface and it broke the water in a silver spray as it raced back. It had learned early in its life that the most practical way to survive was to attack. There was a splashing near shore and this was to be its target. The fish put all of its energy into the charge at its attacker. The gar came through the water with unbelievable speed, the black water boiled as the gar surged toward its tormenter.

  Gennos stood still trying to catch his breath as Hopi splashed near shore. The line had gone slack; he thought the fish had gotten away. The thought vanished quickly when the fish flashed past his legs, and sent a spray of water up into his face.

  The fish struck Hopi like lightning. It took off two of his fingers before it buried its teeth on his right thigh.

  Hopi's scream of agony startled those in and around camp, and echoed off the trees. Lomasi heard it as he approached the camp and surged past his captives. He rushed forward fitting one of his spears to the thrower. He rushed to the river.

  The gar had its teeth buried deep in flesh, it understood killing. It was the way it survived. It gripped the meat with the double row of teeth and shook it's head as a dog would, then it started to spin in the water. It quickly tore a large chunk of meat from the body of its attacker. It didn't know what body parts it was destroying, nor that it had ripped apart the large artery in its prey's leg. It succeeded in its attack and headed for the center of the river still clutching its gruesome prize.

  Gennos tried to untangle the fishing line as he scrambled through the bloody cauldron surrounding Hopi's screaming form. When he was on dry ground, he found he still was entangled with the line. He barely had time to brace himself before the fish reached the end of the line. Water sang from the rawhide line as it took up the slack and rose from the water. Gennos jerked with all of his might to stop the killer fish's dash for freedom. The Green killer drove its mighty tail in an effort to free itself from the pain in its mouth. Gennos felt his feet slipping again as he was being pulled back to the rivers edge. It was at this point the gouge broke free and released the fish. The gar dived toward the river's bottom and then with mighty sweeps of its tail it curved up and leaped out of the water. Its jump carried it well clear of the surface where it seemed to hang suspended as it shook its head, before crashing down with a tremendous splash.

  Gennos had felt the line go slack and knew the fish was gone. Hopi was struggling for shore and was screaming in pain. Without thinking Gennos rushed to his side and helped him out of the river.

  It was at this point that Lomasi arrived. Before Gennos could say anything, Lomasi hit him across the face with his spear. He fell away from the blow. He realized that it must look as though he had attacked Hopi. He lay on the ground without attempting to rise.

  Hopi was withering in pain on the bank of the river where Gennos had dragged him. He was babbling to Lomasi about what had happened. He alternated between holding his blood gushing wound and pointing toward the river. When he noticed that two fingers where gone, it brought on a new batch of frenzied babbling and pointing. Lomasi seemed to ask a question to which Hopi shook his head and pointed toward Gennos. Lomasi spoke sharply to Hopi. He attempted to stand, but could not. The leader motioned Gennos to help him stand. Then he helped him over to the fire. Their path was marked by a bloody trail.

  Na'pe was waiting at the fire with Cano and Dola. She came over to examine the wound. She quickly turned away and went to where the fire starting supplies were kept. Returning with some soft gray moss she placed it over the wound, and showed Hopi how to press it to the wound in an attempt to stop the bleeding. She noticed the hand with the missing fingers and applied more moss where the fingers had been. Hopi was much quieter now and his movements where slowing down. He appeared to be drifting off to sleep. It would be a very deep sleep, one he would never wake from.

  Lork and Morf had been silently watching. Lomasi spoke to them and Lork took the noose that was around Gennos's neck and led him back to the tree where they were tied. Morf motioned for Cano and Dola over to the tree and then tied them securely.

  The camp was quiet that night. The captives had been given a meager amount of food and water, but Na'pe had managed to conceal some extra food and slipped it to the captives.

  Lomasi and his men spent the night at the fire talking and eating. Occasionally, he would have Lork or Morf check the prisoners bonds. As the night worn on, it was Morf the youngest, who was required to check the prisoners. There was no laughter around the fire. The night was still when they finally went to sleep.

  When they where certain that everyone at the fire was asleep, the captives spoke in slow tones. Although the language that Na'pe spoke was different from that spoken by those in the Clan of the Spear, there were similarities. By the use of gestures and words they were soon able to communicate with each other. In contrast, Na'pe could understand what Lomasi and his men said, but Cano's group could not understand a word. They could understand the signs they made, but it seemed beneficial to pretend that they were very slow and couldn't understand even the simplest orders. The longer th
ey spoke and gestured with Na'pe, the more effective the communication became. Soon they had little trouble speaking.

  Gennos was the first to speak. He explained to Na'pe their tentative plans for escape. They should look for a chance to all escape at once, if possible. If they could not do that, then they would escape one or two at a time and then follow and rescue the others.

  Na'pe said, "How can I be sure that if you all escape, you would care enough to come and get me?" She looked from Cano to Gennos, "You know the danger here, why would you come back and risk being captured again? I'm not of your clan. I can mean nothing to you."

  Gennos spoke quickly, "That is not true. You are correct that you don't know us, but you are not correct about us leaving you here. One thing you will learn about us is that we are not like Lomasi and his men. We seem to think a different way then they do. I want you, ----ah, I mean we want you to be free. We are a small group and have to depend on each other. You will find that we do what we say we will do, if it's at all possible." He paused to gather his thoughts before continuing, "We may not be able to escape, but we will try. If even one of us escapes, he will help the others."

  Na'pe had not missed the slip of Gennos's tongue. As all females have since the beginning of time, she could tell when a male was interested in her. Cano was younger, but there was something about Gennos that she found interesting. She wasn't sure if it was the way his eyes looked or if it was something else; she would think about it later. They had more pressing problems now.

  "I heard Lomasi say they would be back at their clan’s campsite soon. This means that we have little time to plan an escape. Lomasi was very angry. He said he had left on this trip to capture people like me and bring them back to work in their clan and to mate with their men. They were only able to catch me." She paused before continuing and looked at Gennos, "They were surprised to see you. They wanted more women, but they can use you to work around their camp. He was surprised that you didn't have spear throwers. He thinks you are backward and not brave. He thought you would have fought more to free yourselves." She hesitated before saying, "He wanted you to resist so that he could hurt you, and he likes to hurt people." They could all see the pain in her eyes. She continued, "What he said was that you would be good workers, but not smart ones." Na'pe looked at Gennos before continuing, "He thinks you will be the trouble maker, and he will make it very hard on you."

  Dola interrupted, "Morf comes!"

  They all pretended to be asleep until he had stumbled back to the fire half asleep.

  Na'pe continued, "Lomasi was surprised to find your chopping tool, they all talked about it at the fire. He saw the marks on your chest from the bear; he thinks you are a fool that was lucky to escape with his life. He also found the saber tooth cat's tooth in a leather bag; he gave it to Lork to carry. He will keep the bear claws and make a story about how he got them. When they return to their camp, Lomasi said they will have a clan meeting and they will tell how they captured us and show off what they found, like your chopping tool and my baskets." She stopped for a moment and looked at Gennos again before continuing. "Lomasi is very angry that Hopi was injured. It will not look good if one of his men was hurt on his journey." She paused again and then added, "I don't think that Hopi will live, he has lost a lot of blood. Lomasi will be very angry when that happens. We will have to be careful. He will hurt us." After looking at each of the other prisoners in turn she continued, "If he gets us back to his clan he will still return with more than he started with. He will also have a new weapon to show his clan and also my baskets." She continued, "There is another thing, Lomasi will be more careful now. There will be more of us than he has men, if Hopi dies."

  They all had been interested in what Na'pe was saying, but now Cano spoke, "Lomasi will never get to take us to his clan. We will escape before we get much closer. We have traveled the river above here and we will find a way to escape at the right place. We will wait for the right time and place, and then make our move. When we escape we will hide from him and his men. After a time he will have to leave."

  Na'pe shook her head; "You don't know him like I do. He will not leave until he has found us again. He has to prove to his men that he is as great as he thinks he is. The only way that he will not follow us, is if we are dead" she paused and added "Or he is." She hesitated again before adding, "He will do anything that can be done to get us back. Lomasi is many things, but he is not a fool. You must learn to fear him as I fear him."

  Cano looked at her and then at the others in turn. "I fear many things, but that does not stop me from doing what must be done. He is bad and dangerous, but that doesn't mean he can do as he chooses. We will see who learns fear."

  "I wish us all well, but I fear Lomasi, as he has given me many reasons to fear him. I will be at your side when the time comes for action, but remember it will not be easy," she said.

  Cano replied, "It would be nice if it was going to be easy, but we will get it done, whatever it takes."

  Gennos asked Na'pe about how they would travel. She explained to them about the dugouts and how they were packed for travel. They sat and talked in low tones as they planned the escape. It was decided that it would be best if they tipped the dugouts over and escaped into the woods in the confusion. It was a weak plan and they all knew it. If they had surprise on their side, and if no one drowned, it might work. They had little choice. The alternative was to spend their lives as slaves in another's clan.

  The next morning the forest was still as death. The trees stood as silent witnesses to the night's passage. When Lomasi rose he stretched and then went over to where Hopi lay. He stood over the silent form and spoke. When he didn't get a reply he nudged him with his foot. He still didn't reply. He was dead. Lomasi stood quietly looking down at the body for a long time before raising his eyes and looking at his captives. Then he spoke to Lork who was just waking. Lork moved over to where Lomasi stood and looked down at Hopi's still form. He turned and walked over to where the captives were tied.

  He untied Na'pe and Dola and led them back to the fire, where he left them under the watchful eyes of Lomasi and Morf. Then he returned to the captives’ tree, and this time he carried a spear. He untied Cano and Gennos and then motioned them toward the edge of the forest. It was near the place where Gennos had been fishing. When they got there, he motioned with the spear to start digging. Cano looked at the ground and then started digging a small hole with his hands. Gennos moved to his side and started to help him with the hole. Lork shouted and waved his spear. The brothers stopped digging and stood looking at him, pretending they had no idea what they were supposed to do. Lork stopped shouting and stood thinking for a few moments; then he took a deep breath. He walked over to where they were digging and drew lines on the ground with his spear to show the size of the hole he wanted dug. He then shouted at Cano and pointed at the marks he had made. Cano nodded and smiled at Lork and then said to Gennos, "This should show them how slow we are." He then moved over to the lines on the ground, he picked up a stick and drew over the lines, and then he smiled at Lork and stood there.

  Lork was about to go crazy; his prisoners couldn't understand even the simplest instructions. The best way to teach them what he wanted was pain. He raised his spear to strike Cano, but was stopped by Gennos speaking to Cano. He watched as Gennos demonstrated to Cano that they were to dig inside the marks on the ground. Cano looked to Lork and then to the ground where the marks were drawn. Slowly he nodded and moved to start digging. Lork lowered his spear and stepped back. As they dug Gennos spoke softly to Cano, "You play the fool well, but be careful, if you are badly hurt I'll have to dig the whole grave."

  Cano didn't answer. They were digging with their hands and he "accidentally" hit his brother with some of the dirt.

  Gennos stopped digging and looked around until he saw a suitable branch, then he broke it and gave half to his brother. The digging tool allowed them to work faster, but the digging was difficult. The soil was moist, but plant and t
ree roots coupled with the rocks made the work slow. When they had made a shallow ditch, Lork motioned them to stop. He then had them go to the fire and carry Hopi's body back to the shallow grave. They lay it on the ground, with his head toward the rising sun. Lork motioned with his spear for them to back away from the grave. When they had moved away he came forward and knelt beside the body. He removed a pouch Hopi had tied around his neck. Opening it he spilled the contents into his hand, and after examining them, he cast them into the river. He tossed the empty pouch into the grave and then rolled the body into the grave face down. He stood and motioned to the brothers to fill the grave.

  Gennos walked over and knelt at the grave, but when he grasped Hopi's shoulders and started to turn him over, he was stopped by a shout from Lork. He shook his head and motioned with his spear to leave the body as it was. Gennos backed away from the grave until he could push the soil back into it. Cano worked from the feet up and Gennos from the head down. When they finished there was only a small mound to mark the grave.

  Lork had them move to the fire where Lomasi stood watching them approach; he held his spear thrower as if he would soon use it.

  Cano shuffled forward with his eyes down. Speaking softly to Gennos he said, "Brother, now there are more of us than there are of them."

  Before Gennos could answer, Lork yelled and motioned them toward the fire faster. His yell was more for Lomasi's benefit than to make the captives move faster. He knew how fast Lomasi's temper could flare. When they arrived at the fire Lomasi spoke first to Lork and then to Na'pe.

  Lork mumbled a reply and then moved away to get some food.