As he stood thinking, he noticed one of the "cracks" on the walls silently moving down the wall. He flipped his last rock at the wall and was horrified to find that the wall was literally crawling with snakes. They were living in the cracks and holes that he needed to use to climb. If they were that thick on the walls he could see, then they would be on the wall under the ledge. He felt sick. One snake was frightening, but a dark cave full of snakes gave new meaning to the word fear. How can you escape or fight what you can't see? He had to get out of the cave; he knew it was only a matter of time before he was bitten. He moved slowly toward the dark wall of the cave. He could climb the wall and possibly be bitten or stand in the dark and be bitten. He stopped when he felt he was near the dark wall. He knew that he had to climb, but the fear of death was strong. He couldn't bring himself to put his hand out and search for a handhold in one of the snake holes. He felt his knees begin to shake. I don't need this now, he thought. He tried to stop his knees from shaking, but they shook more. Then he realized that the ground was shaking. It became difficult to stand, but he was afraid to steady himself by reaching out to the wall. He could feel and hear a deep groaning, coming from the cave walls. Dust began to fill the air and small rocks started to fall. He looked behind him and it appeared as if the walls of the cave had come alive. Snakes started dropping from the cracks and dents in the walls. A faint plopping could be heard over the rumble of the earthquake as their bodies fell to the sandy floor of the cave. The ground was shaking more violently and the snakes were raining down. Cano could feel them crawling over his feet in an effort to escape the earthquake. A large snake fell across his head and shoulder before falling to the cave floor. It was gone before he could realize and react to the danger. The snakes appeared to be more intent upon escape than in biting. The floor was a slithering mass alive with snakes searching for escape.
The rumbling seemed to be fading; Cano knew he couldn't stay where he was. Maybe this was the chance that he needed. Surely there were fewer snakes in and on the wall then there had been. Maybe they were all gone from the wall. Maybe not. He had no choice; he took his spear and scraped it across the surface of the wall. He was hoping to find handholds that didn't have anything occupying them. He scrapped higher on the wall. Still no sound other than that of the spear. ‘It’s now or never,’ he thought. He started climbing the wall. After he was up off the cave floor he felt safer. The confidence he felt evaporated as quickly as it had come. If a snake can crawl down a wall to escape, it surely can climb up a wall. He knew then that he needed to get to the ledge as quickly as he could. There were many handholds, but each of them could hold scaly death. He climbed slowly, first probing and scraping with the spear and then feeling with his hands. He was able to support most of his weight on his legs, as there were ample footholds. He was nearing the ledge when a snake struck at the spearhead. Cano had been probing for a handhold and found an occupied crevice. The snake’s strike carried its body out of the wall and over his head. Its tail struck his back on the way down. Cano hung there, trying to determine if he had been bitten, then with a sigh of relief he resumed his climb. He could hear the snakes below hissing and the buzz of multiple rattles. He was almost to the ledge when he encountered another snake. It struck at the spearhead, but quickly withdrew. The power of the strike on the spear had almost knocked it from his hand. The snake was above him and in the dark. He had to get past it if he was to reach the ledge. Cano moved the spear lower and then moved it back to the area of the wall were the snake had struck before. It struck again. Cano needed an idea and he needed it now. He was close enough to the ledge to grab it, but if he did the snake would bite him. The snake might not be the kind that killed with his teeth, but then again it might be. He couldn't stay hanging on the wall and he couldn't get by without getting bitten. His only choice was to kill the snake he couldn't see. The snake was much faster than he was. It was hidden and could attack when it wanted. Slowly an idea started to form. It would be difficult, but it was all he could think of. He put the tip of his spear just below where he thought the snake's den was. He quickly poked the point up and jerked it back down, and then he rammed it back up with all of the force he could summon. The snake struck when it first saw the spear tip appear, but it wasn't fast enough in retracting its head. Cano impaled it when he rammed the spear up the second time. The snake went into convulsions and twisted the spear away from Cano's hand as it fell to the cave floor below.
Cano hung there trying to catch his breath. Slowly his breathing returned to a normal rate. He could see the edge of the ledge silhouetted by the light from above. He might be able to reach the edge if he could stretch far enough. He would have to let go with one hand and try to reach it. He took a deep breath and holding on with one hand he reached for the ledge. He was able to reach it, but now he was committed. He would have to let go of the wall, swing out and grab the ledge with his other hand. Without thinking about it too long he did it, and almost fell. When he tried to get a grip with his second hand he got hold of loose stones and lost his grip with that hand. He hung there by one hand, twisting over the snakes below. He wiped his free hand on his chest and then quickly reached for the ledge again. This time he got a good grip. It was then that he thought of something he should have thought of earlier. What if the ledge is not a ledge, but just a slopping surface? He felt a deep despair; it had all been for nothing. This was the end.
He was starting to loose his grip when suddenly he saw Ceola's face in his mind, she smiled and then motioned for him to come. He hung there for a few moments more, stunned by what he thought he had seen. A feeling of peace seemed to flow over him; he brushed away his feelings of failure. He knew he could do what needed to be done. He took a breath and then pulled himself up so that he could see if the ledge was big enough for him to climb onto. When his head cleared the edge he could see it was quite large and there was light to see. He pulled himself up and then got one of his arms on the ledge. He found a crack that he could get his fingertips into and was able to pull himself higher. Finally he was able to get a leg over the edge. He twisted and pulled with all of his might and was able to crawl onto the ledge and roll over on his back gasping for air. He lay there getting his breath back and thinking about Ceola.
Searching for Light
He was still shaken from seeing Ceola's face; he knew then that he would have to see her again. He wasn't sure when or how. Death had been very near and the thought of her had saved him. He would have to think about this more when he had the time. Death was still near and he had to do something about it now. Cano lay looking at the ceiling of the cave. Back away from the ledge he could see light shining in through a circular hole. After he had gathered his strength, he stood and looked around. No Snakes! He gave a sigh of relief; they must not be able to get here because of the ledge and the angle of the caves walls. He stood and walked toward the light. He was disappointed when he got there, the hole letting in the light was too high up to reach. The walls of the cave curved up to the opening, but there was no way to climb to it. The walls curved the wrong way. He looked around for something he could use to climb to the opening. There were no rocks he could move. The only thing in the cave was a pile of sticks against one wall.
When he moved over to the pile he found that they weren't sticks. He had found the skeleton of a man. He was surprised, but not frightened. He knelt and looked at the bones. They were still connected as they had been during life. The person had been about the same size as he was. Cano noticed that one leg had a bone broken. As Cano thought about the broken leg, whoever this person was he must have fallen through the opening in the ceiling and broken his leg in the fall. There was no evidence of any food that been eaten in the cave. He must have starved to death.
As Cano looked around he saw some objects near a wall. When he knelt to examine them he found a strange thing. It was a cutting stone made from a peculiar shiny black rock. The edge was very sharp and a part of it was covered by leather. When he picked it u
p the leather crumbled and fell away. It had to be very old. At first Cano couldn't understand why it was not covering the whole cutting stone. The he realized that it was there to protect the hand when it was being used. Cano liked the idea and knew that Gennos would be interested too. As he sat there on his heels, he saw something else that was odd. There was a small pile of short spears. The spears were even shorter than those used by Lomasi. They also had small feathers on one end and a point on the other end. He picked one up to examine it. The feathers flecked to dust as he touched them. The point was made from the same black stone as the cutting stone. On the end with the feathers there was a notch cut in the shaft at the end. Strange, Cano thought. It must have something to do with the throwing-stick. He looked among the items near the skeleton. He couldn't find a throwing-stick, but he did find a piece of wood that had a twisted piece of rawhide tied to each end. He looked at it carefully, but couldn't understand how it could be used to throw the short spears. He found that the rawhide would fit into the slot in the end of the short spears, but he still couldn't understand how they worked. Maybe, he thought, the throwing-stick had been lost when the man fell into the cave.
Cano sat looking at the remains of the dead man. Would he have been a friend or someone like Lomasi? There was no way to tell. This man had lived and died. Maybe, thought Cano, this is the way my life will end.
He was hungry and thirsty. Looking around he didn’t see anything that he could eat. He saw a movement off to one side of the cave. He reached over and picked up one of the small spears, and then crept forward carefully. What he thought was an animal was the light shining off of a small puddle of rainwater. It must have come in through the opening in the ceiling, during the rainstorm. He knelt and lapped at the water with his tongue. The water had a bad taste, but it was wet and he needed a drink badly. He soon drained the small puddle. He felt better, glancing over at the skeleton he thought, that was a bad way to die. Starving to death, in pain in a dark hole in the ground. He must have been here for quite some time before he died.
He sat down next to the dead man to think. How can I get out of here? I can't go back the way I came, sure death waits there. There is no way to dig my way out through solid rock. The only way to escape seems to be through the opening in the ceiling. But, there is no way to do that or the dead man would have found it. Cano was dejected. He had come so far and now it would end here. Gennos and Na'pe would end up as prisoners for life. Dola may be able to find his way back to the Clan. As he thought about the Clan, his mind flew back to Ceola. He missed her. He still wanted to be with her. She would probably become Bana's mate. A thought came to him. If Gennos was gone, he could return to the Clan and have Ceola. He had not been forced to leave the Clan. Gennos was the one who was forced to leave. Cano quickly rejected the thought, he felt guilty for having thought it. This was his brother he was talking about. My own blood. He had to get out of this cave. Others were depending on him. But how was he to get out?
As he sat there thinking, he looked at the wall of the cave in front of him. It looked strange. The wall was smooth, but it had some odd markings on it. Cano moved closer for a better look. He had never seen anything like it. The dead man must have made the marks. It looked as though they had been scratched on the wall with a stone. Looking around he found a broken spear point made of the same black rock, at the base of the wall. Cano wasn't sure what he was looking at. The marks appeared to have been put there for some purpose. He studied one of the scratchings intently. There was a round mark at the top and a mark below it, there were also other marks coming off the lower mark. It looked like sticks connected to the round mark. What can it mean, he thought? It had to be important; a man that was in pain and dying didn't make these marks just to pass the time.
He looked at some of the other marks on the wall. There were many twisted lines below the first markings. They were twisted like snakes Cano thought. The idea startled him. Could the lines on the wall mean snakes? Maybe. He looked again at the first figure. The marks on the round part were in different positions and were the same shape except one of them at the bottom. It had the line bent. He looked over at the dead man. Slowly understanding dawned on him. The dead man had one leg bent where it was broken. He looked at the marks on the wall. That was it! The marks showed a figure with a broken leg. Cano was amazed. What a great idea. The marks say something without words. He couldn't wait to tell Gennos about this. He would be interested and have lots of questions. He looked back to the wall with renewed interest. The man figure had something in front of him; it was a curved line that had a straight line touching each end of the curve. Cano had no idea what it was. In front of this marking was a straight line that had a point, similar to a spear, he thought. Farther along the wall was what appeared to be an animal of some kind. It had lines coming out of it. Spears! They were sticking out of the animal. The first figure was facing toward it. Cano's mind was racing; this was a message left by the dead man. The dead man had been a hunter and had broken his leg; he was near many snakes.
Cano's thoughts were interrupted by a grinding noise. Then he felt a deep rumbling, it came from the earth below the cave. Dust started to fall and he could hear the buzzing and hissing of the snakes below. The rumbling was stronger than before. He could not stand. The walls shook and some rocks fell before the rumbling ceased. Cano sat before the wall as the world again became still. He looked around the cave and noticed a large crack that started below and had come up the side of the ledge before crossing it. The crack was wide and the ledge looked unstable. It had not been there before.
He returned his attention to the wall with the marks. Behind the first figure was a long shape with many round shapes just above it. What can that be? Cano thought. He put one of his hands up to the marks, and then he put one finger on each of the round marks. He had to use both hands to touch all the round marks. There was heavy scratched line going up the wall from the long shape. It had something big touching the heavy line. Cano had no idea what it was. He wished again that his brother were here. The long shape had a series of marks under it and farther down the wall. He had no idea what these were either.
Out of the corner of his eye Cano saw movement. As he turned to look he saw a large snake's head emerge from the new crack at the ledge. The rumbling had opened a new path for the snakes. They had climbed for the light as he had, in an effort to escape. He watched as it slithered free of the crevice. It was longer that he was tall. It was a reddish brown color with markings on its back. It brought its own smell with it, death. He wished he had a real spear and not one of these baby spears. If he had a real spear he would at least have a chance at survival. As it was now, all of his efforts were for nothing.
The snake had seen him move and was looking in his direction, it had moved into a fully coiled position on the ledge. It lay there motionless except for its tongue; it slid in and out in a flicking movement. Cano felt a chill run down his back, his shoulders involuntary shuddered. He tried to force himself to think. The snake’s black eyes seemed to be trying to bore holes in him.
Cano moved toward the weapons and the snake started buzzing at him. The distance was great enough so that there was no danger of the snake striking him. He knew how fast they could move and he kept his eyes on the snake as he armed himself. Almost as an afterthought he tucked the cutting stone into the strap on his breechcloth. He slowly stood and then remained motionless, a spear in each hand; he knew that before he could get close enough to use the spears, he would be a dead man.
Cano was surprised to see the snake turn its attention from him back to the crevice. He saw movement and another snake poked its head out of the crevice. This snake appeared to be bigger and had different coloring than the one on the ledge. Before it could get completely onto the ledge the first snake struck and buried its fangs in the neck of the newcomer. It twisted back, and the other struck and sank its fangs in its flank. Soon there was a slithering ball of scaly muscles, striking and counter striking. After a f
ew moments the newcomer slid over the edge, but its fangs were buried in the smaller snake and they both fell to the cavern below.
Cano started to take a deep breath, but was stopped when another scaly head emerged from the crevice. He looked around for something to stuff in the crack to keep the snakes from climbing up. There was nothing but the bones of the dead man. As Cano's hand reached down and picked up the skull, the ground began to shake. This time the noise blocked out all other sounds. It roared like a giant tortured beast, and the cave shook. The ledge developed a larger crack which wasn't there one moment and in the next it was, in the next instant the ledge was gone. The shaking was so strong that Cano was thrown to the cave floor. He crawled on hands and knees to the edge of the cave by the wall with the markings. Suddenly the level of noise rose even higher and as the air filled with dust, it was difficult to breathe. A huge section of the ceiling near the opening broke free and crashed to the floor almost hitting Cano. He was dazed and confused, but was able to see that above the rubble a large crack had opened in the cave wall. He could see light from outside. He forced himself up and scrambled over the rubble toward the light. He slipped and fell; a large rock had trapped his leg. Frantically he kicked and twisted until his leg came free. He was about to scramble into the crack when it slid closed. If he hadn't had his foot caught he would have been crushed when the crack closed. Those few moments had saved his life.
The Thinking Rocks Page 22