Riley's Journey

by Parker, P. L. ;Edwards, Sandra

  “They’re actually pretty inventive when it comes to the hunt,” he continued. “I’ve seen them force a herd of bison over a cliff and then climb down to butcher the carcasses. It’s very clever, and that method leaves little chance that any of them will get hurt.” He paused for a moment. “They fish with spears or nets woven from vines or even use fish hooks they fashion from bone.” He sounded as though he admired them. “Most of their diet is mainly meat, including Woolly Mammoths! It’s really amazing the teamwork they use to bring one of those big animals down. Contrary to modern man’s misguided concepts on Neanderthals, they really are skilled hunters.”

  Riley absorbed the information. Everything she was viewing was too real to be a fabrication. She was beginning to believe Nathan might be telling her the truth, in which case, she was getting more frustrated and anxious by the minute.

  Nathan back-crawled from the edge, pulling her with him. When they were far enough away to prevent the others below from seeing them, he stood up and dusted snow from his clothing.

  “There’s another spot nearby where we can watch them fish, if you want to.” He looked inquiringly at her.

  Riley nodded. If nothing else, her scientific interest was titillated by the prospect. Nathan led the way once again, the dog trotting companionably by his side. Riley moved closer, stopping when Demon blocked the path and favored her with another of his tooth-bared snarls, growling a warning for her to stay behind.

  “Does that dog ever give up?” She glared at him.

  “He’s just doing what comes naturally—making sure you know the pack order. He considers himself higher in the hierarchy than you. Give him a few days and he’ll be sitting in your lap!”

  “I don’t think so! And to think he was sleeping on my pillow this morning. That’s the thanks I get for sharing.” She kicked snow at the dog, which refused to budge. “Move out of the way, you big lug, or I’ll have to teach you a lesson.” Her mouth felt a little dry. He could be serious, she thought, as the dog stalked a few steps towards her.

  “Knock it off, Demon,” Nathan slapped the dog’s flank, “leave the lady alone.”

  Demon’s posture slackened, wagging his tail at Nathan as if to say Riley was safe for the moment, but as he swung back to Riley, she could see the gleam in his eyes. He was waiting for just the right moment to pounce.

  Riley stepped by him, trusting that Nathan would intervene if the dog attacked—or maybe not—but she wasn’t going to let Demon think she was afraid of him. It didn’t matter that he must weigh 230 plus pounds, he was after all, just a dog. Although, perhaps she should have stayed in the rear—having Demon behind her gave the dog the advantage if he did decide to attack. Just thinking about it made her nervous and her neck was getting stiff from turning around to keep an eye on him.

  “Quit worrying,” Nathan chuckled. “He really is a big baby once he gets to know you.”

  “It’s that ‘once he gets to know you’ part I’m worried about. What if I don’t last that long?”

  Nathan whistled and waved his hand and Demon ran down the path. “You can relax, I told him to go hunt.”

  “And that’s all you do to get his attention?” She was unwillingly impressed—again!

  “I’ve had a lot of time on my hands and no one to talk to. Working with him is pretty much all that’s kept me sane,” Nathan said quietly. Riley found herself wanting to comfort him which was pretty weird under the circumstances.

  Rounding a small hill, they were again in a position to look down upon the industrious others. This group were fishing, using nets and spears, and quite successfully from the steadily growing pile of fish. From their vantage point, Riley and Nathan watched the scene. At various times, Nathan would point out those he was somewhat familiar with.

  “Why do you dress like you do when you go out and how come you didn’t today?” Riley questioned.

  “When I first came here, we knew there was a good chance I would encounter the others and rather than scare or intimidate them, we thought it was better for me to blend in. A team back at the research center put together the facial prosthesis, but I had to make some adjustments after I first made contact. They really aren’t a great deal different from us—heavier browed, as you know, but physically, not that much different. Mostly just shorter and stockier. Most of them have bowed legs as well.”

  Thinking back to her first meeting, Riley nodded. She knew people in her time who could easily have moved through the crowd of the others and never been noticed. They might be broader, heavier browed and chinless, but that could be said of a lot of people she knew. From her point of view, the biggest difference was their personal hygiene.

  Nathan tensed, his eyes focused on something in the wooded area to the right of the fishermen.

  “What’s the matter?” Riley whispered, sensing the change in his demeanor.

  He pointed. “Over there, just at the edge of the tree line, near that dead fall, do you see?”

  Riley squinted against the glare from the river. In the direction Nathan was pointing, bushes were moving as though something was working its way through. After a few minutes of looking intently at the area he indicated, she finally got a good glimpse of some sort of animal and as she watched, it came fully into view. It was a bear, and a huge bear, working its way down the hill towards the river and the group of fisherman. She’d seen bears before but nothing prepared her for the size of this one. It was huge and so horrifically fierce looking, her stomach clenched. None of the fishermen had noticed the bear, their attention was entirely focused on fishing, and the bear was getting dangerously close.

  “Look behind you,” Nathan whispered to the others, “he’s almost on you!” Nathan turned to her. “I don’t understand it, they usually have three or four just on lookout, but no one seems to be on guard right now.”

  Nathan stood up in full view and whistled as loud as he could, pointing in the direction of the bear’s approach. They were too far away, or too intent on the fishing to notice him. Riley was about ready to try throwing rocks when Demon bounded up. The dog looked down and spotted the bear immediately. His hackles bristled and a low growl rumbled from his throat.

  “Demon! Go!” The dog immediately started down the steep incline, moving quickly and effortlessly.

  “You can’t send him after the bear—it’ll kill him!” Much as she didn’t like the dog, she liked the idea of him being hurt even less.

  “He’ll be fine. He knows what to do and all he needs to do is distract the bear long enough so maybe the others will notice.”

  Demon had reached the bottom of the incline and was running towards the bear, putting himself between the stalking carnivore and the unwary fishermen. The bear stopped, smelled the air and turned towards Demon, weaving his head back and forth as he sensed the danger. Demon ran closer and began growling and snapping, drawing the bear’s total attention.

  Riley watched the scene with trepidation, worried that Demon would get too close and the bear would injure or kill him. The dog’s excited barking drew the attention of several of the fishermen who immediately grabbed their weapons. Demon kept up his attack, dashing in and jumping quickly out of reach of the bear’s raking claws and gnashing teeth. By now, most of the fishermen had taken up their weapons and were forming a defensive half-circle in front of the bear. Nathan whistled again and Demon whirled and ran back.

  “No reason for him to continue now that they know the bear is near,” Nathan commented too casually as he watched the scene below. “They can handle it from here.”

  The others poked and prodded the bear, jumping out of the way whenever he clawed or lunged at them, and finally, out of frustration, the bear lumbered off, the others whooping and hollering as he shambled away.

  Nathan turned and started back along the pathway as Riley scrambled up, followed shortly by Demon, his eyes sparkling and tongue lolling out as though he had just come from a pleasure run. He moved into position between Nathan and Riley, once again affir
ming his position in the pack. Riley sniffed, but decided he deserved some consideration—after all, he was the one who fought the bear—not her, thank goodness.

  “Are all the bears so enormous and are there a lot of them around?” She nervously eyed the dark forests on all sides.

  “He was pretty big, larger than most I have seen, but in answer to your question, yes, most of them are pretty enormous and there are more than a few. His descendants will one day be our world’s native brown bears.”

  Riley digested this information. The image of the huge bear would be imprinted in her brain forever and she doubted she would ever feel comfortable knowing that he or one of his buddies might be lurking behind the next tree or large rock.

  “What other huge predators are we likely to encounter?”

  Nathan stopped and turned. “Makes you nervous, doesn’t it?”

  “Of course it makes me nervous! Where I come from animals like that bear are in the zoo and the only predator I have to worry about is man!”

  “Well, in this reality, not only do you have to worry about men, but there are any number of wild carnivores that would view you as a perfect lunch entree. It’s best that you remember that little bit of information if you are going to survive here.”

  Anger boiled up again and Riley vented. “Survive here? I never asked to be here at all, let alone survive! And unless I’ve misinterpreted the situation, I am stuck here! Forever! With you!” Riley glowered at him, her eyes begging him to contradict her.

  His own anger surfaced and Nathan countered. “Let’s get something straight! I didn’t ask Bethany to send you here. I wouldn’t have done that to anyone. I’m sorry she did what she did, but I can’t change it. The only thing I am very sure of is we can’t return and unless you have a better plan, I suggest we try to make the best of a very bad situation.”

  Unable to maintain the “tough guy” attitude any longer, Riley sat down on the nearest rock and began to cry, great heaving sobs. Not having had to deal with any human emotions other than his own for the past five years, Nathan was unsure how to comfort her. Awkwardly, he gathered her close, gently rocking her until the tears subsided.

  “I don’t suppose you have a Kleenex on you?” Riley hiccupped.

  He grinned, his eyes warm pools of compassion. “No, but you can use my parka sleeve if you want.”

  “No thanks!” Her face screwed up in disgust. “I brought some of your bathroom leaves just in case I needed them.”

  He laughed, relieved that she had calmed down and the crying episode was over. “Good thinking! The pickings are pretty scarce out here and it’s been so long since I’ve been around a woman, I didn’t even think about that.” As if suddenly remembering that he hadn’t been around a woman in a long time, he stiffened, dropping his arms and stepping back awkwardly. “I wish Bethany had thought through her actions before she went ahead and sent you back here.” He lifted his head, searching the sky. “We’d better be getting back. It’s still quite a distance to the shelter and, unless you want to spend the night in the open, we’d better keep moving.”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  The trek back to the cave was indeed quite a distance and slow going due to the depth of the snow. By the time they arrived, Riley’s feet and legs were numb with cold and the relative warmth of the cave’s interior was a welcome relief. Quickly and efficiently, Nathan had a fire blazing and water warming before she even had her boots pulled off. Remembering the previous night, she laid the boots by the fire to dry. Nathan nodded approvingly. “I’ll have dinner ready soon. You can use the shower if you want. I’ll have plenty of hot water ready in just a few minutes.”

  A hot shower sounded too wonderful to be true and Riley saw no reason to refuse his offer. She hung her parka on one of the pegs protruding from the cave wall and then entered the back room, her mind on the simple pleasure of a hot shower. Nathan came in behind her, carrying a large clay basin filled with steaming water, which he poured into a receptacle at the top of his shower apparatus.

  “Where did you get the clay pots?”

  “I made them. They’re not very pretty, but they’re serviceable. There’s some good clay dirt down by the river and working with clay was one of the things I studied before I came back here. It’s really very simple. The hard part is shaping it properly. My first attempts were pretty pathetic, but I got better the more I experimented.” He finished pouring the water, then pulled out some thin pieces of what appeared to be felt material. “Here’s some towels, just hang them by the fire when you’re done.”

  “Where did you get felt?” Riley rubbed the texture between her fingers.

  “Well, I don’t know if felt is supposed to be around for quite some time, but only having animal skins or leather is a real problem sometimes so I fashioned a few things out of felt. I’ve even been considering taking up weaving.”

  “Weaving? You have a loom?” She was amazed again at his ingenuity.

  “Not exactly, but I don’t think it would be that hard to put one together. I know the basic design.”

  “How do you make felt?”

  “Take your shower while the water’s hot. We’ll talk over dinner. If the water’s too hot, just add some cold from the spring.” He turned to leave. “There’s a robe of sorts made out of felt as well. You can use it if you want. It’s by the bed.” Walking to a shelf, he handed her a small clay pot. “This is my own version of soap. I made it from tallow and wood ash. Works pretty good but I haven’t been able to figure out how to scent it yet.”

  “Well, you have been just a regular little Holly Homemaker since you’ve been here,” she teased him, smiling for the first time.

  He paused, his eyes drawn to her face. Her Cupid’s bow lips curved, dimples peeking out from her smooth cheeks. The smile lit up her direct eyes with its glow. He swallowed hard trying to formulate an intelligent response, tongue-tied by the subtle thaw in her heretofore chilly attitude. It had been so long since he had indulged in more than a one-sided conversation and even longer since he had laughed with a beautiful woman.

  Riley watched him, amused by his obvious discomfort. He was squirming, shuffling from one foot to the other, his face flushed, a slight sheen of perspiration coating his upper lip. She almost laughed out loud. He was exhibiting all the reactions of a confused teenager. Here was a man who had lived on his own for five years or more with only a dog for company, surviving in the harshest of environments, only to falter at the mere act of conversing with a woman. Maybe it wasn’t so strange, she thought. She might be a little nervous herself under the same circumstances.

  Nathan coughed, clearing his throat. “Come on out when you’re ready. I’ll have dinner on the table.” Turning, he almost ran from the room, escaping with what little dignity he could muster.

  Riley undressed and stepped into the makeshift shower. Reaching up, she pulled down hard on a leather thong attached to the shower apparatus and warm water sluiced down. The sensation was too wonderful to describe. Hurriedly, she soaped all over and rinsed off before the warm water ran out, wrapping herself in one of the towels. Using the other, she dried her hair and then pulled on his robe. She rinsed out her underwear as well, the only pair she had. Not having any other sort of night clothes and having slept in her clothes the previous night, the relative freedom of the robe was a welcome respite from the heavy leather. If she was stuck here, something would have to be done. She needed more than one set of clothes.

  Nathan looked up from setting the table as she stepped through into the living area. She wore his robe and, unless he was mistaken, nothing else. Unconsciously, his body reacted. Embarrassed, he turned away, breathing deeply and trying to focus on anything other than her nearness. She hesitated, confused by his reaction. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, sure! Why do you ask?” He mentally damned Bethany once again.

  “Well, you acted like you were angry at me or something,” she explained as she gingerly sat down at the table.

  �
�No, I’m not angry, just not used to being around people.” His response seemed to satisfy her and she relaxed.

  “Thank you for the shower. It was wonderful!”

  “No problemo—anytime.” He ladled out dishes of food for her, himself and lastly, Demon, who slurped his down in two bites and look expectantly at their bowls.

  “Go lay down,” Nathan commanded the dog. “You can have the leftovers.” The dog acted like he understood as he lay down and patiently waited for them to finish.

  “He’s pretty smart, isn’t he?” Riley commented, watching the dog, who immediately bared his teeth at her, “or maybe not.”

  Nathan laughed, his eyes sparkling in the soft glow of the fire. “He’s actually pretty amazing. I haven’t really worked with him too much, but he picks up so fast and he doesn’t forget. I don’t know what I would have done without him. He’ll get used to you, just give it some time.” They ate in companionable silence for awhile.

  “You were going to tell me about felt making,” Riley prompted.

  He explained. “First, I had to find some wool. That was the hard part. There are some wild sheep or goats of some sort around here, but they aren’t that easy to catch and I had to get pretty inventive. I did finally catch some young ones and I have them penned up in a cave near here. They’re about 3 years old now. After I finally had some wool, I carded it with some combs I made. I stretch the locks of wool into rectangles and layer the rectangles with the fibers all going in the same direction,” he demonstrated the technique by hand gestures. “Then I make a second layer at right angles to the first. Most of the time I only use two layers, but I could use more if I wanted additional thickness. Afterwards, I wet the whole thing down between two layers of skins and then I walk all over it until the fibers had compacted together. That takes forever! Then I squeeze all the water out and stretch and shape it to add strength. Then it just has to dry for about a day or more. That’s it.” He made a very complicated process sound so easy.