Caveman Alien’s Claim

by Calista Skye

  One talon of the irox scrapes along my back before it beats its wings and soars into the sky again. But I know it will return, very soon.

  “My gold!” someone is yelling. “Give me back my gold!”

  The jungle is too far away to escape into, and the caves are too far the other way. Tamara and I are caught here. At the mercy of the flying predator.

  “Draw your sword!” Tamara screams.

  I fumble for my weapon and draw it out of its scabbard with a hand that shakes. Sword against an irox. Insane!

  “There it comes!” Tamara yells and throws herself down. “Kill it, Car’rakz! Jump and kill it!”

  The irox is diving for me. It comes from almost straight up. This is not what I practiced with the jumping.

  Then it screams, and the sound pierces me to my core and freezes me with my sword hanging limply by my side.

  It’s hopeless. It will kill us both.

  A heavy weight hits me in the side and knocks me over.

  “My gold!” Chief Had’dax screams into my face. He appears to have lost his mind. “Give me my gold, Car’rakz!” He sprays my face with spittle and grabs me by the hair.

  I hear the sound of sharp talons ripping through the air, there’s a sharp pain from my head, and then the weight of Had’dax is gone from my chest. The irox screams once in triumph as it carries the chief away in its long beak. Had’dax screams, too, but the scream is suddenly cut off as the irox breaks his spine.

  Then Tamara is there, her face an inch from mine. “Car’rakz! Let’s go! Where’s the gold?”

  I spot it a few feet away. But I also spot the tribesmen surrounding us. They all have their swords drawn, and they’re looking at me very, very darkly.

  Tamara yelps as strong hands pull her off me, and then I’m being tied by my hands and feet.

  “I can’t believe what I’m seeing, ”Brac’akz says sadly. “Car’rakz. Our youngest. Stealing gold from the chief. You’ll be cast out for this, Car’rakz.”

  His words don’t register much. All I know is that I failed Tamara again. Once more I froze in front of an attacking irox. At the most important time.

  “Tamara,” I exclaim, vaguely aware that blood is dripping from me. “I’m sorry.”

  “Take your hands off me, you brute!” She’s yelling and spitting and trying to bite the tribesmen who have grasped her. They’re trying to tie her up, but the way she’s kicking and screaming, it will take them a while.

  “Touch her and die,” I bellow, and despite me being tied up, the tribesmen back off her after they have attached a rope around her neck.

  Then they take her away. And I know I have failed her for the last time.

  28

  - Tamara -

  I struggle and scream and yell and hiss as they carry me back to the caves. “Car’rakz!” I yell. “You’re bleeding!”

  It takes four cavemen to carry me, one on each limb. Still they struggle, and I make sure they work for it.

  They hastily clear out what seems to be a storeroom and put me in there, closing a wooden door and tying it shut with rope. They leave an empty bucket in the corner, and I can guess what it’s for. I might be in here for a while.

  I take off the rope around my neck and kick at the door. “Let me out, you evil men!” I won’t let them forget I’m in here.

  Finally, I sit down on an empty box.

  “Fuck.”

  This didn’t work out the way I wanted it to at all. That stupid dactyl! Why did it have to come at this exact moment?

  But I suppose it makes sense. The dragon is in its cave at night, so if a curious dactyl wants to check out what’s happening in this part of the jungle, the night time is the only option.

  Okay. So we lost the gold. The chief was taken by the dactyl, insanely attacking Car’rakz with the dactyl about to dive on him. The gold fever had him good. So good he died for it. I guess that can happen when a man has no women around him and has to find another outlet for his passions.

  It might be for the better. For the tribe, at least.

  And for Car’rakz. Dammit! He froze up again. His sword was just hanging at his side at the exact moment when he should have been drawing it back for the jump, getting ready.

  I get up and shake at the door. “Let me ouuut! Car’rakz!”

  The anger gives way to worry. He was bleeding when they took him away. I think the dactyl cut him. I don’t trust these cave dudes to give him proper care and treatment. They were pretty cavalier about his face burn way back then.

  I sit back down.

  “Shit!” I exclaim and hide my face in my hands. The dragon is getting very close to this village now. It might be here tomorrow or the day after. And when it sees a whole bunch of guys traipsing around with gold on every fucking finger, it will pounce. On them and on everyone around. With that fire the dragon can spew, there will be nobody left here. No cavemen.

  And no little Earthling.

  - - -

  It’s a very unpleasant night. I’m haunted by thoughts of what I could have done differently.

  And I’m sick with worry about Car’rakz. The blood was dripping from him.

  But even I realize that this is not the time for looking back. I need a plan for how to proceed.

  Things might not be as bad as I think. Car’rakz might be healing well, and now that the chief is dead, the other guys must be easier to reason with. They can’t have succumbed to the fever like he had. Not all of them.

  A caveman comes and slides a leaf of food under the door. I run over and call to him. “Hey! I want to see Car’rakz!”

  But there’s no reply, just the sound of feet walking away fast. I think I scare them a little.

  “Not is me you should be scared of, it’s the dragon!” I yell just for form’s sake. They can’t claim they weren’t warned.

  I pick at the food. Meat and some herbs and roots. Different from the way Car’rakz would make it. I hope he’s okay.

  I really hope he’s okay.

  Of course, he is. He’s stronger than an ox. And that’s factual. Then way he handles me, with my not insignificant bulk — an ox would struggle more than he does.

  He’s the best man I’ve ever met. By a mile. By ten miles. And I can’t bear the thought of not having him with me.

  So he freezes up when attacked by dactyls. Hey, he’s a bright guy! He knows those things are deadly. And after the trauma he suffered as a kid, I don’t blame the guy at all. He’s brave and sweet and loyal. He fucks like a demigod. Of course, I have nothing to compare him to, but I can’t imagine any Earth guy would look too good by comparison. None of them ever ate me out, either.

  I kick at the door again. “Hey, cave losers! Let me out of here!”

  There’s no reaction.

  I sit back down.

  What I’ll do is bring Car’rakz back to the tribe. I’ll tell our story, and they will have no choice but to accept him. I know they will.

  The whole day passes, and there’s no sign of Car’rakz. I get three decent meals, but nobody talks to me through the door.

  Darkness comes, and I realize I won’t be seeing him today. That can’t be a good sign. He might be injured worse than I thought.

  I hear some commotion outside and get up to investigate. Through the door, I can see that all the cavemen are assembled outside the chief’s cave. Except Car’rakz.

  Their voices are loud, and I soon realize that they’re all involved in a huge quarrel. Some of them get punched, some try to quiet things down. But they’re all very agitated.

  And I soon see why. In the middle of them all is a big fire. Beside it is a fur spread out on the ground. And on the fur is all the dead chief’s gold, glittering in the firelight.

  The caveman are dividing the loot, and they’re all every bit as crazy about gold as the chief was.

  They get louder and louder, and real fights are breaking out. I scratch my head. Is this a good or a bad sign?

  I suddenly gasp. There is someone at the
door to my cave, just an inch away from my face.

  “Tamara?”

  For a moment I’m stunned. “Car’rakz!”

  I stand back as he opens the door and sneaks in, closing the door behind him.

  I go close and hug him, but he doesn’t return my embrace.

  “Are you okay?” I ask, looking him up and down.

  “Yes. We don’t have much time. You have to go back to your tribe. My tribesmen are concerned about your presence. They intend to kill you to prevent you from telling anyone about the gold they have.” His voice is flat and his stare intense.

  “They want… kill me?”

  “Yes. It has been decided. But I can’t stand the thought of it. You have to leave. Now. Here is some food and water. Do you remember the way? The river will be much smaller now. You can cross it in many other places other than the stone bridge.”

  It takes me a second to process that. Then I grab his forearm. “Come with me! We’ll leave this stupid tribe and go to mine. We know lot more about dragon now!”

  He uses his other hand to take my hand off his arm. “Your tribe told me that I’m not good enough for them. I hadn’t killed any irox. And I still haven’t. Not even yesterday, when I really should have. Nothing has changed.”

  I grab his arm again. “Everything has changed! Car’rakz! The irox not matter. Only dragon does! We have learned so much about it!”

  “Yes. And you can tell your tribe all of it.”

  Shit. He’s so damn stubborn! “They not know you. I will tell them about you! You a great hunter and warrior and smith! You brave and… wonderful!”

  “I will stay with my tribe,” he says. “It’s not perfect, but I will help them to change. If that is necessary.”

  I want to slap him. So I do, right on his bulging chest. “This tribe? You want stay with this tribe? Tribe that sent you to work in the gold mine at age four? The tribe that was more concerned about saving all gold than caring for you after face was burned? You know they all flee, left you alone with irox back then. You and Xis’tan. That tribe?”

  “It is my tribe,” he states flatly.

  “Tribe that totally neglected their Lifegivers? Tribe that keeps lying to you about how Lifegivers died? One say it was drought, the other say it was flood. You know what? It neither of those things! This tribe was so obsessed with gold, they let Lifegivers die, one after other! When you were born, tribeonly had one left! And hardly ever used it! They’ve been lying to you all your life, Car’rakz. It’s highly wonder you ever survived to adult man in this shitty tribe!”

  “They have their faults,” he agrees. “But it is my tribe. And I will stay with it.”

  “This not a tribe,” I hiss. “A tribe has hunters. Not just one. But big parties of them! A tribe has food stores. It has decent village with fence around it. It has guards, Car’rakz! Guarding village, not useless gold! A real tribe has a future. It has Lifegivers. This tribe has none of those things!”

  “I know this tribe is nowhere near as good as yours,” he says coldly. “But perhaps it can change. And your tribesmen don’t want me. They were clear about it. They said it in the most friendly way. But they were clear. And after I failed to kill the irox last night, I can’t say they were wrong.”

  I’m speechless. He’s so damn sure about this. And he’s so wrong.

  Tears of frustration are welling up in my eyes. “The dragon, Car’rakz. The trap!”

  “I’m sure your glorious tribe will take care of the dragon. They don’t need me for it. And you said yourself the trap won’t work without gold. Well, we have none.” He hands me a long, thin spear with a steel tip.

  I don’t take it. “That mighttoo late. The dragon coming closer to this village. When comes and sees all the gold your tribesmen wearing, it will attack. And if you think therebe single man left alive here after that, then you are highly mistaken.”

  He takes my hand and forces my fingers around the shaft of the spear. “Then perhaps that’s for the best. As you say, a real tribe has a future.”

  He turns his back, slowly opens the door, looks around and then back at me. “I can’t protect you on your way back. But a man who freezes up the moment an irox appears isn’t much good as protection, anyway.”

  Then he’s gone.

  For a moment, I just stand there, shell shocked, hearing the fight outside still go on.

  I grab the bag he left and sneak out the door. I walk fast along the cliff face until I’m in among the trees. I correct my course so I’m walking towards the cave on the mountain.

  And then I put the Rentoni village behind me forever.

  - - -

  In the darkness, I lose my way a couple of times, so it takes me just about all night to get to the cave on the mountain. As I reach it, there’s a stripe of light on the horizon where the sun will rise.

  I immediately regret coming here. My anger has dissipated, and now all I can think of are all the good times I had here with the jungle panorama under me. I’ve never felt as loved as I did up here, with Car’rakz holding me tight and whispering into my ear with my body still in bliss after receiving another good fucking and orgasm.

  I think he did love me. In his own way.

  But not as much as he loves his tribe.

  I sit down on the ground and let the grief take over for a while, shaking with sobs, hoping he will change his mind and come after me. He has to know I’d be making for this cave.

  Nobody comes, and finally I dry my tears.

  I worry about him. When the dragon finds that village and all its gold, it will probably go crazy with glee. And Car’rakz is too loyal to run. He will be among the first to die, protecting someone else’s useless gold.

  It might not be long, either. Maybe an hour from now, the dragon will leave its cave. And the trap is there, waiting. But it has no bait.

  I twist the bangle around my wrist. I would really, really hate to lose it. But it might be worth a shot.

  I squint in the direction where my tribe and village is. There are kids and babies and pregnant women there. Perhaps this dragon is the only one that will come. If so, taking it out could save my friends’ lives.

  I don’t have any kids. And while I might be pregnant after all the sex I’ve been having, there’s no sign of it yet. We will never get a chance like this again.

  I get to my feet and clench my spear in my hand.

  “See you, guys,” I whisper into the sunrise.

  Then I walk back the way I came.

  29

  - Car’rakz -

  “You really don’t want any?” Ver’nax says and holds out a thin chain. It’s very fine, probably made by old Xrei’zan before he died.

  “No,” I say. “Take it yourself.”

  “Very well.” He needs no convincing, and immediately puts the chain around his neck to join two others, much thicker. “Now, don’t think you can get any of the gold in the public box, Car’rakz. It will still remain on its pedestal for all to admire. Gold is especially fine to look at when there’s a lot of it, I find.”

  A new day is beginning, and the sun shines brightly over the trees. And yet, my mind has never been darker. With Tamara gone, the world has lost its light. Everything that matters is gone. The gold my tribesmen are admiring in the middle of the village seems to me as important and as fine as the ashes of an old fire. Dull and dirty.

  ‘Useless,’ Tamara said. And how right she was.

  The tribesmen have divided up Chief Had’dax’s gold between them. It took all night, and some of them are sporting bruises and black eyes from the fights that broke out. But today, they are all much richer than they were yesterday, and a content peace has settled on the tribe. Last night is forgotten, and several tribesmen are sitting with me on the rock in the middle of the village, talking happily.

  Many of them are eager to go to the mines and get more gold, now that they know Had’dax won’t take most of it. I see a source of all kinds of conflict in that. Already, some of the men are s
taking claims in various parts of the new mine, and they even offer to show me where it is.

  I wave them off. I had a much better thing than gold.

  I had Tamara. For a little while.

  And she made my life brighter than all the gold in the world.

  While it lasted.

  Now she’s on the way to her tribe. As is only proper. She was too good for me or for this tribe. I knew it all along. But for a few blissful days, I was able to trick myself into thinking that I was worth it. Me, Car’rakz with the ruined face, who freezes up as soon as he hears the scream of an irox.

  Ridiculous.

  I take a swig of water. It’s tepid and not too fresh. Nobody has gone to the creek lately to get fresh drinking water.

  Tamara is right. It’s not much of a tribe. No Lifegivers, no shaman, no chief, no organized hunting. Only the gold.

  For a moment, the pain of the loss makes me wince and close my eyes. The only thing I can see are her big, dark eyes when she looks up at me.

  “Are you well, Car’rakz?” Ver’nax asks.

  I take my hand away from my eyes. “Hmm?”

  “You keep groaning like you’re in deep pain. The irox’s claws cut you deep, hm?”

  I look away. “Yes.”

  “Don’t worry, warrior,” he says. “Soon you will heal and you will see that there is still much gold to be mined. There will be some for you, too. Don’t pretend you don’t want any. We all saw you running with the chief’s prized possession in your hand. But there’s no need to steal, Car’rakz. There’s enough for everyone in the mine. Sure you won’t go there today?”

  I put the water pouch on the rock and get up. The irox’s talon did cut pretty deeply into my back when it flew over me, and I feel the burn from it with every movement. But it’s nothing compared to the darkness and emptiness that the loss of Tamara has left in me. “There’s hunting to do.”

  “We’ll need a new chief,” Ver’nax says and winks. “And we’ll vote on that today. You have good chances, Car’rakz. We won’t forget that you rid us of Had’dax and made his gold available for the rest of us.”