Stone Age Rampage

by Chris Blake

  “Oh, I get it,” she said, smiling. Then, cupping her hands together, she shouted out: “Tlaloc! Come out, come out, wherever you are! Call yourself a rain god? Pain god, more like!”

  “You big chicken!” Tom shouted, for good measure. “We’re not frightened of you!”

  A roll of thunder hammered through the sky. It was so fierce and loud that the battling tribesmen paused in their fighting to look upwards. They saw a rolling mass of black clouds appear out of nowhere to blot out the sun. But it was only Tom and Zuma who saw Tlaloc’s furious blue face scowling down from the stormy sky.

  “You DARE to insult me?” Tlaloc roared, over another rumble of thunder.

  “Insult you?” Zuma shouted back. “We haven’t even started yet. Drain god!”

  “Vain god!” added Tom.

  Lightning bolts of pure rage shot out from Tlaloc’s eyes, arrowing down from the sky and striking the ground in the heart of Gam’s village. The tribesmen scurried for cover, all thoughts of fighting gone for the moment.

  “Missed us!” Zuma jeered. “Not even close!”

  Tom laughed. “Why don’t you show us what you can really do?”

  Tlaloc narrowed his eyes. Tom held his breath. I hope this works, he thought. As the tribesmen stared in amazement, Tom raised his arms in a mighty, god-like gesture.

  Splat! A fat raindrop hit the dry ground right beside Tom’s foot. Then the storm clouds exploded, sending sheets of rain down from the sky and soaking everything in sight.

  “Yes!” cried Zuma.

  The heavy downpour instantly put out the burning huts, leaving them sizzling and smouldering but still standing. Orm’s tribe huddled around their leader, staring at Tom in awe.

  “The boy summons storms!” said one, pointing at Tom.

  “So?” barked Orm. “He is no match for Orm, the mighty warrior!”

  Zuma rolled up her sleeves and stepped forward. “If I were you, I’d get off this land and never come back,” she warned. “Or I’ll bring on something much worse than a silly little rainstorm.”

  “Silly little rainstorm?” Tlaloc seethed. The storm clouds bubbled, and then there was another clap of thunder. It was so loud that the huts of Gam’s village shook. Tom’s ears rang. Orm’s tribe was looking at Zuma in shock.

  “Both of the small ones can control the sky!” howled one of them. “Run for your lives!”

  The rival tribe turned and fled down the hill away from the village. Orm tried to stop them but his men ignored him. Abandoned and outnumbered, the humiliated chief had no choice but to follow.

  “And don’t come back!” Zuma called after him. Chilli barked in agreement.

  “Something tells me he won’t,” laughed Tom.

  Zuma winked up at Tlaloc, whose blue face was still frowning down from the sky. “Sorry about that,” she said breezily. “It was just a joke. A little time-travel humour.”

  “Not funny!” Tlaloc snarled.

  “It was my fault, not Zuma’s,” said Tom. “I’m really sorry.”

  “Don’t ever try and play tricks on me again,” the god warned. “Or I’ll chase you with lightning bolts to the ends of the earth!”

  Tlaloc disappeared in a swirl of grey cloud, taking the rain with him. The sky was once again clear and blue. Gam’s tribe shuffled around Zuma and Tom. They were staring at them with open awe.

  “Gam’s friends can use the weather like a weapon!” said one.

  “They are gods!” exclaimed another.

  “Not really,” said Tom. He was feeling anything but god-like. Even through his heavy furs he was soaked to the skin. When he turned to Zuma, he saw that her hair was wet and straggly and her face was covered in soot. Even so the villagers were still looking at them with a mixture of gratitude and fear.

  “Tom and Zuma saved us,” said Gam, his voice filled with respect. “How can we repay you?”

  “Can you take us to the Ring of Stones?” asked Zuma.

  Gam nodded, his face sober. “Tomorrow, first light. The whole tribe will make journey to sacred Ring of Stones.”

  “Why the whole tribe?” asked Tom.

  Gam looked over to where Col lay on the ground. “Our tribe elder is dead,” he said solemnly. “We will bury him there.”

  Just before dawn a hand shook Tom awake. For a moment he thought it was his dad, waking him for an early morning hike or a dip in the lake. Then he opened his eyes and saw Arn, and everything came back to him. He wasn’t at a cosy campsite. He was thousands of years away, somewhere in the prehistoric mountains. And if he and Zuma couldn’t find Tlaloc’s coin, they were going to be stuck here. Forever.

  “Rise and shine, lazybones,” said Zuma, over Arn’s shoulder.

  The Aztec slave girl had already got up, and was feeding Chilli a scrap of meat. Tom sat up and stretched. From outside he could hear the gruff voices of tribesmen and a bustle of activity. It sounded like there was a lot going on.

  “It is nearly time to go to the Ring of Stones,” Arn told Tom. “There we will help you finish your hunt.”

  “Where’s Gam?” asked Zuma.

  Arn beamed with pride. “Blood-Father is very busy,” he told them. “He has been made the new tribe elder. He will make sure our village is safe and that our people have food to eat from now on.”

  Tom smiled. “I know he will, Arn.”

  When they left the hut, Tom saw tribesmen starting to mend their charred homes. A man with curly brown hair seemed to be in charge, pointing people this way and that.

  “That’s Pag,” whispered Arn. “He is the best builder in the tribe. He will make sure that the new huts are strong and do not fall down.”

  A lot of huts had been damaged by fire during the battle. Pag was going to have his work cut out. He looked happy enough, though, as he ordered some young tribesmen to go and bring him back some wood.

  One of the huts had managed to come through the battle without a scratch. When Tom looked through the open door he saw people chopping up meat in front of a roaring fire in the hearth.

  “After you went to bed,” Arn explained, “I led a hunting party back for the deer Blood-Father had killed.” Arn explained. “Orm’s tribe were so scared they must have run straight past it. We will have a great feast today – thanks to you.”

  A feast sounded like a good idea to Tom. He was starving. But eating could wait. First they had to find Tlaloc’s coin.

  In the distance they saw a procession slowly leaving the village. As the new tribe elder, Gam was at the front. He was dragging a wooden sledge with Col’s body on it. The hunter’s face was solemn. Tom, Zuma and Arn joined the back of the procession and followed it away from the village. No one spoke. Even Chilli didn’t let out a single yap.

  As they walked through the grassy countryside the sun began to rise, casting a pale light over a large hill rising up before them. At the top of the hill there was a ring of standing stones. The hairs on the back of Tom’s neck stood up as he climbed. He had been on a school trip to Stonehenge once, but this was different. At Stonehenge he could see cars moving along the nearby road. But this Ring of Stones was in the middle of a vast, empty land. No birds flew over it. No animals could be seen around it. There was a strange, magical atmosphere about the place that made Tom’s skin tingle.

  Tom had a thousand questions to ask Arn about the stones, but he knew it wasn’t the time. As the procession entered the ring he saw that a grave had been dug in the ground in the middle. Gam dragged the sledge over to the grave and gently laid Col’s body in the earth.

  The sun had lifted itself a bit higher beyond the mountains, bathing the Ring of Stones in yellow light. Tom and Zuma stood silently as the mourning tribesmen stepped forward and laid Col’s weapons and valuables in the grave beside his body.

  “I hope none of those treasures is Tlaloc’s gold coin,” Tom whispered to Zuma. “Otherwise we’ll never get it back.”

  When the tribesmen had finished, Gam took care of the sad task of burying the body. Then he
and Arn came over to join Tom and Zuma.

  “These stones symbolise the heroes who live in our legends,” Arn explained. “Most are named in honour of our gods.” He smiled. “And now two of them will bear the names Tom and Zuma.”

  Zuma blushed.

  “Wow, thanks,” said Tom. “That’s a great honour.”

  Chilli let out a disappointed whine, and Arn laughed. He picked up a small rock and placed it beside the stone called Zuma. “This one can be called Chilli,” he said.

  Chilli wagged his tail in delight.

  They were now the only people left in the Ring of Stones. With Col buried, the rest of Gam’s tribe were heading back down the hillside and returning to their village. Tom and Zuma exchanged a glum expression.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Arn.

  “We still haven’t found what we are looking for,” Tom explained. “We think there’s a gold coin hidden somewhere here, and we need to find it.”

  “Can you help us look for it?” Zuma asked. “Please?”

  Tom, Zuma, Gam and Arn spread out, searching all around the circle. Even Chilli joined the hunt, burrowing at the base of the tallest stone, which had recently been named Tom. But no coin was found in the dirt or anywhere else.

  “It’s not here!” said Zuma. She threw up her arms in frustration.

  At that moment the sun rose fully above the hills. A single shaft of brilliant light shot out across the Ring of Stones. Tom blinked. At the top of Zuma’s stone, something was glinting in the light. Shading his eyes against the glare, Tom looked closer.

  There, at the top of the stone, embedded in the rock itself, was the golden coin – complete with the face of the Aztec sun etched into it – smiling down at them.

  “We’ve found it!” cried Zuma. “But how are we going to reach it?”

  “I have an idea,” said Tom.

  He asked Gam to give him the scraper from his belt. Then he climbed up on to the hunter’s shoulders. Reaching up with the scraper, Tom was able to prise the coin out of the rock.

  Clutching the coin triumphantly, Tom jumped down from his perch.

  “You did it!” cried Zuma, lifting Chilli from the ground and touching the coin. At once the magical mist rose up to surround them.

  “Thanks, Gam and Arn!” called Tom. “Good luck rebuilding your village!”

  “More magic!” breathed Gam. “You are a god!”

  They were the last prehistoric words Tom heard before they once again entered the tunnels of time and travelled back to the present day.

  Tom, Zuma and Chilli landed on Tom’s sleeping bag with a soft thump. They were back inside his tent. Outside Tom could hear a fire crackling. His dad was whistling as he made dinner. Whenever they returned from the past, time had stood still.

  But time wasn’t the only thing that waited for them … Tlaloc was also right where they’d left him, crouching in the tiny tent in the middle of a heavy indoor rainstorm. The Aztec god looked furious, his bulging eyes even bigger than usual.

  “We did it!” said Zuma, plucking the coin from Tom’s hand and flipping it to Tlaloc. “Coin number four, and it’s all yours.”

  Tlaloc’s face darkened. “You deceived me,” he growled at Tom, pointing a gnarled finger at him. “You tricked me into sending a storm to help you.”

  “We didn’t have a choice,” said Tom. “It was the only way to save Gam’s village. We did what we had to do.”

  “Then so will I,” Tlaloc said ominously. “The next quest will be truly impossible. You will pay for mocking me!”

  “Bring it on,” retorted Zuma. “Whatever you throw at us, Tom and I can take it.”

  The god shot her a final wicked look, then raised his arms and vanished in a loud thunderclap.

  “Tom?” came Dr Sullivan’s voice from outside the tent. “You must have finished laying out your sleeping bag by now! Dinner’s ready.”

  Tom scrambled out of the tent to find his dad sitting at the edge of a camp fire, cooking sausages on sticks over the flames. Tom thought back to Gam’s fire in the cave, and the meal of bread and dried fruit they had shared together. Perhaps things hadn’t changed all that much in five thousand years.

  As he looked at the browning sausages Tom’s stomach rumbled loudly. They’d left the Stone Age before the village feast, and he was really hungry. He sat down next to his dad and eagerly took one of the sticks. When the sausage was cooked he took a bite. It was delicious! He wolfed down one, and then another.

  “Someone’s hungry,” said Dad, his eyes twinkling merrily.

  “You have no idea,” Tom laughed. “I feel like I haven’t eaten in an age!”

  “A stone age,” added Zuma. The invisible Aztec girl was lying on the grass on the other side of the fire from Tom, warming her feet by the flames. Chilli barked happily and nestled into her lap. Zuma giggled, and gazed up into the starry sky.

  “Maybe you were right,” she told Tom. “After our trip to the Stone Age, I think I can understand why you were so excited about camping. Roughing it can be fun.”

  Tom looked around at the camping gear that he and his father had brought with them. They had lanterns and flashlights, waterproof tents and warm sleeping bags. Then he thought of Gam’s little pouch of tools – the flint striker and the scraper, the awl and the small drill. What would the Stone Age hunter make of all this hi-tech equipment?

  He finished eating and pushed his plate to one side.

  “Still got room for some pudding?” asked Dad.

  Tom nodded.

  Dad smiled and produced a bag of marshmallows from behind his back. Tom’s eyes lit up.

  “This is the best camping trip ever,” he declared.

  Dad fanned the fire to coax up a flame, then watched as Tom happily stuck two plump marshmallows on to a stick. He held the sweets over the fire to let them warm up.

  “How did you manage to work up such a big appetite?” his dad asked. “All we’ve done so far is put up the tents.”

  And outrun an avalanche, survive a raging river, and save a burning village, thought Tom.

  “I guess it’s all the fresh air that’s making me hungry,” he fibbed. He looked across at Zuma to give her a knowing grin, only to find that she and Chilli were already sound asleep beside the fire!

  Popping one of the gooey, sweet marshmallows into his mouth, Tom smiled. He had no idea what Tlaloc might have in store for him and Zuma on their next trip through time, but he did know one thing for certain.

  He couldn’t wait to find out.

  WEAPONS

  Stone Age men were fierce warriors! Find out what kind of weapons were used in the Stone Age.

  Tanged Spearhead: a metal spearhead attached to a shaft by a prong, dating from the early Bronze Age (2500-1500 BC).

  Flint Knife: a piece of flint that was carved into the shape of a blade and mounted on a wooden hilt.

  Flint Arrowhead: a slice of flint chiselled into a point and attached to a wooden arrow.

  Polished Stone Hand Axe: a crudely smoothed-down stone attached to a shaft, and wielded as an axe.

  STONE AGE TIMELINE

  In STONE AGE RAMPAGE Tom and Zuma go back to the Stone Age. Discover more about it in this brilliant timeline!

  TIME HUNTERS TIMELINE

  Tom and Zuma never know where in history they’ll travel to next! Check out in what order their adventures actually happen.

  FANTASTIC FACTS

  Impress your friends with these facts about the Stone Age!

  The Stone Age lasted around 3.4 million years, making it the longest age in human history! It ended between 4500 BC and 2000 BC when people discovered how to make metals by smelting ores, which was the start of the Bronze Age. About time too!

  During the late Stone Age – or Neolithic Age – carpentry really took off. Small branches of trees were woven into fences and the walls of round houses. They were then wind-proofed with a mixture of straw, clay and animal dung. Gross!

  It took over a thousand years (betwee
n 4500 BC and 3500 BC) for British people to go from travelling hunter-gatherers like the Stone Age men to farmers with established communities. That’s a long time to be wandering around!

  ‘Henges’ or ritual stone rings like Stonehenge or Avebury in Wiltshire started to appear between 3300 BC-1200 and are only found in Britain and Ireland. Rock on!

  Because Stone Age men didn’t have a properly formed language, they used gestures to communicate, and cave paintings to tell stories. Cool!

  Who were the Braves?

  How did they live?

  What weapons did they fight with?

  Join Tom and Zuma on another action-packed

  Time Hunters adventure!

  They landed with a bump in a wood. When the mist cleared, the autumn air was fresh and crisp, with a pleasant earthy smell. Tom looked around and saw that the trees blazed with colour. The leaves were different shades of red, orange and gold. The undergrowth was thick with green ferns, and in the distance Tom caught sight of a sparkling blue river.

  “Wow! It’s so pretty,” Zuma said in a hushed voice. “Where do you think we are?”

  Tom hoped what they were wearing would give them a clue. Zuma was no longer painted blue and feathered. Her dark hair was now twisted into two long plaits. The black necklace was the only thing that remained of her Aztec clothing. Both she and Tom were dressed in soft leather breeches and tunic-style shirts. Leather fringes dangled from their sleeves and the front was decorated with beaded patterns. On their feet they wore beaded leather moccasins. Tom had seen similar ones in the North American section at his father’s museum.

  “We’re dressed like Native Americans,” he said. “But North America is a really big continent so I’m not sure exactly where we are.”

  Zuma hugged her arms around her and shivered. “Brr!” she said. “It’s certainly colder than where I come from. The sooner we find that coin the better!”