I Am Adam

by J.T. Twerell

  Chapter 17

  Year 35

  Dawn awoke as the sun came over the mountaintop, and she saw that Hunter was already up and looking for food. She went to the river and felt the glory of the water caress her naked flesh. The many moons spent traveling had definitely given her deep appreciation for times of Adam being wet. She did not like the flat dry spaces, and was happy they all had agreed to find a resting place near the river. Looking down the stream, she once again saw the distant object that seemed to go across the entire river. Today, she and Hunter would find out what this strange object was, and possibly find a home for the others to settle or cross the water.

  They came together at their resting place, hurriedly ate, and started the journey down river toward the object. As they came closer, it appeared not to be a tree at all, but a long thick vine that attached to each shore. Soon they had come close enough to see that it was definitely a vine, but was woven together similar to the ties that Star made for the float.

  "Look Hunter, the vine is wrapped around that big tree on this side of the river. It looks like something to hold onto as you cross. This is not a natural thing to find. There have to be other Adams around who have done this."

  They ran down the shore and came to the large tree that held the end of the vine. They now saw that it was several large vines tightly put together and fasten very securely around the tree. Dawn pulled on it, and found it was very strong and tight. Setting their animal coverings and supplies on the shore, they began to wade into the river, holding on to the vine. The water became deeper, but they were still able to touch bottom and hold the vine. Soon they were across the water and heading toward the other shore. "This is a perfect place for the others to come," Dawn shouted over the noise of the river. "The clearing ahead looks like it would be big enough for the sheep and all the others."

  They came up the shoreline and stopped to look around at the new territory. The clearing appeared cleared by hand, for there were still short stumps on the ground where someone had cut down trees. They walked up the shoreline, and as they came over the top of the crest, both stopped short and stood looking in awe. Before them appeared a group of large half-round houses and a full place for cooking and fire. On long vines, there hung many animal skins and a large array of dead fish. Hunter went to the fish and took one. It was very dry and covered with some white powder. He tasted the powder, found it was a dry taste, and left his tongue prickly. He tore off a piece of the fish and discovered the meat white and still moist. He tasted the meat, and handed it to Dawn. "This is good," he said. "We have never been able to keep a fish after they are dead, but this is still fresh, and it smells good, too."

  Dawn tasted the fish and agreed it was good to eat. She headed into the camp area and stopped to look at the half- circle dwellings. She went inside and found trees bent to form a half circle on the ground that held the coverings. She saw a woven container and knelt down to look at its contents. Inside, she found beautiful rocks that, even in the darkness of the dwelling, shown brightly. As she was about to call Hunter, she heard a loud scream outside and rushed to see what happened. On the ground, she saw Hunter lying on his face with some sort of stick in his shoulder. "Hunter, what happened?" She screamed and took a step toward him. As she did, she became aware of another behind her and turned to see who it was. As she turned, something hit her head and her world exploded in bright light and went dark.