Death on the Trek (12 page)

Enga agreed with that. Who had Mootak seen? All white he said. Could it be Stitcher, the very white tall one who had left the tribe? Had he returned? Why would he want to hit Panan? Some of the Hamapa were pale also.

Tog and Bahg returned to help Hapa carry the body. Sannum and Ongu Small One comforted Mootak as he sat and rocked, front to back, his eyes still wide, the shock and horror rolling off him in heavy laden sheets.

Chapter 18

“[At] La Brea tar pits…about 70 percent of the fauna are carnivorous mammals and birds of prey… They include the gigantic Merriam’s teratorn (
Teratornis merriami
). This extinct, meat-eating relative of the stork weighed 30 pounds and had a 14-foot wingspan.”

—Ice Age Mammals
by Ian M. Lange, pp. 27

78

After the body of Panan One Eye was brought to the place where the rest of the Hamapa were gathered, Hama decided on the first action.
We will dispose of his body and sing for him.

Should we delay for this?
Hapa asked.
It is important that we keep journeying after stopping so long on the other side of the river, and for the flood.

Hama answered,
He was an Elder and deserves the respect of a burial. He should be buried to protect his body from scavengers. We should cover ourselves with ashes and mourn Panan properly.

We also
should
dress him in camel skin and sprinkle him with flower petals
, Cabat the Thick thought-spoke
. We
should
dig a deep hole and spend many suns chanting and moaning.

Hapa considered this, then shook his head. All knew they would not be able to do most of this. It would take time to bury him and they had already stayed in this place, crossing the water and waiting for the flood waters to go down, for too long, as Hapa had pointed out.

All were gathered around the body, but Enga Dancing Flower noticed that Tikihoo stood apart. She did not look at the body, but gazed into the distance, back toward the river.

After a private conference between Hama and Hapa, Hama thought-spoke to all.
Panan One Eye is an Elder. However, we cannot bury him properly. He will be left to return to Brother Earth and the animals that live here, as we do for those who are not Elders.

Enga thought she detected satisfaction from Hapa that Panan would not be treated according to his rank in the tribe.

Hama asked if anyone had animal fat to spare. Zhoo of Still Waters thought she could spare a bit. There was no wipiti to take Panan into for privacy, so his clothing was stripped where he lay. Zhoo dabbed some of the precious bear fat she had brought from their village onto his skin. She even used a bit of the peccary fat she carried to protect the tender skin of Sooka from the rays of Mother Sun.

Several scouted for a suitable place to lay him. They did not find a large flat rock. That would have been a good place. Bodd Blow Striker said he saw, in the distance, odd projections coming up from the ground, but they looked very far away. Enga squinted toward the far edge of Brother Earth. There were the sharp gray forms.

If those are rocks, they are not flat,
she thought-spoke to Bodd.

He agreed and trotted off to join the others who were still looking for a place to expose Panan.

At last, they decided to leave him upon the ground. There was no other place. The body was carried a short distance and laid onto the ground with reverence. Everyone came to the place but Tikihoo. She remained behind and had still not looked at the body of Panan.

Lakala chanted a short Song of Asking to the animals of this place, asking them to take the Hamapa brother for their use.

When Sister Sun returned, she would dry up what was left of Panan after the night creatures had nourished themselves. Already, a large bird was wheeling above them, casting its shadow over the group. They gave a collective shudder and moved away.

They decided to continue and walk as far away from this place as fast as they could. They did not want to hear the sounds of beasts feeding on Panan in the night. Perhaps that bird overhead was not going to wait for dark time. It circled more and more low.

As they started out, Sister Sun returned, pushing aside the dark, heavy clouds, and warming those who had been in the water most recently. The strange, distant, blue-gray forms continued to intrigue them, but the tribe seemed to draw no closer to them, even though they walked until long after Sister Sun had gone to mate with Brother Earth for dark time.

If only Enga could talk to Tikihoo about why she avoided the body. That was puzzling Enga.

During that dark time, everyone slept well, Enga thought. She slept soundly herself. The pains where the baby-seed rested stopped bothering her at last.

When she awoke, Hama was summoning them to awake and eat some of their jerky so they could begin walking again. Some rose and started chewing the tough, odd-tasting stuff, but some did not. Enga was startled to intercept the dark mood of Hapa and the hostile look he gave to Hama. The air between them bristled with dissension.

She was even more startled to realize that Ongu Small One and Sannum Straight Hair seemed to be sending defiant private answers to Hama. This stream of thought was kept private, but these four were not happy with each other, that was clear. The oldest child of Ongu and Sannum, Mootak Big Heart, huddled on the ground where he had slept between his parents. His two younger brothers wrapped their arms around him, but Mootak shook with such violence, it was difficult for them to do this.

Enga realized that Mootak was still suffering from what he thought he saw, a Spirit killing Panan.

* * *

Jeek answered the summons of Hama to rise and eat, and started to chew his jerky while he packed away the skin he had slept upon. When he looked around, he saw, just as Enga had, that not everyone answered the summons.

He observed Mootak Big Heart. Mootak did have a tender heart and was a good member of the tribe most of the time. But the mind of Jeek was filled with the recent thoughts of Mootak, the thoughts that he wanted to replace Panan before it was time. Mootak had even jeered at the one eye of Panan. Panan had lost his eye on a hunt long ago, when a spear went astray. That was not a thing to belittle. Was Mootak afraid that the Spirits would punish him for having bad thoughts about Panan, now that he had died?

Then another idea came to Jeek. Did Mootak hit Panan with the rock? Did he make up the story of the Spirit in the mist? If Jeek had done that, he would be terrified of being found out and would also be lying on the ground shivering.

Jeek stopped what he was doing and squatted to think about his idea, his eyes closed and his face in his hands. Mootak had been alone with Panan on the other side of the water. They had been alone long enough for him to do this thing. It had taken Hapa some time to help Teek Bearclaw across. Both Jeek and their birth-mother, Zhoo of Still Waters, had been in close communication as Teek crossed in the deepened water, worried about him and making sure he was safe.

Ongu let her thoughts to Hama go out to everyone to be heard.
Look at Mootak Big Heart. He can not travel. He is in deep distress. We must stay here and let him rest and recover before we move on.

Jeek knew that Mootak would feel weak from the herbs his mother, the Healer, had given him to help calm him. Was that his problem? If there were some way to carry Mootak, they could leave, but each person had a bundle and most were weakened by the trek. Jeek thought no one would be able to carry Mootak. He was small, but not small enough to be a light burden.

Hama pointed to Sister Sun.
Sister Sun is moving into position for the Cold Season. We can not stay in one place any longer. We must go forward. We must find the mammoth. If we do not, we can not live through that time. We will run out of the meat from the Hooden.

Hapa squinted up at Sister Sun. His long hair hung loose down his back and glistened in the light from Sister Sun. He frowned at Hama and let his difference with his mate be known.
It is not proper for us to continue on the journey and to lie all together at dark time when one of us killed Panan One Eye.

A fresh ripple of fear disturbed the minds of all. Contradictory and confusing thoughts flew back and forth at once.

An evil Spirit killed Panan One Eye.

We have no more killers in this tribe.

No Hamapa killed Panan One Eye. It was a Spirit.

It was the newcomers.

Mootak Big Heart saw the Spirit.

The Tikihoo woman killed him.

Enough!
Hama commanded them to quiet their thoughts.
We must go now. We will have a council tonight to discuss this.

Cabat stood next to Hapa and folded his arms in front of him, a deep scowl on his wrinkled face.
How can we go when we have a killer with us? We cannot go.

Cabat was acting as an Elder. Did he think he should be the third leader, since Panan was gone and Mootak was not functioning?

Jeek was scared. It was never good when the Elders argued with each other. The tribe depended on their guidance and wisdom. Without agreement, there could be no guidance. He watched the three stare at each other.

Hama strong, but not tall. Not many Hamapa had done what she had, killed lions by herself. But Hapa, her mate, towered over her. His name had been Donik Tree Trunk and he was nearly the size of a tree. Cabat the Thick had a gravity of his own due to his heft.

Hama, Hapa, and Cabat walked away from the tribe to discuss their difference. Jeek hoped they could come together soon.

However, they stayed away for nearly two hand lengths of Sister Sun through Mother Sky. It was near the middle of the day. If they did not start soon, there would be no point in setting out, only to travel a short distance before stopping for the dark.

Cabat returned alone, not letting any of his thoughts be seen. Jeek thought that Hama might have dismissed him from their meeting. It had been many moons since Cabat had been an Elder. Maybe Hama and Hapa did not want to treat him as one.

Sister Sun beat down on them, all sitting in the open and far from any trees. Jeek was hot, but he saw that Mootak still trembled as if he were freezing.

Gunda came to sit beside Jeek. He was sure that she was much more upset than he was, since the leaders were her parents. He took her small, soft hand in his and rubbed her back with his other hand. He was rewarded with a grateful smile beneath her tear-filled green eyes.

A shout of thought-speak went out.
They are back!

Gunda and Jeek both looked up. Hama and Hapa walked back to the tribe, but slowly. The head of Hama hung down and her jaw was clamped tight. That was not a good sign.

Without looking at her mate again, Hama addressed her tribe.
We will not walk today. It is necessary to hold a council now, in the middle of sun time. If we do not do this, we will split the tribe.

That filled Jeek with a lump of cold, dark dread, and he knew everyone else felt it, too.

No! We must never split the tribe!
Enga Dancing Flower was on her feet and her eyes blazed with feeling. Tog Flint Shaper tugged at her garment to quiet her. She swatted his hand away.
We will die if we do not stay together.

There was much agreement for what Enga stated. Hama nodded also.
Then our minds must meet in the same place.
She glanced at Hapa and he squatted next to Cabat while she stayed standing. Enga sat as everyone else, and Hama did also.

Hama continued.
Panan One Eye is dead. His head was smashed with a rock. He was put into the water and the rock was left on shore with his Red upon it. There are two things that could have happened. A Spirit killed Panan One Eye. Or a person killed him. That is the first thing all must agree on.

Heads nodded. Jeek let out his breath. At least the tribe was trying to come together on something. But how could they agree on one of those options?

Mootak Big Heart will tell us again what he saw
, Hama thought-spoke.
Then Hapa will tell us what his idea is.

Jeek looked at Mootak, now sitting up and paying attention to everything that was going on. Was he still sick? Or had he been sick at all?

Chapter 19

“Several…species of pronghorns lived during late Pleistocene time and died near or at the end of the epoch, about 10,000 years ago… Extinct species of pronghorn that lived during the Ice Age include members of the genus
Tetrameryx
, meaning ‘four horns’ in Greek. These animals had two horns with two prongs on each stem.”

—
Ice Age Mammals
by Ian M. Lange, p. 143

Sister Sun moved closer and closer to Brother Earth. Her light grew less and less strong. Soon they would kiss. She had been keeping closer to him lately, even in the middle of the day, getting ready for the cold season. Hama was correct that they must move on. They were not in a place they could stay for Cold Season.

Enga Dancing Flower exchanged a few private thoughts with Tog Flint Shaper about what Mootak Big Heart said he saw, and about what Hapa thought.

What is your idea?
he asked her.

I will wait until I hear what they both have to say.

You are wise, Enga Dancing Flower. I will do likewise.

Mootak Big Heart was helped to his feet by Sannum Straight Hair. Sannum continued to support his son, encouraging him to speak, to tell what he had seen.

It was hard to see.
Mootak tilted his head back and looked straight up, into the abode of Dakadaga, where a tiny sliver of Brother Moon glowed dimly. Enga wondered if he was seeking help.
This is what I saw—

What you think you saw,
interrupted Hapa.

Mootak Big Heart will have his say,
Hama thought-spoke with a stern dark blue tinge to her thoughts.
Then you will have your turn, Most High Male.

Hapa turned his head away from Hama and it looked like he bit back all his thoughts, compressing his lips together.

Mootak continued.
The mist was thick. Panan One Eye had gone to the edge of the water to get a drink. He was not near me. I could not see him well. A white Spirit rose up from the water, as white as cloud garments worn by Mother Sky in the middle of the most bright day. The Spirit picked up a heavy stone. She crept up behind him and bashed Panan One Eye in the head. Then she bashed him again. He fell to the ground. The Spirit rolled him into the water. I did not dare to confront the Spirit. I could feel evil coming from her. I had to close my eyes and did not see where she went.