The Thinking Rocks (12 page)

The mammoth completed her charge and
then turned in an impossibly small space and stopped. She was still in a blind
rage. She wanted to kill. She wanted to pound, stomp and turn the killer of her
calf into a wet spot on the ground.  She started forward toward Cano’s
body, but then stopped, listened and then turned back toward her herd. 
She stood with her sides heaving and ears alert.   She heard wolfs
barking and her other calf’s cry for help.  The wolf pack was large and it
was only a matter of time before they brought the other calf down. The rest of
the herd was trying to protect themselves and the calf.   The mammoth
looked over at Cano’s unmoving body and after a few moments, she charged off to
save her other calf.

The hunters had watched the mad
charge and Cano’s ruined body twisting through the air and then smashing into
the ground. There was no doubt in the hunters’ minds that Cano was dead.

Hedra called Bana to his side,
“Return to camp and tell them we have killed the mammoth and will need help
bringing the meat back to camp. Next speak to Koonai, tell him about Cano’s
death, he will speak with Flanos and Gennos. Be certain to tell Ceola
yourself.”

Bana retrieved his spears and wiping
the blood from them, he hurried back toward the camp.

Hedra called Moki and Loki away from
butchering the meat. “Watch the herd, but try to get Cano’s body back, we will
take it with us to camp.”

The two hunters moved cautiously out
into the meadow toward Cano’s
body.            Cano
slowly began to wake; he felt a dull ache.  He was not certain where it
was coming from.  As he became more aware, he realized that it came from
everywhere.  His whole body was an ache. He could not understand what had
happened.  He gave a shudder as a wave of pain swept over his body. The
last thing he remembered was the look of red hate in the mammoth’s eyes before
they collided; this caused a new wave of pain to surge through his body. ‘I am
dead’ he thought, and drifted back into unconsciousness.

A buzzard had already started to
circle above Cano’s body.  The two hunters moved cautiously forward and
kept a wary eye on the far end of the meadow.  The wolf pack was still
worrying the herd, but the she mammoth had returned in time to save her other
calf.  The tide of the battle had turned, and the rest of the herd
appeared safe

Bad News

Later that same day, back at the clan
campground, Koonai saw Bana coming through the brush at the edge of the
river.  He was moving silently and with a quiet proficiency, but he seemed
preoccupied and worried. He scanned the campsite until he saw Koonai. He was
carrying spears in both hands as the other hunters did; he shifted the spear he
carried in his right hand to his left hand.  He raised his right hand in
greeting.  He hurried up to Koonai and said, “I have news of the hunt.
Some is good, but also there is some bad.”

Koonai nodded and waited quietly for
him to continue.  He knew by Bana coming to him first that he would have
to do something uncomfortable.  Someone had probably been injured; he
would have to speak with the family.  Bana looked intently at Koonai as he
continued, “The hunt was good, and we killed a mammoth calf and need help from
the clan to carry the meat to camp.” His eyes fell as he continued, “In the
hunt Cano was killed.  The leader of the mammoth herd smashed him before
he could reach the safety of the fire.  We could do nothing; he was too
far away for us to help. He was in the open when she caught him.  He went
crazy and charged her without weapons.  He was crushed and thrown through
the air; he landed as a bloody mess.” He paused for a moment before continuing.
My father said, “You should tell Gennos and his mother about the accident, I
will speak to Ceola.”

Koonai had listened quietly as Bana
explained the situation. As Bana finished, he knew his work would begin.
Telling anyone of a death was difficult, but in this situation, it would be
more of a problem. With Cano gone, there would not be a hunter at their fire. A
person such as Gennos, injured as he was could not hunt, and someone had to
provide food and care for his sick mother.  Thinking about her brought a
frown to Koonai’s face, she was very ill and he had not been able to help her.
She may soon be beyond his help. I will have to speak to both of them at the
same time.  He hesitated for another moment when he thought of Ceola.
Telling her would be even more difficult. Death was so final. There were many
things that changed, but death seemed to be the end. He could tell her of the
loss, but it is probably better if Bana tells her.  He cares for her and
will take care of her.  She seemed to care more for Cano, but that time
has come to an end.  Death can make our decisions for us.  The times
to come will be difficult for all of us.  Koonai reached out with his
right hand and put it on Bana’s shoulder.  “You have done well, it isn’t
easy to bring bad news, and I will tell those that need to know first. Do not
tell anyone before I have spoken with Gennos and Flanos. You go to Ceola and
tell her now, then organize the clan to go for the meat.”  He hesitated,
“I will speak with Cano’s family now”.  He turned quickly and headed
toward Cano’s family shelter.  He knew bad news traveled fast and did not
want anyone to suffer more than need be.

Gennos was feeding the pups in a
small enclosure to the side of their shelter. They were in their usual puppy
pile and fighting for the scraps and made a considerable noise.  The
biggest of the litter was a white faced female, she was also the quietest. She
was Gennos’ favorite and he tossed her a scrap of meat, the pup picked it up
with a small growl and moved to a corner where she could protect it. Her tail
wagged as she worked her milk teeth over the morsel.

Gennos’s mother Flanos was sitting in
the sun watching him.  She smiled as she saw Koonai approach.  Her
smile faded quickly as she saw the look on his face. A spear of dread stabbed
at her heart.

Koonai saw the look on her pale face
change, and thought she knows something is wrong.  I must make this quick
and as painless as I can.  The waiting can be worse than the fact. 
He moved in close to them both.  “I have news of the hunt that you must
have. There was a problem; they were able to bring down a mammoth calf. Cano
was in the group that chased the calf into the ambush.”

Gennos interrupted “Was Cano hurt?
What happened?”

“We are not sure of what happened,
except that Cano was injured by the mother of the calf.”  He paused and
then rushed on it be done with it. “He was badly injured, he died, I’m sorry,
but they will bring his body to us.”

Flanos covered her mouth with a hand
and tried to stifle a cry. Gennos moved quickly and put an arm around her
shoulders, and pulled her face to his breast. He lowered his head to her hair
and they both stood there silently sobbing.

Koonai looked away and swallowed a
couple of times before taking a breath and continuing. “I know that this will
sound hollow, I am sorry that Cano will no longer walk with us, he was a young
man, but his memory will be with us always.  He now feels no pain or
hunger.”

Flanos silent sobs turned to a
torrent of tears and then she burst out crying loudly against Gennos chest
“Why---Why---Oh Why?”

There was little or nothing Koonai
could say that would help them in their pain. He was a strong man, but his
strength was useless now. They must be left to their grief.  “If you need
me I will be at my fire, until we go to bring the mammoth meat back to our
camp.  You need not come if you do not want to.  We will bring Cano
with us.” He turned and left without hearing a reply.

Meanwhile, Bana saw Ceola coming up
from the river.  He called to her and she came over with a smile on her
face.  She had a small blue flower in her hair and she seemed full of
life.  She stopped in front of him, she was breathing fast from the walk
up from the river.  Her breasts were rising and falling gently and they
caused Bana to have difficulty thinking. He moved closer to her, placed his hands
on her shoulders, and looked directly into her eyes.  This is not going to
be easy, but it had to be done.  "Ceola, today on the hunt there was
a problem.” Before he could go on Ceola broke in “It’s Cano isn’t it? He has
been hurt. Where is he? I can help. Please take me to him."

Bana touched the side of her face,
“Please listen to what I have to say, you are right, it is about Cano, he has
been hurt, but you can not help him.”

“Why can’t I help? If he is hurt, he
needs me and I need to be with him.  Please take me to him.”

Bana placed his hand back on her
shoulder before continuing, “I will take you to him, but you will not be able
to help him.  He is in no pain; he feels nothing. He will no longer walk
with the clan. He is dead. I’m sorry to tell you like this, but this is the
truth.”

She stared at him for a few moments
before slowly shaking her head. “You’re wrong, he’s all right. We love each
other, he cannot be dead, and there is some mistake. It was someone else that
was killed.  It was not Cano; he was fine this morning.   I saw
him, he was fine. You had better leave and go find out who really got hurt.”
She lifted her head high and turning quickly, she rushed off to her shelter.
When she got there, she collapsed on her furs and started sobbing.

When Bana left Ceola, he went to find
his sister Sorou.  He found her alone at the hearth by their shelter.
“Sister I bring news.”

She looked up at him from where she
was kneeling by the fire. “Is it news of what a great hunter you are or is it
more of your plans to win Ceola to our fire?” she asked sarcastically.

He hesitated before telling her the
news. She could be very self-centered, but she did care for Cano.  He knew
he could hurt her more than was necessary by the way he presented the news of
Cano’s death. Nevertheless, she was his sister. He would try not to hurt her.
She was the thinker in their family and after her initial reaction; she would
use the information to her advantage. He had no idea how she would do it but
she always seemed to have another plan. He decided that he would be quick and
get to the point. “In the hunt today we killed a mammoth calf. During the hunt
Cano was hurt; he was hurt very badly and did not survive. He is gone. We will
bring him back to camp for his family.”

Her sarcastic smile quickly faded,
she searched his eyes for evidence of some trick, but finding none, she
blurted, “No, this cannot be true, I am to win Cano.”

Bana softly said, “Cano no longer
walks with the clan, he is
gone.”           
            She sank
back until she was sitting on the ground. She stared off into space.  The
silence could almost be felt.  Tears rolled down her face, but she refused
to give herself up to sobs. “Leave me, I need to be alone.  I must think.”

Bana
moved off to organize the clan to retrieve the meat from today’s hunt.  He
wondered if anyone other than his family would have cared if he had been the
one that had died today.  Who would rather have seen me dead than Cano? As
he walked away he shook his head, those things do not matter. Cano was dead and
he was not. He would get Ceola in time, and eventually he would be the leader
of the clan. The day was turning out better than he could have hoped.

 The smell of smoke crept softly
into the hills where the male saber-tooth slept. He came slowly awake without
moving.  It was still light and he preferred to sleep during the day. His
nostrils twitched as he analyzed the smell and determined that the fire was far
enough away not to be a threat.  The sounds of the mammoths trumpeting
caused him to come fully awake. He was now interested in what was
happening.  Something may have died.  Moreover, that meant there
might be food available for the taking.  He had eaten, but he was still
hungry.  Besides that, he was curious as to what was happening.  He
heard wolves barking and the smell of smoke was stronger.  He came slowly
to his feet and then stretched his front legs forward and dug his claws into
the soft soil.  He slowly pulled his claws back, leaving deep furrows in
the soil. It felt good to stretch and feel the power in his claws.  He
came up to his full height and flexed his massive shoulders before moving
toward the direction of the smoke.  His yellow eyes were bright with
interest as he surveyed the brush below his lair. A deep rumbling purr started
deep in his body.  He felt good and he was going out to get some food.

The rumbling stopped as he entered
the brush.  The faint cry of a human came to his erect ears. He twitched
his whiskers and gave a noiseless snarl as he proceeded forward.  There
may be more than food up ahead.

He
was amazingly fast and silent for an animal his size.  He soon was in the
valley behind the men that were cutting up the calf.   The smell of
the fresh blood made him start to salivate.  He could see the rest of the
herd at the far end of the valley and knew they were no threat to him. 
There were other men approaching the calf and they were carrying another man.
The wind, what little there was of it, was blowing toward him.  None of
the men noticed him in the brush.

They were a small pack of humans and all of them were small and puny.
They did not appear to be dangerous. He was big, strong and fast. He knew what
he could do, but he was not sure what they could do.  He bared his fangs
as he remembered his encounter with the wolves. He would watch them for a while
before he took their kill away from them.

Man Meets Saber-tooth

The two men moved cautiously across
the open meadow to where Cano’s bloody body lay.  They picked him up
quickly without looking at him closely; they were uncomfortable with the death
of a fellow human. Hurrying back to the safety of the fire they did not
speak.  They lay him down next to the weapons and then went to work
cutting and stacking the meat from the calf.