The Thinking Rocks (30 page)

Cano's thoughts were
interrupted by a grinding noise. Then he felt a deep rumbling, it came from the
earth below the cave.  Dust started to fall and he could hear the buzzing
and hissing of the snakes below.  The rumbling was stronger than
before.  He could not stand.  The walls shook and some rocks fell
before the rumbling ceased.  Cano sat before the wall as the world again
became still.  He looked around the cave and noticed a large crack that
started below and had come up the side of the ledge before crossing it. The
crack was wide and the ledge looked unstable.  It had not been there
before. 

He returned his
attention to the wall with the marks.  Behind the first figure was a long
shape with many round shapes just above it.  What can that be? Cano
thought.  He put one of his hands up to the marks, and then he put one
finger on each of the round marks.  He had to use both hands to touch all
the round marks.  There was heavy scratched line going up the wall from
the long shape.  It had something big touching the heavy line.  Cano
had no idea what it was.  He wished again that his brother were
here.  The long shape had a series of marks under it and farther down the
wall.  He had no idea what these were either.

Out of the
corner of his eye Cano saw movement.  As he turned to look he saw a large
snake's head emerge from the new crack at the ledge.  The rumbling had
opened a new path for the snakes.  They had climbed for the light as he
had, in an effort to escape.  He watched as it slithered free of the
crevice.  It was longer that he was tall.  It was a reddish brown
color with markings on its back.  It brought its own smell with it, death.
He wished he had a real spear and not one of these baby spears.  If he had
a real spear he would at least have a chance at survival.  As it was now,
all of his efforts were for nothing.

The snake had seen him
move and was looking in his direction, it had moved into a fully coiled
position on the ledge. It lay there motionless except for its tongue; it slid
in and out in a flicking movement.  Cano felt a chill run down his back,
his shoulders involuntary shuddered.  He tried to force himself to think.
The snake’s black eyes seemed to be trying to bore holes in him.

Cano moved toward the
weapons and the snake started buzzing at him.  The distance was great
enough so that there was no danger of the snake striking him.  He knew how
fast they could move and he kept his eyes on the snake as he armed himself. 
Almost as an afterthought he tucked the cutting stone into the strap on his
breechcloth.  He slowly stood and then remained motionless, a spear in
each hand; he knew that before he could get close enough to use the spears, he
would be a dead man.

Cano was surprised to
see the snake turn its attention from him back to the crevice.  He saw
movement and another snake poked its head out of the crevice.  This snake
appeared to be bigger and had different coloring than the one on the
ledge.  Before it could get completely onto the ledge the first snake
struck and buried its fangs in the neck of the newcomer. It twisted back, and
the other struck and sank its fangs in its flank.  Soon there was a
slithering ball of scaly muscles, striking and counter striking.  After a
few moments the newcomer slid over the edge, but its fangs were buried in the
smaller snake and they both fell to the cavern below.

Cano started to take a
deep breath, but was stopped when another scaly head emerged from the
crevice.  He looked around for something to stuff in the crack to keep the
snakes from climbing up.  There was nothing but the bones of the dead
man.  As Cano's hand reached down and picked up the skull, the ground
began to shake.  This time the noise blocked out all other sounds. 
It roared like a giant tortured beast, and the cave shook.  The ledge
developed a larger crack which wasn't there one moment and in the next it was,
in the next instant the ledge was gone.  The shaking was so strong that
Cano was thrown to the cave floor.  He crawled on hands and knees to the
edge of the cave by the wall with the markings. Suddenly the level of noise
rose even higher and as the air filled with dust, it was difficult to
breathe.  A huge section of the ceiling near the opening broke free and
crashed to the floor almost hitting Cano.  He was dazed and confused, but
was able to see that above the rubble a large crack had opened in the cave
wall.  He could see light from outside.  He forced himself up and
scrambled over the rubble toward the light.  He slipped and fell; a large
rock had trapped his leg.  Frantically he kicked and twisted until his leg
came free.  He was about to scramble into the crack when it slid
closed.  If he hadn't had his foot caught he would have been crushed when
the crack closed.  Those few moments had saved his life.

The rumbling resumed and turned to a
roar that was even louder this time.  Cano dropped his weapons and fell to
his knees with both hands over his ears.  Another section of the ceiling
came crashing down where he had first been sitting.  There was dust
everywhere, but than he felt a fresh breeze touch his face.  The crack in
front of him had reopened.  Without thought he grabbed the short spears
and squeezed into the crack.  He was almost through when the crack again
started grinding closed.  He pushed his way through tearing the skin on
his chest and arms.  He got his legs through first and then his arms; he
was almost clear as it ground shut. He felt the rock scraping at his head; he
twisted and was almost free when it squeezed shut. It had clamped his hair in
the crack.  He twisted and pulled but it was no use.  Then he
remembered the black cutting stone.  It was still in the
breechcloth.  Quickly he removed it and cut the hair away that held him
captive. Finally he was free, he stood in the drizzling rain and took a deep
breath, and slowly he let it out. It was then he tasted something that he had
almost forgotten, freedom.

Dola moved through the
tall grass as quickly as he could without causing a commotion.  Earlier he
had startled a small flock of ducks and they had made a disturbance as they
took to wing.  He had seen other wildlife, turtles, small snakes and
frogs.  He had been able to spear some of the larger frogs and had eaten
their legs.  He was so hungry he had hardily noticed that they were
uncooked.  Water wasn't a problem. He was starting to feel more confident
and his movements demonstrated it.  He hoped that Cano had been able to
elude Lomasi. Smiling to himself, he thought about how they had fooled Lomasi
with the false trail that wasn't false.  He stopped suddenly; he smelled
smoke through the light rain.  It had to be close if he could smell
it.  He slowed his pace and kept his head below the top of the grass. 
Moving slowly as not to disturb the grass and signal his presence, he raised
his head to view the opposite bank of the river.  A careful examination of
the brush growing there revealed a thin plume of smoke rising in the mist of
rain.  Lowering his head he crept along until he was across from the
smoke.  Moving his head up slowly, he had a good look at the fire. 
It was small and it was built near the base of a large tree. Lork sat with an
animal skin over his shoulders, his back resting against the tree.  He was
looking upriver, and had his weapons in his lap.

Dola moved his eyes
without moving his head.  The less movement he made, the safer it
was.  His heart gave a jump when he saw Gennos and Na'pe sitting in the
rain; they were tied to a tree near the waters edge.  Both of them were
looking down the river.

 Dola had an
idea.  He slowly raised the butt of his spear above the top of the grass
and then started to move it back and forth.   Na'pe was the first to
see it.  Dola stopped moving it for a few moments and then resumed moving
it again, but this time he moved it up and down.

Na'pe didn't say
anything, but her hand brushed Gennos's leg.  He looked over at her, but
she only gave a slight nod and kept looking across the river.

Gennos's eyes scanned the
area where she was looking and saw the spear moving.

Some hunters instinct
caused Lork to look toward the prisoners and saw them staring at something
across the river, and he turned to look.

Dola had been watching Lork;
when he saw him start to turn, he stopped moving the spear.

Lork looked directly at
the spear but didn't see anything strange.  Only a stick in the tall
grass.  He looked at the prisoners again; they were staring down
river.  He looked back at the fire; he wished Lomasi would get back so
they could return to their camp.  His thoughts were soon lost in the
flames.

Dola knew that he had to
take a great chance. He moved the spear again and could see that Gennos and
Na'pe were watching. He took a breath and then parted the grass and stood so
they could see him clearly.  He pointed upriver and then sunk down out of
sight again.

Na'pe involuntarily
grabbed Gennos's leg.

Gennos tried to remain
calm, but his heart skipped a beat, Dola was alive.  He could have shouted
for joy.  He was alive.  He pointed up river.  That meant he
would be up river waiting.  It had to be a part of a plan.  It must
be that his brother had a plan.  He hoped Cano was still alive and
near.  He probably wasn't with Dola.  If he were they would have
shown themselves together. He tried to speak as softly as he could to
Na'pe.  "It is true that they or at least Dola has escaped
Lomasi.  He will travel upriver.  I think Cano and he separated, and
it looks as though they have a plan.  We will have to wait and see what
happens."  He paused and then continued, "They will come for
us."  He reached over and touched her leg because he couldn't reach
her hand. 

Na'pe kept her head down
and barely moved her lips so that Lork wouldn't know they were talking. 
"We wait."  She glanced at Lork and saw him staring into the
flames of the fire.  She tilted her head and smiled toward Gennos. 
"Is it possible that we will be free?"

Gennos was also looking
at Lork as he returned her smile, "Soon, but now we wait for our time to
act."

The sun was just setting
when Lomasi and Morf returned to their camp.  Lomasi carefully examined
the campsite to assure his orders had been carried out.  The prisoners
were still tied and Lork was watching them with his weapons ready.  There
wasn't anything he could complain about and this made his foul mood
worse.  His leg hurt and his limp was more pronounced.  Blood had
soaked the simple bandage that he had tied over his wounded leg.  Morf was
exhausted.  He went to the fire where Lork sat silently watching. Looking
around he saw a bone with some meat still on it.  He picked it up and
started chewing on it as he looked for something else to eat.

Lork didn't want to set
off Lomasi's anger, but he knew he had to ask what happened.  "How
went the hunt?"

Lomasi looked at him to
see if there was even a hint of sarcasm in his voice or manner.  He could
only hear curiosity, "It was long and difficult, and I had to do almost
everything".  He looked over at Morf, "I'm not sure if some people
will ever become good enough to live by their skills in the woods." 
He began replacing the bandage on his leg as he spoke.  "Part of the
trail gave way and I was hurt as I fell.  You must have felt the ground
shake here, many trees and rocks fell.”  He looked over at Morf to see if
he was foolish enough to contradict him.  Morf ate silently without
looking up.

Lork asked, "What
happened to those you tracked?"

"Dead. The little
one fell from a cliff.  The buzzards got him.  The big one tried to
get away, but my spear found him."  He looked over at the prisoners
and said in a voice that was louder than necessary, "He didn't die well,
or quickly."  He gave a big smile and then turned away from the
prisoners. Looking at Lork he said, "If the rain doesn't get worse we will
leave at first light.  He went over to where the extra food was and
located a chunk of meat and sat eating it and drinking from a water skin.

Na'pe turned away from
the fire so that she couldn't be seen speaking.  She explained what Lomasi
had said in a low voice.  When she had finished she asked, "Do you
think Cano is dead?"

"No."

"How can you be
sure?" she asked.

"Lomasi lied about
Dola being dead. We saw him.  There is something else that also proves he
lies. Did you notice that when Lomasi and Morf returned to camp they didn't
have any spears?  They only carried a spear thrower and our Canohawks. If
they had killed Cano they would have had at least a spear between them. A
hunter will not travel without weapons unless he has none to carry." 
He paused and then added, "Cano must have the last spear."

Back on the shattered
hilltop Cano stood watching the sun setting through the light rain.  He
was free, but he had much to do and he wasn't sure how he was going to do it.
‘I hope Dola has made it to the river’, he thought. His stomach rumbled and he
felt the hunger that he had been suppressing for so long.  He looked
around.  The earthquake had changed the look of the land.  Trees were
down and the landslides that had crashed through them had changed sections of
the forest.  Far off in the distance he thought he could see the glint of
water from the river.  The light was failing fast, and the rain hindered
his sight.  He was tired, hungry and thirsty, but now he could look at the
land as a hunter and not as one of the hunted.