Clarity's Doom (Ancient Origins Book 1) (12 page)

“This is good.”

“We can cook,” he drawled.

The cold fruity drink she sipped had bits of floating vegetation, flowers she was certain. Her next bite of meat yielded a hint of the slightly sweet pink flower as well as salt and black pepper. Anything could be growing on the planet if dinosaurs walked the earth with humans. Any extinct plant or flower on Earth could be thriving here. She was anxious to discover more of her new world. Doom watched her while he put pieces of fruit into his mouth and chewed mechanically, honey dripped over his fingers.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

“I’m wondering about a lot of things. What meat is this?”

“Dinosaur. If you want specifics, I’m guessing a carnivore. We can use ourselves as bait when we hunt the meat eaters. They’re cocky and not as cautious when they think they’re hunting us. The herbivores are sweeter tasting and most are huge, so we need many hunters to bring one down. I’m certain Menace took a group to hunt a woolly rhino. Dangerous beasts but exciting to bait. This was a recent kill and cooked over an open flame so it’s not as tender. Tonight, after it’s been boiled for a few hours, it will fall off the bone. We make a bread substance to drop in a stew and another bread to dip in it. The other humans said the one bread is much like dumplings.”

“Do you grow this stuff? The vegetables.”

“Growing anything would attract animals. Why would we bring attention to ourselves?”

Good point.

“Then you forage?”

“These certain vegetables grow not far from our village. They mostly attract herbivores. Some are nasty, some dumb as dirt, and others who think a human might make an interesting new toy. A hunting party goes out with women and keeps a close eye out. We collect what we can and dry what we’re able. Herbivores move fast, we need to move faster. Do you like the meat?”

Clarity took a bite of the chunk in her hand, charbroiled on the outside, pink on the inside. “Doesn’t exactly taste like chicken. It’s heavier with a gamey taste, not too strong, different. Your planet evolved over time to create new species as did ours. Your planet seems to have avoided every disaster Earth battled through. Why? It’s like some creepy experiment of what ifs. Without the extreme heat you shouldn’t have needed to make your way onto land and develop legs, but you did. Or maybe some elements stayed the same except for huge disasters. Maybe humans were just meant to be. The meteor, the ice age, and volcanic eruptions shaped the earth, I wonder if your planet is one big continent. I wonder if you have icebergs. You don’t have dogs but you have the cave bear wolf mix. So humans would have sought out aid from animals regardless. Do you have any history?”

“Just what our parents tell us. Long ago there were different types of humans such as myself but different. They died out until only us and the hybrids remained. Our past suggests groups of females once roamed alone as did males. During our long years of wandering, we discovered deep caves where only the bones of either sex were found. I guess after a while our kind discovered males and females together; working as a team we survive longer. It came as a surprise when I found the destroyed hybrid offspring.”

“You say there are other tribes, do you all speak the same language?”

“What other language would we speak?”

“Do you read or write?”

“What’s read or write?”

“My people create symbols. Wait a second.” Clarity went to her purse and rummaged through. She pulled out a book and handed it to him. Doom was reluctant to take it at first and eyed it warily until she shoved it into his hand. “It won’t kill you I promise.” With caution he opened it and scrunched his eyebrows.

“What are those funny marks? It looks like small birds danced over the material.”

“They’re letters on paper that make up words that we read.”

“We make pictures of strong events. Pictures are better; our pictures last forever. Pa-p-er? This paper would fade, I’m guessing. This doesn’t look waterproof, and it will rip. It’s exposed, not covered by a cave. The imagery is boring. What would entice you to take a second glance at this?”

Put like that, he had a point. Clarity tried to look at it from his perspective. No doubt he’d never seen paper before. The material was flimsy and the marks were scribbles as far as he was concerned. He wasn’t exactly clueless, or stupid, he and his people never needed to develop written words. They were too busy trying to stay alive.

“These hybrids. How long have they been around?”

“They’ve hunted us and we hunted them for as long as our history goes back. Thousands of years ago. Before we outnumbered them. My ancestors and the Neanderthal tried to cohabitate, they seemed the sturdier of any other human species. Our ideas were different, but we never hunted one another. We never hunted any species we felt was like us. Then one day a hybrid was in our midst. A dinosaur, so it was thought. It was killed, but wasn’t eaten. Then more hybrids came and my people noticed the difference, the human quality cocooned in a killing machine. My people finally cut into one. At one time, they had a weakness; their skin wasn’t as hard. They didn’t hunt in groups so they may have been outcasts to start. It was then our ancestors discovered the human skeleton within. They’ve adapted and grown stronger over time. These beasts learned quickly that there was safety in numbers, preferably their own kind.”

“I wonder if when each new species evolved they used them to procreate, and after each encounter learned.” Clarity was speculating. “When the Neanderthal came, they became a single thriving species. My mind is working at a million miles an hour trying to wrap my head around the theory. You’re a large man, the people in your village are huge, but Neanderthal bones are exceptionally big and strong. I wonder if the hybrids evolved enough to know your bone structure wouldn’t support theirs. But neither would humans.”

“Maybe they’re just eating the humans.”

“Then why not find them all year?”

“I don’t know.”

“Didn’t they hunt your people all year?”

“In the beginning. Then certain times.”

“When they needed to breed. Maybe these hybrids aren’t eating humans at all. Or maybe they are. It’s all so frustrating. Why didn’t any other human think about this? Question this?”

“We never told them. We fed them and kept them safe. Humans are not allowed to leave the village. The others accepted this. They were too afraid of the dinosaurs. You can’t tell any human we find what will happen, they will be terrified.”

“I’m going to scream it from the rooftops. If we all put our heads together maybe we can figure out how to beat these hybrids. You need to find more people. More humans. Let’s get this party started.”

Doom sat open-mouthed. “Party?”

Clarity smiled at his confusion. “I’m guessing you’ve never partied in your life. Too bad, I bet you could be a real badass. Oh wait, you send people to their death, so that makes you more an asshole than a badass.”

“I save my people.”

“And now I’m saving mine.” Clarity glared at him until he stood up and left. “I’m a bigger badass. And, apparently, I
do
eat dinosaurs for breakfast.” Clarity ripped back into the meat, smiling.

****

Clarity busied herself with her thoughts during the day. She paced, sat, mulled over ideas, studied the vastness and thickness of furs and skins, and was surprised when Doom finally made an appearance. She could tell he was miffed; she hardly gave him a second thought when he left. Her mind filled with evasive maneuvers. She vowed not a single Earth human would be sacrificed and told Doom as much. She’d lead a rebellion against him and his people if she had to. They could be with her or against her, but she wouldn’t go without a fight. Either way the sacrificing was at an end.

The pair squared off until her tummy rumbled. She learned a feast in her honor and another’s was about to be served. Doom then spun on his heels in a different direction. The door Doom slid back at his touch and revealed a tunnel that surprised Clarity. She knew of the tunnel’s existence, given a glimpse when she first entered Doom’s home, but she wasn’t prepared for the passageway itself. The walls and ceiling were amber, giving the channel warmth. As in Doom’s home, soft light shone from within the stone. At a touch, it slid across the smooth surface, guiding their feet to the tunnel’s end where another door awaited.

Once entering the room Clarity stopped in her tracks. The area was spacious, four times the size of Doom’s home. The walls a masterpiece of beautiful rock. Many furs littered the floor, all thick and soft under her feet. She was tempted to remove her strange new booties that Doom produced while hers dried. Entire families were gathered for a feast. Leather pots were bubbling over rounded dirt holes filled with a burning substance. The aroma was delicious. Other areas void of the strange rock were filled with ovens. Within the ovens she could see loaves of bread cooking.

Doom handed her a bone cup filled with a darkish substance. Clarity sniffed at the contents.
Beer?
A tiny taste proved her suspicion. The taste wasn’t the same as her preference but enjoyable. She began to wander when Doom left her alone standing stationary to speak to Menace. The man, dangerously handsome, intense, couldn’t take his eyes off her. There was something predatory in his gaze, but more, there was possession, passion. There was a man who wanted love and no doubt would hold fast to the emotion if he possessed it.

Open bulging leather containers caught her attention. The scent was of the beer she drank. Chunks of bread floated in the largest satchel. The leather was double thick, the beast whose hide this came from must have been the devil’s own to bring down and skin. Each satchel was filled with different stages of the fermenting beer. Other leather containers, most stoppered, held a liquid smelling of wine. Sniffing the contents of one Clarity was certain it was fermented plums. She uncorked the lid and dipped a finger in. The beverage was surprisingly sweet and palatable. With no one looking she drained her beer and poured a cup of wine, downed that, and poured another.

Booze, finally something tangible in this God forsaken hell.

Clarity shook her head. Her situation was dire but if she survived a sinkhole she would survive this mess. She needed to gain perspective on the positive.

Hmm, positive.

She again glanced at her surroundings and took a sip of her wine. Doom’s people were so primitive and yet their creations so advanced with what they had to work with. Or perhaps they learned about what and how to create with human help. If, when, she found material she could work with, the villagers could be taught. The men and women clearly possessed the power and strength to wield weapons. They just needed better weapons. Clarity began roaming.

Adjoining rooms, their ancient smell preceding them, were filled with intricately woven baskets containing einkorn and emmer wheat, rye, and barley. The bins were half-full, and Clarity wondered if they went out to collect the staples in the fall. Other containers showed molasses. She dipped in a finger to find it bitter and wondered if it was made from or cooked with sugar beets. The idea made her head spin with marvel. These people functioned living with dinosaurs. Another bin was filled with small hard rocks. She picked one up and sniffed. With the tip of her tongue she took a taste. Salt. Clarity wondered if they were near the ocean or sea. Round stacks of hard cheese were in a cool corner. She scratched her head wondering where they got milk; there were no kept animals. Not even chickens. Then she wondered if there were eggs. Doom said they prepared for winter but the weather was more like spring.

In adjoining caverns were a multitude of drying herbs, for seasoning and medicines. Racks were laden with heavy burdens. In another area were rocks, flint, and bone in various stages of work for weapons and tools. Another area contained rolled furs set on shelves from floor to ceiling. Massive furs hides as long as the room itself. Strange gray leathers worked and stretched on triangular, rectangular, square, and circular frames. Long cordage was woven for types of rope displaying a variety of knots.

Dried fish, the likes she’d never seen, fresh and dried were tied to rows of racks. A number of circular domes were in another room. Clarity could smell the heat exuding from them. The smell of cedar was high and she wondered about sweat lodges. Rows further within the shelter held wood and coal.

How can they be so far behind?

Did the primitive era dictate the primitive people? Not one thing remotely resembled technology. Then again could dinosaurs walk the earth with man and a concrete jungle? Imagine a T-rex peeking in on your lunch break through a two-story window. Would raptors chase subways like dogs chased cars? The dinosaurs would need to be muzzled; you couldn’t have a child eaten on the way to school. A disturbing image of a raptor holding a stop sign wearing a safety vest while people crossed a cross walk came to mind. At the end of the day someone would go missing. BBQ’s would be an interesting affair. Dark meat, white meat, or dinosaur meat?

The special tonight on our menu is mammoth hybrid.

Clarity lumbered back to the main room shaking her head, sipping her drink, feeling a bit giddy. She was lightheaded and knew she needed to eat; the beverages were strong. There was an abundance of food. Perhaps providing for the village was their way of proving technology did advance. These were no Stone Age cave dwellers with limited abilities. Set up on tables were smaller rounder chunks of breads. Berries and grapes with a wooden gravy boat of honey. She spied eggs, huge and similar to ostrich eggs. On another table sat cheesecake and bees wax. She picked up a small square and took a tentative taste of the cake. It was different but pleasant.

Her suspicion of an ocean nearby was confirmed when she saw large animal skulls filled with oysters and mussels nestled in ice. The ice was saltwater when she ventured a small taste. Clarity wondered if their dwellings were privy to an ice cave lower underground. Shellfish, shrimp, lobster, and crab were surrounded by dried seaweed. Leather pots contained melted savory butter. Greens and wild carrots steamed on small round rock tables with coals beneath to keep them hot. Numerous cooked plants and roots were on similar roundish tables with waiting tongs set aside until the feast began.