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Authors: Damean Posner

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BOOK: Helix and the Arrival
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My spear has gone – I must have dropped it somewhere behind me. I hear Saleeka screeching at me from the woods' edge. But I don't care. The river has taken hold of me. I know it's forbidden. I know it's dangerous. I'm sure there are unimaginable perils lurking beneath its surface. But I still don't care.

I rise to my feet, doubled over and still breathing heavily. I look up from my toes to the river and beyond.

The river people are close and real now, not just dots in the distance. Their skin and hair is darker than mountain folks'. Their bodies look leaner, but not in a weak way. They wear a decoration around their necks – a string threaded with colourful objects.

Their roundhouses sit heavily on the land, as if they've always been there. From the mountain, they looked
crude and makeshift. But now I can see details that were not visible before. The curved mud walls are decorated with patterns of crisscrossed lines. The timbers across the roof are much heavier than I expected and look to have been felled from mature trees. And then there's the roof thatching over and under the timbers that is thick and well made. I imagine it would withstand the worst of the weather.

Beyond the roundhouses are fields. Shoots of greenery sprout up in neat rows. This must be the food that grows from the mud. To the side of the fields are oxen, which are tethered to poles in the ground. This is another source of confusion for mountain folk, as any animal tethered to a pole on the mountain would be considered fast food.

Caveman: (Grunts.) Oh look. It's a juicy beast fastened to a pole by a rope. How convenient.

Cavewoman: (Squeals.) Let's start a fire underneath it. We'll be fed in no time!

I want to know more, but the river won't let me. As long as I'm on the other side of her, I will forever be a cave-thing.

Ug and Saleeka, still panting from chasing me, have finally emerged from the protection of the woods. They are behind me now, but I sense they are extra alert and wary of being so close to the river.

Ug is the first to say something. ‘What were you thinking?'

I shrug my shoulders. No matter what I say, he won't be satisfied.

Now it's Saleeka's turn. ‘Why didn't you throw your spear? The fawn was almost under your feet.'

Again, I shrug my shoulders. The fawn isn't important now.

‘We should not be here,' says Ug.

‘Why not?' I say, gesturing to the river. ‘It's beautiful.'

‘We have to leave. Immediately,' he says. ‘The river people will see us.'

I don't move. I stare at the river.

‘Helix! Did you hear him?' says Saleeka. ‘We have to go.'

‘Can't we just stay a little while longer? Everything is so much clearer down here.'

Ug grabs hold of my arm, squeezes hard and pulls me close so we are face to face. ‘Helix, I am about to leave. If you want to find your way back to Rockfall before dark, you will need to come with me.'

If we were having this conversation deep in the woods, I would be jumping on Ug's back and saying, ‘Please, get me out of here! Take me back home. Now!'

But out in this open grassland with the woods behind me and the river in front … It's weird, but I'm not the least bit scared.

Saleeka grabs my other arm. ‘Helix? Have you got rocks in your head? We need to leave. I've never been this far away from Rockfall and it's freaking me out.'

‘What's the matter with you two?' I say. ‘First, you say to me, “We're only going to the high woods,” but somehow or other we end up in the middle woods and then the low woods; and now you're saying we've gone
too far and need to go home. It's not as if we're in mortal danger. I mean, there's no rhinovore about to impale us with its horn, no flock of hungry vultures in the sky wanting to peck away at our flesh, no army of river people trying to skin us alive and boil us for dinner. You both need to relax!'

Twang
.

It's not the
twang
of a bandi-twang, but the
twang
of a wooden arrow piercing something solid and then wobbling to a standstill.

Ug and Saleeka let go of me.

The three of us look to the tree behind us, at the arrow embedded in its thick trunk.

‘Run!' yells Ug.

Saleeka sprints after Ug, back into the low woods.

But I'm still staring at the arrow buried in the tree trunk behind me. It must've travelled close to the top of my head to strike where it has.

Ug is screaming from within the low woods. ‘Come on, Helix. Run!'

He's right. I have to follow him. Before I leave, though, I take one final look across the river to the lowlands. As I scan this other world, I see a figure on the far side of the riverbank. Young, sleek and dark, he is holding a bow loaded with an arrow and aiming it my way.

I hold my ground. If he'd wanted to impale me, he probably would have done so by now.

He sees me gawping at him and lowers the bow, releasing the tension on the arrow.

We lock eyes and share a moment of common understanding, me being the target and he … Hang on … No, it's not a ‘he', it's a ‘she'. I walk forward a couple of steps to be sure my eyes aren't deceiving me, but I'm right – the archer is a girl. And not just any girl, a rivergirl.

I see that her eyes are at one with the river – a bright, sparkling deep blue. I smile at her. I don't know why, it's just my natural reaction.

And although I can't be perfectly sure, I think the corners of her thick, red lips turn upwards into a smile, too. It doesn't last for long, though. She raises her bow and fires another arrow, which lands almost exactly where the first one did.

I get the message: ‘The next one will be much more painful!' But I don't run, I walk. I walk backwards, watching the rivergirl, waving goodbye to her as I disappear into the low woods.

From the safety of the woods, I watch her turn and walk back to the village, probably to tell the story of a skinny caveboy from the mountain who smiles and waves like a fool when arrows are fired at him.

I find Ug and Saleeka without trouble.

‘What were you thinking?' demands Saleeka, shaking her arms in the air.

Ug is so angry that he can't look at me. He turns and begins to walk back up the mountain, his muscled torso clenched with fury.

I follow behind them, keeping a fair distance.

When we arrive back in Rockfall, they go their separate ways, still boiling inside. I know I'm a failure
to them. I didn't spear a fawn and I stood frozen in front of a river person. But this journey has taught me something much more important than how to throw a spear: I now know for sure that there is a world out there much bigger and more interesting than anything I've seen on the mountain.

‘So how did it go, son?' Dad is crouching over me. He looks weird from this angle, as if there's almost enough moustache to cover his entire face.

I yawn and rub my eyes.

‘Your mother and I want to know. Go on! Spill the rocks! Sherwin's even up and waiting to find out.'

I look over and see Sherwin's hairy back. He's sitting by the fire, gnawing at his breakfast.

I groan and think about disappearing back under my sleeping skin. Last night I said I was too tired to talk, but there's no escaping Mum and Dad forever. I stand up with my sleeping skin draped over my shoulders and walk to the fire, finding a spot to sit.

‘Here he is,' says Sherwin. ‘The caveman-to-be. Funny thing, though: I've been looking everywhere and can't find your catch.'

‘Sh,' says Mum. ‘Be quiet, Sherwin.'

‘Did you catch anything, son?' asks Dad. ‘Not that it matters if you didn't.'

‘Um … I … Well, the thing is, you see –'

Sherwin rolls back and lets out a loud, ‘Ha!'

‘Sherwin!' snaps Mum, picking up her whacking stick and pointing it at him.

‘I knew it! He caught nothing,' says Sherwin.

‘It's not about what you catch,' says Dad, ‘it's how hard you try. And you tried hard, didn't you, son?'

‘Yes, Dad,' I say. ‘I even went as far as the low woods –'

‘And now he's lying!' Sherwin interrupts me again. ‘Just because you didn't catch anything, little brother, doesn't mean you have to make up stories.'

I've had enough of Sherwin, so pull out my trusty insult of insults. ‘Why don't you go find yourself a wife?' I say.

Sherwin's already crinkled brow gets crinklier, but before he can jump across the fire at me, Mum points her stick at him again.

‘I went as far as the low woods and even visited Cave's End,' I say.

‘You what?' says Dad. ‘Did you hear that, Barb? Our boy went to a proper caveman site!'

‘We stopped there to have a rest. We'd been chasing a small herd of fern gazelles but lost their trail.' Okay, I know the second bit is a lie. But give me a break – I've been telling the truth up until now.

‘Fern gazelle,' drools Dad, who probably last tasted fern gazelle at his marriage banquet. ‘Did you end up catching anything?

‘No,' I concede. ‘I think we scared most of the other creatures away with our chase.'

‘Son,' says Dad, ‘I'm just so proud that you made it as far as the low woods, especially considering the woodsphobia that runs in our family.'

Dad has always said he has woodsphobia and that it runs in the family, but no one knows of anyone before him that had it. Luckily, Dad's fast on his feet like me and, with the help of Sherwin (when he can be bothered), can catch enough food on the mountain, above the woods, to keep us fed.

Mum passes me a gecko kebab and says, ‘By the time your Arrival comes around, Helix, you'll be confident in the woods and ready to hunt on your own.'

‘I know,' I say, trying to sound like I believe her.

‘What are your plans for today, son?' asks Dad. ‘A bit of heavy club work? Some spear throwing, perhaps? Another trek into the woods?'

‘Actually, I need to go to Newstone again,' I say, thinking of the sacred rock I said I'd return to Veldo.

‘More work for Speel?' says Dad.

‘Yes, that's right,' I say. It's technically not a lie this time, because I need to pick up the rest of Speel's writing skins.

‘Maybe you could follow up on my torism idea, son – see if anyone is keen on a caveswap.' Dad winks at me.

‘Don't pester the boy with your silliness, Jerg. No one wants to leave their cave. Can't you get that through your head?'

‘I think it could work,' I say to Mum. ‘Maybe there are folk in Rockfall who would like to visit somewhere else.'

‘Now you're warping his mind as well,' she says, pointing to me.

‘Give it a chance, Barb. I can smell change in the winds.'

‘Give what a chance? It'll never work. End of story!'

I swallow the last of my breakfast charcoal. Mum and Dad are still arguing as I leave the cave.

Before heading to Newstone, though, I visit Ug. His cave has a wide entrance and I can see his family – mother, father and younger twin brothers (the Uglets, I call them) – sitting around the fire.

I stand at the entrance, trying to make myself seen but not wanting to intrude. Ug's father, Ugthorn, spots me. He stands and says, ‘Helix, come in.'

I enter their cave slowly, not sure if Ug wants me there.

‘How are your Arrival preparations going?' asks Ugthorn, in his deep, cavemanly voice.

‘Well, thanks,' I say.

Ugthorn turns to Ug. ‘Ug, you didn't tell me how your trip to the woods went yesterday.'

‘We just walked a lot,' says Ug. ‘There was not much to hunt.'

Ugthorn nods. He's an even bigger version of Ug and easily the strongest man on the mountain. He's so big you could fit six of my father inside him. He's known to be a fine hunter, too. Ugthorn's family never has to eat meat-on-a-stick for breakfast. They eat meat-on-a-bone, and it's often a large bone. Scattered around them and piled high are the leftovers of their breakfast – bones of all shapes and sizes.

Ug steps towards me. I think he can tell I want to talk. We walk outside his cave and away from the entrance.

‘I just wanted to say –' I begin.

Ug interrupts me and puts a hand up. ‘Do not say anything. There is nothing to be said.'

‘I didn't mean for things to turn out how they did yesterday.'

‘Why did you not spear the fawn?' he says. ‘And what was so special about the river that you had to nearly get us killed by a riverman?'

‘That wasn't a riverman,' I say. ‘It was a rivergirl.'

A Saleeka-ish voice comes from behind me. ‘What? Who was a girl?'

‘Oh, it's you,' I say.

‘Yes, it's me, you bonehead. Who's this girl you're talking about?'

‘The river person who shot the arrow – she was a girl,' I say.

‘No way,' says Saleeka.

‘I promise you, she was a girl.'

‘Well,' says Saleeka, ‘I could fire an arrow just as far as she did.'

‘It does not matter,' says Ug, having the final word. ‘The point is, we were trying to help you yesterday and you did not even try. What is the matter with you, Helix? Do you not know what will happen if you fail your Arrival?'

‘Of course I know,' I say. ‘It's the first and last thing on my mind every day. At night, almost every night, I dream about it. And the dream always ends the same way: with me pulling a scrunge rat out of my loincloth as my offering.'

‘Then why don't you do something about it?' says Saleeka. ‘It's not like you have to spear a sabre-tooth for your Arrival. You just have to get something biggish. Or dangerous. Or rare.'

‘If I could, I would,' I say, ‘but it's not that simple. The truth is, I don't like the idea of throwing my spear at something and killing it.'

‘That is weird,' says Ug. ‘You should not say such things aloud.' He looks around to make sure no one else is listening. ‘If it were not for hunting, our people would starve.'

‘You say yourself that the river people grow food from the ground for eating,' I say.

‘So?' says Ug. ‘What has that got to do with anything?'

‘I'm just saying that you don't need to eat a bison leg with a side of boar ribs every night. There are other types of food, you know.'

‘Helix!' says Saleeka, stepping forward. ‘The river people are savages. They live down there in the mud and are too lazy to hunt beasts, which is why they eat plants.'

‘None of us has crossed the river, so we can't say why they eat what they eat. And as for living in the mud, did you see their roundhouses? They were amazing!'

‘Why are you talking so foolishly, Helix?' says Ug.

‘I'm just speaking the truth as I know it,' I say.

Ug turns around to leave.

‘Where are you going?' I say.

‘Hunting with my father. We have hungry mouths to feed, Helix, and I have a responsibility to become a caveman.'

I'm left with Saleeka.

‘You don't appreciate how lucky you are,' she says.

‘What is it now?' I ask.

‘I've turned down another potential husband in Newstone,' she says, her voice beginning to crack.

‘You mean Nobak? That guy who shaves his back?'

‘Yes, that's him.'

‘If it's any consolation, I think you made the right choice there.'

‘I know I did. But now my father says that the next husband he chooses will be the one I have to marry.'

‘Can't you just say no? I mean, what's the worst they can do?'

‘The Dark Side, Helix, the Dark Side. Speel has already mentioned it to my father in private. If I don't agree to marry by the summer solstice, he will see to it that I'm banished.'

‘Wow,' I say. ‘Maybe we'll end up being neighbours once I get banished too.'

‘It's not funny, Helix. I don't want to live on the Dark Side. I want to live in Rockfall, go hunting, start a flint collection, spear a river person … Why can't I?'

‘I'll tell you why,' I say. ‘Because it's
written
. If you ask Speel, I can guarantee that's what his answer will be.'

‘All I want is what you have: the opportunity to prove yourself.'

‘Is that what you think I have?' I say. ‘Because I don't feel that way at all. I feel like I'm doomed to fail.'

‘You know what I think?' she says, her face turning red. ‘I think you're the most ungrateful caveboy on the mountain. There!' She storms off, tilting her head upwards and releasing a loud scream that bounces off the mountain.

It's settled. Neither of my best friends likes me anymore and a long walk to Newstone is looking like a pretty fun day out right now.

BOOK: Helix and the Arrival
3.03Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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