Once Upon a Caveman (25 page)

When
the mammoth reared in pain and panic, the Clan would retreat, hoping that some
of their blows had been killing ones.  The rest of the mammoth herd would
thunder away from the scent of blood, leaving the dying animal alone.  Vulnerable. 
If the wounds were deep enough it would bleed and thrash until it collapsed,
exhausted.  Then the Clan could move in and finish it off.

Rhawn
already knew Lucy would not like seeing a hunt.

It
was a brutal business, which was why Skoll excelled at it.  His expertise would’ve
come in handy today, except Skoll was still missing.  No one had seen him since
Warren defeated him in the challenge.  Whatever Skoll was plotting, it was
bound to be bad.  Deep down, Rhawn hoped the man stayed hidden until the rest
of them were safely off the island.

He
doubted he would be so lucky, though.

Lucy
came up beside him, her eyes filled with wonder as she stared at the mammoth
herd.  Rhawn had tried to convince her to stay behind, but she’d refused, eager
to see the creatures for herself.  “Oh my god.”  Her voice was reverent.  “Look
at them!  They’re so beautiful.  Rhawn, they’re so
beautiful.
”  Her
voice actually cracked on the word, like she was trying not to cry.  “I knew
they’d be beautiful, but to see them in person…  It’s like seeing magic.”

Rhawn
glanced at her from the corner of his eye, the feeling of foreboding settling deeper
into his stomach.  She would
really
not like what was about to happen.  “Lucy…”

She
ignored the warning in his tone and started down the slope, unmindful of the
fact she might spook the creatures.  “Do you see how there are adult males with
the herd?”  Lucy headed towards the valley floor, so she could get a closer
look.  “They live with their mothers for the first decade or so, but this group
might stay together longer, since they’re so isolated.”  She couldn’t take her
eyes off the creatures, cataloging every piece of them in her phenomenal mind. 
“They’re big, like the Columbian Mammoth in America.  At least thirteen feet at
the shoulder.  Do you see?  But, their hair is longer, more like the European
Woolies.  You think these guys are a hybrid?”

Rhawn
sighed at her excitement, knowing this hunt would break her heart.  “Lucy,” he
hurried down the slope after her.  The rest of the Clan stayed back, waiting to
see what Lucy would have them do next.  “Lucy, wait!”  He called to her.

“Huh?” 
She sent him a quick frown.  “I just want to get some measurements.  Look at
their tusks!  My God.  Some of them must be a dozen feet long.”

“
Lucy.
” 
He caught up with her, his voice insistent.  “Do not become attached.  We must
hunt
these animals.  You know this.  You
agreed
to this.”

She
shook her head emphatically, her gaze going back to the herd.  “I’ve changed my
mind.  I mean, hunt something so beautiful?  No. 
No
.  We’ll have to
think of something else.  We’re
not
killing these animals.”

“Uooloa
will sink this island, at any time.  They will perish anyway.”

“I’m
not killing them, Rhawn!  If I’m the Savior, I want to save
them
.  At
least, from us.”  They were within a hundred yards of the mammoths, now.  Lucy
didn’t seem to care that it was dangerous to get any closer.  She kept going,
hypnotized by the beasts.

Rhawn
grabbed her arm, pulling her to a stop.  “There
isn’t
another way.”  He
said firmly.  “We will just kill a few small ones, yes?”

“Babies?!” 
She gasped horror.  “You want to kill little baby miracles?”  He might as well
have turned the spear on her.

Rhawn
winced.  “An old one, then.  I did promise you I would choose a very old and
sick one, remember?  I will choose on that is already dying, alright?  Go back
to the caves and wait for me.  This will be over soon.”  Rhawn did not want her
to witness what was to come.  Didn’t want her watching him as he killed
something she so clearly cherished.

Lucy
was refusing to retreat, though.  Green eyes stared up at him, desperate and
pleading.  “There
must
be another way.  You’re a genius.  Think of
another plan.
 Please
.  You can’t just kill a mammoth.”

Actually,
he
could
… but not like this.

Rhawn
tilted his head back, seeking guidance from the gods.  Lucy did not come from
this world.  There had not been a day in her life when she’d been hungry. 
There was so much food in Newyork, people could pick and choose what to eat. 
Forgo meat entirely.  She couldn’t understand the very real struggle for
survival that the Clan endured.  It was beyond her frame of reference.

Lucy
did not see the mammoths as food.  All she saw were miracles.

And
if she watched one her magical creatures bleeding to death and trumpeting out in
pain, she might never forgive Rhawn.  Might never love him.  More importantly,
it would crush her and he did not want to see Lucy hurt.  Beneath her
antisocial snarking, she was an innocent.  He would do all he could to shield
Lucy from the darker realities of the world.

Still,
they must eat.  What else could Rhawn hunt, instead mammoths?  All the other
options were bad, but not as bad as seeing her cry.

“Would
you allow me to kill long-tooths?”  He asked after a beat.  Perhaps he could lure
a pack of them into the pits and kill them while they were trapped.  That way
they could not fight back.  It had worked well enough for Craig.

Lucy
winced.  “Sabretooths, you mean?  I love them even more than mammoths.  Aren’t
there any --like-- ugly, mean animals you can slaughter?”

“Long-tooths
are
mean.”  He assured her, but he could tell that she would cry over
the hunting of those beasts too.  Rhawn blew out a frustrated breath.  “We have
already had this discussion, Lucy.  We
must
have some kind of meat.  If
it cannot be mammoth, it must be something else.”

“I
know
.  But, I’m just asking you to murder something less magical. 
Please.”

Rhawn
thought for a beat, not wanting to disappoint her.  There
had
to be something… 
A creature moved in the distance and he brightened.
 
It was more
dangerous to hunt
tandar,
but not even Lucy could care about such a
monster.  They were hideous and aggressive.  He pointed to it, feeling pleased
with his intelligence.  “We will hunt that beast, instead.”

She
followed his triumphant gesture, her eyebrows climbing.  “You want to spear a
rhinoceros?
” 
She gasped, sounding horrified.

Rhawn
scowled.  “It’s a
tandar!

“It’s
a wooly rhinoceros!  Look at the horns!”  She jabbed a finger at the two
septar
growing from its face, one on the tip of its snout and one between its
eyes.  “Look at its long, wooly hair!  Look at the fact that it’s a
fucking
rhinoceros
!”

That
was a wooly rhinoceros?

Rhawn
made a considering face.  Oh.  Well, that explained why the animal had been
unfamiliar to him when she spoke of it.  Lucy’s people called so many simple
things by complicated names.  Not that it much mattered.  The beast was still
unpleasant.  And, at twelve feet tall and weighing half a ton, it had plenty of
meat on it.  It was a suitable choice for the hunt.

“What
are you?  Hemingway, now?”  Lucy continued hotly.  “We’re not killing rhinos,
Rhawn.  Even the regular ones back on Earth are endangered.  Keeping thinking
of new plans, because all your current ones suck.”

The
woman made him want to tear out his hair.  “You are the one being unreasonable,
Lucy.  In Newyork, I am aware there are building full of food to pick from. 
But here we must…”

His
words were interrupted by the earthquake.  The ground moved in waves as Uooloa
spewed smoke into the air.  Lucy and Rhawn were both knocked off their feet,
their eyes going up, up, up to the very top of the fiery mountain.

This
was it.  They both knew it.

Uooloa
was beginning its final eruption.

The
rock sides of the mountain were already changing shape.  Rhawn could actually
see them swell from the pressure within, as Uooloa prepared to blow.  They were
out of time.

“
Go!
” 
He roared and shoved Lucy to her feet.  He was right behind her, half pushing
her back up the slope.  They had to get to the
ragan
.

Now
.

The
mammoths panicked at the noise and shaking ground.  The herd stampeded away
from Uooloa, charging at Rhawn and Lucy.  Thousands of pounds of muscle and
bone bore down on them.  Their massive bodies hemmed in Lucy and Rhawn, so they
couldn’t break away from the herd.  They could not outrun them, either, so they
were surrounded.  At any moment, they could be crushed by a terrified mammoth..

Rhawn
cursed and looked around for somewhere to hide.  Options were limited.  The
mammoths’ feet were huge and flat, capable of killing a human without even
noticing the bump.  If they stepped on Lucy or Rhawn, it would be an instant
and painful death.  He quickly dragged Lucy into a small crevasse between two of
the large rocks dotting the slope.  It was the best he could do for shelter,
but he still wasn’t sure it would be enough.

Especially,
not when she tried to
touch
the damn things.

Lucy’s
hand reached out to try and pet the mammoths’ wiry fur.  Rhawn yanked her wrist
back down again, sending her an incredulous look.

She
shrugged helplessly.  “But they’re so
pretty
.”

A
huge mammoth walked over top of them, his legs like tree trucks, his huge form
casting a shadow.  Lucy still wasn’t afraid.  She craned her head back to gape
up at the creature, as Rhawn covered her body with his own.  He wanted to
protect her.  She just wanted to admire the animals threatening to stomp them. 
The beasts thundered by, blaring out their cries of danger and she was looking
awed again.

For
a second, Rhawn saw the mammoths through her eyes.

The
animals towered over them, powerful and beyond human scale.  Their thick brown
fur and long trunks looked like nothing else in the world.  This close they
were even more majestic.  Even he could appreciate the wonder of them.  The
sounds of their breathing and the wild smell of them and the glints of
intelligence in their eyes…  Maybe they
were
magical, just as she said.

But
he could still eat them.

Magical
or not, they were an ideal food source.  It was fortunate that Lucy
had
stalled the hunt, though.  If they had been any closer to the herd when the
earthquake began, there would have been no way to avoid the stampede.  The
whole Clan might have been killed.  As usual, Lucy had protected them all just
by being her perfect self.

How
could she not see she was the Savior?

“Lucy! 
Rhawn!”  Warren bellowed, dashing to the top of the hill and peering around for
them, as the mammoths galloped towards the river.  The ground was still shaking
from Uooloa and he was having a hard time keeping his balance.  “Hey, did you
see those furry elephants?  And --shit!-- there’s one of your wooly rhinos over
there, too, Lucy!  Wow, I think you were
right
.  This isn’t Aruba, at
all!”

“Can
I at least kill
him?
”  Rhawn asked, breathing hard.

“Go
ahead.  But I’m not eating Warren, either.”

Warren
frowned as they got to their feet.  “You guys okay down there?”

“We
are fine.”  Rhawn quickly helped Lucy up the slope.  “At least for now.  Uooloa
is going to explode very soon.”

“I
was coming to tell you guys that Anniah and I were just back at the caves.  We
were gonna…
ya know
… and wanted some privacy.  But then I noticed that
Craig’s escaped!  I think Taffi let him out of that bamboo cell thing, ya
know?”

Rhawn
bit off another oath and glowered down at Lucy.  “If you had let me kill Craig
last night, he would not be a problem now.”

“Oh,
you just want to kill everything lately.”  Lucy retorted.  “Besides, Team Taffi
can do whatever the hell they want here on Fireball Island and it won’t matter. 
We’re
leaving
, right?”

Rhawn
supposed could not argue with that.  “We’re leaving.”  He agreed and hustled
Warren and Lucy towards the beach.  He could see the rest of the Clan making
their way towards them, running over the unsteady ground.  “We must get to the
ocean!”  He bellowed over the mountain’s roar.  There was no time to gather
more food.  They would just have to make do with the fruits and water already
loaded into the
ragan
.  “We must leave now!”

They
raced through the forest, dodging falling trees and terrified animals.  All the
inhabitants of the island were fleeing Uooloa’s wrath.  Glancing over his
shoulder, Rhawn could see that the smoke was glowing red now.  Sparks were
beginning to shoot up into the soot-filled sky.  The top of the mountain seemed
as if it was about to ignite.

“Oh
gods.”  Rhawn whispered.