FIVE
There aren’t too many arrow pointed individuals who will stand there looking around in the earliest of morning hours. Christopher stands there glancing at the array of purple and reddish colors hovering through the frozen ocean horizon. He has stood there for quite a while now listening to sounds of bird migrations heading south. He stands there quietly watching them as some of them turn away from the flock. The whole entire flock sways over to one side as Christopher turns back taking another look at the others.
Many thoughts begin to rummage through his mind over and over again as he turns away again looking out in to the distance. Where are we headed? Why are we leaving so unprepared? We will survive? Will we end up turning back within some time? Will we find a place where we can thrive?
Christopher takes another looking around with the urge to get on the move. Of course it’s relatively early in the morning and everyone is still sleeping. Quickly he walks over to his bags and begins to wake up Mycroft. Christopher leans over and shrugs his shoulders shrilling, “Wake up, wake up, it’s time to get up!”
Mycroft starts to sway around as Christopher shakes him another time. “Come on, wake up,” as he opens his eyes.
“It’s too early,” Mycroft says and closes his eyes again.
Christopher shakes him once again more abruptly back and forth a couple of times quickly. Mycroft pulls away rolling to the other side quirking, “Stop, I am tired!”
Christopher takes a handful of snow and reaches over rubbing it in to his face. “Wake up!”
Mycroft gets up as fast as he can like a vampire without a casket. He leans up and wipes the snow away from his face. Then he wipes some more away from his eyebrows.
Then he sits up with a desire to finally wake up for the day. He sits there looking at Christopher, “So you’re ready to get a move on?”
Christopher stands there remaining quiet for a moment as Mycroft quickly dashes to his feet like a boxer entering the ring. He starts off yelling out loudly, “Alright! Everybody get up! It’s time to wake up! He heads over to the camp fire grabbing two stones. With one in each hand he begins to bang them together making one annoying amount of a raucous. Christopher immediately freaks out on his attitude, “I didn’t mean like that!”
Mycroft ignores him and continues to wake everybody up. He kicks Shantelle in the buttocks which caused her to unsettle. Everybody slowly begins to wake up with a grumpy feeling whelming over them especially Hether who packs rather quietly.
Ray gets up faster than everybody else. First off he begins to fold his blanket realizing the courses of action that were beginning to take place. Lara wakes up doing the same. Tana wads her blanket up cramming it in to her backpack. Ray begins to put his blanket away all neatly folded.
Jon wakes up and walks over to the camp fire which is barely smoldering warming his hands. Hilda and Rachael arise as well. Hilda begins gathering her and Rachael’s belongings.
Kay sits up gathering her stuff like the rest of them, although she has her eye on something afar in the distance. It seems an animal herd of elk or deer are migrating to the north. She carries on with the glance before saying, ‘There’s a herd of something.”
Ray takes a look down a yonder in that direction. They seem too far away to really make out what kind of herd is running by just ahead. Ray shrills taking a guess, “I’m not sure, it could be some long horn deer or maybe some elk. They look too big to be antelope.”
Shantelle takes a hold of her feather she has so nicely tucked away beneath her shirt jabbering, “We should follow them.”
Tana isn’t so sure considering the night last Shantelle said we should travel a different direction. Confronting her about the different suggestion Tana asks, “Are you sure, that’s not what you said before?”
Shantelle answers back boldly saying, “If the animals go that way………then that’s the way we should follow.”
Kay can only tend to agree with her completely. Knowing she is right Kay says, “I think you are right.”
Christopher grabs the last thing he needs for the trip and that is his spear. Balancing and holding it like he’s getting ready for the take Christopher assertively says, “Let’s hurry, I’m going to catch one."
Hether finishes packing her stuff as fast as she can get in and leave the conversation yelling, “Let’s go!
Jon starts to run off in that direction not waiting for anybody. Mycroft does the same after putting his fishing lines away.
Ray takes notice of their charge in to the far distant chase of the animal herd. He makes a remark as they start to run several yards a head saying, “You’ll never catch them!”
Then Ray looks back at the others barely getting their first footed step forward as Hether darts past him saying, “Why not?”
Ray starts to run although Lara pulls on his back pack stopping him completely yodeling, “No you don’t!”
While the four continue running at a faster pace away from them, the whole group begins to pace themselves with a steady walk forwards.
After a while the others are out of sight from going too far away. There isn’t even a glimpse to be seen. They can see skids gliding in front of them on the slick ice that is frozen along the way.
Walking many miles before reaching the animal skids Hilda says, “That’s weird, I’ve never seen so many animals skids before.”
Ray takes a note of Jon, Christopher, Mycroft, and Hether’s skids jaunting, “Well that marks the end to following them.”
Shantelle takes another hold of her feather she has put away declaring, “Not really, we can follow the animal’s trail.”
Lara starts walking ahead of them all immediately saying, “What choice do we have, unless we want to stay back here in this frozen wasteland!”
Hilda takes Rachael by the hand again and follows behind Lara, “I think I’ll follow you, you seem to have the right idea.”
Tana starts to follow them as her stomach starts growling again, “I need something to snack on.”
Shantelle begins to walk behind everybody else with a much slower pace, “Maybe they caught something.”
Lara blurts a funny comeback twiddling,“Yeah, probably a cold!”
Shantelle changes the conversation back to a positive one adding, “You are mean, I’m sure they caught up to them.”
Rachael starts to laugh thinking about what fools they are when it comes to playing the hunter through the desperation of starvation. After laughing a few grunts Rachael makes a comment gibbering,“I doubt it, those guys are too stupid.”
Rachael’s comment brings to Kay’s mind the thought of whether they are alright or maybe even hurt in some way. She shows her consideration for them by driveling, “I just hope they are alright.”
Kay takes a look back over Shantelle’s shoulder wondering what it would be like if they would have stayed home. Shantelle can tell she’s mustering thoughts of regret. She deliberates on this concept by blotting, “What are you thinking……………about being back at home?”
Kay turns around but doesn’t really answer her back. She only remains quiet looking ahead. Shantelle makes another remark asking Kay, “It’ll be alright; I drifted many times before, just not this far away. I have a feeling we’ll find someplace nice, somewhere we can build a shelter of some kind.”
Ray walked behind Lara who seemed to always look ahead out in to the distance further a yonder. She was determined to catch up with the rest of them no matter how far they had gone.
While they persisted forward through the thick fog lingering around, many flocks of birds flew overhead migrating south. Many of them were small. Some of them were wild geese that made louder calls like they were running from the cold weather.
Within some distance the fog started to clear a bit. Lara notices something further in the distance. It appears there are some individuals leaning down a ways away. Lara sticks her nose out with a sense of realization. She starts to run ahead of everyone like it’s an emergency.
Ray responds by asking Lara, “What’s wrong?”
Lara answers declaring, “I see them just over there.”
Immediately everybody starts jolting further at a faster pace. When Lara reaches them, she notices that Christopher is lying down. Mycroft is holding his head up as Jon applies some pressure to his chest area. Hether is lying down with a nauseating feeling from all of the gore and action. Lara slows down as she approaches. First off she jogs over to Hether to see what went wrong. Lara asks as the others draw much closer, “What happened?”
Hether can barely speak. She has entirely lost her breath from the whole ordeal. She answers back barely trying to catch her breath, “I’m not so sure.”
Ray looks down to Mycroft and Jon wondering the same thing, “How did he get hurt?”
Jon replies to Ray inquiring, “The herd slowed down. He was right up on them……………………….and all of a sudden they turned quickly right in to him.”
Hilda puts her hand over Rachael’s eyes to keep her from seeing the horrid scene. Rachael pushes her hand away seeming agitated, “I can handle it!”
Mycroft gives his explanation for the situation as well, “The long horn deer ran right in to him with its horns first goring him in the stomach.”
Kay wonders if he’s okay. It doesn’t seem like he’s even breathing. With lots of worry on her mind, Kay seeks more information about the incident, “I hope he’s going to survive.”
Christopher didn’t move. There wasn’t a breath or heart beat to be seen or felt. He seemed to only lie there motionless. Jon made an observation about Christopher now that he has been so lifeless for a period of time, “He isn’t breathing.”
They all gather around him with a feeling of anxiety for a lost loved one. There faces had turned nearly to stone trying to fathom the reality of this. His eyes remained barely open and without expression.
Jon couldn’t accept the fact that his friend was in a state of permanent sleep. Jon tries to revive him once again saying,“Come back to me.”
He remains holding him in his arms for another moment or so before Ray says, “Let it go, he didn’t make it!”
Jon eases up slightly from holding onto his friend. He can’t even fathom the fact that this has happened to someone so close to him, especially in a time when they need each other the most. Jon finally lies Christopher down on the frozen ground before him disclosing, “I'm going to miss him.”
Kay brings on some encouragement to help them all forget the tragedy and move on. She shrugs her bags kneeling down touching his swelled feet, “We are all going to miss him?”
Rachael gets sort of smudgy and emotional over seeing him lie there so motionless, “We can’t leave him?”
Her mother is older than her and has lost several family members within her whole entire life. Acting as if there’s nothing more they can do for him she decides to infer, “We really have no other choice."
SIX
Many miles have passed since they left Christopher’s body lie there. Shantelle takes a look back placing her hands over her eyebrows. She notices some black splotches hovering around in the distance behind. Several more pass by as she looks up watching them fly over. She turns around and looks to the group as Kay turns around about the same time, “Scavengers.”
Shantelle takes another look back in disbelief. The only thing remaining on her mind is whether her friend is alright or not. She turns back around shrilling, “That didn’t take long.”
Hilda turns around. It’s no wonder that she watched them go by too. She concludes the conversation by saying, “It never does huh!”
Mycroft rubs his forehead trying to wipe away all of the pain from himself. Wanting to have much better luck he seriously discloses, “We need to be more careful?”
“We need to keep moving!” Jon says as he walks beside Mycroft. Ray turns around noticing that it must be getting later in the day. Lara wonders when they all stop and make another camp for another night. “We’re going to have to rest for the night eventually.”
Ray answers back with, “We will, we still have at least a few hours before the dawn starts to settle in.”
Kay notices something lying in the snow a few yards away. She scurries over a few feet to see what it might be jaunting,“Hey look!”
Kay picks up a broken spear tip with some blood on it. “It’s a broken spear tip someone left behind,” she says as she picks it up.
Jon steps over to take a closer look at it and blurts, “Wonder whose it is?”
Mycroft responds saying, “Looks like we’re not alone.”
Ray makes a comment figuring the same exact thing, “They must have been following that herd of long horn deer like us.”
Hilda figures they should catch up to them. “I think we should find out where they are heading.”
Tana sort of shrugs her stuff once again,“I’m sure they’re heading to the same place we are, nowhere.”
Shantelle reconnects with the situation by holding her lucky feather quill, she says as she walks behind them all, “They can’t be too far off.”
Tana adds another topic to the conversation, “This is quite a quest, it’s like we are always looking for something.”
Ray can’t wait to find out where these other people are, he feels they are very alone and would be better off in larger numbers. He shrills to them by adding, “Maybe they’ll define our group by sticking together when we find them.”
They continue walking for a little while before something faint catches Jon’s attention. Jon looks out in to the distance trying to keep his keen sense at hand. However the sunlight is barely creeping through as the winds blow relentlessly forth making it very hard to see. Small dark specks begin to emerge as he tramples a few more yards fighting his way along. All of a sudden some sounds pulsate as some slight gestures of laughing are heard. Tana races forward hearing far off sounds, "Sounds like there are others."
Lara notices that the images ahead seem to be moving away as they approach closer. "It looks like another group walking."
Mycroft makes a comment relenting, "I wonder who they are?"
Ray speeds up at a faster pace saying, "Let's catch up to them and see who they are and where they are going."
Mycroft gets a little anxious to catch up to them as well, "Maybe they know how to cross-over."
Kay brings some of her doubts to mind shrilling, "Cross-over to where?"
Rachael takes a kids heart in to plain view again, "Where ever we are going?"
Shantelle races ahead running as fast as she possibly can shout, "Stop, wait!"
A figure turns around and stops looking directly back at them. Momentarily two other figures careen in to plain view. Shantelle approaches them slowing down as she asks, "Where are you headed?"
One of the figures faces comes in to view as one of the females says, "Where there's food!"
The other female makes a closer approach. Her face is swollen over as she barely quivers, "Do you have any food because I'm ready to go crazy."
The man takes his arm holding the ladies back as the others catch up. He looks at Shantelle with a sort of wild look on his face saying, "Never mind them, they're just a little hungry from making our way out here by ourselves."
He turns around slightly getting a better glimpse of everyone. Then he adds, "We haven't had any luck finding anything to eat, and we have no idea where we are, or where we're going!"
Hether makes her way closer to the unknown strangers. They look kind of different from anyone else she has seen. The females are very rough with tatter torn skins to show it. Hether looks at them saying, "What do we call you all?"
One of the ladies turns to her with a slight of eye jabbering, "You can call me Krista………and that's Kelle!"
Lara steps back away from the man as he lays his backpack down from being so startled by their presence. Out of curiosity she asks them, "What's his name?"
He pauses a moment as he glances around at their strangeness of the others staring back at them once again replying, "They call me Jaymes!"
Rachael pulls Hilda's hand trying to make a move on once again adding, "Why don't they come with us?"
Hilda replies, "I'm sure they have somewhere to go!"
Ray takes notice of their slight gestures responding, "You can come along with us if you have nowhere else to go."
Krista looks at Jon holding his spear as he starts to take a few steps forward. She asks Jon, "Can you hunt?"
"If we come across anything," he answers back quickly.
Tana starts to move ahead asking them all, "Where are you from?"
Kelle walks along the side of her as the group makes their way once again. She thinks back to where they were before they lost themselves from the other banded groups. She answers back saying, "We are from the cliffs, we lived there for many years. We left with one of the small tribes until they camped and we wondered off for food. The weather picked up and we couldn't find our way back. And here we are….."
Kay interrogates her additionally asking, "Where were you headed?"
Krista takes over the conversation by telling the story a bit further. She tells them, "Some of the people in our tribe heard a story about a place on the other side of the horizon, in the direction that the sun settles. It's a place that's far away from here, very few have made it."
Krista continues by adding another addition to the story by telling them about another way to the other side mentioning, "There was another tribe not far from us who heard a story about a way to another side, in the direction that the sun rises. They left right before we left coming out this way."
Shantelle has heard the story as well along with many others. The fables of there being a better place have been heard by everyone. However, she never realized there were two sides leading to other places. Shantelle asks her wondering, "I wonder if they made it."
Krista speaks her mind replying, "I'm sure they are probably no better off than we are."
Shantelle answers back saying, "You're probably right!" Then she takes a few more waddling steps blurting, "I think we'll be alright, I'm sure we'll make it!"
Krista wonders what gives her such a positive attitude towards continuing on with this journey, "What makes you think that?"
Shantelle takes a hold of her lucky charm answering back elusively, "I have my lucky charm that says we will."
Jaymes takes out one of his lucky charms tied to a broken necklace. He pulls it out holding it out flat like in his hand, "I have a lucky emblem myself, and an arrowhead my father left me."
Hether looks over to take a look at it, "Let me see it."
Jaymes opens his hand displaying it to her. She takes a look at it and makes a comment about it, "It's pretty nice, how does it bring you luck?"
Jaymes answers back declaring, "It gives me the recognition I deserve."
Mycroft doesn't really have to think about that too much; so far they have been at a total loss. They have nearly used up all of their resources and now it's time to even up the score a little. Mycroft takes a look at his necklace as well asking, "What do you mean by recognition?"
Jaymes lets go of his necklace answering back, "I was responsible for everything, hunting, gathering, and grazing our herds and flocks. I always seemed to have better luck with everything while wearing it."
Kelle adds, "We all have good luck charms?"
Mycroft thinks back to a good luck charm he once had, "I had a good luck charm once, but I lost it hunting and couldn't seem to find it."
Krista gets curious as to what it was; she carries on by asking him, "What was it?"
Mycroft puts his hand to his chest where he once used to have worn it as a necklace responding, "It was a spear tip my father gave me. It was sort of too big to wear anyhow."
Tana gets back in to the scheme of things after listening to everything that has been said. Tana asks them all, "So what did your tribe do to survive all of these years?"
Hether answers her by scrambling, "Most of the time we gathered what we could during the spring months, trading with the other tribe. We traded whatever we could!"
Kay follows Tana's train of thought by blurting, "How did you all survive during the winter months?"
Krista in a less excited tone of voice replies declaring, "During the winter months we kept our herds closer to home. It was hard to feed them; most of the grass was frozen or frosted over. We butchered the older ones in order to have something to eat. Many of the others died due to the cold and starvation."
Kelle carries on the conversation by declaring, "We lost all of them eventually just like everybody else."
Lara examined and pondered the talking a slight bit. She goes further by questioning the new comers about the other tribe. "What did the other tribes do during the winter months?"
Hether gets elusively enthusiastic when she gives them the details by balking, "The other tribes ravaged and pillaged our sheep and cows and our neighboring tribe's flocks as well. They were very evil in their ways. They had no care for life or care for the sake of others. We tried to fight it, but we were too weak towards the last winter when they ravaged us once again killing and taking everything we had left."
Hilda shrugs her bags again slanging, "Then what did you do?"
Jaymes decides to answer her inquiry by adding up saying, "That's when our tribe decided to leave and head for the direction that the sun sets in the west."
Ray asks Jaymes about the other neighboring tribe that was ravaged and pillaged as well, "What did the other tribe do?"
Jaymes exclusively declares, "The other tribe decided to go in the other direction that the sun raises in the east."
"Didn't you try to stop them?" Ray shrills up quickly.
Jaymes answers back to them saying, "We tried to but they were very determined to go with the beliefs of the stories they had heard, according to their stories a few tribes had made it and returned to tell and present gifts from their travels."
Ray proclaims in a louder voice, "That's breathtaking to hear."
Rachael takes notice of darker clouds hovering towards them in a quick and abrupt approach. She catches everyone's attention by bashing, "There's a storm coming ahead."
Ray figures they have enough time to get another mile in or so. He takes a look around behind them seeing another group of dark stormy clouds stretching from the north and the south. The rest of the group slowly continues to stagger from behind them as he turns back thinking of where they have come from and how much farther they will have to go to reach a place where they can camp for the night.
Ray is more assured now after talking to the others about another place on the other side. They weren't so sure if the stories they heard were true at all or if they were merely hear say or just a story full of lore and prophesy that was make believe. Nevertheless he seemed to feel confident that others had heard the story as well, and even more eager knowing that others may have returned to tell of their journeys.
After walking a little distance in total silence Ray interrupts everybody by quibbling, "There's a low spot up ahead where we can camp for night keeping away from the wind. A few of us can scout around for something to eat once were settled in for the night."
They continue for another short length of time and decide to stop for another night. Everybody settled in with their bags forming a sort of bunched circle to keep warm. There was nothing to burn found along the way except a few scattered branches that some of them picked up and carried along. Most of them were more hopeful for what tomorrow or another day might bring to them. One notion brought to their minds was, "Where will this journey leave us when we reach the other place on the other side?" The idea of whether or not they will find others who have made it still seems questionable. This thought rummages through their minds as they settle in for another day before carrying on again with their passage.
SEVEN
Rachael is looking through Jon's bag for something to eat. She woke up after a few hours of sleep from hunger pains which have started to indulge in her. The chance that her father has some dried berries left lingers in thought. Quietly she glances through a few stone tools and clothes he has packed away tightly towards the side. She reaches her hand down further as Jon slides over slightly leaning his hand on top of his other hand while stretching and then lying over to the side facing his belongings.
She stops a moment holding her hand as still as she possibly can without stirring attention. Jon begins to sigh a bit as he yawns pulling his hands back in to his sleeping blanket wrapped around himself tightly.
Rachael pauses a few seconds before reaching her hand around some more. She reaches past the layers of clothes and puts her finger on a pouch tucked away in a corner. She slowly pulls it out while feeling through it a bit before realizing how empty it feels. Quickly she pushes the bag back pulling her hand out without trying to make any kind of noise. Then she puts her father's bag back in its place and leans back away from him trying to look natural.
As quick as a flash Jon grabs a hold of her shoulder saying, "You haven't slept, I know you're hungry. I'm hungry too, we're all hungry. Here…. Wait! I have this……..that I left for you!
Jon reaches in to his fur blanket removing a folded over handkerchief. He unfolds it and grabs a couple of berries and hands it to her, "I saved these for you, they're the very last. Don't tell anybody you had anything!"
Of course Hilda opened eye to the voices scouring lightly over her. Quietly she discloses, "I heard that. Don't worry we'll eventually find something."
"Why don't you both go back to sleep before you wake somebody else up," she says as she lies back down.
However Ray was already sort of awake listening to them quarreling a moment, "You woke me up, Ray shrills back before they retire once again. He carries on by convincing them how ready he is to make a move on saying, "I think we should get an early start today."
Hilda answers him back imploring, "Where are we headed, we are out in the middle of nowhere for all I'm concerned."
Jon leans back over towards them shrilling up a few words, "How do we know where we are going. How do we know we are at the other place when we get there?"
Rachael takes Shantelle seriously from the heart realizing that she has some kind of inside notion as how to reach the other place they are searching for. Rachael discloses, "Ask Shantelle!"
Ray thinks that is a swell idea although he knows for sure she's never been there. So far she has only told them of stories about the other place on the other side of the globe. Feeling that it may bring them a little bit of luck and insight he blurts back saying, "We could give her a try!"
Jon starts to chuckle a little thinking about her lucky charm that she says points the way. Still laughing a bit Jon gabbles, "And trust in that rough scraggly feather of hers hoping that it plumes to better things."
Hilda sticks up for her by interrupting, "Do you have any better ideas on how to get someplace better?"
Jon supports her question answering, "I guess not, I've been trying to ignore the whole thing thinking that anything is better than back home right now!" He carries on by adding together the fact that there were some jarring visions off in the distance from here. He sums it all up telling them, "I saw something off in the distance which looks like it could be mountain terrain for all I know."
Ray can only picture cliffs and huge chunks of ice to go along with it as well. He waddles about it further by saying, "If there are mountains then there are cliffs and huge mounds of ice also. So we have to be very careful."
Jon thinks about all of the animal tracks they have seen along the way uttering, "If animals can get through then we can too."
All of them began to wake up getting out of their fur sleeping bags so that they could fold them up and put them away in their fur bags. At the same time Ray scampers to wake Lara up, "Wake up, wake up, we are leaving again," he says shrugging her shoulder.
"I'm cold," she chatters slowly trying to get her lips to sync with the movements of her mouth.
Jon begins to wake the others up as they all become startled scuttling around trying to get situated. First off he shakes Hether a bit as she leans upward angry at the situation, "What's the hurry?" she says quickly.
Hether then gets up like everyone else putting her sleeping blanket away back in to her fur bag.
Kelle and Krista are already to go with the realization that they don't really have too much with them. Jaymes gathers his things together and then helps them compress the one and only blanket that they have to share all together. They only have one bigger bag between the three of them anyhow that they can use to carry it.
Mycroft and Kay are already prepared to leave and start walking away a few yards before turning around to glance a moment at the others.
Shantelle starts walking in a slightly different direction towards the rugged terrain off in the distance that Jon was talking about. She instructs everyone else by announcing, "The way is this way."
Immediately she starts heading in that direction without even consulting the nature of her good luck charm. Kay interrupts her by asking, "What makes you think that is the way?"
She turns around glimpsing at everyone quibbling, "I just know it is!"
Kay interrupts her once again by asking her, "And."
Kelle shrills, "I think so too!"
Shantelle points out to the horizon towards a range of mountains barely visible off in the distance, "It looks like there's some rougher ground down a yonder."
Kay glimpses off in the distance noticing a stretch of higher altitudes of snow glooming from north to south, "It looks like there's a range of mountains further ahead."
Mycroft walks over to the side of them looking off towards the south noticing some areas where some oceanic views are visible. He looks back in the direction they are all headed stating, "It will take a while to reach those mountain ascents."
Lara makes a comment about how rough they look, "Those Mountains look very rough and rugged ahead, I wonder if there's a way through."
Ray is pretty sure they will have some climbing to do and almost certainly lots. Most of the journey so far has been pretty easy except for a few areas here and there such as the descent down from the White Cliffs of Dover.
Once they descended among the ranges of mountains they noticed a slight climb in altitude before reaching an area where hills formed in to bigger hills of ice which rose higher and higher. Many of the cliffs formed steep canyons below which looked to undaunted to head over to. Up above at a distance were huge canyons with formed glaciers that proceeded to continue towards the foot crest of every drop. Along the frozen beaches that marauded their way down south along a broaden stretch of hills rolling to the west. They have made their way across a land bridge by now as the seas loomed with frozen chunks of ice inlaying inland to west. By now everything seemed to be striping itself away little by little as temperatures somewhat rose alongside the passageway.
The trip along the pass was slow and breathtaking. Many areas were hard to forge with taking any steps further without looking for a better path to go. It was bare gripping and back breaking as the hills began to get steeper and steeper with huge formations of ice pointing their way in many directions. Some of them slipped their way across nearly falling every once in a while. In some places they had to make their way slowly because the ice was smooth and loomed its way along creating huge mounds.
They all looked around for places where there were openings in the mountain ranges that could be a path as to which to follow better ground. For some reason the glances off to the remoteness gave them all a kind of quiver they never felt before. They continued southward until they embarked on a laden canyon just below the crest of two glaciers. As they made their way a little further they noticed a set of deer tracks scampering along a set of juniper trees that densely shaped the sides of the canyon. The tracks seemed to get narrower as they neared a turn where a herd of deer stood off in the space grazing what they could from the defrosting grasslands showing their way through a few snow banks. As they approached most of the deer hurried away except for a few that seemed to stay behind around for a moment before splitting off before their advance.
Jon was the first to sprint to the scene as fast as a flare while trying to get his spear ready to throw. Nevertheless he failed to do so quickly enough and nearly fell trying to make a catch for the day. The rest of the deer scurried their way from the scene. As Jon regains his step he heard a cry come from behind a snow bank behind a patch of grass. He spurts again in the path of the noise the best he can without losing his place for a second time. He turns to the others and notices their slow approach as he makes his way around the bank to probe.
When he rounds the corner he catches eye on the remains of a deer calf as something scurries quickly away around another snow bank cutting through some trees. He continues another few yards and stops glancing around looking through the trees as he faintly sees something but can't get a clear picture as to what it could be. For a moment he thinks he sees a figure staring back but only the sounds of rustling get further away.
The others draw near wondering what the noise they heard could be as Mycroft says, "What was that?"
Jon turns back slightly answering, "Don't know, whatever it was it took off pretty fast."
Tana quirks, "I wonder what it was?"
Jon walks over to inspect a set of foot prints. He kneels down and notices three claw prints with some finger nail impressions additionally.
Mycroft gets the first glance of something slightly mangled behind a tree stump. He gets a little closer recognizing what's left of what looks like a younger buck. Mycroft says to the others in a very excited tone, "Looks like some left over's."
Right away Hether, Tana, and Hilda run as fast as they can trying to get what they possibly can before anyone else. Jaymes and Krista follow with similar actions scurrying as desperate as possible. Ray tries to stop and block them by reaching his arm out fully extended, although they were too fast. The four of them began to take any part of the remains they could scavenge up.
Ray becomes agitated saying, "What's gotten in to you all?"
Hether and Hilda rip away the lower parts of the animal and walk away both carrying a side while Jaymes and Krista do the same with the upper portions. Tana takes a piece herself and then walks away. The four of them start to head down trail along with the animal tracks while jabbering, "What's gotten in to us all is that we are hungry and tired and need to find a place to camp!"
Rachael stays back with the others as they stay behind looking at the animal tracks left behind by some type of scavenger; Mycroft asks Jon about the tracks, "What do you think it is?"
"Whatever it is its pretty fast……..I never seen anything like it," Jon says as he gets back up deciding what to do.
Ray takes out a fur bag thinking that they should take what they can for later. Ray says as he looks back at the others as they approach a turning bend in the trail, "Let's take what we can and catch up to the others!"
Jon turns around deciding to catch up with the others saying, "You all gather what you can, we'll try to catch up to them."
He takes a hold of Rachael's hand and heads down the path while the others take what they can and follow along. Once they reached the first bend in the trail within the strewn trees and animal tracks they could hear the voices of Jon and the others coming around from the turn of another bend up ahead. They can hear Jon talking about a camp fire they found off in the near distance. Quickly they noticed another set of tracks looming off from the right of the animal trail. Evidently they aren't a set of other dear tracks. They are a set of another people who have also made their way to this plunge.
As they turn the other twist of the trail they can hear a strike of Jon's flint stones mash against some fresh wood left at a campsite left by someone else. Faster and faster they converged on to the site and stood there for a moment looking around to see if anything else was left behind that they could possibly use. They all gathered around the camp fire that was filled with wood which was kind of wet and damp. Jon takes another strike of his flint stone urgently trying to catch light to some grassy strands he rummaged from some bark he scraped off of a branch or two hastily. The sparks strike the dampen strands to no avail of igniting. "It's too damp," he says as he gives up trying for a moment.
Hether pulls some strands from her shirt which were barely hanging on. "Try this," she says to Jon before he gets back up.
Jon takes them from her, "I need more than this and we need to find some dryer wood if we want to camp here tonight."
Ray sets down his bags next to the camp fire and starts to embark out in to the near proximity as he implores, "We should scour around looking for some dryer wood."
While everyone walks around finding what they can Kay confronts Hilda and Hether while Jaymes and Krista stay back as well trying to prepare the catch for cooking.
"I find that quite rude to think only of yourselves, especially in front of your daughter when we are all trying to survive or get by somehow."
"We were just trying to discourage anything that might be lingering around," Hether says as she continues on with what she was beforehand doing.
"Well whatever it was it left the scene and you both shouldn't have acted that way," Kay says back to them in a monotone voice. Then she goes and sits down by her unloaded bags as the others search for fuel for a camp fire.
After they return with some dryer branches from nearby, Jon flint sparks some wool and linen gathered from everybody's stranded furs. After they finally feed themselves after days of starvation the group finds themselves another night sleeping out in an unknown territory. Before calling it a night Mycroft asks wondering, "Who do you think camped here?"
Hether answers back by mentioning the spear they found before Christopher died, "Maybe it’s the group of people who left the spear tip we found before Christopher died!"
Ray answers Hether back by imploring, "That's possible I presume, although they must be days ahead of us."
Hilda is curious as to where they are going, "I wonder where they are going?"
Kay has a simple solution to that question by realizing how they have no idea where they are headed so far, "Most likely going to find a better place for the same reasons we want to."
EIGHT
Rachael wakes up in the middle of the night while everybody else is still fallen in to a deep tiresome sleep. At first she can only open her eyes and sit there contemplating whether or not she feels she can make it along on her own. She sits up gleaming around at everyone for a few moments. Everything seemed to be the same as always before to her. Nothing was ever different except for the new comers who came and stay as night and day.
Now was her chance to show her independence and make a run for it. However she has her bag but maybe she should sneak along a few other things as well. She scrambles around slowly looking for something else to bring, although nothing is really left out in plain view. The primary thing that comes to mind is her mother and father's fur back pack which has a number of things packed away inside. She reaches for her father's bag first taking it as slowly as she can without waking him.
Then she opens it up feeling around again like the last time when he caught her trying to open his little satchel of food looking for something to chew on. While feeling around for an instant she feels something sharp as she rubs her finger against it. Swiftly she pulls it out and holds it in her hand deciding if she should take it along with her.
Hurriedly she puts the stone knife in her bag and then reaches for her mother's fur back pack. Rachael opens it with her hand remembering to take out a couple of over shirts her mother has packed away for her on the side. She grabs them taking them as quietly and peacefully as she can without waking anybody up. She sets the bag down awkwardly while she takes another last gaze around. She takes a hold of her bag and starts to slip away little by little.
Slowly she creeps past her father trying to get away from the group so she can make her way on her own. All was quiet with the exception of hard breathing coming from Ray who seems to be fast asleep. With a burst of energy and a desire for freedom she finally gets the urge to take a few steps away. Then suddenly, her mother wakes for a moment sighing, "Go back to sleep!"
She stops for a split second replying, "I have to go real quick."
Her mother notices that she has her fur bag with her strapped around her shoulder. She questions Rachael about her taking her fur bag, "Why are you taking your bag?"
She answers her mother saying, "To sit on."
Her mother lies back down without saying anything back in return while Rachael makes a fake to break away finally. She turns around from the group and heads out in to the close immediacy to make it seem like she's really answering a call to nature, although just the once she gets a little ways away she stops to contemplate whether or not she should go on with her plans. Thinking to herself she has thoughts expressing as she kneels to do her thing, "Luckily I really had to but I don't know if I should go through with it because she will probably be up waiting for me to come back."
She sits back up continuing thinking, "I should probably wait until later to make another break for it…………..I should have been quieter and got out of there much quicker."
She sits there judging the situation for another glimpse out in to the unknown territory that lies to the southwest of where she's standing. Nothing but a dark patch of space between her face and some darker glimmering images off in the remote distance. For an instance she thought she seen something move and heard a sort of crinkle which sounded like a kind of footstep. Nevertheless it remained completely still after that before she turned to head back anyhow.
When she returned she could only think how she's back with her mother and the others like some sort of watching obstacle she had contended with for a little while longer even if she had to play scout.
Immediately her mother asks her, "What took so long?"
Rachael replies answering, "I heard something."
Lara overhears her saying she heard something, "What did you hear?"
Rachael answers back to Lara saying, "I thought I heard a foot step of some kind."
"Well don't worry about it………..I'm sure it's gone by now."
They all fall back to sleep unaware of whatever it is lurking out there. After resting there for a while, Rachael remains lying there rethinking the situation over. While she continues to wait resting she looks around making sure that everything is clear before making a second attempt to leave. So far there hasn't been any noise or sounds coming from anyone. In a sense not even a nudge or movement has been made for quite a while. However she still hasn't the nerve to go or take off yet.
Getting the nerve finally up, she starts to budge herself up very quietly without making a sound. Then she sits up and kneels on her feet before taking her first couple of steps away from there. Slowly she takes steps looking back at them, her mother especially considering that she caught her the very last time. Step after step she looks back and forth trying to move slowly enough without falling flat on her face. After a few more steps she stops and looks back realizing how far away she is from them all.
Then she turns around and takes a few more steps and then as fast as a bat out of hell she starts to run at a slow pace. Before she gets too much further away she thinks too herself, "Wonder how long before they realize I'm gone."
Of course her relationship with her mother is something based on complete trust, although there are too many new comers adding to the group which is making things a bit hard for her to handle. Lately her expectations of everyone are somewhat different now and she feels this is the appropriate time to take her shot with an opportunity to be on her own.
She continues on with an idea about what will happen when they realize she had left the group. While walking her breath began to get heavier and her eyes wider trying to focus in the earlier morning before the dawning light. She shrugs what she has left on her shoulder glancing by everything around. She sees a slight path up ahead where there seems to be a patch of white passing within the trees.
She stops and looks back again wondering if anyone has woken up and noticed if she's missing yet. Then she turns around and heads towards the darkness off in the distance. She thinks again to herself about the others, "I'm glad to get out of there, they are too slow. It takes forever to get anywhere with them."
She starts again, "Within a couple of days I could probably find a new place where I can be alone."
She holds her bag in front of her while trying to take another quick peek in it, "I think I have enough skills I've learned to make it on my own."
"Half the time everyone is gone hunting or gathering or doing something else. And I'm tired of all the arguing and fusing. They are just a bunch of idiots," she says as she reaches her hand in to her bag feeling around to see what she all has as a last and finally fast check.
"Another thing is that they are so stingy and wasteful and have no concern for each other when it comes to finding a kill or something to eat," she jibbers as she pulls her hand back out of her bag and then closes it back up.
She shrugs her bag and shoulders, "They can get along without me anyhow………….Once they get over it."
She starts off a new pace thinking how bold she is right now out here all alone with no one holding her hand or guiding through the rough spots along the way. She takes off on her way contemplating, "Luckily I have come armed with a knife although that's all I have, but I can make some new weapons once I find someplace with some materials I can use."
She glances further ahead saying to herself, "I might have some trouble eventually down the road and I have to be ready for any danger lurking that I may encounter."
Taking a look up above to the dark night sky with clouds looming over head but breaking up she shrills, "I feel weird being out her all alone."
"There is nothing back there for me, I feel lost with them all. It doesn't matter where I go because I can find more pleasure and joy," she gabbles as she turns back looking again.
She continues on her travels as some dusk light begins to rise to her left side. For some time she has remained quiet as a trail between the trees begins to come in to plain view. Silence has slowly taken over the ringing in her ears during the last several minutes. She can only wonder where she is going as many animal tracks form a narrower path of somewhere to follow for some type of future refuge.
There were still the memories and stories she could always bring to mind when she feels lonely or without a soul to share with others. Her voice when speaking out aloud to herself gave her some sort of outer security while pushing onward. She always kept an eye out for more tracks which could hopefully be someone else. However there were only those left by the many herds traveling through.
Her mind was always planning ahead to a point, although she had no idea where she was really headed. Was she already on the other side of the world or was there a whole lot more ground to cover? She really wasn't so sure so the only thought left within her mind was to push past every little corner. Eventually she would find a place where she could rest for a while considering how long she has been moving along this morning. Of course this place would have to have something more to offer than the places they all chose before. Many of them were just burned out camps that other people that were either hunters or gatherers have left behind. Hopefully she could find someplace that had a natural food source such as berries or acorns. However she hasn't seen any pinon nuts which will be more prevalent in the direction that she's going. Finally she is now content and confident with her escape and has no plans of returning or going back to any of them.
Back at the place the rest of them are camping and Hilda begins to roll around as the morning light gets a little brighter illuminating through the trees surrounding them. She opens her eyes looking over to where Rachael was laying before she fell asleep. Immediately she notices that Rachael isn't there lying over across from her any longer. Keeping a rational idea in mind she wonders if she had to answer the call to nature again. She sits up as fast as she can, "Where's Rachael?"
Getting no answer back from anyone especially Jon, the one she was mostly emphasizing to, she shrills again while shaking Jon's shoulder, "Where's our daughter?"
Jon barely nods his head while trying to roll over towards her saying, "How do I know she was sleeping on your side……….maybe she had to go again like usual."
Swifter than a arrow thrown from an atlatl Hilda jumps up and looks around the bunch with a fast gaze of disappointment, "I think I should take a look for her."
Jon sits up rather somewhat, "Did she take her backpack?"
Hilda answers back because she's really the only one who would seem to miss her, "Yes, but she usually takes it along and uses it."
Jon gets a little sarcastic by commenting, "Why, does she go on it?"
Angrily Hilda scolds Jon back by using her female way of taking charge by replying, "Don't you get smart with me, this is your daughter we're talking about."
Jon decides to cool her nerves down by persuading her to go seek out for her, "Just go look for her already!"
Hastily she walks away quietly to start looking for her. Of course Jon figures that she'll come back after she has found her, although if that is the outcome. Slowly she walks away knowing that she has probably run away this time considering she had maybe tried a bit earlier.
Hilda moves on with thoughts in mind of how lately her daughter has been slowly pulling away from her, the way she pulls her hand away from hers more and more like some sort of rebelling fiend. As she glances around about the area she sees images of a dark figure moving about from different distances right in front of her, "Rachael is that you?," she softly says as she stops and tries to focus her eyes the best she possibly can without squinting too much.
She stands there still for a moment with nothing but the ringing of continual silence in her ears. Pausing for another moment or two she calls once again with a preoccupied short response,"Rachael?"
Just like a second ago there is no response as she realizes there is nothing but the cold chills up her spine as she shrills to herself, "I have got to find her."
"Where could she have gone," she says to herself as she begins to become more frantic with hopes of finding her before too long.
As she remains in position there she listens for some voice to convey over her thoughts, but nothing but echoes in the cold breeze sends her looking in the other direction for a momentary glance. She takes a few steps forward before she sees the reminiscence of some footing prints that don't really point anywhere except to some smaller blown over traces shooting off in the distance, "Rachael," she says loudly once more.
Disappointedly she begins to turn back as she wonders where her daughter could be or where she could have gone. It's obvious to her that she has run away. Many negative thoughts have already begun to formulate in that big thick brain of hers as she thinks to herself, "Where could she have gone?"
Fast forth she turns around and heads back with more delusive ideas coming onward. While making her way back to the camp site she hears the voices of the others ranting and raving about whether or not she has found her and whether or not she'll return with her.
Back at camp the others are up and ready to make another day's journey to go the distance. Seeing that she is slowly approaching and has returned the others get anxious realizing that she is coming all alone by herself. Kay asks as she slowly descends her way back, "Where is she?" Hilda replies, "I couldn't find her," she says as she walks over towards her belongings.
Jon asks as he gets a little more anxious from the outcome of things, "What do you mean that you couldn't find her?"
Hilda gets all of her stuff together as fast as she possibly can without mustering too much attention, "I couldn't find her, and I looked around and didn't see her."
Ray gets in to the scheme of things by realizing that they have to act fast, "We should go look for her right away."
Shantelle starts walking off past them all like she knows exactly what she's doing, "Follow me, I know where's she's headed?"
Mycroft confronts her about acting like she knows so much compared to him and the rest of them. It seems she hasn't been exactly what she pretends to be. Following in her footsteps Mycroft scrambles, "Who put you in charge?"
"I'm taking charge, that little girl won't last very long on her own, I give it one night and she'll be frightened to hell," Shantelle says as she keeps on walking with a sense of premonition.
Below is a link to "Hunted Gatherers" subpage 3.