Mlungisi and an entourage of his warriors in training went out on a mission to recruit others nearby who had suffered the same atrocities and losses of loved ones to come together as one Zulu nation and become strong enough to withstand the Hunter’s should they come again. They went out every day for several weeks and found many people, both young and old, to join their small community and now a growing number trekked in on their own, having heard of this bold new encampment of survivors, ready and willing to be a part of something after losing their family and more. Their group now counted over a hundred and fifty, and they had many hunters, gatherers and crafters who were able to feed and clothe everyone but more importantly they had just over seventy warriors who trained daily to become as fit and able as possible in order to defend their tribe when and if the monsters returned. Mlungisi had transformed into a man in just a few short weeks and his body was now a finely tuned and muscled machine ready to face an enemy and he had trained his group of warriors to do the same, and Nqobile had been in charge of making them matching outfits with brightly colored loin cloths, ivory beaded chest plates and spiked feathers that made them look taller. In all, he was satisfied that the group had come together and were acting atribe, with few if any disagreements and those quickly settled. His heart ached for his mother and father and he hoped they were alive somewhere, but he also knew that he had to channel that longing and unknowing into his training and if need be, fighting against an unfeeling enemy who were vastly more experienced. Mlungisi wanted to be victorious if that should ever happen again, and he had every reason to believe that it would since already in his short lifetime they had come to his village twice and others reported the same thing happened to their tribes.

For this reason his day was full and he had become a weapon to be used against the Hunters, and he trained every male over the age of seven to do the same for four hours every morning after sunrise, then had a midday meal usually consisting of dried and fresh berries and fish or game that was cooked over the camp’s fire in the middle of their expanding village. After eating, they went out scouting for others and inviting them to join and giving directions to the village, although a few times they had to be taken back due to their physical condition, and it amazed Mlungisi every time how many disparate tribes were affected as they moved further inland through the jungles and hunting game as they went, occasionally stumbling upon a fresh kill and scaring the predators away long enough to carve off pieces that weren’t chewed on. They always came home with meat and followers.

Today a new fire pit would be dug and lined with stones and a cooking pyre erected over it in another part to provide that area with their own cooking source since it was becoming difficult for everyone to use just one, sometimes having to wait for hours. They had begun cooking larger amounts at once but the extra time it took negated the purpose and so it was decided more were required and would be erected whenever the newcomers reached a marker of fifty, at which time a new cooking pit would be erected. The women had gathered the stones and two sturdy Y shaped tree limbs and another that was stretched across and tied onto them that would support a cooking vessel hanging from tree bark twine for each of the new pits and workers were prepared to get started so it would be ready to use. The pit itself was six feet across and around five feet deep, and the larger stones were being laid to cover every inch of the soil and another layer of smaller stones on top of that one, continuing until the last layer consisted of small stones and came to approximately two feet of the ground, giving room for a fire to be constructed, while others were constructing the pyre by tying it all together with twine, then they were placed into holes that had been dug out for them, taking about two hours from start to finish. Now they laid the first wood in and lit it, feeding it with small pieces until there was enough fire to start the big logs that were used to cook with after they became glowing coals, which generally took about four or five hours, and would now serve this half of their growing nation of victims who were ready to fight back instead of trying to hide.

Nqobile and Nomusa had become very close friends in the time since her mother was snatched away and Nomusa had been nursing Londiwe, who was thriving and growing like a weed and was a happy baby. Nqobile was in charge of the camp itself and was supervising and helping build the firepit, and sending out parties to gather materials and food so they could keep building and feeding everybody. They had to keep going further and further away for fresh berries and typically ran into other groups, who were of course asked to join their community and now they were pushing past the known boundaries and yet everyday more and more ravaged and scourged villages were found, leading them to believe there was nowhere untouched. It occurred to Nqobile that they should start preparing for a time when they might stumble upon Hunters in the process of devastating a village in their travels so they came up with a training program for the females, allowing them to become warriors in their own right and named them Abafazi Luki, a title they wore with pride and worked hard to achieve. They took turns working at camp, standing guard and foraging, letting the young ones play at becoming the future workers, leaders and protectors.

It was pretty idyllic until one day they heard of a recent hostile encounter in an outlying village and it chilled them to the heart because it was only a matter of time before it was their turn. They increased they guards around the perimeter and mare men took a place at watch now, and the children were kept quiet and only allowed to speak in whispers, and worked out signals they could use for warnings and all clear, and a few more thrown in to indicate direction and speed, and drilled regularly on taking different paths into the caves above the village and disappearing into the depths where they had created a living space. As the Hunters got nearer, the women and children were relegated to the cave for safety and the men watched over the camp, covering up any traces of their tribe’s withdrawal and taking shifts where one third of the men were on guard, sleeping or performing community duties and taking care of personal hygiene and the like. Life was suddenly filled with anxiety about what would happen when their enemy came, if they had trained hard enough and were ready, whether they would prevail and save their people, and worrying about the safety of the women and children. They couldn’t see, smell or hear them but the Hunters were trained to detect anything that was out of place and that meant that if they encountered them they had to overpower them and kill them all with no exceptions or remorse, using the anger of losing their families to make them an invincible force that they hoped would stop the raids.

Meanwhile, the women and children were staying quiet and subsiding on dried fish, meats and berries they had prepared for this exact purpose, hoping that it was enough and rationing it out a little at a time to help it stretch, not knowing how long they might be here. Water and fungus was plentiful and they incorporated it into their sparse diet, but they were fearful of lighting a fire that the Hunters could see or smell and ate it raw, some of them tasting better than others. They kept themselves and the children busy and entertained by tanning hides and making clothing and shoes sewed things together with sinew from the animals they killed, and ornaments from shell pieces, small bones and small colorful stones they had collected from the beaches sewn on with fine strands of vining plants with quills from the feathers they put in the men’s headdresses. They made different intricate designs for each member and let the children help pick out the colors, and taught them to sew and make patterns from old clothing by taking out the stitches and cutting the tanned hides carefully around them, adding extra for the children to grow into through the year until they make new ones again. The men’s clothes were decorated with vivid colors and bold patterns, while the women’s and children’s were more subtle and more natural, some depicting scenes from the world around them and animals they knew of.

They also found some rocks that left marks when rubbed against the walls of the caves and used them to paint pictures similar to the designs on the various clothing, and that kept the little ones entertained for hours on end, searching for different colored rocks to use and competing with each other. One day they found a pool of clay and started to use it to form bowls, cups, and even some decorative items that they would dry in the sun once they could go home. After about three weeks they heard the sounds of a battle and knew the Hunters had come, and they sat together and focused their will power to aid their warriors on the field and give them the victory, and they remained that way until Mlungisi came to bring them home hours later. Nqobile rushed to him and hugged him fiercely without any shame, and sobbed onto his shoulder how happy she was to see him, then he led them out into the sunshine they hadn’t seen since going in and although it was painful, they were all grateful to see it again, and soon they could open their eyes fully and they continued on their way to the campsite.

Mlungisi told them what had happened and how they had finally defeated the Hunters by being coy instead of brash, and in the end all of them were dead and although they had taken a great deal of physical damage everyone had come out alive today. He warned them that there was a lot to be done in the village as that was where most of the fighting had taken place, and as they neared camp they began to see signs of the battle and dead Hunters here and there, although the warriors were cleaning up the village already. Nqobile told him about the pottery they had made which they couldn’t carry and was in the cave ready to be baked in the sun, and about the pictures they had drawn on the walls and the new clothes they had made and Mlungisi praised them all for such constructive industry while being sheltered in the cave, and then they were at the camp and they stopped as one when they saw the destruction and bloodshed everywhere. It was too similar to what they’d seen when coming out from the acacia bushes after their mother was taken and Nqobile stood there shaking with tears streaming down her face, while her brother pulled her close and held her until she finished crying and she pulled gently away and stood up straight, saying to everyone, “We will remember this day as one of victory, and be thankful for our good fortune. Now we must turn to the task of rebuilding our homes and community structures even better than before. We have been blessed.”