by Eric Braun
“No, they lived in Europe, not North America,” Jayla says.
“Those are the Clovis,” you say. “Like the people in the diorama back at the museum.”
You don’t know much about these ancient people. You certainly won’t understand their language, and you don’t know if they’re friendly. Maybe it would be safest to avoid them. But then, you don’t have any food, shelter, or a means to start a fire. The people in the village have everything you need.
To avoid the village, press here.
To go meet the people, press here.
You barely survived an encounter with a dangerous prehistoric animal. You don’t think it’s worth the risk of meeting prehistoric people. They may not be any friendlier than the beast you faced.
“It looks like they have food,” Mateo says hopefully.
“But look, they also have weapons,” you say, pointing to their spears.
Mateo and Jayla nod in agreement. The three of you sneak back down the hill and quietly make your way along the river. You are careful not to be seen or heard by the people of the village.
While you are able to avoid other people and large animals, you are constantly struggling to feed yourself. You spend almost all of your time looking for food.
The days turn into weeks and the weeks into months. Slowly you give up on ever returning back to the museum or seeing your classmates and family again. You and your friends spend the rest of your lives just trying to survive the harsh environment of the Ice Age.
THE END
To follow another path during the Ice Age, press here.
To learn more about the Ice Age, press here.
“I think we should check out the village,” you say. “The people there can’t be worse than facing a saber-toothed cat or a woolly mammoth.”
“And I’m hungry,” Mateo says.
“Plus they have a fire,” Jayla adds.
“I don’t think we have any other choice,” you say.
The three of you begin walking toward the village. Soon you hear yelling. Several men armed with spears come running toward you. They shout at you in a language you don’t understand. You and your friends do your best to keep calm.
You raise your hands in front of you and quietly say, “We mean you no harm.”
“We are cold,” Jayla says, pointing to the fire.
“And hungry,” Mateo says, motioning with one hand toward his open mouth.
After a few tense moments, the prehistoric people stop shouting and shaking their spears at you. One man waves you forward toward the fire, where you take a seat. A little while later, a woman brings each of you a bowl of food. She motions by bringing her hand to her mouth.
“She wants us to eat,” Jayla says.
“What is it?” Mateo asks, looking at his bowl.
You are too hungry to care. It’s food, and you’re starving. As you eat, one of the men squats down next to you. He sets his spear on the ground between you and your friends. You all look at it and then at each other with a shock of familiarity. It certainly looks like the spear you touched at the museum. At the same time, all three of you reach over and touch it. Suddenly you feel a familiar tingle. The air shimmers around you.
In an instant, the crackle of the fire is replaced by the excited voices of your friends.
“We’re back!” Mateo exclaims.
You find yourself in the museum standing next to the fallen spear. Just then, Rebecca walks by. She takes a pair of gloves out of her pocket and puts them on. Then she bends down to pick up the spear.
“This is one of those special artifacts,” she says, with a wink. “I’d better put it somewhere safe.”
THE END
To follow another path during the Ice Age, press here.
To learn more about the Ice Age, press here.
CHAPTER 3
EUROPE
“Let’s check out Europe,” you say. “I want to see what Neanderthals and Cro-Magnon people looked like.”
You head toward the Europe display, and your friends follow. As you enter the room, Mateo points to something painted on one wall.
“What are those?” he asks.
“They look like a painting of some sort of animals,” you say.
“They’re cave paintings,” Jayla says. “Like those found in the Lascaux Caves in France.”
You walk over to the cave paintings with your friends. You are surprised at how lifelike it looks. The wall appears to be real rock.
Mesmerized, you and your friends forget about Rebecca’s warning and lean in to touch it. You feel a tingle in your fingers. Suddenly you are surrounded by darkness.
“Whoa, what just happened?” Mateo asks. “Are we still in the museum?”
“I don’t know,” you say, glancing around. “I don’t think so.”
“It looks like we’re in an actual cave!” Jayla exclaims.
“OK, this is weird,” Mateo says.
The only light comes from the sun shining through an entrance on the far side of the cave. As your eyes adjust to the dim light, you see paintings on the walls. They are red and black.
“They look real,” Jayla says, inspecting them.
On the ground there are bowls filled with what looks like red and black paste. In the middle of the cave are the remains of a fire.
“Let’s see what’s outside,” Mateo says, stepping through the entrance. “This cave is creeping me out.”
You and Jayla follow him. Outside is a tundra-like landscape of shrubs and grasses. You don’t see any glaciers in the mountainous ridges around you, but you feel the bite of cold air.
“Brr,” Jayla says. “It sure feels like we’re back in the Ice Age.”
You have an odd feeling that she might be right. There is a village a little farther down in the valley. A group of people have gathered below you. They are covered in furs and some carry spears with stone tips. They look shorter and a little more stout than modern-day humans.
“They might be Cro-Magnons,” Jayla explains.
Suddenly Mateo screams. He has stumbled and is tumbling down into the valley.
“Mateo!” you shout.
You and Jayla quickly scramble down after him in a panic. By the time you get to the bottom of the valley, Mateo is surrounded by the strangers. The surprised people are helping him to his feet.
“Are you hurt?” you ask.
“Yeah, just a little bruised,” Mateo says. “Thankfully these people seem friendly.”
“Maybe they will take us in,” Jayla says. “It’s probably strange to see three kids wandering alone—especially in these clothes.”
A man and a woman approach you. The man offers you a spear while the woman holds out some wooden bowls.
“I think they want us to either go on a hunt or help them find food,” you say.
To go on a hunt, press here.
To help gather food, press here.
“It would be exciting to go on a hunt,” you say. “Maybe we’ll see some prehistoric animals.”
You and your friends each grab a spear. The man leads you and a group of hunters to a watering hole. You hide in the brush and wait. Eventually you hear a distant trumpeting sound. You peek through the leaves to see several woolly mammoths heading your way. The ground shakes.
Everyone stays hidden until the beasts get near the watering hole. Then one man lunges forward from his hiding spot and stabs the nearest mammoth. It trumpets angrily and rises up on its hind legs.
The mammoth is vulnerable. It seems like a good time to join in the attack. Or should you wait to see what the other hunters do?
To wait, press here.
To rush in, press here.
“I don’t know how to use a spear,” you say.
“And I’d rather not run into any wild animals,�
� Jayla adds.
Mateo nods in agreement.
Each of you grabs one of the bowls and follows the woman. Some Cro-Magnon children and other women join you.
While everyone else wanders off searching for berries and other edible plants, the woman guides you over to some shrubs. She shows you which berries to pick and which to leave alone.
Time passes, and you are lost in thought as you pick berries off of the bushes. You glance up when you hear a loud huff near you. Staring at you from across a small clearing is the biggest hairy face you have ever seen.
“Hey, Jayla,” you whisper. “What is that?”
“A cave bear,” she says, already frozen in fear.
The bear steps forward, crushing the shrubs in front of it. It’s huge! On all fours, it stands as tall as you. It is stocky, and you guess it weighs as much as a small car.
“What do they eat?” you ask.
“I think they’re omnivores,” Jayla replies.
While there are plenty of plants around, you and your friends are the only “meat” nearby.
“I hope it’s in the mood for a salad,” Mateo says.
You need to get away from the bear. You could throw your bowl of fruit down and make a run for it. Hopefully the bear would be more interested in the berries than in you. Or you could set the bowl down and back away slowly.
To throw the berries and run, press here.
To slowly back away, press here.
You look at the other hunters. Even though the mammoth has its belly exposed, they don’t move in for the kill. They seem to be waiting for something. You should probably follow their lead.
The injured mammoth trumpets angrily again. It drops on all fours and then spins around. The herd flees the waterhole.
You and the other hunters follow in pursuit. Every now and then the herd stops. This gives the hunters a chance to attack the injured animal. They launch spears at it from a safe distance. But for the most part, the men are content to simply follow the herd.
“I think they’re hoping to wear it out,” Jayla says.
She’s right. It takes hours, but eventually the mammoth tires from the constant harassment of the hunters. It is slowed by its injuries and struggles to defend itself. That is when the hunters go in for the kill.
Once the hunt is done, other members of the tribe join you. They help in butchering the beast and preparing the meat and its hide. These tasks take the rest of the day.
By nightfall, you are back in the cave. A fire is lit, and you and your friends huddle around it for warmth.
You look at the wall with the cave paintings.
“Maybe we should paint a scene from the hunt today,” you say.
“There’s paint,” Jayla says, pointing to the bowls along the wall.
Mateo jumps up and heads over to the wall.
“There are brushes, too,” he says, holding up some sticks with hair attached to one end.
You walk over to your friend and grab one of the brushes and the bowl of red paint.
“What are you going to paint?” Jayla asks.
“One of the mammoths,” you say.
You dip the brush into the paint. When you touch the wall with it, you feel a familiar tingle in your fingers.
Suddenly it is a lot brighter and noisier. The sounds of your excited classmates surround you. Jayla and Mateo are next to you.
Press here.
With the mammoth exposing its underside, you see an opportunity to attack and impress the other hunters. You stand up from your hiding spot and lunge forward with your spear. As you do, the mammoth drops back to all fours. While the mammoth may be injured, the huge beast is far from defeated. It takes a swipe at you with its long tusks. You are lifted into the air and tossed to the ground.
As you struggle to get to your feet, the herd turns to flee. You are caught in their path. Stampeding feet crash all around you. One lands on your leg. Bones shatter under the mammoth’s weight. Then another foot lands on your chest, crushing the life out of you.
THE END
To follow another path during the Ice Age, press here.
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As the bear takes a step closer, you instinctively step backward.
“Let’s run for it,” you tell your friends. “I am going to throw my berries at it, and then let’s go.”
Out of the corner of your eyes, you see Jayla and Mateo nod.
“Here goes nothing,” you say, cocking your arm back. When you throw the bowl, you shout, “Go!”
Once you turn your back, the beast gives chase. You run as fast as you can. But you are no match for the speedy bear. It catches your heel in its mouth. You stumble to the ground, and the bear is upon you. It strikes with bone-crushing blows. One paw catches you across the head, and the blow knocks you out. You fall to the ground, never to wake again.
THE END
To follow another path during the Ice Age, press here.
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You worry what the bear might do if you make any sudden moves. It might attack if you startle it. So you try to remain calm.
“Slowly set down your bowls,” you tell your friends.
Out of the corner of your eyes, you see Jayla and Mateo do as you said. The bear huffs as it sniffs the air. It probably smells what’s in the bowls.
“Now calmly back away,” you instruct your friends.
Each one of you takes a step back. The cave bear just watches. You take another step, and still, the bear does nothing.
“How are you doing?” you ask your friends.
“I’m about to pee my pants,” Mateo says, taking another step.
“Can we run yet?” Jayla asks, stepping back.
“No, not yet,” you say. “Just keep walking backward.”
As you continue to back away, the bear moves in to sniff the bowls. It’s distracted, but you’re not safe yet. The three of you keep backing away slowly until the bear is out of sight.
You go find the woman who brought you here. You do your best to tell her about the bear while Mateo stands behind you growling and raising his hands in the air. The woman looks from you to him, and you think she understands. She says something urgent to the other people. They quickly gather up everything that they had collected, and the woman leads everyone back to the village.
Once you’re back, Jayla points to the cave.
“We should make a cave painting of our adventure,” she says.
“But the villagers are preparing a meal with the food they have gathered,” Mateo replies. “We should get something to eat.”
While you think it would be cool to do a cave painting, you are also feeling hungry.
To eat with the villagers, press here.
To go back to the cave, press here.
You can’t remember the last meal you have eaten. And even though all the villagers have is some berries and seeds, that is better than going hungry.
The woman you met earlier motions you to sit down next to the fire. Then you are each handed a bowl of food.
As you eat with your fingers, Mateo asks, “Do you think we’ll ever get home?”
“I hope so,” you say between mouthfuls.
“At least we have everything we need to survive with these people,” Jayla says.
You spend the night with the villagers, and in the morning you help them gather food again. While you continue to wonder if you will ever return home, your focus slowly turns to doing what you need to do in order to survive.
Eventually you learn the Cro-Magnon people’s ways of life and even their language. You grow into adulthood and marry. You have a few children and sometimes wonder if your memories of the future were all just a dream. You live to old age, spending the rest of your l
ife with the Cro-Magnon people.
THE END
To follow another path during the Ice Age, press here.
To learn more about the Ice Age, press here.
Just then, you feel a sudden shiver. The sun is setting, and the cold is creeping in. It is a reminder that you are still back in the Ice Age.
“Let’s go to the cave for shelter,” you say. “And it would be fun to make a cave painting.”
Once in the cave, Jayla rushes over to the bowls of red and black paste on the floor. There are also brushes made of some sort of hair.
“Let’s paint the cave bear,” she says, as she sets to work.
You walk over and grab a bowl of paint and a brush. When you touch the wall with the brush, you feel a familiar tingle shoot up your arm.
Suddenly the air is filled with the sounds of your excited classmates, and bright lights make you squint. You spin around to see that you are back in the museum.
“We’re back!” you shout.
You, Jayla, and Mateo are standing in front of the museum’s cave painting display.
“Did we paint that?” Mateo asks, nodding to the images in front of you.
“I don’t know,” you say, looking down at the brush in your hand.
Just then, Rebecca walks up to you and grabs the bowl and brush from you.
“Be careful with those,” she says. “Those are some very special artifacts.”
THE END
To follow another path during the Ice Age, press here.
To learn more about the Ice Age, press here.
CHAPTER 4
AUSTRALIA
“Let’s check out the exhibit on Australia,” you tell your friends.
