Obsolete Theorem

by Stan C. Smith

  She took the weapon and the arrow and studied them carefully. The string appeared to be made of thin leather strips twisted together then covered in animal fat, or maybe tree sap. The string would be the most difficult part of this weapon to make, but she was sure she could figure it out. The wood of the bow would have to bend without breaking, and the wood of the arrows would have to be without bends or bumps. Again, she was sure she could find such wood.

  She handed the weapon back to Lincoln. “I will make this weapon.”

  “Yeah, I thought you might say that.”

  Skyra turned to watch Veenah, who had stepped away and was squatting beside a twisted old scrub tree, relieving herself. Skyra heard Veenah whimper, so she went to her birthmate and helped her up. Veenah wiped away tears that had streaked her face.

  Skyra spoke in her tribe’s language. “Sister, how long have you had pain when you urinate?”

  “Many days,” Veenah replied. “The bolup men have tainted my insides. I cannot go back to Una-Loto camp.”

  Skyra gripped Veenah’s shoulder. “This is the very reason you must go back to Una-Loto camp. Odnus will know what medicines you need. We will arrive at Una-Loto camp today before the sun falls below the hills.”

  Veenah adjusted her waist-skin and fell silent as they walked back to Lincoln.

  Skyra slid her two khuls into the sling on her back, shoved her two hand blades firmly into her wrist sheath, and picked up her spear. “Let’s go.”

  She led the group away from the rising sun, heading deeper into the foothills of the Kapolsek mountains. Progress became slower as the hills became taller, but by the middle of the day Skyra began to recognize valleys and hillsides where she had hunted and explored, often with Ripple at her side.

  As they moved closer to Una-Loto camp, Skyra could not force her growing doubts from her mind. Veenah needed medicine, and Odnus would know what herbs or berries to give her. Lincoln, however, had said that his medicines would be better for Veenah. The men of Una-Loto tribe knew Veenah had been taken by bolups. They might not let her rejoin the tribe. If they did, they might taunt and beat her even more than before. Another nandup tribe might let Skyra and Veenah join them, but they would demand to know why the sisters had been forced to leave Una-Loto, then the taunting and beatings might be even worse. Perhaps they would even kill Skyra and Veenah.

  As the group crossed a nearly flat hilltop, Skyra stopped. She rested the butt of her spear on the ground and turned to Lincoln. “Lincoln Woodhouse, what are you going to do?”

  He and Veenah stopped beside her. He shook his head. “What do you mean?”

  “You cannot go to Una-Loto camp. What are you going to do?”

  “I haven’t thought that far ahead. Right now I’m just helping you get back to your camp safely. After that, I guess I’ll try to find my way back to Derek, Jazzlyn, and Virgil. Then we’ll return to our home.”

  She looked out over the distant hilltops, thinking.

  Ripple spoke up. “Skyra and Veenah will not be safe at Una-Loto camp, Lincoln.”

  “What would you suggest I do?” he asked.

  Ripple said, “Apparently I left you a message so you would come here and save Skyra’s life. I must have determined there was no other option at the time. Such is the importance of Skyra and her twin sister. Saving them was important when you arrived two days ago, and it is still important today, as it will be tomorrow, and for many days to come.”

  Lincoln stared at Ripple for a few breaths. “What are you saying, that we have to stay here indefinitely? For what? To protect these two Neanderthals? Hell, Skyra could probably kill all of us. It seems to me she can take care of herself. In fact, she’d probably be even safer if we weren’t here.”

  Skyra lifted her spear and jammed it into the dirt. “Stop talking like I am not here!” She did not really want Lincoln to go, but she eyed him and said, “You go back to your people and your camp. I will take Veenah to Una-Loto camp.”

  “You should come with us,” he said. He glanced at Veenah then back at Skyra. “We have a way to get you and your sister to a place where you will be safe. You won’t have to worry about being attacked by predators or by bolup men. There will be good medicine there for Veenah. In fact, the help she gets there might save her life. We can turn back now, then you and Veenah can be in this safe place by the end of the day tomorrow.”

  Skyra felt a strange tingling rush over her skin. Could this bolup really take her and her birthmate to such a place, or was he trying to trick her?

  “That is not the solution, Lincoln,” Ripple said, its voice more forceful than usual. “Skyra and Veenah must stay in this timeline.”

  “Timeline!” Lincoln said with just as much force. “You tried to convince me we were in the same timeline as the one we left behind.”

  Skyra spun around, turning her back on Lincoln and Ripple. She heard something—a muffled grunt. She heard it again. Something was moving beyond the edge of the hilltop. She gestured to the others to stop talking then made her way closer to the slope. A breeze was gently blowing her hair from behind, carrying her scent directly to the source of the grunts. She waved to the others then started moving to one side to alter the path of her scent in the wind. The grunts continued as she reached the edge of the hilltop and peered over the edge.

  Halfway down the slope was a woolly rhino, lifting its head high and sniffing the air. It was obviously grunting in anger at the smell of Skyra and her group.

  Lincoln and the others came up to Skyra’s side. “Holy crap,” Lincoln said. “I didn’t know they got that big.”

  A whimper escaped from Veenah’s mouth, and Skyra turned to her birthmate. Veenah was staring down at the rhino, her eyes wide. “Skyra-Una-Loto,” she said, loud enough for the rhino to hear.

  The creature grunted again and shifted its stance, turning toward Veenah’s voice.

  Even though Veenah was still suffering from the bolups’ abuse, she should have known better. Something was very wrong. Skyra’s chest began to tighten as she watched her sister’s face. Then she followed Veenah’s gaze to the woolly rhino. The rhino was a male, with a shoulder hump much taller than Skyra’s head. Its main snout horn was almost as long as Skyra’s body, with a piece broken off, leaving a jagged tip.

  Skyra’s chest pressed in on itself so hard she could barely breathe. She knew this woolly rhino. This was the old male that had killed her birthmother three cold seasons past. As she stared at the creature, she tightened her grip on her spear until her fingers hurt. Skyra had dreamed of this day, although she never believed she would actually see the rhino again. Woolly rhinos roamed over vast areas of the foothills and river plain, and males traveled far in search of females. Skyra could hardly believe her luck. Today, finally, she would take the strength from the creature that had taken her birthmother.

  She pulled one of the khuls from the sling on her back and tossed it by Veenah’s feet. Then she rose to her full height and faced the rhino. She spoke aloud, “Kami-fu-menga. Muman-ati-de-lé-melu-rha aibul-khulo-tekne-té.” Listen to me speak, woolly rhino. Today I will not submit to you, and I will take all your strength.

  The creature could not see her, as woolly rhinos were nearly blind, but it heard her words. It snorted again and trotted several steps in her direction.

  Lincoln grabbed her wrist. “What are you doing?”

  She shook his hand off. “Stay here. If the rhino kills me, take Veenah with you, please, to the place where she will not be hunted by predators or bolup men. Tell me you will take her to that place, Lincoln!”

  He stared at her with his tiny eyes. “You can’t be serious. Look how big that thing is. There is no way—”

  The rhino grunted and charged. Its thick feet pounded the sand and gravel as it raced up the hillside, picking up speed with every breath.

  Skyra turned and ran down the slope, angling away from the creature and shouting to draw the rhino’s attention. She looked over her shoulder—it was changing course, com
ing straight at her.

  Skyra gripped her spear tightly as she ran, knowing the weapon was the only way she could kill her birthmother’s killer. She focused on four trees growing beside the dry stream bed at the bottom of the hill. They were the only trees she could see in the area, the only shelters strong enough to block the rhino’s charge.

  She glanced back again. The creature was gaining speed, and the trees were too far away. She wasn’t going to make it. She had to change her plans now and hope that her bolup-made spear was strong enough to save her life. With the rhino only a few breaths away, she scanned the ground and spotted a protruding stone that appeared to be firmly embedded. She dropped to her knees, jammed the spear against the protruding rock, and slapped one hand against the spear’s butt to hold it in place. Skyra actually felt the ground shaking through her knees as she positioned the spear’s tip toward the charging rhino.

  The creature ran headlong into the spear. The stone tip grazed its snout just below its main horn and entered its meaty shoulder. The impact rolled the rhino onto its side, and its massive body tumbled past Skyra in a cloud of spewing sand and gravel.

  Skyra’s spear was yanked from her hand, but then it came loose from the creature’s shoulder as the rhino fought to stop its own momentum. She lunged for the spear, rolled over it, and was back on her feet just as the rhino stopped tumbling. Surprisingly, the spear was still in one piece, so she clenched the shaft in both hands and threw her entire weight at the creature’s exposed belly. The spear’s tip punctured the hide but only went in half the length of Skyra’s arm. She threw herself backwards to pull the spear free and keep the struggling animal from snapping it in half. This sent her tumbling back onto the rocks.

  She jumped up just as the rhino got to its feet. It swung its enormous horn toward her and charged again. She had no time to plant the spear this time, so she ran down the slope for the trees. The woolly rhino could outrun her, but its massive body required more time to get up to full speed, and she made it to the first tree with the creature still several breaths behind.

  Skyra heard shouts and then Ripple’s piercing scream as she circled to the back of the tree’s low branches, which split from the trunk just above the ground. The rhino came straight at the tree then skidded to one side at the last moment. As it passed by, Skyra thrust her spear into its ribs just behind its foreleg. The rhino spun around, again wrenching the spear from her grip, and came back at the tree. Tossing its horn from side to side, it crashed into the branches as Skyra scrambled around to the tree’s opposite side.

  “Hey, Woolly, over here!” The voice was Lincoln’s. He was now standing in front of one of the other trees, waving his arms over his head with his bow in one hand and an arrow in the other.

  The rhino turned toward Lincoln and charged.

  Ripple came flying in from the side, screeching like an angry eagle. The rhino changed its path slightly and threw its head to the side, striking Ripple’s shell with its horn’s jagged tip. Ripple flipped upside down, hit the ground, and rolled across the rocks.

  Without even slowing down, the rhino corrected its path and hurtled toward Lincoln.

  “The tree!” Skyra shouted.

  Lincoln circled to the other side of the low branches. Instead of circling around after him, the rhino crashed straight into the branching limbs, cracking some in two and wedging itself between the others.

  Lincoln backed away from the tree but tripped and fell onto the gravel, dropping his bow.

  The thrashing rhino pushed its way through the cracked limbs, tearing Skyra’s spear from its side. She rushed forward and snatched up the weapon. “Lincoln!” she cried. The human had picked up his bow and was trying to get the arrow into place, not realizing the rhino was now turning toward him.

  The creature charged again. Skyra sprinted around the broken tree, and as Lincoln drew his bow back, she slid to the ground in front of him and quickly jammed the butt of her spear into the rocks at his feet. Skyra heard him release the bow then saw the arrow bounce harmlessly off the rhino’s horn as the creature came thundering toward both of them. Skyra mashed her knee onto the base of her spear to hold it in place then wrenched the shaft upward just after the rhino’s chin passed over the weapon’s stone point.

  This time the spear’s tip plunged directly into the creature’s throat. It threw its head back, apparently intending to impale Skyra and Lincoln, but the spear’s tip hit something solid, stopping the creature’s forward motion. It stumbled to the side, once again ripping the spear from Skyra’s grip.

  She felt Lincoln’s hands grasping her armpits.

  “This way,” he said, dragging her back toward the broken tree.

  Skyra refused to take her eyes off the rhino, which was still stumbling as it tried to spot its attackers. A figure darted in from the edge of her vision. “No!” Skyra cried. She pulled away from Lincoln’s grip, got to her feet, and ran.

  Veenah came to a stop only an arm’s length from the rhino and hacked its neck with the khul Skyra had left on the hilltop. The rhino swung around, slashing at her with its horn, but Veenah managed to dart out of its reach. She then stepped in and hacked its neck a second time. The rhino let out a fierce grunt as it swung around again, this time striking Veenah and sending her flying onto her back. The rhino immediately charged after her.

  Skyra slid onto her back under the rhino’s chin and thrust out her foot, kicking the spear protruding from the creature’s throat and wrenching the shaft to one side.

  The rhino’s front feet, each larger than Skyra’s head, sprayed sand and gravel into her face as they came to a stop only a hand’s width from her chest. Skyra screamed, grabbed the spear shaft, and wrenched it again. Then she jammed it in as far as it would go.

  A hand shot in from the side, grabbed Skyra’s wrist, and dragged her from beneath the rhino’s chin. A breath later the beast’s legs gave out. It collapsed onto its belly then rolled to its side.

  Veenah was back on her feet. She stepped up beside the creature with her khul held ready to strike. Even lying on its side, the rhino’s body was the height of Veenah’s shoulders. She struck the creature’s neck once, but the rhino didn’t move. It was dead.

  Skyra heard a low buzzing behind her. Ripple flew in and hovered over the woolly rhino, turning from side to side to examine its entire length. Ripple then extended its four legs from its belly and settled onto the gravel. “I am finding it difficult, Skyra, to avoid the conclusion that you do not care whether you live or die. Is there a particular reason why you felt compelled to attempt suicide by attacking this creature?”

  Skyra realized Lincoln was still holding her wrist, so she allowed him to help her up. “Use words I know, Ripple.”

  “Why did you risk your life to kill this woolly rhinoceros?”

  Skyra turned to Veenah, and their eyes met. For the first time since before the bolup men had taken Veenah, Skyra saw her birthmate expose her teeth in a real smile. Skyra turned back to Ripple. “This woolly rhino took my strength when it killed my birthmother. It took Veenah’s strength. Three cold seasons ago. Today I take back my strength from this rhino, and Veenah takes back her strength. Today is a good day for Skyra and Veenah.”

  Ripple’s red ring around its orb flashed then spun in a circle. “I have been nearly destroyed on two occasions already today. I do not—”

  “Oh, shit,” Lincoln said. “I think we have another problem.”

  Skyra spun around and followed Lincoln’s gaze along the valley between hills. Nandups. Many of them, carrying spears and khuls but nothing else—a hunting party. The nandups were approaching cautiously, holding their weapons ready. Skyra took a step toward the hunters and squinted. The two in the lead were men Skyra knew, Gelrut and Vall. She felt a growl growing in her chest.

  The hunters were her own people—Una-Loto tribe.

  14

  Gelrut

  47,659 years ago - Day 3

  Lincoln’s heart was still racing from nearly being kill
ed by a three-ton rhinoceros, and now the situation wasn’t getting any better. The approaching figures were more robust than the humans he’d fought at the bolup camp. He could tell even from this distance these people were Neanderthals—short, muscular legs, thick necks, and large, intense eyes like Skyra’s. The group—maybe fifteen—continued approaching warily, about sixty meters out.

  “Una-Loto,” Veenah said, barely loud enough for Lincoln to hear.

  He shot a glance at Skyra. “Una-Loto? These are your people?”

  “Yes,” she replied quietly. “They must not hear me speak your language.”

  Lincoln heard scuffling and turned to see Ripple darting off toward a stand of high weeds, apparently to hide.

  He turned back to Skyra and whispered, “But this is good, right?”

  “No, it is not good.”

  He cursed silently. “Should I run?”

  “You cannot outrun nandups.”

  Actually, Lincoln was confident he could outrun Neanderthals, but only over a long distance. Their bodies were built for sprinting, and they were now only fifty meters away. He decided to stay put.

  Two of the men were walking ahead of the others, and one of them spoke. “Skyra-Una-Loto. Veenah-Una-Loto.”

  “Gelrut-Una-Loto,” Skyra called back.

  The two men stopped about twenty meters away, which also stopped the others behind them. The group included both men and women—Lincoln could see some of the women’s breasts through gaps in their fur capes. They all wore clothing and footwraps similar to Skyra’s and Veenah’s, with no discernible differences between the women’s and men’s garments. In general, though, the men were slightly taller, with broader shoulders and faces. They had no facial hair that Lincoln could see.