Return_Mate of the Cave Bear

by Harmony Raines

  For now, there was no sign of any movement and he went inside his cave to take one last look at it. However today turned out, he doubted he would return here. If the Masu didn’t make him leave, then the thought of living here without Jenna probably would. There were more caves up on the barren hillside above; he would move there once it was safe. That way he would have a better vantage point to look for the signs in the sky that his true mate was about to return.

  It broke his heart to see the food they had begun to store for the winter. Dried fruit, stored in the cool dark at the back of the cave, and smoked meat, hung drying in the highest parts, where the air flowed well. They had talked of spending long winter nights in here, when the north wind was cold enough to freeze your breath.

  They would have spent the months in here, looking forward to their baby being born. He would have looked after her and protected her. But not from the Masu. He could never save her from them on his own.

  Taking some of the dried meat and some fruit, he went and sat by the cave entrance as he had so many times before with Jenna. The sun climbed higher in the sky and all was quiet around him. It was almost as if he had gone back in time and none of the last couple of months had happened. Would he have been better off if she had never come here? He would have spent his life quietly hiding away from any danger.

  And then died alone. Never having known what true love was. What it was to have a mate.

  Then in the distance, he heard a noise. But not the noise he wanted to hear. It wasn’t Jenna he could hear returning; it was the Masu. A scout in the distance, still some way away. No imminent danger. He packed up some food, enough for several days if he was careful. He should have destroyed the rest, hating the idea of his enemy eating the food he and Jenna had worked so hard for. But he couldn’t bring himself to do so.

  With a large water skin slung over his back, he left the cave. Dragging the brushwood across the entrance, he stepped back to check if he had concealed it enough. He had, unless you came right upon it, as the Masu would if they searched this area thoroughly. But there was nothing else he could do, so he began to climb the cliff on the side furthest away from his approaching enemy.

  Climbing higher than he ever had on this hillside, the loose rocks tumbling down to cover his cave entrance even more, he kept listening for more voices. Only the occasional cry gave away the whereabouts of the Masu. It was only when he stopped for a brief rest that he began to think it strange that they were making their whereabouts so obvious. He would have thought they would have hunted him and Jenna silently, caught them by surprise.

  Yet another cry reached him as he sat and scanned the valley. He sat motionless, not giving his position away; occasionally he saw a fleeting movement below. But they did not look like men.

  Slowly he stood to his feet, leaning forward to peer down onto the hazy plain below. No, he wasn’t mistaken. A black panther moved across the dry ground, his huge paws spewing up a dust cloud behind him.

  “Putol,” he whispered.

  Then the big cat pounced and another cry rang out. The panther was hunting the Masu. But surely, that was dangerous; the Masu had spears they could use to ward off any attack. He fixed his eyes on that part of the valley, watching for more movement. Then he saw the gazelle, leaping into the air as it ran. Behind it was a Masu with a spear; it ran but couldn’t catch her. Then a great lion ambushed the tribesman, flattening him before he had a chance to react.

  Haran felt a surge of hope. The Dualis were working together; they were using their skills to rid themselves of their worst fears, their worst enemy. Without their warriors the tribe would be open to attack, they would have to concentrate more on day-to-day survival than on hunting creatures they didn’t like and thought lesser beings. Or the Dualis could attack and get rid of them once and for all.

  He turned and began to the steep descent down the hillside. It would be wrong for him not to join them; he could keep a watch on the sky at the same time. But halfway down the hill he was knocked to the ground as once more he felt the unmistakable opening of the hole in the sky.

  Could it be possible that Jenna was about to return, or would something else come down from the stars to land on the Earth? As he watched, he figured it was something else, because as lightning lit up the sky, something that looked like a giant bird flew out.

  Haran stood and stared. He had hoped against all hope that it would be Jenna; now he wondered if this was a new evil sent to wipe out his kind.

  Chapter Seven - Jenna

  Even though she knew what to expect, it didn’t mean her journey through the wormhole was any less terrifying. All she could do was hope that the parachute Martha had made for her would work. Once again, it was made from all-biodegradable materials; it would not be found and raise any questions.

  In front of her, she grasped the book that would hold so much knowledge over the coming years. She still wished she could have bought the original, but maybe Martha was right. They had to make their own decisions, their own mistakes. If they followed her book word for word, they might make mistakes. Sometimes the greatest achievements were made by chance; the book would take away chance.

  Hadn’t deciding to stay with Haran been a mistake in so many ways? She didn’t belong in the past, not really, and yet she had decided it was where she wanted to be, where the spirits had sent her. The one thing she regretted not asking Martha, was whether her mother knew any of this. Did she know what her daughter would go through, what she would accomplish? In the same way as Martha’s life had been geared up to this moment, had her life been manipulated in the same way?

  As she burst back through into the old world, she knew she would never have a chance to ask Martha. Because as soon as she landed she was going to get as far away from this wormhole as she possibly could. Before she had found out the truth about Tworn, she had sworn her child would not be experimented on. Knowing the truth, she was adamant she would do whatever it took to keep her out of the clutches of Mr. Trimble.

  The trees were below. If she didn’t change course, then she would end up snagged in them. That might be even worse than crashing through them. She would be left hanging too high for anyone to help release her.

  The problem was, it all happened so fast. From the flash of light below her when the Earth appeared, rapidly coming towards her, to the disorientation while her body tried to work out which was up and which way was down. At first, she spun head over heels, but then she flung her arms out to the side to slow herself and give herself some stability. As soon as she thought she was in the correct position, she looked for somewhere safe to land.

  The hill where she had been snatched from was to her right, so she changed direction, aiming for the plain on the other side of it. If she got that far.

  Gravity dragged her quicker than she thought it would; it was the one thing she couldn’t change. All she could do was pull the cord now and hope she would drift that way. If she left it any longer, she would never slow down in time.

  Tugging the cord, she thought it was stuck, once; twice she pulled it down sharply, nothing. Had Martha actually tested it? Had the journey through the wormhole somehow damaged it? All these questions went through her mind rapidly, as she hurtled to her doom. Frantically she tugged it once more, and it opened, the rush of air slowing as the parachute worked to slow her descent.

  Almost peacefully, she now drifted to the ground. There was no way she would make the plain; it looked as though she would come down this side of the mountain. It was a shame her book hadn’t told her.

  While the earth rose peacefully up to meet her she wondered how she would ever choose what to put in and what to leave out. The brief glimpse she had had of it told her wondrous things. Yet it did not reveal every detail of her life to come, or how the Dualis found the sanctuary that awaited them in the north.

  Was it because some of the things they would face, some of the mountains they would have to surmount were so big, so dangerous, that if they all knew, they would
never start the journey?

  Maybe they would make it, or maybe some of them would drop by the wayside. And that led her to her biggest fear. After the initial rescue and the birth of their child. Haran was never mentioned again. Did it mean he would die and not be a part of her life?

  So much was told and so much left out.

  And then the ground met her. She tried to bend her knees to cushion the force of her landing, but still it jarred her back. Her knees buckled and she fell rather inelegantly onto her side. At least the baby would be unharmed, but for Jenna it was painful to move.

  “Oh, crap, not again,” she said.

  “Why not again?” a voice asked.

  “Haran!” she said, looking up. “You waited.”

  “Of course,” he said, kneeling down by her side. “Where does it hurt? Is the baby well?”

  “The baby is fine, Haran. It’s my ankle.”

  “Then let me get you inside.”

  “Is it safe?”

  “Yes,” he said.

  “What happened while I was away? I thought they had come to attack.”

  “No, my love. It was Putol and another Dualis, Kalli. They came to warn us that the Masu were coming here for us.”

  “Then we must leave,” she said, slithering out of his arms to stand, but finding she couldn’t put any weight on her ankle. “Take some food and go as quickly as we can.”

  “I don’t think we have to.”

  Jenna remembered the picture, of the Masu on the plain by their cave. “But I saw them. They will come here.”

  “They already tried. Our friends have chased them down.”

  “Chased them down, killed them?” Jenna asked, scared that they had killed Renu, who had never hurt anyone and didn’t deserve to die.

  “No, the guards that came to attack. Putol and Kalli along with some of the others have come to help us.”

  “It was in the book.”

  “Book? What is a book?”

  “Oh, of course you wouldn’t know.” She pulled the leather-bound book out from where she had hooked it under the straps of the parachute. “Wait. Let me take this off first.”

  He helped her undo the ties that held the parachute in place, being very grateful they had held. Then she handed Haran the book. He held it out in front of him. “What does it do?”

  “You write in it.”

  “Write?”

  “Yes. I have to find something to use as ink to make markings. Like cave paintings.”

  “Ahh. Ochre.”

  “Yes, and charcoal from the fire. Hmm, that might work.” She couldn’t wait to start on the book, to write down the times and dates that were so important. It was strange that Martha had drawn the parachute but had not written down the times and dates. Surely, they were so important they should have been written in her hand.

  Before she could follow that train of thought any further, Haran picked her up and carried her to the entrance of the cave. There he sat her down while he parted the brushwood and carried her in. With quick strong fingers, he strapped her ankle up and gave her some food and water to eat.

  “You’re leaving?” she asked, when he didn't sit beside her.

  “Yes. I must. I will pull the brushwood over the cave entrance, but then I have to go and find out what has happened to Putol.”

  “I know you have to go. I really do, but please come back to me. Please, Haran.”

  “I will, Jenna. Rest, you look so tired. When you wake, I will be back here by your side. I promise,” he said, kissing her cheek. With a strangled groan, he turned and kissed her properly, forcefully, his fear and longing wrapped in it.

  Jenna pulled away. “Go,” she said, knowing he was torn between helping out those who had come to save them and staying to protect his mate.

  She watched him leave, the cave becoming darker when he pulled the brushwood back across the entrance. Silently she prayed to the spirits to watch over him. To bring him back to her. How cruel would fate be to bring her back to him through the distance of time only for him to die now.

  Chapter Eight - Haran

  Leaving Jenna, when she had only just returned, was one of the hardest things he had ever done. All he wanted to do was hold her and tell her how much he had missed her. And then he wanted to ask her questions, questions that needed answers.

  When she had come here before, he had simply accepted it. But to be dragged away by an invisible rope pulling her up into the sky—that was not natural and he would not let it go. Not this time. He had given his heart and his soul to her, and a child. How could he believe they were safe if something could simply reach down and pluck her from the Earth?

  Another scream in the distance made him forget about those mysteries for now. Instead, he had to concentrate on what was before him in the here and now. And that was the death of the Masu, by the teeth and claws of the Dualis.

  Wasting no more time, he leaped into the air, landing on the four paws of his bear. As fast as his short stout legs would move, he ran towards the sounds, and the smell of blood. There was no doubt, the Masu were being destroyed. Snarls and growls filled the air; these Dualis were in the blood rage he had experienced when Jenna had been in danger. They were fierce and fearless in their pursuit of their common foe. All that worried Haran was how much trouble this would stir up. It was a stupid thing to fear, he knew that, but would this attack mean the persecution of all of his kind? Would the Masu group together in even bigger numbers to wipe them off the face of the earth?

  The scent of blood grew stronger, the screams less often. It appeared the hunt was nearly at its grisly end. A shadow passed in front of him: the panther was on the prowl. He turned and followed, though he couldn't move so silently through the undergrowth, towards the tall trees, which held a cowering Masu.

  The panther, a black, sinewy death sentence, crept towards his prey. The Masu thought about running but realised he had no chance against this creature. It could outrun him with ease, leap on his back, and bring him down. Then tear his throat out, as he had to all the others, judging by the amount of blood and gore around his mouth.

  “Please, please spare me.”

  Haran saw it was the same Masu who had run after Jenna and so nearly raped her. All the anger and rage he had stored up, from the moment they had ripped his parents apart, to now, came bubbling up. He roared loudly, rearing up on his back legs to gain his full height. Then he let himself drop to the ground, only two feet away from the snivelling Masu.

  Haran changed back into his two-legged form, wanting to talk to this thing that had lost all courage and dignity in the face of his aggressors. He wanted to know that he suffered, that he felt the pain that all Dualis feel. Did he have any idea how the Dualis feared the death by the Masu? The thought of having their body split from muscle and bone while their hearts still beat. The death at the jaws of a bear would be mercifully quick in comparison. Yet to kill in cold blood like this seemed against his bear nature.

  “Why do you hunt us?” He asked the question that he had never been able to answer. What possessed a creature to hunt another in such a cruel way? There must be more to it than because they were different. An animal hunts for food, kills for protection. These Masu hunted because they drew pleasure from cruelty and fear. That was what his father had told him, and that was what they had proved on the death of his parents. Yet still he wanted to hear it from the mouth of the killer himself.

  The Masu grew braver now faced with Haran instead of the bear. He sat up, no longer snivelling in the dirt, concentrating on Haran rather than the panther Putol, who stood a little further back in the shadows.

  “We hunt you because you are the past and we are the future. You are an aberration on this Earth. We come from the south and take your territories from you and wipe you out so there is no threat from your teeth and your claws. And we are right to do this. Look at what you have done today. You are a lowly beast intent on death and destruction.”

  “How can you say that when you are
responsible for killing every one of us you come across? You hunt us as we have hunted you today.”

  “You are animals to be hunted. We are better than you. We think bigger thoughts and we will conquer this world and bend it to our will. From the gigantic mammoth to the wolf that howls at the moon.”

  “There is room for us to live in peace together,” Haran said. “We do not have to kill each other.” The Masu spat at him; Haran moved out of the way before it landed. He guessed he had his answer, yet still he wanted to try. With Jenna as his mate and a child on the way, the urge he felt to have peace amongst them was incredible. This cold-blooded killing had to stop.

  But the Masu thought differently in this, as they did in all things. “I should have fucked that bitch of yours when she first came to our camp. I should have made her one of us or else cut her throat. To know that she lays with a beast is the most disgusting thing I could ever imagine.”

  Haran clenched his fists, but he did not lose his temper. “Why, because she prefers one such as me? Because she prefers to spend her life with a creature who is not cruel?”

  “You are scum; the Earth is not your home. My people will wipe you from it so no one ever knows you even exist.”

  Haran knew then that there was nothing more to say, no way to stop the hate that spilled from this Masu’s mouth. He could not, however, kill in cold blood. That would have been too much like the Masu way. Haran looked at Putol, knowing the panther would take the kill if he did not, yet still it did not feel right.

  Suddenly from the corner of his eye, he saw the Masu move, his hand snaking out to stab Haran with his flint knife. The panther leaped into the air, his jaws closing around the wrist of the man, the pain making him scream. He slammed his other fist into Putol with a sickening thud, knocking Putol to the ground. Reacting like lightning, Haran changed into his bear, took the miserable Masu in his strong jaws, and shook him until there was no life left in his body.