by Darrell Bain
* * * *
Hunting proved more difficult and dangerous than any of them had anticipated. It made Lyda think their cave man ancestors hadn't been as dumb as as people thought. No one knew the art of flint knapping, although some thought they did from reading Jean Auel's Earthchild series, but either the flinty looking rocks here weren't composed of the same material as those on earth, or the art was harder to master than reading about it indicated.
Spears with fire hardened points and a band of drivers proved to be the most effective method of hunting herbivores big enough to feed the community. After much trial and error, several deaths, and not much food on the table, the technique was finally mastered. Lyda insisted on inserting herself into the hunting bands from time to time, despite Tsing's initial objections. She thought it was because he was becoming enamored of her and the male protective instinct drove his reaction. Lyda did make sure that both of them were never absent at the same time. One of them and at least a couple of the council members needed to be present at all times to keep the group functioning as a lawful community rather than a gang of loosely associated members of a mutual aid society.
Lyda's status was greatly enhanced on her second hunt, when the prey suddenly turned and ran in the opposite direction, straight at the line of beaters she was among. It was a large animal with rippling muscles and strong teeth, but not what they thought of as a predator until then. It had been seen grazing in the scrub and was presumed to be a herbivore. Lyda knew better when a set of sharp pointed tusks suddenly extended from each side of its mouth as it charged. It might graze on the local flora, but those tusks were made for ripping and tearing.
It took all her courage to stand her ground and not run as the nearby beaters did when they saw the extended, inwardly curving tusks gleaming white in the sun as the creature opened its voluminous jaws. She quickly set the base of her spear firmly into the ground and timed its rush toward her, its speed and distance and exact time of arrival clicking into place in her mind as neatly and quickly as the solution would have on a calculator. Even so, the irresistible weight and force of its charge overwhelmed her. She saw the gaping mouth with its sharp forward teeth loom into her vision as quickly as the flash and bang of a thunderstorm right overhead. She yelled something that might have been a primeval challenge as she tilted the point of the spear up at an angle designed to impale its chest at the precisely timed moment of its charge, then all she could see was the scales and bristles of its underbelly as she went down beneath it. One of its hoofs thudded into her side with enough power that she felt a rib crack. Another gouged out a furrow in her thigh, then it was behind her, kicking and trying to regain its feet, with the spear impaling it through and through.
Lyda jumped up, ignoring her wounds, and threw herself onto its back. She held on with one arm around its neck and jerked it back, feeling the muscles of her arm ripple with the exertion, then plunged her fire hardened wooden knife into its crazed orange eye, knowing from the anatomy of smaller animals that a bundle of nerve and blood vessels were beneath it. The strength with which she pulled back its head surprised even her, as well as the force behind her plunging knife. She knew she was much stronger than a girl her age and size should be, but not this much! The sharpened end went into its eye and all the way through. The tip of it came out under the beast's jaw, slick with its blood. The speed and accuracy of her calculations during its charge were something she contemplated later.
The others of the band who had run when the animal reversed course, now came hurrying back with astounded expressions of admiration on their faces. Lyda suddenly became aware that the hoof which had cracked one of her ribs had also torn her jacket, exposing one of her breasts. Without making a fuss about it, she adjusted the garment enough to cover herself until she could make some repairs. She touched the side pocket and determined that the little revolver was still secure, then let a couple of her admiring audience bandage her thigh while the others field-dressed her kill. All they could do for her was to pull the edges of the gash together and bind it so it would leave a minimal scar. She was surprised to find that it had already quit bleeding. Even her rib didn't hurt much when she moved, so she didn't even mention that injury.
Tsing saw the bruise, though, when she sewed the tear in the jacket back together with an unsophisticated length of crude rawhide thong they had learned to make.
“You didn't tell me about that one,” Tsing said, pointing to her side where blood from crushed capillaries and surface veins had darkened her skin.
“It was one of the hoofs. It stepped on me as I went down under it. I'm just glad it didn't land on my belly. It might have broken through and mangled my insides.” She examined her repair job on the garment still wet from the stream where she had washed out the fluid from the boar, as they were calling it, even though it resembled that animal about as much as a piglet did one of the giant European boars of earth memory.
“Why didn't you run like the others?"
“Would you have?” Lyda removed the piece of cloth she had draped around her neck and let hang over her breasts while she threaded the rawhide through the holes cut with her paring knife. She didn't attempt to hide from Tsing's scrutiny. She already knew he admired her and was becoming more and more attracted to her.
Tsing shook his head. “A leader can't afford to turn tail. But damn ... Lyda, please be careful."
“I'll manage,” Lyda said. “Smell the meat cooking? At least that flint stuff will spark when metal hits it, even if we can't make spearheads from it.” A female carpenter had somehow hung onto her hammer all this time and used it to finally provide them with fire and cooked meals.
“Lyda ... never mind. I'll be back in a little while.” Tsing got up and walked off without looking back.
Lyda knew what his problem was, and it was hers as well. He was falling in love with her. If not for thoughts of Gavin, she might have reciprocated his affection in time. He was all a woman could want in a man: strong, capable and attentive. He also had a gentle manner about him that belied his strength of mind and body. But so far, she couldn't stop thinking about Gavin, even knowing she would probably never see him again. Perhaps later, but not now. The hurt was still too fresh.
* * * *
That one hunting incident increased Lyda's status tremendously. Only one of the council members she and Tsing had picked was voted out of office. Neither of them was very sorry to see him go. He had turned out to be way too assertive when there was no call for it, a failing that hadn't been apparent until he was given some responsibility. She and Tsing consulted and selected another member to replace him, Florida Williams, the big woman who had fingered the remaining one of the three men who had instigated the confrontation when they first met. Once the domineering presence of the former leader of the group was out of the picture, she proved to have a wealth of practical knowledge and experience that made people listen to her. Lyda paid attention to her as well. She told stories about growing up in the ghetto that were as alien to her as fairy tales. She was able to see why so many blacks had been resentful of the white power structure—and to a degree, she couldn't blame them.
“It the attitudes that so hard to change,” Florida told her. “Once drugs got to be so common, kids see the easy money, the fine clothes and cars and women the dealers have. Too many of them want to be make it the easy way ‘stead of learnin'; then studyin’ and readin’ come to be like sissy, somethin’ the man do.” She shook her head and grinned. “Listen to me; I talk just like them if I don’ think first. I'm trying to get out of it though. No need to act black here. Everybody the same. You a good girl, Miss Brightner. Not hardly any girl so young be so smart. Hell, not many grown people smart as you."
“Thank you,” Lyda said. “It's easy when you have a good home and parents and lots of books around all your life."
“Hmmph. Books don't give you good sense; they just give you knowledge; you hear?"
“I want to know more,” Lyda said.
&nbs
p; “You head going to bust with all that knowin',” Florida said.
“Not likely. I want to get classes started here before long. Would you be willing to teach? We all need to know what life is like on the bottom and how to cope with it."
“Why, child? You don't allow bottoms!"
Lyda pointed to the distant mountains, limned against the setting sun. “There could be hordes of other people out there who would love to see themselves on top of the heap. Suppose they got up an army and conquered us? Besides, knowledge is never wasted. It all goes into your mind and merges with what you already know. If you're careful to sort out fact from fantasy, any new learning is good. And it won't hurt anyone here to know how Afro-Americans and Hispanics had to live in some places."
Florida nodded agreement and began to talk again. Others besides Lyda listened. She was a good speaker and able to keep an audience enthralled.
During this period of organization and finding the means of survival for them all, thoughts of Gavin were never far from the surface of Lyda's mind, particularly at night. She and Tsing slept near each other and once or twice, she had cried over Gavin when she didn't think he was watching, then discovered he had been. His usual reaction was to vanish somewhere for an hour of two. Lyda knew Tsing's attraction to her was a problem that wouldn't go away any time soon.
* * *
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Two members of the council, Tom Buskin and Jenny Forton, volunteered to lead exploration parties in opposite directions along the beach from their camp, now set up near the stream and close to where it fed into the ocean. Lyda hated to let them go, but she and Tsing deemed it necessary. The herbivores learned quickly and were becoming skittish, making it hard to feed everyone adequately. The wariness of the herbivores in turn caused the carnivores to become more aggressive and made hunting more dangerous. The exploratory parties were an attempt to solve that problem, but there was another one that Lyda and Tsing and the council discussed privately before they left.
A drizzling rain was falling but there was little shelter as yet from the elements. Fortunately the climate was semi-tropical; the only real discomfort came when it stormed. The people simply had to bear it and try to keep critical supplies sheltered as best they could.
“We can get most of us out of the rain in another month or so,” Lyda said. “The hummock grass makes a good thatch roof and the ones we've made so far appear to be lasting. It's just a matter of having the time to gather enough of it.” She wiped moisture from her face and slid her hand over her damp hair. Water gathered at the piece of old bra strap she used to tie her hair behind her neck and drained onto the back of her old jacket. She had cut the sleeves off the jacket and widened the arm holes when she needed more room for her burgeoning breasts and growing body. She was now bigger than the slight woman she had taken the jacket from back in the desert. The bottom of it only reached to just below her navel now, but she didn't intend to abandon it until she could contrive a suitable replacement to carry and conceal her little pistol. New clothing was going to become another problem before long, but for for the present, they could cope.
“There is an additional matter,” Tsing prompted.
“Yes. The aliens are apparently mixing the races here. We have no problems with it, but there are far too few people here to account for everyone from all the places we came from, regardless of whether it was different levels on the same ship or different ships entirely. Even counting how many might have died when we were herded and dumped here doesn't explain how few of us there are. That leaves other places—and possibly situations not nearly so good as we have here, despite being a little hungry.” Lyda stopped and waited for responses.
“You've already asked for volunteers to explore our environment in greater detail. Are you saying we should watch out for other groups that might be, uh, inimical to ours?” Tom Buskin asked with raised brows.
“Exactly,” Tsing said. “We need to know now, rather than later. We've all had experience with gangs that have survived everything so far through simple brutality and total lack of morals. Lyda and I think those types are growing fewer but there will still be some. Perhaps some who have managed to gain enough followers to be stronger than us."
“Like that Shank motherf ... that sorry Shank bastard Miss Brightner took care of. He would've found more like him if they still be ... are still around. And what people he didn't find like him, he would've scared into doing what he say ... said. We don't need his kind, not no more, not ever,” Florida declared, her mouth set in a grim line that replaced the usual cheerful smile she carried.
“Him and others; maybe not so bad, but not good either. The aliens just keep on putting us into fixes that kill us off. Why? Why are they doing this?” Jenny asked, her gaze darting from one face to another, seeking an answer.
“We don't know,” Tsing said. He shrugged his shoulders, a little thinner now than when Lyda had first seen him. “We may never know. But we can't just roll over and play dead, like dumb animals. We're humans."
“Back to the agenda,” Lyda said. “If we knew what the aliens ultimately wanted, we might like it or we might not. It doesn't matter because they aren't talking to us. Right now, we need more food and more information. Those are our priorities."
“I could try going inland,” Tsing said deferentially. “We haven't gone far in that direction, either."
“You know why,” Lyda reminded him. “The carnivores get bigger and badder the farther into the forest we go."
“Yes, but there might be better hunting grounds if we go far enough."
Lyda overruled Tsing for the first time, hoping he wouldn't resent it. She knew that he wanted to put some distance between them before his unrequited affection for her became a source of gossip and possible discontent in the community.
“Mister Kim, do you think we can afford to wait until the other two parties return before considering an inland expedition? It would be hard to spare two council members and you, too."
Tsing nodded slowly. He knew Lyda was right. He thought of asking to replace either Tom or Jenny as leader of the small bands preparing to explore along the beaches but decided not to try. The other two had already volunteered. To replace them would undercut their authority as council members. “I'll wait. How long do we give them? Two weeks going and two weeks back?"
“I was thinking of a week each way,” Lyda said. She didn't want them gone for any lengthy period.
“How about ten days each way?” Tom suggested. His South African accent was still detectable in his speech but otherwise, he spoke nearly perfect English.
“All right. Is that okay with you, Mister Kim?"
“Fine.” He turned to the two who would lead the expeditions. “We can only spare three people for each of you as support. Everyone else needs to work on the problem with food supplies."
“We'll manage,” Jenny said confidently. She was a tall mix of Nordic, Afro-American and Polynesian ancestry that had come about from her parents and grandparents serving in the military, as she had herself, where mixed marriages were more common than in civilian life. She had been home on leave in Texas when the aliens arrived and never made it back to her base.
Lyda had a lot of confidence in them both, but if either of them survived, she would bet on Jenny, with her quick mind and athletic body. Her father had been a French Legionnaire and migrated to the United States after retirement, where he married an American woman. Jenny had been carrying on the tradition with a career in the American Army.
“Is there anything else we need to cover before we go?” Tom asked, making motions to rise from his sitting position.
“No, that's all. If you're both ready, try getting off early tomorrow morning."
“Sounds good.” Tom rose and stretched a hand out to Jenny to help her up, not that she needed it. Lyda knew that a romance had developed between them. Florida and the others said goodnight, leaving Lyda and Tsing alone.
They walked together over toward their
sleeping mats, laced together from salt water plants that grew in the sand in a thick cluster like cattails. The mats were raised above the ground on branches harvested from the edge of the forest and enough room was left in the lattices to allow them to drain. Their mats were separated by several yards, giving them each some privacy but keeping them close enough to talk as needed on affairs affecting their small society.
This night, Lyda decided to take the initiative. She sat down on her mat and crossed her legs, noting how worn her trousers were becoming. She looked directly at Tsing, making as much eye contact as possible in the starlight, brightened only by the one small moon that lit the sky.
“Tsing, I wish I could feel the same way about you that you do about me. It would make life much simpler, but I won't try to force an emotion that isn't there yet. I do want you to know that you will be my first choice when I decide I'm ready for romance again. I don't know when that will be, but until that happens, I don't want you to pine over something that isn't available. Can you understand?"
Tsing met her gaze silently. She could practically see the wheels turning in his mind. At last he smiled, a wistful yet hopeful expression. “That is more than I expected, Lyda, and I will try to be content with it for the time being."
“If I hadn't fallen for Gavin before we landed here, we would probably be sleeping together on the same mat by now. But I did and I have to get over him first; otherwise, it would spoil what we may have in the future."
“I understand, Lyda, and you are wise beyond your years. There is one thing you must remember, though. The aliens will not wait, given our past experiences. Sooner or later, they will change our environment again, and almost certainly, we shall be separated."
“I'll remember, Tsing. And believe me, you are a man worth waiting for."
Lyda felt Tsing's emotion during the exchange move from near despondency to hopeful expectation—and she surprised herself by beginning to sense the same hopefulness in herself. Before sleep, she kissed Tsing good night. It became a ritual after that.
