by Marius Thue
With both hands cupping his ears, he writhes and screams. Neera reacts quickly and runs down to him. She knows what this means, so she rips his hands away, seeing the blood come pouring out his ears. Thoke never had a chance to dull his hearing this time.
Neera must act fast. She doesn't want anyone to see this. She tears a large strip off her pelt by her thigh and swirls it around his head. Thoke still moans from time to time, fading in and out of consciousness. She has to get him back to camp somehow, so she smacks him in an attempt to wake him up.
Back in the camp, they've started to take down the huts so lightning won't strike them. Everyone then lies down flat on the ground as another flash of light is followed by a thunderous roar. Sernak stands shouting, waving his stick up at the sky as if taunting the gods or perhaps praising them.
As Neera and Thoke approach the camp, she has to use all her strength to keep him on his feet. Garnek comes running toward them but throws himself to the ground as another flash of light sends a clap of thunder their way. Neera drops Thoke and tries to kill the sound of his pain by holding her hand in front of his mouth. It wasn't as bad this time, which must mean there's not much more to ruin in there.
Garnek approaches and spots blood running down Thoke’s throat.
“What happened to him?” he asks, wide eyed.
“Eh …” Neera struggles for words. “He fell and hit his head on the rocks over there. The lightning must have blinded him.”
Garnek helps to lift Thoke, and they get him to the camp. A flash is seen, but this time far in the distance. Many heartbeats later a low sounding thunder rolls across the sky, which Thoke barely seems to hear at all.
Neera looks at her man, realizing he has passed out. She tries to wipe some blood away from his cheeks, but it's no use.
“This is a sign from the gods!” Sernak screams. “We must appease them if we are to live through the coming night!”
“This thunderstorm came as fast as it left,” Garnek says. “I've never seen such a thing. So what do you suggest, Father?”
“Now we will need to sacrifice something. Him, perhaps!” Sernak points to Horvag. “He serves us best by offering his life to those above!”
“Have you gone mad?!” Janeg blurts out in shock. He looks at his father then at his brother. “Since when did we start sacrificing people?”
“No,” Garnek agrees. “The next best thing, then, Father?”
Sernak murmurs something to himself, clearly not happy with the rejection. He wobbles around, his nose up toward the sky. The rain begins to fall heavy on his wrinkled face.
“Then it must be the biggest animal of the forest. Get a moose over here, alive and kicking. Then we might convince the gods yet,” he says, his stick raised high above his head.
The others begin to set up their huts again. Some weren't brought down completely, and are quickly raised back up. Neera manages to lie Thoke down in their hut with some help from Garnek.
Garnek and Janeg begin to row across the strait. They are short on time, and the chance of catching anything, let alone a moose, is slim at best. As they go ashore, they see Renai’s boat dragged up on land. If they can't catch an animal, perhaps they may find their sister instead.
Hiro and Mekar have taken aim at a small island. The worst of the rainfall has retreated, and darkness has fallen. The nights are getting darker now, Mekar notices. They can see the fire clearly now but still have not seen any people. They go ashore on the small rocky island and pulls the boat up with them. Lying flat on their stomachs, they will not be seen, or so they hope.
“There's no one there,” Mekar whispers.
Next to the small island lies a much bigger island with some bushes and heather spread across. It's close enough so that it's possible to jump over with enough pace. The small bushes would give them some much needed camouflage, so they decide to go for it.
As silently as possible, they skip over and crawl among the sharp twigs until reaching a small peak. Carefully, they look over the other side, making sure there's no one there. With clear sight of the island with the fire, they now see that it's empty.
Mekar gets up on one knee and turns to the right, looking across the island. Below the peak there's a field of huts. Quickly, he drops back down, pricking one finger into Hiro’s shoulder.
“See there? They must have at least ten boats down there. Come, let's head back,” Mekar whispers.
Hiro rises and sneaks down toward the huts, keeping as low as he possibly can.
“Gods and demons, what are you doing?” Mekar whispers as hard as one can while still whispering.
Hesitantly, Mekar follows his brother, who yet again remains silent. Mekar catches up to him near the closest hut and pulls him aside.
“Has your brain gone to rot?” he whispers angrily but so low that Hiro barely could have heard. Hiro nods at Mekar and points to the boats. Mekar immediately understands. He's planning on breaking them.
As he's about to go, Mekar notices blood on his sealskin boots. He kneels and sees at trail of blood in the wet heather. The rain seems to have washed some of it away, but he sees blood on the flap of the hut as well. He reaches out and drags the skin flap to the side then peeks carefully inside.
There lies a beardless man on his back, seemingly sleeping or unconscious, perhaps even dead by the look of the blood running out of his ears. As Mekar attempts to get a better look, Hiro jerks his arm.
Mekar turns and stares right over at a dozen men covered in black stripes. They're standing there, not even moving a muscle. The rain has caused the coal to smear and run down their bodies. Hiro and Mekar stand frozen to the ground. Mekar tries to speak, but cannot find his voice. Several heavy heartbeats pass before he finally finds his senses.
“RUN!” he screams.
With every last piece of strength, they flee. A roar follows as the ravages chase them. Arrows whistle past, and Mekar can feel hot breath on his neck. Never before has he seen his toe-less brother run quite as fast. Mekar reaches the boat first, however, and pushes it into the water.
Hiro jumps over to the small island, but with his bad foot, he stumbles at the landing. A ravage reaches him and grabs his hurt shoulder, ready to stab him in the back. Mekar stands, grabs a seal hunting spear and throws it through the ravage’s left leg, landing in the thigh. The other ravages slow down when they see blood pouring out.
Hiro flings himself into the boat but is hit in the bad shoulder with an arrow. A short grunt can be heard as he lies down. Mekar rows for his life while Hiro rips out the arrow and chucks it overboard. He then grabs an ore and holds it up toward the ravages.
Arrows rain down on them, but they only hit the boat and Hiro's flat wooden ore. As soon as they get outside of the arrows’ reach, Hiro begins to row as well. They must hurry before they sink.
Neera sits in the hut, washing blood of Thoke’s head and neck, when she suddenly remembers the splash and arguing he was talking about before the lightning storm hit. She runs out and toward the rocks and sees someone splashing in the water. It's dark and she barely manages to see their faces.
As they approach, she eventually recognizes Hiro's bald head. After a few strokes, Mekar and Hiro finally get to shore. They lie down where they are, breathing heavy.
“What in the world happened to you?” Neera asks, holding her hands to her head.
“The savages.” Mekar has to catch his breath. “Over there, our boat sank. Run!” He gasps and tries to crawl toward the camp. Neera freezes. She looks over to where Mekar was pointing.
“Garnek and Janeg have left to hunt. There will be a sacrifice to the gods,” Neera says in a hushed voice.
“No, we must leave.” Mekar sits up and shakes his brother. “Get up, Brother. We have to tell them to run,” Mekar helps Hiro to his feet, and they begin running back to camp.
“If Garnek is gone, Janeg is in command. When Janeg is gone as well, who commands then?” Neera wonders.
“That would be me. Gods help us,�
� Mekar answers, chuckling a bit. “Luckily, I refused any kind of responsibility and gave it to Thoke. His word goes for now.”
Hiro holds his shoulder. The arrow made a fresh wound near the old one, and they will need to stop the bleeding. Hopefully the wound is not too deep.
“Thoke remains knocked out in our hut. He hit his head on the rocks when the lightning struck,” Neera says, looking away.
Mekar sighs, clearly unhappy. Now the responsibility will fall to him anyway, as long as Sernak doesn't dig his stick in the dirt.
As they approach the camp, the old man is already getting things ready for the ceremony. Not much can be found here on the island, so a large flat rock and a fire will have to do.
“Mekar and Neera, I've been looking for you. Get over to the mainland. We need more wood,” Sernak commands.
“No,” Mekar begins. “We have to leave, all of us. The savages have made camp on an island not far from here. They could be here any moment.”
“You cannot tell us what to do,” Sernak snarls. “We must first appease the gods. That's of the utmost importance now.” The old man seems to have made up his mind.
“Garnek, Janeg, and Thoke are either gone or unconscious. That means I'm in charge here. Get to packing.” Mekar tries a command himself. It doesn't feel right for anyone it seems.
Sernak looks around with a sour face, lifting his stick high into the air.
“I'm your shaman, and I'm your elder. Besides, I was the chief not many summers past. You will all listen to me, and I say we wait for Garnek to return.” Sernak slams his stick into the ground, hammering his words into a solid foundation. The others simply goes back to work, heeding the old man’s word.
“This man’s brain may be melting away, but I guess he's right.” Mekar admits defeat. There is no use arguing with Sernak when he's like this he realizes. “Let’s all hope he gets this done before the savages blow over the island.”
“Ravages,” Neera says, looking at Mekar.
“Yes,” Mekar nods and looks away slightly embarrassed.
Later in the night, Hiro stands on the high hill, eyes fixed toward the ravages' island. Mekar and Neera have been across the strait to cut some wood. By the camp, eight fires burn in a circle around a large flat rock. Thoke still lies motionless inside the hut.
Garnek and Janeg finally comes rowing back to the island. Renai's still nowhere to be seen. The chief’s sons, Gerak and Terot, run down toward them, realizing there is no moose with them. In his hands Garnek holds one small hare by the ears. They are met at the camp by an angry Sernak.
“What's the meaning of this?” he snarls. “This will not bring the gods joy. They will rather end us for this!”
“We were out there for a long while, Father, and this was the only thing we could find.” Garnek sighs.
“The prisoner, then,” Sernak suggests, scowling at Horvag, whose ears perk.
“For the last time, no,” Garnek's voice could have been mistaken for that of a bear. “Why would the gods find joy in us sacrificing a steaming pile of shit anyway?” He smiles a crooked grin, clearly happy with his remark.
“There you are, finally.” Mekar runs up to them. “We must get off the island. Hiro and I rowed to an island to our north and found the ravages’ camp.” He points in the direction of the island. “We were going to ruin their boats, but we barely escaped with our lives.”
“First we need to sacrifice this half-dead hare,” Sernak interjects, rolling his eyes.
The hare lies calm in Garnek's massive hands, breathing slowly and heavily. The chief frowns, looking down at the gray fur. Janeg looks at his brother with a look Neera never has seen before. For the first time, there's doubt in the chief’s eyes. He doesn't seem to have any idea what the right action might be. The gods must be pleased, and the ravages must be avoided or fought.
“We sacrifice first and fast. Hopefully the gods accept it and keep the ravages at bay. After, we leave and head south,” Garnek commands.
The chief walks over to the burned-out campfire in the center of the camp while Janeg gathers the other tribe members. Even the smallest children are awoken. Everyone must witness this. Hiro also comes unwillingly, limping down from his post.
They lay every last piece of wood on the fires so that they burn as high as possible. Sernak has dressed in his wolf furs. The wolf’s fangs rests on the shaman’s temple, making it seem almost alive. Around his own eyes, he’s smeared a thick layer of coal.
Garnek lays the hare down on the flat stone makeshift altar, and Sernak grabs the animal’s throat tightly. All the tribe members gather around in a circle, standing right outside of the fires. Inside, the gods will move. No one other than the shaman may be in their presence.
“Is Thoke unconscious still?” Garnek asks, standing close to Neera.
“Sadly, yes, the gods won't mind, I hope,” she answers, holding Rhekir and Larii close.
Sernak begins the ceremony, and everyone’s gaze goes to him. He dances around the stone with the hare in one hand and the stick the other. The dance grows more intense while he sings in a high and light voice that makes Rhekir and Larii cover their ears. Neera notices and removes their hands at once. They need to see and hear.
Sernak bounces around the fires, showing no signs of his high age at the moment. He sings higher and higher and bounces faster around. This must catch the gods’ attention, Neera thinks.
He thrusts his stick into one of the fires, causing it to begin burning. Before the ceremony, he dipped it in seal oil, which burns slowly. The hare begins to get a second wind and tries desperately to wiggle free.
“Mighty gods! Hear our pleas!” Sernak begins, looking up in the air while holding his fiery stick and the wiggling hare to the sky. “Take this life as a sign of our gratitude and submission!” he screams before laying the hare on the offering stone. He then places his stick in the ground next to him. Carefully, he pulls out his dagger and holds it high. With a quick jerk, he slices open the hare’s throat.
The animal kicks and tries to flee, but as the blood comes pouring out, the hare slowly begins to fade away. Sernak holds it up and makes the blood fall down over the stone altar.
Rhekir hides behind his mother. He's seen what needs to be seen, Neera thinks. Larii stands staring at the dead hare with wide eyes. A tear trickles down her cheek.
The ceremony is over, and Hiro hurries back up to the hill. Garnek walks over to his father. Blood trickles down the old man’s hands.
“Let's hope the gods saw this,” Garnek says.
“We can only hope, but I doubt it was enough to please them,” Sernak says before dropping the hare on the offering stone. His eyes turn shiny and his legs give out from under him. Garnek reacts fast and catches him before he hits the ground. The ceremony has cost the old man more strength than he possesses. It might take days before he gets some of it back.
Hiro approaches the peak. He can feel his foot throbbing, and his shoulder aches. It's not often that he moves this much during one day. His toe itches at the tip. He bends down to scratch it, but quickly remembers that his toe lies somewhere in the mountains. Sometimes he wonders if the itch would go away if he kept his toes in a pouch and scratched them from time to time.
With an agitated grimace, he looks up at the top of the hill, straight at a man covered in black stripes. Another comes walking up next to him. A woman. She also has a bare chest and black stripes painted all over it. Another man steps in next to her. Hiro takes a step back and before he knows it, there are ravages standing shoulder to shoulder all across the island. All bare chested and black striped.
Hiro takes another step back, but the ravages doesn't move. They seem to be in some kind of trance, staring into the horizon.
It doesn't take long for the others in the camp to notice them as well. Janeg looks at his brother just like he did before. Neera sees. For the first time, there's fear in the chief’s eyes. Garnek grabs his spear slowly and seems to be at a loss for words.
/> The ravages take two slow steps forward, still shoulder to shoulder. Hiro runs toward the camp so fast every step makes him want to cry out in pain. His shoulder begins to bleed and his foot throbs.
“To the boats!” Garnek shouts and chaos follows. He grabs his father and flings him over his shoulder before running down to the boats.
Neera commands Janeg and Mekar to carry Thoke out of their hut. Garnek lays his father down into a boat and pushes it into the water. He then looks up at the ravages, through the flames of the fires made for the sacrifice, as they begin a fast-walk down the hill.
Garnek helps the others get into the boats before turning around to look through the flames again. There he sees giant antlers appearing from behind the hill. “It can't be,” he whispers.
A violent roar comes from the beast, followed by a cry from the ravages. Garnek can feel the chills crawling down his spine. At once the ravages begin running down toward the camp, screaming as they go.
“Release me, Garnek. I can help!” Horvag yells. Without hesitation, Garnek unties him. “Get over the strait and run!” Horvag urges.
“You'll be coming with us,” Garnek says, not wanting to leave anyone to this fate.
“I have no one to go back to and have done things I regret. Grant me this one last thing to add to them,” Horvag holds out his hand, and Garnek gives him his dagger.
Hiro runs through the flames in an effort to get away, but the ravages are close behind. He's met by Horvag, who screams before throwing himself at them. With some violent swings of his dagger, Horvag moves as well as a man of his size might. He seems to get some of them, but he’s quickly surrounded. The ravages stand around him, stabbing franticly. A weak scream can be heard underneath all the horror.
Some of the ravages throw burning spears at the huts, and before long the entire camp is set ablaze. Hiro is the last to get to the beach, where only Garnek remains standing. Hiro gets into the boat with Mekar and Janeg as they help him in.
Garnek gets into the boat last and takes a look at the camp crackling and burning as they row out. The ravages at last reaches the beach, but they are too late. They attempt to loosen some arrows but hit nothing other than seawater.
