Aroused by her scent and unfamiliar closeness, he inched himself away from her and slowly slid out from beneath the furs. He left her to sleep as he stood to his full height, keeping a watchful eye on the girl, not wishing to disturb her sleep. He then walked over to the firepit, and with practiced ease, he soon had the smoky embers of the previous night’s fire flaming new wood. Resting beside his rock-ringed firepit were his cooking bowls, empty water pouch, and a small pile of clean, smooth palm-sized stones. He took the stones and placed them on a flat stone lying just inside the firepit’s ring of rocks to heat. He rummaged through his backpack and removed a spare set of clothes and an empty water pouch to take with him. The hunter grabbed his bow and quiver of arrows, glanced back at the sleeping girl and then left the cave.
During his journey through the mountain’s gap, he had followed a stream down the rocky ravines that had eventually widened with the spring thaw into a sizable river following the curvature of the mountain’s base on the far side of the valley. With his clothes and empty pouch in his hands along with his bow and arrows slung over his back, the young hunter started walking toward the river on the far side of the valley. Warily, he skirted the crash site, crossing the shallow end of the trench with caution, while hearing multiple menacing snarls and growls from small scavengers drawn to the far end of the site. He paused for a moment and watched the vile creatures repeatedly jumping in and out of the shell, all the while fighting over mouthfuls of the corpse’s torn flesh. He knew by nightfall. The scavengers would consume the flesh and move on, leaving behind only bloody shredded fragments of material and the corpses scattered gnawed on bones.
He continued on toward the river, keeping a wary eye on the long grass around him for signs of danger, but he made it to the river’s edge without incident. He quickly took off his dirty, bloody tunic and trousers and jumped naked into the shallow chilly water. Scrubbing vigorously, he quickly washed the dried blood from his kill off his skin before returning to the river’s edge. He didn’t bother to dry himself; instead, he preferred to let the sun’s warmth dry his body as he began to wash the blood from his filthy clothes. He was warm and dry by the time his clothes were clean. He dressed quickly into his spare tunic and trousers before slipping on his moccasins. He then knelt beside the river edge and filled the water pouch made from a tough elastic bladder of a midsize grazer. Once filled, he retrieved his belongings and began searching the side of the riverbank for wild orange berries that were slightly tart but very tasty. It wasn’t difficult to find a small patch with plenty of ripe, juicy orange berries ready for the picking. Laying his cleaned tunic on the ground, he began picking the fruit, tossing them onto his tunic as he picked. It didn’t take long to gather a large pile of the ripe berries. He popped one of the berries into his mouth and savored its tartly, sweet taste before gathering up the corners of his tunic and making his way back to the cave.
Chapter 3
The Morning After
Jennifer awoke inside a cave feeling very vulnerable, finding herself dressed in what remained of her cold sleepwear lying between soft, warm animal furs. Her leg was throbbing and pulsating with pain emanating from her broken bone. Raising the top fur, she looked down at her leg. “Oh, gross! Don’t puke! Don’t puke! Don’t puke!” she exclaimed disgustedly, looking at a bloody skin of an animal hide wrapped around her leg. “God, that’s really gross.” Her leg was obviously set and wrapped in some animals hide and tied into place with leather straps. Although she didn’t want to admit it, the wrapped hide was preventing her leg from moving. “What the hell am I doing in a cave?” She asked loudly, wondering if anyone was around and hoping no one was. Someone had tended her injury, that was obvious, she thought, taking in her surroundings while trying to remember something important.
Her view outside was partially obscured by strips of meat drying on crude racks and smoke from the firepit. What she could see above the racks was the top half of the cave’s entrance, which appeared to have a series of crudely drilled holes arching over the opening. She glanced at the rock walls of the cave that appeared to be limestone, but she wasn’t sure. Her eyes then surveyed the meat drying on the racks around the fire.
“Damn! That’s a lot of meat. Who’s coming for dinner?” Jennifer quipped as she continued looking around. Tiny beams of light were streaming inside the cave’s small opening that passed through the branches and leaves of the shrub from outside. The few blades of grass, weeds, and shrubs growing between the rocks and stones on the hillside above the cave’s entrance hid a secret—a small hole penetrated down and through the cave’s ceiling. It was approximately a foot in diameter and ten feet inside the cave from the entrance. The naturally formed hole through the stone made a perfect chimney for the fires escaping smoke.
She estimated the cave to be eight to twelve feet in height depending on where you’re standing, roughly twenty-five feet wide and forty feet deep. On the left side of the cavern in the back wall was a dark black fissure, she assumed it leads somewhere into the depths of the mountain.
When the hunter returned and entered the cave, he noticed the girl had awakened during his absence. She had removed the tight-fitting cap that had covered her head and hair. He didn’t expect her hair to be so long and beautiful as it lay over her shoulders. He thought the long red hair enhanced her natural beauty. During his fitful night’s sleep. He dreamed she was a goddess who had fallen from a fire-filled sky with hair as red as the fiery realm she had come from and she filled him with wonder.
She stared at him quietly with curiosity clearly expressed in her eyes. At first, he didn’t know what to do as her stare made him feel uncomfortable, except to put his weapons down near the cave entrance in order to show; he meant her no harm. He knelt beside the firepit and poured some water from the pouch he was carrying into two wooden bowls. He then added some sliced strips of fresh meat and the last of his grains and dried fruit to the water. It wasn’t enough for two, so with a tinge of regret, he broke the last of his mother’s special treat into two pieces and placed each half cake into the bowls. She quietly watched his activity with interest from the sleeping furs as she was famished and savored the thought of a hot meal.
With the aid of his wooden spoons, she saw him deftly retrieve the hot stones from inside the fire and drop them softly into each of the small wooden bowls. Steam hissed with the insertion of the stones, and the water quickly boiled softening the cakes and dried fruit as the water’s heat cooked the tiny bits of meat and grains into a crude thick porridge. He knelt beside the fire waiting for the food to fully cook but made no sound as the porridge simmered in the bowls, acutely aware she was watching his every move.
Her curiosity and hunger finally got the better of her, when the sweet smell of the meal prompted Jennifer to say something. And so she whispered, “Hello.”
The hunter remained motionless when he heard her speak, as he was still unsettled by her presence. He didn’t understand her word but assumed it was a form of greeting. Yet he had to tend to her needs, so he picked up a spoon and stirred the porridge, mixing the ingredients evenly, and tossed in a handful of fresh orange berries on top for added flavor. He then stood, walked around the drying racks, and knelt beside her and handed over the bowl by placing it in her hands. “Thank you,” she said to him as she accepted the bowl.
“Your welcome,” he replied in his own language seeing her smile in reaction to his voice as she accepted the warm bowl in her hands.
He indicated by signs that he wanted her to hold the bowl securely and then stepped behind her and propped her shoulders up against his knees into a sitting position. Jennifer felt him lift the fur underneath her and slide her gently backward. When he neared the cavern wall, he stepped over her once more and knelt. They were face-to-face and only inches apart, and he smiled in reassurance, then gently lifted her up with his strong hands until she could recline comfortably against the wall; not once did they break eye contact, each fascinated and curious of the other. She winced with pain from the movement but made no other sound, knowing he was only trying to help make her comfortable.
His long auburn hair was tied behind his neck and hung down his back out of the way. His skin color was the most beautiful shade of copper she’d ever seen. His eyes were oval in shape with piercingly bright, inquisitive green