Stone Age

Chapter 1

Escape

Bunga rushed and ran for his very own life, all around him was dark but with a light of hope at the end of the tunnel. There was a weight in his arms, eggs, large, green and speckled with a rust colored tune. Bunga knows the mother is near, just as there is hope of light at the end of this tunnel, there is despair further in dark and fierce, the smell of death, of one born stronger than Bunga. A roar shrieks out terrible and great, and so follows a chorus of screaming and wrathful roaring, a choir of doom to Bunga, he can hear the click of claws on the stone chasing for him and his prize, HIS prize. Bunga was terrified of this many scaled ones, but he would take his prize for his tribe. With a new steely determination in Bungas eye, adrenaline rushing through him, “The gods have blessed me this day” Bunga thought “I will escape the scaled ones.” The clicking of clawed feet gets louder, and now the snapping of jaws is near, their breath, hot and putrid from the carcasses they devour. Bunga knows he has little time, his life a star to be extinguished on this earth and posed in the great night sky. “NO!” Says Bunga, as he flings himself around and hurls one of his eggs, his prizes, it flies through the air, and flies true it does. The egg shatters into oblivion, its yolk of life, a future creation splatters the whole pack of scaled ones, and specifically the alpha. “They are addled now, but soon to be furious, now is my chance for the tribe.” Though Bunga, with little hesitation, Bunga throws himself out of the cave, out of the cave and off a cliff into the great unknown, Bunga knew there was a cliff, he had gambled his fate, put his own life in the hands of the gods.. And so the Gods did Answer! Bunga flew through the air, cold wind biting him like the fish of his river, he saw a blur of color flushing his sense full, until he glanced downwards, one final image, the gods gift to him, a lake. Bunga hit the lake slamming forth upon the still water of the lake, the sound of breaking water cracking like the great bolts from the sky. Bunga sank, his mind a whirl, dizzy and fuzzy, no direction or peace, but finally peace was granted, as he lost the breath of his mind. 

Bunga woke up sometime later, washed up on the shore, and mouth full of sand. Spitting a wad of sand out, then washing his mouth with lake water, a gleam catches the corner of his eye. It was his prized egg, sitting comfortably upon the small dune of sand. Seeing the egg everything comes back to Bunga, like a wave crashing down upon the sand, the running, the fear, the gratitude for his great prize. “Yes my trophy” he thought, hurriedly he scoops up the egg into his large arms, corded with muscle like thick vines. 

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Bunga did not have time for this, the egg was required. He had to bring it back to his shaman. Bunga sniffed the air, he had a good sense of smell, and should be downwind of any predators, he would smell them before he was found. Bunga tore a few vines from the nearest tree, he weaved the vines around each other like breeding snakes, forming a basket he fastened the makeshift carrier around his neck and gently laid the egg inside. Looking around Bunga scanned the jungle perimeter, at least he was down wind so he should be safe. Bunga was unable to climb and jump through the trees without risking the eggs' integrity, he had to walk the under-brush. He knew it was foolish to do so, it was prime full of venomous creatures and flesh eating crawlers, but the egg was his top priority. Hunkering down, Bunga snuck his way through the jungle, following any root path made by the larger animals. He was ever vigilant against any ambush type predators, sensing a few before they could launch out at him. His good luck didn't last forever, he smelt the thing seconds before it struck, a few precious seconds he used to dive to the side of the jungle path. Landing on his back Bunga quickly put the egg around his shoulders down on the ground, and readied himself. The creature he saw was quadruped and canine, it’s snout almost serpentine in shape, its lithe, lanky body almost seemed like a wolf was stretched out and pinched into sharp points, the things fur was green and looked as if it was hard, like stone, but able to bend like strands of grass. Bunga was unsure if he could take the beast on, he knew he couldn’t run from the beast, it was clearly faster than him, and agile enough to wax and weave through the forest, no, Bunga knew he had to fight. He lowered his stance, simultaneously lowering his point of mass. Pulling a flint blade from out of his loincloth belt, the two began to circle one another, watching for a break in concentration in either. All at once both him and the beast struck fast as god bolts, the beast leaped into the air, claws and teeth laid to bare, ready to tear his insides to shreds. Bunga nearly in the same moment, adrenaline pumping, feeling every heartbeat, he crouched further down, and exploded upwards as the beast soared above him. Bunga with his large frame threw the beast off balance, it being unable to control much of itself mid-air, fell towards the ground with a heavy thud. Bunga wouldn’t waste his chance, the beast would only be disoriented for but a few more moments. He threw himself on top of the beast's back while it lay prone, he wrapped his thick arms around the creature's forelegs, and bit into the nape of its neck. It let out a surprised yelp, beginning to buck and thrash against Bunga, however he had rod more stubborn creatures. Instincts yelling at him Bunga began to ruthlessly stab at the beasts belly, much softer than its hardened hide. One, two, and three score more, he stabbed into its belly, not bothering to twist the blade. The beast more out of blood loss and sheer exhaustion, than the damage of its wounds, collapsed into a heap onto the ground. Bunga wasted from this encounter, took a few moments to breath, before securing his egg, and ending the beast's life. Bunga gave a quick prayer to both beast and gods, before starting to skin the creature.