Jack was woken by Soren hours later. His friend was sunburned and looked exhausted. He gave Jack a smile.
“Happy three AM. You are on morning watch.” He said with a yawn.
“Uhhhhh.” Jack said as he wiped the sleep from his eyes, causing Soren to chuckle.
“Yeah, that's how I feel. If I ever get the bright idea to bring that Lennox guy with us on another adventure, do me a favor and kick my ass will you? I swear Clara nearly tossed him over the cliff. He is good with a pen though, I’ll give him that. We now have a non-holographic map with a salt deposit marked on it.” Soren muttered as he found his own spot beside Clara, who was already snoring. He laid down beside her, and with a final wave to Jack, went to sleep.
Jack yawned and slowly looked around. Most of the tribe was asleep in the cave. Gordon was still breathing, unmoved from when Jack had gone to sleep. Mavis was snuggled into Jack’s side, which was unexpected. She didn’t wake up when he removed her arm and slowly stood up. Instead, she just rolled over and took his warm spot on the cave floor which caused him to smile.
He picked his way across the sleeping bodies of his tribe mates and stepped out into the crisp night. As he approached the watch fire and moved further from the roar of the waterfall, he could hear the sounds of thousands of insects, birds, and dinosaurs each calling out in a symphony of chirps and cries.
He sat beside Haden, who was also on morning watch, and accepted a water bottle. Haden looked no better than he did, groggy and tired after a long day of working with Miles. They stayed by the fire for a while until Taressa and Nathaniel joined them. Jack and Nate hadn’t spoken to each other since arriving here. Too much craziness had taken place, and their old middle school nonsense didn’t feel important anymore. But there was still some tension there.
Nate had filled out since their high school years. His right arm still had the surgery scars from where Jack had broken it. He had let his hair grow out, but had it currently tied back in a ponytail. A few days without shaving had left him looking gruff, but it worked for him. His mustache was not growing in well, but he wasn’t the only man in camp who wasn’t used to rocking facial hair. Jack certainly wasn’t.
“Jack.” He said in greeting.
“Nate.” He returned.
Taressa rolled her eyes.
“Whatever it was between you two, get over it.” She sounded cranky. Which caused both Jack and Nate to smile at their own foolishness.
“Yeah. Probably for the best. Middle school wasn’t the best years for either of us.” Nate said and Jack nodded.
“I think I can agree to a truce.” Jack said, and they both shook hands.
With that taken care of, they went back to tending the fire. It was surprisingly cold, and the fire felt nice. Once he felt more awake, Jack grabbed his club and a spare spear, and took up his position on watch. Seven others, including Haden, Nate, and Taressa were on night watch as well. They were taking turns with three or four of them at the fire at a time, and the others keeping their eyes on the woodline and the tamed dinosaurs.
The rows of spikes helped put people at ease, but there were still plenty of threats that lurked in the night. A group of Compys had come to investigate, and were hanging out around the fire. They scared them off a few times, but they were relatively harmless. One of them even jumped into the fire and died while the others just watched. One looked like it was going to follow its friend before Haden had kicked it away. So long as they didn’t go into the cave or mess with the food, they were nice to have around. They would play with each other and make cute chirping sounds. Their general stupidity and quickness caused them to get into trouble constantly. It was sort of like watching Looney Tunes again, only bloodier. The main reason to keep them around though was their diet of bugs. With twenty of them around they managed to keep the bug population down.
Jack was on watch away from the fire with Taressa beside him as they patrolled the edge of the camp. She was holding a torch, and he had his spear in hand. Her long brown hair had been braided into a bun, similar to Skye’s. He suspected they had helped each other. She was Asian American, with almond-shaped eyes and a small nose. She was on the shorter side of the women in camp, easily a head and a half below Jack. Her brown eyes matched her hair and it was clear that the last few days of hard work had started to wear on her. That was true of everyone though, and her genuine smile made her easy to talk to. She was one of the first women in the tribe to embrace the new clothing, and was dressed in green fern skirt and chest wrap. She had stored her heavier clothing away in the cave for use when the weather got colder.
“So, what did you do before all this?” Jack asked as they made their rounds along the camp's edge. He kept an eye on the woods, but it was very dark. The clouds above them were thick so there was next to no moonlight to help them see. They had several fires going, and each of them had at least one person with a torch.
“Believe it or not, I was a social media manager for some of the bars in Denver.” She chuckled. “I drove up to the mountains to visit my grandma. That's why I got caught up in this group instead of the Denver crowd. I would say I got lucky.”
Jack heard a touch of sadness in her voice at the mention of her grandmother. But he could only admit she was right. Denver, and most of the larger cities, were full of the type of people who would not do well surviving on their new home. The Roaring Falls tribe was lucky to have been from one of the smaller college towns. They had people used to the outdoors and hunting, and no one was majorly out of shape.
“What about you?” She asked. Her tone once more friendly and warm.
“I was a hockey player in college, and I tried to go pro. But then the pandemic hit, and everything came to a standstill. I bounced around a bunch of meaningless jobs the past few years. Studied business in school, but I was a C student at best. My passion was in sports.” He said. Skipping over the fact he had been between jobs at the time of the apocalypse.
“Yeah. The last few years have been pretty rough. I’m almost glad for a chance at a fresh start.” She swatted one of the bugs that had been attracted by the fire. “Mostly. I could do without the bugs.” She scrunched her face in displeasure, causing Jack to chuckle.
“Yeah, I can drink to that” He said.
“God I want a beer.” She sighed. “I miss it slightly less than I miss soap.” They both chuckled, and Jack smiled.
“Well, the one fact I remembered from history class is that every society eventually invents beer, the sword, and. . .” He trailed off, not remembering the full quote. “Something else. Like I said, I wasn't a great student.” He said, causing Taressa to laugh.
“Well, it's only a matter of time until we figure out prehistoric beer then.” She said once she had stopped laughing.
“Well, there are all sorts of extinct and ancient fruits and berries here. I bet we could get some new flavors for our booze. I’m no expert though. However, if a taste testing position opens up be sure to let me know.” He joked.
A snapped stick in the woods drew both of their attention. Taressa lifted the torch up to try and shed light further into the night. They didn’t see anything other than a wall of darkness broken up by the forms of trees and ferns. They listened, both of them going silent. Only the sound of the bugs and their own breathing greeted them. All of the chirps and random cries in the night had fallen silent.
Jack gripped his spear in preparation to throw it, and his offhand moved to his club.
“Something is wrong. It's too quiet.” He said, not taking his eyes off the jungle. Taressa took a step behind him, keeping her torch held above them. She was afraid, but Jack was just focused. He could hear the others on watch stop their conversations, and take up their spears. If this were a movie Jack would have expected a crash of lighting to illuminate the figure of a massive predator looming just out of their torches range. But nothing happened. The woods were silent.
“What do we do?” Taressa asked in a whisper. Jack motioned for them both to keep stepping back, away from the woods and towards the fire. He started taking steps backward, slowly and cautiously. He made sure that his footing was secure with each movement, his spear ready to snap into whatever position he needed it at a moment's notice. They had moved thirty feet when he saw movement out of the corner of his eyes. One of the other night guards, a woman named Maple, had turned her back to the woods and started to run toward the fire.
A blur exploded from the treeline. It was impossible to make out any detail about the creature in the darkness, other than its size. It was slightly shorter than a person, and moved on four legs. The palisade wall did nothing to hinder it, as it slipped between the large posts. It made no sound as it ran across the cleared land.
Jack started to move as soon as he registered what was happening. But the creature was in full sprint. Jack managed to take three steps before it leaped onto Maple. She screamed and fell. Her torch illuminated the yellow eyes of the sabertooth tiger before it hit the ground and the fire dimmed. Its jaws had clamped down on her shoulder, and its claws left a deep gash on her back.
The sabertooth lifted its powerful neck, dragging Maple with it as it started to turn. She let out a whimper of pain, and weekly struggled against its jaws. Jack brought his spear up, and still running towards the creature he brought his arm back and tossed the spear with all his might. It flew fast and straight, powered by his momentum and adrenaline. It sailed into the darkness as the sabertooth dragged the poor woman away from her fallen torch. The big cat let out a yowl of pain, and Maple cried out again as she was dropped.
Jack didn’t stop running. His legs worked hard as he ate up the distance between him and the cat. His club was in his hands, but he could only see the silhouette of the cat in the darkness. It was still standing over his tribemate, but it was looking at him. His spear had pierced it just behind its shoulder, and a long stream of blood was leaking out of the wound. Another spear flew from over his shoulder, narrowly missing. He didn’t have time to glance at who threw it.
The sabertooth let out a roar of pain and fury that reverberated in Jack’s chest and he felt a primal fear he had never experienced before. Something in him was screaming that he should be terrified of this creature. He ignored those feelings, and brought his club down. The sabertooth lunged forward to meet his charge, its anger from being wounded overtaking any caution. The extra reach of the club made all the difference as it cracked down onto the creature's head before its claws could reach Jack’s stomach. The sabertooth was knocked to the ground, stunned by the blow to the skull. It produced a yowling cry of pain and confusion, and Jack could hear the others in the cave start to make noises as the tribe awoke.
This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.
The Sabertooth swiped at him with its paw from the ground, but he jumped into the air and rolled over its body, quickly scrambling to his feet and gripping his club. The big cat tried to roll over to follow him, but his spear was shoved deep into its muscles, and it whimpered in pain when the spear shaft hit the ground. It started to climb to its feet, its head whipping around to bite at the spear and try and tear it out.
Jack didn’t give it a chance to recover. His club came down on its head, causing a swath of blood to stain the hardwood. It tried to swipe at him again, but was unable to move fast enough with its injuries. He could see the other hunters running towards him. Haden grabbed Mapel and pulled her out of the creature's reach. She let out a loud scream of pain and the sabertooth turned to snarl at her.
Jack’s club came down again, causing a sickening crack as its skull broke. Its head slammed to the ground, and he hit it again with all his might. The sabertooth’s cries went from angry to pained to silent. His club dripped with gore and the creature's body twitched a few times before finally going still.
Jack felt his muscles suddenly go limp and he stumbled back before collapsing on the ground. He took long, slow breaths as he tried to calm himself. His ears were ringing and his mind was spinning. He closed his eyes, listening to his heartbeat and trying to get it under control. Someone put a hand on his shoulder and he looked up. Taressa looked down at him with concern on her face.
“Are you ok?” She asked. Jack took another breath, and nodded.
“Yeah. Just. That was a lot.” He said.
She nodded, and used her hand to wipe some of the splattered blood off of his face.
“That was crazy. Are you hurt?” Jack finally looked down at himself. He was covered in blood and bits of bone. The sabertooth’s head had exploded on his final blow and he had been peppered in its gore. He took a moment to make sure he wasn’t injured. None of the blood was his.
“I’m ok. Help me up?” He looked up, and Taressa gave him a hand to stand. He was exhausted, and his legs were shaky. Taressa noticed and moved to support him. He took a few moments to steady himself, and then pulled himself off of her.
“I’m ok. Just. All my adrenaline went away. Feeling a bit lightheaded but I’m alright. How is Maple?” He asked, and turned to look for his wounded tribe member.
Most of the tribe had been woken up by now. Lottie and Jade were crouched over Maple and were doing their best to save her. Jack couldn’t see what kind of state she was in, but there was a lot of blood staining the ground. Soren and Haden were keeping people back and he could see a group of people, led by Justin, carrying torches to check on the dinosaurs. Mattock and Nate were examining the body of the sabertooth, though Jack noticed they kept glancing over their shoulders at Maple. Mavis was with the other crafters, handing out spears and torches to the other hunters and sending them out to guard the palisade.
Maple was crying and her screams seemed to quiet the woods and the waterfall to Jack’s ears. He took a step towards her, but Taressa grabbed his arm.
“Let them work. There isn’t anything else you can do. You saved her once, let Lottie and Jade work. Let's get you cleaned up.” She started to pull him towards the pond. He followed after her, still dragging his club behind him. He started to use it as a walking stick and a few moments later they reached the pond. He put down his club and took off his shirt. He slipped into the water and started to scrub it. The water was cold, and it shocked him back to a more awake state. He wasn’t sure why that experience had hit him so hard. It wasn’t the first thing he had killed, and it wasn’t the first time he had seen someone die in front of him. Maple wasn’t dead, but it didn’t look good for her. Occasionally her cries would cut over the volume of the waterfall, reminding him that she was still alive for now..
“Jack?” Mavis’s voice called to him from the edge of the pool, and he turned to look at her. She was worried. He could see it clearly in her eyes as she watched him scrub blood out of his shirt. He walked out of the water and sat on the side of the pond. He tossed his shirt onto the rock he usually used for laundry. It would dry when the sun came up.
“I’m ok. It’s not my blood.” He said, trying to smile. She sat beside him, and hugged him tightly. She shivered at the cold water but didn’t pull away. He slowly returned the hug.
“Good. I was worried. What happened? I woke up to screaming.” She said.
Before he responded, Taressa handed him her torch.
“Stay warm. I’m going to go talk to Marcus. You can get some sleep Jack. Everyone is awake and I’ll help reorganize the watch.” She patted him on the shoulder. “You did good. That’s one less threat to the tribe.” She smiled at him, and he nodded to her, his hands full with Mavis and the torch. She joined up with the closest person holding a torch, and went to find Marcus. Mavis squeezed him, and slowly broke the hug, shivering. He handed her the torch.
“We were on watch. Everyone was exhausted from working all day but things were normal for most of the night. Lots of noise, bugs, birds, Compys. But no moonlight. The clouds are thick. Something stepped on a twig in the woods and everything went silent. We figured out something was wrong and started to move back towards the fire. But Maple was on her own and she turned and ran. A sabertooth charged her. I threw my spear. Then everything was sort of a blur. I ran at it with my club, it roared.” He gestured to the bits of gore that were still clinging to his shirt. “I should probably hop under the waterfall for a minute. Will you hold the light?” He asked, and she nodded at him. They both stood up, and he walked onto the log bridge.
“I’m glad you are ok. But don’t do that again. Wait for the others to come with you. If that thing had been bigger or faster, it could have killed you.” Mavis said, her voice a bit shaky.
Jack stepped under the waterfall, and its roar deafened him. He scrubbed his chest and hair clean, enjoying the feeling of the water crashing down on his shoulders. Eventually, he stepped out of the water. He looked down at Mavis and nodded.
“I’ll be careful. I promise.” He said. She looked into his eyes, and though it was dark he thought she may have had tears in them. She nodded and handed him the torch.
“Good. Go warm up. It would be very dumb if you survived a Smilodon attack only to get hypothermia.” She said, forcing a smile.
“Smilodon?” Jack asked, taking the torch and using it to warm his hands. He was starting to shiver from the cold water and the gentle breeze.
“That's the actual name of the Sabertooth Tigers. For those of us who get our dinosaur knowledge from other places than the Ice Age movies.” She said with a smirk.
“Ha!” He said, pointing at her, his own smirk on his lips. “At least I know they aren’t dinosaurs.”
She shook her head, and the two of them walked to the largest fire. They sat down and warmed themselves. Jack passed his torch to someone who needed it and spent a while gazing into the fire. The screaming from Maple had stopped but Jack kept replaying the fight in his mind over and over again.
He had known something was wrong. Should he have called out? Should he have tossed the torch toward the woodline to get more visibility? Would that have scared it off? If he had been faster, would he have been able to save her before it leaped? What had even warned him that something was wrong? A branch had snapped, but the Sabertooth had attacked from the east, and the branch snap had come from the southwest. Was there another creature still out there?
He looked up, scanning the woods. Most of the tribe was awake now, walking around with torches and spears. The woods were once more full of noise, as dinosaurs chirped at each other and bugs swarmed. Whatever it was had probably left after the alarm was sounded. He relaxed again. Once he was dry Mavis had leaned against him, and quickly fallen back asleep.
Mattock came to join him by the fire. His hands were stained with blood up to his elbows, and he stank of death. He gave Jack a nod, and warmed his hands by the flames. They sat in silence for a minute before the older man spoke up.
“Lottie thinks Maple will make it through the night. But she isn’t optimistic. That thing’s mouth was not clean, and there is a good chance her wounds will get infected. As things are, she has a week. Maybe a bit longer if we are lucky.” He said, taking one of the leafy ferns and wiping his bloody hands on it. He got some of the gore off, and then tossed it into the fire. Smoke started to billow out of the fire as the green leaf burned.
Jack listened, his heart hurt at the bad news. But it was what he had been expecting. He hadn’t been fast enough to save her. Now she would just die a slow death to infection. Gordon would probably be the same. He wasn’t getting any better, and no one here knew how to help. He nodded to Mattock, but didn’t say anything. If he opened his mouth he didn’t trust that he wouldn’t break down. But the hunter continued.
“You did good. She still has a chance to live because of you. If she had been dragged into the woods, she would be dead. You saved her and killed the beast. We have one less threat now, and I can make leather out of its hide. When you get back, I’ll have some sabertooth armor for you.” The smoke was short-lived as the greenery burned quickly. The wind blew it east along the canyon wall. Jack looked up at Mattock.
“When I get back?” He asked.
“Marcus told me about his plan to send you and a few others to search for a doctor, or if you couldn’t find one, to try and make friends with the nearby tribes. When the aliens start sending their aid packages, they will probably contain antibiotics, or other medical supplies. If you can make agreements with our neighbors, we won’t have to fight over those supplies.” Mattock grabbed another leaf and continued to clean his hands.
“But we have no idea where any other tribes are. It could take weeks of wondering to find anyone. And we won’t survive more than a week out there on our own. We all have to sleep eventually. If anything goes wrong we would have to turn back, if we are even able to.” Jack said, defeated. The idea of Gordon dying from a single mistake, of Maple dying from one fuck up, filled him with dread.
“That’s the thing. We found a tribe. Soren and Clara saw smoke from the top of the cliff. They didn’t get back till after you and Marcus had fallen asleep. We think they kept following the cliff top and settled to the east of us. They are probably ten or fifteen miles from here.” He said, and Jack felt a spark of hope light in his chest.
“I suppose that means I should go in the morning then. It will probably take me at least a full day of hiking to get to them.” He said, and Mattock nodded.
“Take Soren and Clara with you. Ride Thrasher, and bring berries for rations. Meat will attract predators to you. Cover yourselves in the clay that Marcus gathered today and use it as camouflage and to help keep the bugs off of you. It will help you keep your scent down as well, though you will still need to be careful.” Mattock explained, and Jack suddenly wished he could take notes. Instead, he just nodded.
“I should probably bring some of the twine with me, and trade with the other tribe.” Jack said, and Mattock nodded.
“Go get some sleep. Talk to Marcus and Jade before you leave tomorrow. They will have everything prepared for you before you go.” He tossed the leaf he had been using as a towel into the fire, and then passed Jack a tooth. It was one of the massive fangs from the saber tooth tiger. It was close to ten inches long. The tip of the fang was extremely sharp as it was designed for piercing and shredding. It had been pulled out of the skull, and scraped clean, leaving a sizable handle that would fit his hand. It needed to be washed.
“You earned that. Use it as a backup weapon. Not great for cutting, but a good stabbing weapon.” He said, standing up and nodding to Jack.
“Um. Thank you. I will hold onto it.” He said. He didn’t stand up, as Mavis was still sleeping on his shoulder, but he returned the nod to Mattock.
The older man walked away, and Jack put the tooth down and wiped his hand on the dirt. He would need to clean the fang, but it would make for a good dagger. He watched the fire for a while, then carried Mavis back into the cave. He washed his hands and the tooth, storing it in his pocket until he could figure out a proper sheath.
Once he was as dry as he could manage, he returned to lay beside Mavis, and did his best to fall asleep.