A Texas girl finds herself admiring a light in the sky only to find out it is indeed an alien, which transports her to another time long long ago in Africa and pairs her with a Neanderthal population in hopes that her descendants will populate Nort...
Ujiji was about to die. He had aged thirty rains, but age would not kill him. To prepare for the challenge he stripped naked and with only the clan's prized possession, the ancient jawbone of a cave bear that had been in the clan for time uncounted, he walked to the ochre pits in the wan hours before dawn and covered himself completely with the red dust. He prepared himself for the challenge. The browning bones of the cave bear would assure him of a good death. He rubbed it now, feeling its smooth texture as he ran his fingers over the large teeth to absorb their magic.
A full moon stood watch over him, and he felt a cool breeze blow in from the east bringing with it the pungent scent of wild honeysuckle. All signs were good. He had ridden a young girl that night, taking her from her hut while making clothing for her father. He knew her well and had often thought of having children by her. She was fine stock; with strong arms, and sturdy legs under broad hips. She had already seen her first rhythm and went with Ujiji willingly, as most young girls do. He drew power from her, power he would need for the challenge.
He heard the mating sounds of the Long Toothed Cats that had terrorized the clan for weeks.
Something has to be done about those cats, he said. And then realized his worries would be over soon. Birds shrieked in the distance – Peacocks sounding alarm. Too far away, he thought, to concern his affairs.
In those moments the leaves whistled in the brisk cool morning air. But still, no rain. There should be rain, lots of rain, yet there was nothing but the bright flashes storms bring. It was the same when he was a child too.
With these omens, Ujiji approached the black oracle. Here is where he would be challenged. He could stop the challenge by simply leaving the clan and walking off to die alone. But he no longer felt that was possible.
People were waiting, gathering for the contest. The Sun had just breached the horizon as the rock came into his view. There he could see someone standing, a silhouette of a figure. It seemed unfamiliar. He stopped walking and stood for a moment. From the grasslands came the odor of pine, honey, and Sun-baked clay
But his reverie wouldn't last long.
The Peacocks continued to squeal. He ignored them, his mind was bent on the moment at hand. The man he saw standing by the great black boulder hadn't moved. Sinomi.
The sky brightened. The sun rose and broke the night with a cracking sound.
What an odd sound that was, said Ujiji. And again. A rock struck the sphere, bounced off, and fell with a thud into the leaves. A single beam of blood-red Sunlight shone on the oracle. Suddenly the world awoke at once. Far away on the open grasslands, wild dogs yelped – hungry babies, males ready to mate and fight for the right, and nearby a nest of guinea fowl screeched and flew into the Sun.
Another rock came hurling towards him, and more until they sounded like hail stones pelting the ground. Sinomi fell, and his brains painted the oracle stone. Ujiji took cover by the Acacia tree where he had hidden a spear.
Fifteen men who had come for the challenge ran to battle the invaders. Ujiji sent Komi, the youngest, to the top of the tree to look around. From there, he could see through the sparsely leaved trees and beyond. At the same time, he divided the others into four groups and sent them to surround the attackers to catch them off guard.
Flesh-eaters, shouted Tumi when suddenly from atop the tree they heard a gurgling grunt, and Komi's body fell to his feet. A wooden spear had pierced his throat. It had a sharpened bone tip attached meticulously to the long smooth stick. He pulled it from the dead man's throat and yelled the battle cry. With him were Tumi and Zobei; the two companions of Sinomi who helped plan the challenge. Their only thought was to kill and to survive, and they knew Ujiji would increase their chances.
They ran along the path from the oracle to the river, crouching as they did. They heard movement in the bushes and trees. Ujiji stopped to look. Zobei asked if help would arrive, and he told him they were most likely on their own, no help would come.
Bad things are happening, he said. We have to get back to the village now. And as he said this he turned and stepped on a loose pile of twigs and bracken and fell into an old boar pit that had been left forgotten by some of the younger members of the clan. Tumi and Zobei glanced down at their leader who had been impaled on four barbed spikes sticking up from the bottom of the ten-foot pit. They returned to the village and found many dead – some with slit throats and some with crushed skulls. But the Flesh Eaters did not need the dead, only the living. They had taken Tisane.
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