The Mender

Cave Discovery

Esri spun around from the horrible sight in the cave and looked down at Zura and Dagan. The distress on Esri's face alarmed them.

Dagan scrambled up to her. "What is it?"

"It's Others. They're long dead. Come see what's happened to them."

Zura forced herself to climb slowly and carefully, mindful of how important it was not to chance any accidents.

Finally, all three stood at the mouth of the cave. They were stunned by the sight in front of them. They had dealt with much death and sadness during the dark and cold times and were not surprised to see that Others were also affected by the Ash Rain. However, here there were signs of brutality.

Esri said, "I don't understand what happened. Some of these bones are badly broken. And I only see signs of Others, of people like us."

Zura said, "Yes, there are no signs of large animals."

Dagan spoke, "You know what happened here, don't you, Zura?"

"Yes," she spoke bluntly. "This is the work of Violent Ones. They came to this bode and killed those who did not perish in the Ash Rain, probably to take whatever food remained."

Esri cried, "But that goes against the Ancients! It could be a sister or brother they are hurting."

Zura said, "It's wrong. Those who kill their own kind break our promise to the Ancients. Violent Ones have no place in any bode - or anywhere." Zura raised her arms, stretched them wide, "Killing your own kind, kills everything. It kills the earth spirit."

"Did the Violent Ones bring the Ash Rain?" asked Esri.

"If they did, it would make them very powerful. But the Ancients are pushing back because the earth spirit is returning. We must help the Ancients."

Dagan spoke, "One thing we know now is that there are Others who survived the Ash Rain, and we are not the only ones. There could be more. We need to keep walking and find them before the Violent Ones do."

Zura said, "There are too many here to bury but we must honor them and help them on their final journey. We can cover them with sand and branches and sing of their End Days.""

She walked around the remains, paused, and stared. "Oh no," she bent over and pulled out a small antelope skin pouch with a jagged design rubbed into the top edge. "This is a bag I made and traded for healing plants from an old mother at the last trading gathering. She must be one of the people lying here. These are Others I hoped we could find and join but they are all dead."

Using her hands as a scoop, Zura began flinging sand from the floor of the cave on top of the bodies. Dagan and Esri used flints to cut branches off of nearby bushes. As the three covered the dead people with sand and a layer of branches, they sang songs from their bode that were sung when someone died or was dying.

After they were done, Zura continued to sit outside the cave for a long time, rocking and chanting softly.

Dagan and Esri prepared a place to sleep in a sheltered spot a distance from the cave but near enough that they could see Zura. They sat and waited for her to finish.

She nodded her approval when she saw the bed they prepared. They were likely safe for tonight. The Violent Ones who killed the Others in the cave would have no reason to come back. Tomorrow the three would continue walking along the River of Life. The fearful discovery in the cave heightened the anxiety and urgency of their journey, but it also brought a sliver of hope that they were not the only ones to survive the Ash Rain.

Zura said, "You are right not to build a fire. There are no signs of big animals but we must be cautious and try to stay hidden. If we find Others, we need to watch them first and make sure they are not Violent Ones, and show ourselves very carefully."