The Pole Shift

Macka and Lett

Followed ,thought Macka as he watched Lett. Why were the masters letting this happen? He was suppose to be left alone,  even if it was along the lines of letting a faithful dog free by the side of the road. Macka reasoned,  It could mean several things. Perhaps they were playing a game, or they were allowing Lett her decisions, giving into the power of chance.  He knew the masters regarded chance with superstition and fear, as if it was a force like gravity. Should he engage with her?  She was several hundred meters away but had started to climb steadily, she was as fit as himself and would be at the overhang in minutes, despite being pregnant. If he engaged with her she would have full control of the relationship, and Prophet would be in her ear like an old lover. He gathered himself, reaching for the rifle. Would he be allowed to kill her? He took aim but then popped a couple of rounds over her head. She froze, panicked, but then she broke into a smile. He guessed Prophet had told her he was unlikely to kill, she obviously liked the odds and marched on. Her smile paused him, it was a rare thing, her demeanour seemed different, her stride was jaunty, she was happy to be there.

                "I don't want you." Macka said and his words bounced around the overhang, "I want to be alone." He quickly packed and went to enter the cave, but he paused.  Prophet would lead her to him in the end anyway, what use a chase? He turned back and strode to the lip of the overhang and when she was a stone's throw away he shouted:

                "What's this?  Want revenge for your stoner lover?" She darkened only slightly and replied:

                "Far from it. We will make a good team, I want to forge a relationship that is mutually beneficial."

                "Want to rule the post Pole Shift world?"

                "Not us, but our descendants will." She patted her stomach. "I'm 27, there's more to come." Macka had never thought of himself as a father, a family man. He liked it too much alone, he yearned to watch the sun rise and set and be free with his thoughts.

                "I'm not the type Lett." She laughed.

                "Don't be so selfish! You have a woman to look after now, and soon a family." She arrived so they met eye to eye. This was not a moment the troubadours would sing of, it was the meeting of male and female where survival mattered not sweet words. "You have to admit, we stand a better chance together."

                "And Prophet made three." Said Macka, sounding jealous but feeling trapped. Lett ignored him, she looked to the caves entrance. She said:

                "Prophet says most of the cave system will be inundated, except some areas. We might need to seal ourselves for a while, it will take nearly a month to drain, or so says Prophet."

                "Good old Prophet!" He couldn't help but feel bitter, he had thought he was free and now not only was Prophet there to tell him what to do, so was Lett. He sighed very deeply, accepting the situation and wondering if this is how husbands felt throughout the world. "We better get in, I think the Pole Shift it will happen this weekend."

                "At 11:11am tomorrow, to be precise. Or at least according Prophet." Lett strode to the mouth of the cave without looking back, Macka took one last look at the Ghost Gums, took a breath of scented air, then followed Lett.