The Thinking Rocks (21 page)

Gennos said, "Do
nothing, we don't need you hurt".

The man in
water seemed to be the chief; he motioned Gennos and Dola toward shore. He then
called a question to the young man by the fire.  The young man spun around
and then shouted something back.  The leader became very angry, shouting
and waving his spears, and then he pointed toward the woods.  The young
man quickly picked up his weapons and rushed into the woods without answering
. 

When Gennos and Dola
reached the shore they rushed over to Cano's still form. Gennos rolled him over
to see how badly he was hurt.  The man with the cut head knocked him to
the ground.  When he rolled over and tried to stand, he was kicked in the
stomach, knocking the wind out of him.  As he lay there trying to catch
his breath, he was kicked again.

Dola didn't know what to
do.  He was afraid.  He couldn't seem to think.  What to do? Oh
what to do?  He didn't seem to have any choices.  Good or bad. 
He just stood still and then he started to shake.

The man with the cut
head said something to the man with the spears.  Then he turned and lunged
at Dola.  Dola scrambled away, his hands out in front to protect
himself.  The men laughed at him and put out their hands, mimicking
him.  He was ashamed to be so frightened, but what could he do?

In the meantime,
Whiteface had crouched down on a pile of supplies on the raft when the action
had started.  She hid there watching what was happening.  Deep in her
inner self, in the very essence of her wolf blood she knew danger when she met
it. These new men were danger.  She wanted to stay with Dola, but there
was also the need for survival. This ancient instinct was stronger than the need
to be a part of a pack. When all attention was on the action on shore, she
slipped into the water and swam downstream.  The only one who noticed her
departure was Dola.

Later when Cano awoke,
he found himself tied with strips of leather.  Gennos and Dola were also
tied.  As he tried to sit up he felt a pain in his head and gave a
groan.  He tried to touch his head with his hand but he was tied securely
and couldn’t reach it.  He was tied so tightly he could barely move.

Gennos said, "We
thought you were going to sleep all day."

Cano frowned at his
brother, "I don't think this is even close to being funny.  What's
happening now and who are these people?"

Gennos smile quickly
faded, "As you can tell we are tied up.  They have looked through
everything that we had on the raft and took what they wanted, and then threw
the rest in the river.  The wolf has gone; Dola saw it swim away. 
That's probably for the best.  These guys looked like they would eat her
if they got the chance.

They were interrupted by
shouts from the leader.  He had seen the young man returning with the
woman.  She appeared to be about Gennos's age and had long dark hair,
which fell, down her back.  Her only clothing was a breechcloth. There was
no doubt in anyone's mind that she was a female. Even though she was smeared
with mud and her hair was tangled, she stood tall. The younger man had tied her
hands together and there was a leather noose around her neck.  He jerked
on the noose harder than necessary, and pulled her toward the fire.  She
had to keep her hands to her throat to keep from being choked. 

The tall man rose
quickly and stalked over to the younger man, said something and then hit him in
the face with his right hand.  The younger man said something and was
rewarded with another blow. He didn't respond again, he stood still awaiting
the next blow.  The girl stood silently watching.  The tall man said
something again and motioned toward where they were tied.  The younger man
pulled her roughly along behind, as he approached the place where the other
captives were tied.  He gave a jerk on the leather loop that sent her
sprawling to the ground at his feet.  She hit the ground heavily. It was
apparent that she had been hurt, but she fought back a sob. She said something
to the young man and was rewarded with a kick in the side, which knocked her
over. He tied her to the tree with the others, and then started to turn toward
his fire.

Gennos called out to the
younger man, "Why are we tied up like this?  We've come in
peace.  Who are you?"

The younger man looked
at him questioningly, but didn't respond.  He looked again at the girl and
said something.  She responded with a few short words.   He
looked at Gennos once again, murmured something that they couldn't understand
and walked back toward his own fire.

Gennos smiled at the
girl and asked, "Who are you?"

She looked at him for a
long moment before answering.  She was able to free one hand enough to
touch her chest, and then she said, "Na’pe".  She turned her
head, in a questioning manner, pointed toward Gennos with two fingers out and
the palm of her hand upward, but remained silent.

Gennos understood
immediately, "Gennos", he tried to duplicate her hand gesture, but he
was tied too tightly.  He was rewarded by a shy smile for the girl.

Gennos nodded toward
Cano, and said, "Cano".

She looked over at him,
smiled, then touched her chest and said "Na’pe".  She pointed to
Cano and said "Cano".

Cano smiled back and
nodded toward Dola, "Dola" he said.

She looked at the boy,
smiled and touched her chest and said "Na’pe", then pointed to Dola
and said    "Dola".

They were interrupted by
the tall man's appearance.  He swaggered up and said something that no one
could understand, except possibly the girl.  When he was greeted with
silence, he kicked dirt at them then banged his chest and said
"Lomasi".  He stood there glaring at them for a moment, and then
he turned around and walked back to the others in his group.  As he
approached the group he said something and everyone laughed.

Gennos looked over at
the girl and said "Lomasi" in a quiet voice and then spit on the
ground.  The girl nodded, and then she also spit on the ground.

In the next few hours
they learned, by gesture and pointing at different objects that they could
communicate in a very basic way. The tall man was the leader and was named
Lomasi, the man with a cut head was Lork, the other man was Hopi, and the young
man was Morf. They were members of a clan that was up river from here, it was
called the Clan of the Long Arm.

Na'pe was able by gestures
to explain that she was their prisoner and been stolen from her clan.  She
lived far downstream on the banks of the Mother's River.

Gennos was intrigued, he
gestured that he thought this river was a big river

Na’pe frowned and shook her head, she motioned that her
river was much larger and much wider.

Enemy campground

The captives spent the
night tied to a gnarled tree near the river. Their captors had tied them to the
tree in such a way that they could not reach the knots on their bonds, or any
of the other captives’ bonds.

Finally morning came and
Morf came over and untied Na'pe's hands, and then he had her put a noose around
her neck.  Then holding the other end of the noose, he led her back to the
campfire so that she could prepare food for her captors.

When he woke up, Cano's
head was sore and he was stiff from being tied up.  He looked over at his
brother and nodded then looked around until he found Dola.  He was lying
on his side and appeared to be still asleep.

Gennos spoke first,
"Well, we found out if these people were friendly or not."

Cano frowned, "We
made a bad mistake this time.  Next time, if there is a next time, we will
have to be a little more careful."  He thought for a moment before
continuing, "I have a hard time understanding these people. It's hard
enough to stay alive. There are many ways that we can meet death.  Now we
find that we have to fear our own kind.  It doesn't seem right.  We
did them no harm.”

Gennos kept his eyes on
their captors near the campfire as he spoke, "I know what you mean
brother.  We came in peace; we brought them food, even if it was their
kill.  We aren't a threat to them.  But, I'll tell you something you
already know; they are a threat to us."

Cano nodded toward the
fire, "They seem to think they can do what they want because they attacked
and captured us.  We will have a hard time with these men.  From what
Na'pe told us they are used to doing things the way they want to.  We are
going to have to try to use that against them.  She said they take those
who are captured back to their clan and use them as they please.  If we
are going to escape, we have to do it before we get there."

Gennos said, "You
are right.  If the rest of the people at their clan are like these men, I
don't want to meet them.  They seem to enjoy hurting people, and even each
other."  He hesitated before continuing. "We will have to plan
on how we will escape.  They will watch us closely.  I think we
should act like we are afraid of them and that we have given up."

Cano smiled at his
brother, "I'm sure I won't have any trouble looking like I'm afraid of
them, they scare me.  I know when I'm around something dangerous.  We
can watch them and find how they do things.  When the time comes, we will
have to move fast."

"I think that you are
right," said Gennos, "We learn what they do and how they do it. 
We look frightened and do what they say. We must avoid trouble if we can. 
They must believe they have control and that we are no threat."

Cano looked over at Dola
who had been quietly listening.  "You try to stay out of the way, we
don't want you to get hurt," he said.

Dola said, "I might
be able to get them if I get the chance.  I'll watch them and see what I
can do."

Cano replied swiftly,
"Don't, and I really mean it, don't do anything that will get you in
trouble. We will plan together.  We need your help.  What we don't
need is to have you hurt or dead.  We have to trick these men. They must
think that they are in control.  If we have to crawl before them, then that
is what we will do.  When we escape, they will be the fools." He
looked into Dola's eyes for a long moment before continuing, "You are
member of our Clan, and we work together. They will learn that their ways are
not the same as our ways. What we are going to do is show them our ways are
better than their ways. Do you think you can play a fool for a while?"

Dola answered quickly,
"Yes I can do it, I'll watch you and see how it's done."  He
looked over at Gennos and smiled.

Gennos looked over at
Cano to see his reaction to the comment, "Brother, I'm sure he belongs in
our Clan."

Cano tried to appear
angry, but his eyes gave him away.  "After we are free I think I will
take the time to throw somebody in the river."

Gennos kept his eyes on
the campfire as he spoke, "Na'pe can help us learn to speak the way they
do.  She knows these men and the way they do things.  I think we
should avoid letting them know we understand what they mean.  We may have
to accept some punishment for not understanding what they say."

"I think you are
right." Cano said.  "She knows the way back to her clan, she can
help plan an escape, and she will be good to have her along after we
escape."  He thought for a moment before adding, "We know what
the river is like upstream, we can talk to Na'pe later and plan our
escape."

"Don't forget
brother, our captors know the river up stream too; they live up that way."

Cano answered,
"Good thinking, we should plan as best we can, and act when we have the
chance."

Gennos spoke quietly and
kept his eyes down, "Lomasi is coming this way, its time to begin
pretending we have given up."

When Lomasi was several
paces away, he called out loudly to them.

The captives turned as
far as their bonds would permit, but they all kept their eyes down.

Lomasi walked over to
where Dola was tied, looked at him for a moment before removing a rawhide noose
from his carrying pouch.  He spoke harshly to Dola and put the noose
around his neck.  He then untied his hands and motioned for him to
rise.  Dola was slow in obeying and Lomasi gave a strong jerk on the
rawhide and sent him sprawling.  Lomasi spoke again, and Dola scrambled to
his feet before he could be jerked down again.

Lomasi's face changed
slightly, it was probably as close to a smile as he ever got.  He pulled
Dola along over toward the fire.  It was apparent that he was enjoying the
power he had over the boy.  Soon Dola was helping Na'pe near the fire.

Hopi came over to the
brothers and stared down at them contemptuously.  He motioned for Gennos
to stand. 

Gennos tried to stand
but couldn’t because of his bonds.  He nodded to Hopi and said, "The
straps are too short, and I can't stand."

Hopi looked at him
questioningly and then motioned him to sit.  He then took a rawhide noose
out of his carrying pouch as Lomasi had done, and tossed it to Gennos.

Gennos caught it, opened
the loop and with some difficulty, and slid it over his head .He kept his head
and eyes down as he tossed the end back to Hopi.

Hopi moved forward and
untied the strips that held Gennos to the tree. He stepped back and said
something as he gave a jerk on the rawhide.

Gennos stood and moved
forward with his eyes downcast.  He was the perfect model of a captive
with no spirit.

Hopi took him down to
the river’s edge, where some fishing tackle was scattered on the ground. 
He motioned for Gennos to start fishing.

Gennos noticed that
there were some fly covered scraps of deer intestine. He turned to Hopi and
held up his hands so that they could be untied.

Hopi motioned
“No”.  He pointed toward the river and pushed Gennos roughly forward.

Lomasi had come up
behind Hopi and said something that caused Hopi alarm.  Lomasi walked up
to Gennos and stared at his deformed leg.  He said something to Hopi and
turned quickly toward Gennos and kicked him in his bad leg.  Gennos fell
heavily to the ground and then slipped in the mud as he tried to rise. 
His tormenter grabbed the end of the noose that Hopi held and jerked it
violently, causing Gennos to be pulled down into the mud once again.  He
wasn't done yet; he dragged him along the riverbank, turned and dragged him
back again. He didn't speak at all, but the look on his face spoke volumes
about the type of man he was.

Gennos had managed to
get his fingers between the noose and his neck before it could be pulled too
tight. He was covered with mud and humiliated, but he wasn't seriously hurt.
But he did have to fight to control his emotions.  He wanted to choke the
life out of his tormentor, but instead he rolled on the ground pretending to
gag.  He didn't have to act much to portray the roll of a beaten powerless
captive. He kept his head down and avoided eye contact.

Lomasi was enjoying
himself.  He stepped forward and raised the strap to strike. Gennos raised
his hands to protect his face from the blow. Lomasi lowered the strap and said
something to Gennos in a soft voice. Gennos looked up; trying to understand
what had been said.  Like a snake Lomasi struck.  The strap cut
across his face, drawing a line of blood.  He tightened the noose and
pulled Gennos's face up next to his.  With his free hand he wiped some of
the blood from Gennos's cut, held it up, and then licked it from his fingers as
Gennos watched. He then hissed something and pushed Gennos's face away from
him. Gennos fell back into the mud.