50,000 Years Without Man

SF Short stories

Round 2 Prompt - Distant Post Apocalypse



50,000 Years Without Man



  Dhar had never hunted this far down into the jungles before, but the Rhen he'd been tracking had to be the grand dad of all Rhen and he wanted it to prove to Nulorn, his boastful brother, that he was just as good a hunter as he.  Besides, the admiring look on Tanitha's face as she watched him stretch out the beautiful pelt before her would be well worth the added danger.

  The People did not like traveling very far from their mountain strongholds because of the evil Cree; hairy ape people who captured and tortured the People for no obvious reasons other than sadistic pleasure.

He bent over to inspect a partial print left in the soft moist ground.  The rhen had definitely gone this way and a short time ago. He inspected the throwkill he carried balanced in his right hand.  It was a five-foot spear balanced at one end with long feathers, and resembled more a large arrow than a spear. It had a thin shaft and a wickedly sharp metal point.

  Metal was highly prized by the People.  Very few of the warriors had throwkills with metal points and even fewer had metal knives.  Those that did had either won them in battle with the Cree or inherited them from their fathers, as was the case with Dhar.

He saw the rhen as it slowly cleared a thicket munching on sweet necart leaves, glancing furtively around for signs or smell of danger.  In one fluid quick move, Dhar cast the throwkill.  It was a perfect cast, but at the last second the rhen jumped so that the throwkill stuck into its massive leg instead of the heart area.  With a shrill cry of pain the rhen bounded blindly into the thick jungle with Dhar in hot pursuit.

  After about forty yards Dhar broke into the open and came to a quick sliding halt.  His eyes were wide in astonishment, for a long distance the land was cleared with only an occasional small patch of woods and what appeared to be dwellings scattered about.  These were like no dwellings he had ever seen before.  To his right, about thirty yards from the jungle sat a massive building and near the building several strange animals were placidly munching on the short green grass.  The blood trail of the rhen led in the direction of the large building.

  Against all common sense and reasoning, Dhar walked cautiously towards the building.  He instinctively knew he should flee this place and warn the People that the Cree had settled dangerously close to their own hunting grounds, but he hated to lose the throwkill, and the prize rhen also for that matter.

  He walked in a slow cautious crouch, fully alert for any signs of danger.  One massive door to the building was open and he was certain that the wounded rhen was just inside hiding in a dark corner, the throwkill firmly embedded in its leg.  He picked up a large stone lying next to the door, and with a quick expert cast, split the rhen's skull.  Entering the building, he quickly recovered the throwkill and squatted down in a corner of the building to let his eyesight adjust to the dim interior.

  In the center of the room stood some kind of contraption and it appeared to be made of metal.  Across from where he knelt were several large barrels and they also appeared to be made of metal. He walked over and tapped first the barrels and then the machine with the point of his throwkill, the familiar clink of metal on metal coming to his excited ears.

  "A treasure in metal," he thought to himself, "and just sitting here for the taking."

  Suddenly, a loud grinding and coughing noise could be heard coming nearer and nearer to the building. He hid in a shadowy corner as the noisy thing came around the building and stopped in plain sight in front of the open door. Dhar's eyes were once again wide in astonishment.  The thing was evidently a metal cart of some kind with a life of its own, for there were no visible draft animals.  Furthermore, a Cree, although a very unusual looking Cree was riding on top of the metal monster.

Although strange things were happening, Sergeant George Meeks was a slave to routine and continued to work as if nothing had happened to disrupt his daily schedule.  The colonist had to have fodder for their livestock otherwise they would never be able to resettle Earth.

He walked over and started opening the right door to the barn so he could back the tractor in and hook up the bailer.  As the door swung slowly open, he jumped back and squinted in slack jawed surprise, dropping his heavy wrench into the dirt.

  A man stood in the corner in a threatening crouch holding what appeared to be a large arrow with a nasty looking point.  This was no ordinary looking man though.  He wore no clothing, but was covered from head to foot with a luxurious golden short fur, except for his face, hands and chest area.  He stood around five feet tall and had a vicious scowl on his handsome face, a golden beard on his chin.  His eyes were like those of a cat, slitted and of a beautiful greenish color.  A long three-foot tail flicked back and forth behind him.  Although no genitals were visible, it was apparent he was male, for he was beautifully built like one of those Greek statues.

George threw his arms up with his hands crossed over in front of each other to ward off the expected blow and slowly backed towards the tractor.

  Dhar closely watched every move the strange Cree made.  He was preparing to cast the throwkill into the man's heart, when the man abruptly started backing up, showing the sign of peace.  Dhar quickly circled around him, halted to scoop up the dropped wrench, then fled quickly for the security of the jungle.

He supposed he should have killed the strange Cree, however, had he not made the peace sign, and informing the People of this new danger took first priority.  He entered the jungle at a fast trot, all thoughts of the prize rhen completely forgotten.

Dhar anxiously scanned the trail looking for signs of Katar's arrival.  They had conducted a raid on the new settlement and took prisoners. The warriors were well hidden in the underbrush and rocks in the event he was being pursued by the strange white ones.

As they entered the village Dhar noticed that all the People had turned out to welcome home the warriors and to stair at the strange new Cree.  There were many faces among them that he recognized as being from other villages.  These must be the representatives that Daghor had sent the runners for.

  The white Cree were led up to a small seldom-used cave, their carry sacks taken, and guards posted.  Katar then walked to the "Circle of Tales" and sat heavily down in the highest chair. There was a sudden rush of warriors to claim advantageous positions around the circle.  Several moved to give their seats to warriors of higher rank or standing.

  The women, as was custom, stood in groups a respectable distance beyond the circle.  Katar stood and raised his hands high in the air with the palms up and facing out, a sign that the circle was opened in peace and picked up the talking stick.

  "We went to the clearing of the strange new Cree as instructed," he began.  "It was as Dhar described.  Many odd dwellings and open fields with curious sad eyed animals about. Before a decision was made about where to set the ambush to kidnap a captive, a warrior brought news that a number of the strange ones had entered the jungle in search of a raiding party of the Cree who had captured four of their kind.  As war leader I decided to trail these strange ones to learn of their ways. The strange white ones were very clumsy and noisy and walked through the jungle like blinded rhen.  That is, all except their leader, who slid through the brush as if he were one of the People.  I felt that he knew of our presence all the time but the others with him did not.  We watched closely until they located the Cree.  At this time the leader left five of the warriors to watch the female and went to attack the Cree war party.  I decided to take advantage of the situation and take captive two of the group left behind, the female and the one strange Cree that was dressed differently than the others.  I instructed Dhar to watch the engagement between the strange white ones and the Cree.  He will now tell you what happened.  Dhar!"

  Dhar stood and walked to the center of the circle and accepted the talking stick.  All eyes and ears turned to him.

  "The strange warriors carried what appeared to be wood and metal clubs," he began, "all except the two that Katar spoke of. The leader placed them into positions overlooking the Cree who were down in a ravine eating their own kind.  He then quietly approached the single Cree guard at the top of the ravine and silenced him with a quick blow from one hand.  He then worked his way silently down to about half way to the feasting Cree and stood with his hands facing out in the sign of peace.  Two Cree immediately stood and cast their throw-kills at the big strange one.  The distance was very short.  The big white one, in two incredibly fast moves, knocked both throw-kills from the air before they could strike him."

  A murmur of excited awe broke out among the warriors.  Dhar let it die down before he continued.

  "The leader then removed the club from his back and pointed the metal end at the Cree.  Lightening and thunder roared from the club and tore the Cree into bloody pieces."

  Half of the warriors jumped to their feet, their tails swishing back and forth angrily behind them, their mouths open in circles of astonishment.

  "And then," continued Dhar, "lightening and thunder came from the clubs of the other strange ones and struck the remaining Cree dead."

  The circle was in an uproar of yelling and gesturing warriors. Daghor stood and walked gracefully to the center of the circle and stood next to Dhar.  He raised his hands for silence, a scowl on his face.  The yelling and gesturing quickly died down.

  "No need to violate the rules of the circle," he admonished the excited warriors, "least we become as uncivilized as the Cree.  Young Dhar is a proven warrior and hunter and he knows to speak anything other than the truth in the circle brings banishment.  Many of our warriors witnessed these events as described and to this they can attest.

  Still glaring at the assembled warriors, he turned to Dhar with a signal to continue his tale, then returned to his position around the circle.

  "I quickly sent a warrior to tell Katar of the magic the strange ones had used to kill the Cree so he would be aware of the dangers he faced as he captured the two for questioning," continued Dhar.  "Then as instructed by Katar earlier, I took the warriors to flat rock to wait for his arrival with the prisoners."

  "Were you followed from the site of the Cree battle?"  asked Ulinar, one of the representatives from another village.

  "We are not Cree," interrupted Katar, eyeing the representative with a contemptible smirk.  "Our warriors cannot be followed unless it is their wish to be followed."

  "None the less," continued Ulinar, "the news you bring is so incredible one never knows if these strange new Cree do not possess abilities far beyond those of which we are aware.  You did say that you thought the leader of these white ones knew of your presence?"

  "It was just a feeling," replied Katar, "but what you say has a lot of merit.  Of these new ones we know very little other than they are in possession of dangerous and deadly weapons.  Unless, of course, you believe in magic."

  "Bring forth the prisoners!" yelled another of the representatives.  "Let us hear from their own tongues if they mean to hunt the People as do the Cree."

  "These strange ones do not speak the language of the People," replied Katar, "nor do they speak the language of the Cree.  We tried to communicate with them but received nothing but puzzled looks."

  "I do not believe the new ones mean harm to us," said Dhar, closely watching Ulinar who stared at him with raised ears.

  "And just why do you believe this young one," Ulinar questioned.

  "The first strange one I met held up his hands in the sign of peace and did not attempt to harm me.  The leader of the war party of the new ones also held up his hands to the Cree in the sign of peace.  Only when the Cree tried to kill him did he reply with sudden death to them.  As Katar stated, I am sure that he knew of our presence among the tree branches, yet he did not direct the magic weapons against us.  Also, I believe the only reason the new ones sought the Cree was to rescue a female and her children who had been captured by them."

  "Dhar speaks both truth and good sense," said Daghor, returning to the center of the circle.  "The very presence of these new ones is in itself strange.  From whence they came, and in what way they created their lands and homes within the jungles in so short a time, are questions to which we have no answers. Although they are kin to the Cree in physical makeup, it is evident they are not of the Cree.  Their height, the color of their skin is evidence of that.  Bring forth the prisoners so that we may look upon them," he ordered.

  Katar motioned to the two guards standing at the entrance to the cave to bring the prisoners to the circle.

  Ensign Karen Reichmann was watching the gray cat man closely for he seemed to be the only one that held any threat to her or Doctor Dominic Prestano.  The others sat quietly watching the gray one with curiosity as he gestured wildly with his hands, only occasionally talking in a smooth singsong voice.  Although she couldn't understand a word that was being said, she instinctively knew that this one was anti-Karen and was trying his best to make a good case for getting rid of both her and Dom.  The golden man and the brown one with gray in his fur were arguing with the gray one.  The remaining cat men sitting around the large circle appeared to be split fifty-fifty on one side or the other.

  She glanced over at Dom sitting next to her in the center of the circle.  They both had their hands tied behind their backs but their feet were free.  After all, with those wicked spears, they probably wouldn't get very far if they tried to run, and where would they run to.  Neither of them knew the direction of the new colony.

  She started to return her gaze at the angry cat man when she spotted a flicker of movement in the bushes bordering the village.  Her eyes went wide in surprise.  Casually walking toward the circle was Commander Stiehl carrying one of the cat men over his shoulder.

  Several of the warriors stood and screamed a battle cry, pointing towards the trees.  Dhar and the remaining warriors turned and spotted the big strange one.  The warriors jumped to their feet, their mouths open in slack-jawed surprise. Incredible as it appeared, the big strange one had entered the village without being spotted by the guards.  This had never before happened in the memory of the People.

Commander Stiehl walked directly to the circle of warriors who seemed to be frozen in shock at his sudden and unorthodox appearance.

The warriors parted and let him walk through.  He strode to the center of the circle and gently laid the guard down on the soft sandy soil.  He removed a bola from his hands and the gag from his mouth and signaled for him to get up.  He then stood and walked over to Dom and Karen and cut their bindings.  He looked them both over very carefully for any signs of mistreatment, but found none.  He then turned, placed his fists on his hips and stood challenging the circle of warriors. Deciding that diplomacy is the better part of valor he decided to calm his anger and raised his hands high in a sign of peaceful intent.  No sense in antagonizing this group, he'd already proven that he could out smart them by entering their village unchallenged.

"This is the leader of the strange new ones," Dhar signaled quietly to Daghor.

  "He offers the sign of peace," Daghor signaled to the aroused warriors.  "How did he manage to take you without arousing the other guards?"  He asked Thurr, motioning for the warriors to resume their seats.

  "He used little metal balls with strings attached," replied Thurr.  "This much I saw before everything went dark.  How he came to pass the ring of guards I know not, unless he is a great spirit."

  "He appears to be an ordinary man," Ulinar spoke up, his courage slowly starting to return.

  "An ordinary man with extraordinary talents," replied Katar, "no Cree could have gotten close to the village, much less inside it."

  They expectantly held their breaths as Daghor slowly approached the giant man.  He halted five paces in front of them and held his hands up in the sign of peace.  He then pointed to Stiehl, pointed at Karen and Dom, and gave the sign again.

  Commander Stiehl watched the cat man cautiously.  It was evident he was trying to communicate using sign language.  More importantly, if his guess was correct, the man was indicating that he and the others were now welcome to the village in peace.

  Since neither knew the others language he guessed they'd just have to improvise.  Pulling from his vast store of Native American sign language and his knowledge of tribal behavioral patterns, he decided to take a long shot.  He sat down on the ground in cross legged and motioned for Dom and Karen to do the same.

As time slowly passed, Commander Stiehl managed to get the message across to this leader, the one called Daghor, that he not only came in peace but wanted to know all about the People, or as it sounded to him, the Ionar.  Karen was mesmerized with the fact that in so short a time, completely through the use of sign language, they had communicated so well.

"The Commander seems to be hitting it off well with these people," Dom stated. 

  "In their eyes, primitive as they are, he manifests the ultimate warrior.  After all he did somehow manage to get past their guards and from the expression on their faces when he came marching in here that don't happen very often."

"It looks like when humans destroyed themselves on Earth thousands of years ago their pets eventually evolved into a dominant species," Karen continued. "Perhaps the enhanced radiation speeded up their evolution.Those harry men we met were descendants of chimpanzees and these people appear to be descendants from ordinary house cats. Who knows what other species have evolved over the past fifty thousand years."

"Our colony on Mars was completely unaware of what was happening on earth," Dom noted. "Even with our established technology it took us all this time to get back in space. Of course, reverting to barbarism for several thousand years and terraforming Mars didn't help us. Although we hoped that some human civilization remained it doesn’t look like it. Could our pets have taken over the Earth?"

"Quite possibly, but we’re back," Commander Stiehl stated. "We’re back to reclaim the Earth and it looks like we’ll have a lot of company to consider."